Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary 1908/Spermaceti Squat

Spermaceti, sper-ma-set′i, or-sē′tī, n. a waxy matter obtained mixed with oil from the head of the sperm-whale—purified by draining off the oil and repeatedly washing with hot water and weak boiling potash-lye.—adj. derived from, or yielding, spermaceti.—n. , the sperm-whale. [L. sperma, cētus, a whale—Gr. kētos.]

Spermophile, sper′mō-fīl, n. a rodent of the genus Spermophilus, a ground-squirrel. [Gr. sperma, seed, philein, to love.]

Sperre, sper, v.t. (Spens.). Same as Sper. [Spar.]

Sperrylite, sper′i-līt, n. an arsenide of platinum discovered in 1888 in the province of Ontario, Canada.

Sperse, spėrs, v.t. (Spens.) to disperse.

Spet, spet, v.i. (Milt.) a form of spit.

Spetch, spech, n. a piece of skin used in making glue. [Speck.]

Spew, Spue, spū, v.t. and v.i. to vomit: to eject with loathing.—ns. '; ', moistness.—adj. , boggy. [A.S. spíwan; Dut. spuwen, Ger. speien; also L. spuĕre, Gr. ptyein.]

Sphacelus, sfas′e-lus, n. gangrene.—adjs. ', ', necrosed.—ns. ', ', necrosis; , a genus of fungi containing anthracnose. [Gr. sphakelos.]

Sphæridium, sfē-rid′i-um, n. one of the minute spheroidal bodies attached to the ambulacral plates of sea-urchins:—pl. . [Gr. sphairidion, dim. of sphaira, a sphere.]

Sphæristerium, sfē-ris-tē′ri-um, n. a tennis-court. [Gr.,—sphaira, a ball.]

Sphærite, sfē′rīt, n. a hydrous phosphate of aluminium.

Sphagnum, sfag′num, n. a genus of mosses—peat or bog-moss, belonging to the order Sphagnaceæ.—ns. ', one who has studied the foregoing; ', the study of the same.—adj. . [Gr. sphagnos, moss.]

Sphecius, sfē′shi-us, n. a genus of digger-wasps. [Gr. sphēx, a wasp.]

Sphendone, sfen′dō-nē, n. an ancient Greek form of women's head-band: an elliptical or semi-elliptical auditorium. [Gr., a sling.]

Sphene, sfēn, n. titanite. [Fr.,—Gr. sphēn, wedge.]

Sphenic, sfē′nik, adj. wedge-like. [Gr. sphēn, a wedge.]

Spheniscus, sfē-nis′kus, n. a genus of penguins, of the family Spheniscidæ, the jackass-penguins.

Sphenodon, sfē′nō-don, n. a genus of South American fossil sloths; a genus of extinct New Zealand lizards.—adj. . [Gr. sphēn, a wedge, odous, odontos, a tooth.]

Sphenoid, -al, sfē′noid, -al, adj. wedge-shaped: inserted like a wedge, denoting a bone at the base of the skull.—adjs. ', pertaining to the sphenoid and the ethmoid bone; ', ', ', ', ', pertaining to the sphenoid and frontal, malar, palatine, parietal, and temporal bones respectively.—n. ', a cuneiform character.—adjs. ', '.—n. ', the art of writing or deciphering cuneiform inscriptions.—adjs. ', pertaining to the sphenoid bone and the otic capsule; ', sphenoidal and turbinated or whorled. [Gr. sphēn, sphēnos, a wedge, eidos, form.]

Sphere, sfēr, n. a ball or globe: an orb or circle: circuit of motion: province or duty: definite range: rank, position in society: (geom.) a surface every point of which is equidistant from one and the same point, called the centre.—adjs. '; '.—ns. ' (Milt.), metal like that of which the celestial spheres were anciently supposed to be made; ', the music of the spheres.—adjs. ', ', pertaining to, or like, a sphere.—n. '.—adv. '.—ns. ', ', state or quality of being spherical: roundness; ', a little sphere; ', the geometry and trigonometry of the sphere; ', a body or figure nearly spherical, but not quite so—a species of ellipsoid (prolate spheroid, a slightly lengthened sphere; oblate spheroid, a slightly flattened sphere).—adj. ', having the form of a spheroid.—ns. ', ', the state of being spheroidal; ', one of the symmetrical segments of a radiate; ', an instrument for measuring the sphericity of portions of spherical surfaces—for example, lenses; ', the name given to impure or earthy and frequently concretionary varieties of carbonate of iron.—adj. '.—ns. ', a little sphere; ', a radiating spherical group of minute acicular crystals common in silicious volcanic rocks.—adjs. '; ', spherical, round: belonging to the celestial spheres. [Fr.,—L. sphæra—Gr. sphaira.]

Sphex, sfeks, n. a genus of hymenopterous insects of the family Sphegidæ, closely allied to the true wasps (Vespidæ). [Gr. sphēx, a wasp.]

Sphincter, sfingk′tėr, n. (anat.) a muscle that contracts or shuts an orifice or opening which it surrounds—around the anus, &c.—adjs. ', provided with a sphincter, contracted as if by a sphincter; ', ', relating to a sphincter or its function.—n. ', the operation of cutting a sphincter. [Gr. sphingktēr,—sphinggein, to bind tight.]

Sphinx, sfingks, n. a monster of Greek mythology, with the head of a woman and the body of a lioness, that proposed riddles to travellers, and strangled those who could not solve them: an enigmatic or inscrutable person: a hawk-moth: the Guinea baboon. [Gr.,—sphinggein, to throttle.]

Sphragistics, sfrā-jis′tiks, n. knowledge about seals, their age, history, &c. [Gr. sphragistikos, pertaining to seals—sphragis, a seal.]

Sphrigosis, sfri-gō′sis, n. in fruit-trees, excessive growth in wood and leaves at the expense of fruit. [Gr. sphrigan, to be vigorous.]

Sphygmograph, sfig′mō-graf, n. an instrument for ascertaining and recording the form, force, and frequency of the pulse-beat, and the changes it undergoes in certain morbid states.—adj. ', pertaining to the pulse.—n. ', the record made by a sphygmograph.—adj. '.—n. ', the act of taking pulse-tracings.—adj. ', pulse-like.—ns. ', the science of the pulse; ', ', an instrument for measuring the tension of blood in an artery; ', an instrument by means of which a pulse-beat makes a sound: ', an instrument for making arterial pulsations visible; , the pulse. [Gr. sphygmos, the pulse, graphein, to write.]

Sphyrna, sfėr′na, n. a genus of hammer-headed sharks.—adj. . [Gr. sphyra, a hammer.]

Spial, spī′al, n. (obs.) espial: a spy, a scout.

Spica, spī′ka, n. a spiral bandage with reversed turns: (ornith.) a spur.—adjs. ', ', ', arranged in, or having the form of, a spike.—n. ', in ancient masonry, herring-bone work. [L. spicatus, pa.p. of spicāre—spica, ear.]

Spice, spīs, n. an aromatic and pungent vegetable substance used as a condiment and for seasoning food—pepper, cayenne pepper, pimento, nutmeg, mace, vanilla, ginger, cinnamon, cassia, &c.: a characteristic touch or taste, smack, flavour: anything that adds piquancy or interest: an aromatic odour.—v.t. to season with spice: to tincture, vary, or diversify.—ns. ', an ornamental box for keeping spices: (coll.) a hot-tempered person; ', an aromatic American shrub of the laurel family; ', a cake flavoured with spice of some kind.—adjs. Spiced, impregnated with a spicy odour: over-scrupulous; ', aromatic.—ns. ', one who seasons with spice; ', spices in general: a repository of spices: spiciness; ', an evergreen tree of the Pacific United States, yielding a fine hard wood—the Mountain-laurel, California-laurel, Olive- or Bay-tree, and Cajeput; ', the spice-bush. [O. Fr. espice (Fr. épice)—Late L. species, kinds of goods, spices—L. species, a particular kind, &c.]

Spiciferous, Spiciform, Spicous, &c. See Spike.

Spick, spik, n. a nail, a spike.—adj. tidy, fresh.—adj. , new and fresh, brand-new.—Spick-and-span new, i.e. as new as a spike just made and a chip just split. [Spike, nail.]

Spicknel, spik′nel, n. the baldmoney.—Also . [Prob. spike-nail.]

Spicy, spī′si, adj. producing or abounding with spices: fragrant: pungent: piquant, pointed, racy: showy.—adv. '.—n. '.

