Sos Sos (part 2)

1. To cleanse or wipe with a sponge; as, to sponge a slate or a cannon; to wet with a sponge; as, to sponge cloth.

2. To wipe out with a sponge, as letters or writing; to efface; to destroy all trace of. Hooker.

3. Fig.: To deprive of something by imposition. "How came such multitudes of our nation . . . to be sponged of their plate and their money" South.

4. Fig.: To get by imposition or mean arts without cost; as, to sponge a breakfast. Swift.

SPONGE
Sponge, v. i.

1. To suck in, or imbile, as a sponge.

2. Fig.: To gain by mean arts, by intrusion, or hanging on; as, an idler sponges on his neighbor. E. Eggleston. The fly is an intruder, and a common smell-feast, that sponges upon other people's trenchers. L'Estrange.

3. To be converted, as dough, into a light, spongy mass by the agency of yeast, or leaven.

SPONGELET
Sponge"let, n.

Defn: See Spongiole.

SPONGEOUS
Spon"geous, a. Etym: [See Spongious.]

Defn: Resembling sponge; having the nature or qualities of sponge.

SPONGER
Spon"ger, n.

1. One who sponges, or uses a sponge.

2. One employed in gathering sponges.

3. Fig.: A parasitical dependent; a hanger-on.

SPONGIAE
Spon"gi*æ, n. pl. Etym: [See Sponge.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The grand division of the animal kingdom which includes the sponges; — called also Spongida, Spongiaria, Spongiozoa, and Porifera.

Note: In the Spongiæ, the soft sarcode of the body is usually supported by a skeleton consisting of horny fibers, or of silleceous or calcareous spicules. The common sponges contain larger and smaller cavities and canals, and numerous small ampullæ which which are lined with ciliated cells capable of taking in solid food. The outer surface usually has minute pores through which water enters, and large openings for its exit. Sponges produce eggs and spermatozoa, and the egg when fertilized undergoes segmentation to form a ciliated embryo.

SPONGIDA
Spon"gi*da, n. pl. Etym: [NL.]

Defn: Spongiæ.

SPONGIFORM
Spon"gi*form, a.

Defn: Resembling a sponge; soft and porous; porous.

SPONGILLA
Spon*gil"la, n. Etym: [NL., dim. of spongia a sponge.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A genus of siliceous spongea found in fresh water.

SPONGIN
Spon"gin, n. (Physiol. Chem.)

Defn: The chemical basis of sponge tissue, a nitrogenous, hornlike substance which on decomposition with sulphuric acid yields leucin and glycocoll.

SPONGINESS
Spon"gi*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being spongy. Dr. H. More.

SPONGING
Spon"ging,

Defn: a. & n. from Sponge, v. Sponging house (Eng. Law), a bailiff's or other house in which debtors are put before being taken to jail, or until they compromise with their creditors. At these houses extortionate charges are commonly made for food, lodging, etc.

SPONGIOLE Spon"gi*ole, n. Etym: [L. spongiola a rose gall, small roots, dim. of spongia: cf. F. spongiole.] (Bot.)

Defn: A supposed spongelike expansion of the tip of a rootlet for absorbing water; — called also spongelet.

SPONGIOLITE
Spon"gi*o*lite, n. Etym: [Gr. -lite.] (Paleon.)

Defn: One of the microsporic siliceous spicules which occur abundantly in the texture of sponges, and are sometimes found fossil, as in flints.

SPONGIOPILIN
Spon`gi*o*pi"lin, n. Etym: [Gr. (Med.)

Defn: A kind of cloth interwoven with small pieces of sponge and rendered waterproof on one side by a covering of rubber. When moistend with hot water it is used as a poultice.

SPONGIOSE; SPONGIOUS Spon"gi*ose`, Spon"gi*ous, a. Etym: [L. spongious, spongeosus: cf. F. spongieux. See Sponge.]

Defn: Somewhat spongy; spongelike; full of small cavities like sponge; as, spongious bones.

SPONGIOZOA
Spon`gi*o*zo"a, n. pl. Etym: [NL., Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: See Sponglæ.

SPONGOBLAST
Spon"go*blast, n. Etym: [Gr. -blast.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of the cells which, in sponges, secrete the spongin, or the material of the horny fibers.

SPONGOID
Spon"goid, a. Etym: [Gr. -oid.]

Defn: Resembling sponge; like sponge.

SPONGY
Spon"gy, a.

1. Soft, and full of cavities; of an open, loose, pliable texture; as, a spongy excrescence; spongy earth; spongy cake; spongy bones.

2. Wet; drenched; soaked and soft, like sponge; rainy. "Spongy April." Shak.

3. Having the quality of imbibing fluids, like a sponge. Spongy lead (Chem.), sponge lead. See under Sponge. — Spongy platinum. See under Platinum.

SPONK
Sponk, n.

Defn: See Spunk.

SPONSAL Spon"sal, a. Etym: [L. sponsalis, fr. sponsus a betrothal, fr. spondere, sponsum, to betroth. See Spouse, and cf. Esousal, Spousal.]

Defn: Relating to marriage, or to a spouse; spousal.

SPONSIBLE
Spon"si*ble, a. Etym: [Abbrev. from responsible.]

Defn: responsible; worthy of credit. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]

SPONSION Spon"sion, n. Etym: [L. sonsio, fr. spondere, sponsum, to promise solemnly.]

1. The act of becoming surety for another.

2. (Internat. Law)

Defn: An act or engagement on behalf of a state, by an agent not specially authorized for the purpose, or by one who exceeds the limits of authority.

SPONSIONAL
Spon"sion*al, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to a pledge or agreement; responsible. [R.] He is righteous even in that representative and sponsional person he put on. Abp. Leighton.

SPONSON Spon"son, n. (Shipbuilding) (a) One of the triangular platforms in front of, and abaft, the paddle boxes of a steamboat. (b) One of the slanting supports under the guards of a steamboat. (c) One of the armored projections fitted with gun ports, used on modern war vessels.

SPONSOR
Spon"sor, n. Etym: [L., from spondere, sponsum, to engage one's self.
See Spose.]

1. One who binds himself to answer for another, and is responsible for his default; a surety.

2. One who at the baptism of an infant professore the christian faith in its name, and guarantees its religious education; a godfather or godmother.

SPONSORIAL
Spon*so"ri*al, a.

Defn: Pertaining to a sponsor.

SPONSORSHIP
Spon"sor*ship, n.

Defn: State of being a sponsor.

SPONTANEITY
Spon`ta*ne"i*ty, n.; pl. Spontaneities. Etym: [Cf. F. spontanéité.]

1. The quality or state of being spontaneous, or acting from native feeling, proneness, or temperament, without constraint or external force. Romney Leigh, who lives by diagrams, And crosses not the spontaneities Of all his individual, personal life With formal universals. Mrs. Browning.

2. (Biol.) (a) The tendency to undergo change, characteristic of both animal and vegetable organisms, and not restrained or cheked by the environment. (b) The tendency to activity of muscular tissue, including the voluntary muscles, when in a state of healthful vigor and refreshment.

SPONTANEOUS Spon*ta"ne*ous, a. Etym: [L. spontaneus, fr. sponte of free will, voluntarily.]

1. Proceding from natural feeling, temperament, or disposition, or from a native internal proneness, readiness, or tendency, without constraint; as, a spontaneous gift or proportion.

2. Proceeding from, or acting by, internal impulse, energy, or natural law, without external force; as, spontaneous motion; spontaneous growth.

3. Produced without being planted, or without human labor; as, a spontaneous growth of wood. Spontaneous combustion, combustion produced in a substance by the evolution of heat through the chemical action of its own elements; as, the spontaneous combustion of waste matter saturated with oil. — Spontaneous generation. (Biol.) See under Generation.

Syn. — Voluntary; uncompelled; willing. — Spontaneous, Voluntary. What is voluntary is the result of a volition, or act of choice; it therefore implies some degree of consideration, and may be the result of mere reason without excited feeling. What is spontaneous springs wholly from feeling, or a sudden impulse which admits of no reflection; as, a spontaneous burst of applause. Hence, the term is also applied to things inanimate when they are produced without the determinate purpose or care of man. "Abstinence which is but voluntary fasting, and . . . exercise which is but voluntary labor." J. Seed. Spontaneous joys, where nature has its play, The soul adopts, and owns their firstborn away. Goldsmith. — Spon*ta"ne*ous*ly, adv. — Spon*ta"ne*ous*ness, n.

SPONTOON
Spon*toon", n. Etym: [F. sponton, esponton, it. spontone, spuntone.]
(Mil.)

Defn: A kind of half-pike, or halberd, formerly borne by inferior officers of the British infantry, and used in giving signals to the soldiers.

SPOOK Spook, n. Etym: [D. spook; akin to G. spuk, Sw. spöke, Dan. spögelse a specter, spöge to play, sport, joke, spög a play, joke.]

1. A spirit; a ghost; an apparition; a hobgoblin. [Written also spuke.] Ld. Lytton.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The chimæra.

SPOOL
Spool, n. Etym: [OE. spole, OD. spoele, D. spoel; akin to G. spule,
OHG. spuola, Dan. & Sw. spole.]

Defn: A piece of cane or red with a knot at each end, or a hollow cylinder of wood with a ridge at each end, used to wind thread or yarn upon. Spool stand, an article holding spools of thread, turning on pins, — used by women at their work.

SPOOL
Spool, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spooled; p. pr. & vb. n. Spooling.]

Defn: To wind on a spool or spools.

SPOOLER
Spool"er, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, spools.

SPOOM
Spoom, v. i. Etym: [Probably fr. spum foam. See Spume.] (Naut.)

Defn: To be driven steadily and swiftly, as before a strong wind; to be driven before the wind without any sail, or with only a part of the sails spread; to scud under bare poles. [Written also spoon.] When virtue spooms before a prosperous gale, My heaving wishes help to fill the sail. Dryden.

SPOON
Spoon, v. i. (Naut.)

Defn: See Spoom. [Obs.]
We might have spooned before the wind as well as they. Pepys.

SPOON
Spoon, n. Etym: [OE. spon, AS. sp, a chip; akin to D. spaan, G. span,
Dan. spaan, Sw. spån, Icel. spánn, spónn, a chip, a spoon. sq.
root170. Cf. Span-new.]

1. An implement consisting of a small bowl (usually a shallow oval) with a handle, used especially in preparing or eating food. "Therefore behoveth him a full long spoon That shall eat with a fiend," thus heard I say. Chaucer. He must have a long spoon that must eat with the devil. Shak.

2. Anything which resembles a spoon in shape; esp. (Fishing), a spoon bait.

3. Fig.: A simpleton; a spooney. [Slang] Hood. Spoon bait (Fishing),
a lure used in trolling, consisting of a glistening metallic plate
shaped like the bowl of a spoon with a fishhook attached.
— Spoon bit, a bit for boring, hollowed or furrowed along one side.
— Spoon net, a net for landing fish.
— Spoon oar. see under Oar.

SPOON
Spoon, v. t.

Defn: To take up in, a spoon.

SPOON
Spoon, v. i.

Defn: To act with demonstrative or foolish fondness, as one in love.
[Colloq.]

SPOONBILL Spoon"bill`, n. (Zoöl.) (a) Any one of several species of wading birds of the genera Ajaja and Platalea, and allied genera, in which the long bill is broadly expanded and flattened at the tip.

Note: The roseate spoonbill of America (Ajaja ajaja), and the European spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia) are the best known. The royal spoonbill (P. regia) of Australia is white, with the skin in front of the eyes naked and black. The male in the breeding season has a fine crest. (b) The shoveler. See Shoveler, 2. (c) The ruddy duck. See under Ruddy. (d) The paddlefish.

SPOON-BILLED
Spoon"-billed`, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Having the bill expanded and spatulate at the end.

SPOONDRIFT
Spoon"drift, n. Etym: [Spoom + drift.]

Defn: Spray blown from the tops waves during a gale at sea; also, snow driven in the wind at sea; — written also spindrift.

SPOONEY
Spoon"ey, a.

Defn: Weak-minded; demonstratively fond; as, spooney lovers. [Spelt also spoony.] [Colloq.]

SPOONEY
Spoon"ey, n.; pl. Spooneye (.

Defn: A weak-minded or silly person; one who is foolishly fond.
[Colloq.]
There is no doubt, whatever, that I was a lackadaisical young
spooney. Dickens.

SPOONFLOWER
Spoon"flow`er, n.

Defn: The yautia.

SPOONFUL
Spoon"ful, n.; pl. Spoonfuls (.

1. The quantity which a spoon contains, or is able to contain; as, a teaspoonful; a tablespoonful.

2. Hence, a small quantity. Arbuthnot.

SPOONILY
Spoon"i*ly, adv.

Defn: In a spoony manner.

SPOON-MEAT
Spoon"-meat`, n.

Defn: Food that is, or must be, taken with a spoon; liquid food.
"Diet most upon spoon-meats." Harvey.

SPOONWOOD
Spoon"wood`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: The mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia).

SPOONWORM
Spoon"worm`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A gephyrean worm of the genus Thalassema, having a spoonlike probiscis.

SPOONWORT
Spoon"wort`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: Scurvy grass.

SPOONY
Spoon"y, a. & n.

Defn: Same as Spooney.

SPOOR Spoor, n. Etym: [D. spoor; akin to AS. spor, G. spur, and from the root of E. spur. sq. root171. See Spur.]

Defn: The track or trail of any wild animal; as, the spoor of an elephant; — used originally by travelers in South Africa.

SPOOR
Spoor, v. i.

Defn: To follow a spoor or trail. [R.]

SPORADES
Spor"a*des, n. pl. Etym: [L., fr. Gr. spora`des. Cf. Sporadic.]
(Astron.)

Defn: Stars not included in any constellation; — called also informed, or unformed, stars.

SPORADIAL
Spo*ra"di*al, a.

Defn: Sporadic. [R.]

SPORADIC
Spo*rad"ic, a. Etym: [Gr. sporadique. See Spore.]

Defn: Occuring singly, or apart from other things of the same kind, or in scattered instances; separate; single; as, a sporadic fireball; a sporadic case of disease; a sporadic example of a flower. Sporadic disease (Med.), a disease which occurs in single and scattered cases. See the Note under Endemic, a.

SPORADICAL
Spo*rad"ic*al, a.

Defn: Sporadic.

SPORADICALLY
Spo*rad"ic*al*ly, adv.

Defn: In a sporadic manner.

SPORANGIOPHORE
Spo*ran"gi*o*phore, n. Etym: [Sporangium + Gr. (Bot.)

Defn: The axis or receptacle in certain ferns (as Trichomanes), which bears the sporangia.

SPORANGIUM
Spo*ran"gi*um, n.; pl. Sporangia. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Bot.)

Defn: A spore case in the cryptogamous plants, as in ferns, etc.

SPORE
Spore, n. Etym: [Gr. Sperm.]

1. (Bot.) (a) One of the minute grains in flowerless plants, which are analogous to seeds, as serving to reproduce the species.

Note: Spores are produced differently in the different classes of cryptogamous plants, and as regards their nature are often so unlike that they have only their minuteness in common. The peculiar spores of diatoms (called auxospores) increase in size, and at length acquire a siliceous coating, thus becoming new diatoms of full size. Compare Macrospore, Microspore, Oöspore, Restingspore, Sphærospore, Swarmspore, Tetraspore, Zoöspore, and Zygospore. (b) An embryo sac or embryonal vesicle in the ovules of flowering plants.

2. (Biol.) (a) A minute grain or germ; a small, round or ovoid body, formed in certain organisms, and by germination giving rise to a new organism; as, the reproductive spores of bacteria, etc. (b) One of the parts formed by fission in certain Protozoa. See Spore formation, belw. Spore formation. (a) (Biol) A mode of reproduction resembling multitude fission, common among Protozoa, in which the organism breaks up into a number of pieces, or spores, each of which eventually develops into an organism like the parent form. Balfour. (b) The formation of reproductive cells or spores, as in the growth of bacilli.

SPORID
Spo"rid, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A sporidium. Lindley.

SPORIDIFEROUS
Spo`ri*dif"er*ous, a. Etym: [Sporidium + -ferous.] (Bot.)

Defn: Bearing sporidia.

SPORIDIUM Spo*rid"i*um, n.; pl. Sporidia. Etym: [NL. See Spore.] (Bot.) (a) A secondary spore, or a filament produced from a spore, in certain kinds of minute fungi. (b) A spore.

SPORIFEROUS
Spo*rif"er*ous, a. Etym: [Spore + -ferous.] (Biol.)

Defn: Bearing or producing spores.

SPORIFICATION
Spo`ri*fi*ca"tion, n. Etym: [Spore + L. -ficare (in comp.) to make.
See -fy.] (Biol.)

Defn: Spore formation. See Spore formation (b), under Spore.

SPOROCARP Spo"ro*carp, n. Etym: [Spore + Gr. (Bot.) (a) A closed body or conceptacle containing one or more masses of spores or sporangia. (b) A sporangium.

SPOROCYST
Spo"ro*cyst, n. Etym: [Gr.

1. (Zoöl.)

Defn: An asexual zooid, usually forming one of a series of larval forms in the agamic reproduction of various trematodes and other parasitic worms. The sporocyst generally develops from an egg, but in its turn produces other larvæ by internal budding, or by the subdivision of a part or all of its contents into a number of minute germs. See Redia.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any protozoan when it becomes encysted produces germs by sporulation.

SPOROGENESIS
Spo`ro*gen"e*sis, n. Etym: [Spore + genesis.] (Biol.)

Defn: reproduction by spores.

SPOROGONY
Spo*rog"o*ny, n. Etym: [Spore + root of Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The growth or development of an animal or a zooid from a nonsexual germ.

SPOROPHORE Spo"ro*phore, n. Etym: [Spore + Gr. (Bot.) (a) A placenta. (b) That alternately produced form of certain cryptogamous plants, as ferns, mosses, and the like, which is nonsexual, but produces spores in countless numbers. In ferns it is the leafy plant, in mosses the capsule. Cf. Oöphore.

SPOROPHORIC
Spo`ro*phor"ic, a. (Bot.)

Defn: Having the nature of a sporophore.

SPOROPHYTE
Spo"ro*phyte, n. [Spore + Gr. plant.] (Bot.)

Defn: In plants exhibiting alternation of generations, the generation which bears asexual spores; — opposed to gametophyte. It is not clearly differentiated in the life cycle of the lower plants. — Spo`ro*phyt"ic (#), a.

SPOROSAC Spo"ro*sac, n. Etym: [Spore + sac.] (Zoöl.) (a) A hydrozoan reproductive zooid or gonophore which does not become medusoid in form or structure. See Illust. under Athecata. (b) An early or simple larval stage of trematode worms and some other invertebrates, which is capable or reproducing other germs by asexual generation; a nurse; a redia.

SPOROZOA
Spo`ro*zo"a, n. pl. Etym: [NL., from Gr. a spore + (Zoöl.)

Defn: An extensive division of parasitic Protozoa, which increase by sporulation. It includes the Gregarinida.

SPOROZOID
Spo`ro*zo"id, n. Etym: [Spore + Gr. .] (Bot.)

Defn: Same as Zoöspore.

SPOROZOITE
Spo`ro*zo"ite, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: In certain Sporozoa, a small active, usually elongate, sickle- shaped or somewhat amoboid spore, esp. one of those produced by division of the passive spores into which the zygote divides. The sporozoites reproduce asexually.

SPORRAN
Spor"ran, n. Etym: [Gael. sporan.]

Defn: A large purse or pouch made of skin with the hair or fur on, worn in front of the kilt by Highlanders when in full dress.

SPORT
Sport, n. Etym: [Abbreviated frm disport.]

1. That which diverts, and makes mirth; pastime; amusement. It is as sport a fool do mischief. prov. x. 23. Her sports were such as carried riches of knowledge upon the stream of delight. Sir P. Sidney. Think it but a minute spent in sport. Shak.

2. Mock; mockery; contemptuous mirth; derision. Then make sport at me; then let me be your jest.Shak.

3. That with which one plays, or which is driven about in play; a toy; a plaything; an object of mockery. Flitting leaves, the sport of every wind. Dryden. Never does man appear to greater disadvantage than when he is the sport of his own ungoverned pasions. John Clarke.

4. Play; idle jingle. An author who should introduce such a sport of words upon our stage would meet with small applause. Broome.

5. Diversion of the field, as fowling, hunting, fishing, racing, games, and the like, esp. when money is staked.

6. (Bot. & Zoöl.)

Defn: A plant or an animal, or part of a plant or animal, which has some peculiarity not usually seen in the species; an abnormal variety or growth. See Sporting plant, under Sporting.

7. A sportsman; a gambler. [Slang] In sport, in jest; for play or diversion. "So is the man that deceiveth his neighbor, and saith, Am not I in sport" Prov. xxvi. 19.

Syn.
— Play; game; diversion; frolic; mirth; mock; mockery; jeer.

SPORT
Sport, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Sported; p. pr. & vb. n. Sporting.]

1. To play; to frolic; to wanton. [Fish], sporting with quick glance, Show to the sun their waved coats dropt with gold. Milton.

2. To practice the diversions of the field or the turf; to be given to betting, as upon races.

3. To trifle. "He sports with his own life." Tillotson.

4. (Bot. & Zoöl.)

Defn: To assume suddenly a new and different character from the rest of the plant or from the type of the species; — said of a bud, shoot, plant, or animal. See Sport, n., 6. Darwin.

Syn.
— To play; frolic; game; wanton.

SPORT
Sport, v. t.

1. To divert; to amuse; to make merry; — used with the reciprocal pronoun. Against whom do ye sport yourselves Isa. lvii. 4.

2. To represent by any knd of play. Now sporting on thy lyre the loves of youth. Dryden.

3. To exhibit, or bring out, in public; to use or wear; as, to sport a new equipage. [Colloq.] Grose.

4. To give utterance to in a sportive manner; to throw out in an easy and copious manner; — with off; as, to sport off epigrams. Addison. To sport one's oak. See under Oak, n.

SPORTABILITY
Sport`a*bil"i*ty, n.

Defn: Sportiveness. [Obs.]

SPORTAL
Sport"al, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to sports; used in sports. [R.] "Sportal arms." Dryden.

SPORTER
Sport"er, n.

Defn: One who sports; a sportsman. As this gentleman and I have been old fellow sporters, I have a frienship for him. Goldsmith.

SPORTFUL
Sport"ful, a.

1. Full of sport; merry; frolicsome; full of jesting; indulging in mirth or play; playful; wanton; as, a sportful companion. Down he alights among the sportful herd. Milton.

2. Done in jest, or for mere play; sportive.
They are no sportful productions of the soil. Bentley.
— Sport"ful*ly, adv.
— Sport"ful*ness, n.

SPORTING
Sport"ing, a.

Defn: Of pertaining to, or engaging in, sport or sporrts; exhibiting the character or conduct of one who, or that which, sports. Sporting book, a book containing a record of bets, gambling operations, and the like. C. Kingsley. — Sporting house, a house frequented by sportsmen, gamblers, and the like. — Sporting man, one who practices field sports; also, a horse racer, a pugilist, a gambler, or the like. — Sporting plant (Bot.), a plant in which a single bud or offset suddenly assumes a new, and sometimes very different, character from that of the rest of the plant. Darwin.

SPORTINGLY
Sport"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: In sport; sportively.
The question you there put, you do it, I suppose, but sportingly.
Hammond.

SPORTIVE
Sport"ive, a.

Defn: Tending to, engaged in, or provocate of, sport; gay;
froliscome; playful; merry.
Is it I That drive thee from the sportive court Shak.
— Sport"ive*ly, adv.
— Sport"ive*ness, n.

SPORTLESS
Sport"less, a.

Defn: Without sport or mirth; joyless.

SPORTLING
Sport"ling, n.

Defn: A little person or creature engaged in sports or in play.
When again the lambkins play —Pretty sportlings, full of May.
Philips.

SPORTSMAN
Sports"man, n.;pl. Sportsmen (.

Defn: One who pursues the sports of the field; one who hunts, fishes, etc.

SPORTSMANSHIP
Sports"man*ship, n.

Defn: The practice of sportsmen; skill in field sports.

SPORTULA
Spor"tu*la, n.; pl. Sportulæ (. Etym: [L.]

Defn: A gift; a present; a prize; hence, an alms; a largess. To feed luxuriously, to frequent sports and theaters, to run for the sportula. South.

SPORTULARY
Spor"tu*la*ry, a.

Defn: Subsisting on alms or charitable contributions. [Obs.] Bp.
Hall.

SPORTULE Spor"tule, n. Etym: [L. sportula a little basket, a gift, dim. of sporta a basket: cf. F. sortule.]

Defn: A charitable gift or contribution; a gift; an alms; a dole; a largess; a sportula. [Obs.] Ayliffe.

SPORULATION
Spor`u*la"tion, n. (Biol.)

Defn: The act or process of forming spores; spore formation. See
Illust. of Bacillus, b.

SPORULE
Spor"ule, n. Etym: [Dim. of spore.] (Biol.)

Defn: A small spore; a spore.

SPORULIFEROUS
Spor`u*lif"er*ous, a. Etym: [Sporule + -ferous.] (Biol.)

Defn: Producing sporules.

SPOT Spot, n. Etym: [Cf. Scot. & D. spat, Dan. spette, Sw. spott spittle, slaver; from the root of E. spit. See Spit to eject from the mouth, and cf. Spatter.]

1. A mark on a substance or body made by foreign matter; a blot; a place discolored. Out, damned spot! Out, I say! Shak.

2. A stain on character or reputation; something that soils purity; disgrace; reproach; fault; blemish. Yet Chloe, sure, was formed without a spot. Pope.

3. A small part of a different color from the main part, or from the ground upon which it is; as, the spots of a leopard; the spots on a playing card.

4. A small extent of space; a place; any particular place. "Fixed to one spot." Otway. That spot to which I point is Paradise. Milton. "A jolly place," said he, "in times of old! But something ails it now: the spot is cursed." Wordsworth.

5. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A variety of the common domestic pigeon, so called from a spot on its head just above its beak.

6. (Zoöl.) (a) A sciænoid food fish (Liostomus xanthurus) of the Atlantic coast of the United States. It has a black spot behind the shoulders and fifteen oblique dark bars on the sides. Called also goody, Lafayette, masooka, and old wife. (b) The southern redfish, or red horse, which has a spot on each side at the base of the tail. See Redfish.

7. pl.

Defn: Commodities, as merchandise and cotton, sold for immediate delivery. [Broker's Cant] Crescent spot (Zoöl.), any butterfly of the family Melitæidæ having crescent-shaped white spots along the margins of the red or brown wings. — Spot lens (Microscopy), a condensing lens in which the light is confined to an annular pencil by means of a small, round diaphragm (the spot), and used in dark-field ilumination; — called also spotted lens. — Spot rump (Zoöl.), the Hudsonian godwit (Limosa hæmastica). — Spots on the sun. (Astron.) See Sun spot, ander Sun. — On, or Upon, the spot, immediately; before moving; without changing place. It was determined upon the spot. Swift.

Syn. — Stain; flaw; speck; blot; disgrace; reproach; fault; blemish; place; site; locality.

SPOT
Spot, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spotted; p. pr. & vb. n. Spotting.]

1. To make visible marks upon with some foreign matter; to discolor in or with spots; to stain; to cover with spots or figures; as, to spot a garnment; to spot paper.

2. To mark or note so as to insure recognition; to recognize; to detect; as, to spot a criminal. [Cant]

3. To stain; to blemish; to taint; to disgrace; to tarnish, as reputation; to asperse. My virgin life no spotted thoughts shall stain. Sir P. Sidney. If ever I shall close these eyes but once, May I live spotted for my perjury. Beau. & Fl. To spot timber, to cut or chip it, in preparation for hewing.

SPOT
Spot, v. i.

Defn: To become stained with spots.

SPOT CASH
Spot cash. (Com.)

Defn: Cash paid or ready for payment at once upon delivery of property purchased.

SPOTLESS
Spot"less, a.

Defn: Without a spot; especially, free from reproach or impurity; pure; untained; innocent; as, a spotless mind; spotless behavior. A spotless virgin, and a faultless wife. Waller.

Syn.
— Blameless; unspotted; unblemished; pure; immaculate;
irreproachable. See Blameless.
— Spot"less*ly, adv.
— Spot"less*ness, n.

SPOTLIGHT
Spot"light`, n.

Defn: The projected spot or circle of light used to illuminate brilliantly a single person or object or group on the stage; leaving the rest of the stage more or less unilluminated; hence, conspicuous public notice. [Cant or Colloq.]

SPOT STROKE
Spot stroke. (Eng. Billiards)

Defn: The pocketing of the red ball in a top corner pocket from off its own spot so as to leave the cue ball in position for an easy winning hazard in either top corner pocket.

SPOTTED
Spot"ted, a.

Defn: Marked with spots; as, a spotted garment or character. "The spotted panther." Spenser. Spotted fever (Med.), a name applied to various eruptive fevers, esp. to typhus fever and cerebro-spinal meningitis. — Spotted tree (Bot.), an Australian tree (Flindersia maculosa); — so called because its bark falls off in spots.

SPOTTEDNESS
Spot"ted*ness, n.

Defn: State or quality of being spotted.

SPOTTER
Spot"ter, n.

Defn: One who spots.

SPOTTINESS
Spot"ti*ness, n.

Defn: The state or quality of being spotty.

SPOTTY
Spot"ty, a.

Defn: Full of spots; marked with spots.

SPOUSAGE
Spous"age (; 48), n. Etym: [OF. espousaige, from espouser. See
Spouse, v. t.]

Defn: Espousal. [Obs.] Bale.

SPOUSAL
Spous"al, a. Etym: [See Espousal, Sponsal, and Spouse.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to a spouse or marriage; nuptial; matrimonial; conjugal; bridal; as, spousal rites; spousal ornaments. Wordsworth.

SPOUSAL
Spous"al, n. Etym: [See Espousal, Spouse.]

Defn: Marriage; nuptials; espousal; — generally used in the plural; as, the spousals of Hippolita. Dryden. Boweth your head under that blissful yoke . . . Which that men clepeth spousal or wedlock. Chaucer. the spousals of the newborn year. Emerson.

SPOUSE Spouse, n. Etym: [OF. espous, espos, fem. espouse, F. époux, épouse, fr. L. sponsus, sponsa, prop. p.p. of spondere, sponsum, to promise solemnly, to engage one's self. Cf. Despond, Espouse, respond, Sponsor.]

1. A man or woman engaged or joined in wedlock; a married person, husband or wife. At last such grace I found, and means I wrought, That that lady to my spouse had won. Spenser.

2. A married man, in distinct from a spousess or married woman; a bridegroom or husband. [Obs.] At which marriage was [were] no person present but the spouse, the spousess, the Duchess of Bedford her mother, the priest, two gentlewomen, and a young man. Fabyan.

SPOUSE
Spouse, v. t. Etym: [See Espouse, and Spouse, n.]

Defn: To wed; to espouse. [Obs.]
This markis hath her spoused with a ring. Chaucer.
Though spoused, yet wanting wedlock's solemnize. Spenser.
She was found again, and spoused to Marinell. Spenser.

SPOUSE-BREACH
Spouse"-breach`, n.

Defn: Adultery. [Obs.]

SPOUSELESS
Spouse"less, a.

Defn: Destitute of a spouse; unmarried.

SPOUSESS
Spous"ess, n.

Defn: A wife or bride. [Obs.] Fabyan.

SPOUT Spout, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spouted; p. pr. & vb. n. Spouting.] Etym: [Cf. Sw. sputa, spruta, to spout, D. spuit a spout, spuiten to spout, and E. spurt, sprit, v., sprout, sputter; or perhaps akin to E. spit to eject from the mouth.]

1. To throw out forcibly and abudantly, as liquids through an office or a pipe; to eject in a jet; as, an elephant spouts water from his trunk. Who kept Jonas in the fish's maw Till he was spouted up at Ninivee Chaucer. Next on his belly floats the mighty whale . . . He spouts the tide. Creech.

2. To utter magniloquently; to recite in an oratorical or pompous manner. Pray, spout some French, son. Beau. & Fl.

3. To pawn; to pledge; as, spout a watch. [Cant]

SPOUT
Spout, v. i.

1. To issue with with violence, or in a jet, as a liquid through a narrow orifice, or from a spout; as, water spouts from a hole; blood spouts from an artery. All the glittering hill Is bright with spouting rills. Thomson.

2. To eject water or liquid in a jet.

3. To utter a speech, especially in a pompous manner.

SPOUT Spout, n. Etym: [Cf. Sw. spruta a squirt, a syringe. See Spout, v. t.]

1. That through which anything spouts; a discharging lip, pipe, or orifice; a tube, pipe, or conductor of any kind through which a liquid is poured, or by which it is conveyed in a stream from one place to another; as, the spout of a teapot; a spout for conducting water from the roof of a building. Addison. "A conduit with three issuing spouts." Shak. In whales . . . an ejection thereof [water] is contrived by a fistula, or spout, at the head. Sir T. Browne. From silver spouts the grateful liquors glide. Pope.

2. A trough for conducting grain, flour, etc., into a receptacle.

3. A discharge or jet of water or other liquid, esp. when rising in a column; also, a waterspout. To put, shove, or pop, up the spout, to pawn or pledge at a pawnbroker's; — in allusion to the spout up which the pawnbroker sent the ticketed articles. [Cant]

SPOUTER
Spout"er, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, spouts.

SPOUTFISH
Spout"fish, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A marine animal that spouts water; — applied especially to certain bivalve mollusks, like the long clams (Mya), which spout, or squirt out, water when retiring into their holes.

SPOUTLESS
Spout"less, a.

Defn: Having no spout. Cowper.

SPOUTSHELL
Spout"shell`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any marine gastropod shell of the genus Apporhais having an elongated siphon. See Illust. under Rostrifera.

SPRACK Sprack, a. Etym: [Cf. Icel. spækr sprightly, dial. Sw. spräk, spräg, spirited, mettlesome; or Gael. spraic vigor.]

Defn: Quick; lively' alert. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]

SPRAD
Sprad, obs.

Defn: p. p. of Spread. Chaucer.

SPRADDE
Sprad"de, obs.

Defn: imp. of Spread. Chaucer.

SPRAG
Sprag, n. Etym: [Cf. Icel. spraka a small flounder.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A young salmon. [Prov. Eng.]

SPRAG
Sprag, n. Etym: [See Spray a branch.]

Defn: A billet of wood; a piece of timber used as a prop.

SPRAG
Sprag, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spragged; p. pr. & vb. n. Spragging.]

1. To check the motion of, as a carriage on a steep grade, by putting a sprag between the spokes of the wheel. R. S. Poole.

2. To prop or sustain with a sprag.

SPRAG
Sprag, a.

Defn: See Sprack, a. Shak.

SPRAIN
Sprain, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Sprained; p. pr. & vb. n. Spraining.]
Etym: [OF. espreindreto press, to force out, F. épreindre, fr. L.
exprimere. See Express, v. t., and cf. Spraints.]

Defn: To weaken, as a joint, ligament, or muscle, by sudden and excessive exertion, as by wrenching; to overstrain, or stretch injuriously, but without luxation; as, to sprain one's ankle.

SPRAIN
Sprain, n.

Defn: The act or result of spraining; lameness caused by spraining; as, a bad sprain of the wrist. Sprain fracture (Med.), the separation of a tendon from its point of insertion, with the detachment of a shell of bone to which the tendon is attached.

