| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| deign |
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| PRONUNCIATION: |  d n |
| VERB: | Inflected forms: deigned, deign·ing, deigns
| | INTRANSITIVE VERB: | To think it appropriate to one's dignity; condescend: wouldn't deign to greet the servant who opened the door. See synonyms at stoop1. | | TRANSITIVE VERB: | To condescend to give or grant; vouchsafe. “Nor would we deign him burial of his men” (Shakespeare). | | ETYMOLOGY: | Middle English deinen, from Old French deignier, to regard as worthy, from Latin dignr , from dignus, worthy. See dek- in Appendix I.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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