Spider, spī′dėr, n. an arachnid of the order Araneida, the body divided into two distinct parts—an unsegmented cephalo-thorax, bearing six pairs of appendages, and a soft unsegmented abdomen, at the end of which are the spinnerets from each of which numerous 'spinning-spools' ooze forth the viscid fluid which hardens into the silken thread: a frying-pan with feet, a trivet.—ns. ', the wall-creeper; ', a spider-like crab, or sea-spider with long thin legs; ', the little grebe, or dabchick; ', spiders collectively.—adj. ', cobwebbed.—n. ', a pupiparous fly, as a bird-louse, &c.—adj. ', like a spider.—ns. ', a young spider; ', an American platyrrine monkey, with long slender legs and tail; ', a stitch in lace or netting in which threads are carried diagonally and parallel to each other; ', a pompilid wasp which fills its nest with spiders for its young; ', the snare spun by the spider; ', in embroidery, a circular pattern with radiating lines; ', lace worked by spider-stitch; ', any plant of the genus Tradescantia, esp. T. virginica, an American perennial with deep-blue or reddish-violet flowers.—adj. ', spider-like. [M. E. spither—A.S. spinnan, to spin; cf. Dan. spinder, Ger. spinne.]

Spie, spī, n. (Spens.) a keen glance, the eye. [Spy.]

Spiegeleisen, spē′gl-ī-zen, n. a white cast-iron containing from eight to fifteen per cent. of manganese, largely used in the manufacture of steel by the Bessemer process. [Ger.,—spiegel—L. speculum, a mirror, Ger. eisen, iron.]

Spiffy, spif′i, adj. (slang) smart, spruce, well-dressed.

Spiflicate, spif′li-kāt, v.t. (slang) to suffocate, kill: to beat severely, to confound.—n. .

Spigelia, spī-jē′li-a, n. a genus of plants of the natural order Loganiaceæ, containing the Worm-grass and Carolina-pink, the root—Pink-root—being purgative, narcotic, and poisonous, a powerful vermifuge.—adj. , denoting the lobulus spigelii, one of the lobes of the liver. [From the Belgian Ad. van der Spiegel (1558-1625).]

Spight, spīt, v. and n. (Spens.). Same as Spite.

Spigot, spig′ut, n. a plug for stopping a small hole in a cask. [Gael. spiocaid, W. ysbigod—L. spica.]

Spike, spīk, n. an ear of corn: (bot.) an inflorescence in which sessile flowers, or flowers having very short stalks, are arranged around an axis: a small pointed rod: a large nail.—v.t. to set with spikes: to stop the vent of with a cast-iron spike driven in hard and then broken off, as by soldiers obliged to abandon their own guns or unable to remove those of the enemy which they have captured.—adjs. ', ', ', having spikes or ears, like corn; ', bearing spikes: having spurs; ', having the form of a spike.—n. ', state of being spicous or eared.—adjs. ', resembling a dart: in the shape of, or having, sharp points; ', covered with, or divided into, minute points.—n. ' (bot.), a little spike—also ': a minute, slender granule or point.—adjs. '; ', ', producing spicules; ', ', having spicules.—ns. ', a spicule; ', a merganser, a sawbill: the marbled godwit.—p.adj. Spiked, furnished, fastened, or stopped with spikes.—ns. ', an apparatus for drawing out spikes, as from railway-ties; ', a kind of sail-fish; ', one of several American grasses with conspicuous spikelets of flowers; ', a little spike; ', a spike; ', the oil of spike, a species of lavender; ', a platform before the mizzen-mast of a vessel, used in Arctic voyages.—adj. , furnished with spikes: having a sharp point. [L. spica, an ear of corn.]

Spikenard, spīk′närd, n. an aromatic oil or balsam yielded by an Indian plant, the Nardus, closely allied to valerian: the plant itself. [L. spica nardi.]

Spile, spīl, n. a wooden plug serving as a spigot, a wooden pin or wedge: a spout driven into a sugar-maple tree, a tapping-gouge: a pile, or large timber driven into the ground for a foundation.—v.t. to pierce and provide with a spile: to drive piles into.—n. , building-piles: the edge-curve of a plank or of a strake in a vessel's hull. [Cf. Spill (2).]

Spill, spil, v.t. to allow to run out of a vessel: to shed: to waste: (coll.) to throw from a vehicle or the saddle: to empty the belly of a sail of wind for reefing.—v.i. to be shed: to be allowed to fall, be lost, or wasted:—pa.t. and pa.p. spilled, spilt.—n. a fall, a throw: a downpour.—ns. '; ', a rope for spilling the wind out of a square sail to facilitate reefing or furling; ', a stream formed by overflow water, a bayou; ', a passage for overflow-water from a dam. [A.S. spillan; Dut. spillen, Ice. spilla, to destroy.]

Spill, spil, n. a small peg or pin to stop a hole: a thin strip of wood or twisted paper for lighting a candle, a pipe, &c.—n. , one of a number of small pieces of wood, ivory, &c. for playing a game with: the game played—also . [A.S. speld, a torch; cf. Ger. spalten, to cleave, Dut. speld, a splinter.]

Spiloma, spi-lō′ma, n. a birth-mark, a nævus. [Gr.]

Spilosite, spil′o-sīt, n. a greenish schistose rock spotted with chlorite, occurring in the Harz—the German Fleckenschiefer. [Gr. spilos, a spot.]

Spilotes, spī-lō′tēz, n. a genus of colubrine serpents.

Spilt, spilt, p.adj. (Spens.) pieced, inlaid.

Spilth, spilth, n. spilling, anything spilt or poured out lavishly, excess of supply.

Spilus, spī′lus, n. a nævus or birth-mark. [Gr. spilos, a spot.]

Spin, spin, v.t. to draw out and twist into threads: to draw out a thread as spiders do: to draw out tediously: to cause to whirl rapidly: to fish with a swivel or spoon-bait: to reject at an examination.—v.i. to practise the art or trade of spinning, to perform the act of spinning: to issue in a small or thread-like current: to whirl, to go fast:—pr.p. pa.t. and pa.p. spun.—n. a rapid revolving motion, a spurt at high speed.—ns. , one who spins: (Shak.) a spider: a spinneret;

Spin′neret, an organ, or one of the organs, with which insects form their webs.—adj. '.—ns. ', one of the tubules of a spinneret; ', a spinning-mill.—adj. ', used in spinning.—ns. ', a place of correction where lewd and incorrigible women were made to spin; ', a machine by which a number of threads can be spun at the same time; ', a factory where thread is spun; ', a machine for spinning yarn, consisting of a wheel driven by the hand or by a treadle, which drives one or two spindles.—Spin a yarn, to tell a long story; Spin out, to prolong tediously. [A.S. spinnan; Ger. spinnen.]

Spinach, Spinage, spin′āj, n. an esculent vegetable whose thick succulent young leaves are boiled and seasoned, or fried with butter, forming a wholesome dish.—adj. . [It. spinace—Low L. spināceus—spina, a thorn.]

Spinal, spīn′al, adj. pertaining to the spine or backbone.—n. ', a spine, the backbone: one of the quills of a spinet: a barrier dividing the Roman hippodrome longitudinally.—adj. ', covered with spines or spine-like processes.—Spinal column, the backbone; Spinal cord, marrow, the main neural axis of every vertebrate.

Spindle, spin′dl, n. the pin from which the thread is twisted: a pin on which anything turns: the fusee of a watch: anything very slender.—v.i. to grow long and slender.—adjs. ', ', having long slender legs, like spindles.—ns.pl. ', ', long slim legs—hence an over-long and slender person.—adj. ', shaped like a spindle: thickest in the middle and tapering to both ends.—ns. ', a spindle-shaped shell; ', a shrub whose hard-grained wood was formerly used for making musical instruments and for spindles, and is now for skewers, &c.; ', a person or thing too long and slender: a slender shoot.—adj. long and slender.—adj. , disproportionally long and slender. [A.S. spinl—spinnan, to spin; Ger. spindel.]

Spindrift, spin′drift, n. the spray blown from the crests of waves.—Also .

Spine, spīn, n. a thorn: a thin, pointed spike, esp. in fishes: the backbone of an animal: any ridge extending lengthways: the heart-wood of trees.—adjs. Spined, having spines; ', having no spine, weak; ', somewhat spiny; Spīnif erous, bearing spines or thorns; ', shaped like a spine or thorn; ', bearing spines, as a hedgehog; ', moving by means of spines, as an echinoderm.—n. '.—adjs. ', erecting the spine of the muscles of the back; ', spiny and somewhat spiral.—ns. ', inflammation of the spinal cord in the horse, &c; ', ', a small thicket with underwood.—adjs. ', ', full of spines: thorny.—ns. ', thorniness; ', ', a minute spine.—adjs. ', ', ', covered with spinules or minute spines; ', full of spines: thorny: troublesome: perplexed. [O. Fr. espine (Fr. épine)—L. spina, a thorn.]

Spinel, spin′el, or spi-nel′, n. a mineral composed chiefly of magnesia and alumina, and crystallising in octahedra—ruby, or magnesia spinel, reddish; pleonaste, dark green to black; picotite, or chrome spinel, black; gahnite, or zinc spinel, green to brown; hercynite, or iron spinel, black. [Low L. spinellus, dim. of spina, a thorn.]