SPRAINTS Spraints, n. pl. Etym: [OF. espraintes, espreintes, F. épreintes from espreinte a desire to go to stool, from espreindre. See Sprain, v. t.]

Defn: The dung of an otter.

SPRANG
Sprang,

Defn: imp. of Spring.

SPRAT Sprat, n. Etym: [OE. sprot, sprotte, D. sprot; akin to G. sprotte.] (Zoöl.) (a) A small European herring (Clupea sprattus) closely allied to the common herring and the pilchard; — called also garvie. The name is also applied to small herring of different kinds. (b) A California surf-fish (Rhacochilus toxotes); — called also alfione, and perch. Sprat borer (Zoöl.), the red-throated diver; — so called from its fondness for sprats. See Diver. — Sprat loon. (Zoöl.) (a) The young of the great northern diver. [Prov. Eng.] (b) The red-throated diver. See Diver. — Sprat mew (Zoöl.), the kittiwake gull.

SPRAWL Sprawl (sprall), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Sprawled (spralld); p. pr. & vb. n. Sprawling.] Etym: [OE. spraulen; cf. Sw. sprattla to sprawl, dial. Sw. spralla, Dan. spælle, sprælde, D. spartelen, spertelen, to flounder, to struggle.]

1. To spread and stretch the body or limbs carelessly in a horizontal position; to lie with the limbs stretched out ungracefully.

2. To spread irregularly, as vines, plants, or tress; to spread ungracefully, as chirography.

3. To move, when lying down, with awkward extension and motions of the limbs; to scramble in creeping. The birds were not fledged; but upon sprawling and struggling to get clear of the flame, down they tumbled. L'Estrange.

SPRAWLS
Sprawls, n. pl.

Defn: Small branches of a tree; twigs; sprays. [Prov. Eng.]
Halliwell.

SPRAY
Spray, n. Etym: [Cf. Dan. sprag. See Sprig.]

1. A small shoot or branch; a twig. Chaucer. The painted birds, companions of the spring, Hopping from spray, were heard to sing. Dryden.

2. A collective body of small branches; as, the tree has a beautiful spray. And from the trees did lop the needless spray. Spenser.

3. (Founding) (a) A side channel or branch of the runner of a flask, made to distribute the metal in all parts of the mold. (b) A group of castings made in the same mold and connected by sprues formed in the runner and its branches. Knight. Spray drain (Agric.), a drain made by laying under earth the sprays or small branches of trees, which keep passages open.

SPRAY Spray, n. Etym: [probably from a Dutch or Low German form akin to E. spread. See Spread, v. t.]

1. Water flying in small drops or particles, as by the force of wind, or the dashing of waves, or from a waterfall, and the like.

2. (Med.) (a) A jet of fine medicated vapor, used either as an application to a diseased part or to charge the air of a room with a disinfectant or a deodorizer. (b) An instrument for applying such a spray; an atomizer. Spray condenser (Steam Engine) an injection condenser in which the steam is condensed by a spray of water which mingles with it.

SPRAY
Spray, v. t.

1. To let fall in the form of spray. [Poetic] M. Arnold.

2. To throw spray upon; to treat with a liquid in the form of spray; as, to spray a wound, or a surgical instrument, with carbolic acid.

SPRAYBOARD
Spray`board, n. (Naut.)

Defn: See Dashboard, n., 2 (b).

SPRAYER
Spray"er, n.

Defn: One that sprays; any instrument for vaporizing and spraying liquids.

SPREAD
Spread, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spread; p. pr. & vb. n. Spreading.] Etym:
[OE. spreden, AS. sprædan; akin to D. spreiden, spreijen, LG.
spreden, spreen, spreien, G. spreiten, Dan. sprede, Sw. sprida. Cf.
Spray water flying in drops.]

1. To extend in length and breadth, or in breadth only; to stretch or expand to a broad or broader surface or extent; to open; to unfurl; as, to spread a carpet; to spread a tent or a sail. He bought a parcel of a field where he had spread his tent. Gen. xxxiii. 19. Here the Rhone Hath spread himself a couch. Byron.

2. To extend so as to cover something; to extend to a great or grater extent in every direction; to cause to fill or cover a wide or wider space. Rose, as in a dance, the stately trees, and spread Their branches hung with copious fruit. Milton.

3. To divulge; to publish, as news or fame; to cause to be more extensively known; to disseminate; to make known fully; as, to spread a report; — often acompanied by abroad. They, when they were departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country. Matt. ix. 31.

4. To propagate; to cause to affect great numbers; as, to spread a disease.

5. To diffuse, as emanations or effluvia; to emit; as, odoriferous plants spread their fragrance.

6. To strew; to scatter over a surface; as, to spread manure; to spread lime on the ground.

7. To prepare; to set and furnish with provisions; as, to spread a
table.
Boiled the flesh, and spread the board. Tennyson.
To sprad cloth, to unfurl sail. [Obs.] Evelyn.

Syn. — To diffuse; propogate; disperse; publish; distribute; scatter; circulate; disseminate; dispense.

SPREAD
Spread, v. i.

1. To extend in length and breadth in all directions, or in breadth only; to be extended or stretched; to expand. Plants, if they spread much, are seldom tall. Bacon. Govrnor Winthrop, and his associates at Charlestown, had for a church a large, spreading tree. B. Trumbull.

2. To be extended by drawing or beating; as, some metals spread with difficulty.

3. To be made known more extensively, as news.

4. To be propagated from one to another; as, the disease spread into all parts of the city. Shak.

SPREAD
Spread, n.

1. Extent; compass. I have got a fine spread of improvable land. Addison.

2. Expansion of parts. No flower hath spread like that of the woodbine. Bacon.

3. A cloth used as a cover for a table or a bed.

4. A table, as spread or furnished with a meal; hence, an entertainment of food; a feast. [Colloq.]

5. A privilege which one person buys of another, of demanding certain shares of stock at a certain price, or of delivering the same shares of stock at another price, within a time agreed upon. [Broker's Cant]

6. (Geom.)

Defn: An unlimited expanse of discontinuous points.

SPREAD
Spread,

Defn: imp. & p. p. of Spread, v. Spread eagle. (a) An eagle with outspread wings, the national emblem of the United States. (b) The figure of an eagle, with its wings elevated and its legs extended; often met as a device upon military ornaments, and the like. (c) (Her.) An eagle displayed; an eagle with the wings and legs extended on each side of the body, as in the double-headed eagle of Austria and Russia. See Displayed, 2.

SPREAD-EAGLE
Spread"-ea`gle, a.

Defn: Characterized by a pretentious, boastful, exaggerated style; defiantly or extravagantly bombastic; as, a spread-eagle orator; a spread-eagle speech. [Colloq.& Humorous]

SPREAD-EAGLE
Spread"-ea`gle v. i.

Defn: To assume a spread-eagled position; — it may be done reclining, for relaxation, or momentarily, as an exhibitionary maneuver in a sport.

SPREAD-EAGLED
Spread"-ea`gled v.tr.

Defn: 1. To place in a spread-eagle position, especially as a means of punishment. 2. being in a position with the arms and legs extended fully.

SPREADER
Spread"er, n.

1. One who, or that which, spreads, expands, or propogates.

2. A machine for combining and drawing fibers of flax to form a sliver preparatory to spinning.

SPREADINGLY
Spread"ing*ly

Defn: , adv. Increasingly.
The best times were spreadingly infected. Milton.

SPRECHERY
Sprech"er*y, n. Etym: [Cf. Gael. spreidh catle.]

Defn: Movables of an inferior description; especially, such as have been collected by depredation. [Scot]

SPREE Spree, n. Etym: [Cf. Ir. spre a spark, animation, spirit, Gael. spraic. Cf. Sprack.]

Defn: A merry frolic; especially, a drinking frolic; a carousal.
[Colloq.]

SPRENGE Sprenge, v. t. Etym: [OE. sprengen, p.p. sprent, spreint, from AS. sprengen to sprinkle. See Sprinkle.]

Defn: To sprinkle; to scatter. [Obs.] Wyclif (1 Pet. i. 2).

SPRENGEL PUMP
Spreng"el pump`. (Physics)

Defn: A form of air pump in which exhaustion is produced by a stream of mercury running down a narrow tube, in the manner of an aspirator; — named from the inventor.

SPRENT
Sprent, obs.

Defn: p. p. of Sprenge. Sprinkled.
All the ground with purple blood was sprent. Spenser.

SPREW
Sprew, n. Etym: [Cf. D. sprouw, spruw.] (Med.)

Defn: Thrush. [Local, U.S.]

SPREYND
Spreynd, obs.

Defn: p. p. of Sprenge. Sprinkled.
When spreynd was holy water. Chaucer.

SPRIG Sprig, n. Etym: [AS. sprec; akin to Icel. sprek a stick. Cf. Spray a branch.]

1. A small shoot or twig of a tree or other plant; a spray; as, a sprig of laurel or of parsley.

2. A youth; a lad; — used humorously or in slight disparagement. A sprig whom I remember, with a whey-face and a satchel, not so many years ago. Sir W. Scott.

3. A brad, or nail without a head.

4. (Naut.)

Defn: A small eyebolt ragged or barbed at the point.

SPRIG
Sprig, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Sprigged; p. pr. & vb. n. Sprigging.]

Defn: To mark or adorn with the representation of small branches; to work with sprigs; as, to sprig muslin.

SPRIGGED
Sprigged, a.

Defn: Having sprigs.

SPRIGGY
Sprig"gy, a.

Defn: Full of sprigs or small branches.

SPRIGHT
Spright, n. Etym: [See Sprite.]

1. Spirit; mind; soul; state of mind; mood. [Obs.] "The high heroic spright." Spenser. Wondrous great grief groweth in my spright. Spenser.

2. A supernatural being; a spirit; a shade; an apparition; a ghost.
Forth he called, out of deep darkness dread, Legions of sprights.
Spenser.
To thee, O Father, Son, and Sacred Spright. Fairfax.

3. A kind of short arrow. [Obs.] Bacon.

SPRIGHT
Spright, v. t.

Defn: To haunt, as a spright. [Obs.] Shak.

SPRIGHTFUL
Spright"ful, a. Etym: [Spright sprite + full.]

Defn: Full of spirit or of life; earnest; vivacious; lively; brisk;
nimble; gay. [Obs.] — Spright"ful*ly, adv. [Obs.] Shak.
— Spright"ful*ness, n. [Obs.]
Spoke like a sprightful gentlemen. Shak.
Steeds sprightful as the light. Cowley.

SPRIGHTLESS
Spright"less, a.

Defn: Destitute of life; dull; sluggish.

SPRIGHTLINESS
Spright"li*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being sprightly; liveliness; life; briskness; vigor; activity; gayety; vivacity. In dreams, observe with what a sprightliness and alacrity does she [the soul] exert herself! Addison.

SPRIGHTLY
Spright"ly, a. [Compar. Sprightlier; superl. Sprightliest.] Etym:
[See Sprite.]

Defn: Sprightlike, or spiritlike; lively; brisk; animated; vigorous;
airy; gay; as, a sprightly youth; a sprightly air; a sprightly dance.
"Sprightly wit and love inspires." Dryden.
The sprightly Sylvia trips along the green. Pope.

SPRIGTAIL Sprig"tail`, n. (Zoöl.) (a) The pintail duck; — called also sprig, and spreet-tail. [Local, U.S.] (b) The sharp-tailed grouse. [Local, U.S.]

SPRING
Spring, v. i. [imp. Sprang or Sprung (; p. p. Sprung; p. pr. & vb. n.
Springing.] Etym: [AS. springan; akin to D. & G. springen, OS. & OHG.
springan, Icel. & Sw. springa, Dan. springe; cf. Gr. Springe,
Sprinkle.]

1. To leap; to bound; to jump. The mountain stag that springs From height to height, and bounds along the plains. Philips.

2. To issue with speed and violence; to move with activity; to dart; to shoot. And sudden light Sprung through the vaulted roof. Dryden.

3. To start or rise suddenly, as from a covert. Watchful as fowlers when their game will spring. Otway.

4. To fly back; as, a bow, when bent, springs back by its elastic power.

5. To bend from a straight direction or plane surface; to become warped; as, a piece of timber, or a plank, sometimes springs in seasoning.

6. To shoot up, out, or forth; to come to the light; to begin to appear; to emerge; as a plant from its seed, as streams from their source, and the like; -often followed by up, forth, or out. Till well nigh the day began to spring. Chaucer. To satisfy the desolate and waste ground, and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring forth. Job xxxviii. 27. Do not blast my springing hopes. Rowe. O, spring to light; auspicious Babe, be born. Pope.

7. To issue or proceed, as from a parent or ancestor; to result, as from a cause, motive, reason, or principle. [They found] new hope to spring Out of despair, joy, but with fear yet linked. Milton.

8. To grow; to prosper.
What makes all this, but Jupiter the king, At whose command we
perish, and we spring Dryden.
To spring at, to leap toward; to attempt to reach by a leap.
— To spring forth, to leap out; to rush out.
— To spring in, to rush in; to enter with a leap or in haste.
— To spring on or upon, to leap on; to rush on with haste or
violence; to assault.

SPRING
Spring, v. t.

1. To cause to spring up; to start or rouse, as game; to cause to rise from the earth, or from a covert; as, to spring a pheasant.

2. To produce or disclose suddenly or unexpectedly. She starts, and leaves her bed, amd springs a light. Dryden. The friends to the cause sprang a new project. Swift.

3. To cause to explode; as, to spring a mine.

4. To crack or split; to bend or strain so as to weaken; as, to spring a mast or a yard.

5. To cause to close suddenly, as the parts of a trap operated by a spring; as, to spring a trap.

6. To bend by force, as something stiff or strong; to force or put by bending, as a beam into its sockets, and allowing it to straighten when in place; — often with in, out, etc.; as, to spring in a slat or a bar.

7. To pass over by leaping; as, to spring a fence. To spring a butt (Naut.), to loosen the end of a plank in a ship's bottom. — To spring a leak (Naut.), to begin to leak. — To spring an arch (Arch.), to build an arch; — a common term among masons; as, to spring an arcg over a lintel. — To spring a rattle, to cause a rattle to sound. See Watchman's rattle, under Watchman. — To spring the luff (Naut.), to ease the helm, and sail nearer to the wind than before; — said of a vessel. Mar. Dict. — To spring a mast or spar (Naut.), to strain it so that it is unserviceable.

SPRING
Spring, n. Etym: [AS. spring a fountain, a leap. See Spring, v. i.]

1. A leap; a bound; a jump. The prisoner, with a spring, from prison broke. Dryden.

2. A flying back; the resilience of a body recovering its former state by elasticity; as, the spring of a bow.

3. Elastic power or force. Heavens! what a spring was in his arm! Dryden.

4. An elastic body of any kind, as steel, India rubber, tough wood, or compressed air, used for various mechanical purposes, as receiving and imparting power, diminishing concussion, regulating motion, measuring weight or other force.

Note: The principal varieties of springs used in mechanisms are the
spiral spring (Fig. a), the coil spring (Fig. b), the elliptic spring
(Fig. c), the half-elliptic spring (Fig. d), the volute spring, the
India-rubber spring, the atmospheric spring, etc.

5. Any source of supply; especially, the source from which a stream proceeds; as issue of water from the earth; a natural fountain. "All my springs are in thee." Ps. lxxxvii. 7. "A secret spring of spiritual joy." Bentley. "The sacred spring whence and honor streams." red rose of the House of Lancaster. Sir J. Davies.

6. Any active power; that by which action, or motion, is produced or propagated; cause; origin; motive. Our author shuns by vulgar springs to move The hero's glory, or the virgin's love. Pope.

7. That which springs, or is originated, from a source; as: (a) A race; lineage. [Obs.] Chapman. (b) A youth; a springal. [Obs.] Spenser. (c) A shoot; a plant; a young tree; also, a grove of trees; woodland. [Obs.] Spenser. Milton.

8. That which causes one to spring; specifically, a lively tune. [Obs.] Beau. & Fl.

9. The season of the year when plants begin to vegetate and grow; the vernal season, usually comprehending the months of March, April, and May, in the middle latitudes north of the equator. "The green lap of the new-come spring." Shak.

Note: Spring of the astronomical year begins with the vernal equinox, about March 21st, and ends with the summer solstice, about June 21st.

10. The time of growth and progress; early portion; first stage. "The spring of the day." 1 Sam. ix. 26. O how this spring of love resembleth The uncertain glory of an April day. Shak.

11. (Naut.) (a) A crack or fissure in a mast or yard, running obliquely or transversely. (b) A line led from a vessel's quarter to her cable so that by tightening or slacking it she can be made to lie in any desired position; a line led diagonally from the bow or stern of a vessel to some point upon the wharf to which she is moored. Air spring, Boiling spring, etc. See under Air, Boiling, etc. — Spring back (Bookbinding), a back with a curved piece of thin sheet iron or of stiff pasteboard fastened to the inside, the effect of which is to make the leaves of a book thus bound (as a ledger or other account or blank book) spring up and lie flat. — Spring balance, a contrivance for measuring weight or force by the elasticity of a spiral spring of steel. — Spring beam, a beam that supports the side of a paddle box. See Paddle beam, under Paddle, n. — Spring beauty. (a) (Bot.) Any plant of the genus Claytonia, delicate herbs with somewhat fleshy leaves and pretty blossoms, appearing in springtime. (b) (Zoöl.) A small, elegant American butterfly (Erora læta) which appears in spring. The hind wings of the male are brown, bordered with deep blue; those of the female are mostly blue. — Spring bed, a mattress, under bed, or bed bottom, in which springs, as of metal, are employed to give the required elasticity. — Spring beetle (Zoöl.), a snapping beetle; an elater. — Spring box, the box or barrel in a watch, or other piece of mechanism, in which the spring is contained. — Spring fly (Zoöl.), a caddice fly; — so called because it appears in the spring. — Spring grass (Bot.), a vernal grass. See under Vernal. — Spring gun, a firearm disharged by a spring, when this is trodden upon or is otherwise moved. — Spring hook (Locomotive Engines), one of the hooks which fix the driving-wheel spring to the frame. — Spring latch, a latch that fastens with a spring.

— Spring lock, a lock that fastens with a spring. — Spring mattress, a spring bed. — Spring of an arch (Arch.) See Springing line of an arch, under Springing. — Spring of pork, the lower part of a fore quarter, which is divided from the neck, and has the leg and foot without the shoulder. [Obs.] Nares. Sir, pray hand the spring of pork to me. Gayton. — Spring pin (Locomotive Engines), an iron rod fitted between the springs and the axle boxes, to sustain and regulate the pressure on the axles. — Spring rye, a kind of rye sown in the spring; — in distinction from winter rye, sown in autumn. — Spring stay (Naut.), a preventer stay, to assist the regular one. R. H. Dana, Jr. — Spring tide, the tide which happens at, or soon after, the new and the full moon, and which rises higher than common tides. See Tide. — Spring wagon, a wagon in which springs are interposed between the body and the axles to form elastic supports. — Spring wheat, any kind of wheat sown in the spring; — in distinction from winter wheat, which is sown in autumn.

SPRINGAL; SPRINGALD; SPRINGALL Spring"al, Spring"ald, Spring"all, a. Etym: [Scot. springald, springel, fr. Scot. & E. spring.]

Defn: An active, springly young man. [Obs.] "There came two springals of full tender years." Spenser. Joseph, when he was sold to Potiphar, that great man, was a fair young springall. Latimer.

SPRINGAL Spring"al, n. Etym: [OF. espringale; of Teutonic origin, akin to E. spring.]

Defn: An ancient military engine for casting stones and arrows by means of a spring.

SPRINGBOARD
Spring"board`, n.

Defn: An elastic board, secured at the ends, or at one end, often by elastic supports, used in performing feats of agility or in exercising.

SPRINGBOK; SPRINGBUCK Spring"bok`, Spring"buck`, n. Etym: [D. springbok; springen to spring, leap + bok a he-goat, buck.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A South African gazelle (Gazella euchore) noted for its graceful form and swiftness, and for its peculiar habit of springing lighty and suddenly into the air. It has a white dorsal stripe, expanding into a broad patch of white on the rump and tail. Called also springer. [Written also springboc, and springbock.]

SPRINGE Springe, n. Etym: [From Spring, v. i.: cf. G. sprenkel, Prov. E. springle.]

Defn: A noose fastened to an elastic body, and drawn close with a
sudden spring, whereby it catches a bird or other animal; a gin; a
snare.
As a woodcock to mine own springe. Shak.

SPRINGE
Springe, v. t.

Defn: To catch in a springe; to insnare. [R.]

SPRINGE
Spring"e ( or ), v. t. Etym: [OE. sprengen. See Sprinkle.]

Defn: To sprinkle; to scatter. [Obs.] He would sowen some difficulty, Or springen cockle in our cleane corn. Chaucer.

SPRINGER
Spring"er, n.

1. One who, or that which, springs; specifically, one who rouses game.

2. A young plant. [Obs.] Evelyn.

3. (Arch.) (a) The impost, or point at which an arch rests upon its support, and from which it seems to spring. Hence: (b) The bottom stone of an arch, which lies on the impost. The skew back is one form of springer. (c) The rib of a groined vault, as being the solid abutment for each section of vaulting.

4. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The grampus.

5. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A variety of the field spaniel. See Spaniel.

6. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A species of antelope; the sprinkbok.

SPRINGHALT
Spring"halt`, n. (Far.)

Defn: A kind of lameness in horse. See Stringhalt. Shak.

SPRINGHEAD
Spring"head`, n.

Defn: A fountain or source.

SPRINGINESS
Spring"i*ness, n.

Defn: The state or quality of being springly. Boyle.

SPRINGING
Spring"ing, n.

1. The act or process of one who, or that which, springs.

2. Growth; increase; also, that which springs up; a shoot; a plant. Thou blessest the springing thereof. Ps. lxv. 10. Springing line of an arch (Arch.), the horizontal line drawn through the junction of the vertical face of the impost with the curve of the intrados; — called also spring of an arch.

SPRINGLE
Sprin"gle, n.

Defn: A springe. [Prov. Eng.]

SPRINGLET
Spring"let, n.

Defn: A little spring.
But yet from out the little hill Oozes the slender springlet still.
Sir W. Scott.

SPRING STEEL
Spring steel.

Defn: A variety of steel, elastic, strong, and tough, rolled for springs, etc.

SPRINGTAIL
Spring"tail`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any one of numerous species of small apterous insects belonging to the order Thysanura. They have two elastic caudal stylets which can be bent under the abdomen and then suddenly extended like a spring, thus enabling them to leap to a considerable distance. See Collembola, and Podura.

SPRINGTIDE
Spring"tide, n.

Defn: The time of spring; springtime. Thomson.

SPRINGTIME
Spring"time`, n.

Defn: The season of spring; springtide.

SPRINGY
Spring"y, a. [Compar. Springier; superl. Springiest.] Etym: [From
Spring.]

1. Resembling, having the qualities of, or pertaining to, a spring; elastic; as, springy steel; a springy step. Though her little frame was slight, it was firm and springy. Sir W. Scott.

2. Abounding with springs or fountains; wet; spongy; as, springy land.

SPRINKLE Sprin"kle, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Sprinkled; p. pr. & vb. n. Sprinkling.] Etym: [OE. sprenkelen, freq. of sprengen to sprinkle, to scatter, AS. sprengan, properly, to make to spring, causative of springan to spring; akin to D. sprenkelen to sprinkle, G. sprengen. See Spring, v. i., and cf. Sprent.]

1. To scatter in small drops or particles, as water, seed, etc.

2. To scatter on; to disperse something over in small drops or particles; to besprinkle; as, to sprinkle the earth with water; to sprinkle a floor with sand.

3. To baptize by the application of a few drops, or a small quantity, of water; hence, to cleanse; to purify. Having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience. Heb. x. 22.

SPRINKLE
Sprin"kle, v. i.

1. To scatter a liquid, or any fine substance, so that it may fall in particles. And the priest shall . . . sprinkle of the oil with his finger seven times before the Lord. Lev. xiv. 16.

2. To rain moderately, or with scattered drops falling now and then; as, it sprinkles.

3. To fly or be scattered in small drops or particles.

SPRINKLE
Sprin"kle, n.

1. A small quantity scattered, or sparsely distributed; a sprinkling.

2. A utensil for sprinkling; a sprinkler. [Obs.]

SPRINKLER
Sprin"kler, n.

1. One who sprinkles.

2. An instrument or vessel used in sprinkling; specifically, a watering pot.

SPRINKLING
Sprin"kling, n.

1. The act of one who, or that which, sprinkles. Baptism may well enough be performed by sprinkling or effusion of water. Ayliffe.

2. A small quantity falling in distinct drops or particles; as, a sprinkling of rain or snow.

3. Hence, a moderate number or quantity distributed like drops. Craik.

SPRINT
Sprint, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Sprinted; p. pr. & vb. n. Sprinting.]
Etym: [Cf. Sprunt.]

Defn: To run very rapidly; to run at full speed. A runner [in a quarter-mile race] should be able to sprint the whole way. Encyc. Brit.

SPRINT
Sprint, n.

Defn: The act of sprinting; a run of a short distance at full speed. Sprint race, a foot race at the highest running speed; — usually limited to distance under a quarter of a mile.

SPRINTER
Sprint"er, n.

Defn: One who sprints; one who runs in sprint races; as, a champion sprinter.

SPRIT
Sprit, v. t. Etym: [Akin to G. spritzen, sprützen. See Sprit, v. i.]

Defn: To throw out with force from a narrow orifice; to eject; to spurt out. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.

SPRIT Sprit, v. i. Etym: [AS. spryttan to sprout, but. See Sprout, v. i., and cf. Spurt, v. t., Sprit a spar.]

Defn: To sprout; to bud; to germinate, as barley steeped for malt.

SPRIT
Sprit, n.

Defn: A shoot; a sprout. [Obs.] Mortimer.

SPRIT Sprit, n. Etym: [OE. spret, AS. spreót a sprit; spear; akin to D. spriet, and E. sprout, sprit, v.t. & i. See Sprout, v. i.] (Naut.)

Defn: A small boom, pole, or spar, which crosses the sail of a boat diagonally from the mast to the upper aftmost corner, which it is used to extend and elevate.

SPRITE Sprite, n. Etym: [OE. sprit, F. esprit, fr. L. spiritus. See Spirit, and cf. Sprightly.]

1. A spirit; a soul; a shade; also, an apparition. See Spright. Gaping graves received the wandering, guilty sprite. Dryden.

2. An elf; a fairy; a goblin.

3. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The green woodpecker, or yaffle.

SPRITEFUL; SPRITEFULLY; SPRITELINESS; SPRITELY Sprite"ful, a. Sprite"ful*ly, adv., Sprite"li*ness (, n., Sprite"ly, a., etc.

Defn: See Sprightful, Sprightfully, Sprightliness, Sprightly, etc.

SPRITSAIL Sprit"sail ( or ), n. (Naut.) (a) A sail extended by a sprit. (b) A sail formerly hung under the bowsprit, from the spritsail yard.

SPROCKET WHEEL
Sprock"et wheel`. Etym: [Etymology of sprocket is uncertain.] (Mach.)

Defn: Same as Chain wheel.

SPROD
Sprod, n. Etym: [Cf. Gael. & Ir. bradan a salmon.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A salmon in its second year. [Prov. Eng.]

SPRONG
Sprong, obs.

Defn: imp. of Spring. Sprung.

SPROUT Sprout, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Sprouted; p. pr. & vb. n. Sprouting.] Etym: [OE. sprouten, spruten; akin to OFries. spr, AS. spreótan, D. spruiten, G. spriessen, Sw. spruta to squirt, to spout. Cf. Sprit, v. t. & i., Sprit a spar, Spout, v. t., Spurt.]

1. To shoot, as the seed of a plant; to germinate; to push out new shoots; hence, to grow like shoots of plants.

2. To shoot into ramifications. [Obs.] Bacon.

SPROUT
Sprout, v. t.

1. To cause to sprout; as, the rain will sprout the seed.

2. To deprive of sprouts; as, to sprout potatoes.

SPROUT Sprout, n. Etym: [Cf. AS. sprote a sprout, sprig; akin to Icel. sproti, G. sprosse. See Sprout, v. i.]

1. The shoot of a plant; a shoot from the seed, from the stump, or from the root or tuber, of a plant or tree; more rarely, a shoot from the stem of a plant, or the end of a branch.

2. pl.

Defn: Young coleworts; Brussels sprouts. Johnson. Brussels sprouts
(Bot.) See under Brussels.

SPRUCE Spruce, n. Etym: [OE. Spruce or Pruse, Prussia, Prussian. So named because it was first known as a native of Prussia, or because its sprouts were used for making, spruce beer. Cf. Spruce beer, below, Spruce, a.]

1. (Bot.)

Defn: Any coniferous tree of the genus Picea, as the Norway spruce
(P. excelsa), and the white and black spruces of America (P. alba and
P. nigra), besides several others in the far Northwest. See Picea.

2. The wood or timber of the spruce tree.

3. Prussia leather; pruce. [Obs.] Spruce, a sort of leather corruptly so called for Prussia leather. E. Phillips. Douglas spruce (Bot.), a valuable timber tree (Pseudotsuga Douglasii) of Northwestern America. — Essence of spruce, a thick, dark-colored, bitterish, and acidulous liquid made by evaporating a decoction of the young branches of spruce. — Hemlock spruce (Bot.), a graceful coniferous tree (Tsuga Canadensis) of North America. Its timber is valuable, and the bark is largely used in tanning leather. — Spruce beer. Etym: [G. sprossenbier; sprosse sprout, shoot (akin to E. sprout, n.) + bier beer. The word was changed into spruce because the beer came from Prussia (OE. Spruce), or because it was made from the sprouts of the spruce. See Sprout, n., Beer, and cf. Spruce, n.] A kind of beer which is tinctured or flavored with spruce, either by means of the extract or by decoction. — Spruce grouse. (Zoöl.) Same as Spruce partridge, below. — Spruce leather. See Spruce, n., 3. — Spruce partridge (Zoöl.), a handsome American grouse (Dendragapus Canadensis) found in Canada and the Northern United States; — called also Canada grouse.

SPRUCE Spruce, a. [Compar. Sprucer; superl. Sprucest] Etym: [Perhaps fr. spruce a sort of leather from Prussia, which was an article of finery. See Spruce, n.]

1. Neat, without elegance or dignity; — formerly applied to things with a serious meaning; now chiefly applied to persons. "Neat and spruce array." Remedy of Love.

2. Sprightly; dashing. [Obs.] "Now, my spruce companions." Shak. He is so spruce that he can never be genteel. Tatler.

Syn.
— Finical; neat; trim. See Finical.
— Sruce"ly, adv.
— Spruce"ness, n.

SPRUCE
Spruce, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spruced; p. pr. & vb. n. Sprucing.]

Defn: To dress with affected neatness; to trim; to make spruce.

SPRUCE
Spruce, v. i.

Defn: To dress one's self with affected neatness; as, to spruce up.

SPRUE
Sprue, n. Etym: [Etymol. uncertain.]

1. (Founding) (a) Strictly, the hole through which melted metal is poured into the gate, and thence into the mold. (b) The waste piece of metal cast in this hole; hence, dross.

2. (Med.)

Defn: Same as Sprew.

SPRUG Sprug, v. t. Etym: [Cf. Prov. E. sprug up to dress neatly, sprag to prop, a., lively.]

Defn: To make smart. [Obs.]

SPRUNG
Sprung,

Defn: imp. & p. p. of Spring.

SPRUNG
Sprung, a. (Naut.)

Defn: Said of a spar that has been cracked or strained.

SPRUNT
Sprunt, v. i. Etym: [Cf. Sprout, v. i.]

Defn: To spring up; to germinate; to spring forward or outward. [Obs.] To sprunt up, to draw one's self up suddenly, as in anger or defiance; to bristle up. [Local, U.S.]

SPRUNT
Sprunt, n.

1. Anything short and stiff. [Obs.]

2. A leap; a spring. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]

3. A steep ascent in a road. [Prov. Eng.]

SPRUNT
Sprunt, a.

Defn: Active; lively; vigorous. [Obs.] Kersey.

SPRUNTLY
Sprunt"ly, adv.

Defn: In a sprunt manner; smartly; vigorously; youthfully. [Obs.] B.
Jonson.

SPRY
Spry, a. [Compar. Sprier or Spryer (; superl. Spriest or Spryest.]
Etym: [Cf. dial. Sw. sprygg lively, skittish, and E. sprag.]

Defn: Having great power of leaping or running; nimble; active. [U.S.
& Local Eng.]
She is as spry as a cricket. S. Judd (Margaret).
If I'm not so large as you, You are not so small as I, And not half
so spry. Emerson.

SPUD
Spud, n. Etym: [Cf. Dan. spyd a spear.]

1. A sharp, narrow spade, usually with a long handle, used by farmers for digging up large-rooted weeds; a similarly shaped implement used for various purposes. My spud these nettles from the stone can part. Swyft.

2. A dagger. [Obs.] olland.

3. Anything short and thick; specifically, a piece of dough boiled in fat. [Local, U.S.]

SPUE
Spue, v. t. & i.

Defn: See Spew.

SPUILZIE
Spuil"zie, n.

Defn: See Spulzie.

SPUKE
Spuke, n.

Defn: See Spook.

SPULLER
Spul"ler (, n. [For spooler.] Etym: [See Spool.]

Defn: One employed to inspect yarn, to see that it is well spun, and fit for the loom. [Prov. Eng.]

SPULZIE
Spul"zie, n. Etym: [Cf. Spoil.]

Defn: Plunder, or booty. [Written also spuilzie, and spulye.] Sir W.
Scott.

SPUME
Spume, n. Etym: [L. spuma. Cf. Pumice, Spoom.]

Defn: Frothy matter raised on liquids by boiling, effervescence, or agitation; froth; foam; scum. Materials dark and crude, Of spiritous and fiery spume. Milton.

SPUME
Spume, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Spumed; p. pr. & vb. n. Spuming.] Etym:
[L. spumare.]

Defn: To froth; to foam.

SPUMEOUS
Spume"ous, a.

Defn: Spumous. [Obs.] r. H. More.

SPUMESCENCE
Spu*mes"cence, n. Etym: [See Spumescent.]

Defn: The state of being foamy; frothiness.

SPUMESCENT Spu*mes"cent, a. Etym: [L. spumescens, p.pr. of spumescere to grow foamy, from spuma foam.]

Defn: Resembling froth or foam; foaming.

SPUMID
Spum"id, a. Etym: [L. spumidis.]

Defn: Spumous; frothy. [Obs.]

SPUMIFEROUS
Spu*mif"er*ous, a. Etym: [L. spumifier; spuma foam + ferra bear.]

Defn: Producing foam.

SPUMINESS
Spum"i*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or condition of being spumy; spumescence.

SPUMOUS; SPUMY
Spum"ous, Spum"y, a. Etym: [L. spumosus, spuma foam: cf. F. spumeux.]

Defn: Consisting of, containing, or covered with, froth, scum, or
foam; frothy; foamy.
The spumous and florid state of the blood. Arbuthnot.
The spumy waves proclaim the watery war. Dryden.

SPUN
Spun,

Defn: imp. & p. p. of Spin. Spun hay, hay twisted into ropes for convenient carriage, as on a military expedition. — Spun silk, a cheap article produced from floss, or short-fibered, broken, and waste silk, carded and spun, in distinction from the long filaments wound from the cocoon. It is often mixed with cotton. — Spun yarn (Naut.), a line formed of two or more rope-yarns loosely twisted.

