S (continued 22)

3. The fusee of a watch.

4. A long and slender stalk resembling a spindle.

5. A yarn measure containing, in cotton yarn, 15,120 yards; in linen yarn, 14,400 yards.

6. (Geom.)

Defn: A solid generated by the revolution of a curved line about its base or double ordinate or chord.

7. (Zoöl.) (a) Any marine univalve shell of the genus Rostellaria; — called also spindle stromb. (b) Any marine gastropod of the genus Fusus. Dead spindle (Mach.), a spindle in a machine tool that does not revolve; the spindle of the tailstock of a lathe. — Live spindle (Mach.), the revolving spindle of a machine tool; the spindle of the headstock of a turning lathe. — Spindle shell. (Zoöl.) See Spindle, 7. above. — Spindle side, the female side in descent; in the female line; opposed to spear side. Ld. Lytton. [R.] "King Lycaon, grandson, by the spindle side, of Oceanus." Lowell. — Spindle tree (Bot.), any shrub or tree of the genus Eunymus. The wood of E. Europæus was used for spindles and skewers. See Prickwood.

SPINDLE Spin"dle, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Spindled(); p. pr. & vb. n. Spindling.]

Defn: To shoot or grow into a long, slender stalk or body; to become disproportionately tall and slender. It has begun to spindle into overintellectuality. Lowell.

SPINDLE-LEGGED Spin"dle-legged`, a.

Defn: Having long, slender legs.

SPINDLELEGS Spin"dle*legs`, n.

Defn: A spindlehanks.

SPINDLE-SHANKED Spin"dle-shanked`, a.

Defn: Having long, slender legs. Addison.

SPINDLESHANKS Spin"dle*shanks`, n.

Defn: A person with slender shanks, or legs; — used humorously or in contempt.

SPINDLE-SHAPED Spin"dle-shaped`, a.

1. Having the shape of a spindle.

2. (Bot.)

Defn: Thickest in the middle, and tapering to both ends; fusiform; — applied chiefly to roots.

SPINDLETAIL Spin"dle*tail`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The pintail duck. [Local, U.S.]

SPINDLEWORM Spin"dle*worm`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The larva of a noctuid mmoth (Achatodes zeæ) which feeds inside the stalks of corn (maize), sometimes causing much damage. It is smooth, with a black head and tail and a row of black dots across each segment.

SPINDLING Spin"dling, a.

Defn: Long and slender, or disproportionately tall and slender; as, a spindling tree; a spindling boy.

SPINDRIFT Spin"drift, n.

Defn: Same as Spoondrift.

The ocean waves are broken up by wind, ultimately producing the storm wrack and spindrift of the tempest-tossed sea. J. E. Marr.

SPINE Spine, n. Etym: [L. spina thorn, the spine; akin to spica a point: cf. OF. espine, F. épine. Cf. Spike, Spinet a musical instrument, Spinny.]

1. (Bot.)

Defn: A sharp appendage to any of a plant; a thorn.

2. (Zoöl.) (a) A rigid and sharp projection upon any part of an animal. (b) One of the rigid and undivided fin rays of a fish.

3. (Anat.)

Defn: The backbone, or spinal column, of an animal; — so called from the projecting processes upon the vertebræ.

4. Anything resembling the spine or backbone; a ridge.

SPINEBACK Spine"back`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A fish having spines in, or in front of, the dorsal fins.

SPINEBILL Spine"bill`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any species of Australian birds of the genus Acanthorhynchus. They are related to the honey eaters.

SPINED Spined, a.

Defn: Furnished with spines; spiny.

SPINE-FINNED Spine"-finned`, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Having fine supported by spinous fin rays; — said of certain fishes.

SPINEL; SPINELLE Spi*nel", Spi*nelle", n. Etym: [F. spinelle, or LL. spinellus, perhaps from L. spina a thorn, a prickle, in allusion to its pointed crystals.] (Min.)

Defn: A mineral occuring in octahedrons of great hardness and various colors, as red, green, blue, brown, and black, the red variety being the gem spinel ruby. It consist essentially of alumina and magnesia, but commonly contains iron and sometimes also chromium.

Note: The spinel group includes spinel proper, also magnetite, chromite, franklinite, gahnite, etc., all of which may be regarded as composed of a sesquioxide and a protoxide in equal proportions.