Spinet, spin′et, n. (mus.) an old-fashioned keyed instrument like the harpsichord. [O. Fr. espinette—It. spinetta, dim. of spina—L. spina, a thorn.]

Spinifex, spin′i-feks, n. porcupine-grass, a very coarse, hard, and spiny grass which grows in tussocks, and in some interior parts of Australia covers hundreds of square miles together.

Spink, spingk, n. the chaffinch.

Spink, spingk, n. the primrose, the lady's-smock.

Spinnaker, spin′ā-kėr, n. a jib-headed sail sometimes carried on the side opposite the mainsail by racing yachts. [Prob. formed from spin.]

Spinney. See under Spine.

Spinode, spī′nōd, n. (geom.) a cusp or stationary point of a curve.

Spinozism, spi-nōz′izm, n. the doctrine of Benedict Spinoza (1632-1677), who taught that God is not only the creator, but also the original matter of the universe, which consists of and is a development of Himself.—n. ', a follower of Spinoza.—adj. '.

Spinster, spin′stėr, n. an unmarried female: an old maid: (obs.) a woman of loose character, fit for the spinning-house.—ns. ', the world of old maids collectively; ', ', the state of being a spinster; ', one who spins. [Orig. one who spins.]

Spintext, spin′tekst, n. a lengthy preacher.

Spiracle, spir′a-kl, n. a breathing-hole: any minute passage.—adjs. '; '; '; '.—n. ':—pl. '. [L. spiraculum, formed as a double dim. from spirāre, to breathe.]

Spiræa, spī-rē′a, n. a genus of plants of the natural order Rosaceæ, containing many species of herbaceous plants and low deciduous shrubs—Dropwort, Meadow-sweet, &c. [L.,—Gr. speiraia, meadow-sweet—speira, a coil.]

Spiral, spī′ral, adj. pertaining to, or like, a spire: winding like the thread of a screw.—n. a spiral line: a curve which continually recedes from a centre about which it revolves: a screw.—n. '.—adv. ', in a spiral form or direction.—adj. , spiral, whorled.

Spirant, spī′rant, n. a consonant which is fricative or continuable—opp. to explosive, esp. v and f, th, dh; by others made to include the sibilants, and the semi-vowels w and y.

Spiranthy, spī-ranth′i, n. the spiral distortion sometimes occurring in the parts of a flower.—adj. . [Gr. speira, a spire, anthos, a flower.]

Spiraster, spī-ras′tėr, n. in sponges, a short curved axial rod-like spicule with thick spines. [Gr. speira, spire, astēr, star.]

Spiration, spī-rā′shun, n. a breathing: (theol.) the procession of the Holy Ghost.

Spire, spīr, n. a winding line like the threads of a screw: a curl: a wreath: a tapering body, a slender stalk, a shoot or sprout: any one of various tall grasses, rushes, or sedges—the Marram, Reed canary-grass, &c.: the top or summit of anything: a very acute pyramidal roof in common use over the towers of churches.—v.i. to sprout, shoot up.—v.t. to furnish with a spire.—adjs. Spīred, having a spire; ', spiral in form or arrangement; ', of a spiral form: wreathed: tapering like a spire or a pyramid: abounding in spires. [Fr.,—L. spira; Gr. speira, anything wound round or upon a thing; akin to eirein, to fasten together in rows.]

Spiric, spī′rik, adj. like a tore or anchor-ring.—n. a curve, the plane section of a tore.—n. , one of those threads in the hairs on the surface of certain seeds and achenes which uncoil when wet.

Spirifer, spir′i-fėr, n. a brachiopod of the Carboniferous system.—adjs. '; '; . [L. spira, a spire, ferre, to bear.]

Spirillum, spī-ril′um, n. a genus of bacteria with cylindrical spirally twisted cells:—pl. .

Spirit, spir′it, n. vital force: the soul: a ghost: mental disposition: enthusiasm, animation, courage, mettle: real meaning: essence, chief quality: a very lively person: any volatile, inflammable liquid obtained by distillation, as brandy: (pl.) intellectual activity: liveliness: persons with particular qualities of mind: mental excitement: spirituous liquors.—v.t. to inspirit, encourage, cheer: to convey away secretly, to kidnap.—ns. ', an aniline blue obtained from coal-tar; ', the buffle-head, from its rapid diving.—adj. ', full of spirit, life, or fire: animated.—adv. '.—n. '.—adj. '.—n. ', the office of a spirit or sprite; '=Spiritualism; '=Spiritualist; ', a lamp in which alcohol is burned, generally used for heating.—adj. ', without spirit, cheerfulness, or courage: dejected: dead.—adv. '.—ns. ', the state of being spiritless: want of animation or energy; ', in surveying, a cylindrical glass tube, slightly convex on one side, and so nearly filled with alcohol that only a small bubble of air remains inside—from the position of the bubble the amount of variation from perfect levelness is determined.—adj. ', of the nature of spirit, pure: ardent, spirituous.—ns. '; ', one to whom spirits convey intelligence by raps or knocks; '.—adjs. ', rousing the spirit; ', consisting of spirit: having the nature of a spirit: immaterial: relating to the mind: intellectual: pertaining to the soul: holy: divine: relating to sacred things: not lay or temporal.—n. '.—v.t. ', to make spiritual: to imbue with spirituality: to refine: to free from sensuality: to give a spiritual meaning to.—ns. '; ', a being spiritual: the philosophical doctrine that nothing is real but soul or spirit: the doctrine that spirit has a real existence apart from matter: the name applied to a varied series of abnormal phenomena purporting to be for the most part caused by spiritual beings acting upon specially sensitive persons or mediums; ', one who has a regard only to spiritual things: one who holds the doctrine of spiritualism or spiritism.—adj. ', relating to, or connected with, spiritualism.—n. ', state of being spiritual: essence distinct from matter.—adv. '.—ns. ', the state of having holy affections; ', the state or quality of being spiritual.—adj. ', showing great grace and delicacy.—n. ', spirituous character: immateriality.—advs. ', ' (mus.), with spirit or animation.—adj. ', possessing the qualities of spirit: containing much alcohol: volatile.—ns. ', the quality of being spirituous: stimulating quality: ardour: activity; ', a breathing, an aspirate: any spirituous preparation; ', the world of disembodied spirits.—adj.  (Scot.), full of spirit, spirited.—Spirit of wine, alcohol; Spiritual court, an ecclesiastical court; Spiritus asper, a rough breathing; Spiritus lenis, a soft or smooth breathing.—Animal spirits, constitutional liveliness of spirits; Holy Spirit (see under Holy); The Spirit, the Holy Spirit: the human spirit under the influence of the Holy Spirit. [L. spiritus, a breath—spirāre, to breathe.]

Spirket, spir′ket, n. a space forward and aft between floor-timbers.—n. , quick-work.

Spirometer, spī-rom′e-tėr, n. an instrument for measuring the capacity of the lungs, or the quantity of air that one can breathe out after a forced inspiration.—n. ', an instrument for marking down the breathing movement.—adj. '.—ns. '; ', an apparatus for inducing artificial respiration by means of an air-tight case for the body and an air-pump; ', a genus of fossil algæ found in the Devonian in New York state; ', the filamentous defensive zooid of certain hydroids, coiled spirally when not in action. [L. spirāre, to breathe, Gr. metron, a measure.]

Spirt, spėrt. Same as Spurt.

Spirtle=Spurtle (q.v.).

Spirula, spir′ū-la, n. a genus of sepioid cuttle-fishes. [L. spīra, a spire.]

Spirulate, Spiry. See under Spire.

Spissated, spis′ā-ted, adj. inspissated, thickened.—n. , density. [L. spissāre, -ātum, thicken.]

Spit, spit, n. an iron prong on which meat is roasted: a long piece of land or a narrow shoal running into the sea: a wire or spindle holding a spool in a shuttle.—v.t. to pierce with a spit: to string on a stick and hang up to dry:—pr.p. pa.t. and pa.p. —p.adj. ', put upon a spit, impaled: shot out to a point.—n. ', one who puts meat on a spit: a young deer whose antlers have shot out but not branched. [A.S. spitu; Dut. spit, Ger. spitze.]

Spit, spit, v.t. to throw out from the mouth: to eject with violence.—v.i. to throw out saliva from the mouth: to fall in scattered drops, as rain at the beginning of a shower: to make a spitting sound, like an angry cat:—pr.p. pa.t. spit, spat; pa.p. spit.—n. saliva, spume: a light fall of rain or snow.—ns. ', a spittoon; ' (coll.), a soap-lock; ', a hot-tempered person; ', a venomous calumniator.—pa.p. ' (B.), thrown out from the mouth.—ns. ', one who spits; ', the act of one who or that which spits: an appearance on the surface of melted silver or platinum allowed to cool slowly, jets of oxygen forming small cones and sometimes throwing up drops of molten metal—also called '; ', the moist matter thrown from the mouth: saliva; ', a vessel for the convenience of such smokers as spit. [A.S. spittan, also spǽtan; Ice. spýta, Ger. spützen.]