SPUNGE
Spunge (spûnj), n.

Defn: A sponge. [Obs.]

SPUNK
Spunk (spûnk), n. Etym: [Gael. spong, or Ir. sponc, tinder, sponge;
cf. AS. sponge a sponge (L. spongia), spon a chip. Cf. Sponge, Punk.]
[Written also sponk.]

1. Wood that readily takes fire; touchwood; also, a kind of tinder made from a species of fungus; punk; amadou. Sir T. Browne.

2. An inflammable temper; spirit; mettle; pluck; as, a man of spunk. [Colloq.] A lawless and dangerous set, men of spunk, and spirit, and power, both of mind and body. Prof. Wilson.

SPUNKY
Spunk"y, a. [Compar. Spunkier; superl. Spunkiest.]

Defn: Full of spunk; quick; spirited. [Colloq.]

SPUR Spur, n. Etym: [See Sparrow.] (Zoöl.) (a) A sparrow. [Scot.] (b) A tern. [Prov. Eng.]

SPUR Spur, n. Etym: [OE. spure, AS. spura, spora; akin to D. spoor, G. sporn, OHG. sporo, Icel. spori, Dan. spore, Sw. sporre, and to AS. spor a trace, footstep, spyrian to trace, track, examine, and E. spurn. sq. root171. Cf. Sparrow, Spere, Spoor, Spurn.]

1. An implement secured to the heel, or above the heel, of a horseman, to urge the horse by its pressure. Modern spurs have a small wheel, or rowel, with short points. Spurs were the badge of knighthood. And on her feet a pair of spurs large. Chaucer.

2. That which goads to action; an incitement. Fame is the spur that the clear spirit doth raise (That last infirmity of noble mind) To scorn delights and live laborious days. Milton.

3. Something that projects; a snag.

4. One of the large or principal roots of a tree. Shak.

5. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any stiff, sharp spine, as on the wings and legs of certain burds, on the legs of insects, etc.; especially, the spine on a cock's leg.

6. A mountain that shoots from any other mountain, or range of mountains, and extends to some distance in a lateral direction, or at right angles.

7. A spiked iron worn by seamen upon the bottom of the boot, to enable them to stand upon the carcass of a whale, to strip off the blubber.

8. (Carp.)

Defn: A brace strengthening a post and some connected part, as a rafter or crossbeam; a strut.

9. (Arch.) (a) The short wooden buttress of a post. (b) A projection from the round base of a column, occupying the angle of a square plinth upon which the base rests, or bringing the bottom bed of the base to a nearly square form. It is generally carved in leafage.

10. (Bot.) (a) Any projecting appendage of a flower looking like a spur. Gray. (b) Ergotized rye or other grain. [R.]

11. (Fort.)

Defn: A wall that crosses a part of a rampart and joins to an inner wall.

12. (Shipbuilding) (a) A piece of timber fixed on the bilge ways before launching, having the upper ends bolted to the vessel's side. (b) A curved piece of timber serving as a half to support the deck where a whole beam can not be placed. Spur fowl (Zoöl.), any one of several species of Asiatic gallinaceous birds of the genus Galloperdix, allied to the jungle fowl. The males have two or more spurs on each leg. — Spur gear (Mach.), a cogwheel having teeth which project radially and stand parallel to the axis; a spur wheel. — Spur gearing, gearing in which spur gears are used. See under Gearing. — Spur pepper. (Bot.) See the Note under Capsicum. — Spur wheel. Same as Spur gear, above.

SPUR
Spur, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spurred; p. pr. & vb. n. Spurring.]

1. To prick with spurs; to incite to a more hasty pace; to urge or goad; as, to spur a horse.

2. To urge or encourage to action, or to a more vigorous pursuit of an object; to incite; to stimulate; to instigate; to impel; to drive. Love will not be spurred to what it loathes. Shak.

3. To put spurs on; as, a spurred boot.

SPUR
Spur, v. i.

Defn: To spur on one' horse; to travel with great expedition; to
hasten; hence, to press forward in any pursuit. "Now spurs the lated
traveler." Shak.
The Parthians shall be there, And, spurring from the fight, confess
their fear. Dryden.
The roads leading to the capital were covered with multitudes of
yeomen, spurring hard to Westminster. Macaulay.
Some bold men, . . . by spurring on, refine themselves. Grew.

SPURGALL
Spur"gall`, n.

Defn: A place galled or excoriated by much using of the spur.

SPURGALL
Spur"gall`, v. t.

Defn: To gall or wound with a spur.

SPURGE
Spurge, v. t. Etym: [Etymol. uncertain.]

Defn: To emit foam; to froth; — said of the emission of yeast from beer in course of fermentation. [Obs.] W. Cartright.

SPURGE Spurge, n. Etym: [OF. espurge, F. épurge, from OF. espurgier to purge, L. expurgare. See Expurgate, Purge.] (Bot.)

Defn: Any plant of the genus Euphobia. See Euphorbia. Spurge flax, an
evergreen shrub (Daphne Gnidium) with crowded narrow leaves. It is
native of Southern Europe.
— Spurge laurel, a European shrub (Daphne Laureola) with oblong
evergreen leaves.
— Spurge nettle. See under Nettle.
— Spurge olive, an evergreen shrub (Daphne oleoides) found in the
Mediterranean region.

SPURGEWORT
Spurge"wort`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: Any euphorbiaceous plant. Lindley.

SPURGING
Spur"ging, n. Etym: [See 2d Spurge.]

Defn: A purging. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

SPURIOUS
Spu"ri*ous, a. Etym: [L. spurius.]

1. Not proceeding from the true source, or from the source pretended; not genuine; false; adulterate.

2. Not legitimate; bastard; as, spurious issue. "Her spurious firstborn." Milton. Spurious primary, or Spurious quill (Zoöl.), the first, or outer, primary quill when rudimentary or much reduced in size, as in certain singing birds. — Spurious wing (Zoöl.), the bastard wing, or alula.

Syn.
— Counterfeit; false; adulterate; supposititious; fictitious;
bastard.
— Spu"ri*ous*ly, adv.
— Spu"ri*ous*ness, n.

SPURLESS
Spur"less, a.

Defn: Having no spurs.

SPURLING
Spur"ling, n. Etym: [See Sparling.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A tern. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.] Tusser.

SPURLING-LINE Spur"ling-line`, n. Etym: [Cf. Prov. E. spurling the rut of a wheel, a cart rut, AS. spor a track, trace, E. spoor. Scot. spurl to sprawl.] (Naut.)

Defn: The line which forms the communication between the steering wheel and the telltale.

SPURN
Spurn, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spurned; p. pr. & vb. n. Spurning.] Etym:
[OE. spurnen to kick against, to stumble over, AS. spurnan to kick,
offend; akin to spura spur, OS. & OHG. spurnan to kick, Icel. spyrna,
L. spernere to despise, Skr. sphur to jerk, to push. sq. root171. See
Spur.]

1. To drive back or away, as with the foot; to kick. [The bird] with his foot will spurn adown his cup. Chaucer. I spurn thee like a cur out of my way. Shak.

2. To reject with disdain; to scorn to receive or accept; to treat with contempt. What safe and nicely I might well delay By rule of knighthood, I disdain and spurn. Shak. Domestics will pay a more cheerful service when they find themselves not spurned because fortune has laid them at their master's feet. Locke.

SPURN
Spurn, v. i.

1. To kick or toss up the heels. The miller spurned at a stone. Chaucer. The drunken chairman in the kennel spurns. Gay.

2. To manifest disdain in rejecting anything; to make contemptuous opposition or resistance. Nay, more, to spurn at your most royal image. Shak.

SPURN
Spurn, n.

1. A kick; a blow with the foot. [R.] What defence can properly be used in such a despicable encounter as this but either the slap or the spurn Milton.

2. Disdainful rejection; contemptuous tratment. The insolence of office and the spurns That patient merit of the unworthy takes. Shak.

3. (Mining)

Defn: A body of coal left to sustain an overhanding mass.

SPURNER
Spurn"er, n.

Defn: One who spurns.

SPURN-WATER
Spurn"-wa`ter, n. (Naut.)

Defn: A channel at the end of a deck to restrain the water.

SPURRED
Spurred, a.

1. Wearing spurs; furnished with a spur or spurs; having shoots like spurs.

2. Affected with spur, or ergot; as, spurred rye. Spurred corolla (Bot.), a corolla in which there are one or more petals with a spur.

SPURRER
Spur"rer, n.

Defn: One who spurs.

SPURREY
Spur"rey, n. (Bot.)

Defn: See Spurry.

SPURRIER
Spur"ri*er, n.

Defn: One whose occupation is to make spurs. B. Jonson. "The saddlers and spurriers would be ruined by thousands." Macaulay.

SPUR-ROYAL
Spur"-roy`al, n.

Defn: A gold coin, first made in the reign of Edward IV., having a star on the reverse resembling the rowel of a spur. In the reigns of Elizabeth and of James I., its value was fifteen shillings. [Written also spur-rial, and spur-ryal.]

SPURRY
Spur"ry, n. Etym: [D. or OF. spurrie; cf. G. spergel, NL. spergula.]
(Bot.)

Defn: An annual herb (Spergula arvensis) with whorled filiform leaves, sometimes grown in Europe for fodder. [Written also spurrey.] Sand spurry (Bot.), any low herb of the genus Lepigonum, mostly found in sandy places.

SPUR-SHELL
Spur"-shell`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any one of several species of handsome gastropod shells of the genus Trochus, or Imperator. The shell is conical, with the margin toothed somewhat like the rowel of a spur.

SPURT
Spurt, v. i. Etym: [Written also spirt, and originally the same word
as sprit; OE. sprutten to sprout, AS. spryttan. See Sprit, v. i.,
Sprout, v. i.]

Defn: To gush or issue suddenly or violently out in a stream, as liquor from a cask; to rush from a confined place in a small stream or jet; to spirt. Thus the small jet, which hasty hands unlock, Spurts in the gardener's eyes who turns the cock. Pope.

SPURT
Spurt, v. t.

Defn: To throw out, as a liquid, in a stream or jet; to drive or force out with violence, as a liquid from a pipe or small orifice; as, to spurt water from the mouth.

SPURT
Spurt, n.

1. A sudden or violent ejection or gushing of a liquid, as of water from a tube, orifice, or other confined place, or of blood from a wound; a jet; a spirt.

2. A shoot; a bud. [Obs.] Holland.

3. Fig.: A sudden outbreak; as, a spurt of jealousy. Spurt grass (Bot.), a rush fit for basket work. Dr. Prior.

SPURT Spurt, n. Etym: [Cf. Icel. sprette a spurt, spring, run, spretta to sprit, spring.]

Defn: A sudden and energetic effort, as in an emergency; an increased
exertion for a brief space.
The long, steady sweep of the so-called "paddle" tried him almost as
much as the breathless strain of the spurt. T. Hughes.

SPURT
Spurt, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Spurted; p. pr. & vb. n. Spurting.]

Defn: To make a sudden and violent exertion, as in an emergency.

SPURTLE
Spur"tle, v. t. Etym: [Freq. of spurt.]

Defn: To spurt or shoot in a scattering manner. [Obs.] Drayton.

SPURWAY
Spur"way`, n. Etym: [Prov. E. spoor a track, trace (AS. spor) + way.]

Defn: A bridle path. [R.]

SPUR-WINGED
Spur"-winged`, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Having one or more spurs on the bend of the wings. Spur-winged goose (Zoöl.), any one of several species of long-legged African geese of the genus Plectropterus and allied genera, having a strong spur on the bend of the wing, as the Gambo goose (P. Gambensis) and the Egyptian, or Nile, goose (Alopochen Ægyptiaca). — Spur-winged plover (Zoöl.), an Old World plover (Hoplopterus spinosus) having a sharp spur on the bend of the wing. It inhabits Northern Africa and the adjacent parts of Asia and Europe.

SPUT
Sput, n. (Steam Boiler)

Defn: An annular reënforce, to strengthen a place where a hole is made.

SPUTATION Spu*ta"tion, n. Etym: [L. sputare to spit, v. intens. fr. spuere to spit: cf. F. sputation.]

Defn: The act of spitting; expectoration. Harvey.

SPUTATIVE
Spu"ta*tive, a.

Defn: Inclined to spit; spitting much. Sir H. Wotton.

SPUTE
Spute, v. t. Etym: [Abbrev. from dispute.]

Defn: To dispute; to discuss. [Obs.] Wyclif.

SPUTTER
Sput"ter, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Sputtered; p. pr. & vb. n. Sputtering.]
Etym: [From the root of spout or spit to eject from the mputh. Cf.
Splutter.]

1. To spit, or to emit saliva from the mouth in small, scattered portions, as in rapid speaking.

2. To utter words hastily and indistinctly; to speak so rapidly as to emit saliva. They could neither of them speak their rage, and so fell a sputtering at one another, like two roasting apples. Congreve.

3. To throw out anything, as little jets of steam, with a noise like that made by one sputtering. Like the green wood . . . sputtering in the flame. Dryden.

SPUTTER
Sput"ter, v. t.

Defn: To spit out hastily by quick, successive efforts, with a spluttering sound; to utter hastily and confusedly, without control over the organs of speech. In the midst of caresses, and without the last pretend incitement, to sputter out the basest accusations. Swift.

SPUTTER
Sput"ter, n.

Defn: Moist matter thrown out in small detached particles; also, confused and hasty speech.

SPUTTERER
Sput"ter*er, n.

Defn: One who sputters.

SPUTUM
Spu"tum, n.; pl. Sputa. Etym: [L., from spuere, sputum, to spit.]

Defn: That which is expectorated; a salival discharge; spittle; saliva.

SPY Spy, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spied; p. pr. & vb. n. Spying.] Etym: [OE. spien, espien, OF. espier, F. épier, OHG. speh, G. spähen; akin to L. specere to see, Skr. spa(Espy, v.t., Aspect, Auspice, Circumspect, Conspicuouc, Despise, Frontispiece, Inspect, Prospect, Respite, Scope, Scecimen, Spectacle, Specter, Speculate, Spice, Spite, Suspicion.]

Defn: To gain sight of; to discover at a distance, or in a state of concealment; to espy; to see. One in reading, skipped over all sentences where he spied a note of admiration. Swift.

2. To discover by close search or examination. Look about with yout eyes; spy what things are to be reformed in the church of England. Latimer.

3. To explore; to view; inspect; and examine secretly, as a country; — usually with out. Moses sent to spy Jaazer, and they took the villages thereof. Num. xxi. 32.

SPY
Spy, v. i.

Defn: To search narrowly; to scrutinize.
It is my nature's plague To spy into abuses. Shak.

SPY
Spy, n.; pl. Spies. Etym: [See Spy, v., and cf. Espy, n.]

1. One who keeps a constant watch of the conduct of others. "These wretched spies of wit." Dryden.

2. (Mil.)

Defn: A person sent secretly into an enemy's camp, territory, or fortifications, to inspect his works, ascertain his strength, movements, or designs, and to communicate such intelligence to the proper officer. Spy money, money paid to a spy; the reward for private or secret intelligence regarding the enemy. — Spy Wednesday (Eccl.), the Wednesday immediately preceding the festival of Easter; — so called in allusion to the betrayal of Christ by Judas Iscariot.

Syn.
— See Emissary, and Scout.

SPYBOAT
Spy"boat`, n.

Defn: A boat sent to make discoveries and bring intelligence.
Arbuthnot.

SPYGLASS
Spy"glass, n.

Defn: A small telescope for viewing distant terrestrial objects.

SPYISM
Spy"ism

Defn: , n. Act or business of spying. [R.]

SPYNACE; SPYNE
Spy"nace, Spyne, n. (Naut.)

Defn: See Pinnace, n., 1 (a).

SQUAB Squab, a. Etym: [Cf. dial. Sw. sqvabb a soft and fat body, sqvabba a fat woman, Icel. kvap jelly, jellylike things, and and E. quab.]

1. Fat; thick; plump; bulky. Nor the squab daughter nor the wife were nice. Betterton.

2. Unfledged; unfeathered; as, a squab pigeon. King.

SQUAB
Squab, n.

1. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A neatling of a pigeon or other similar bird, esp. when very fat and not fully fledged.

2. A person of a short, fat figure. Gorgonious sits abdominous and wan, Like a fat squab upon a Chinese fan. Cowper.

3. A thickly stuffed cushion; especially, one used for the seat of a sofa, couch, or chair; also, a sofa. Punching the squab of chairs and sofas. Dickens. On her large squab you find her spread. Pope.

SQUAB Squab, adv. Etym: [Cf. dial. Sw. squapp, a word imitative of a splash, and E. squab fat, unfledged.]

Defn: With a heavy fall; plump. [Vulgar] The eagle took the tortoise up into the air, and dropped him down, squab, upon a rock. L'Estrange.

SQUAB
Squab, v. i.

Defn: To fall plump; to strike at one dash, or with a heavy stroke.
[Obs.]

SQUABASH
Squa*bash", v. t.

Defn: To crush; to quash; to squash. [Colloq. or Slang, Scot.] Sir W.
Scott.

SQUABBISH
Squab"bish, a.

Defn: Thick; fat; heavy.

SQUABBLE
Squab"ble, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Squabbled; p. pr. & vb. n.
Squabbling.] Etym: [Cf. dial. Sw. skvabbel a dispute, skvappa to
chide.]

1. To contend for superiority in an unseemly maner; to scuffle; to struggle; to wrangle; to quarrel.

2. To debate peevishly; to dispute. The sense of these propositions is very plain, though logicians might squabble a whole day whether they should rank them under negative or affirmative. I. Watts.

Syn.
— To dispute; contend; scuffle; wrangle; quarrel; struggle.

SQUABBLE
Squab"ble, v. t. (Print.)

Defn: To disarrange, so that the letters or lines stand awry or are mixed and need careful readjustment; — said of type that has been set up.

SQUABBLE
Squab"ble, n.

Defn: A scuffle; a wrangle; a brawl.

SQUABBLER
Squab"bler, n.

Defn: One who squabbles; a contentious person; a brawler.

SQUABBY
Squab"by, a.

Defn: Short and thick; suqabbish.

SQUAB-CHICK
Squab"-chick`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A young chicken before it is fully fledged. [Prov. Eng.]

SQUACCO
Squac"co, n.; pl. Squaccos (. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A heron (Ardea comata) found in Asia, Northern Africa, and
Southern Europe.

SQUAD
Squad, n. Etym: [F. escouade, fr. Sp. escuadra, or It. squadra,
(assumed) LL. exquadrare to square; L. ex + quadra a square. See
Square.]

1. (Mil.)

Defn: A small party of men assembled for drill, inspection, or other purposes.

2. Hence, any small party.

SQUAD
Squad, n.

Defn: Sloppy mud. [Prov. Eng.] Tennyson.

SQUADRON Squad"ron, n. Etym: [F. escadron, formerly also esquadron, or It. squadrone. See Squad.]

1. Primarily, a square; hence, a square body of troops; a body of troops drawn up in a square. [R.] Those half-rounding quards Just met, and, closing, stood in squadron joined. Milton.

2. (Mil.)

Defn: A body of cavarly comparising two companies or troops, and averging from one hundred and twenty to two hundred men.

3. (Naut.)

Defn: A detachment of vessels employed on any particular service or station, under the command of the senior officer; as, the North Atlantic Squadron. Totten. Flying squadron, a squadron of observation or practice, that cruises rapidly about from place to place. Ham. Nav. Encyc.

SQUADRONED
Squad"roned, a.

Defn: Formed into squadrons, or squares. [R.] Milton.

SQUAIL
Squail, v. i.

Defn: To throw sticls at cocks; to throw anything about awkwardly or irregularly. [Prov. Eng.] Southey.

SQUAIMOUS
Squai"mous, a.

Defn: Squeamish. [Obs.]

SQUALI
Squa"li, n. pl. Etym: [NL., fr. L. squalus a kind of sea fish.]
(Zoöl.)

Defn: The suborder of elasmobranch fishes which comprises the sharks.

SQUALID
Squal"id, a. Etym: [L. squalidus, fr. squalere to be foul or filthy.]

Defn: Dirty through neglect; foul; filthy; extremely dirty.
Uncomed his locks, and squalid his attrie. Dryden.
Those squalid dens, which are the reproach of large capitals.
Macaulay.

SQUALIDITY
Squa*lid"i*ty, n. Etym: [L. squaliditas.]

Defn: The quality or state of being squalid; foulness; filthiness.

SQUALIDLY
Squal"id*ly, adv.

Defn: In a squalid manner.

SQUALIDNESS
Squal"id*ness, n.

Defn: Quality or state of being squalid.

SQUALL Squall, n. Etym: [Cf. Sw. sqval an impetuous running of water, sqvalregn a violent shower of rain, sqala to stream, to gush.]

Defn: A sudden violent gust of wind often attended with rain or snow.
The gray skirts of a lifting squall. Tennyson.
Black squall, a squall attended with dark, heavy clouds.
— Thick squall, a black squall accompanied by rain, hail, sleet, or
snow. Totten.
— White squall, a squall which comes unexpectedly, without being
marked in its approach by the clouds. Totten.

SQUALL
Squall, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Squalled; p. pr. & vb. n. Squalling.]
Etym: [Icel. skvala. Cf. Squeal.]

Defn: To cry out; to scream or cry violently, as a woman frightened, or a child in anger or distress; as, the infant squalled.

SQUALL
Squall, n.

Defn: A loud scream; a harsh cry. There oft are heard the notes of infant woe, -The short, thick sob, loud scream, and shriller squall. Pope.

SQUALLER
Squall"er, n.

Defn: One who squalls; a screamer.

SQUALLY
Squall"y, a.

1. Abounding with squalls; disturbed often with sudden and violent gusts of wind; gusty; as, squally weather.

2. (Agric.)

Defn: Interrupted by unproductive spots; — said of a flied of turnips or grain. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

3. (Weaving)

Defn: Not equally good throughout; not uniform; uneven; faulty; — said of cloth.

SQUALODON
Squa"lo*don, n. Etym: [NL. Squalus a genus of sharks + Gr. (Paleon.)

Defn: A genus of fossil whales belonging to the Phocodontia; — so called because their are serrated, like a shark's.

SQUALODONT
Squa"lo*dont, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Pertaining to Squalodon.

SQUALOID Squa"loid, a. Etym: [NL. Squalus a genus of sharks (fr. L. squalus a kind of sea fish) + -oid.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Like or pertaining to a shark or sharks.

SQUALOR
Squa"lor, n. Etym: [L., fr. squalere to be foul or filthy.]

Defn: Squalidness; foulness; filthness; squalidity.
The heterogenous indigent multitude, everywhere wearing nearly the
same aspect of squalor. Taylor.
To bring this sort of squalor among the upper classes. Dickens.

SQUAM Squam, n. [From Squam, shortened fr. Annisquam, name of a village on the coast of Massachusetts.]

Defn: An oilskin hat or southwester; — a fisherman's name. [U. S.]

SQUAMA
Squa"ma, n.; pl. Squamæ. Etym: [L. a scale.] (Med.)

Defn: A scale cast off from the skin; a thin dry shred consisting of epithelium.

SQUAMACEOUS
Squa*ma"ceous, a.

Defn: Squamose.

SQUAMATA
Squa*ma"ta, n. pl. Etym: [NL., fr. L. squamatus scaly.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A division of edentates having the body covered with large, imbricated horny scales. It includes the pangolins.

SQUAMATE; SQUAMATED
Squa"mate, Squa"ma*ted, a. Etym: [L. squamatus.]

Defn: Same as Squamose.

SQUAMDUCK
Squam"duck`. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The American eider duck. [Local, U.S.]

SQUAME
Squame, n. Etym: [L. squama scale.]

1. A scale. [Obs.] "iron squames." Chaucer.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The scale, or exopodite, of an antenna of a crustacean.

SQUAMELLA Squa*mel"la, n.; pl. Squamellæ. Etym: [NL., dim. fr. L. squama a scale.] (Bot.)

Defn: A diminutive scale or bractlet, such as those found on the receptacle in many composite plants; a palea.

SQUAMELLATE
Squa*mel"late, a.

Defn: Furnished or covered with little scales; squamulose.

SQUAMIFORM
Squa"mi*form, a.Etym: [L. squama a scale + -form.]

Defn: Having the shape of a scale.

SQUAMIGEROUS Squa*mig"er*ous, a. Etym: [L. squamiger; squama a scale + gerere to bear.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Bearing scales.

SQUAMIPEN Squam"i*pen ( or ), n. ;pl. Squamipennes. Etym: [L. squama a scale + penna a fin: cf. F. squamipenne.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any one of a group of fishes having the dorsal and anal fins partially covered with scales.

Note: They are compressed and mostly, bright-colored tropical fishes, belonging to Chætodon and allied genera. Many of them are called soral fishes, and angel fishes.

SQUAMOID
Squa"moid, a. Etym: [L. squama scale + -oid.]

Defn: Resembling a scale; also, covered with scales; scaly.

SQUAMOSAL Squa*mo"sal, a. (Anat.) (a) Scalelike; squamous; as, the squamosal bone. (b) Of or pertaining to the squamosal bone. — n.

Defn: The squamous part of the temporal bone, or a bone correspondending to it, under Temporal.

SQUAMOSE; SQUAMOUS Squa*mose" or, Squa"mous, Etym: [L. squamosus, fr. squama a scale: cf. F. squameux.]

1. Covered with, or consisting of, scales; resembling a scale; scaly; as, the squamose cones of the pine; squamous epithelial cells; the squamous portion of the temporal bone, which is so called from a fancied resemblance to a scale.

2. (Anat.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to the squamosal bone; squamosal.

SQUAMOZYGOMATIC
Squa`mo*zyg`o*mat"ic, a. (Anat.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to both the squamosal and zygomatic bones; — applied to a bone, or a center of ossification, in some fetal skulls. — n.

Defn: A squamozygomatic bone.

SQUAMULA Squam"u*la ( or ), n.; pl. Squamulæ. Etym: [L., dim. of squama a scale.] (Bot.)

Defn: One of the little hypogynous scales found in the flowers of grasses; a lodicule.

SQUAMULATE
Squam"u*late, a.

Defn: Same as Squamulose.

SQUAMULE
Squam"ule, n. (Bot.)

Defn: Same as Squamula.

SQUAMULOSE
Squam"u*lose`, a.

Defn: Having little scales; squamellate; squamulate.

SQUANDER Squan"der, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Squandered; p. pr. & vb. n. Squandering.] Etym: [Cf. Scot. squatter to splash water about, to scatter, to squander, Prov. E. swatter, Dan. sqvatte, Sw. sqvätta to squirt, sqvättra to squander, Icel. skvetta to squirt out, to throw out water.]

1. To scatter; to disperse. [Obs.] Our squandered troops he rallies. Dryden.

2. To spend lavishly or profusely; to spend prodigally or wastefully; to use without economy or judgment; to dissipate; as, to squander an estate. The crime of squandering health is equal to the folly. Rambler.

Syn.
— To spend; expend; waste; scatter; dissipate.

SQUANDER
Squan"der, v. i.

1. To spend lavishly; to be wasteful. They often squandered, but they never gave. Savage.

2. To wander at random; to scatter. [R.] The wise man's folly is anatomized Even by squandering glances of the fool. Shak.

SQUANDER
Squan"der, n.

Defn: The act of squandering; waste.

SQUANDERER
Squan"der*er, n.

Defn: One who squanders.

SQUANDERINGLY
Squan"der*ing*ly, adv.

Defn: In a squandering manner.

SQUARE Square, n. Etym: [OF. esquarre, esquierre, F. équerre a carpenter's square (cf. It. squadra), fr. (assumed) LL. exquadrare to make square; L. ex + quadrus a square, fr. quattuor four. See Four, and cf. Quadrant, Squad, Squer a square.]

1. (Geom.) (a) The corner, or angle, of a figure. [Obs.] (b) A parallelogram having four equal sides and four right angles.

2. Hence, anything which is square, or nearly so; as: (a) A square piece or fragment. He bolted his food down his capacious throat in squares of three inches. Sir W. Scott.

(b) A pane of glass. (c) (Print.) A certain number of lines, forming a portion of a column, nearly square; — used chiefly in reckoning the prices of advertisements in newspapers. (d) (Carp.) One hundred superficial feet.

3. An area of four sides, generally with houses on each side; sometimes, a solid block of houses; also, an open place or area for public use, as at the meeting or intersection of two or more streets. The statue of Alexander VII. stands in the large square of the town. Addison.

4. (Mech. & Joinery)

Defn: An instrument having at least one right angle and two or more straight edges, used to lay out or test square work. It is of several forms, as the T square, the carpenter's square, the try-square., etc.

5. Hence, a pattern or rule. [Obs.]

6. (Arith. & Alg.)

Defn: The product of a number or quantity multiplied by itself; thus, 64 is the square of 8, for 8 × 8 = 64; the square of a + b is a2 + 2ab + b2.

7. Exact proportion; justness of workmanship and conduct; regularity;
rule. [Obs.]
They of Galatia [were] much more out of square. Hooker.
I have not kept my square. Shak.

8. (Mil.)

Defn: A body of troops formed in a square, esp. one formed to resist a charge of cavalry; a squadron. "The brave squares of war." Shak.

9. Fig.: The relation of harmony, or exact agreement; equality; level. We live not on the square with such as these. Dryden.

10. (Astrol.)

Defn: The position of planets distant ninety degrees from each other; a quadrate. [Obs.]

11. The act of squaring, or quarreling; a quarrel. [R.]

12. The front of a woman's dress over the bosom, usually worked or embroidered. [Obs.] Shak. Geometrical square. See Quadrat, n., 2. — Hollow square (Mil.), a formation of troops in the shape of a square, each side consisting of four or five ranks, and the colors, officers, horses, etc., occupying the middle. — Least square, Magic square, etc. See under Least, Magic, etc. — On the square, or Upon the square, in an open, fair manner; honestly, or upon honor. [Obs. or Colloq.] — On, or Upon, the square with, upon equality with; even with. Nares. — To be all squares, to be all settled. [Colloq.] Dickens. — To be at square, to be in a state of quarreling. [Obs.] Nares. — To break no square, to give no offense; to make no difference. [Obs.] — To break squares, to depart from an accustomed order. To see how the squares go, to see how the game proceeds; — a phrase taken from the game of chess, the chessboard being formed with squares. [Obs.] L'Estrange.

SQUARE
Square, a.

1. (Geom.)

Defn: Having four equal sides and four right angles; as, a square figure.

2. Forming a right angle; as, a square corner.

3. Having a shape broad for the height, with rectilineal and angular rather than curving outlines; as, a man of a square frame.

4. Exactly suitable or correspondent; true; just. She's a most truimphant lady, if report be square to her. Shak.

5. Rendering equal justice; exact; fair; honest, as square dealing.

6. Even; leaving no balance; as, to make or leave the accounts square.

7. Leaving nothing; hearty; vigorous. By Heaven, square eaters. More meat, I say. Beau. & Fl.

8. (Naut.)

Defn: At right angles with the mast or the keel, and parallel to the horizon; — said of the yards of a square-rigged vessel when they are so braced.

Note: Square is often used in self-explaining compounds or combination, as in square-built, square-cornered, square-cut, square- nosed, etc. Square foot, an area equal to that of a square the sides of which are twelwe inches; 144 square inches. — Square knot, a knot in which the terminal and standing parts are parallel to each other; a reef knot. See Illust. under Knot. — Square measure, the measure of a superficies or surface which depends on the length and breadth taken conjointly. The units of square measure are squares whose sides are the linear measures; as, square inches, square feet, square meters, etc. — Square number. See square, n., 6. — Square root of a number or quantity (Math.), that number or quantity which, multiplied by itself produces the given number or quantity. — Square sail (Naut.), a four-sided sail extended upon a yard suspended by the middle; sometimes, the foresail of a schooner set upon a yard; also, a cutter's or sloop's sail boomed out. See Illust of Sail. — Square stern (Naut.), a stern having a transom and joining the counter timbers at an angle, as distinguished from a round stern, which has no transom. — Three-square, Five-square, etc., having three, five, etc., equal sides; as, a three-square file. — To get square with, to get even with; to pay off. [Colloq.]

SQUARE
Square, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Squared; p. pr. & vb. n. Squaring.] Etym:
[Cf. OF. escarrer, esquarrer. See Square, n.]

1. To form with four sides and four right angles. Spenser.

2. To form with right angles and straight lines, or flat surfaces; as, to square mason's work.

3. To compare with, or reduce to, any given measure or standard. Shak.

4. To adjust; to regulate; to mold; to shape; to fit; as, to square our actions by the opinions of others. Square my trial To my proportioned strength. Milton.

5. To make even, so as leave no remainder of difference; to balance; as, to square accounts.

6. (Math.)

Defn: To multiply by itself; as, to square a number or a quantity.

7. (Astrol.)

Defn: To hold a quartile position respecting.
The icy Goat and Crab that square the Scales. Creech.

8. (Naut.)

Defn: To place at right angles with the keel; as, to square the yards. To square one's shoulders, to raise the shoulders so as to give them a square appearance, — a movement expressing contempt or dislike. Sir W. Scott. — To square the circle (Math.), to determine the exact contents of a circle in square measure. The solution of this famous problem is now generally admitted to be impossible.

SQUARE
Square, v. i.

1. To accord or agree exactly; to be consistent with; to conform or
agree; to suit; to fit.
No works shall find acceptamce . . . That square not truly with the
Scripture plan. Cowper.

2. To go to opposite sides; to take an attitude of offense or defense, or of defiance; to quarrel. [Obs.] Are you such fools To square for this Shak.

3. To take a boxing attitude; — often with up, sometimes with off. [Colloq.] Dickens.

SQUARELY
Square"ly, adv.

Defn: In a square form or manner.

SQUARENESS
Square"ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being square; as, an instrument to try the squareness of work.

SQUARER
Squar"er, n.

1. One who, or that which, squares.

2. One who squares, or quarrels; a hot-headed, contentious fellow. [Obs.] Shak.

SQUARE-RIGGED
Square"-rigged` (skwâr"rîgd`), a. (Naut.)

Defn: Having the sails extended upon yards suspended horizontally by the middle, as distinguished from fore-and-aft sails; thus, a ship and a brig are square-rigged vessels.

SQUARE-TOED
Square"-toed` (-tod`), n.

Defn: Having the toe square.
Obsolete as fardingales, ruffs, and square-toed shoes. V. Knox.

SQUARE-TOES
Square"-toes`, n.

Defn: A precise person; — used contemptuously or jocularly.
Thackeray.

SQUARISH
Squar"ish, a.

Defn: Nearly square. Pennant.

SQUARROSE Squar*rose" ( or ; 277), a. Etym: [L. squarrosus (perhaps) scurfy, scabby.]

Defn: Ragged or full of lose scales or projecting parts; rough; jagged; as: (a) (Bot. & Zoöl.) Consisting of scales widely divaricating; having scales, small leaves, or other bodies, spreading widely from the axis on which they are crowded; — said of a calyx or stem. (b) (Bot.)

Defn: Divided into shreds or jags, raised above the plane of the leaf, and not parallel to it; said of a leaf. (c) (Zoöl.) Having scales spreading every way, or standing upright, or at right angles to the surface; — said of a shell. Squarrose- slashed (Bot.), doubly slashed, with the smaller divisions at right angles to the others, as a leaf. Landley.

SQUARROSO-DENTATE
Squar*ro`so-den"tate, a. (Bot.)

Defn: Having the teeth bent out of the plane of the lamina; — said of a leaf.