SPINEL Spin"el, n.

Defn: Bleached yarn in making the linen tape called inkle; unwrought inkle. Knight.

SPINELESS Spine"less, a.

Defn: Having no spine.

SPINESCENCE Spi*nes"cence, n.

Defn: The state or quality of being spinescent or spiny; also, a spiny growth or covering, as of certain animals.

SPINESCENT Spi*nes"cent, a.Etym: [L. spinescens, -entis, p. pr. of spinescere to know to grow thorny, fr. spina a thorn: cf. F. spinescent.] (Bot.)

Defn: Becoming hard and thorny; tapering gradually to a rigid, leafless point; armed with spines. Gray.

SPINET Spin"et, n. Etym: [OF. espinete, F. épinette (cf. It. spinetta), fr. L. spina a thorn; — so called because its quills resemble thorns. See Spine.] (Mus.)

Defn: A keyed instrument of music resembling a harpsichord, but smaller, with one string of brass or steel wire to each note, sounded by means of leather or quill plectrums or jacks. It was formerly much used. Dumb spinet. (Mus.) See Manichordon.

SPINET Spi"net, n. Etym: [L. spinetum. See Spinny.]

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

SPINETAIL Spine"tail`, n. (Zoöl.) (a) Any one or several species of swifts of the genus Acanthylis, or Chætura, and allied genera, in which the shafts of the tail feathers terminate in rigid spines. (b) Any one of several species of South American and Central American clamatorial birds belonging to Synallaxis and allied genera of the family Dendrocolaptidæ. They are allied to the ovenbirds. (c) The ruddy duck. [Local, U.S.]

SPINE-TAILED Spine"-tailed, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Having the tail quills ending in sharp, naked tips. Spine- tailed swift. (Zoöl.) See Spinetail (a).

SPINETED Spin"et*ed, a.

Defn: Slit; cleft. [Obs. & R.]

SPINIFEROUS Spi*nif"er*ous, a. Etym: [L. spinifer; spina thorn + ferre to produce.]

Defn: Producing spines; bearing thorns or spines; thorny; spiny.

SPINIFEX Spin"i*fex, n. [NL.; L. spina spine + facere to make.]

1. (Bot.) A genus of chiefly Australian grasses, the seeds of which bear an elastic spine. S. hirsutus (black grass) and S. longifolius are useful as sand binders. S. paradoxusis a valuable perennial fodder plant. Also, a plant of this genus.

2. Any of several Australian grasses of the genus Tricuspis, which often form dense, almost impassable growth, their leaves being stiff and sharp-pointed.

SPINIFORM Spin"i*form, a.

Defn: Shaped like a spine.

SPINIGEROUS Spi*nig"er*ous, a. Etym: [L. spiniger; spina spine + gerere to bear.]

Defn: Bearing a spine or spines; thorn-bearing.

SPININESS Spin"i*ness, n.

Defn: Quality of being spiny.

SPINI-SPIRULATE Spin`i-*spir"u*late, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Having spines arranged spirally. See Spicule.

SPINK Spink, n. Etym: [Cf. dial. Sw. spink a kind of small bird, Gr. finch.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The chaffinch.

SPINNAKER Spin"na*ker, n. (Naut.)

Defn: A large triangular sail set upon a boom, — used when running before the wind.

SPINNER Spin"ner, n.

1. One who, or that which, spins one skilled in spinning; a spinning machine.

2. A spider. "Long-legged spinners." Shak.

3. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A goatsucker; — so called from the peculiar noise it makes when darting through the air.

4. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A spinneret. Ring spinner, a machine for spinning, in which the twist, given to the yarn by a revolving bobbin, is regulated by the drag of a small metal loop which slides around a ring encircling the bobbin, instead of by a throstle.

SPINNERET Spin"ner*et, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of the special jointed organs situated on the under side, and near the end, of the abdomen of spiders, by means of which they spin their webs. Most spiders have three pairs of spinnerets, but some have only two pairs. The ordinary silk line of the spider is composed of numerous smaller lines jointed after issuing from the spinnerets.

SPINNERULE Spin"ner*ule, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of the numerous small spinning tubes on the spinnerets of spiders.