Spital, spit′al, n. Same as Hospital.

Spitch-cock, spich′-kok, n. an eel split and broiled.—v.t. to split and broil, as an eel. [Spatch-cock.]

Spite, spīt, n. grudge: lasting ill-will: hatred.—v.t. to vex: to thwart: to hate.—adj. ', full of spite: desirous to vex or injure: malignant.—adv. '.—n. .—In spite of, in opposition to all efforts of, in defiance of, in contempt of. [Short for despite.]

Spitz, spitz, n. a Pomeranian dog. [Ger.]

Spiza, spī′za, n. a genus of fringilline birds, including the United States dickcissel or black-throated bunting, &c.—adj. . [Gr., a finch.]

Spizella, spi-zel′a, n. a genus of small American finches or sparrows, the chipping-sparrows.—adj. .

Splachnum, splak′num, n. a genus of bryaceous mosses. [Gr.]

Splanchnic, splangk′nik, adj. relating to the viscera, intestinal.—ns. ', a visceral cavity; ', descriptive splanchnology; ', the knowledge of the viscera; ', the visceral skeleton; , the anatomy of the viscera. [Gr. splangchnon (pl. splangchna), bowels.]

Splash, splash, v.t. to spatter with water or mud.—v.i. to dabble in water, to dash about water or any liquid.—n. water or mud thrown on anything: a spot of dirt, a daub: a complexion powder.—ns. ', a guard to keep those in a vehicle from being splashed with mud; ', one who, or that which, splashes.—adj. , splashing: wet and muddy: full of dirty water. [Plash.]

Splatter, splat′ėr, v.i. to spatter water or the like about.—n. ', an uproar, commotion.—adj. ', flat-faced. [Spatter.]

Splay, splā, v.t. (archit.) to slope or slant: to dislocate, as the shoulder-bone.—adj. turned outward, as in splay-foot, awkward.—n. ', a flat foot turned outward.—adj. '.—n. ', a wide mouth, a mouth stretched out in grinning.—adj. '. [Display.]

Spleen, splēn, n. a soft, pulpy, blood-modifying gland near the large extremity of the stomach, supposed by the ancients to be the seat of anger and melancholy—hence spite: ill-humour: melancholy.—adj. ', displaying spleen, angry, fretful.—adv. '.—adj. ', affected with spleen, fretful, peevish.—adv. ', in a spleenish manner.—ns. ', the state of being spleenish; ', jade or nephrite; ', any fern of the genus Asplenium.—adj. ' (Shak.), spleenish.—ns. ', pain in the region of the spleen; ', ', a supplementary spleen; ', one who excises the spleen; ', excision of the spleen; ', displacement of the spleen; ', a splenetic person.—adjs. ', ', affected with spleen: peevish: melancholy.—adv. '.—adj. ', pertaining to the spleen.—n. ', a diseased condition of the lung, in which its tissue resembles that of the spleen, in softness, &c.—adj. '.—n. ', inflammation of the spleen.—adj. ', full of spleen, passionate, irritable.—ns. ', a splenic tumour; ', the description of the spleen.—adjs. ', like the spleen; '.—ns. ', knowledge about the spleen; ', disease of the spleen; ', splenological anatomy.—Splenic fever (see Anthrax). [L. splen—Gr. splēn.]

Splendid, splen′did, adj. magnificent: famous: illustrious: heroic.—adj. ', splendid, bright.—adv. '.—ns. '; ', the appearance of anything splendid: brilliance: magnificence. [L. splendidus—splendēre, to shine.]

Splenial, splē′ni-al, adj. acting like a splint: pertaining to the splenium or the splenius.—ns. ', the round pad-like posterior border of the corpus callosum; ', a large thick muscle on the back of the neck. [Gr. splēnion, bandage.]

Splent=Splint (q.v.).

Spleuchan, splōōh′an, n. a pouch, a tobacco-pouch.—Also . [Gael. spliuchan.]



Splice, splīs, v.t. to unite two ends of a rope by interweaving the strands: to join together two pieces of timber by overlapping.—n. act of splicing: joint made by splicing.—Splice the mainbrace (nautical slang), to serve out an allowance of spirits, to fall to drinking. [Old Dut. splissen—splitsen, splijten; cf. Split, and Ger. splissen.]

Spline, splīn, n. in machines, the slot to receive a feather, the feather itself: a long flexible strip of wood or rubber used by draftsmen in laying out railway-curves, &c.—v.t. to fit with a spline.

Splint, splint, n. a small piece of wood split off: a thin piece of padded wood, &c., for keeping a fractured limb in its proper position: a bony enlargement on the horse's leg, between the knee and the fetlock, usually appearing on the inside of one or both forelegs, frequently situated between the large and small canon bones, depending upon concussion—also Splent.—v.t. to confine with splints.—ns. ', use of splints; ', armour made of splints or narrow overlapping plates; ', cannel-coal of slaty structure; ', a piece of wood, &c., split off.—v.t. and v.i. to split into splinters.—ns. ', the cross-bar of a coach, supporting the springs; ', the fibula.—adjs. ', proof against the splinters of bursting shells; ', made of, or like, splinters: apt to splinter. [Sw. splint—splinta, to splinter; cf. Split.]

Split, split, v.t. to cleave lengthwise: to tear asunder violently: to divide: to throw into discord.—v.i. to divide or part asunder: to be dashed to pieces: to divulge secrets: to vote for candidates of opposite parties: to burst with laughter:—pr.p. pa.t. and pa.p. split.—n. a crack or rent lengthwise: a schism: a half-bottle of aerated water, a half-glass of spirits: (pl.) the acrobatic feat of going down to the floor with the legs spread out laterally.—adj. ' (Scot.), brand-new.—n.pl. ', husked pease split for making pea-soup, &c.—n. ', one who, or that which, splits: one who splits hairs in argument, &c.: (U.S.) a wheaten cake split and buttered when hot.—adj. ', very severe: very rapid.—Split on a rock, to meet some unforeseen and disastrous difficulty, to go to ruin; Split one's sides, to laugh immoderately; Split the difference, to divide equally the sum or matter in dispute, to take the mean. [Scand., Dan. splitte, to split; Dut. splijten; Ger. spleissen.]

Splore, splōr, n. (Scot.) a frolic, a spree.

Splotch, sploch, n. a large spot, a stain.—adj. .

Splurge, splurj, n. any boisterous display.—v.i. to make such a display.—adj. , given to such.

Splutter, splut′ėr, v.i. to eject drops of saliva while speaking: to scatter ink upon a paper, as a bad pen.—n. bustle.—n. , one who splutters. [For sprutter, a freq. of sprout, orig. form of spout.]

Spodium, spō′di-um, n. a powder obtained from calcination, as ivory-black, &c.—n. Spode, animal or bone charcoal, of which ornaments may be made.

Spodogenous, spō-doj′e-nus, adj. caused by waste-products, applied esp. to an enlargement of the spleen caused by waste red blood-corpuscles. [Gr. spodos, ashes, genēs, producing.]

Spodomancy, spod′ō-man-si, n. divination by means of ashes.—adj. . [Gr. spodos, ashes, manteia, divination.]

Spodumene, spod′ū-mēn, n. a silicate of aluminium and lithium. [Gr. spodoun, to burn to ashes, spodos, ashes.]

Spoffish, spof′ish, adj. fussy, officious—also '.—v.i. ', to fuss or bustle.

Spoil, spoil, v.t. to take by force: to plunder.—v.i. to practise robbery.—n. prey, plunder: pillage: robbery.—n. , one who spoils, a plunderer.—n.pl.  , the most valued spoils—taken by a Roman commander from the enemy's commander in single combat; hence supreme rewards or honours generally. [O. Fr. espoille—L. spolium, spoil.]

Spoil, spoil, v.t. to corrupt: to mar: to make useless.—v.i. to decay: to become useless.—ns. ', a corrupter; ', a round game of cards played with the whole pack, each one of the three to ten players receiving five cards.—adj. ' (Spens.), wasteful, rapacious.—n. ', one who looks for profit out of politics. [Same as above word.]

Spoke, spōk, pa.t. of speak.

Spoke, spōk, n. one of the bars from the nave to the rim of a wheel.—Put a spoke in one's wheel, to thwart a person by some impediment. [A.S. spáca; Dut. speek, Ger. speiche.]

Spoken, spōk′n, pa.p. of speak, used as adj. in 'civil-spoken,' &c.



Spokeshave, spōk′shāv, n. a carpenter's tool having a plane-bit between two bandies for curved work, &c.