SQUARROUS
Squar"rous ( or ), a.

Defn: Squarrose.

SQUARRULOSE
Squar"ru*lose`, a. Etym: [Dim. of squarrose.] (Bot.)

Defn: Somewhat squarrose; slightly squarrose. Gray.

SQUASH
Squash, n. Etym: [Cf. Musquash.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: An American animal allied to the weasel. [Obs.] Goldsmith.

SQUASH Squash, n. Etym: [Massachusetts Indian asq, pl. asquash, raw, green, immaturate, applied to fruit and vegetables which were used when green, or without cooking; askutasquash vine apple.] (Bot.)

Defn: A plant and its fruit of the genus Cucurbita, or gourd kind.

Note: The species are much confused. The long-neck squash is called Cucurbita verrucosa, the Barbary or China squash, C. moschata, and the great winter squash, C. maxima, but the distinctions are not clear. Squash beetle (Zoöl.), a small American beetle (Diabrotica, or Galeruca vittata) which is often abundant and very injurious to the leaves of squash, cucumber, etc. It is striped with yellow and black. The name is applied also to other allied species. — Squash bug (Zoöl.), a large black American hemipterous insect (Coreus, or Anasa, tristis) injurious to squash vines.

SQUASH
Squash, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Squashed; p. pr. & vb. n. Squashing.]
Etym: [OE. squashen, OF. escachier, esquachier, to squash, to crush,
F. écacher, perhaps from (assumed) LL. excoacticare, fr. L. ex +
coactare to constrain, from cogere, coactum, to compel. Cf. Cogent,
Squat, v. i.]

Defn: To beat or press into pulp or a flat mass; to crush.

SQUASH
Squash, n.

1. Something soft and easily crushed; especially, an unripe pod of pease. Not yet old enough for a man, nor young enough for a boy; as a squash is before 't is a peascod. Shak.

2. Hence, something unripe or soft; — used in contempt. "This squash, this gentleman." Shak.

3. A sudden fall of a heavy, soft body; also, a shock of soft bodies. Arbuthnot. My fall was stopped by a terrible squash. Swift.

SQUASHER
Squash"er, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, squashes.

SQUASHINESS
Squash"i*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being squashy, or soft.

SQUASHY
Squash"y, a.

Defn: Easily squashed; soft.

SQUAT
Squat, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The angel fish (Squatina angelus

SQUAT Squat, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Squatted; p. pr. & vb. n. Squatting.] Etym: [OE. squatten to crush, OF. esquater, esquatir (cf. It. quatto squat, cowering), perhaps fr. L. ex + coactus, p. p. cogere to drive or urge together. See Cogent, Squash, v. t.]

1. To sit down upon the hams or heels; as, the savages squatted near the fire.

2. To sit close to the ground; to cower; to stoop, or lie close, to escape observation, as a partridge or rabbit.

3. To settle on another's land without title; also, to settle on common or public lands.

SQUAT
Squat, v. t.

Defn: To bruise or make flat by a fall. [Obs.]

SQUAT
Squat, a.

1. Sitting on the hams or heels; sitting close to the ground;
cowering; crouching.
Him there they found, Squat like a toad, close at the ear of Eve.
Milton.

2. Short and thick, like the figure of an animal squatting. "The round, squat turret." R. Browning. The head [of the squill insect] is broad and squat. Grew.

SQUAT
Squat, n.

1. The posture of one that sits on his heels or hams, or close to the ground.

2. A sudden or crushing fall. [Obs.] erbert.

3. (Mining) (a) A small vein of ore. (b) A mineral consisting of tin ore and spar. Halliwell. Woodward. Squat snipe (Zoöl.), the jacksnipe; — called also squatter. [Local, U.S.]

SQUATEROLE
Squat"er*ole, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The black-bellied plover.

SQUATTER
Squat"ter, n.

1. One who squats; specifically, one who settles unlawfully upon land without a title. In the United States and Australia the term is sometimes applied also to a person who settles lawfully upon government land under permission and restrictions, before acquiring title. In such a tract, squatters and trespassers were tolerated to an extent now unknown. Macaulay.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: See Squat snipe, under Squat. Squatter sovereignty, the right claimed by the squatters, or actual residents, of a Territory of the United States to make their own laws. [Local, U.S.] Bartlett.

SQUATTY
Squat"ty, a.

Defn: Squat; dumpy. J. Burroughs.

SQUAW Squaw, n. Etym: [Massachusetts Indian squa, eshqua; Narragansett squâws; Delaware ochqueu, and khqueu; used also in compound words (as the names of animals) in the sense of female.]

Defn: A female; a woman; — in the language of Indian tribes of the
Algonquin family, correlative of sannup. Old squaw. (Zoöl.) See under
Old.

SQUAWBERRY
Squaw"ber`ry, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A local name for the partridge berry; also, for the deerberry.
[U. S.]

SQUAWK
Squawk, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Squawked; p. pr. & vb. n. Squawking.]
Etym: [See Squeak.]

Defn: To utter a shrill, abrupt scream; to squeak harshly. Squawking thrush (Zoöl.), the missel turush; — so called from its note when alarmed. [Prov. Eng.]

SQUAWK
Squawk, n.

1. Act of squawking; a harsh squeak.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The American night heron. See under Night. Squawk duck (Zoöl.), the bimaculate duck (Anas glocitans). It has patches of reddish brown behind, and in front of, each eye. [Prov. Eng.]

SQUAWL
Squawl, v. i.

Defn: See Squall.

SQUAW MAN
Squaw man.

Defn: A white man who has married an Indian squaw; sometimes, one who has gained tribal rights by such a marriage; — often a term of contempt. [Western U. S.]

SQUAWROOT
Squaw"root`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A scaly parasitic plant (Conopholis Americana) found in oak woods in the United States; — called also cancer root.

SQUAW VINE
Squaw vine. (Bot.)

Defn: The partridge berry (Mitchella repens).

SQUAWWEED
Squaw"weed`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: The golden ragwort. See under Ragwort.

SQUEAK
Squeak, v. i. [imp.& p. p. Squaked; p. pr. & vb. n. Squeaking.] Etym:
[Probably of imitative origin; cf. Sw. sqväka to croak, Icel. skvakka
to give a sound as of water shaken in a bottle.]

1. To utter a sharp, shrill cry, usually of short duration; to cry with an acute tone, as an animal; or, to make a sharp, disagreeable noise, as a pipe or quill, a wagon wheel, a door; to creak. Who can endure to hear one of the rough old Romans squeaking through the mouth of an eunuch Addison. Zoilus calls the companions of Ulysses the "squeaking pigs" of Homer. Pope.

2. To break silence or secrecy for fear of pain or punishment; to speak; to confess. [Colloq.] If he be obstinate, put a civil question to him upon the rack, and he squeaks, I warrant him. Dryden.

SQUEAK
Squeak, n.

Defn: A sharp, shrill, disagreeable sound suddenly utered, either of the human voice or of any animal or instrument, such as is made by carriage wheels when dry, by the soles of leather shoes, or by a pipe or reed.

SQUEAKER
Squeak"er, n.

1. One who, or that which, squeaks.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The Australian gray crow shrile (Strepera anaphonesis); — so called from its note.

SQUEAKINGLY
Squeak"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: In a squeaking manner.

SQUEAL
Squeal, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Squealed; p. pr. & vb. n. Squealing.]
Etym: [Of Scand. origin; cf. Sw. sqväla, Norw. skvella. Cf. Squeak,
Squall.]

1. To cry with a sharp, shrill, prolonged sound, as certain animals do, indicating want, displeasure, or pain.

2. To turn informer; to betray a secret. [Slang]

SQUEAL
Squeal, n.

Defn: A shrill, somewhat prolonged cry.

SQUEALER
Squeal"er, n.

1. One who, or that which, squeals.

2. (Zoöl.) (a) The European swift. (b) The harlequin duck. (c) The American golden plover.

SQUEAMISH Squeam"ish, a. Etym: [OE. squaimous, sweymous, probably from OE. sweem, swem, dizziness, a swimming in the head; cf. Icel. svemr a bustle, a stir, Norw. sveim a hovering about, a sickness that comes upon one, Icel. svimi a giddiness, AS. swimi. The word has been perhaps confused witrh qualmish. Cf. Swim to be dizzy.]

Defn: Having a stomach that is easily or nauseated; hence, nice to
excess in taste; fastidious; easily disgusted; apt to be offended at
trifling improprieties.
Quoth he, that honor's very squeamish That takes a basting for a
blemish. Hudibras.
His muse is rustic, and perhaps too plain The men of squeamish taste
to entertain. Southern.
So ye grow squeamish, Gods, and sniff at heaven. M. Arnold.

Syn.
— Fastidious; dainty; overnice; scrupulous. See Fastidious.
— Squeam"ish*ly, adv.
— Squeam"ish*ness, n.

SQUEAMOUS
Squeam"ous, a.

Defn: Squeamish. [Obs.]

SQUEASINESS
Squea"si*ness, n.

Defn: Queasiness. [Obs.]

SQUEASY
Squea"sy, a.

Defn: Queasy; nice; squeamish; fastidious; scrupulous. [Obs.] Bp.
Earle.

SQUEEGEE
Squee"gee, n.

Defn: Same as Squilgee.

SQUEEGEE ROLLER
Squeegee roller.

Defn: A small India-rubber roller with a handle, used esp. in printing and photography as a squeegee.

SQUEEZE
Squeeze, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Squeezed; p. pr. & vb. n. Squeezing.]
Etym: [OE. queisen, AS. cwesan, cwysan, cwisan, of uncertain origin.
The s- was probably prefixed through the influence of squash, v.t.]

1. To press between two bodies; to press together closely; to compress; often, to compress so as to expel juice, moisture, etc.; as, to squeeze an orange with the fingers; to squeeze the hand in friendship.

2. Fig.: To oppress with hardships, burdens, or taxes; to harass; to crush. In a civil war, people must expect to be crushed and squeezed toward the burden. L'Estrange.

3. To force, or cause to pass, by compression; often with out, through, etc.; as, to squeeze water through felt.

Syn.
— To compress; hug; pinch; gripe; crowd.

SQUEEZE
Squeeze, v. i.

Defn: To press; to urge one's way, or to pass, by pressing; to crowd; — often with through, into, etc.; as, to squeeze hard to get through a crowd.

SQUEEZE
Squeeze, n.

1. The act of one who squeezes; compression between bodies; pressure.

2. A facsimile impression taken in some soft substance, as pulp, from an inscription on stone.

SQUEEZER
Squeez"er, n.

1. One who, or that which, squeezes; as, a lemon squeezer.

2. (Forging) (a) A machine like a large pair of pliers, for shingling, or squeezing, the balls of metal when puddled; — used only in the plural. (b) A machine of several forms for the same purpose; — used in the singular.

SQUEEZING
Squeez"ing, n.

1. The act of pressing; compression; oppression.

2. pl.

Defn: That which is forced out by pressure; dregs.

3. Same as Squeeze, n., 2.

SQUELCH
Squelch, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Squelched; p. pr. & vb. n. Squelching.]
Etym: [Cf. prov. E. quelch a blow, and quel to crush, to kill.]

Defn: To quell; to crush; to silence or put down. [Colloq.]
Oh 't was your luck and mine to be squelched. Beau. & Fl.
If you deceive us you will be squelched. Carlyle.

SQUELCH
Squelch, n.

Defn: A heavy fall, as of something flat; hence, also, a crushing reply. [Colloq.] Hudibras.

SQUETEAGUE Sque*teague" (skwe*teg"), n. Etym: [from the North American Indian name.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: An American sciænoid fish (Cynoscion regalis), abundant on the Atlantic coast of the United States, and much valued as a food fish. It is of a bright silvery color, with iridescent reflections. Called also weakfish, squitee, chickwit, and sea trout. The spotted squeteague (C. nebulosus) of the Southern United States is a similar fish, but the back and upper fins are spotted with black. It is called also spotted weakfish, and, locally, sea trout, and sea salmon.

SQUIB Squib, n. Etym: [OE. squippen, swippen, to move swiftky, Icel. svipa to swoop, flash, dart, whip; akin to AS. swipian to whip, and E. swift, a. See Swift, a.]

1. A little pipe, or hollow cylinder of paper, filled with powder or combustible matter, to be thrown into the air while burning, so as to burst there with a crack. Lampoons, like squibs, may make a present blaze. Waller. The making and selling of fireworks, and squibs . . . is punishable. Blackstone.

2. (Mining)

Defn: A kind of slow match or safety fuse.

3. A sarcastic speech or publication; a petty lampoon; a brief, witty essay. Who copied his squibs, and reëchoed his jokes. Goldsmith.

4. A writer of lampoons. [Obs.] The squibs are those who in the common phrase of the world are called libelers, lampooners, and pamphleteers. Tatler.

5. A paltry fellow. [Obs.] Spenser.

SQUIB
Squib, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Squibbed; p. pr. & vb. n. Squibbing.]

Defn: To throw squibs; to utter sarcatic or severe reflections; to contend in petty dispute; as, to squib a little debate. [Colloq.]

SQUID
Squid, n. Etym: [Cf. Squirt.]

1. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any one of numerous species of ten-armed cephalopods having a long, tapered body, and a caudal fin on each side; especially, any species of Loligo, Ommastrephes, and related genera. See Calamary, Decacerata, Dibranchiata.

Note: Some of these squids are very abundant on the Atlantic coast of North America, and are used in large quantities for bait, especially in the cod fishery. The most abundant of the American squids are the northern squid (Ommastrephes illecebrosus), ranging from Southern New England to Newfoundland, and the southern squid (Loligo Pealii), ranging from Virginia to Massachusetts.

2. A fishhook with a piece of bright lead, bone, or other substance, fastened on its shank to imitate a squid. Flying squid, Giant squid. (Zoöl.) See under Flying, and Giant. — Squid hound (Zoöl.), the striped bass.

SQUIER
Squier, n.

Defn: A square. See 1st Squire. [Obs.] Not the worst of the three but jumps twelve foot and a half by the squier. Shak.

SQUIERIE; SQUIERY
Squi"er*ie, Squi"er*y, (, n. Etym: [OF. escuiere. See Esquire.]

Defn: A company of squires; the whole body of squires.

Note: This word is found in Tyrwhitt's Chaucer, but is not in the modern editions.

SQUIFFY
Squif"fy, a.

Defn: Somewhat intoxicated; tipsy. [Slang] Kipling.

SQUIGGLE Squig"gle, v. i. Etym: [Cf. Prov. E. swiggle to drink greedily, to shake liquor in a close vessel, and E. sqig.]

Defn: To shake and wash a fluid about in the mouth with the lips closed. [Prov. Eng.] Forby.

SQUIGGLE
Squig"gle, v. i. Etym: [Cf. Squirm, Wiggle.]

Defn: To move about like an eel; to squirm. [Low, U.S.] Bartlett.

SQUILGEE
Squil"gee, n.

Defn: Formerly, a small swab for drying a vessel's deck; now, a kind of scraper having a blade or edge of rubber or of leather, — used for removing superfluous, water or other liquids, as from a vessel's deck after washing, from window panes, photographer's plates, etc. [Written also squillgee, squillagee, squeegee.]

SQUILL Squill, n. Etym: [F. squille (also scille a squill, in sense 1), L. squilla, scilla, Gr.

1. (Bot.) (a) A European bulbous liliaceous plant (Urginea, formerly Scilla, maritima), of acrid, expectorant, diuretic, and emetic properties used in medicine. Called also sea onion. (b) Any bulbous plant of the genus Scilla; as, the bluebell squill (S. mutans).

2. (Zoöl.) (a) A squilla. (b) A mantis.

SQUILLA Squil"la, n.; pl. E. Squillas, L. Squillæ. Etym: [L., a sea onion, also, a prawn or shrimp. See Squill.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any one of numerous stomapod crustaceans of the genus Squilla and allied genera. They make burrows in mud or beneath stones on the seashore. Called also mantis shrimp. See Illust. under Stomapoda.

SQUILLITIC
Squill*it"ic, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to squills. [R.] "Squillitic vinegar."
Holland.

SQUINANCE; SQUINANCY Squin"ance, Squin"an*cy, n. Etym: [F. esquinancie, OF. squinance, esquinance. See Quinsy.]

1. (Med.)

Defn: The quinsy. See Quinsy. [Obs.]

2. (Bot.)

Defn: A European perennial herb (Asperula cynanchica) with narrowly linear whorled leaves; — formerly thought to cure the quinsy. Also called quincewort. Squinancy berries, black currants; — so called because used to cure the quinsy. Dr. Prior.

SQUINCH
Squinch, n. Etym: [Corrupted fr. sconce.] (Arch.)

Defn: A small arch thrown across the corner of a square room to support a superimposed mass, as where an octagonal spire or drum rests upon a square tower; — called also sconce, and sconcheon.

SQUINSY
Squin"sy, n. (Med.)

Defn: See Quinsy. [Obs.]

SQUINT Squint, a. Etym: [Cf. D. schuinte a slope, schuin, schuinisch, sloping, oblique, schuins slopingly. Cf. Askant, Askance, Asquint.]

1. Looking obliquely. Specifically (Med.), not having the optic axes coincident; — said of the eyes. See Squint, n., 2.

2. Fig.: Looking askance. "Squint suspicion." Milton.

SQUINT
Squint, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Squinted; p. pr. & vb. n. Squinting.]

1. To see or look obliquely, asquint, or awry, or with a furtive glance. Some can squint when they will. Bacon.

2. (Med.)

Defn: To have the axes of the eyes not coincident; — to be cross- eyed.

3. To deviate from a true line; to run obliquely.

SQUINT
Squint, v. t.

1. To turn to an oblique position; to direct obliquely; as, to squint an eye.

2. To cause to look with noncoincident optic axes. He . . . squints the eye, and makes the harelid. Shak.

SQUINT
Squint, n.

1. The act or habit of squinting.

2. (Med.)

Defn: A want of coincidence of the axes of the eyes; strabismus.

3. (Arch.)

Defn: Same as Hagioscope.

SQUINTER
Squint"er, n.

Defn: One who squints.

SQUINT-EYE
Squint"-eye`, n.

Defn: An eye that squints. Spenser.

SQUINT-EYED
Squint"-eyed`, a.

1. Having eyes that quint; having eyes with axes not coincident; cross-eyed.

2. Looking obliquely, or asquint; malignant; as, squint-eyed praise; squint-eyed jealousy.

SQUINTIFEGO
Squint`i*fe"go, a.

Defn: Squinting. [Obs. & R.]

SQUINTING
Squint"ing,

Defn: a. & n. from Squint, v.
— Squint"ing*ly, adv.

SQUINY
Squin"y, v. i.

Defn: To squint. [Obs.] Shak.

SQUINZEY
Squin"zey, n. (Med.)

Defn: See Quinsy. [Obs.]

SQUIR; SQUIRR
Squir, v. t.

Defn: To throw with a jerk; to throw edge foremost. [Obs.] [Written also squirr.] Addison.

SQUIRALTY
Squir"al*ty, n.

Defn: Same as Squirarchy. That such weight and influence be put thereby into the hands of the squiralty of my kingdom. Sterne.

SQUIRARCH
Squir"arch, n. Etym: [Squire + -arch.]

Defn: One who belongs to the squirarchy.
— Squir"arch*al, a.

SQUIRARCHY
Squir"arch*y, n. Etym: [Squire + -archy.]

Defn: The gentlemen, or gentry, of a country, collectively. [Written also squirearchy.]

SQUIRE
Squire, n. Etym: [OF. esquierre, F. équerre. See Square, n.]

Defn: A square; a measure; a rule. [Obs.] "With golden squire."
Spenser.

SQUIRE
Squire, n. Etym: [Aphetic form of esquire.]

1. A shield-bearer or armor-bearer who attended a knight.

2. A title of dignity next in degree below knight, and above gentleman. See Esquire. [Eng.] "His privy knights and squires." Chaucer.

3. A male attendant on a great personage; also (Colloq.), a devoted attendant or follower of a lady; a beau.

4. A title of office and courtesy. See under Esquire.

SQUIRE
Squire, v. t. [imp. & p. p. squired; p. pr. & vb. n. squiring.]

1. To attend as a squire. Chaucer.

2. To attend as a beau, or gallant, for aid and protection; as, to squire a lady. [Colloq.] Goldsmith.

SQUIREEN
Squir*een", n.

Defn: One who is half squire and half farmer; — used humorously.
[Eng.] C. Kingsley.

SQUIREHOOD
Squire"hood, n.

Defn: The rank or state of a squire; squireship. Swift.

SQUIRELING squire"ling, n.

Defn: A petty squire. Tennyson.

SQUIRELY
Squire"ly, a. & adv.

Defn: Becoming a squire; like a squire.

SQUIRESHIP squire"ship, n.

Defn: Squirehood.

SQUIRM
Squirm, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Squirmed; p. pr. & vb. n. Squirming.]
Etym: [Cf. Swarm to climb a tree.]

Defn: To twist about briskly with contor

SQUIRR
Squirr, v. t.

Defn: See Squir.

SQUIRREL
Squir"rel ( or ; 277), n. Etym: [OE. squirel, OF. esquirel, escurel,
F. écureuil, LL. squirelus, squirolus, scuriolus, dim. of L. sciurus,
Gr. si`oyros; skia` shade + o'yra` tail. Cf. Shine, v. i.]

1. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any one of numerous species of small rodents belonging to the genus Sciurus and several allied genera of the famly Sciuridæ. Squirrels generally have a bushy tail, large erect ears, and strong hind legs. They are commonly arboreal in their habits, but many species live in burrows.

Note: Among the common North American squirrels are the gray squirrel (Scirius Carolinensis) and its black variety; the fox, or cat, sqirrel (S. cinereus, or S. niger) which is a large species, and variable in color, the southern variety being frequently black, while the northern and western varieties are usually gray or rusty brown; the red squirrel (see Chickaree); the striped, or chipping, squirrel (see Chipmunk); and the California gray squirrel (S. fossor). Several other species inhabit Mexico and Central America. The common European species (Sciurus vulgaris) has a long tuft of hair on each ear. the so-called Australian squirrels are marsupials. See Petaurist, and Phalanger.

2. One of the small rollers of a carding machine which work with the large cylinder. Barking squirrel (Zoöl.), the prairie dog. — Federation squirrel (Zoöl.), the striped gopher. See Gopher, 2. — Flying squirrel (Zoöl.). See Flying squirrel, in the Vocabulary. — Java squirrel (Zoöl.). See Jelerang. — Squirrel corn (Bot.), a North American herb (Dicantra Canadensis) bearing little yellow tubers. — Squirrel cup (Bot.), the blossom of the Hepatica triloba, a low perennial herb with cup-shaped flowers varying from purplish blue to pink or even white. It is one of the earliest flowers of spring. — Squirrel fish (Zoöl.) (a) A sea bass (Serranus fascicularis) of the Southern United States. (b) The sailor's choice (Diplodus rhomboides). (c) The redmouth, or grunt. (d) A market fish of Bermuda (Holocentrum Ascensione). — Squirrel grass (Bot.), a pestiferous grass (Hordeum murinum) related to barley. In California the stiffly awned spiklets work into the wool of sheep, and into the throat, flesh, and eyes of animals, sometimes even producing death. — Squirrel hake (Zoöl.), a common American hake (Phycis tenuis); — called also white hake. — Squirrel hawk (Zoöl.), any rough-legged hawk; especially, the California species Archibuteo ferrugineus. — Squirrel monkey. (Zoöl.) (a) Any one of several species of small, soft-haired South American monkeys of the genus Calithrix. They are noted for their graceful form and agility. See Teetee. (b) A marmoset. — Squirrel petaurus (Zoöl.), a flying phalanger of Australia. See Phalanger, Petaurist, and Flying phalanger under Flying. — Squirrel shrew (Zoöl.), any one of several species of East Indian and Asiatic insectivores of the genus Tupaia. They are allied to the shrews, but have a bushy tail, like that of a squirrel. — Squirrel-tail grass (Bot.), a grass (Hordeum jubatum) found in salt marshes and along the Great Lakes, having a dense spike beset with long awns.

SQUIRT
Squirt, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Squirted; p. pr. & vb. n. Squirting.]
Etym: [Cf. LG. swirtjen to squirt, OSw. sqvätta, E. squander.]

Defn: To drive or eject in a stream out of a narrow pipe or orifice;
as, to squirt water.
The hard-featured miscreant coolly rolled his tobacco in his cheek,
and squirted the juice into the fire grate. Sir W. Scott.
Squirting cucumber. (Bot.) See Ecballium.

SQUIRT
Squirt, v. i.

1. To be thrown out, or ejected, in a rapid stream, from a narrow orifice; — said of liquids.

2. Hence, to throw out or utter words rapidly; to prate. [Low] L'Estrange.

SQUIRT
Squirt, n.

1. An instrument out of which a liquid is ejected in a small stream with force. Young.

2. A small, quick stream; a jet. Bacon.

SQUIRTER
Squirt"er, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, squirts.

SQUIRY
Squir"y, n. Etym: [See Squiery.]

Defn: The body of squires, collectively considered; squirarchy.
[Obs.]
The flower of chivalry and squiry. Ld. Berbers.

SQUITCH GRASS
Squitch" grass`. (Bot.)

Defn: Quitch grass.

SQUITEE
Squi*tee", n. Etym: [From the N. American Indian name.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The squeteague; — called also squit.

STAB Stab, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stabbed; p. pr. & vb. n. Stabbing.] Etym: [Cf. OD. staven to fix, fasten, fr. stave, staff, a staff, rod; akin to G. stab a staff, stick, E. staff; also Gael. stob to stab, as n., a stake, a stub. Cf. Staff.]

1. To pierce with a pointed weapon; to wound or kill by the thrust of a pointed instrument; as, to stab a man with a dagger; also, to thrust; as, to stab a dagger into a person.

2. Fig.: To injure secretly or by malicious falsehood or slander; as, to stab a person's reputation.

STAB
Stab, v. i.

1. To give a wound with a pointed weapon; to pierce; to thrust with a pointed weapon. None shall dare With shortened sword to stab in closer war. Dryden.

2. To wound or pain, as if with a pointed weapon. She speaks poniards, and every word stabs. Shak. To stab at, to offer or threaten to stab; to thrust a pointed weapon at.

STAB
Stab, n.

1. The thrust of a pointed weapon.

2. A wound with a sharp-pointed weapon; as, to fall by the stab an assassin. Shak.

3. Fig.: An injury inflicted covertly or suddenly; as, a stab given to character.

STABAT MATER
Sta"bat Ma"ter. Etym: [L., the mother was standing.]

Defn: A celebrated Latin hymn, beginning with these words, commemorating the sorrows of the mother of our Lord at the foot of the cross. It is read in the Mass of the Sorrows of the Virgin Mary, and is sung by Catholics when making "the way of the cross" (Via Crucis). See Station, 7 (c).

STABBER
Stab"ber, n.

1. One who, or that which, stabs; a privy murderer.

2. (Naut.)

Defn: A small marline spike; a pricker.

STABBINGLY
Stab"bing*ly, adv.

Defn: By stabbing; with intent to injure covertly. Bp. Parker.

STAB CULTURE
Stab culture. (Bacteriol.)

Defn: A culture made by inoculating a solid medium, as gelatin, with the puncture of a needle or wire. The growths are usually of characteristic form.

STABILIMENT Sta*bil"i*ment, n. Etym: [L. stabilimentum, fr.stabilire to make firm ir stable, fr. stabilis. See Stable, a.]

Defn: The act of making firm; firm support; establishment. [R.] Jer.
taylor.
They serve for stabiliment, propagation, and shade. Derham.

STABILITATE Sta*bil"i*tate, v. t. Etym: [LL. stabilitatus, p.p. of stabilitare to make stable.]

Defn: To make stable; to establish. [Obs.] Dr. H. More.

STABILITY Sta*bil"i*ty, n. Etym: [L. stabilitas; cf. F. stabilité. See Stable, a.]

1. The state or quality of being stable, or firm; steadiness; firmness; strength to stand without being moved or overthrown; as, the stability of a structure; the stability of a throne or a constitution.

2. Steadiness or firmness of character, firmness of resolution or purpose; the quality opposite to Ant: fickleness, Ant: irresolution, or Ant: inconstancy; constancy; steadfastness; as, a man of little stability, or of unusual stability.

3. Fixedness; — as opposed to Ant: fluidity. Since fluidness and stability are contary qualities. Boyle.

Syn.
— Steadiness; stableness; constancy; immovability; firmness.

STABLE Sta"ble, a. Etym: [OE. estable, F. stable, fr. L. stabilis, fr. stare to stand. See Stand, v. i. and cf. Establish.]

1. Firmly established; not easily moved, shaken, or overthrown; fixed; as, a stable government. In this region of chance, . . . where nothing is stable. Rogers.

2. Steady in purpose; constant; firm in resolution; not easily diverted from a purpose; not fickle or wavering; as, a man of stable character. And to her husband ever meek and stable. Chaucer.

3. Durable; not subject to overthrow or change; firm; as, a stable foundation; a stable position. Stable equibrium (Mech.), the kind of equilibrium of a body so placed that if disturbed it returns to its former position, as in the case when the center of gravity is below the point or axis of support; — opposed to unstable equilibrium, in which the body if disturbed does not tend to return to its former position, but to move farther away from it, as in the case of a body supported at a point below the center of gravity. Cf. Neutral equilibrium, under Neutral.

Syn.
— Fixed; steady; constant; abiding; strong; durable; firm.

STABLE
Sta"ble, v. t.

Defn: To fix; to establish. [Obs.] Chaucer.

STABLE Sta"ble, n. Etym: [OF. estable, F. étable, from L. stabulum, fr. stare to stand. See Stand, v. i.]

Defn: A house, shed, or building, for beasts to lodge and feed in; esp., a building or apartment with stalls, for horses; as, a horse stable; a cow stable. Milton. Stable fly (Zoöl.), a common dipterous fly (Stomoxys calcitrans) which is abundant about stables and often enters dwellings, especially in autumn. These files, unlike the common house files, which they resemble, bite severely, and are troublesome to horses and cattle.

STABLE
Sta"ble, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stabled; p. pr. & vb. n. Stabling.]

Defn: To put or keep in a stable.

STABLE
Sta"ble, v. i.

Defn: To dwell or lodge in a stable; to dwell in an inclosed place; to kennel. Milton.

STABLEBOY; STABLEMAN
Sta"ble*boy`, Sta"ble*man, n.

Defn: A boy or man who attends in a stable; a groom; a hostler.

STABLENESS
Sta"ble*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being stable, or firmly established; stability.

STABLER
Sta"bler, n.

Defn: A stable keeper. De Foe.

STABLE STAND
Sta"ble stand`. (O.Eng. Law)

Defn: The position of a man who is found at his standing in the forest, with a crossbow or a longbow bent, ready to shoot at a deer, or close by a tree with greyhounds in a leash ready to slip; — one of the four presumptions that a man intends stealing the king's deer. Wharton.

STABLING
Sta"bling, n.

1. The act or practice of keeping horses and cattle in a stable.

2. A building, shed, or room for horses and cattle.

STABLISH
Stab"lish, v. t. Etym: [Aphetic form of establish.]

Defn: To settle permanently in a state; to make firm; to establish; to fix. [Obs.] 2 Sam. vii. 13.

STABLISHMENT
Stab"lish*ment, n.

Defn: Establishment. [Obs.]

STABLY
Sta"bly, adv.

Defn: In a stable manner; firmly; fixedly; steadily; as, a government stably settled.

STABULATION Stab`u*la"tion, n. Etym: [L. stabulatio, fr. stabulari to stable cattle, fr. stabulum. See Stable, n.]

1. The act of stabling or housing beasts.

2. A place for lodging beasts; a stable. [Obs.]

STACCATO Stac*ca"to, a. Etym: [It., p.p. of staccere, equivalent to distaccare. See Detach.]

1. (Mus.)

Defn: Disconnected; separated; distinct; — a direction to perform the notes of a passage in a short, distinct, and pointed manner. It is opposed to legato, and often indicated by heavy accents written over or under the notes, or by dots when the performance is to be less distinct and emphatic.

2. Expressed in a brief, pointed manner. Staccato and peremptory [literary criticism]. G. Eliot.

STACK
Stack, a. Etym: [Icel. stakkr; akin to Sw. stack, Dan. stak. Sf.
Stake.]

1. A large pile of hay, grain, straw, or the like, usually of a nearly conical form, but sometimes rectangular or oblong, contracted at the top to a point or ridge, and sometimes covered with thatch. But corn was housed, and beans were in the stack. Cowper.

2. A pile of poles or wood, indefinite in quantity. Against every pillar was a stack of billets above a man's height. Bacon.

3. A pile of wood containing 108 cubic feet. [Eng.]

4. (Arch.) (a) A number of flues embodied in one structure, rising above the roof. Hence: (b) Any single insulated and prominent structure, or upright pipe, which affords a conduit for smoke; as, the brick smokestack of a factory; the smokestack of a steam vessel. (Computer programming) (a) A section of memory in a computer used for temporary storage of data, in which the last datum stored is the first retrieved. (b) A data structure within random-access memory used to simulate a hardware stack, as, a push-down stack. Stack of arms (Mil.), a number of muskets or rifles set up together, with the bayonets crossing one another, forming a sort of conical self-supporting pile.

STACK
Stack, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stacked; p. pr. & vb. n. Stacking.] Etym:
[Cf. Sw. stacka, Dan. stakke. See Stack, n.]

Defn: To lay in a conical or other pile; to make into a large pile; as, to stack hay, cornstalks, or grain; to stack or place wood. To stack arms (Mil.), to set up a number of muskets or rifles together, with the bayonets crossing one another, and forming a sort of conical pile.

STACKAGE
Stack"age, n.

1. Hay, gray, or the like, in stacks; things stacked. [R.]

2. A tax on things stacked. [R.] Holinshed.

STACKET
Stack"et, n. Etym: [Cf. F. estacade and E. stockade.] (Mil.)

Defn: A stockade. [Scot.] Sir W. Scott.

STACK-GUARD
Stack"-guard`, n.

Defn: A covering or protection, as a canvas, for a stack.

STACKING
Stack"ing, a. & n.

Defn: from Stack. Stacking band, Stacking belt, a band or rope used in binding thatch or straw upon a stack. — Stacking stage, a stage used in building stacks.

STACKSTAND
Stack"stand`, n.

Defn: A staging for supporting a stack of hay or grain; a rickstand.

STACKYARD
Stack"yard`, n.

Defn: A yard or inclosure for stacks of hay or grain. A. Smith.

STACTE
Stac"te, n. Etym: [L., fr. Gr.

Defn: One of the sweet spices used by the ancient Jews in the preparation of incense. It was perhaps an oil or other form of myrrh or cinnamon, or a kind of storax. Ex. xxx. 34.

STADDLE Stad"dle, n. Etym: [AS. stathol, srathul, a foundation, firm seat; akin to E. stand. *163. See Stand, v. i.] [Formerly written stadle.]

1. Anything which serves for support; a staff; a prop; a crutch; a
cane.
His weak steps governing And aged limbs on cypress stadle stout.
Spenser.

2. The frame of a stack of hay or grain. [Eng.]

3. A row of dried or drying hay, etc. [Eng.]

4. A small tree of any kind, especially a forest tree.

Note: In America, trees are called staddles from the time that they are three or four years old till they are six or eight inches in diameter, or more. This is also the sense in which the word is used by Bacon and Tusser.

STADDLE
Stad"dle, v. t.

