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Dagestan - A type of rug produced in the East Caucasus, closely related to Shirvan and Kuba rugs from the same region. They tend to have small-scale allover designs utilizing multiple repetitions in fine detail, often adapted to prayer rugs by adding a simplified niche or mihrab at the top of the design.

Dead wool -  A type of wool obtained from the hides of slaughtered animals by soaking them chemically to remove the fibers. This process destroys the natural luster and durability of the wool, and rugs made from it are always cheap, inferior products. 

Density  -  The ratio of knots, wefts and warps within a given area of rug surface. The more of these elements, the denser or “tighter” the weave. Smaller knots and finer yarns increase density, but it is also achieved by packing all the elements more tightly, and/or by utilizing depressed warps. 

Depressed Warps  -  A type of wefting pulled tightly from either side that displaces the warps through which it passes into two levels, one upper, one lower. On the back of the rug, this bi-level structure will appear to have a ribbed or corrugated surface with an upper warp and a lower or 'depressed' warp. In cases were the wefts are pulled absolutely tight, the depressed warps may not even show on the back of the rug in high traffic areas. 

Design  -  The particular patterning of a rug or textile involving a host of factors or elements – the motifs and their arrangement, symmetry,  and coloration. The term design may also refer to a specific type of pattern.  

Donegal  - Carpets, produced in Donegal, Northwest Ireland during the later nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries, represent the Irish contribution to the Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau Movements. They may have a contemporary Art Nouveau emphasis, or, alternatively they may look back to the great past of early medieval Irish art, or they could combine both these trends. 

Dyes – A material of vegetal or synthetic chemical derivation used to impart color to the vegetable or animal fibers that are woven. Most dyes require an additional mordant or fixing agent to make them fast in water and light.