Spokesman, spōks′man, n. one who speaks for another, or for others, an advocate.

Spole, spōl, n. the small wheel near the distaff in the spinning-wheel. [A variant of spool.]

Spoliate, spō′li-āt, v.t. to spoil, to plunder, to pillage.—v.i. to practise robbery.—ns. ', the place in a Roman amphitheatre where the bodies of slaughtered gladiators were dragged to be stripped; ', act of spoiling: robbery.—adj. ', serving to take away or diminish.—n. ', one who spoliates.—adj. ', tending to spoil: destructive.—n. ', the property of a beneficed ecclesiastic not transmissible by will. [L. spoliatus, pa.p. of spoliāre—spolium, spoil.]

Spondee, spon′dē, n. in classical poetry, a foot of two long syllables, as fātō.—adjs. ', ', pertaining to, or consisting of, spondees. [Fr.,—L. spondēus (pes)—Gr. spondeios (pous), (a foot) of two syllables, so called because much used in the slow solemn hymns sung at a spondē or drink-offering—spendein, to pour out, make a libation.]

Spondyl, -e, spon′dil, n. a joint, joining.—ns. ', pain in the spine; ', arthritis of a vertebra.—adj. , vertebral. [Gr. spondylos, a joint.]

Sponge, spunj, n. a fixed, usually marine, animal with pores in the body-wall and without tentacles: the fibrous framework of such, remarkable for its power of sucking up water: any sponge-like substance, as dough before it is kneaded and formed: any cringing hanger-on or parasite, a drunken fellow: an instrument for cleaning cannon after a discharge: the heel of a horse's shoe.—v.t. to wipe with a sponge: to wipe out, absorb up, with a sponge: to wipe out completely: to destroy.—v.i. to suck in, as a sponge: to gain by mean tricks, to live on others by some mean subterfuge or other.—ns. ', a very light sweet cake of flour, eggs, and sugar; ', a little sponge.—adjs. ', ', '.—n. ', one who uses a sponge: a person or vessel engaged in fishing for sponges: an apparatus for sponging cloth by means of a perforated adjustable cylinder: a sponge or parasite.—adjs. ', inhabiting sponges; ', resembling a sponge: porous.—ns. ', porous quality; ', a bailiff's lodging-house for debtors in his custody before their committal to prison; ', the spongy tissue of a root-tip; ', a fossil sponge spicule.—adj. Spongoid —ns. Spongologist one devoted to the study of sponges; Spongology  the knowledge about sponges.—adj. , like a sponge, absorptive: of open texture, porous: wet and soft: drunken.—Set a sponge, to leaven a small mass of dough with which to leaven a large quantity; Throw up the sponge, to acknowledge defeat by throwing into the air the sponge with which a boxer is rubbed down between rounds: to give up any contest. [O. Fr. esponge—L. spongia—Gr. sponggia.]

Sponsal, spon′sal, adj. pertaining to a betrothal, a marriage, or a spouse.—n. ', the act of becoming surety for another.—adj. '. [L.,—spondēre, sponsum, to promise.]

Sponsible, spon′si-bl, adj. (Scot.) reliable: respectable.

Sponson, spon′son, n. the curve of the timbers and planking towards the outer part of the wing, before and abaft each of the paddle-boxes of a steamer.—Also . [Ety. dub.]

Sponsor, spon′sur, n. one who promises solemnly for another: a surety: a godfather or godmother.—adj. '.—n. '. [L.,—spondēre, sponsum, to promise.]

Spontaneous, spon-tā′nē-us, adj. of one's free-will: involuntary: acting by its own impulse or natural law: produced of itself or without interference.—ns. ', ', the state or quality of being spontaneous.—adv. .—Spontaneous combustion, a phenomenon that occasionally manifests itself in mineral and organic substances; Spontaneous generation, a term applied to the real or imaginary development of lowly organisms from non-living matter. [L. spontaneus—sponte, of one's own accord.]

Spontoon, spon-tōōn′, n. a weapon somewhat like a halberd, which used to be carried by certain officers of foot. [Fr. sponton—It. spontone—spuntare, to break off the point—puntone—punto, a point—L. pungĕre, punctum, to point.]

Spook, spōōk, n. a ghost.—v.i. to play the spook.—adjs. ', ', like a ghost, haunted by ghosts: sensitive to the dread of ghosts, suggesting the presence of ghosts. [Dut. spook; Ger. (obs.) spuch, Sw. spöke; not related to puck.]

Spool, spōōl, n. a hollow cylinder for winding yarn, &c., upon.—v.t. to wind on spools. [Low Ger. spole, Dut. spoel; Ger. spule.]

Spoom, spōōm, v.i. to scud before the wind.—adj.  (Keats), foaming.

Spoon, spōōn, n. an instrument with a shallow bowl and handle for use in preparing, serving, or in eating food: anything like a spoon or its bowl, as an oar: in golf, a wooden-headed club of varying length, having the face more or less spooned, used in approaching the holes from varying distances.—v.t. to use a spoon upon: to lie spoon fashion with.—v.i. to fish with a spoon-hook: in croquet, to shove or scoop with the mallet: to be foolishly fond, to indulge in endearments openly.—ns. ', a revolving metallic lure attached to a fishing-line by a swivel, used in trolling for fish; ', a family of birds (Plataleidæ) allied to the Ibididæ, and more distantly to the storks, with a bill long, flat, and broad throughout, and much dilated in a spoon form at the tip; ', light spray borne on a gale; ', as much as fills a spoon: a small quantity:—pl. '.—adv. ', in a spoony or silly way.—n. ', food taken with a spoon, such as is given to young children.—adv. ', applied to a way of packing slaves in ships very closely together.—adjs. ', ', silly, weakly affectionate, foolishly fond.—n. a simple fellow: one foolishly fond of a sweetheart.—Apostle spoon (see Apostle); Dessert-spoon (see Dessert); Eucharistic spoon, the cochlear or labis; Tablespoon (see Table).—Be spoons on, to be silly in the manifestation of one's love for a woman. [A.S. spón; Ger. span, a chip, Ice. spánn, a chip, a spoon.]

Spoor, spōōr, n. track or trail of an animal, esp. when hunted as game.—n. , one who tracks game by the spoor. [Dut. spoor, a track; cf. Ger. spur, Ice. spor, a track, Scot. speir, to ask.]

Sporadic, -al, spō-rad′ik, -al, adj. scattered—a term specially applied to any disease usually epidemic or contagious, when it attacks only a few persons in a district and does not spread in its ordinary manner.—adv. '.—n. '. [Gr. sporadikos—sporas, sporados, scattered—speirein, to sow.]

Spore, spōr, n. the reproductive body in flowerless plants like the fern, analogous to the seeds of ordinary flowering plants, but containing no embryo: a germ, a seed, a source of being generally.—adjs. '; '; '; ', like a sporangium.—ns. ', a small sporangium; ', the receptacle which bears the sporangia; ', one of the peculiar spores of the Myxomycetes; ' (pl. '), a spore-case, the sac in which the spores are produced endogenously—also '; ' (bot.), a pluricellular body which becomes free like a simple spore, and in which every cell is capable of germinating; ', a secondary sporidium; ', a secondary spore borne on a promycelium: an ascospore; ', spore-production; ', reproduction by means of spores.—adj. '.—ns. ', a many-celled form of fruit produced in certain lower cryptogams in consequence of a sexual act; ', the cyst or capsule developed in the process of sporular encystment.—adj. '.—ns. ', the wall or covering of a spore; ', reproduction by means of spores—also '.—adj. '.—n. ', the sporocarp, capsule or so-called 'moss-fruit' in mosses.—adj. ', like a spore.—ns. ', a botanist who emphasises the spores in classification; ', the part of the thallus which bears spores: the placenta in flowering plants: a sporophyte.—adjs. ', '.—ns. ', the leaf bearing the spores or spore receptacles; ', the spore-bearing stage in the life-cycle of a plant.—adj. '.—ns. ', one of the gonophores of certain hydrozoans in which the medusoid structure is not developed: a redia or spiro-cyst, in Vermes; ', the so-called fruit of plants in the Characeæ, consisting of the hard brownish spirally-twisted shell or covering of the spore.—adjs. '; '.—ns. ', conversion into spores or sporules—also '; ', a small spore.—adjs. ', . [Gr. sporos, a sowing, seed—speirein, to sow.]



Sporran, spor′an, n. an ornamental pouch worn in front of the kilt by the Highlanders of Scotland. [Gael, sporan.]