1. To leave the staddles, or saplings, of, as a wood when it is cut. [R.] Tusser.

2. To form into staddles, as hay. [Eng.]

STADE
Stade, n. Etym: [Cf. F. stade.]

Defn: A stadium. Donne.

STADE
Stade, n. Etym: [Cf. G. gestade shore.]

Defn: A landing place or wharf. Knight.

STADIA HAIRS; STADIA WIRES
Sta"di*a hairs or wires . (Surv.)

Defn: In a theodolite, etc., horizontal cross wires or hairs equidistant from the central horizontal cross wire.

STADIMETER
Sta*dim"e*ter, n. Etym: [Stadium + -meter.]

Defn: A horizontal graduated bar mounted on a staff, used as a stadium, or telemeter, for measuring distances.

STADIUM
Sta"di*um, n.; pl. Stadia. Etym: [L., a stadium (in sense 1), from
Gr.

1. A Greek measure of length, being the chief one used for itinerary distances, also adopted by the Romans for nautical and astronomical measurements. It was equal to 600 Greek or 625 Roman feet, or 125 Roman paces, or to 606 feet 9 inches English. This was also called the Olympic stadium, as being the exact length of the foot-race course at Olympia. Dr. W. Smith.

2. Hence, a race course; especially, the Olympic course for foot races.

3. A kind of telemeter for measuring the distance of an object of known dimensions, by observing the angle it subtends; especially (Surveying), a graduated rod used to measure the distance of the place where it stands from an instrument having a telescope, by observing the number of the graduations of the rod that are seen between certain parallel wires (stadia wires) in the field of view of the telescope; — also called stadia, and stadia rod.

STADTHOLDER Stadt"hold`er, n. Etym: [D. stadhouder; stad a city, a town + houder a holder.]

Defn: Formerly, the chief magistrate of the United Provinces of
Holland; also, the governor or lieutenant governor of a province.

STADTHOLDERATE; STADTHOLDERSHIP
Stadt"hold`er*ate, Stadt"hold`er*ship, n.

Defn: The office or position of a stadtholder.

STAFETTE
Sta*fette", n. Etym: [Cf. G. stafette. See Estafet.]

Defn: An estafet. [R.] arlyle.

STAFF Staff, n.; pl. Staves ( or Staffs in senses 1-9, Staffs in senses 10, 11. Etym: [AS. stæf a staff; akin to LG. & D. staf, OFries stef, G. stab, Icel. stafr, Sw. staf, Dan. stav, Goth. stabs element, rudiment, Skr. sthapay to cause to stand, to place. See Stand, and cf. Stab, Stave, n.]

1. A long piece of wood; a stick; the long handle of an instrument or weapon; a pole or srick, used for many purposes; as, a surveyor's staff; the staff of a spear or pike. And he put the staves into the rings on the sides of the altar to bear it withal. Ex. xxxviii. 7. With forks and staves the felon to pursue. Dryden.

2. A stick carried in the hand for support or defense by a person walking; hence, a support; that which props or upholds. "Hooked staves." Piers Plowman. The boy was the very staff of my age. Shak. He spoke of it [beer] in "The Earnest Cry," and likewise in the "Scotch Drink," as one of the staffs of life which had been struck from the poor man's hand. Prof. Wilson.

3. A pole, stick, or wand borne as an ensign of authority; a badge of office; as, a constable's staff. Methought this staff, mine office badge in court, Was broke in twain. Shak. All his officers brake their staves; but at their return new staves were delivered unto them. Hayward.

4. A pole upon which a flag is supported and displayed.

5. The round of a ladder. [R.] I ascend at one [ladder] of six hundred and thirty-nine staves. Dr. J. Campbell (E. Brown's Travels).

6. A series of verses so disposed that, when it is concluded, the same order begins again; a stanza; a stave. Cowley found out that no kind of staff is proper for an heroic poem, as being all too lyrical. Dryden.

7. (Mus.)

Defn: The five lines and the spaces on which music is written; — formerly called stave.

8. (Mech.)

Defn: An arbor, as of a wheel or a pinion of a watch.

9. (Surg.)

Defn: The grooved director for the gorget, or knife, used in cutting for stone in the bladder.

10. Etym: [From Staff, 3, a badge of office.] (Mil.)

Defn: An establishment of officers in various departments attached to an army, to a section of an army, or to the commander of an army. The general's staff consists of those officers about his person who are employed in carrying his commands into execution. See État Major.

11. Hence: A body of assistants serving to carry into effect the plans of a superintendant or manager; as, the staff of a newspaper. Jacob's staff (Surv.), a single straight rod or staff, pointed and iron-shod at the bottom, for penetrating the ground, and having a socket joint at the top, used, instead of a tripod, for supporting a compass. — Staff angle (Arch.), a square rod of wood standing flush with the wall on each of its sides, at the external angles of plastering, to prevent their being damaged. — The staff of life, bread. "Bread is the staff of life." Swift. — Staff tree (Bot.), any plant of the genus Celastrus, mostly climbing shrubs of the northern hemisphere. The American species (C. scandens) is commonly called bittersweet. See 2d Bittersweet, 3 (b). — To set, or To put, up, or down, one's staff, to take up one's residence; to lodge. [Obs.]

STAFFIER
Staf"fi*er, n.

Defn: An attendant bearing a staff. [Obs.] "Staffiers on foot."
Hudibras.

STAFFISH
Staff"ish, a.

Defn: Stiff; harsh. [Obs.] Ascham.

STAFFMAN
Staff"man, n.; pl. Staffmen (.

Defn: A workman employed in silk throwing.

STAG Stag, n. Etym: [Icel. steggr the male of several animals; or a doubtful AS. stagga. Cf. Steg.]

1. (Zoöl.) (a) The adult male of the red deer (Cervus elaphus), a large European species closely related to the American elk, or wapiti. (b) The male of certain other species of large deer.

2. A colt, or filly; also, a romping girl. [Prov. Eng.]

3. A castrated bull; — called also bull stag, and bull seg. See the Note under Ox.

4. (Stock Exchange) (a) An outside irregular dealer in stocks, who is not a member of the exchange. [Cant] (b) One who applies for the allotment of shares in new projects, with a view to sell immediately at a premium, and not to hold the stock. [Cant]

5. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The European wren. [Prov. Eng.] Stag beetle (Zoöl.), any one of numerous species of lamellicorn beetles belonging to Lucanus and allied genera, especially L. cervus of Europe and L. dama of the United States. The mandibles are large and branched, or forked, whence the name. The lava feeds on the rotten wood of dead trees. Called also horned bug, and horse beetle. — Stag dance, a dance by men only. [slang, U.S.] — Stag hog (Zoöl.), the babiroussa. — Stag-horn coral (Zoöl.), any one of several species of large branching corals of the genus Madrepora, which somewhat resemble the antlers of the stag, especially Madrepora cervicornis, and M. palmata, of Florida and the West Indies. — Stag-horn fern (Bot.), an Australian and West African fern (Platycerium alcicorne) having the large fronds branched like a stag's horns; also, any species of the same genus. — Stag-horn sumac (Bot.), a common American shrub (Rhus typhina) having densely velvety branchlets. See Sumac. — Stag party, a party consisting of men only. [Slang, U. S.] — Stag tick (Zoöl.), a parasitic dipterous insect of the family Hippoboscidæ, which lives upon the stag and in usually wingless. The same species lives also upon the European grouse, but in that case has wings.

STAG
Stag, v. i. (Com.)

Defn: To act as a "stag", or irregular dealer in stocks. [Cant]

STAG
Stag, v. t.

Defn: To watch; to dog, or keep track of. [Prov. Eng. or Slang] H.
Kingsley.

STAGE
Stage, n. Etym: [OF. estage, F. étage, (assumed) LL. staticum, from
L. stare to stand. See Stand, and cf. Static.]

1. A floor or story of a house. [Obs.] Wyclif.

2. An elevated platform on which an orator may speak, a play be performed, an exhibition be presented, or the like.

3. A floor elevated for the convenience of mechanical work, or the like; a scaffold; a staging.

4. A platform, often floating, serving as a kind of wharf.

5. The floor for scenic performances; hence, the theater; the playhouse; hence, also, the profession of representing dramatic compositions; the drama, as acted or exhibited. Knights, squires, and steeds, must enter on the stage. Pope. Lo! Where the stage, the poor, degraded stage, Holds its warped mirror to a gaping age. C. Sprague.

6. A place where anything is publicly exhibited; the scene of any noted action or carrer; the spot where any remarkable affair occurs. When we are born, we cry that we are come To this stage of fools. Shak. Music and ethereal mirth Wherewith the stage of air and earth did ring. Miton.

7. The platform of a microscope, upon which an object is placed to be viewed. See Illust. of Microscope.

8. A place of rest on a regularly traveled road; a stage house; a station; a place appointed for a relay of horses.

9. A degree of advancement in a journey; one of several portions into which a road or course is marked off; the distance between two places of rest on a road; as, a stage of ten miles. A stage . . . signifies a certain distance on a road. Jeffrey. He traveled by gig, with his wife, his favorite horse performing the journey by easy stages. Smiles.

10. A degree of advancement in any pursuit, or of progress toward an end or result. Such a polity is suited only to a particular stage in the progress of society. Macaulay.

11. A large vehicle running from station to station for the accomodation of the public; a stagecoach; an omnibus. "A parcel sent you by the stage." Cowper. I went in the sixpenny stage. Swift.

12. (Biol.)

Defn: One of several marked phases or periods in the development and growth of many animals and plants; as, the larval stage; pupa stage; zoea stage. Stage box, a box close to the stage in a theater. — Stage carriage, a stagecoach. — Stage door, the actor's and workmen's entrance to a theater. — Stage lights, the lights by which the stage in a theater is illuminated. — Stage micrometer, a graduated device applied to the stage of a microscope for measuring the size of an object. — Stage wagon, a wagon which runs between two places for conveying passengers or goods. — Stage whisper, a loud whisper, as by an actor in a theater, supposed, for dramatic effect, to be unheard by one or more of his fellow actors, yet audible to the audience; an aside. stage of the game, [Colloq.] stage n. 10.

STAGE
Stage, v. t.

Defn: To exhibit upon a stage, or as upon a stage; to display publicly. Shak.

STAGECOACH
Stage"coach`, n.

Defn: A coach that runs regularly from one stage, station, or place to another, for the conveyance of passengers.

STAGECOACHMAN
Stage"coach`man, n.; pl. Stagecoachmen (.

Defn: One who drives a stagecoach.

STAGE DIRECTOR
Stage director. (Theat.)

Defn: One who prepares a play for production. He arranges the details of the stage settings, the business to be used, all stage effects, and instructs the actors, excepting usually the star, in the general interpretation of their parts.

STAGE FRIGHT
Stage fright.

Defn: Nervousness felt before an audience.

STAGEHOUSE
Stage"house`, n.

Defn: A house where a stage regularly stops for passengers or a relay of horses.

STAGELY
Stage"ly, a.

Defn: Pertaining to a stage; becoming the theater; theatrical. [Obs.]
Jer. Taylor.

STAGE MANAGER
Stage manager. (Theat.)

Defn: One in control of the stage during the production of a play. He directs the stage hands, property man, etc., has charge of all details behind the curtain, except the acting, and has a general oversight of the actors. Sometimes he is also the stage director.

STAGEPLAY
Stage"play`, n.

Defn: A dramatic or theatrical entertainment. Dryden.

STAGEPLAYER
Stage"play`er, n.

Defn: An actor on the stage; one whose occupation is to represent characters on the stage; as, Garrick was a celebrated stageplayer.

STAGER
Sta"ger, n.

1. A player. [R.] B. Jonson.

2. One who has long acted on the stage of life; a practitioner; a person of experience, or of skill derived from long experience. "You will find most of the old stagers still stationary there." Sir W. Scott.

3. A horse used in drawing a stage. [Colloq.]

STAGERY
Sta"ger*y, n.

Defn: Exhibition on the stage. [Obs.]

STAGE-STRUCK
Stage"-struck`, a.

Defn: Fascinated by the stage; seized by a passionate desire to become an actor.

STAG-EVIL
Stag"-e`vil, n. (Far.)

Defn: A kind of palsy affecting the jaw of a horse. Crabb.

STAGGARD
Stag"gard, n. Etym: [From Stag.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The male red deer when four years old.

STAGGER
Stag"ger, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Staggered; p. pr. & vb. n. Staggering.]
Etym: [OE. stakeren, Icel. stakra to push, to stagger, fr. staka to
punt, push, stagger; cf. OD. staggeren to stagger. Cf. Stake, n.]

1. To move to one side and the other, as if about to fall, in standing or walking; not to stand or walk with steadiness; to sway; to reel or totter. Deep was the wound; he staggered with the blow. Dryden.

2. To cease to stand firm; to begin to give way; to fail. "The enemy staggers." Addison.

3. To begin to doubt and waver in purposes; to become less confident or determined; to hesitate. He [Abraham] staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief. Rom. iv. 20.

STAGGER
Stag"ger, v. t.

1. To cause to reel or totter. That hand shall burn in never-quenching fire That staggers thus my person. Shak.

2. To cause to doubt and waver; to make to hesitate; to make less steady or confident; to shock. Whosoever will read the story of this war will find himself much stagered. Howell. Grants to the house of Russell were so enormous, as not only to outrage economy, but even to stagger credibility. Burke.

3. To arrange (a series of parts) on each side of a median line alternately, as the spokes of a wheel or the rivets of a boiler seam.

STAGGER
Stag"ger, n.

1. An unsteady movement of the body in walking or standing, as if one were about to fall; a reeling motion; vertigo; — often in the plural; as, the stagger of a drunken man.

2. pl. (Far.)

Defn: A disease of horses and other animals, attended by reeling, unsteady gait or sudden falling; as, parasitic staggers; appopletic or sleepy staggers.

3. pl.

Defn: Bewilderment; perplexity. [R.] Shak. Stomach staggers (Far.), distention of the stomach with food or gas, resulting in indigestion, frequently in death.

STAGGERBUSH
Stag"ger*bush`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: An American shrub (Andromeda Mariana) having clusters of nodding white flowers. It grows in low, sandy places, and is said to poison lambs and calves. Gray.

STAGGERINGLY
Stag"ger*ing*ly, adv.

Defn: In a staggering manner.

STAGGERWORT
Stag"ger*wort`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A kind of ragwort (Senecio Jacobæa).

STAG-HORN CORAL; STAG-HORN FERN
Stag"-horn` co"ral, Stag"-horn` fern`, etc.

Defn: See under Stag.

STAG-HORNED
Stag"-horned`, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Having the mandibles large and palmate, or branched somewhat like the antlers of a stag; — said of certain beetles.

STAGHOUND
Stag"hound`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A large and powerful hound formerly used in hunting the stag, the wolf, and other large animals. The breed is nearly extinct.

STAGING
Sta"ging, n.

Defn: A structure of posts and boards for supporting workmen, etc., as in building.

2. The business of running stagecoaches; also, the act of journeying in stagecoaches.

STAGIRITE
Stag"i*rite, n.

Defn: A native of, or resident in, Stagira, in ancient Macedonia; especially, Aristotle. [Written also Stagyrite.]

STAGNANCY
Stag"nan*cy, n.

Defn: State of being stagnant.

STAGNANT
Stag"nant, a. Etym: [L. stagnans, -antis, p.pr. of stagnare. See
Stagnate.]

1. That stagnates; not flowing; not running in a current or steam; motionless; hence, impure or foul from want of motion; as, a stagnant lake or pond; stagnant blood in the veins.

2. Not active or brisk; dull; as, business in stagnant. That gloomy slumber of the stagnant soul. Johnson. For him a stagnant life was not worth living. Palfrey.

STAGNANTLY
Stag"nant*ly, adv.

Defn: In a stagnant manner.

STAGNATE Stag"nate, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Stagnated; p. pr. & vb. n. Stagnating.] Etym: [L. stagnatus, p.p. of stagnare to stagnate, make stagnant, from stagnum a piece of standing water. See Stank a pool, and cf. Stanch, v. t.]

1. To cease to flow; to be motionless; as, blood stagnates in the veins of an animal; hence, to become impure or foul by want of motion; as, air stagnates in a close room.

2. To cease to be brisk or active; to become dull or inactive; as, commerce stagnates; business stagnates. Ready-witted tenderness . . . never stagnates in vain lamentations while there is any room for hope. Sir W. Scott.

STAGNATE
Stag"nate, a.

Defn: Stagnant. [Obs.] "A stagnate mass of vapors." Young.

STAGNATION
Stag*na"tion, n. Etym: [Cf. F. stagnation.]

1. The condition of being stagnant; cessation of flowing or circulation, as of a fluid; the state of being motionless; as, the stagnation of the blood; the stagnation of water or air; the stagnation of vapors.

2. The cessation of action, or of brisk action; the state of being dull; as, the stagnation of business.

STAGWORM
Stag"worm, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The larve of any species of botfly which is parasitic upon the stag, as , which burrows beneath the skin, and Cephalomyia auribarbis, which lives in the nostrils.

STAGY
Sta"gy, a. [Written also stagey.]

Defn: Having an air or manner characteristic of the stage; theatrical; artificial; as, a stagy tone or bearing; —chiefly used depreciatively.

STAHLIAN
Stahl"ian, a.

Defn: Pertaining to, or taught by, Stahl, a German physician and chemist of the 17th century; as, the Stahlian theory of phlogiston.

STAHLIAN
Stahl"ian, n.

Defn: A believer in, or advocate of, Stahlism.

STAHLISM; STAHLIANISM
Stahl"ism, Stahl"ian*ism, n.

Defn: The Stahlian theoru, that every vital action is function or operation of the soul.

STAID
Staid,

Defn: imp. & p. p. of Stay.

STAID
Staid, a. Etym: [From Stay to stop.]

Defn: Sober; grave; steady; sedate; composed; regular; not wild, volatile, or fanciful. "Sober and staid persons." Addison. O'erlaid with black, staid Wisdom's hue. Milton.

Syn.
— Sober; grave; steady; steadfast; composed; regular; sedate.

STAIDLY
Staid"ly, adv.

Defn: In a staid manner, sedately.

STAIDNESS
Staid"ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being staid; seriousness; steadiness; sedateness; regularity; — the opposite of wildness, or Ant: levity. If sometimes he appears too gray, yet a secret gracefulness of youth accompanies his writings, though the staidness and sobriety of age wanting. Dryden.

Syn. — Sobriety; gravity; steadiness; regularity; constancy; firmness; stability; sedateness.

STAIL
Stail, n.

Defn: A handle, as of a mop; a stale. [Eng.]

STAIN
Stain, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stained; p. pr. & vb. n. Staining.] Etym:
[Abbrev. fr. distain.]

1. To discolor by the application of foreign matter; to make foul; to spot; as, to stain the hand with dye; armor stained with blood.

2. To color, as wood, glass, paper, cloth, or the like, by processess affecting, chemically or otherwise, the material itself; to tinge with a color or colors combining with, or penetrating, the substance; to dye; as, to stain wood with acids, colored washes, paint rubbed in, etc.; to stain glass.

3. To spot with guilt or infamy; to bring reproach on; to blot; to soil; to tarnish. Of honor void, Of innocence, of faith, of purity, Our wonted ornaments now soiled and stained. Milton.

4. To cause to seem inferior or soiled by comparison. She stains the ripest virgins of her age. Beau. & Fl. That did all other beasts in beauty stain. Spenser. Stained glass, glass colored or stained by certain metallic pigments fused into its substance, — often used for making ornament windows.

Syn. — To paint; dye; blot; soil; sully; discolor; disgrace; taint. — Paint, Stain, Dye. These denote three different processes; the first mechanical, the other two, chiefly chemical. To paint a thing is so spread a coat of coloring matter over it; to stain or dye a thing is to impart color to its substance. To stain is said chiefly of solids, as wood, glass, paper; to dye, of fibrous substances, textile fabrics, etc.; the one, commonly, a simple process, as applying a wash; the other more complex, as fixing colors by mordants.

STAIN
Stain, v. i.

Defn: To give or receive a stain; to grow dim.

STAIN
Stain, n.

1. A discoloration by foreign matter; a spot; as, a stain on a garment or cloth. Shak.

2. A natural spot of a color different from the gound. Swift trouts, diversified with crimson stains. Pope.

3. Taint of guilt; tarnish; disgrace; reproach. Nor death itself can wholly wash their stains. Dryden. Our opinion . . . is, I trust, without any blemish or stain of heresy. Hooker.

4. Cause of reproach; shame. Sir P. Sidney.

5. A tincture; a tinge. [R.] You have some stain of soldier in you. Shak.

Syn. — Blot; spot; taint; pollution; blemish; tarnish; color; disgrace; infamy; shame.

STAINER
Stain"er, n.

1. One who stains or tarnishes.

2. A workman who stains; as, a stainer of wood.

STAINLESS
Stain"less, a.

Defn: Free from stain; immaculate. Shak. The veery care he took to keep his name Stainless, with some was evidence of shame. Crabbe.

Syn.
— Blameless; spotless; faultless. See Blameless.

STAINLESSLY
Stain"less*ly, adv.

Defn: In a stainless manner.

STAIR Stair, n. Etym: [OE. steir, steyer, AS. st, from to ascend, rise. sq. root164. See Sty to ascend.]

1. One step of a series for ascending or descending to a different level; — commonly applied to those within a building.

2. A series of steps, as for passing from one story of a house to another; — commonly used in the plural; but originally used in the singular only. "I a winding stair found." Chaucer's Dream. Below stairs, in the basement or lower part of a house, where the servants are. — Flight of stairs, the stairs which make the whole ascent of a story. — Pair of stairs, a set or flight of stairs. — pair, in this phrase, having its old meaning of a set. See Pair, n., 1. — Run of stars (Arch.), a single set of stairs, or section of a stairway, from one platform to the next. — Stair rod, a rod, usually of metal, for holding a stair carpet to its place. — Up stairs. See Upstairs in the Vocabulary.

STAIRCASE
Stair"case`, n.

Defn: A flight of stairs with their supporting framework, casing,
balusters, etc.
To make a complete staircase is a curious piece of architecture. Sir
H. Wotton.
Staircase shell. (Zoöl.) (a) Any scalaria, or wentletrap. (b) Any
species of Solarium, or perspective shell.

STAIRHEAD
Stair"head`, n.

Defn: The head or top of a staircase.

STAIRWAY
Stair"way`, n.

Defn: A flight of stairs or steps; a staircase. "A rude and narrow stairway." Moore.

STAITH
Staith, n. Etym: [AS. stæ a bank, shore, from the root of E. stead.]

Defn: A landing place; an elevated staging upon a wharf for discharging coal, etc., as from railway cars, into vessels.

STAITHMAN
Staith"man, n.

Defn: A man employed in weighing and shipping at a staith. [Eng.]

STAKE
Stake, n. Etym: [AS. staca, from the root of E. stick; akin to
OFries. & LG. stake, D. staak, Sw. stake, Dan. stage. See Stick, v.
t., and cf. Estacade, Stockade.]

1. A piece of wood, usually long and slender, pointed at one end so as to be easily driven into the ground as a support or stay; as, a stake to support vines, fences, hedges, etc. A sharpened stake strong Dryas found. Dryden.

2. A stick inserted upright in a lop, eye, or mortise, at the side or end of a cart, a flat car, or the like, to prevent goods from falling off.

3. The piece of timber to which a martyr was affixed to be burned; hence, martyrdom by fire.

4. A small anvil usually furnished with a tang to enter a hole in a bench top, — used by tinsmiths, blacksmiths, etc., for light work, punching upon, etc.

5. That which is laid down as a wager; that which is staked or hazarded; a pledge. At stake, in danger; hazarded; pledged. "I see my reputation is at stake." Shak.

STAKE
Stake, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Staked; p. pr. & vb. n. Staking.]

1. To fasten, support, or defend with stakes; as, to stake vines or plants.

2. To mark the limits of by stakes; — with out; as, to stake out land; to stake out a new road.

3. To put at hazard upon the issue of competition, or upon a future contingency; to wager; to pledge. I'll stake yon lamb, that near the fountain plays. Pope.

4. To pierce or wound with a stake. Spectator.

STAKE-DRIVER
Stake"-driv`er, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The common American bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus); — so called because one of its notes resembles the sound made in driving a stake into the mud. Called also meadow hen, and Indian hen.

STAKEHEAD
Stake"head`, n. (Rope making)

Defn: A horizontal bar on a stake, used for supporting the yarns which are kept apart by pins in the bar.

STAKEHOLDER
Stake"hold`er, n.

Defn: The holder of a stake; one with whom the bets are deposited when a wager is laid.

STAKTOMETER
Stak*tom"e*ter, n. Etym: [Gr. -meter.]

Defn: A drop measurer; a glass tube tapering to a small orifice at the point, and having a bulb in the middle, used for finding the number of drops in equal quantities of different liquids. See Pipette. Sir D. Brewster.

STAL
Stal, obs. imp. of Steal.

Defn: Stole.

STALACTIC; STALACTICAL
Sta*lac"tic, Sta*lac"tic*al, a. (Geol.)

Defn: Stalactic.

STALACTIFORM
Sta*lac"ti*form, a.

Defn: Like a stalactite; resembling a stalactite.

STALACTITE Sta*lac"tite, n.; pl. Stalactites. Etym: [Gr. stalactite.] (Geol.) (a) A pendent cone or cylinder of calcium carbonate resembling an icicle in form and mode of attachment. Stalactites are found depending from the roof or sides of caverns, and are produced by deposition from waters which have percolated through, and partially dissolved, the overlying limestone rocks. (b) In an extended sense, any mineral or rock of similar form and origin; as, a stalactite of lava.

STALACTITES
Stal`ac*ti"tes, n. Etym: [NL.]

Defn: A stalactite. [Obs.] Woodward.

STALACTITIC; STALACTITICAL
Stal`ac*tit"ic, Stal`ac*tit"ic*al, a. Etym: [Cf. F. stalactitique.]
(Geol.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to a stalactite; having the form or characters of a stalactite; stalactic.

STALACTITIFORM
Stal`ac*tit"i*form, a.

Defn: Having the form of a stalactite; stalactiform.

STALAGMITE
Sta*lag"mite, n. Etym: [Gr. stalagmite.] (Geol.)

Defn: A deposit more or less resembling an inverted stalactite, formed by calcareous water dropping on the floors of caverns; hence, a similar deposit of other material.

STALAGMITIC; STALAGMITICAL
Stal`ag*mit"ic, Stal`ag*mit"ic*al, a.

Defn: Having the form or structure of stalagmites.
— Stal`ag*mit"ic*al*ly, adv.

STALDER
Stal"der, n. Etym: [From the root of stall.]

Defn: A wooden frame to set casks on. [Prov. Eng.]

STALE Stale, n. Etym: [OE. stale, stele, AS. stæl, stel; akin to LG. & D. steel, G. stiel; cf. L. stilus stake, stalk, stem, Gr. stall, stalk, n.]

Defn: The stock or handle of anything; as, the stale of a rake.
[Written also steal, stele, etc.]
But seeling the arrow's stale without, and that the head did go No
further than it might be seen. Chapman.

STALE
Stale, a. Etym: [Akin to stale urine, and to stall, n.; probably from
Low German or Scandinavian. Cf. Stale, v. i.]

1. Vapid or tasteless from age; having lost its life, spirit, and flavor, from being long kept; as, stale beer.

2. Not new; not freshly made; as, stele bread.

3. Having lost the life or graces of youth; worn out; decayed. "A stale virgin." Spectator.

4. Worn out by use or familiarity; having lost its novelty and power of pleasing; trite; common. Swift. Wit itself, if stale is less pleasing. Grew. How weary, stale flat, and unprofitable Seem to me all the uses of this world! Shak. Stale affidavit (Law), an affidavit held above a year. Craig. — Stale demand (Law), a claim or demand which has not been pressed or demanded for a long time.

STALE
Stale, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Staled; p. pr. & vb. n. Staling.]

Defn: To make vapid or tasteless; to destroy the life, beauty, or use
of; to wear out.
Age can not wither her, nor custom stale Her infinite variety. Shak.

STALE Stale, v. i. Etym: [Akin to D. & G. stallen, Dan. stalle, Sw. stalla, and E. stall a stable. Stall, n., and cf. Stale, a.]

Defn: To make water; to discharge urine; — said especially of horses and cattle. Hudibras.

STALE
Stale, n. Etym: [See Stale, a. & v. i.]

1. That which is stale or worn out by long keeping, or by use. [Obs.]

2. A prostitute. [Obs.] Shak.

3. Urine, esp. that of beasts. "Stale of horses." Shak.

STALE Stale, n. Etym: [Cf. OF. estal place, position, abode, market, F. étal a butcher's stall, OHG. stal station, place, stable, G. stall (see Stall, n.); or from OE. stale theft, AS. stalu (see Steal, v. t.)]

1. Something set, or offered to view, as an allurement to draw others to any place or purpose; a decoy; a stool pigeon. [Obs.] Still, as he went, he crafty stales did lay. Spenser.

2. A stalking-horse. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

3. (Chess)

Defn: A stalemate. [Obs.] Bacon.

4. A laughingstock; a dupe. [Obs.] Shak.

STALELY
Stale"ly, adv.

1. In a state stale manner.

2. Of old; long since. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

STALEMATE
Stale"mate`, n. (Chess)

Defn: The position of the king when he can not move without being placed on check and there is no other piece which can be moved.

STALEMATE
Stale"mate`, v. t. (Chess)

Defn: To subject to a stalemate; hence, to bring to a stand.

STALENESS
Stale"ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being stale.

STALK Stalk, n. Etym: [OE. stalke, fr. AS. stæl, stel, a stalk. See Stale a handle, Stall.]

1. (Bot.) (a) The stem or main axis of a plant; as, a stalk of wheat, rye, or oats; the stalks of maize or hemp. (b) The petiole, pedicel, or peduncle, of a plant.

2. That which resembes the stalk of a plant, as the stem of a quill. Grew.

3. (Arch.)

Defn: An ornament in the Corinthian capital resembling the stalk of a plant, from which the volutes and helices spring.

4. One of the two upright pieces of a ladder. [Obs.] To climd by the rungs and the stalks. Chaucer.

5. (Zoöl.) (a) A stem or peduncle, as of certain barnacles and crinoids. (b) The narrow basal portion of the abdomen of a hymenopterous insect. (c) The peduncle of the eyes of decapod crustaceans.

6. (Founding)

Defn: An iron bar with projections inserted in a core to strengthen it; a core arbor. Stalk borer (Zoöl.), the larva of a noctuid moth (Gortyna nitela), which bores in the stalks of the raspberry, strawberry, tomato, asters, and many other garden plants, often doing much injury.

STALK
Stalk, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Stalked; p. pr. & vb. n. Stalking.] Etym:
[AS. stælcan, stealcian to go slowly; cf. stels high, elevated, Dan.
stalke to stalk; probably akin to 1st stalk.]

1. To walk slowly and cautiously; to walk in a stealthy, noiseless manner; — sometimes used with a reflexive pronoun. Shak. Into the chamber he stalked him full still. Chaucer. [Bertran] stalks close behind her, like a witch's fiend, Pressing to be employed. Dryden.

2. To walk behind something as a screen, for the purpose of approaching game; to proceed under clover. The king . . . crept under the shoulder of his led horse; . . . "I must stalk," said he. Bacon. One underneath his horse, to get a shoot doth stalk. Drayton.

3. To walk with high and proud steps; usually implying the affectation of dignity, and indicating dislike. The word is used, however, especially by the poets, to express dignity of step. With manly mien he stalked along the ground. Dryden. Then stalking through the deep, He fords the ocean. Addison. I forbear myself from entering the lists in which he has long stalked alone and unchallenged. Mericale.

STALK
Stalk, v. t.

Defn: To approach under cover of a screen, or by stealth, for the purpose of killing, as game. As for shooting a man from behind a wall, it is cruelly like to stalking a deer. Sir W. Scott.

STALK
Stalk, n.

Defn: A high, proud, stately step or walk.
Thus twice before, . . . With martial stalk hath he gone by our
watch. Shak.
The which with monstrous stalk behind him stepped. Spenser.

STALKED
Stalked, a.

Defn: Having a stalk or stem; borne upon a stem. Stalked barnacle
(Zoöl.), a goose barnacle, or anatifer; — called also stalk
barnacle.
— Stalked crinoid (Zoöl.), any crinoid having a jointed stem.

STALKER
Stalk"er, n.

1. One who stalks.

2. A kind of fishing net.

STALK-EYED
Stalk"-eyed`, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Having the eyes raised on a stalk, or peduncle; — opposed to sessile-eyed. Said especially of podophthalmous crustaceans. Stalked- eyed crustaceans. (Zoöl.) See Podophthalmia.

STALKING-HORSE
Stalk"ing-horse, n.

1. A horse, or a figure resembling a horse, behind which a hunter conceals himself from the game he is aiming to kill.

2. Fig.: Something used to cover up a secret project; a mask; a pretense. Hypocrisy is the devil's stalking-horse under an affectation of simplicity and religion. L'Estrange. How much more abominable is it to make of him [Christ] and religion a stalking-horse, to get and enjoy the world! Bunyan.

STALKLESS
Stalk"less, a.

Defn: Having no stalk.

STALKY
Stalk"y, a.

Defn: Hard as a stalk; resembling a stalk.
At the top [it] bears a great stalky head. Mortimer.

STALL Stall, n. Etym: [OE. stal, AS. steall, stall, a place, seat, or station, a stable; akin to D. & OHG. stal, G. & Sw. stall, stallr, Dan. stald, originally, a standing place; akin to G. selle a place, stellen to place, Gr. stand. Stand, and cf. Apostle, Epistle, Forestall, Install, Stale, a. & v. i., 1st Stalk, Stallion, Still.]

1. A stand; a station; a fixed spot; hence, the stand or place where a horse or an ox kept and fed; the division of a stable, or the compartment, for one horse, ox, or other animal. "In an oxes stall." Chaucer.

2. A stable; a place for cattle. At last he found a stall where oxen stood. Dryden.

3. A small apartment or shed in which merchandise is exposed for sale; as, a butcher's stall; a bookstall.

4. A bench or table on which small articles of merchandise are exposed for sale. How peddlers' stalls with glittering toys are laid. Gay.

5. A seat in the choir of a church, for one of the officiating clergy. It is inclosed, either wholly or partially, at the back and sides. The stalls are frequently very rich, with canopies and elaborate carving. The dignifird clergy, out of humanility, have called their thrones by the names of stalls. Bp. Warburton. Loud the monks in their stalls. Longfellow.

6. In the theater, a seat with arms or otherwise partly inclosed, as distinguished from the benches, sofas, etc.

7. (Mining)

Defn: The space left by excavation between pillars. See Post and stall, under Post. Stall reader, one who reads books at a stall where they are exposed for sale. Cries the stall reader, "Bless us! what a word on A titlepage is this!" Milton.

STALL
Stall, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stalled; p. pr. & vb. n. Stalling.] Etym:
[Cf. Sw. stalla, Dan. stalde.]

1. To put into a stall or stable; to keep in a stall or stalls; as,
to stall an ox.
Where King Latinus then his oxen stalled.
Dryden.

2. To fatten; as, to stall cattle. [Prov. Eng.]

3. To place in an office with the customary formalities; to install. Shak.

4. To plunge into mire or snow so as not to be able to get on; to set; to fix; as, to stall a cart. Burton. His horses had been stalled in the snow. E. E. Hale.