SPINNEY Spin"ney, n.; pl. Spinneys (.

Defn: Same as Spinny. T. Hughes.

SPINNING Spin"ning, a. & n.

Defn: from Spin. Spinning gland (Zoöl.), one of the glands which form the material for spinning the silk of silkworms and other larvæ. — Spinning house, formerly a common name for a house of correction in England, the women confined therein being employed in spinning. — Spinning jenny (Mach.), an engine or machine for spinning wool or cotton, by means of a large number of spindles revolving simultaneously. — Spinning mite (Zoöl.), the red spider. — Spinning wheel, a machine for spinning yarn or thread, in which a wheel drives a single spindle, and is itself driven by the hand, or by the foot acting on a treadle.

SPINNY Spin"ny, n.; pl. Spinnies. Etym: [OF. espinaye,espinoye, espinei, espanoi, F. épinaie, from L. spinetum a thicket of thorns, fr. spina a thorn. See Spine.]

Defn: A small thicket or grove with undergrowth; a clump of trees. [Written also spinney, and spinny.] The downs rise steep, crowned with black fir spinnies. C. Kingsley.

SPINNY Spin"ny, a. Etym: [Cf. Spiny, a.]

Defn: Thin and long; slim; slender. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]

SPINOSE Spi*nose", a.Etym: [L. spinosus, from spina a thorn.]

Defn: Full of spines; armed with thorns; thorny.

SPINOSITY Spi*nos"i*ty, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being spiny or thorny; spininess.

SPINOUS Spi"nous, a.

1. Spinose; thorny.

2. Having the form of a spine or thorn; spinelike. Spinous process of a vertebra (Anat.), the dorsal process of the neural arch of a vertebra; a neurapophysis.

SPINOZISM Spi*no"zism, n.

Defn: The form of Pantheism taught by Benedict Spinoza, that there is but one substance, or infinite essence, in the universe, of which the so-called material and spiritual beings and phenomena are only modes, and that one this one substance is God. [Written also Spinosism.]

SPINOZIST Spi*no"zist, n.

Defn: A believer in Spinozism.

SPINSTER Spin"ster, n. Etym: [Spin + -ster.]

1. A woman who spins, or whose occupation is to spin. She spake to spinster to spin it out. Piers Plowman. The spinsters and the knitters in the sun. Shak.

2. A man who spins. [Obs.] Shak.

3. (Law)

Defn: An unmarried or single woman; — used in legal proceedings as a title, or addition to the surname. If a gentlewoman be termed a spinster, she may abate the writ. Coke.

4. A woman of evil life and character; — so called from being forced to spin in a house of correction. [Obs.]

SPINSTRESS Spin"stress, n.

Defn: A woman who spins. T. Brown.

SPINSTRY Spin"stry, n.

Defn: The business of one who spins; spinning. [Obs.] Milton.

SPINTHARISCOPE Spin*thar"i*scope, n. [Gr. spinqari`s spark + -scope.]

Defn: A small instrument containing a minute particle of a radium compound mounted in front of a fluorescent screen and viewed with magnifying lenses. The tiny flashes produced by the continual bombardment of the screen by the a rays are thus rendered visible. — Spin*thar`i*scop"ic (#), a.

SPINULE Spin"ule, n. Etym: [L. spinula, dim. of spina a spine: cf. F. spinule.]

Defn: A minute spine. Dana.

SPINULESCENT Spin`u*les"cent, a. (Bot.)

Defn: Having small spines; somewhat thorny.

SPINULOSE; SPINULOUS Spin"u*lose`, Spin"u*lous, a. Etym: [Cf. F. spinuleux.]

Defn: Covered with small spines.

SPINY Spin"y, a. Etym: [From Spine.]

1. Full of spines; thorny; as, a spiny tree.

2. Like a spine in shape; slender. "Spiny grasshoppers sit chirping." Chapman.

3. Fig.: Abounding with difficulties or annoyances. The spiny deserts of scholastic philosophy. Bp. Warburton. Spiny lobster. (Zoöl.) Same as Rock lobster, under Rock. See also Lobster.

SPINY Spin"y, n.

Defn: See Spinny.