Sport, spōrt, v.i. to play: to frolic: to practise field diversions: to trifle.—v.t. to amuse: to make merry: to represent playfully: to spend in sport or display.—n. that which amuses or makes merry: play: mirth: jest: contemptuous mirth: anything for playing with: a toy: idle jingle: field diversion: an animal or plant, or one of its organs, that varies singularly and spontaneously from the normal type.—n. ', one who sports: a sportsman.—adj. ', full of sport: merry: full of jesting.—adv. '.—n. '.—adj. ', relating to, or engaging in, sports.—adv. '.—adj. ', inclined to sport: playful: merry: amorous, wanton.—adv. '.—n. '.—adj. ', without sport or mirth: sad.—n. ', one who practises, or one skilled in, field-sports.—adj. '.—ns. ', practice or skill of a sportsman; ', a she-sportsman.—Sport one's oak (see Oak). [Formed by aphæresis from disport.]

Sposh, sposh, n. slush.—adj. .

Spot, spot, n. a mark made by a drop of wet matter: a blot: a discoloured place: a small part of a different colour: a small extent of space: any particular place: one of the marked points on a billiard-table, from which balls are played (for Centre-spot, Pyramid-spot, &c., see Billiards): one of the dark places on the surface of the sun, &c.: something that soils: a stain on character or reputation.—v.t. to mark with drops of wet: to stain: to discolour: to taint: to tarnish, as reputation: to note or recognise by some point, to detect: to indicate, name:—pr.p. pa.t. and pa.p. —adj. ', without a spot: untainted: pure.—adv. '.—ns. '; ', a stroke in billiards when the player pockets the red ball from the 'spot,' leaving his own ball in position to repeat the stroke.—adjs. ', ', marked with spots or discoloured places.—ns. ', the state of being spotted; ', one who spots or detects; , state of being spotty.—Spot-barred game, a game at billiards when the spot-stroke is forbidden to be played more than twice consecutively. [Cf. Dut. spat, Dan. spætte; prob. conn. with spit.]

Spouse, spowz, n. a husband or wife.—adj. ', pertaining to a spouse, or to marriage: nuptial: matrimonial.—n. usually in pl. nuptials: marriage.—adj. ', destitute of a spouse: unmarried. [O. Fr. espouse (Fr. époux, fem. épouse)—L. sponsus, pa.p. of spondēre, to promise in marriage.]

Spout, spowt, v.t. to throw out, as from a pipe: to utter volubly: to pawn, pledge.—v.i. to issue with violence, as from a pipe: to speak volubly, to speechify.—n. the projecting mouth of a vessel from which a stream issues: a pipe for conducting a liquid: a term applied to the blowing or breathing of whales and other cetaceans.—ns. ', one who, or that which, spouts: a speechifier: a South Sea whale, a skilful whaler; ', an orifice for discharging a liquid, a whale's spiracle.—adj. , wanting a spout. [Skeat explains that spout, like speak, has lost an r, thus standing for sprout, the r being preserved in spurt, with nearly the same sense as spout. Sw. sputa for spruta, to squirt; Dut. spuiten.]

Sprack, sprak, adj. vigorous, sprightly.—Also Sprag. [Ice. sprækr, sparkr, sprightly.]

Sprackle, sprak′l, v.i. (Scot.) to clamber up with difficulty.—Also ', '. [Ice. spraukla, to sprawl.]

Sprad, sprad (Spens.). Same as Spread.

Sprag, sprag, n. a piece of wood used to lock a wheel: a punch-prop in mining.—v.t. to prop, or to stop, by a sprag.

Sprag, sprag, n. (prov.) a young salmon.

Spraich, sprāh, n. (Scot.) a shriek, cry.—v.i. to shriek.

Spraid, sprād, adj. (prov.) chapped with cold.—Also Sprayed.

Sprain, sprān, v.t. to overstrain the muscles of a joint.—n. a term employed in surgery to designate a violent stretching of tendinous or ligamentous parts with or without rupture of some of their fibres. [O. Fr. espreindre (Fr. épreindre), to press—L. exprimĕre, to press out.]

Spraint, sprānt, n. the dung of an otter.

Sprang, pa.t. of spring.

Sprangle, sprang′gl, v.i. to sprawl, struggle.

Sprat, sprat, n. a fish of the family Clupeidæ, like the herring, but much smaller.—n. , the dark days of November and December. [Dut. sprot; Ger. sprotte.]

Sprattle, sprat′l, v.i. (Scot.) to scramble.

Sprawl, sprawl, v.i. to toss or kick about the limbs: to stretch the body carelessly when lying: to spread ungracefully.—n. a sprawling posture.—n. . [There is an A.S. spréawlian, to move convulsively; but the word is most probably for sprattle or sprottle—Sw. sprattla, to sprawl; cf. Dan. sprælle, to toss about the limbs.]

Spray, sprā, n. small particles of water driven by the wind, as from the top of waves, &c.—adj. , consisting of spray. [Skeat suggests that the word is from Dut. spreiden, to spread, scatter.]

Spray, sprā, n. a small shoot of a tree.—adj. , branching. [Akin to Ice. sprek, a twig, Dan. sprag; Doublet sprig.]

Spread, spred, v.t. to scatter abroad or in all directions: to stretch: to extend: to overlay: to shoot out, as branches: to circulate, as news: to cause to affect numbers, as a disease: to diffuse: to set with provisions, as a table.—v.i. to extend or expand in all directions: to be extended or stretched: to be propagated or circulated:—pa.t. and pa.p. spread.—n. extent: compass: expansion of parts: that which is spread out, a feast: a cover for a bed or a table.—adj. having a broad surface: shallower than the standard.—adj. ', like an eagle with the wings stretched out, bombastic, boastful.—n. (naut.) a person seized in the rigging, a passenger thus made to pay his entrance forfeit.—ns. ', a bombastic and frothy patriotism; ', one who, or that which, spreads, one who publishes or extends: any machine or implement for helping to scatter.—p.adj. '.—adv. , increasingly.—Spread a fleet, to keep more open order. [A.S. sprǽdan; Dut. spreiden, Ger. spreiten.]

Spreagh, spreh, n. plunder.—n. , cattle-lifting. [Gael. spreidh, cattle.]

Spreckled, sprek′ld, adj. speckled.

Spred, spred, pa.p. and n. an obsolete form of spread.—Also .

Spree, sprē, n. a merry frolic: a drunken bout.—v.i. to carouse. [Prob. Ir. spre, a spark, spraic, vigour.]

Sprent, sprent, adj. sprinkled. [M. E. sprengen (pa.t. sprente)—A.S. sprengan, to cause to spring.]

Sprig, sprig, n. a small shoot or twig: a scion, a young person: an ornament like a spray: one of various small pointed implements, a headless nail: one of the separate pieces of lace fastened on a ground in appliqué lace.—v.t. to embroider with representations of twigs:—pr.p. pa.t. and pa.p. sprigged.—adj. , full of sprigs or young branches. [Cf. Ice. sprek, a stick.]

Spright, sprīt, n. the same as Sprite (q.v.).—adj. ' (Shak.), full of spirit: brisk, gay.—adv. ', in a sprightful manner, briskly, vigorously.—n. ', the quality of being sprightful, briskness, liveliness.—adj. ', destitute of spirit or life: dull: sluggish.—n. '.—adj. ', airy: full of life: lively: brisk. [Spright=sprite.]

