Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 17.djvu/849

* SEMASIOLOGY. 771 SEMINAE. opuifiit of their signitication. Thus, the Latin tiltiis sigiiilies both 'liigli' and 'deep,' according to the position of view, wlielher the observer regards the situation from above or from below. Again, the force of the verb })kt!.s, which is em- ployed euphemistically in several languages to denote also to curse (like bless in collu(|uial Eng- lish), receives a semasiological explanation on the basis of euphemism. Somewhat similar in euphemistic character is the divergence in sense between German Lust, •pleasure' (in general), and modern English liisl. •])leasure' ( in a physi- cal sense). The atmospliere of a word is con- stantl}- subject to change, owing to such ex- ternal circumstances, and it is familiarly rec- ognized that analogous conditions will call forth ])arallel developments in the meaning. Thus. English heathen from Anglo-Sa.xon hapcn, orig- inally denoted 'belonging to the heath,' or in- habitant of the district remote from civiliza- tion and Christianity, hence 'imbeliever.' In like manner puytin, from Latin puguinis, orig- inally signified a dweller in an outlying dis- trict (iMiyiis). and thus acquired the force of "ungodly.' The word deer, like its Greek cognate, Srip, was originally employed to designate aninuils in general, but it has been gradually s])ecialized to its present meaning, just as the older Sanskrit m)f/(/. 'animal,' has been narrowed in classic Sans- krit to designate a gazelle, whereas Avestan niinya, which is etymologically akin to it. has come to signify "bird." Simile and metaphor, al- ternation between the abstract and concrete, anal- og^' and difi'erentiation. tendencies to generaliza- tion and particularization, to expansion and re- striction, elevation and degi'adation in meaning, are among the many forces which come into play in determining the significance of a word in its changes in connotation. Consult: Darmesteter. La vie des mots (4th ed., Paris, 1893) ; Svedelius. La sematitiqiie (Upsala, 1891); Simon. Die Griindc des Bedruliingsiramlcts (Berlin. 1894); Paul. Prinzipicn der fipraehgeschichle (.3d ed., Halle, 1898) ; Brfal, Essai de semantigite (2d ed., Paris, 1899), tr. by Mrs. Henry Cust, Semantics: lit tidies in the Science of Meaning (London, 1900) ; Oertel, Lectures on the Study of Language (New York. 1901) ; Welby, Science of Meaning (Xew York, 1903). SEMBRICH, sem'briK, iLvRCELLA (1858—). A Polish operatic soprano, born at Wisniowczyk, Cialicia. Her real name was Praxede Marcelline Kochanska. and she received her musical educa- tion under Wilhelm Stengel (who subsequently became her husband) and Epstein and Rokitansky at Vienna. Her debut (1877) occnrred at .thens in / Puritani. and she subsequently studied Ger- man opera luider Richter and Lewy at Berlin. After an eighteen months' engagement at the Dresden Court Theatre she went to London, where from 1880 to 188.5 she was one of the prima donnas of the London opera, in the in- tervals making many successful tours in both Europe and .America. In 1889 she returned to Dresden, in which city she made her permanent home. She became widely known for her remark- ably pure soprano and her brilliant coloratura. Her greatest popularity was achieved in the United States. SEME, se-ma' (Fr.. so^v7l). Tn heraldry (q.v.) a term used to describe a shield bearing a charge repeated an indetinitc number of times. It it then said to Ije seme of, or with that charge, as seme of Meur-de-lys. SEMELE, sOm'*-le (Lat.. from Gk. 1«m/Xi)). The dangliter of Cadmus and mother of Uacclmg (q.v.). SEMEN'DRIA. A Servian fortress on the right liank of the Oannlie, .30 miles southeast of Belgrade (Map: Balkan Peninsula, C 2). An ancient triangular fortificalion. sjiid to have been built in 1430. it is a noteworthy feature of the town. The inhabitants are employed principally in wine culture. Piqnilation. in IS'.lj, about 7000. Senienf. Pktkk PkTitovrrcir (1827—). A Kussian geographer and traveler, born in Saint Petersburg and edmateil there and in Berlin. He traveled extensively in Western Europe, and in 18.57 nuule a great expedition through Central Asia to the Tian Shan .Moun- t;>ins where Mount SenienolV and the .S^mcnoir Glacier bear his name. He explored the upper course of the Syr Darya; and also made im|ior- tant discoveries in Transcaspia. Semenotf's trav- els were described in I'etcnnanns Miltcilungrn ( 1858) and in the Zeitschrifl of the Berlin tleo- graphical Society (1809). In the emancipation of the serfs he was ollicially prominent, and in IS04 he liciaijii dinrtor of the Bureau of Statistics. SEMENOVKA, se'niy.-m'.f'kA. A town in the Government of Tchernigov. Russia, about 70 miles northeast of Tchernigov. It ])rodiices hides, skins, boots, and oil. and trades in bristles. Population, 1897, 15,125. SEMES'TER (Ger. Semester, from Lat. seiiiestrix. semi annual, from sea;, six + mcnsia, montlO. A name given in (iermany to each of the two terms into which the tinivcrsit.v year is divid- ed : (he summer semester and the winter semester. SEMIBREVE (It., semibreve. half-short, from semi-, Lat. semi-, half + brere. Lat. Iireris, short). In music, a note of half the duration of the breve (q.v.) of old ecclesiastical music, but the hmgest note in use in modern music. It is populjtrly known as a whole note, and is repre- sented by a character circular or elliptical in form
 * , and is adopted as the integer or

measure-note, the other notes — minim, crotchet, quaver, etc. — being proportional parts of it. In mensurable music (q.v.) it was the fourth in value, (iiic quarter of a large. SEMINAR (Ger. Seminar, from Lat. semi- narium, seed-plot, sg. of scmineirius, relating to seed, from semen, seed, from serere, to sow; tilti- mately connected with Eng. seed). A name ap- plied to certain courses given in German and American universities. They consist of research work, carried on by (he s(uden(s under the di- rection of the professcn-. Seminars are olTered in scientific and scholastic fields alTording mate- rial for the invesdgator. The members of the seminar meet at various times to listen to the account of some special research carried on by one of their nundier and to discuss it. The seminar originateil in the universities of Halle and Giittingen. The first were in philologv-, and aimed to prepare teachers for the classical