SPIODEA Spi*o"de*a, n. pl. Etym: [NL., fr. Spio the typical genus.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: An extensive division of marine Annelida, including those that are without oral tentacles or cirri, and have the gills, when present, mostly arranged along the sides of the body. They generally live in burrows or tubes.

SPIRABLE Spi"ra*ble, a. Etym: [L. spirabilis.]

Defn: Capable of being breathed; respirable. [Obs.] Nash.

SPIRACLE Spir"a*cle, n.Etym: [L. spiraculum, fr. spirare to breathe: cf. F. spiracule. See Spirit.]

1. (Anat.)

Defn: The nostril, or one of the nostrils, of whales, porpoises, and allied animals.

2. (Zoöl.) (a) One of the external openings communicating with the air tubes or tracheæ of insects, myriapods, and arachnids. They are variable in number, and are usually situated on the sides of the thorax and abdomen, a pair to a segment. These openings are usually elliptical, and capable of being closed. See Illust. under Coleoptera. (a) A tubular orifice communicating with the gill cavity of certain ganoid and all elasmobranch fishes. It is the modified first gill cleft.

3. Any small aperture or vent for air or other fluid.

SPIRACULAR Spi*rac"u*lar, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to a spiracle.

SPIRAEA Spi*ræ"a, n. Etym: [L., fr. Gr. (Bot.)

Defn: A genus of shrubs or perennial herbs including the meadowsweet and the hardhack.

SPIRAEIC Spi*ræ"ic, a. (Chem.)

Defn: Of, pertaining to, or derived from, the meadowsweet (Spiræa); formerly, designating an acid which is now called salicylic acid.

SPIRAL Spi"ral, a. Etym: [Cf. F. spiral. See Spire a winding line.]

1. Winding or circling round a center or pole and gradually receding from it; as, the spiral curve of a watch spring.

2. Winding round a cylinder or imaginary axis, and at the same time rising or advancing forward; winding like the thread of a screw; helical.

3. (Geom.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to a spiral; like a spiral. Spiral gear, or Spiral wheel (Mach.), a gear resembling in general a spur gear, but having its teeth cut at an angle with its axis, or so that they form small portions of screws or spirals. — Spiral gearing, a kind of gearing sometimes used in light machinery, in which spiral gears, instead of bevel gears, are used to transmit motion between shafts that are not parallel. — Spiral operculum, an operculum whih has spiral lines of growth. — Spiral shell, any shell in which the whorls form a spiral or helix. — Spiral spring. See the Note under Spring, n., 4.

SPIRAL Spi"ral, n. Etym: [Cf. F. spirale. See Spiral, a.]

1. (Geom.)

Defn: A plane curve, not reëntrant, described by a point, called the generatrix, moving along a straight line according to a mathematical law, while the line is revolving about a fixed point called the pole. Cf. Helix.

2. Anything which has a spiral form, as a spiral shell. Equiangular spiral,a plane curve which cuts all its generatrices at the same angle. Same as Logarithmic spiral, under Logarithmic. — Spiral of Archimedes, a spiral the law of which is that the generatrix moves uniformly along the revolving line, which also moves uniformly.

SPIRALITY Spi*ral"i*ty, n.

Defn: The quality or states of being spiral.

SPIRALLY Spi"ral*ly, adv.

Defn: In a spiral form, manner, or direction.

SPIRALOZOOID Spi*ra`lo*zo"oid, n. Etym: [Spiral + zooid. So called because they often have a spiral form when contracted.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of the special defensive zooids of certain hydroids. They have the form of long, slender tentacles, and bear lasso cells.

SPIRANT Spi"rant, n. Etym: [L. spirans, -antis, p. pr. of spirare to breathe. See Spirit.] (Phon.)

Defn: A term used differently by different authorities; — by some as equivalent to fricative, — that is, as including all the continuous consonants, except the nasals m, n, ng; with the further exception, by others, of the liquids r, l, and the semivowels w, y; by others limited to f, v, th surd and sonant, and the sound of German ch, — thus excluding the sibilants, as well as the nasals, liquids, and semivowels. See Guide to Pronunciation, §§ 197-208.

SPIRANTHY Spi*ran"thy, n. Etym: [Gr. (Bot.)

Defn: The occasional twisted growth of the parts of a flower.