Spring, spring, v.i. to bound: to leap: to rush hastily: to move suddenly by elastic force: to start up suddenly: to break forth: to appear: to issue: to come into existence: (B.) to rise, as the sun.—v.t. to cause to spring up: to start: to produce quickly, cause to act suddenly: to leap over: to explode, as a mine: to open, as a leak: to crack, as a mast: to bend by force, strain: (archit.) to start from an abutment, &c.: to set together with bevel-joints:—pa.t. sprang, sprung; pa.p. sprung.—n. a leap: a flying back with elastic force: elastic power: an elastic body: any active power: that by which action is produced: cause or origin: a source: an outflow of water from the earth: (B.) the dawn: the time when plants begin to spring up and grow, the vernal season—March, April, May: a starting of a plank in a vessel: a crack in a mast.—ns. ', ', an active springy young man, a youth; ', an inner false joint on a bound book, springing upward from the true or outer back when the book is opened flat; ', an instrument for determining the weight of a body by the elasticity of a spiral spring; ', a beam of considerable span, without central support, the tie-beam of a truss; in a steamer, a fore-and-aft beam for connecting the two paddle-beams: an elastic bar at the top of a tilt-hammer, jig-saw, &c.; ', the Claytonia Virginica; ', a mattress formed of spiral springs set in a wooden frame; ', an elater; ', a board fastened on elastic supports, used to spring from in performing feats of agility; ', a beautiful South African antelope, larger than a roebuck [Dut.]; ', a box or barrel in which a spring is coiled: the frame of a sofa, &c., in which the springs are set; ', a wheel-carriage mounted on springs; ', a light cart mounted upon springs; ', a kind of dog of the spaniel class, useful for springing game in copses: one who springs: the bottom stone of an arch; ', a gun having wires connected with its trigger, and so fixed and planted as to be discharged when trespassers stumble against the wire; ', a jerking lameness in which a horse suddenly twitches up his leg or legs; ', a machine-hammer in which the blow is delivered or augmented by the force of a spring; ', a fountain-head, source: a head or end-piece for a carriage-spring.—adj. ' (Spens.), having heads springing afresh.—ns.  Jack, one supposed capable of leaping a great height or distance in carrying out mischievous or frolicsome tricks; ', an angler's snap-hook or spear-hook: a latch or door-hook with a spring-catch for keeping it fast in the staple: in a locomotive, a hook fixing the driving-wheel spring to the frame; ', a house for keeping meat in, or a dairy, built for coolness over a spring or brook; '; ', the act of springing, leaping, arising, or issuing: (B.) growth, increase: (archit.) the lowest part of an arch on both sides; ', a device for inserting a loop in a main electric line-circuit, a plug being forced between two spring contacts; ', a latch that snaps into the keeper whenever the door is shut; ', a little spring: a small stream; ', the inferior calcaneoscaphoid ligament of the sole of the foot; ', a lock which fastens by a spring; '=Spring-bed; ', a net that closes with a spring; ', a padlock that snaps itself shut; ', a pole whose elasticity serves as a spring; ', a bent iron bar of form on the top of a railway carriage journal-box, surrounding the arch-bar and supporting the spring; ', a steel-pronged tool to search for defects in the bore of a gun; ', a shackle closed by a spring: a shackle joining one spring of a vehicle with another or with a rigid piece; ' (naut.), a smaller stay, placed above the stays as a duplicate if needed; ', a rod passed through the axis of a coil-spring to keep it in place; ', one of an order of primitive wingless insects (Collembola), so called popularly from a peculiar springing fork usually present on the abdomen; ', the periodical excess of the elevation and depression of the tide, after new and full moon, when both sun and moon act in the same direction; ', ', the season of spring; ', any tool bearing a spring, as a glass-blower's tongs; ', a trap worked by a spring, a mouse-trap, &c.; ', a valve fitted with a spring: a safety-valve connected with a spring-balance; ', water issuing from a spring; ', wheat sown in the spring, rather than autumn or winter; , a plant which draws down lightning—perh. the caperspurge.—adj. , pertaining to, or like, a spring, elastic, nimble: abounding with springs.—Spring a leak, to commence leaking; Spring a mine, to cause it to explode—often used figuratively; Spring a rattle, to cause a rattle to sound; Spring at, to leap at; Spring forth, to come forward with a leap: to shoot up rapidly; Spring on, or upon, to attack with violence. [A.S. springan; Ger. springen.]

Springe, sprinj, n. a snare with a spring-noose: a gin.—v.t. to catch in a springe. [Prov. Eng. springle—spring; cf. Ger. sprenkel—springen.]

Sprinkle, spring′kl, v.t. to scatter in small drops or particles: to scatter on: to baptise with a few drops of water: to purify.—v.i. to scatter in drops.—n. an aspersorium or utensil for sprinkling.—ns. ', ', a small quantity sprinkled: in book-binding, the mottling of the edges of trimmed leaves by scattering a few drops of colour on them; . [Freq. formed from A.S. sprengan, the causal of springan, to spring; cf. Ger. sprenkeln.]

Sprint, sprint, n. a short-distance race at full speed.—v.i. to run at full speed—also Sprent.—ns. ', a short-distance runner in races; '; '; '. [Cf. Spurt.]



Sprit, sprit, n. (naut.) a spar set diagonally to extend a fore-and-aft sail. [A.S. spreót, a pole; Dut. and Ger. spriet, a bowsprit; conn. with sprout.]

Sprite, sprīt, n. a spirit: a shade: a ghost: (obs.) frame of mind, disposition.—Also Spright. [A doublet of spirit.]

Spriteful, Spritely, &c. Same as Sprightful, &c.

Sprocket, sprok′et, n. a projection on the periphery of a wheel or capstan for engaging the chain.

Sprod, sprod, n. (prov.) a second-year salmon.

Sprong, sprong (Spens.), pa.t. of spring.

Sprout, sprowt, n. a germ or young shoot: (pl.) young shoots from old cabbages.—v.i. to shoot: to push out new shoots.—adj. , budded.—Brussels sprouts (see Brussels). [According to Skeat, not from A.S. spreótan, nor sprýtan, but from Old Friesic spruta, to sprout, Low Ger. spruten, Dut. spruiten, Ger. spriessen.]

Spruce, sprōōs, adj. smart: neat, dapper: over-fastidious, finical.—n. Prussian leather.—v.t. to smarten.—v.i. to become spruce or smart.—n. ', or merely Spruce, any tree of the genus Picea of the pine family (Coniferæ), or the wood of such a tree.—adv. '.—n. '.—v.t. ', to smarten. [O. Fr. Pruce—Late L. Prussia, Ger. Preussen.]

Spruce-beer, sprōōs′-bēr, n. beer flavoured with a decoction of the young shoots of the spruce-fir. [Ger. sprossen-bier, sprossen, young shoots, Englished as Pruce-beer, i.e. Prussian beer.]

Sprue, sprōō, n. in casting, one of the passages leading to the mould, also the metal which solidifies in it—deadhead.—n. , ingate or pouring-hole in a mould.

Sprug, sprug, v.t. and v.i. (prov.) to smarten, to dress neatly.

Sprug, sprug, n. (prov.) a sparrow.

Spruit, sprōō′it, n. a small head-stream, a stream flowing through a village, dry in summer. [S. Afr. Dut.]

Sprung, pa.t. and pa.p. of spring.—adj. (coll.) tipsy, tight.

Sprunny, sprun′i, adj. (prov.) neat.—n. a sweetheart.

Sprunt, sprunt, v.i. to spring up: sprout, germinate.—n. a steep bit in a road: a rebellious curl, &c.—adv. , gaily, bravely.—Sprunt up, to bristle up.

Spry, sprī, adj. vigorous, lively, gay, pert. [Scand.; Sw. prov. sprygg, very active.]

Spud, spud, n. a small narrow spade with a short handle: any short thick thing, a baby's hand, a potato, &c.—adj. , short and fat. [Prob. Scand., Dan. spyd, a spear.]

Spue. Same as Spew.

Spulzie, Spuilzie, spül′yē, n. (Scot.) spoil.—Also ', '. [Spoil.]

Spume, spūm, n. scum or froth thrown up by liquid: foam.—v.i. to throw up scum: to foam.—adj. ', frothy.—n. ', frothiness.—adjs. ', foaming; ', producing foam.—n. ', the quality of being spumy or frothy.—adjs. ', , consisting of froth: frothy: foamy. [L. spuma—spuĕre to spew.]

Spun, pa.t. and pa.p. of spin.—adj. ', unduly lengthened.—n. ', rope-yarn twisted into a cord.

Spunge, spunj, v. and n. a form of sponge.

Spunk, spungk, n. touchwood, tinder, a fungus from which tinder is made, punk, amadou: (Scot.) a small fire, a fiery spark, a lucifer-match: mettle, spirit, pluck.—v.i. to take fire, flame up.—adj. , spirited: fiery-tempered. [Cf. Ir. sponc, tinder, sponge—L. spongia, a sponge—Gr. sponggia.]

Spur, spur, n. an instrument on a horseman's heels, with sharp points for goading the horse: that which goads or instigates: something projecting: the hard projection on a cock's leg: a small range of mountains extending laterally from a larger range.—v.t. to urge on with spurs: to urge onward: to impel: to put spurs on.—v.i. to press forward: to travel in great haste:—pr.p. pa.t. and pa.p. spurred.—v.t. ' (Shak.), to gall or wound with a spur.—ns. ', ', gearing in which spur-wheels are used.—adj. ', having a long straight hind-claw.—n. ', the strap by which the spur is fastened to the foot.—p.adj. Spurred, wearing spurs: having shoots like spurs: affected with ergot, as rye.—ns. ', one who, or that which, spurs; ', one who makes spurs; ', an ancient English coin, worth fifteen shillings, so called from having a star on one side resembling the rowel of a spur; ', a bridle-road; '=Spur-leather; ' (mech.), a wheel with the cogs on the face of the edge like a spur.—adj. ', with a horny spur on the pinion, as with the plovers, &c. [A.S. spora; Ice. spori, Ger. sporn.]

Spurge, spurj, n. a genus of plants of the natural order Euphorbiaceæ, all the species containing a resinous milky juice mostly very acrid.—n. , a European evergreen shrub, with yellowish-green flowers, thick leaves, and poisonous berries. [O. Fr. espurge (Fr. épurge)—L. expurgāre, to purge—ex, off, purgāre, to clear.]

Spuriæ, spū′ri-ē, n.pl. the bastard quills forming the alula in birds.

Spurious, spūr′i-us, adj. illegitimate: bastard: not genuine: false: resembling an organ, but without its function, or having the functions of an organ while morphologically different.—adv. '.—n. '. [L. spurius, false.]