5. To forestall; to anticipitate. Having This not to be stall'd by my report. Massinger.

6. To keep close; to keep secret. [Obs.] Stall this in your bosom. Shak.

STALL
Stall, v. i. Etym: [AS. steallian to have room. See Stall, n.]

1. To live in, or as in, a stall; to dwell. [Obs.] We could not stall together In the whole world. Shak.

2. To kennel, as dogs. Johnson.

3. To be set, as in mire or snow; to stick fast.

4. To be tired of eating, as cattle. [Prov. Eng.]

STALLAGE Stall"age, n. Etym: [Cf. OF.estallange, of German origin. See Stall, n. ]

1. (Eng. Law)

Defn: The right of erecting a stalls in fairs; rent paid for a stall.

2. Dung of cattle or horses, mixed with straw. [Obs.]

STALLATION
Stal*la"tion, n.

Defn: Installation. [Obs.]

STALLED
Stalled, a.

Defn: Put or kept in a stall; hence, fatted. "A stalled ox." Prov. xv. 17.

STALLER
Stall"er, n.

Defn: A standard bearer. obtaining Fuller.

STALL-FEED Stall"-feed, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stall-fed (; p. pr. & vb. n. Stall- feeding.]

Defn: To feed and fatten in a stall or on dry fodder; as, to stall- feed an ox.

STALLING
Stall"ing, n.

Defn: Stabling. Tennyson.

STALLION Stal"lion, n. Etym: [OE. stalon, OF. estalon, F. étalon, fr. OHG. stal a stable. See Stall, n.]

Defn: A male horse not castrated; a male horse kept for breeding.

STALLMAN
Stall"man, n.; pl. Stallmen (.

Defn: One who keeps a stall for the sale of merchandise, especially books. Sterne.

STALLON
Stal"lon, n.

Defn: A slip from a plant; a scion; a cutting. [R.] Holished.

STALWART; STALWORTH Stal"wart, Stal"worth, a. Etym: [OE. stalworth, AS. stælwyrth serviceable, probably originally, good at stealing, or worth stealing or taking, and afterwards extended to other causes of estimation. See Steal, v. t., Worth, a.]

Defn: Brave; bold; strong; redoubted; daring; vehement; violent. "A stalwart tiller of the soil." Prof. Wilson. Fair man be was and wise, stalworth and bold. R. of Brunne.

Note: Stalworth is now disused, or bur little used, stalwart having taken its place.

STALWARTLY
Stal"wart*ly, adv.

Defn: In a stalwart manner.

STALWARTNESS
Stal"wart*ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being stalwart.

STALWORTHHOOD; STALWORTHNESS
Stal"worth*hood, Stal"worth*ness (, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being stalworth; stalwartness; boldness; daring. [Obs.]

STAMEN
Sta"men, n.; pl. E. Stamens (used only in the second sense); L.
Stamina (in the first sense). Etym: [L. stamen the warp, a thread,
fiber, akin to Gr. stand. See Stand, and cf. Stamin, Stamina.]

1. A thread; especially, a warp thread.

2. (pl. Stamens, rarely Stamina.) (Bot.)

Defn: The male organ of flowers for secreting and furnishing the pollen or fecundating dust. It consists of the anther and filament.

STAMENED
Sta"mened, a.

Defn: Furnished with stamens.

STAMIN
Sta"min, n. Etym: [OF. estamine, F. étamine, LL. staminea, stamineum,
fr. L. stamineus consisting of threads, fr. stamen a thread. See
Stamen, and cf. Stamineous, 2d Stammel, Tamine.]

Defn: A kind of woolen cloth. [Written also stamine.] [Obs.]

STAMINA
Stam"i*na, n. pl.

Defn: See Stamen.

STAMINA
Stam"i*na, n. pl.

1. The fixed, firm part of a body, which supports it or gives it strength and solidity; as, the bones are the stamina of animal bodies; the ligneous parts of trees are the stamina which constitute their strength.

2. Whatever constitutes the principal strength or support of anything; power of endurance; backbone; vigor; as, the stamina of a constitution or of life; the stamina of a State. He succeeded to great captains who had sapped the whole stamina and resistance of the contest. De Quincey.

STAMINAL
Stam"i*nal, a. Etym: [Cf. F. staminal.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to stamens or stamina; consisting in stamens.

STAMINATE Stam"i*nate, a. Etym: [L. staminatus consisting of threads, fr. stamen thread: cf. F. staminé.] (Bot.) (a) Furnished with stamens; producing stamens. (b) Having stamens, but lacking pistils.

STAMINATE
Stam"i*nate, v. t.

Defn: To indue with stamina. [R.]

STAMINEAL; STAMINEOUS Sta*min"e*al, Sta*min"e*ous, a. Etym: [L. stamineus, from stamen thread.]

1. Consisting of stamens or threads.

2. (Bot.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to the stamens; possessing stamens; also, attached to the stamens; as, a stamineous nectary.

STAMINIFEROUS
Stam`i*nif"er*ous, a. Etym: [Stamen + -ferous.]

Defn: Bearing or having stamens.

STAMINODE
Stam"i*node, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A staminodium.

STAMINODIUM Stam`i*no"di*um, n.; pl. Staminodia. Etym: [NL. See Stamen, and - oid.] (Bot.)

Defn: An abortive stamen, or any organ modified from an abortive stamen.

STAMMEL
Stam"mel, n.

Defn: A large, clumsy horse. [Prov. Eng.] Wright.

STAMMEL Stam"mel, n. Etym: [OF. estamel; cf. OF. estamet a coarse woolen cloth, LL. stameta a kind of cloth, the same as staminea, and OF. estame a woolen stuff. See Stamin.]

1. A kind of woolen cloth formerly in use. It seems to have been often of a red color. [Obs.]

2. A red dye, used in England in the 15th and 16th centuries. B. Jonson.

STAMMEL
Stam"mel, a.

Defn: Of the color of stammel; having a red color, thought inferior to scarlet.

STAMMER Stam"mer, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Stammered; p. pr. & vb. n. Stammering.] Etym: [OE. stameren, fr. AS. stamur, stamer, stammering; akin to D. & LG. stameren to stammer, G. stammeln, OHG. stammal, stamm, Dan. stamme, Sw. stamma, Icel. stama, stamma, OHG. & Dan. stam stammering, Icel. stamr, Goth. stamms, and to G. stemmen to bear against, stumm dumb, D. stom. Cf. Stem to resist, Stumble.]

Defn: To make involuntary stops in uttering syllables or words; to hesitate or falter in speaking; to speak with stops and diffivulty; to stutter. I would thou couldst stammer, that thou mightest pour this conclead man out of thy mouth, as wine comes out of a narrow-mouthed bottle, either too much at once, or none at all. Shak.

STAMMER
Stam"mer, v. t.

Defn: To utter or pronounce with hesitation or imperfectly; — sometimes with out.

STAMMER
Stam"mer, n.

Defn: Defective utterance, or involuntary interruption of utterance; a stutter.

STAMMERER
Stam"mer*er, n.

Defn: One who stammers.

STAMMERING
Stam"mer*ing, a.

Defn: Apt to stammer; hesitating in speech; stuttering.
— Stam"mer*ing*ly, adv.

STAMMERING
Stam"mer*ing, n. (Physiol.)

Defn: A disturbance in the formation of sounds. It is due essentially to long-continued spasmodic contraction of the diaphragm, by which expiration is preented, and hence it may be considered as a spasmodic inspiration.

STAMP
Stamp v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stamped; p. pr. & vb. n. Stamping.] Etym:
[OE. stampen; akin to LG. & D. stampen, G. stampfen, OHG. stanpf,
Dan. stampe, Sw. stampa, Icel. stappa, G. stampf a pestle and E.
step. See Step, v. i., and cf. Stampede.]

1. To strike beat, or press forcibly with the bottom of the foot, or by thrusting the foot downward. Shak. He frets, he fumes, he stares, he stamps the ground. Dryden.

2. To bring down (the foot) forcibly on the ground or floor; as, he stamped his foot with rage.

3. To crush; to pulverize; specifically (Metal.), to crush by the blow of a heavy stamp, as ore in a mill. I took your sin, the calf which ye had made, and burnt it with fire, and stamped it, and ground it very small. Deut. ix. 21.

4. To impress with some mark or figure; as, to stamp a plate with arms or initials.

5. Fig.: To impress; to imprint; to fix deeply; as, to stamp virtuous principles on the heart. God . . . has stamped no original characters on our minds wherein we may read his being. Locke.

6. To cut out, bend, or indent, as paper, sheet metal, etc., into various forms, by a blow or suddenly applied pressure with a stamp or die, etc.; to mint; to coin.

7. To put a stamp on, as for postage; as, to stamp a letter; to stamp a legal document. To stamp out, to put an end to by sudden and energetic action; to extinguish; as, to stamp out a rebellion.

STAMP
Stamp, v. i.

1. To strike; to beat; to crush. These cooks how they stamp and strain and grind. Chaucer.

2. To strike the foot forcibly downward. But starts, exclaims, and stamps, and raves, and dies. dennis.

STAMP
Stamp, n.

1. The act of stamping, as with the foot.

2. The which stamps; any instrument for making impressions on other bodies, as a die. 'T is gold so pure It can not bear the stamp without alloy. Dryden.

3. The mark made by stamping; a mark imprinted; an impression. That sacred name gives ornament and grace, And, like his stamp, makes basest metals pass. Dryden.

4. that which is marked; a thing stamped. hanging a golden stamp about their necks. Shak.

5. Etym: [F. estampe, of german origin. See Stamp, v. t.]

Defn: A picture cut in wood or metal, or made by impression; a cut; a
plate. [Obs.]
At Venice they put out very curious stamps of the several edifices
which are most famous for their beauty and magnificence. Addison.

6. An offical mark set upon things chargeable with a duty or tax to government, as evidence that the duty or tax is paid; as, the stamp on a bill of exchange.

7. Hence, a stamped or printed device, issued by the government at a fixed price, and required by law to be affixed to, or stamped on, certain papers, as evidence that the government dues are paid; as, a postage stamp; a receipt stamp, etc.

8. An instrument for cutting out, or shaping, materials, as paper, leather, etc., by a downward pressure.

9. A character or reputation, good or bad, fixed on anything as if by an imprinted mark; current value; authority; as, these persons have the stamp of dishonesty; the Scriptures bear the stamp of a divine origin. Of the same stamp is that which is obtruded on us, that an adamant suspends the attraction of the loadstone. Sir T. Browne.

10. Make; cast; form; character; as, a man of the same stamp, or of a different stamp. A soldier of this season's stamp. Shak.

11. A kind of heavy hammer, or pestle, raised by water or steam power, for beating ores to powder; anything like a pestle, used for pounding or bathing.

12. A half-penny. [Obs.] au. & Fl.

13. pl.

Defn: Money, esp. paper money. [Slang, U.S.] Stamp act, an act of the British Parliament [1765] imposing a duty on all paper, vellum, and parchment used in the American colonies, and declaring all writings on unstamped materials to be null an void. — Stamp collector, an officer who receives or collects stamp duties; one who collects postage or other stamps. — Stamp duty, a duty, or tax, imposed on paper and parchment used for certain writings, as deeds, conveyances, etc., the evidence of the payment of the duty or tax being a stamp. [Eng.] — Stamp hammer, a hammer, worked by power, which rises and falls vertically, like a stamp in a stamp mill. — Stamp head, a heavy mass of metal, forming the head or lower end of a bar, which is lifted and let fall, in a stamp mill. — Stamp mill (Mining), a mill in which ore is crushed with stamps; also, a machine for stamping ore. — Stamp note, a stamped certificate from a customhouse officer, which allows goods to be received by the captain of a ship as freight. [Eng.] — Stamp office, an office for the issue of stamps and the reception of stamp duties.

STAMPEDE
Stam*pede", n. Etym: [Sp. estampida (in America) a stampede,
estampido a crackling, akin to estampar to stamp, of German origin.
See Stamp, v. t.]

Defn: A wild, headlong scamper, or running away, of a number of animals; usually caused by fright; hence, any sudden flight or dispersion, as of a crowd or an army in consequence of a panic. She and her husband would join in the general stampede. W. Black.

STAMPEDE
Stam*pede", v. i.

Defn: To run away in a panic; — said droves of cattle, horses, etc., also of armies.

STAMPEDE
Stam*pede", v. t.

Defn: To disperse by causing sudden fright, as a herd or drove of animals.

STAMPER
Stamp"er, n.

1. One who stamps.

2. An instrument for pounding or stamping.

STAMPING
Stamp"ing, a. & n.

Defn: from Stamp, v. Stamping ground, a place frequented, and much trodden, by animals, wild or domesticated; hence (Colloq.), the scene of one's labors or exploits; also, one's favorite resort. [U.S.] — Stamping machine, a machine for forming metallic articles or impressions by stamping. — Stamping mill (Mining), a stamp mill.

STANCE
Stance, n. Etym: [OF. estance. See Stanza.]

1. A stanza. [Obs.] Chapman.

2. A station; a position; a site. [Scot.] Sir W. Scott.

STANCH Stanch, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stanched; p. pr. & vb. n. Stanching.] Etym: [OF. estanchier, F. étancher to stpo a liquid from flowing; akin to Pr., Sp., & Pg. estancar, It. stancare to weary, LL. stancare, stagnare, to stanch, fr. L. stagnare to be or make stagnant. See Stagnate.]

1. To stop the flowing of, as blood; to check; also, to stop the flowing of blood from; as, to stanch a wound. [Written also staunch.] Iron or a stone laid to the neck doth stanch the bleeding of the nose. Bacon.

2. To extinguish; to quench, as fire or thirst. [Obs.]

STANCH
Stanch, v. i.

Defn: To cease, as the flowing of blood.
Immediately her issue of blood stanched. Luke viii. 44.

STANCH
Stanch, n.

1. That which stanches or checks. [Obs.]

2. A flood gate by which water is accumulated, for floating a boat over a shallow part of a stream by its release. Knight.

STANCH Stanch, a. [Compar. Stancher; superl. Stanchest.] Etym: [From Stanch, v. t., and hence literally signifying, stopped or stayed; cf. Sp. estanco stopped, tight, not leaky, as a ship. See Stanch, v. t.] [Written also staunch.]

1. Strong and tight; sound; firm; as, a stanch ship. One of the closets is parqueted with plain deal, set in diamond, exceeding stanch and pretty. Evelyn.

2. Firm in principle; constant and zealous; loyal; hearty; steady; steadfast; as, a stanch churchman; a stanch friend or adherent. V. Knox. In politics I hear you 're stanch. Prior.

3. Close; secret; private. [Obs.] This to be kept stanch. Locke.

STANCH
Stanch, v. t.

Defn: To prop; to make stanch, or strong. His gathered sticks to stanch the wall Of the snow tower when snow should fall. Emerson.

STANCHEL
Stan"chel, n.

Defn: A stanchion.

STANCHER
Stanch"er, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, stanches, or stops, the flowing, as of blood.

STANCHION Stan"chion, n. Etym: [OF. estanson, estançon, F. étançon, from OF. estance a stay, a prop, from L. stans, stantis, standing, p.pr. of stare to stand. See Stand, and cf. Stanza.] [Written also stanchel.]

1. (Arch.)

Defn: A prop or support; a piece of timber in the form of a stake or post, used for a support or stay.

2. (Naut.)

Defn: Any upright post or beam used as a support, as for the deck, the quarter rails, awnings, etc.

3. A vertical bar for confining cattle in a stall.

STANCHLESS
Stanch"less, a.

1. Incapable of being stanched, or stopped.

2. Unquenchable; insatiable. [Obs.] Shak.

STANCHLY
Stanch"ly, adv.

Defn: In a stanch manner.

STANCHNESS
Stanch"ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being stanch.

STAND
Stand, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Stood; p. pr. & vb. n. Standing.] Etym:
[OE. standen; AS. standan; akin to OFries. stonda, stan, D. staan,
OS. standan, stan, G. stehen, Icel. standa, Dan. staae, Sw. stå,
Goth. standan, Russ. stoiate, L. stare, Gr. stha. *163. Cf. Assist,
Constant, Contrast, Desist, Destine, Ecstasy, Exist, Interstice,
Obstacle, Obstinate, Prest, n., Rest remainder, Soltice, Stable, a. &
n., State, n., Statute, Stead, Steed, Stool, Stud of horses,
Substance, System.]

1. To be at rest in an erect position; to be fixed in an upright or firm position; as: (a) To be supported on the feet, in an erect or nearly erect position; — opposed to lie, sit, kneel, etc. "I pray you all, stand up!" Shak. (b) To continue upright in a certain locality, as a tree fixed by the roots, or a building resting on its foundation. It stands as it were to the ground yglued. Chaucer. The ruined wall Stands when its wind worn battlements are gone. Byron.

2. To occupy or hold a place; to have a situation; to be situated or located; as, Paris stands on the Seine. Wite ye not where there stands a little town Chaucer.

3. To cease from progress; not to proceed; to stop; to pause; to halt; to remain stationary. I charge thee, stand, And tell thy name. Dryden. The star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. Matt. ii. 9.

4. To remain without ruin or injury; to hold good against tendencies to impair or injure; to be permanent; to endure; to last; hence, to find endurance, strength, or resources. My mind on its own center stands unmoved. Dryden.

5. To maintain one's ground; to be acquitted; not to fail or yield; to be safe. Readers by whose judgment I would stand or fall. Spectator.

6. To maintain an invincible or permanent attitude; to be fixed, steady, or firm; to take a position in resistance or opposition. "The standing pattern of their imitation." South. The king granted the Jews . . . to gather themselves together, and to stand for their life. Esther viii. 11.

7. To adhere to fixed principles; to maintain moral rectitude; to keep from falling into error or vice. We must labor so as to stand with godliness, according to his appointment. Latimer.

8. To have or maintain a position, order, or rank; to be in a particular relation; as, Christian charity, or love, stands first in the rank of gifts.

9. To be in some particular state; to have essence or being; to be; to consist. "Sacrifices . . . which stood only in meats and drinks." Heb. ix. 10. Accomplish what your signs foreshow; I stand resigned, and am prepared to go. Dryden. Thou seest how it stands with me, and that I may not tarry. Sir W. Scott.

10. To be consistent; to agree; to accord. Doubt me not; by heaven, I will do nothing But what may stand with honor. Massinger.

11. (Naut.)

Defn: To hold a course at sea; as, to stand from the shore; to stand
for the harbor.
From the same parts of heaven his navy stands. Dryden.

12. To offer one's self, or to be offered, as a candidate. He stood to be elected one of the proctors of the university. Walton.

13. To stagnate; not to flow; to be motionless. Or the black water of Pomptina stands. Dryden.

14. To measure when erect on the feet. Six feet two, as I think, he stands. Tennyson.

15. (Law) (a) To be or remain as it is; to continue in force; to have efficacy or validity; to abide. Bouvier. (b) To appear in court. Burrill. Stand by (Naut.), a preparatory order, equivalent to Be ready. — To stand against, to opposite; to resist. — To stand by. (a) To be near; to be a spectator; to be present. (b) To be aside; to be aside with disregard. "In the interim [we] let the commands stand by neglected." Dr. H. More. (c) To maintain; to defend; to support; not to desert; as, to stand by one's principles or party. (d) To rest on for support; to be supported by. Whitgift. — To stand corrected, to be set right, as after an error in a statement of fact. Wycherley. — To stand fast, to be fixed; to be unshaken or immovable. — To stand firmly on, to be satisfied or convinced of. "Though Page be a secure fool, and stands so firmly on his wife's frailty." Shak. — To stand for. (a) To side with; to espouse the cause of; to support; to maintain, or to profess or attempt to maintain; to defend. "I stand wholly for you." Shak. (b) To be in the place of; to be the substitute or to represent; as, a cipher at the left hand of a figure stands for nothing. "I will not trouble myself, whether these names stand for the same thing, or really include one another." Locke. — To stand in, to cost. "The same standeth them in much less cost." Robynson (More's Utopia). The Punic wars could not have stood the human race in less than three millions of the species. Burke. — To stand in hand, to conduce to one's interest; to be serviceable or advantageous. — To stand off. (a) To keep at a distance. (b) Not to comply. (c) To keep at a distance in friendship, social intercourse, or acquaintance. (d) To appear prominent; to have relief. "Picture is best when it standeth off, as if it were carved." Sir H. Wotton. — To stand off and on (Naut.), to remain near a coast by sailing toward land and then from it. — To stand on (Naut.), to continue on the same tack or course. — To stand out. (a) To project; to be prominent. "Their eyes stand out with fatness." Psalm lxxiii. 7. (b) To persist in opposition or resistance; not to yield or comply; not to give way or recede. His spirit is come in, That so stood out against the holy church. Shak. — To stand to. (a) To ply; to urge; to persevere in using. "Stand to your tackles, mates, and stretch your oars." Dryden. (b) To remain fixed in a purpose or opinion. "I will stand to it, that this is his sense." Bp. Stillingfleet. (c) To abide by; to adhere to; as to a contrast, assertion, promise, etc.; as, to stand to an award; to stand to one's word. (d) Not to yield; not to fly; to maintain, as one's ground. "Their lives and fortunes were put in safety, whether they stood to it or ran away." Bacon. (e) To be consistent with; to agree with; as, it stands to reason that he could not have done so. (f) To support; to uphold. "Stand to me in this cause." Shak. — To stand together, to be consistent; to agree. — To stand to sea (Naut.), to direct the course from land. — To stand under, to undergo; to withstand. Shak. — To stand up. (a) To rise from sitting; to be on the feet. (b) To arise in order to speak or act. "Against whom, when the accusers stood up, they brought none accusation of such things as I supposed." Acts xxv. 18. (c) To rise and stand on end, as the hair. (d) To put one's self in opposition; to contend. "Once we stood up about the corn." Shak. — To stand up for, to defend; to justify; to support, or attempt to support; as, to stand up for the administration. — To stand upon. (a) To concern; to interest. (b) To value; to esteem. "We highly esteem and stand much upon our birth." Ray. (c) To insist on; to attach much importance to; as, to stand upon security; to stand upon ceremony. (d) To attack; to assault. [A Hebraism] "So I stood upon him, and slew him." 2 Sam. i. 10. — To stand with, to be consistent with. "It stands with reason that they should be rewarded liberally." Sir J. Davies.

STAND
Stand, v. t.

1. To endure; to sustain; to bear; as, I can not stand the cold or the heat.

2. To resist, without yielding or receding; to withstand. "Love stood the siege." Dryden. He stood the furious foe. Pope.

3. To abide by; to submit to; to suffer. Bid him disband his legions, . . . And stand the judgment of a Roman senate. Addison.

4. To set upright; to cause to stand; as, to stand a book on the shelf; to stand a man on his feet.

5. To be at the expense of; to pay for; as, to stand a treat. [Colloq.] Tackeray. To stand fire, to receive the fire of arms from an enemy without giving way. — To stand one's ground, to keep the ground or station one has taken; to maintain one's position. "Pleasants and burghers, however brave, are unable to stand their ground against veteran soldiers." Macaulay. — To stand trial, to sustain the trial or examination of a cause; not to give up without trial.

STAND
Stand, n. Etym: [As. stand. See Stand, v. i.]

1. The act of standing. I took my stand upon an eminence . . . to look into thier several ladings. Spectator.

2. A halt or stop for the purpose of defense, resistance, or opposition; as, to come to, or to make, a stand. Vice is at stand, and at the highest flow. Dryden.

3. A place or post where one stands; a place where one may stand while observing or waiting for something. I have found you out a stand most fit, Where you may have such vantage on the duke, He shall not pass you. Shak.

4. A station in a city or town where carriages or wagons stand for hire; as, a cab stand. Dickens.

5. A raised platform or station where a race or other outdoor spectacle may be viewed; as, the judge's or the grand stand at a race course.

6. A small table; also, something on or in which anything may be laid, hung, or placed upright; as, a hat stand; an umbrella stand; a music stand.

7. A place where a witness stands to testify in court.

8. The situation of a shop, store, hotel, etc.; as, a good, bad, or convenient stand for business. [U. S.]

9. Rank; post; station; standing. Father, since your fortune did attain So high a stand, I mean not to descend. Daniel.

10. A state of perplexity or embarrassment; as, to be at a stand what to do. L'Estrange.

11. A young tree, usually reserved when other trees are cut; also, a tree growing or standing upon its own root, in distinction from one produced from a scion set in a stock, either of the same or another kind of tree.

12. (Com.)

Defn: A weight of from two hundred and fifty to three hundred pounds, — used in weighing pitch. Microscope stand, the instrument, excepting the eyepiece, objective, and other removable optical parts. — Stand of ammunition, the projectile, cartridge, and sabot connected together. — Stand of arms. (Mil.) See under Arms. — Stand of colors (Mil.), a single color, or flag. Wilhelm (Mil. Dict.) — To be at a stand, to be stationary or motionless; to be at a standstill; hence, to be perplexed; to be embarrassed. — To make a stand, to halt for the purpose of offering resistance to a pursuing enemy.

Syn. — Stop; halt; rest; interruption; obstruction; perplexity; difficulty; embarrassment; hesitation.

STANDAGE
Stand"age, n. (Mining)

Defn: A reservior in which water accumulates at the bottom of a mine.

STANDARD
Stand"ard, n. Etym: [OF. estendart, F. étendard, probably fr. L.
extendere to spread out, extend, but influenced by E. stand. See
Extend.]

1. A flag; colors; a banner; especially, a national or other ensign. His armies, in the following day, On those fair plains their standards proud display. Fairfax.

2. That which is established by authority as a rule for the measure of quantity, extent, value, or quality; esp., the original specimen weight or measure sanctioned by government, as the standard pound, gallon, or yard.

3. That which is established as a rule or model by authority, custom, or general consent; criterion; test. The court, which used to be the standard of property and correctness of speech. Swift. A disposition to preserve, and an ability to improve, taken together, would be my standard of a statesman. Burke.

4. (Coinage)

Defn: The proportion of weights of fine metal and alloy established
by authority.
By the present standard of the coinage, sixty-two shillings is coined
out of one pound weight of silver. Arbuthnot.

5. (Hort.)

Defn: A tree of natural size supported by its own stem, and not dwarfed by grafting on the stock of a smaller species nor trained upon a wall or trellis. In France part of their gardens is laid out for flowers, others for fruits; some standards, some against walls. Sir W. Temple.

6. (Bot.)

Defn: The upper petal or banner of a papilionaceous corolla.

7. (Mech. & Carp.)

Defn: An upright support, as one of the poles of a scaffold; any upright in framing.

8. (Shipbuilding)

Defn: An inverted knee timber placed upon the deck instead of beneath it, with its vertical branch turned upward from that which lies horizontally.

9. The sheth of a plow.

10. A large drinking cup. Greene. Standard bearer, an officer of an army, company, or troop, who bears a standard; — commonly called color sergeantor color bearer; hence, the leader of any organization; as, the standard bearer of a political party.

STANDARD
Stand"ard, a.

1. Being, affording, or according with, a standard for comparison and judgment; as, standard time; standard weights and measures; a standard authority as to nautical terms; standard gold or silver.

2. Hence: Having a recognized and permanent value; as, standard works in history; standard authors.

3. (Hort.) (a) Not supported by, or fastened to, a wall; as, standard fruit trees. (b) Not of the dwarf kind; as, a standard pear tree. Standard candle, Standard gauge. See under Candle, and Gauge. — Standard solution. (Chem.) See Standardized solution, under Solution.

STANDARD-BRED
Stand"ard-bred`, a.

Defn: Bred in conformity to a standard. Specif., applied to a registered trotting horse which comes up to the standard adopted by the National Association of Trotting-horse Breeders. [U. S.]

STANDARDIZE
Stand"ard*ize, v. t. (Chem.)

Defn: To reduce to a normal standard; to calculate or adjust the strength of, by means of, and for uses in, analysis.

STANDARD-WING
Stand"ard-wing`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A curious paradise bird (Semioptera Wallacii) which has two long special feathers standing erect on each wing.

STAND-BY
Stand"-by`, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, stands by one in need; something upon which one relies for constant use or in an emergency.

STANDEL
Stand"el, n.

Defn: A young tree, especially one reserved when others are cut.
[Obs.] Fuller.

STANDER
Stand"er, n.

1. One who stands.

2. Same as Standel. [Obs.] Ascham.

STANDERATH; STANDERAT
Stän"de*rath`, or Stän"de*rat`, n. [G.] (Switzerland)

Defn: See Legislature, above.

STANDER-BY
Stand"er-by`, n.

Defn: One who stands near; one who is present; a bystander.

STANDERGRASS
Stand"er*grass`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A plant (Orchis mascula); — called also standerwort, and long purple. See Long purple, under Long.

STANDGALE
Stand"gale`, n.

Defn: See Stannel. [Prov. Eng.]

STANDING
Stand"ing, a.

1. Remaining erect; not cut down; as, standing corn.

2. Not flowing; stagnant; as, standing water.

3. Not transitory; not liable to fade or vanish; lasting; as, a standing color.

4. Established by law, custom, or the like; settled; continually existing; permanent; not temporary; as, a standing army; legislative bodies have standing rules of proceeding and standing committees.

5. Not movable; fixed; as, a standing bed (distinguished from a trundle-bed). Standing army. See Standing army, under Army. — Standing bolt. See Stud bolt, under Stud, a stem. — Standing committee, in legislative bodies, etc., a committee appointed for the consideration of all subjects of a particular class which shall arise during the session or a stated period. — Standing cup, a tall goblet, with a foot and a cover. — Standing finish (Arch.), that part of the interior fittings, esp. of a dwelling house, which is permanent and fixed in its place, as distinguished from doors, sashes, etc. — Standing order (Eccl.), the denomination (Congregiational) established by law; — a term formerly used in Connecticut. See also under Order. — Standing part. (Naut.) (a) That part of a tackle which is made fast to a block, point, or other object. (b) That part of a rope around which turns are taken with the running part in making a knot of the like. — Standing rigging (Naut.), the cordage or rope which sustain the masts and remain fixed in their position, as the shrouds and stays, - - distinguished from running rigging.

STANDING
Stand"ing, n.

1. The act of stopping, or coming to a stand; the state of being erect upon the feet; stand.

2. Maintenance of position; duration; duration or existence in the same place or condition; continuance; as, a custom of long standing; an officer of long standing. An ancient thing of long standing. Bunyan.

3. Place to stand in; station; stand. I will provide you a good standing to see his entry. Bacon. I think in deep mire, where there is no standing. Ps. lxix. 2.

4. Condition in society; relative position; reputation; rank; as, a man of good standing, or of high standing. Standing off (Naut.), sailing from the land. — Standing on (Naut.), sailing toward land.

STANDISH
Stand"ish, n. Etym: [Stand + dish.]

Defn: A stand, or case, for pen and ink.
I bequeath to Dean Swift, Esq., my large silver standish. Swift.

STANDPIPE
Stand"pipe`, n.

1. (Engin.)

Defn: A vertical pipe, open at the top, between a hydrant and a reservoir, to equalize the flow of water; also, a large vertical pipe, near a pumping engine, into which water is forced up, so as to give it sufficient head to rise to the required level at a distance.

2. (Steam Boiler)

Defn: A supply pipe of sufficient elevation to enable the water to flow into the boiler, notwithstanding the pressure of the steam. Knight.

STANDPOINT
Stand"point`, n. Etym: [Cf. G. standpunkt.]

Defn: A fixed point or station; a basis or fundamental principle; a position from which objects or principles are viewed, and according to which they are compared and judged.

STANDSTILL
Stand"still`, n.

Defn: A standing without moving forward or backward; a stop; a state or rest.

STANE
Stane, n.

Defn: A stone. [Scot. & Prov. Eng.]

STANG
Stang,

Defn: imp. of Sting. [Archaic]

STANG Stang, n. Etym: [OE. stange, of Scand. or Dutch origin; cf. Icel. stöng, akin to Dan. stang, Sw. stång, D. stang, G. stange, OHG. stanga, AS. steng; from the root of E. sting.]

1. A long bar; a pole; a shaft; a stake.

2. In land measure, a pole, rod, or perch. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.] Swift. Stang ball, a projectile consisting of two half balls united by a bar; a bar shot. See Illust. of Bar shot, under Bar. — To ride the stang, to be carried on a pole on men's shoulders. This method of punishing wife beaters, etc., was once in vogue in some parts of England.

STANG Stang, v. i. Etym: [Akin to sting; cf. Icel. stanga to prick, to goad.]

Defn: To shoot with pain. [Prov. Eng.]

STANHOPE
Stan"hope, n.

Defn: A light two-wheeled, or sometimes four-wheeled, carriage, without a top; — so called from Lord Stanhope, for whom it was contrived.

STANIEL
Stan"iel, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: See Stannel.

STANIELRY
Stan"iel*ry, n.

Defn: Hawking with staniels, — a base kind of falconry. [Obs.]

STANK
Stank, a. Etym: [OF. estanc, or It. stanco. See Stanch, a.]

Defn: Weak; worn out. [Obs.] Spenser.

STANK
Stank, v. i. Etym: [Cf. Sw. stånka to pant. *165.]

Defn: To sigh. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]

STANK
Stank, imp. of Stink.

Defn: Stunk.

STANK
Stank, n. Etym: [OF. estang, F. étang, from L. stagnum a pool. Cf.
Stagnate, Tank a cistern.]

1. Water retained by an embankment; a pool water. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.] Robert of Brunne.

2. A dam or mound to stop water. [Prov. Eng.] Stank hen (Zoöl.), the moor hen; — called also stankie. [Prov. Eng.]

STANNARY
Stan"na*ry, a. Etym: [L. stannum tin, an alloy of silver and lead.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to tin mines, or tin works. The stannary courts of Devonshire and Cornwall, for the administration of justice among the tinners therein, are also courts of record. Blackstone.

STANNARY
Stan"na*ry, n.; pl. Stannaries. Etym: [LL. stannaria.]

Defn: A tin mine; tin works. Bp. Hall.

STANNATE
Stan"nate, n. Etym: [Cf. F. stannate.] (Chem.)

Defn: A salt of stannic acid.

STANNEL
Stan"nel, n. Etym: [AS. stangella, stangilla; properly, stone yeller,
i.e., a bird that yells from the rocks. See Stone, and Yell, and cf.
Stonegall.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The kestrel; — called also standgale, standgall, stanchel, stand hawk, stannel hawk, steingale, stonegall. [Written also staniel, stannyel, and stanyel.] With what wing the staniel checks at it. Shak.

STANNIC
Stan"nic, a. Etym: [L. stannum tin: cf. F. stannique.] (Chem.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to tin; derived from or containing tin; specifically, designating those compounds in which the element has a higher valence as contrasted with stannous compounds. Stannic acid. (a) A hypothetical substance, Sn(OH)4, analogous to silic acid, and called also normal stannic acid. (b) Metastannic acid. — Stannic chloride, a thin, colorless, fuming liquid, SnCl4, used as a mordant in calico printing and dyeing; — formerly called spirit of tin, or fuming liquor of Libavius. — Stannic oxide, tin oxide, SnO2, produced artificially as a white amorphous powder, and occurring naturally in the mineral cassiterite. It is used in the manufacture of white enamels, and, under the name of putty powder, for polishing glass, etc.

STANNIFEROUS
Stan*nif"er*ous, a. Etym: [L. stannum tin + -ferous.]

Defn: Containing or affording tin.

STANNINE; STANNITE
Stan"nine, Stan"nite, n. (Min.)

Defn: A mineral of a steel

STANNO-
Stan"no-. Etym: [L. stannum tin.] (Chem.)

Defn: A combining form (also used adjectively) denoting relation to, or connection with, tin, or including tin as an ingredient.