SPIRATION Spi*ra"tion, n. Etym: [L. spiratio, fr. spirare to breathe.]

Defn: The act of breathing. [Obs.] Barrow.

SPIRE Spire, v. i. Etym: [L. spirare to breathe. See Spirit.]

Defn: To breathe. [Obs.] Shenstone.

SPIRE Spire, n. Etym: [OE. spire, spir, a blade of grass, a young shoot, AS. spir; akin to G. spier a blade of grass, Dan. spire a sprout, sprig, Sw. spira a spar, Icel. spira.]

1. A slender stalk or blade in vegetation; as, a spire grass or of wheat. An oak cometh up a little spire. Chaucer.

2. A tapering body that shoots up or out to a point in a conical or pyramidal form. Specifically (Arch.), the roof of a tower when of a pyramidal form and high in proportion to its width; also, the pyramidal or aspiring termination of a tower which can not be said to have a roof, such as that of Strasburg cathedral; the tapering part of a steeple, or the steeple itself. "With glistering spires and pinnacles adorned." Milton. A spire of land that stand apart, Cleft from the main. Tennyson. Tall spire from which the sound of cheerful bells Just undulates upon the listening ear. Cowper.

3. (Mining)

Defn: A tube or fuse for communicating fire to the chargen in blasting.

4. The top, or uppermost point, of anything; the summit. The spire and top of praises. Shak.

SPIRE Spire, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Spired; p. pr. & vb. n. Spiring.]

Defn: To shoot forth, or up in, or as if in, a spire. Emerson. It is not so apt to spire up as the other sorts, being more inclined to branch into arms. Mortimer.

SPIRE Spire, n. Etym: [L. spira coil, twist; akin to Gr. spire.]

1. A spiral; a curl; a whorl; a twist. Dryden.

2. (Geom.)

Defn: The part of a spiral generated in one revolution of the straight line about the pole. See Spiral, n. Spire bearer. (Paleon.) Same as Spirifer.

SPIRED Spired, a.

Defn: Having a spire; being in the form of a spire; as, a spired steeple. Mason.

SPIRICLE Spi"ri*cle, n. Etym: [Dim., fr. L. spira a coil.] (Bot.)

Defn: One of certain minute coiled threads in the coating of some seeds. When moistened these threads protrude in great numbers. Gray.

SPIRIFER Spi"ri*fer, n. Etym: [NL., fr. L. spira a coil + ferreto bear.] (Paleon.)

Defn: Any one of numerous species of fossil brachipods of the genus Spirifer, or Delthyris, and allied genera, in which the long calcareous supports of the arms form a large spiral, or helix, on each side.

SPIRILLUM Spi*ril"lum, n. Etym: [NL., dim. of L. spira a coil.] (Biol.)

Defn: A genus of common motile microörganisms (Spirobacteria) having the form of spiral-shaped filaments. One species is said to be the cause of relapsing fever.

SPIRING Spir"ing, a.

Defn: Shooting up in a spire or spires. "The spiring grass." Dryton.

SPIRIT Spir"it, n. Etym: [OF. espirit, esperit, F. esprit, L. spiritus, from spirare to breathe, to blow. Cf. Conspire, Expire, Esprit, Sprite.]

1. Air set in motion by breathing; breath; hence, sometimes, life itself. [Obs.] "All of spirit would deprive." Spenser. The mild air, with season moderate, Gently attempered, and disposed eo well, That still it breathed foorth sweet spirit. Spenser.

2. A rough breathing; an aspirate, as the letter h; also, a mark to denote aspiration; a breathing. [Obs.] Be it a letter or spirit, we have great use for it. B. Jonson.

3. Life, or living substance, considered independently of corporeal existence; an intelligence conceived of apart from any physical organization or embodiment; vital essence, force, or energy, as distinct from matter.

4. The intelligent, immaterial and immortal part of man; the soul, in distinction from the body in which it resides; the agent or subject of vital and spiritual functions, whether spiritual or material. There is a spirit in man; and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding. Job xxxii. 8. As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. James ii. 26. Spirit is a substance wherein thinking, knowing, doubting, and a power of moving, do subsist. Locke.

5. Specifically, a disembodied soul; the human soul after it has left the body. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it. Eccl. xii. 7. Ye gentle spirits far away, With whom we shared the cup of grace. Keble.

