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there is no need to add -ly to it. Undoubtedly would have been a better choice still because, as the Evanses note, it has a less concessive air. Doubtless usually suggests a tone of reluctance or resignation: “You are doubtless right.” Undoubtedly carries more conviction: “You are undoubtedly right.” Indubitably is a somewhat jocular synonym for either.

Douglass, Frederick. (1817–1895) Escaped American slave who became a leading abolitionist and statesman; born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey.

douse, dowse. The first means to drench; the second means to search for water.

Dow Jones industrial average. (No hyphen, last two words no caps.)

Downers Grove (no apos.), Illinois.

Down House. Charles Darwin’s home; located in Downe, Kent.

Down syndrome. Congenital condition, formerly called mongolism; named after the British physician J. L. H. Down (1828–1896). Sometimes still called Down’s syndrome, but increasingly the convention in medical circles is to abandon the possessive in the names of diseases (so Parkinson disease, Hodgkin disease).

D.Phil. British equivalent of the American Ph.D.

dramatis personae. Cast of characters.

Drechsler, Heike. (1964–) German sprinter and long jumper.

Dreiser, Theodore. (1871–1945) American writer.

Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein. Investment bank.

Drexel Burnham Lambert. (No commas.) Defunct U.S. investment bank.

Dreyfus, Alfred. (1859–1935) French officer whose wrongful imprisonment on Devil’s Island became a celebrated controversy.

Dreyfuss, Richard. (1949–) American actor.

drier, dryer. Drier is the condition of being more dry; a dryer is an appliance for drying clothes or hair.

droit de/du seigneur. A feudal lord’s supposed right to spend the first night with a vassal’s bride.

drunkenness. Note -nn-.

dual, duel. Dual means twofold; duel describes a fight between two parties.

du Barry, Marie Jeanne Bécu, Comtesse. (1743–1793) Mistress of Louis XV, beheaded during the French Revolution.

Dubek, Alexander. (1921–1992) First secretary of the Communist Party (i.e., head of state) in Czechoslovakia (1968–69); his reforms led to the Soviet invasion of the country in 1968.

dubiety. The state of being dubious.

Du Bois, W(illiam) E(dward) B(urghardt). (1868–1963) American political activist and civil rights leader.

Duchamp, Marcel. (1887–1968) French painter.

dudgeon. Feeling of resentment.

duenna. Governess or chaperon; in Spanish, dueña.

due to. Most authorities continue to accept that due is an adjective only and must always modify a noun. Thus, “He was absent due to illness” would be wrong. Make it either “He was absent because of [or owing to] illness” or recast the sentence to give due a noun to modify, e.g., “His absence was due to illness.” The rule is mystifyingly inconsistent—no one has ever really explained why “owing to” used prepositionally is acceptable while “due to” used prepositionally is not—but it should perhaps still be observed, at least in formal writing, if only to avoid a charge of ignorance.

duffel bag, duffel coat. After Belgian town Duffel.

Dufy, Raoul. (1877–1953) French painter.

Duisburg, Germany; pronounced doos-boork.

Dukakis, Michael (Stanley). (1933–) U.S. presidential candidate (1988); governor of Massachusetts (1975–1979, 1983–1990).

Duma. Russian parliament.

Dumas, Alexandre. (1802-1870) French novelist and dramatist.

Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C.

dumdum bullet.

dumfound (pref.), dumbfound (alt.).

dummkopf. (Ger.) Not dumb-. A stupid person.

Dum spiro, spero. (Lat.) “While I breathe, there is hope.”

Dun & Bradstreet Corporation.

Dunkin’ Donuts.

Dunkirk. French port; in French, Dunkerque.

Dun Laoghaire. Irish port near Dublin; pronounced dun-leery. In the Gaelic spelling Dún has an accent.

Duns Scotus, Johannes. (c. 1270–1308) Scottish philosopher and theologian.

duomo. (It.) Cathedral; pl. duomi.

Du Pont. U.S. chemicals business; formally E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. But on second or informal references it is normally spelled DuPont (one word). The place in Washington, D.C., is Dupont Circle.

du Pré, Jacqueline.