STANNOFLUORIDE
Stan`no*flu"or*ide, n. (Chem.)

Defn: Any one of a series of double fluorides of tin (stannum) and some other element.

STANNOSO-
Stan*no"so-, a. (Chem.)

Defn: A combining form (also used adjectively) denoting relation to, or connection with, certain stannnous compounds.

STANNOTYPE
Stan"no*type, n. Etym: [Stanno- + -type.] (Photog.)

Defn: A photograph taken upon a tin plate; a tintype.

STANNOUS
Stan"nous, a. (Chem.)

Defn: Pertaining to, or containing, tin; specifically, designating those compounds in which the element has a lower valence as contrasted with stannic compounds. Stannous chloride (Chem.), a white crystalline substance, SnCl2.(H2O)2, obtained by dissolving tin in hydrochloric acid. It is used as a mordant in dyeing.

STANNUM
Stan"num, n. Etym: [L., alloy of silver and lead; later, tin.]
(Chem.)

Defn: The technical name of tin. See Tin.

STANNYEL; STANYEL
Stann"yel, Stan"yel, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: See Stannel.

STANT; STONT
Stant, Stont, obs. 3d pers. sing. pres. of Stand, for standeth.

Defn: Stands. Chaucer.

STANZA
Stan"za, n.; pl. Stanzas. Etym: [It. stanza a room, habitation, a
stanza, i. e., a stop, fr. L. stans, p.pr. of stare to stand. See
Stand, and cf. Estancia, Stance, Stanchion.]

1. A number of lines or verses forming a division of a song or poem, and agreeing in meter, rhyme, number of lines, etc., with other divisions; a part of a poem, ordinarily containing every variation of measure in that poem; a combination or arrangement of lines usually recurring; whether like or unlike, in measure. Horace confines himself strictly to one sort of verse, or stanza, in every ode. Dryden.

2. (Arch.)

Defn: An apartment or division in a building; a room or chamber.

STANZAIC
Stan*za"ic, a.

Defn: Pertaining to, or consisting of, stanzas; as, a couplet in stanzaic form.

STAPEDIAL
Sta*pe"di*al, a. Etym: [LL. stapes stirrup.] (Anat.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to stapes.

STAPELIA Sta*pe"li*a, n. Etym: [NL. So named after John Bodæus a Stapel, a physician of Amsterdam.] (Bot.)

Defn: An extensive and curious genus of African plants of the natural order Asclepiadaceæ (Milkweed family). They are succulent plants without leaves, frequently covered with dark tubercles giving them a very grotesque appearance. The odor of the blossoms is like that of carrion.

STAPES
Sta"pes, n. Etym: [LL., a stirrup.] (Anat.)

Defn: The innermost of the ossicles of the ear; the stirrup, or stirrup bone; — so called from its form. See Illust. of Ear.

STAPHYLINE
Staph"y*line, a. Etym: [Gr. (Anat.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to the uvula or the palate.

STAPHYLINID
Staph`y*li"nid, n. Etym: [Gr. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any rove beetle.

STAPHYLOMA
Staph`y*lo"ma, n. Etym: [L., fr. Gr. (Med.)

Defn: A protrusion of any part of the globe of the eye; as, a staphyloma of the cornea.

STAPHYLOMATOUS
Staph`y*lo"ma*tous, a. (Med.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to staphyloma; affected with staphyloma.

STAPHYLOPLASTY
Staph"y*lo*plas`ty, n. Etym: [Gr. -plasty.] (Surg.)

Defn: The operation for restoring or replacing the soft palate when it has been lost. Dunglison. — Staph`y*lo*plas"tic, a.

STAPHYLORAPHY; STAPHYLORRHAPHY Staph`y*lor"a*phy, Staph`y*lor"rha*phy, n. Etym: [Gr. staphylorraphie.]

Defn: The operation of uniting a cleft palate, consisting in paring and bringing together the edges of the cleft. — Staph`y*lo*raph"ic, Staph`y*lor*rhaph"ic, a.

STAPHYLOTOMY
Staph`y*lot"o*my, n. Etym: [Gr. (Surg.)

Defn: The operation of removing a staphyloma by cutting.

STAPLE Sta"ple, n. Etym: [AS. stapul, stapol, stapel, a step, a prop, post, table, fr. stapan to step, go, raise; akin to D. stapel a pile, stocks, emporium, G. stapela heap, mart, stake, staffel step of a ladder, Sw. stapel, Dan. stabel, and E. step cf. OF. estaple a mart, F. étape. See Step.]

1. A settled mart; an emporium; a city or town to which merchants brought commodities for sale or exportation in bulk; a place for wholesale traffic. The customs of Alexandria were very great, it having been the staple of the Indian trade. Arbuthnot. For the increase of trade and the encouragement of the worthy burgesses of Woodstock, her majesty was minded to erect the town into a staple for wool. Sir W. Scott.

Note: In England, formerly, the king's staple was established in certain ports or towns, and certain goods could not be exported without being first brought to these places to be rated and charged with the duty payable of the king or the public. The principal commodities on which customs were lived were wool, skins, and leather; and these were originally the staple commodities.

2. Hence: Place of supply; source; fountain head. Whitehall naturally became the chief staple of news. Whenever there was a rumor that any thing important had happened or was about to happen, people hastened thither to obtain intelligence from the fountain head. Macaulay.

3. The principal commodity of traffic in a market; a principal commodity or production of a country or district; as, wheat, maize, and cotton are great staples of the United States. We should now say, Cotton is the great staple, that is, the established merchandize, of Manchester. Trench.

4. The principal constituent in anything; chief item.

5. Unmanufactured material; raw material.

6. The fiber of wool, cotton, flax, or the like; as, a coarse staple; a fine staple; a long or short staple.

7. A loop of iron, or a bar or wire, bent and formed with two points to be driven into wood, to hold a hook, pin, or the like.

8. (Mining) (a) A shaft, smaller and shorter than the principal one, joining different levels. (b) A small pit.

9. A district granted to an abbey. [Obs.] Camden.

STAPLE
Sta"ple, a.

1. Pertaining to, or being market of staple for, commodities; as, a staple town. [R.]

2. Established in commerce; occupying the markets; settled; as, a staple trade. Dryden.

3. Fit to be sold; marketable. [R.] Swift.

4. Regularly produced or manufactured in large quantities; belonging to wholesale traffic; principal; chief. Wool, the great staple commodity of England. H

STAPLE
Sta"ple, v. t. [imp. & p. p. stapled; p. pr. & vb. n. stapling.]

Defn: To sort according to its staple; as, to staple cotton.

STAPLER
Sta"pler, n.

1. A dealer in staple goods.

2. One employed to assort wool according to its staple.

STAR Star, n. Etym: [OE. sterre, AS. steorra; akin to OFries. stera, OS. sterro, D. ster, OHG. sterno, sterro, G. stern, Icel. stjarna, Sw. stjerna, Dan. stierne, Goth. staírno, Armor. & Corn. stern, L. stella, Gr. star; perhaps from a root meaning, to seater, Skr. st, L. sternere (cf. Stratum), and originally applied to the stars as beingstrewn over the sky, or as beingscatterers or spreaders of light. *296. Cf. Aster, Asteroid, Constellation, Disaster, Stellar.]

1. One of the innumerable luminous bodies seen in the heavens; any heavenly body other than the sun, moon, comets, and nebulæ. His eyen twinkled in his head aright, As do the stars in the frosty night. Chaucer.

Note: The stars are distinguished as planets, and fixed stars. See
Planet, Fixed stars under Fixed, and Magnitude of a star under
Magnitude.

2. The polestar; the north star. Shak.

3. (Astrol.)

Defn: A planet supposed to influence one's destiny; (usually pl.) a
configuration of the planets, supposed to influence fortune.
O malignant and ill-brooding stars. Shak.
Blesses his stars, and thinks it luxury. Addison.

4. That which resembles the figure of a star, as an ornament worn on the breast to indicate rank or honor. On whom . . . Lavish Honor showered all her stars. Tennyson.

5. Specifically, a radiated mark in writing or printing; an asterisk [thus, *]; — used as a reference to a note, or to fill a blank where something is omitted, etc.

6. (Pyrotechny)

Defn: A composition of combustible matter used in the heading of rockets, in mines, etc., which, exploding of a air, presents a starlike appearance.

7. A person of brilliant and attractive qualities, especially on public occasions, as a distinguished orator, a leading theatrical performer, etc.

Note: Star is used in the formation of compound words generally or obvious signification: as, star-aspiring, star-bespangled, star- bestudded, star-blasting, star-bright, star-crowned, star-directed, star-eyed, star-headed, star-paved, star-roofed; star-sprinkled, star-wreathed.

Blazing star, Double star, Multiple star, Shooting star, etc. See under Blazing, Double, etc. — Nebulous star (Astron.), a small well-defined circular nebula, having a bright nucleus at its center like a star. — Star anise (Bot.), any plant of the genus Illicium; — so called from its star-shaped capsules. — Star apple (Bot.), a tropical American tree (Chrysophyllum Cainito), having a milky juice and oblong leaves with a silky-golden pubescence beneath. It bears an applelike fruit, the carpels of which present a starlike figure when cut across. The name is extended to the whole genus of about sixty species, and the natural order (Sapotaceæ) to which it belongs is called the Star-apple family. — Star conner, one who cons, or studies, the stars; an astronomer or an astrologer. Gascoigne. — Star coral (Zoöl.), any one of numerous species of stony corals belonging to Astræa, Orbicella, and allied genera, in which the calicles are round or polygonal and contain conspicuous radiating septa. — Star cucumber. (Bot.) See under Cucumber. — Star flower. (Bot.) (a) A plant of the genus Ornithogalum; star- of-Bethlehem. (b) See Starwort (b). (c) An American plant of the genus Trientalis (Trientalis Americana). Gray. — Star fort (Fort.), a fort surrounded on the exterior with projecting angles; — whence the name. — Star gauge (Ordnance), a long rod, with adjustable points projecting radially at its end, for measuring the size of different parts of the bore of a gun. — Star grass. (Bot.) (a) A small grasslike plant (Hypoxis erecta) having star-shaped yellow flowers. (b) The colicroot. See Colicroot. — Star hyacinth (Bot.), a bulbous plant of the genus Scilla (S. autumnalis); — called also star-headed hyacinth. — Star jelly (Bot.), any one of several gelatinous plants (Nostoc commune, N. edule, etc.). See Nostoc. — Star lizard. (Zoöl.) Same as Stellion. — Star-of-Bethlehem (Bot.), a bulbous liliaceous plant (Ornithogalum umbellatum) having a small white starlike flower. — Star-of-the-earth (Bot.), a plant of the genus Plantago (P. coronopus), growing upon the seashore. — Star polygon (Geom.), a polygon whose sides cut each other so as to form a star-shaped figure. — Stars and Stripes, a popular name for the flag of the United States, which consists of thirteen horizontal stripes, alternately red and white, and a union having, in a blue field, white stars to represent the several States, one for each. With the old flag, the true American flag, the Eagle, and the Stars and Stripes, waving over the chamber in which we sit. D. Webster. — Star showers. See Shooting star, under Shooting. — Star thistle (Bot.), an annual composite plant (Centaurea solstitialis) having the involucre armed with radiating spines. — Star wheel (Mach.), a star-shaped disk, used as a kind of ratchet wheel, in repeating watches and the feed motions of some machines. — Star worm (Zoöl.), a gephyrean. — Temporary star (Astron.), a star which appears suddenly, shines for a period, and then nearly or quite disappears. These stars are supposed by some astronometers to be variable stars of long and undetermined periods. — Variable star (Astron.), a star whose brilliancy varies periodically, generally with regularity, but sometimes irregularly; - - called periodical star when its changes occur at fixed periods. — Water star grass (Bot.), an aquatic plant (Schollera graminea) with small yellow starlike blossoms.

STAR
Star, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Starred; p. pr. & vb. n. Starring.]

Defn: To set or adorn with stars, or bright, radiating bodies; to bespangle; as, a robe starred with gems. "A sable curtain starred with gold." Young.

STAR
Star, v. i.

Defn: To be bright, or attract attention, as a star; to shine like a star; to be brilliant or prominent; to play a part as a theatrical star. W. Irving.

STAR-BLIND
Star"-blind`, a.

Defn: Half blind.

STARBOARD
Star"board`, n. Etym: [OE. sterbord, AS. steórbord, i.e., steer
board. See Steer, v. t., Board of a vessel, and cf. Larboard.]
(Naut.)

Defn: That side of a vessel which is one of the right hand of a person who stands on board facing the bow; — opposed to Ant: larboard, or Ant: port.

STARBOARD
Star"board`, a. (Naut.)

Defn: Pertaining to the right-hand side of a ship; being or lying on the right side; as, the starboard quarter; starboard tack.

STARBOARD
Star"board`, v. t. (Naut.)

Defn: To put to the right, or starboard, side of a vessel; as, to starboard the helm.

STAR-BOWLINES
Star-"bow`lines, n. pl. (Naut.)

Defn: The men in the starboard watch. [Obs.] R. H. Dana, Jr.

STARCH
Starch, a. Etym: [AS. stearc stark, strong, rough. See Stark.]

Defn: Stiff; precise; rigid. [R.] Killingbeck.

STARCH Starch, n. Etym: [From starch stiff, cf. G. stärke, fr. stark strong.]

1. (Chem.)

Defn: A widely diffused vegetable substance found especially in seeds, bulbs, and tubers, and extracted (as from potatoes, corn, rice, etc.) as a white, glistening, granular or powdery substance, without taste or smell, and giving a very peculiar creaking sound when rubbed between the fingers. It is used as a food, in the production of commercial grape sugar, for stiffening linen in laundries, in making paste, etc.

Note: Starch is a carbohydrate, being the typical amylose, C6H10O5, and is detected by the fine blue color given to it by free iodine. It is not fermentable as such, but is changed by diastase into dextrin and maltose, and by heating with dilute acids into dextrose. Cf. Sugar, Inulin, and Lichenin.

2. Fig.: A stiff, formal manner; formality. Addison. Starch hyacinth (Bot.), the grape hyacinth; — so called because the flowers have the smell of boiled starch. See under Grape.

STARCH
Starch, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Starched; p. pr. & vb. n. Starching.]

Defn: To stiffen with starch.

STAR-CHAMBER Star"-cham`ber, n. Etym: [So called (as conjectured by Blackstone) from being held in a room at the Exchequer where the chests containing certain Jewish comtracts and obligations called starrs (from the Heb. shetar, pron. shtar) were kept; or from the stars with which the ceiling is supposed to have been decorated.] (Eng. Hist.)

Defn: An ancient high court exercising jurisdiction in certain cases, mainly criminal, which sat without the intervention of a jury. It consisted of the king's council, or of the privy council only with the addition of certain judges. It could proceed on mere rumor or examine witnesses; it could apply torture. It was abolished by the Long Parliament in 1641. Encyc. Brit.

STARCHED
Starched, a.

1. Stiffened with starch.

2. Stiff; precise; formal. Swift.

STARCHEDNESS
Starch"ed*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being starched; stiffness in manners; formality.

STARCHER
Starch"er, n.

Defn: One who starches.

STARCHLY
Starch"ly, adv.

Defn: In a starched or starch manner.

STARCHNESS
Starch"ness, n.

Defn: Of or pertaining to starched or starch; stiffness of manner; preciseness.

STARCHWORT
Starch"wort`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: The cuckoopint, the tubers of which yield a fine quality of starch.

STARCHY
Starch"y, a.

Defn: Consisting of starch; resembling starch; stiff; precise.

STARCRAFT
Star"craft, n.

Defn: Astrology. [R.] Tennyson.

STAR-CROSSED
Star"-crossed`, a.

Defn: Not favored by the stars; ill-fated. [Poetic] Shak.
Such in my star-crossed destiny. Massinger.

STAR DRIFT
Star drift. (Astron.)

Defn: Similar and probably related motion of the stars of an asterism, as distinguished from apparent change of place due to solar motion.— ## = star streaming —

STARE
Stare, n. Etym: [AS. stær. See Starling.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The starling. [Obs.]

STARE Stare, v. i. [imp. & p. p. stared; p. pr. & vb. n. staring.] Etym: [AS. starian; akin to LG. & D. staren, OHG. staren, G. starren, Icel. stara; cf. Icel. stira, Dan. stirre, Sw. stirra, and G. starr stiff, rigid, fixed, Gr. stereo-), Skr. sthira firm, strong. *166. Cf. Sterile.]

1. To look with fixed eyes wide open, as through fear, wonder, surprise, impudence, etc.; to fasten an earnest and prolonged gaze on some object. For ever upon the ground I see thee stare. Chaucer. Look not big, nor stamp, nor stare, nor fret. Shak.

2. To be very conspicuous on account of size, prominence, color, or brilliancy; as, staring windows or colors.

3. To stand out; to project; to bristle. [Obs.] Makest my blood cold, and my hair to stare. Shak. Take off all the staring straws and jags in the hive. Mortimer.

Syn.
— To gaze; to look earnestly. See Gaze.

STARE
Stare, v. t.

Defn: To look earnestly at; to gaze at. I will stare him out of his wits. Shak. To stare in the face, to be before the eyes, or to be undeniably evident. "The law . . . stares them in the face whilst they are breaking it." Locke.

STARE
Stare, n.

Defn: The act of staring; a fixed look with eyes wide open. "A dull and stupid stare." Churchill.

STARER
Star"er, n.

Defn: One who stares, or gazes.

STARF
Starf, obs. imp. of Starve.

Defn: Starved. Chaucer.

STARFINCH
Star"finch`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The European redstart.

STARFISH
Star"fish, n.

1. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any one of numerous species of echinoderms belonging to the class Asterioidea, in which the body is star-shaped and usually has five rays, though the number of rays varies from five to forty or more. The rays are often long, but are sometimes so short as to appear only as angles to the disklike body. Called also sea star, five-finger, and stellerid.

Note: The ophiuroids are also sometimes called starfishes. See
Brittle star, and Ophiuroidea.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The dollar fish, or butterfish.

STARGASER
Star"gas`er, n.

1. One who gazes at the stars; an astrologer; sometimes, in derision or contempt, an astronomer.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any one of several species of spiny-rayed marine fishes belonging to Uranoscopus, Astroscopus, and allied genera, of the family Uranoscopidæ. The common species of the Eastern United States are Astroscopus anoplus, and A. guttatus. So called from the position of the eyes, which look directly upward.

STARGASING
Star"gas`ing, n.

1. The act or practice of observing the stars with attention; contemplation of the stars as connected with astrology or astronomy. Swift.

2. Hence, absent-mindedness; abstraction.

STARINGLY
Star"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: With a staring look.

STARK Stark, a. [Compar. Starker; superl. Starkest.] Etym: [OE. stark stiff, strong, AS. stearc; akin to OS. starc strong, D. sterk, OHG. starc, starah, G. & Sw. stark, Dan. stærk, Icel. sterkr, Goth. gastaúrknan to become dried up, Lith. strëgti to stiffen, to freeze. Cf. Starch, a. & n.]

1. Stiff; rigid. Chaucer.
Whose senses all were straight benumbed and stark. Spenser.
His heart gan wax as stark as marble stone. Spenser.
Many a nobleman lies stark and stiff Under the hoofs of vaunting
enemies. Shak.
The north is not so stark and cold. B. Jonson.

2. Complete; absolute; full; perfect; entire. [Obs.] Consider the stark security The common wealth is in now. B. Jonson.

3. Strong; vigorous; powerful. A stark, moss-trooping Scot. Sir W. Scott. Stark beer, boy, stout and strong beer. Beau. & Fl.

4. Severe; violent; fierce. [Obs.] "In starke stours." [i. e., in fierce combats]. Chaucer.

5. Mere; sheer; gross; entire; downright.
He pronounces the citation stark nonsense. Collier.
Rhetoric is very good or stark naught; there's no medium in rhetoric.
Selden.

STARK
Stark, adv.

Defn: Wholly; entirely; absolutely; quite; as, stark mind. Shak.
Held him strangled in his arms till he was stark dead. Fuller.
Stark naked, wholly naked; quite bare.
Strip your sword stark naked. Shak.

Note: According to Professor Skeat, "stark-naked" is derived from steort-naked, or start-naked, literally tail-naked, and hence wholly naked. If this etymology be true the preferable form is stark-naked.

STARK
Stark, v. t.

Defn: To stiffen. [R.]
If horror have not starked your limbs. H. Taylor.

STARKLY
Stark"ly, adv.

Defn: In a stark manner; stiffly; strongly.
Its onward force too starky pent In figure, bone, and lineament.
Emerson.

STARKNESS
Stark"ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being stark.

STARLESS
Star"less, a.

Defn: Being without stars; having no stars visible; as, a starless night. Milton.

STARLIGHT
Star"light`, n.

Defn: The light given by the stars.
Nor walk by moon, Or glittering starlight, without thee is sweet.
Milton.

STARLIGHT
Star"light`, a.

Defn: Lighted by the stars, or by the stars only; as, a starlight
night.
A starlight evening and a morning fair. Dryden.

STARLIKE
Star"like`, a.

1. Resembling a star; stellated; radiated like a star; as, starlike flowers.

2. Shining; bright; illustrious. Dryden. The having turned many to righteousness shall confer a starlike and immortal brightness. Boyle.

STARLING
Star"ling, n. Etym: [OE. sterlyng, a dim. of OE. stare, AS. stær;
akin to AS. stearn, G. star, staar, OHG. stara, Icel. starri, stari,
Sw. stare, Dan. stær, L. sturnus. Cf. Stare a starling.]

1. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any passerine bird belonging to Sturnus and allied genera. The European starling (Sturnus vulgaris) is dark brown or greenish black, with a metallic gloss, and spotted with yellowish white. It is a sociable bird, and builds about houses, old towers, etc. Called also stare, and starred. The pied starling of India is Sternopastor contra.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A California fish; the rock trout.

3. A structure of piles driven round the piers of a bridge for protection and support; — called also sterling. Rose-colored starling. (Zoöl.) See Pastor.

STARLIT
Star"lit`, a.

Defn: Lighted by the stars; starlight.

STARMONGER
Star"mon`ger, n.

Defn: A fortune teller; an astrologer; — used in contempt. B.
Jonson.

STARN
Starn, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The European starling. [Prov. Eng.]

STARNOSE
Star"nose`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A curious American mole (Condylura cristata) having the nose expanded at the end into a stellate disk; — called also star-nosed mole.

STAROST
Star"ost, n. Etym: [Pol. starosta, from stary old.]

Defn: A nobleman who possessed a starosty. [Poland]

STAROSTY
Star"os*ty, n.

Defn: A castle and domain conferred on a nobleman for life. [Poland]
Brande & C.

STARPROOF
Star"proof`, a.

Defn: Impervious to the light of the stars; as, a starproof elm.
[Poetic] Milton.

STAR-READ
Star"-read`, n.

Defn: Doctrine or knowledge of the stars; star lore; astrology;
astronomy. [Obs.]
Which in star-read were wont have best insight. Spenser.

STARRED
Starred, a. Etym: [From Star.]

1. Adorned or studded with stars; bespangled.

2. Influenced in fortune by the stars. [Obs.] My third comfort, Starred most unluckily. Shak.

STARRINESS
Star"ri*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being starry; as, the starriness of the heavens.

STARRY
Star"ry, a.

1. Abounding with stars; adorned with stars. "Above the starry sky." Pope.

2. Consisting of, or proceeding from, the stars; stellar; stellary; as, starry light; starry flame. Do not Christians and Heathens, Jews and Gentiles, poets and philosophers, unite in allowing the starry influence Sir W. Scott.

3. Shining like stars; sparkling; as, starry eyes.

4. Arranged in rays like those of a star; stellate. Starry ray (Zoöl.), a European skate (Raita radiata); — so called from the stellate bases of the dorsal spines.

STARSHINE
Star"shine`, n.

Defn: The light of the stars. [R.]
The starshine lights upon our heads. R. L. Stevenson.

STARSHOOT
Star"shoot`, n.

Defn: See Nostoc.

STAR-SPANGLED
Star"-span`gled, a.

Defn: Spangled or studded with stars. Star-spangled banner, the popular name for the national ensign of the United States. F. S. Key.

STAR STEREOGRAM
Star stereogram.

Defn: A view of the universe of brighter stars as it would appear to an observer transported into space outside or beyond our universe of stars.

STARSTONE
Star"stone`, n. (Min.)

Defn: Asteriated sapphire.

START Start, v. i. [imp. & p. p. started; p. pr. & vb. n. starting.] Etym: [OE. sterten; akin to D. storten 8hurl, rush, fall, G. stürzen, OHG. sturzen to turn over, to fall, Sw. störa to cast down, to fall, Dan. styrte, and probably also to E. start a tail; the original sense being, perhaps, to show the tail, to tumble over suddenly. *166. Cf. Start a tail.]

1. To leap; to jump. [Obs.]

2. To move suddenly, as with a spring or leap, from surprise, pain, or other sudden feeling or emotion, or by a voluntary act. And maketh him out of his sleep to start. Chaucer. I start as from some dreadful dream. Dryden. Keep your soul to the work when ready to start aside. I. Watts. But if he start, It is the flesh of a corrupted heart. Shak.

3. To set out; to commence a course, as a race or journey; to begin; as, to start business. At once they start, advancing in a line. Dryden. At intervals some bird from out the brakes Starts into voice a moment, then is still. Byron.

4. To become somewhat displaced or loosened; as, a rivet or a seam may start under strain or pressure. To start after, to set out after; to follow; to pursue. — To start against, to act as a rival candidate against. — To start for, to be a candidate for, as an office. — To start up, to rise suddenly, as from a seat or couch; to come suddenly into notice or importance.

START
Start, v. t.

1. To cause to move suddenly; to disturb suddenly; to startle; to alarm; to rouse; to cause to flee or fly; as, the hounds started a fox. Upon malicious bravery dost thou come To start my quiet Shak. Brutus will start a spirit as soon as Cæsar. Shak.

2. To bring onto being or into view; to originate; to invent. Sensual men agree in the pursuit of every pleasure they can start. Sir W. Temple.

3. To cause to move or act; to set going, running, or flowing; as, to start a railway train; to start a mill; to start a stream of water; to start a rumor; to start a business. I was engaged in conversation upon a subject which the people love to start in discourse. Addison.

4. To move suddenly from its place or position; to displace or loosen; to dislocate; as, to start a bone; the storm started the bolts in the vessel. One, by a fall in wrestling, started the end of the clavicle from the sternum. Wiseman.

5. Etym: [Perh. from D. storten, which has this meaning also.] (Naut.)

Defn: To pour out; to empty; to tap and begin drawing from; as, to start a water cask.

START
Start, n.

1. The act of starting; a sudden spring, leap, or motion, caused by surprise, fear, pain, or the like; any sudden motion, or beginning of motion. The fright awakened Arcite with a start. Dryden.

2. A convulsive motion, twitch, or spasm; a spasmodic effort. For she did speak in starts distractedly. Shak. Nature does nothing by starts and leaps, or in a hurry. L'Estrange.

3. A sudden, unexpected movement; a sudden and capricious impulse; a sally; as, starts of fancy. To check the starts and sallies of the soul. Addison.

4. The beginning, as of a journey or a course of action; first motion from a place; act of setting out; the outset; — opposed to finish. The start of first performance is all. Bacon. I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips, Straining upon the start. Shak. At a start, at once; in an instant. [Obs.] At a start he was betwixt them two. Chaucer. To get, or have, the start, to before another; to gain or have the advantage in a similar undertaking; — usually with of. "Get the start of the majestic world." Shak. "She might have forsaken him if he had not got the start of her." Dryden.

START Start, n. Etym: [OE. stert a tail, AS. steort; akin to LG. stert, steert, D. staart, G. sterz, Icel. stertr, Dan. stiert, Sw. stjert. *166. Cf. Stark naked, under Stark, Start, v. i.]

1. A tail, or anything projecting like a tail.

2. The handle, or tail, of a plow; also, any long handle. [Prov. Eng.]

3. The curved or inclined front and bottom of a water-wheel bucket.

4. (Mining)

Defn: The arm, or level, of a gin, drawn around by a horse.

STARTER
Start"er, n.

1. One who, or that which, starts; as, a starter on a journey; the starter of a race.

2. A dog that rouses game.

STARTFUL
Start"ful, a.

Defn: Apt to start; skittish. [R.]

STARTFULNESS
Start"ful*ness, n.

Defn: Aptness to start. [R.]

STARTHROAT
Star"throat`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any humming bird of the genus Heliomaster. The feathers of the throat have a brilliant metallic luster.

STARTING
Start"ing, a. & n.

Defn: from Start, v. Starting bar (Steam Eng.), a hand lever for working the values in starting an engine. — Starting hole, a loophole; evasion. [Obs.] — Starting point, the point from which motion begins, or from which anything starts. — Starting post, a post, stake, barrier, or place from which competitors in a race start, or begin the race.

STARTINGLY
Start"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: By sudden fits or starts; spasmodically. Shak.

STARTISH
Start"ish, a.

Defn: Apt to start; skittish; shy; — said especially of a horse.
[Colloq.]

STARTLE
Star"tle, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Startled; p. pr. & vb. n. Startling.]
Etym: [Freq. of start.]

Defn: To move suddenly, or be excited, on feeling alarm; to start.
Why shrinks the soul Back on herself, and startles at destruction
Addison.

STARTLE
Star"tle, v. t.

1. To excite by sudden alarm, surprise, or apprehension; to frighten suddenly and not seriously; to alarm; to surprise. The supposition, at least, that angels do sometimes assume bodies need not startle us. Locke.

2. To deter; to cause to deviate. [R.] Clarendon.

Syn.
— To start; shock; fright; frighten; alarm.

STARTLE
Star"tle, n.

Defn: A sudden motion or shock caused by an unexpected alarm, surprise, or apprehension of danger. After having recovered from my first startle, I was very well pleased with the accident. Spectator.

STARTLINGLY
Star"tling*ly, adv.

Defn: In a startling manner.

STARTLISH
Star"tlish, a.

Defn: Easily startled; apt to start; startish; skittish; — said especially of a hourse. [Colloq.]

START-UP
Start"-up`, n.

1. One who comes suddenly into notice; an upstart. [Obs.] Shak.

2. A kind of high rustic shoe. [Obs.] Drayton. A startuppe, or clownish shoe. Spenser.

START-UP
Start"-up`, a.

Defn: Upstart. [R.] Walpole.

STARVATION
Star*va"tion, n.

Defn: The act of starving, or the state of being starved.

Note: This word was first used, according to Horace Walpole, by Henry Dundas, the first Lord Melville, in a speech on American affairs in 1775, which obtained for him the nickname of Starvation Dundas. "Starvation, we are also told, belongs to the class of 'vile compounds' from being a mongrel; as if English were not full of mongrels, and if it would not be in distressing straits without them." Fitzed. Hall.

STARVE
Starve, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Starved; p. pr. & vb. n. Starving.] Etym:
[OE. sterven to die, AS. steorfan; akin to D. sterven, G. sterben,
OHG. sterban, Icel. starf labor, toil.]

1. To die; to perish. [Obs., except in the sense of perishing with cold or hunger.] Lydgate. In hot coals he hath himself raked . . . Thus starved this worthy mighty Hercules. Chaucer.

2. To perish with hunger; to suffer extreme hunger or want; to be very indigent. Sometimes virtue starves, while vice is fed. Pope.

3. To perish or die with cold. Spenser. Have I seen the naked starve for cold Sandys. Starving with cold as well as hunger. W. Irving.

Note: In this sense, still common in England, but rarely used of the
United States.

STARVE
Starve, v. t.

1. To destroy with cold. [Eng.] From beds of raging fire, to starve in ice Their soft ethereal warmth. Milton.

2. To kill with hunger; as, maliciously to starve a man is, in law, murder.

3. To distress or subdue by famine; as, to starvea garrison into a surrender. Attalus endeavored to starve Italy by stopping their convoy of provisions from Africa. Arbuthnot.

4. To destroy by want of any kind; as, to starve plans by depriving them of proper light and air.

5. To deprive of force or vigor; to disable. The pens of historians, writing thereof, seemed starved for matter in an age so fruitful of memorable actions. Fuller. The powers of their minds are starved by disuse. Locke.

STARVEDLY
Starv"ed*ly, adv.

Defn: In the condition of one starved or starving; parsimoniously. Some boasting housekeeper which keepth open doors for one day, . . . and lives starvedly all the year after. Bp. Hall.

STARVELING
Starve"ling, n. Etym: [Starve + -ling.]

Defn: One who, or that which, pines from lack or food, or nutriment.
Old Sir John hangs with me, and thou knowest he is no starveling.
Shak.

STARVELING
Starve"ling, a.

Defn: Hungry; lean; pining with want.

STARWORT Star"wort`, n. (Bot.) (a) Any plant of the genus Aster. See Aster. (b) A small plant of the genus Stellaria, having star-shaped flowers; star flower; chickweed. Gray. Water starwort, an aquatic plant (Callitriche verna) having some resemblance to chickweed. — Yellow starwort, a plant of the genus Inula; elecampane.

STASIMON Stas"i*mon, n.; pl. Stasmia. Etym: [NL., from Gr. sta`simon, neut. of sta`simos stationary, steadfast.]

Defn: In the Greek tragedy, a song of the chorus, continued without the interruption of dialogue or anapæstics. Liddell & Scott.

STASIS
Sta"sis, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Physiol.)

Defn: A slackening or arrest of the blood current in the vessels, due not to a lessening of the heart's beat, but presumably to some abnormal resistance of the capillary walls. It is one of the phenomena observed in the capillaries in inflammation.

STATABLE
Stat"a*ble, a.

Defn: That can be stated; as, a statablegrievance; the question at issue is statable.

STATAL
Sta"tal, a.

Defn: Of, pertaining to, or existing with reference to, a State of the American Union, as distinguished from the general government. [R.] I have no knowledge of any other kind of political citizenship, higher or lower, statal or national. Edward Bates.

STATANT
Sta"tant, a. Etym: [L. stare to stand.] (Her.)

Defn: In a standing position; as, a lion statant.

STATARIAN
Sta*ta"ri*an, a.

Defn: Fixed; settled; steady; statary. [Obs.]

STATARIANLY
Sta*ta"ri*an*ly, adv.

Defn: Fixedly; steadly. [Obs.]

STATARY
Sta"ta*ry, a. Etym: [L. statarius standing fast, fr. stare to stand.]

Defn: Fixed; settled. [Obs.] "The set and statary times of paring of nails and cutting hair." Sir T. Browne.

STATE
State, n. Etym: [OE. stat, OF. estat, F. état, fr. L. status a
standing, position, fr. stare, statum, to stand. See Stand, and cf.
Estate, Status.]

1. The circumstances or condition of a being or thing at any given time. State is a term nearly synonymous with "mode," but of a meaning more extensive, and is not exclusively limited to the mutable and contingent. Sir W. Hamilton. Declare the past and present state of things. Dryden. Keep the state of the question in your eye. Boyle.

2. Rank; condition; quality; as, the state of honor. Thy honor, state, and seat is due to me. Shak.

3. Condition of prosperity or grandeur; wealthy or prosperous circumstances; social importance. She instructed him how he should keep state, and yet with a modest sense of his misfortunes. Bacon. Can this imperious lord forget to reign, Quit all his state, descend, and serve again Pope.