6. Any supernatural being, good or bad; an apparition; a specter; a ghost; also, sometimes, a sprite,; a fairy; an elf. Whilst young, preserve his tender mind from all impressions of spirits and goblins in the dark. Locke.

7. Energy, vivacity, ardor, enthusiasm, courage, etc. "Write it then, quickly," replied Bede; and summoning all his spirits together, like the last blaze of a candle going out, he indited it, and expired. Fuller.

8. One who is vivacious or lively; one who evinces great activity or peculiar characteristics of mind or temper; as, a ruling spirit; a schismatic spirit. Such spirits as he desired to please, such would I choose for my judges. Dryden.

9. Temper or disposition of mind; mental condition or disposition; intellectual or moral state; — often in the plural; as, to be cheerful, or in good spirits; to be downhearted, or in bad spirits. God has . . . made a spirit of building succeed a spirit of pulling down. South. A perfect judge will read each work of wit With the same spirit that its author writ. Pope.

10. Intent; real meaning; — opposed to the letter, or to formal statement; also, characteristic quality, especially such as is derived from the individual genius or the personal character; as, the spirit of an enterprise, of a document, or the like.

11. Tenuous, volatile, airy, or vapory substance, possessed of active qualities. All bodies have spirits . . . within them. Bacon.

12. Any liquid produced by distillation; especially, alcohol, the spirits, or spirit, of wine (it having been first distilled from wine): — often in the plural.

13. pl.

Defn: Rum, whisky, brandy, gin, and other distilled liquors having much alcohol, in distinction from wine and malt liquors.

14. (Med.)

Defn: A solution in alcohol of a volatile principle. Cf. Tincture. U. S. Disp.

15. (Alchemy)

Defn: Any one of the four substances, sulphur, sal ammoniac, quicksilver, or arsenic (or, according to some, orpiment). The four spirits and the bodies seven. Chaucer.

16. (Dyeing)

Defn: Stannic chloride. See under Stannic.

Note: Spirit is sometimes joined with other words, forming compounds, generally of obvious signification; as, spirit-moving, spirit- searching, spirit-stirring, etc. Astral spirits, Familiar spirits, etc. See under Astral, Familiar, etc. — Animal spirits. (a) (Physiol.) The fluid which at one time was supposed to circulate through the nerves and was regarded as the agent of sensation and motion; — called also the nervous fluid, or nervous principle. (b) Physical health and energy; frolicsomeness; sportiveness. — Ardent spirits, strong alcoholic liquors, as brandy, rum, whisky, etc., obtained by distillation. — Holy Spirit, or The Spirit (Theol.), the Spirit of God, or the third person of the Trinity; the Holy Ghost. The spirit also signifies the human spirit as influenced or animated by the Divine Spirit. — Proof spirit. (Chem.) See under Proof. — Rectified spirit (Chem.), spirit rendered purer or more concentrated by redistillation, so as to increase the percentage of absolute alcohol. — Spirit butterfly (Zoöl.), any one of numerous species of delicate butterflies of tropical America belonging to the genus Ithomia. The wings are gauzy and nearly destitute of scales. — Spirit duck. (Zoöl.) (a) The buffle-headed duck. (b) The golden- eye. — Spirit lamp (Art), a lamp in which alcohol or methylated spirit is burned. — Spirit level. See under Level. — Spirit of hartshorn. (Old Chem.) See under Hartshorn. — Spirit of Mindererus (Med.), an aqueous solution of acetate of ammonium; — named after R. Minderer, physician of Augsburg. — Spirit of nitrous ether (Med. Chem.), a pale yellow liquid, of a sweetish taste and a pleasant ethereal odor. It is obtained by the distillatin of alcohol with nitric and sulphuric acids, and consists essentially of ethyl nitrite with a little acetic aldehyde. It is used a diaphoretic, diuretic, antispasmodic, etc. Called also sweet spirit of niter. — Spirit of salt (Chem.), hydrochloric acid; — so called because obtained from salt and sulphuric acid. [Obs.] — Spirit of sense, the utmost refinement of sensation. [Obs.] Shak. — Spirits, or Spirit, of turpentine (Chem.), rectified oil of turpentine, a transparent, colorless, volatile, and very inflammable liquid, distilled from the turpentine of the various species of pine; camphine. See Camphine. — Spirit of vitriol (Chem.), sulphuric acid; — so called because formerly obtained by the distillation of green vitriol. [Obs.] — Spirit of vitriolic ether (Chem.) ether; — often but incorrectly called sulphuric ether. See Ether. [Obs.] — Spirits, or Spirit, of wine (Chem.), alcohol; — so called because formerly obtained by the distillation of wine. — Spirit rapper, one who practices spirit rapping; a "medium" so called. — Spirit rapping, an alleged form of communication with the spirits of the dead by raps. See Spiritualism, 3. — Sweet spirit of niter. See Spirit of nitrous ether, above.