Spurling=Sparling (q.v.).

Spurn, spurn, v.t. to drive away as with the foot: to kick: to reject with disdain.—n. disdainful rejection.—n. , one who spurns. [A.S. speornan; cog. with spur.]

Spurne, spurn, v.t. (Spens.) to spur.

Spurry, spur′i, n. a plant of the genus Spergula. [O. Fr. sporrie, of Teut. origin; cf. Ger. spörgel.]

Spurt, spurt, v.t. to spout, or send out in a sudden stream, as water.—v.i. to gush out suddenly in a small stream: to flow out forcibly or at intervals.—n. a sudden or violent gush of a liquid from an opening: a jet: a sudden short effort, a special exertion of one's self for a short time, in running, rowing, &c. [Formerly spirt—Ice. sprettr, a spurt—spretta, to start, to sprout.]

Spurtle, spur′tl, n. (Scot.) a short stick for stirring porridge, broth, &c.—n. , a sword.

Sputter, sput′ėr, v.i. to spit in small drops, as in rapid speaking: to throw out moisture in scattered drops: to speak rapidly and indistinctly, to jabber.—v.t. to throw out with haste and noise: to utter hastily and indistinctly.—n. moist matter thrown out in particles.—n. , one who sputters. [The freq. of spout (q.v.).]

Sputum, spū′tum, n. spittle, the matter expectorated:—pl. . [L.,—spuĕre, to spit.]

Spy, spī, n. one sent into an enemy's country or camp to find out their strength, &c.: one who keeps a watch on others: one who secretly conveys information.—v.t. to see: to discover, generally at a distance: to discover by close search: to inspect secretly:—pa.t. and pa.p. spied.—ns. '=Spial; ', ', the art or practice of spying; ', a small hand-telescope; ', a peep-hole; ', money paid for secret intelligence. [O. Fr. espier—Old High Ger. spehōn; L. specĕre.]

Spyre, spīr, v.i. (Spens.) to shoot forth. [L. spirāre, to sprout.]

Squab, skwob, adj. fat, clumsy: curt, abrupt: unfledged, newly hatched: shy, coy.—n. a young pigeon, the young of other animals before the hair or feathers are grown: a short stumpy person: a thickly-stuffed cushion, a sofa padded throughout, an ottoman.—v.t. to stuff thickly and sew through, the stitches being concealed by buttons, &c.—v.i. to fall heavily.—adv. flat: heavily, as a fall.—adjs. ', thick, heavy; ', squat.—ns. ', a fledgling; ', a pie made of strips of mutton, onions, and slices of apple. [Prob. Scand.; cf. Sw. dial. sqvapp, a word imitative of a splash, sqvabb, loose flesh, sqvabbig, flabby.]

Squabash, skwa-bash′, v.t. to crush, smash.

Squabble, skwob′l, v.i. to dispute in a noisy manner: to wrangle.—n. a noisy, petty quarrel: a brawl.—n. . [Scand., Sw. dial. skvabbel, a dispute.]

Squacco, skwak′ō, n. a small crested African heron.

Squad, skwod, n. a small body of men assembled for drill, any small group or company of men.—n. ', a body of cavalry, consisting of two troops, or 120 to 200 men: a body of soldiers drawn up in a square: any regularly ranked body, or a group: section of a fleet, commanded by a flag-officer.—p.adj. ', formed into squadrons.—Awkward squad, a body of recruits not yet competent in drill, &c. [O. Fr. esquadre—It. squadra, and L. exquadrāre, to make square.]

Squaddy, skwad′i, adj. squabby.

Squail, skwāl, n. a disc or counter used in the game of squails: (pl.) a parlour-game in which small discs are snapped from the edge of the table to a centre mark called the process: the game of ninepins.—v.i. to throw a stick, &c., at any object.—v.t. to pelt with sticks, &c.—n. , a throwing-stick. [A variant of kail.]

Squalid, skwol′id, adj. filthy, foul.—n. ', the state of being squalid: filthiness.—adv. '.—ns. '; ', state of being squalid: dirtiness: filthiness. [L. squalidus—squalēre, to be stiff; akin to Gr. skellein, to dry.]

Squall, skwawl, v.i. to cry out violently.—n. a loud cry or scream: a violent gust of wind.—n. '.—adj. ', abounding or disturbed with squalls or gusts of wind: gusty, blustering: threatening a squall.—White squall, a tropical whirlwind, coming on without warning other than a small white cloud. [Scand., Sw. sqvala, to gush out.]

Squally, skwawl′i, adj. irregularly woven: having bare patches, of a field of corn, &c. [Prob. the same as scally. Cf. Scall.]

Squaloid, skwā′loid, adj. resembling a ' or shark.—n. ', one of the Squalidæ, a family of sharks.—adj. , having the form of a shark. [L. squalus, a shark.]

Squama, skwā′ma, n. a scale: the bractea of a deciduous spike, any scaly bracted leaf:—pl. '.—n.pl. ', a division of reptiles, including lizards and serpents.—adjs. ', ', ', ', covered with, or consisting of, scales: scaly.—ns. Squāme, a scale or squama; ', a small scale.—adjs. ', ', bearing squamæ or scales; ', ', like a scale.—ns. ', the squamous portion of the temporal bone; ', a very small scale—also '.—adjs. ', '. [L. squamosus—squama, a scale.]

Squander, skwon′dėr, v.t. to spend lavishly or wastefully: to waste money or powers.—n. '.—adv. ', in a squandering manner, by squandering. [Skeat explains as a nasalised form of Lowland Scotch squatter, to splash water about, prov. Eng. swatter, to throw water about. These are frequentatives from Dan. sqvatte, to splash, spurt, squander; Sw. sqvätta, to squirt, Ice. skvetta, to squirt out water.]

Square, skwār; adj. having four equal sides and angles: forming a right angle: having a straight front or an outline formed by straight lines: exact suitable, fitting: true, that does equal justice, fair, honest: even, leaving no balance, settled, as accounts: directly opposed, complete, unequivocal: solid, full, satisfying.—n. that which is square: a square figure: a four-sided space enclosed by houses: a square body of troops: the length of the side of any figure squared: an instrument for measuring right angles: (arith.) the product of a quantity multiplied by itself: due proportion, order, honesty, equity, fairness.—v.t. to form like a square: to form with four equal sides and angles: (arith.) to multiply by itself: to reduce to any given measure or standard, to adjust, regulate: (naut.) to place at right angles with the mast or keel.—v.i. to suit, fit: to accord or agree: to take an attitude of offence and defence, as a boxer.—adj. ', of a square build or shape.—adv. ', in a square form or manner.—ns. ', a system of measures applied to surfaces, of which the unit is the square of the lineal unit; '.—adj. ' (her.), designating a charge perforated with a square opening so as to show the field.—n. ', one who, or that which, squares: (Shak.) a fighting, quarrelsome person.—adj. ', having the chief sails square, and extended by yards suspended by the middle at right angles to the masts—opposed to Fore-and-aft.—ns. ', that root which being multiplied into itself produces the given number or quantity; ', a four-sided sail extended by yards suspended by the middle at right angles to the mast.—adj. '.—n. ', an old-fashioned, punctilious person.—adj. '.—Square the circle, to determine the area of a circle in square measure.—On the square, honestly. [O. Fr. esquarre (Fr. équerre)—L. ex-quadrāre, to square—quadrus, conn. with quatuor, four.]

Squarrose, skwär′ōs, adj. rough, with projecting or deflexed scales.—adj. , diminutively squarrose.

Squarson, skwär′sn, n. one who is both a beneficed clergyman and a squire or land-owner in a parish.—n. , the residence of such.

Squash, skwosh, v.t. to press into pulp: to crush flat.—v.i. to form a soft mass as from a fall: to make a noise similar to such.—n. a sudden fall or shock of soft bodies: anything soft and easily crushed, anything soft or unripe, as a peascod.—ns. '; ', state of being squashy.—adj. , like a squash: muddy. [O. Fr. esquacher (Fr. écacher), to crush—L. ex, out, coactāre, to restrain—cogĕre, coactum, to drive together.]

Squash, skwosh, n. a term loosely used, esp. in the United States, for two or three kinds of gourd, including the pumpkin. [Amer. Ind. asquash (pl. of asq), green.]

Squat, skwot, v.i. to sit down upon the hams or heels: to cower, as an animal: to settle on new land without title:—pr.p. pa.t. and pa.p. —adj. short and thick, dumpy, clumsy.—ns. ', the squatters of Australia collectively; ', a settler on new land without title: one who leases pasture-land from the government; '.—v.i. ' (Scot.), to squat down.—adj. , very short and thick. [O. Fr. esquatir, to crush—L. ex-, coactus, pa.p. of cogĕre, to drive together.]