4. Appearance of grandeur or dignity; pomp. Where least og state there most of love is shown. Dryden.

5. A chair with a canopy above it, often standing on a dais; a seat of dignity; also, the canopy itself. [Obs.] His high throne, . . . under state Of richest texture spread. Milton. When he went to court, he used to kick away the state, and sit down by his prince cheek by jowl. Swift.

6. Estate, possession. [Obs.] Daniel. Your state, my lord, again in yours. Massinger.

7. A person of high rank. [Obs.] Latimer.

8. Any body of men united by profession, or constituting a community of a particular character; as, the civil and ecclesiastical states, or the lords spiritual and temporal and the commons, in Great Britain. Cf. Estate, n., 6.

9. The principal persons in a government. The bold design Pleased highly those infernal states. Milton.

10. The bodies that constitute the legislature of a country; as, the States-general of Holland.

11. A form of government which is not monarchial, as a republic. [Obs.] Well monarchies may own religion's name, But states are atheists in their very fame. Dryden.

12. A political body, or body politic; the whole body of people who are united one government, whatever may be the form of the government; a nation. Municipal law is a rule of conduct prescribed by the supreme power in a state. Blackstone. The Puritans in the reign of Mary, driven from their homes, sought an asylum in Geneva, where they found a state without a king, and a church without a bishop. R. Choate.

13. In the United States, one of the commonwealth, or bodies politic, the people of which make up the body of the nation, and which, under the national constitution, stands in certain specified relations with the national government, and are invested, as commonwealth, with full power in their several spheres over all matters not expressly inhibited.

Note: The term State, in its technical sense, is used in distinction from the federal system, i. e., the government of the United States.

14. Highest and stationary condition, as that of maturity between growth and decline, or as that of crisis between the increase and the abating of a disease; height; acme. [Obs.]

Note: When state is joined with another word, or used adjectively, it denotes public, or what belongs to the community or body politic, or to the government; also, what belongs to the States severally in the American Union; as, state affairs; state policy; State laws of Iowa. Nascent state. (Chem.) See under Nascent. — Secretary of state. See Secretary, n., 3. — State bargea royal barge, or a barge belonging to a government. — State bed, an elaborately carved or decorated bed. — State carriage, a highly decorated carriage for officials going in state, or taking part in public processions. — State paper, an official paper relating to the interests or government of a state. Jay. — State prison, a public prison or penitentiary; — called also State's prison. — State prisoner, one is confinement, or under arrest, for a political offense. — State rights, or States' rights, the rights of the several independent States, as distinguished from the rights of the Federal government. It has been a question as to what rights have been vested in the general government. [U.S.] — State's evidence. See Probator, 2, and under Evidence. — State sword, a sword used on state occasions, being borne before a sovereign by an attendant of high rank. — State trial, a trial of a person for a political offense. — States of the Church. See under Ecclesiastical.

Syn. — State, Situation, Condition. State is the generic term, and denotes in general the mode in which a thing stands or exists. The situation of a thing is its state in reference to external objects and influences; its condition is its internal state, or what it is in itself considered. Our situation is good or bad as outward things bear favorably or unfavorably upon us; our condition is good or bad according to the state we are actually in as respects our persons, families, property, and other things which comprise our sources of enjoyment. I do not, brother, Infer as if I thought my sister's state Secure without all doubt or controversy. Milton. We hoped to enjoy with ease what, in our situation, might be called the luxuries of life. Cock. And, O, what man's condition can be worse Than his whom plenty starves and blessings curse Cowley.

STATE
State, a.

1. Stately. [Obs.] Spenser.

2. Belonging to the state, or body politic; public.

STATE
State, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stated; p. pr. & vb. n. Stating.]

1. To set; to settle; to establish. [R.]
I myself, though meanest stated, And in court now almost hated.
Wither.
Who calls the council, states the certain day. Pope.

2. To express the particulars of; to set down in detail or in gross; to represent fully in words; to narrate; to recite; as, to state the facts of a case, one's opinion, etc. To state it. To assume state or dignity. [Obs.] "Rarely dressed up, and taught to state it." Beau. & Fl.

STATE
State, n.

Defn: A statement; also, a document containing a statement. [R.] Sir
W. Scott.

STATECRAFT
State"craft`, n.

Defn: The art of conducting state affairs; state management; statesmanship.

STATED
Stat"ed, a.

1. Settled; established; fixed. He is capable of corruption who receives more than what is the stated and unquestionable fee of his office. Addison.

2. Recurring at regular time; not occasional; as, stated preaching; stated business hours.

STATEDLY
Stat"ed*ly, adv.

Defn: At stated times; regularly.

STATEFUL
State"ful, a.

Defn: Full of state; stately. [Obs.] "A stateful silence." Marston.

STATEHOOD
State"hood, n.

Defn: The condition of being a State; as, a territory seeking
Statehood.

STATEHOUSE
State"house`, n.

Defn: The building in which a State legislature holds its sessions; a
State capitol. [U. S.]

STATELESS
State"less, a.

Defn: Without state or pomp.

STATELILY
State"li*ly, adv.

Defn: In a stately manner.

STATELINESS
State"li*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being stately.
For stateliness and majesty, what is comparable to a horse Dr. H.
More.

STATELY
State"ly, a. [Compar. Statelier; superl. Stateliest.]

Defn: Evincing state or dignity; lofty; majestic; grand; as,
statelymanners; a stately gait. "The stately homes of England!" Mrs.
Hemans. "Filled with stately temples." Prescott.
Here is a stately style indeed! Shak.

Syn.
— Lofty; dignified; majestic; grand; august; magnificent.

STATELY
State"ly, adv.

Defn: Majestically; loftily. Milton.

STATEMENT
State"ment, n.

1. The act of stating, reciting, or presenting, orally or in paper; as, to interrupt a speaker in the statement of his case.

2. That which is stated; a formal embodiment in language of facts or opinions; a narrative; a recital. "Admirable perspicuity of statement!" Brougham.

STATEMONGER
State"mon`ger, n.

Defn: One versed in politics, or one who dabbles in state affairs.

STATEPRISON
State`pris"on.

Defn: See under State, n.

STATER
Stat"er, n.

Defn: One who states.

STATER
Sta"ter, n. Etym: [L. stater, Gr. (Gr. Antiq.)

Defn: The principal gold coin of ancient Grece. It varied much in value, the stater best known at Athens being worth about £1 2s., or about $5.35. The Attic silver tetradrachm was in later times called stater.

STATEROOM
State"room`, n.

1. A magnificent room in a place or great house.

2. A small apartment for lodging or sleeping in the cabin, or on the deck, of a vessel; also, a somewhat similar apartment in a railway sleeping car.

STATES-GENERAL
States"-gen"er*al, n.

1. In France, before the Revolution, the assembly of the three orders of the kingdom, namely, the clergy, the nobility, and the third estate, or commonalty.

2. In the Netherlands, the legislative body, composed of two chambers.

STATESMAN
States"man, n.; pl. Statesmen (.

1. A man versed in public affairs and in the principles and art of government; especially, one eminent for political abilities. The minds of some of our statesmen, like the pupil of the human eye, contract themselves the more, the stronger light there is shed upon them. More.

2. One occupied with the affairs of government, and influental in shaping its policy.

3. A small landholder. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

STATESMANLIKE
States"man*like`, a.

Defn: Having the manner or wisdom of statesmen; becoming a statesman.

STATESMANLY
States"man*ly, a.

Defn: Becoming a statesman.

STATESMANSHIP
States"man*ship, n.

Defn: The qualifications, duties, or employments of a statesman.

STATE SOCIALISM
State socialism.

Defn: A form of socialism, esp. advocated in Germany, which, while retaining the right of private property and the institution of the family and other features of the present form of the state, would intervene by various measures intended to give or maintain equality of opportunity, as compulsory state insurance, old-age pensions, etc., answering closely to socialism of the chair.

STATESWOMAN
States"wom`an, n.; pl. Stateswomen (.

Defn: A woman concerned in public affairs.
A rare stateswoman; I admire her bearing. B. Jonson.

STATHMOGRAPH
Stath"mo*graph, n. Etym: [Gr. -graph.]

Defn: A contrivance for recording the speed of a railway train.
Knight.

STATIC; STATICAL
Stat"ic, Stat"ic*al, a. Etym: [Gr. statique. See Stand, and cf.
Stage.]

1. Resting; acting by mere weight without motion; as, statical pressure; static objects.

2. Pertaining to bodies at rest or in equilibrium. Statical electricity. See Note under Electricity, 1. — Statical moment. See under Moment.

STATICALLY
Stat"ic*al*ly, adv.

Defn: In a statical manner.

STATICS
Stat"ics, n. Etym: [Cf. F. statique, Gr. Static.]

Defn: That branch of mechanics which treats of the equilibrium of forces, or relates to bodies as held at rest by the forces acting on them; — distinguished from dynamics. Social statics, the study of the conditions which concern the existence and permanence of the social state.

STATING
Stat"ing, n.

Defn: The act of one who states anything; statement; as, the statingof one's opinions.

STATION
Sta"tion, n. Etym: [F., fr. L. statio, from stare, statum, to stand.
See Stand.]

1. The act of standing; also, attitude or pose in standing; posture. [R.] A station like the herald, Mercury. Shak. Their manner was to stand at prayer, whereupon their meetings unto that purpose . . . had the names of stations given them. Hooker.

2. A state of standing or rest; equilibrium. [Obs.] All progression is performed by drawing on or impelling forward some part which was before in station, or at quiet. Sir T. Browne.

3. The spot or place where anything stands, especially where a person or thing habitually stands, or is appointed to remain for a time; as, the station of a sentinel. Specifically: (a) A regular stopping place in a stage road or route; a place where railroad trains regularly come to a stand, for the convenience of passengers, taking in fuel, moving freight, etc. (b) The headquarters of the police force of any precinct. (c) The place at which an instrument is planted, or observations are made, as in surveying. (d) (Biol.)

Defn: The particular place, or kind of situation, in which a species naturally occurs; a habitat. (e) (Naut.)

Defn: A place to which ships may resort, and where they may anchor safely. (f) A place or region to which a government ship or fleet is assigned for duty. (g) (Mil.) A place calculated for the rendezvous of troops, or for the distribution of them; also, a spot well adapted for offensive measures. Wilhelm (Mil. Dict.). (h) (Mining) An enlargement in a shaft or galley, used as a landing, or passing place, or for the accomodation of a pump, tank, etc.

4. Post assigned; office; the part or department of public duty which a person is appointed to perform; sphere of duty or occupation; employment. By spending this day [Sunday] in religious exercises, we acquire new strength and resolution to perform God's will in our several stations the week following. R. Nelson.

5. Situation; position; location. The fig and date — why love they to remain In middle station, and an even plain Prior.

6. State; rank; condition of life; social status. The greater part have kept, I see, Their station. Milton. They in France of the best rank and station. Shak.

7. (Eccl.) (a) The fast of the fourth and sixth days of the week, Wednesday and Friday, in memory of the council which condemned Christ, and of his passion. (b) (R. C. Ch.) A church in which the procession of the clergy halts on stated days to say stated prayers. Addis & Arnold. (c) One of the places at which ecclesiastical processions pause for the performance of an act of devotion; formerly, the tomb of a martyr, or some similarly consecrated spot; now, especially, one of those representations of the successive stages of our Lord's passion which are often placed round the naves of large churches and by the side of the way leading to sacred edifices or shrines, and which are visited in rotation, stated services being performed at each; — called also Station of the cross. Fairholt. Station bill. (Naut.) Same as Quarter bill, under Quarter. — Station house. (a) The house serving for the headquarters of the police assigned to a certain district, and as a place of temporary confinement. (b) The house used as a shelter at a railway station. — Station master, one who has charge of a station, esp. of a railway station. — Station pointer (Surv.), an instrument for locating on a chart the position of a place from which the angles subtended by three distant objects, whose positions are known, have been observed. — Station staff (Surv.), an instrument for taking angles in surveying. Craig.

Syn. — Station, Depot. In the United States, a stopping place on a railway for passengers and freight is commonly called a depot: but to a considerable extent in official use, and in common speech, the more appropriate name, station, has been adopted.

STATION
Sta"tion, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stationed; p. pr. & vb. n. Stationing.]

Defn: To place; to set; to appoint or assign to the occupation of a post, place, or office; as, to station troops on the right of an army; to station a sentinel on a rampart; to station ships on the coasts of Africa. He gained the brow of the hill, where the English phalanx was stationed. Lyttelton.

STATIONAL
Sta"tion*al, a. Etym: [L. stationalis: cf. F. stationnale (église).]

Defn: Of or pertaining to a station. [R.]

STATIONARINESS
Sta"tion*a*ri*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being stationary; fixity.

STATIONARY
Sta"tion*a*ry, a. Etym: [L. stationarius: cf. F. stationnaire. Cf.
Stationer.]

1. Not moving; not appearing to move; stable; fixed. Charles Wesley, who is a more stationary man, does not believe the story. Southey.

2. Not improving or getting worse; not growing wiser, greater, better, more excellent, or the contrary.

3. Appearing to be at rest, because moving in the line of vision; not progressive or retrograde, as a planet. Stationary air (Physiol.), the air which under ordinary circumstances does not leave the lungs in respiration. — Stationary engine. (a) A steam engine thet is permanently placed, in distinction from a portable engine, locomotive, marine engine, etc. Specifically: (b) A factory engine, in distinction from a blowing, pumping, or other kind of engine which is also permanently placed.

STATIONARY
Sta"tion*a*ry, n.; pl. -ries (.

Defn: One who, or that which, is stationary, as a planet when apparently it has neither progressive nor retrograde motion. Holland.

STATIONER
Sta"tion*er, n. Etym: [Cf. Stationary, a.]

1. A bookseller or publisher; — formerly so called from his occupying a stand, or station, in the market place or elsewhere. [Obs.] Dryden.

2. One who sells paper, pens, quills, inkstands, pencils, blank books, and other articles used in writing.

STATIONERY
Sta"tion*er*y, n.

Defn: The articles usually sold by stationers, as paper, pens, ink, quills, blank books, etc.

STATIONERY
Sta"tion*er*y, a.

Defn: Belonging to, or sold by, a stationer.

STATISM
Sta"tism, n. Etym: [From State.]

Defn: The art of governing a state; statecraft; policy. [Obs.]
The enemies of God . . . call our religion statism. South.

STATIST
Sta"tist, n. Etym: [From State.]

1. A statesman; a politician; one skilled in government. [Obs.] Statists indeed, And lovers of their country. Milton.

2. A statistician. Fawcett.

STATISTIC; STATISTICAL
Sta*tis"tic, Sta*tis"tic*al, a. Etym: [Cf. F. statistique.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to statistics; as, statistical knowledge, statistical tabulation.

STATISTICALLY
Sta*tis"tic*al*ly, adv.

Defn: In the way of statistics.

STATISTICIAN
Stat`is*ti"cian, n. Etym: [Cf. F. statisticien.]

Defn: One versed in statistics; one who collects and classifies facts for statistics.

STATISTICS Sta*tis"tics, n. Etym: [Cf. F. statistique, G. statistik. See State, n.]

1. The science which has to do with the collection and classification of certain facts respecting the condition of the people in a state.

Note: [In this sense gramatically singular.]

2. pl.

Defn: Classified facts respecting the condition of the people in a state, their health, their longevity, domestic economy, arts, property, and political strength, their resources, the state of the country, etc., or respecting any particular class or interest; especially, those facts which can be stated in numbers, or in tables of numbers, or in any tabular and classified arrangement.

Defn: The branch of mathematics which studies methods for the calculation of probabilities.

STATISTOLOGY
Stat`is*tol"o*gy, n. Etym: [Statistics + -logy.]

Defn: See Statistics, 2.

STATIVE
Sta"tive, a. Etym: [L. stativus, fr. stare, statum, to stand.] (Mil.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to a fixed camp, or military posts or quarters. [Obs. or R.]

STATOBLAST
Stat"o*blast, n. Etym: [Gr. i.e., remaining) + -blast.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of a peculiar kind of internal buds, or germs, produced in the interior of certain Bryozoa and sponges, especially in the fresh- water species; — also called winter buds.

Note: They are protected by a firm covering, and are usually destined to perpetuate the species during the winter season. They burst open and develop in the spring. In some fresh-water sponges they serve to preserve the species during the dry season. See Illust. under Phylactolæmata.

STATOCRACY
Sta*toc"ra*cy, n. Etym: [State + -cracy, as in democracy.]

Defn: Government by the state, or by political power, in distinction from government by ecclesiastical power. [R.] O. A. Brownson.

STATOR
Sta"tor, n. (Mach.)

Defn: A stationary part in or about which another part (the rotor) revolves, esp. when both are large; as, (a) (Elec.) The stationary member of an electrical machine, as of an induction motor. (b) (Steam Turbine) The case inclosing a turbine wheel; the body of stationary blades or nozzles.

STATUA
Stat"u*a, n. Etym: [L.]

Defn: A statue. [Obs.]
They spake not a word; But, like dumb statuas or breathing stones,
Gazed each on other. Shak.

STATUARY Stat"u*a*ry, n.; pl. Statuaries. Etym: [L. statuarius, n., fr. statuarius, a., of or belonging to statues, fr. statua statue: cf. F. statuaire. See Statue.]

1. One who practices the art of making statues. On other occasions the statuaries took their subjects from the poets. Addison.

2. Etym: [L. statuaria (sc. ars): cf. F. statuaire.]

Defn: The art of carving statues or images as representatives of real persons or things; a branch of sculpture. Sir W. Temple.

3. A collection of statues; statues, collectively.

STATUE Stat"ue, n. Etym: [F., fr. L. statua (akin to stativus standing still), fr. stare, statum, to stand. See Stand.]

1. The likeness of a living being sculptured or modeled in some solid substance, as marble, bronze, or wax; an image; as, a statue of Hercules, or of a lion. I will raise her statue in pure gold. Shak.

2. A portrait. [Obs.] Massinger.

STATUE
Stat"ue, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Statued; p. pr. & vb. n. Statuing.]

Defn: To place, as a statue; to form a statue of; to make into a statue. "The whole man becomes as if statued into stone and earth." Feltham.

STATUED
Stat"ued, a.

Defn: Adorned with statues. "The statued hall." Longfellow. "Statued niches." G. Eliot.

STATUELESS
Stat"ue*less, a.

Defn: Without a statue.

STATUELIKE
Stat"ue*like`, a.

Defn: Like a statue; motionless.

STATUESQUE
Stat`u*esque", a.

Defn: Partaking of, or exemplifying, the characteristics of a statue; having the symmetry, or other excellence, of a statue artistically made; as, statuesquelimbs; a statuesque attitude. Their characters are mostly statuesque even in this respect, that they have no background. Hare.

STATUESQUELY
Stat`u*esque"ly, adv.

Defn: In a statuesque manner; in a way suggestive of a statue; like a
statue.
A character statuesquely simple in its details. Lowell.

STATUETTE
Stat`u*ette", n. Etym: [F., cf. It. statuetta.]

Defn: A small statue; — usually applied to a figure much less than life size, especially when of marble or bronze, or of plaster or clay as a preparation for the marble or bronze, as distinguished from a figure in terra cotta or the like. Cf. Figurine.

STATUMINATE Sta*tu"mi*nate, v. t. Etym: [L. statuminatus, p.p. of statuminare to prop, fr. statumen a prop, fr. statuere to place.]

Defn: To prop or support. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

STATURE Stat"ure, n. Etym: [F. stature, OF. estature, from L. statura, originally, an upright posture, hence, height or size of the body, from stare, statum, to stand. See Stand.]

Defn: The natural height of an animal body; — generally used of the
human body.
Foreign men of mighty stature came. Dryden.

STATURED
Stat"ured, a.

Defn: Arrived at full stature. [R.]

STATUS
Sta"tus, n. Etym: [L.]

Defn: State; condition; position of affairs.

STATUS IN QUO; STATUS QUO
Sta"tus in` quo", Sta"tus quo". Etym: [L., state in which.]

Defn: The state in which anything is already. The phrase is also used retrospectively, as when, on a treaty of place, matters return to the status quo ante bellum, or are left in statu quo ante bellum, i.e., the state (or, in the state) before the war.

STATUTABLE
Stat"u*ta*ble, a.

1. Made or introduced by statute; proceeding from an act of the legistature; as, a statutable provision or remedy.

2. Made or being in conformity to statute; standard; as, statutable measures.

STATUTABLY
Stat"u*ta*bly, adv.

Defn: Conformably to statute.

STATUTE Stat"ute, n. Etym: [F. statut, LL. statutum, from L. statutus, p.p. of statuere to set, station, ordain, fr. status position, station, fr. stare, statum, to stand. See Stand, and cf. Constitute, Destitute.]

1. An act of the legislature of a state or country, declaring, commanding, or prohibiting something; a positive law; the written will of the legislature expressed with all the requisite forms of legislation; — used in distinction fraom common law. See Common law, under Common, a. Bouvier.

Note: Statute is commonly applied to the acts of a legislative body consisting of representatives. In monarchies, legislature laws of the sovereign are called edicts, decrees, ordinances, rescripts, etc. In works on international law and in the Roman law, the term is used as embracing all laws imposed by competent authority. Statutes in this sense are divided into statutes real, statutes personal, and statutes mixed; statutes real applying to immovables; statutes personal to movables; and statutes mixed to both classes of property.

2. An act of a corporation or of its founder, intended as a permanent rule or law; as, the statutes of a university.

3. An assemblage of farming servants (held possibly by statute) for the purpose of being hired; — called also statute fair. [Eng.] Cf. 3d Mop, 2. Halliwell. Statute book, a record of laws or legislative acts. Blackstone. — Statute cap, a kind of woolen cap; — so called because enjoined to be worn by a statute, dated in 1571, in behalf of the trade of cappers. [Obs.] Halliwell. — Statute fair. See Statute, n., 3, above. — Statute labor, a definite amount of labor required for the public service in making roads, bridges, etc., as in certain English colonies. — Statute merchant (Eng. Law), a bond of record pursuant to the stat. 13 Edw. I., acknowledged in form prescribed, on which, if not paid at the day, an execution might be awarded against the body, lands, and goods of the debtor, and the obligee might hold the lands until out of the rents and profits of them the debt was satisfied; — called also a pocket judgment. It is now fallen into disuse. Tomlins. Bouvier. — Statute mile. See under Mile. — Statute of limitations (Law), a statute assigned a certain time, after which rights can not be enforced by action. — Statute staple, a bond of record acknowledged before the mayor of the staple, by virtue of which the creditor may, on nonpayment, forthwith have execution against the body, lands, and goods of the debtor, as in the statute merchant. It is now disused. Blackstone.

Syn.
— Act; regulation; edict; decree. See Law.

STATUTORY
Stat"u*to*ry, a.

Defn: Enacted by statute; depending on statute for its authority; as, a statutory provision.

STAUNCH; STAUNCHLY; STAUNCHNESS
Staunch, Staunch"ly, Staunch"ness, etc.

Defn: See Stanch, Stanchly, etc.

STAUROLITE
Stau"ro*lite, n. Etym: [Gr. -lite.] (Min.)

Defn: A mineral of a brown to black color occurring in prismatic crystals, often twinned so as to form groups resembling a cross. It is a silicate of aluminia and iron, and is generally found imbedded in mica schist. Called also granatite, and grenatite.

STAUROLITIC
Stau`ro*lit"ic, a. (Min.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to staurolite; resembling or containing staurolite.

STAUROSCOPE
Stau"ro*scope, n. Etym: [Gr. -scope.] (Crystallog.)

Defn: An optical instrument used in determining the position of the planes of light-vibration in sections of crystals.

STAUROTIDE
Stau"ro*tide, n. Etym: [F. staurotide, from Gr. (Min.)

Defn: Staurolite.

STAVE
Stave, n. Etym: [From Staff, and corresponding to the pl. staves. See
Staff.]

1. One of a number of narrow strips of wood, or narrow iron plates, placed edge to edge to form the sides, covering, or lining of a vessel or structure; esp., one of the strips which form the sides of a cask, a pail, etc.

2. One of the cylindrical bars of a lantern wheel; one of the bars or rounds of a rack, a ladder, etc.

3. A metrical portion; a stanza; a staff. Let us chant a passing stave In honor of that hero brave. Wordsworth.

4. (Mus.)

Defn: The five horizontal and parallel lines on and between which musical notes are written or pointed; the staff. [Obs.] Stave jointer, a machine for dressing the edges of staves.

STAVE
Stave, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Staved or Stove (; p. pr. & vb. n.
Staving.] Etym: [From Stave, n., or Staff, n.]

1. To break in a stave or the staves of; to break a hole in; to burst; — often with in; as, to stave a cask; to stave in a boat.

2. To push, as with a staff; — with off. The condition of a servant staves him off to a distance. South.

3. To delay by force or craft; to drive away; — usually with off; as, to stave off the execution of a project. And answered with such craft as women use, Guilty or guilties, to stave off a chance That breaks upon them perilously. Tennyson.

4. To suffer, or cause, to be lost by breaking the cask. All the wine in the city has been staved. Sandys.

5. To furnish with staves or rundles. Knolles.

6. To render impervious or solid by driving with a calking iron; as, to stave lead, or the joints of pipes into which lead has been run. To stave and tail, in bear baiting, (to stave) to interpose with the staff, doubtless to stop the bear; (to tail) to hold back the dog by the tail. Nares.

STAVE
Stave, v. i.

Defn: To burst in pieces by striking against something; to dash into
fragments.
Like a vessel of glass she stove and sank. Longfellow.

STAVES
Staves, n.;

Defn: pl. of Staff. "Banners, scarves and staves." R. Browning. Also (stavz),

Defn: pl. of Stave.

STAVESACRE
Staves"a`cre, n. Etym: [Corrupted from NL. staphis agria, Gr. (Bot.)

Defn: A kind of larkspur (Delphinium Staphysagria), and its seeds, which are violently purgative and emetic. They are used as a parasiticide, and in the East for poisoning fish.

STAVEWOOD
Stave`wood`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A tall tree (Simaruba amara) growing in tropical America. It is one of the trees which yields quassia.

STAVING
Stav"ing, n.

Defn: A cassing or lining of staves; especially, one encircling a water wheel.

STAW
Staw, v. i. Etym: [Cf. Dan. staae to stand, Sw. stå. *163.]

Defn: To be fixed or set; to stay. [Prov. Eng.]

STAY Stay, n. Etym: [AS. stæg, akin to D., G., Icel., Sw., & Dan. stag; cf. OF. estai, F. étai, of Teutonic origin.] (Naut.)

Defn: A large, strong rope, employed to support a mast, by being extended from the head of one mast down to some other, or to some part of the vessel. Those which lead forward are called fore-and-aft stays; those which lead to the vessel's side are called backstays. See Illust. of Ship. In stays, or Hove in stays (Naut.), in the act or situation of staying, or going about from one tack to another. R. H. Dana, Jr. — Stay holes (Naut.), openings in the edge of a staysail through which the hanks pass which join it to the stay. — Stay tackle (Naut.), a tackle attached to a stay and used for hoisting or lowering heavy articles over the side. — To miss stays (Naut.), to fail in the attempt to go about. Totten. — Triatic stay (Naut.), a rope secured at the ends to the heads of the foremast and mainmast with thimbles spliced to its bight into which the stay tackles hook.

STAY Stay, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stayed or Staid (; p. pr. & vb. n. Staying.] Etym: [OF. estayer, F. étayer to prop, fr. OF. estai, F. étai, a prop, probably fr. OD. stade, staeye, a prop, akin to E. stead; or cf. stay a rope to support a mast. Cf. Staid, a., Stay, v. i.]

1. To stop from motion or falling; to prop; to fix firmly; to hold up; to support. Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side. Ex. xvii. 12. Sallows and reeds . . . for vineyards useful found To stay thy vines. Dryden.

2. To support from sinking; to sustain with strength; to satisfy in part or for the time. He has devoured a whole loaf of bread and butter, and it has not staid his stomach for a minute. Sir W. Scott.

3. To bear up under; to endure; to support; to resist successfully. She will not stay the siege of loving terms, Nor bide the encounter of assailing eyes. Shak.

4. To hold from proceeding; to withhold; to restrain; to stop; to hold. Him backward overthrew and down him stayed With their rude hands grisly grapplement. Spenser. All that may stay their minds from thinking that true which they heartly wish were false. Hooker.

5. To hinde
Your ships are stayed at Venice. Shak.
This business staid me in London almost a week. Evelyn.
I was willing to stay my reader on an argument that appeared to me
new. Locke.

6. To remain for the purpose of; to wait for. "I stay dinner there." Shak.

7. To cause to cease; to put an end to. Stay your strife. Shak. For flattering planets seemed to say This child should ills of ages stay. Emerson.

8. (Engin.)

Defn: To fasten or secure with stays; as, to stay a flat sheet in a steam boiler.

9. (Naut.)

Defn: To tack, as a vessel, so that the other side of the vessel shall be presented to the wind. To stay a mast (Naut.), to incline it forward or aft, or to one side, by the stays and backstays.

STAY
Stay, v. i. Etym: [*163. See Stay to hold up, prop.]

1. To remain; to continue in a place; to abide fixed for a space of time; to stop; to stand still. She would command the hasty sun to stay. Spenser. Stay, I command you; stay and hear me first. Dryden. I stay a little longer, as one stays To cover up the embers that still burn. Longfellow.

2. To continue in a state. The flames augment, and stay At their full height, then languish to decay. Dryden.

3. To wait; to attend; to forbear to act.
I'll tell thee all my whole device When I am in my coach, which stays
for us. Shak.
The father can not stay any longer for the fortune. Locke.

4. To dwell; to tarry; to linger. I must stay a little on one action. Dryden.

5. To rest; to depend; to rely; to stand; to insist. I stay here on my bond. Shak. Ye despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and stay thereon. Isa. xxx. 12.

6. To come to an end; to cease; as, that day the storm stayed. [Archaic] Here my commission stays. Shak.

7. To hold out in a race or other contest; as, a horse stays well. [Colloq.]

8. (Naut.)

Defn: To change tack; as a ship.

STAY Stay, n. Etym: [Cf. OF. estai, F. étai support, and E. stay a rope to support a mast.]

1. That which serves as a prop; a support. "My only strength and
stay." Milton.
Trees serve as so many stays for their vines. Addison.
Lord Liverpool is the single stay of this ministry. Coleridge.

2. pl.

Defn: A corset stiffened with whalebone or other material, worn by women, and rarely by men. How the strait stays the slender waist constrain. Gay.

3. Continuance in a place; abode for a space of time; sojourn; as, you make a short stay in this city. Make haste, and leave thy business and thy care; No mortal interest can be worth thy stay. Dryden. Embrace the hero and his stay implore. Waller.

4. Cessation of motion or progression; stand; stop.
Made of sphere metal, never to decay Until his revolution was at
stay. Milton.
Affairs of state seemed rather to stand at a stay. Hayward.

5. Hindrance; let; check. [Obs.] They were able to read good authors without any stay, if the book were not false. Robynson (more's Utopia).

6. Restraint of passion; moderation; caution; steadiness; sobriety.
[Obs.] "Not grudging that thy lust hath bounds and stays." Herbert.
The wisdom, stay, and moderation of the king. Bacon.
With prudent stay he long deferred The rough contention. Philips.

7. (Engin.)

Defn: Strictly, a part in tension to hold the parts together, or stiffen them. Stay bolt (Mech.), a bolt or short rod, connecting opposite plates, so as to prevent them from being bulged out when acted upon by a pressure which tends to force them apart, as in the leg of a steam boiler. — Stay busk, a stiff piece of wood, steel, or whalebone, for the front support of a woman's stays. Cf. Busk. — Stay rod, a rod which acts as a stay, particularly in a steam boiler.

STAYED
Stayed, a.

Defn: Staid; fixed; settled; sober; — now written staid. See Staid.
Bacon. Pope.

STAYEDLY
Stayed"ly, adv.

Defn: Staidly. See Staidly. [R.]

STAYEDNESS
Stayed"ness, n.

1. Staidness. [Archaic] W. Whately.

2. Solidity; weight. [R.] Camden.

STAYER
Stay"er, n.

Defn: One who upholds or supports that which props; one who, or that which, stays, stops, or restrains; also, colloquially, a horse, man, etc., that has endurance, an a race.

STAYLACE
Stay"lace`, n.

Defn: A lace for fastening stays.

STAYLESS
Stay"less, a.

Defn: Without stop or delay. Mir. for Mag.

STAYMAKER
Stay"mak`er, n.

Defn: One whose occupation is to make stays.

STAYNIL
Stay"nil, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The European starling. [Prov. Eng.]

STAYSAIL
Stay"sail`, n. (Naut.)

Defn: Any sail extended on a stay.

STAYSHIP
Stay"ship`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A remora, — fabled to stop ships by attaching itself to them.

STEAD
Stead, n. Etym: [OE. stede place, AS. stede; akin to LG. & D. stede,
OS. stad, stedi, OHG. stat, G. statt, stätte, Icel. staedhr, Dan.
sted, Sw. stad, Goth. sta, and E. stand. *163. See Stand, and cf.
Staith, Stithy.]

1. Place, or spot, in general. [Obs., except in composition.] Chaucer. Fly, therefore, fly this fearful stead anon. Spenser.

2. Place or room which another had, has, or might have. "Stewards of your steads." Piers Plowman. In stead of bounds, he a pillar set. Chaucer.

3. A frame on which a bed is laid; a bedstead. [R.] The genial bed, Sallow the feet, the borders, and the stead. Dryden.

4. A farmhouse and offices. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]

Note: The word is now commonly used as the last part of a compound;
as, farmstead, homestead, readstead, etc. In stead of, in place of.
See Instead.
— To stand in stead, or To do stead, to be of use or great
advantage.
The smallest act . . . shall stand us in great stead. Atterbury.
Here thy sword can do thee little stead. Milton.

STEAD
Stead, v. t.

1. To help; to support; to benefit; to assist. Perhaps my succour or advisement meet, Mote stead you much your purpose to subdue. Spenser. It nothing steads us To chide him from our eaves. Shak.

2. To fill place of. [Obs.] Shak.

STEADFAST
Stead"fast, a. Etym: [Stead + fast, that is, fast in place.] Etym:
[Written also stedfast.]

1. Firmly fixed or established; fast fixed; firm. "This steadfast globe of earth." Spenser.

2. Not fickle or wavering; constant; firm; resolute; unswerving; steady. "Steadfast eye." Shak. Abide steadfast unto him [thy neighbor] in the time of his trouble. Ecclus. xxii. 23. Whom resist steadfast in the faith. 1 Pet. v. 9.

STEADFASTLY
Stead"fast*ly, adv.

Defn: In a steadfast manner; firmly.
Steadfast believe that whatever God has revealed is infallibly true.
Wake.

STEADFASTNESS
Stead"fast*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being steadfast; firmness; fixedness; constancy. "The steadfastness of your faith." Col. ii. 5. To prove her wifehood and her steadfastness. Chaucer.

STEADILY
Stead"i*ly, adv.

Defn: In a steady manner.

STEADINESS
Stead"i*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being steady.
Steadiness is a point of prudence as well as of courage. L'Estrange.

Syn.
— Constancy; resolution; unchangeableness.

STEADING
Stead"ing, n.

Defn: The brans, stables, cattle-yards, etc., of a farm; — called also onstead, farmstead, farm offices, or farmery. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]

STEADY Stead"y, a. [Compar. Steadier; superl. Steadiest.] Etym: [Cf. AS. stedig sterile, barren, stæ, steady (in gestæ), D. stedig, stadig, steeg, G. stätig, stetig. See Stead, n.]