also daliance, mid-14c., daliaunce "edifying or spiritual conversation," from dally + -ance. Probably formed in Anglo-French but not attested there. From late 14c. as "polite conversation, chat, small talk; amorous talk, flirtation, coquetry;" meaning "idle or frivolous activity" is from 1540s.

c. 1300, dalien, "to speak seriously, commune;" late 14c., "to talk intimately, converse politely," possibly from Anglo-French dalier "to amuse oneself," Old French dalier, dailer, which is of uncertain origin. Sense of "waste time" in any manner emerged by late 14c.; that of "to play, sport, frolic; flirt, engage in amorous exchanges" is from mid-15c. Meaning "to linger, loiter, delay (intransitive)" is from 1530s. Related: Dallied; dallying.

1670s, "of or pertaining to Dalmatia" (q.v.); as a noun, 1580s, "inhabitant of Dalmatia."

The breed of spotted dogs so called from 1893, short for Dalmatian dog (1810), presumably named for Dalmatia, but dog breeders argue over whether there is a Croatian ancestry for the breed, which seems to be represented in Egyptian bas-reliefs and Hellenic friezes. They were popular in early 1800s as carriage dogs, trotting alongside carriages and guarding the vehicles in owner's absence (the alternative name coach-dog is attested from 1792). Even fire departments nowadays tend to spell it *Dalmation.

THE use to which this beautiful and shewy breed is applied, being so universally known both in Town and Country, needs a bare mention: how long it has been the fashion to keep these dogs, as attendants of the Coach Horse Stable, and as precursors to the Carriage, as if to clear the way and announce its approach, does not appear in our common books of reference on the subject; but the practice may probably be a century or two old, and was doubtless derived from Continental usage. ["The Sportsman's Repository," London, 1831]

"of or pertaining to Dalmatia," c. 1600; see Dalmatia. As a noun from early 15c. in reference to a kind of robe or vestment. Related: Dalmatical (1590s).

1920 in reference to a plan or system of school education designed by Helen Parkhurst, from Dalton, Massachusetts, U.S., where it was first adopted. For Daltonism (a reference to English chemist John Dalton), see color-blindness. Daltonian, in reference to Dalton's work, is attested by 1813.

"animal mother, female parent of a quadruped," mid-15c., damme, variant of dame "lady, mother" (q.v.), which is attested from early 14c. in this secondary sense. The two forms were somewhat interchangeable in Middle English, but the meanings diverged into separate spellings by 16c., and any use of dam for women since then has been slighting.

"obstruct or restrain a flow by means of a dam," c. 1400, from dam (n.1). Related: Dammed; damming.

"barrier across a stream of water to obstruct its flow and raise its level," c. 1400 (early 13c. in surnames), probably from Old Norse dammr or Middle Dutch dam, both from Proto-Germanic *dammaz (source also of Old Frisian damm, German Damm), which is of unknown origin. Also perhaps in part from or reinforced by Old English verb fordemman "to stop up, block."

c. 1300, "harm, injury; hurt or loss to person, character, or estate," from Old French damage, domage  "loss caused by injury" (12c., Modern French dommage), from dam "damage," from Latin damnum "loss, hurt, damage" (see damn). In law (as damages) "the value in money of what was lost or withheld, that which is given to repair a cost," from c. 1400. Colloquial sense of "cost, expense" is by 1755. Damage control "action taken to limit the effect of an accident or error" is attested by 1933 in U.S. Navy jargon.