379
Diary of a Nobody, The
has three major dialects. | a poem written in a Scottish dialect
→ compare ACCENT¹ —al /ˌdaɪəˈlektɪk/ adj —ally adv
di·a·lec·tic /ˌdaɪəˈlektk/ also dialectics n [U] tech the art
or method of arguing and examining ideas so as to reach the
truth, according to certain rules of question and answer that
were developed by Socrates, Plato, and Hegel —al adj
—tician /ˌdaɪəlektɪʃən/ n
'dialling code BrE || area code AmE — n a telephone CODE
'dialling tone BrE || 'dial tone AmE — n the sound made by
a telephone receiver to show that one may now dial the
number that one wants
di·a·logue BrE || -log AmE /'daɪəlɒɡ||-lɔːg, -lɑːg/ n [C,U] 1 (a)
written conversation in a book or play: a short dialogue
between Hamlet and the grave-digger | He's not very good at
writing dialogue. 2 (an) exchange of ideas and opinions,
especially between countries, groups etc whose posi-
tions are opposed: At last there can be (a) reasonable dialogue
between our two governments. → compare MONOLOGUE
dialogue ,box BrE || dialog box AmE — n a box that appears
on your computer screen when the program you are using
needs to ask you a question before it can continue to do
something. You CLICK on one part of the box to give your
answer.
dial-up adj [A] relating to a telephone line that is used to
send information from one computer to another: a dial-up
connection —dial-up n
di·al·y·sis /daɪˈælɪsɪs/ n [U] tech a process by which solid
substances can be separated from liquid, used especially for
making pure the blood of people whose KIDNEYS do not work
properly
semicircle
diameter
segment
tangent
radius
diameter
circumference
arc
cord
di·am·e·ter /daɪˈæmtə/ n 1 (the length of) a straight line
going from one side of a circle to the other side, passing
through the centre of the circle: The diameter of the circle is
six centimetres. | The circle is six centimetres in diameter. →
compare RADIUS 2 tech a measurement of how many times
bigger an object looks, when seen through a microscope or
MAGNIFYING GLASS: This microscope magnifies 20 diameters.
di·a·met·ri·cal·ly /ˌdaɪəˈmetrɪkli/ adv completely and
directly (opposed or opposite): My ideas are diametrically
opposed to (=completely different from) hers.
di·a·mond /'daɪəmənd/ n 1 [C;U] a very hard valuable
precious stone, usually colourless, which is used in jewellery
and for cutting things: an industrial diamond | a diamond
mine 2 [C] a figure with four straight sides of equal length
that stands on one of its points 3 [C] a) this figure printed
in red on a playing card b) a card belonging to the SUIT
(=set) of cards that have one or more of these figures printed
on it: the four/queen of diamonds | I've only got four dia-
monds in my hand. → see Cultural Note at CARDS and picture
at CARDS 4 [C] (in BASEBALL) a) the area of the field inside
the four BASES b) the whole playing field
CULTURAL NOTE In the US and the UK, a man traditionally
gives a diamond ring to a woman when he asks her to
marry him, and this shows that they are ENGAGED People
sometimes joke that 'diamonds are a girl's best friend',
meaning that if you are rich you do not have to worry
about anything. 'Diamonds are forever' is a phrase that
was used as a very successful advertising SLOGAN and is
also the name of a James Bond film.
Diamond, Neil /niːl/ (1941–) a US popular music singer and
writer of songs in the EASY LISTENING style. His songs
include Sweet Caroline (1969) and Song Sung Blue (1972).
,diamond in the 'rough n AmE for ROUGH DIAMOND
,diamond 'jubilee n the date that is exactly 60 years after
the date of some important personal event, especially of
becoming a king or queen → compare GOLDEN JUBILEE,
SILVER JUBILEE
'diamond lane n AmE infml a CARPOOL LANE on a large main
road. They are called this because they have large white
DIAMOND shapes painted on them.
,diamond 'wedding also ,diamond 'wedding anni-
versary || also ,diamond anni'versary AmE— n the date
that is exactly 60 years after the date of a wedding →
compare GOLDEN WEDDING, SILVER WEDDING
Di·an·a /daɪˈænə/ in Roman MYTHOLOGY, the goddess of
hunting and the moon. In Greek mythology her name is
Artemis.
Diana, Princess of Wales also Princess Di,
Princess Diana, Lady Di (1961–97) the former wife of
Prince CHARLES and the mother of Prince William and
Prince Harry. She was originally called Lady Diana Spencer
and she married Prince Charles in 1981. Eventually their
marriage failed and they got a DIVORCE in 1996. She was
known for wearing fashionable expensive clothes, but she
was also known as a caring person who worked actively for
many different CHARITY organizations, especially those
which supported people with AIDS or opposed the use of
LANDMINES. In 1997, she started a romantic relationship with
the businessman Dodi al-Fayed, and they were both killed in
a car crash in Paris. Her death was one of the biggest news
stories of the 1990s, and people all over the world were
affected by it.
di·a·per /'daɪəpə || 'daɪpər/ n 1 [C] AmE for NAPPY 2 [U] (fine
cotton or LINEN cloth with) a pattern of straight lines which
cross each other so as to form small DIAMOND shapes
di·aph·a·nous /daɪˈæfənəs/ adj (especially of cloth) so fine
and thin that it can be seen through
di·a·phragm /'daɪəfræm/ n 1 a) the muscle that separates
the lungs from the stomach b) the front part of the chest
above the waist 2 any thin plate or piece of stretched
material which makes or is moved by sound: The diaphragm
of a telephone is moved by the sound of the voice. 3 a
CAP 4 the group of small plates lying one above the other
which control the amount of light entering a camera
di·a·rist /'daɪərɪst/ n the writer of a DIARY: Samuel Pepys was
a famous English diarist of the 17th century.
di·ar·rhoe·a, -rhe·a /ˌdaɪəˈrɪə/ n [U] an illness in which
the bowels are emptied too often and in too liquid a form
CULTURAL NOTE People from the US and the UK often
suffer from diarrhoea when they go to other countries,
because of the change in their food, water etc, and they
sometimes joke about this, saying they had the runs, the
trots, Delhi belly (especially in India), Montezuma's
revenge (especially in S America) etc
di·a·ry /'daɪəri/ n 1 (a book containing) a daily record of the
events in a person's life. A diary is considered to be very
personal, and reading someone else's diary without their
permission is strongly disapproved of: a lockable diary | Did
you keep a diary (=write a diary) while you were travelling in
Europe? | Her diary entry for 12th March reads simply 'Saw
him again.' → see also DIARIST; see JOURNAL (USAGE) 2 BrE ||
calendar AmE — a book with marked separate spaces for each
day of the year, in which one may write down things to be
done in the future: 'Can you come on Wednesday?' 'I'll just
look in my diary to see if I'm free.' | He made a note of the date
in his diary.
,Diary of ,Anne 'Frank, The the DIARY (=book in which
you write down your thoughts, experiences etc each day)
written by Anne FRANK when she and her family were
hiding from the NAZIS in Amsterdam during World War II. It
was published (PUBLISH) after her death in a CONCENTRATION
CAMP, and it has been made into a play and film.
,Diary of a 'Nobody, The (1892) a humorous book by
George and Weedon Grossmith. It is written in the form of a
DIARY belonging to the main character, Mr POOTER, who
describes his life during the early 1890s. Mr Pooter is a very