Syn. — Life; ardor; energy; fire; courage; animatioon; cheerfulness; vivacity; enterprise.

SPIRIT Spir"it, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spirited; p. pr. & vb. n. Spiriting.]

1. To animate with vigor; to excite; to encourage; to inspirit; as, civil dissensions often spirit the ambition of private men; — sometimes followed by up. Many officers and private men spirit up and assist those obstinate people to continue in their rebellion. Swift .

2. To convey rapidly and secretly, or mysteriously, as if by the agency of a spirit; to kidnap; — often with away, or off. The ministry had him spirited away, and carried abroad as a dangerous person. Arbuthnot & Pope. I felt as if I had been spirited into some castle of antiquity. Willis. Spiriting away (Law), causing to leave; the offense of inducing a witness to leave a jurisdiction so as to evade process requiring attendance at trial.

SPIRITALLY Spir"it*al*ly, adv.Etym: [L. spiritalis belonging to breathing.]

Defn: By means of the breath. [Obs.] Holder.

SPIRITED Spir"it*ed, a.

1. Animated or possessed by a spirit. [Obs.] "So talked the spirited, sly snake." Milton.

2. Animated; full of life or vigor; lively; full of spirit or fire; as, a spirited oration; a spirited answer.

Note: Spirited is much used in composition; as in high-spirited, low- spirited, mean-spirited, etc.

Syn. — Lively; vivacious; animated; ardent; active; bold; courageous. — Spir"it*ed*ly, adv. — Spir"it*ed*ness, n.

SPIRITFUL Spir"it*ful, a.

Defn: Full of spirit; spirited. [R.] The spiritful and orderly life of our own grown men. Milton. — Spir"it*ful*ly, adv. — Spir"it*ful*ness, n.

SPIRITISM Spir"it*ism, n.

Defn: Spiritualsm.

SPIRITIST Spir"it*ist, n.

Defn: A spiritualist.

SPIRITLESS Spir"it*less, a.

1. Destitute of spirit; wanting animation; wanting cheerfulness; dejected; depressed.

2. Destitute of vigor; wanting life, courage, or fire. A men so faint, so spiritless, So dull, so dead in lock, so woebegone. Shak.

3. Having no breath; extinct; dead. "The spiritless body." Greenhill. — Spir"it*less*ly, adv. — Spir"it*less*ness, n.

SPIRITOSO Spi`ri*to"so, a. & adv. Etym: [It.] (Mus.)

Defn: Spirited; spiritedly; — a direction to perform a passage in an animated, lively manner.

SPIRITOUS Spir"it*ous, a. Etym: [Cf. Spirituous.]

1. Like spirit; refined; defecated; pure. [R.] More refined, more spirituous and pure. Milton.

2. Ardent; active. [R.]

SPIRITOUSNESS Spir"it*ous*ness, n.

Defn: Quality of being spiritous. [R.]

SPIRITUAL Spir"it*u*al, a. Etym: [L. spiritualis: cf. F. spirituel. See Spirit.]

1. Consisting of spirit; not material; incorporeal; as, a spiritual substance or being. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. 1 Cor. xv. 44.

2. Of or pertaining to the intellectual and higher endowments of the mind; mental; intellectual.

3. Of or pertaining to the moral feelings or states of the soul, as distinguished from the external actions; reaching and affecting the spirits. God's law is spiritual; it is a transcript of the divine nature, and extends its authority to the acts of the soul of man. Sir T. Browne.

4. Of or pertaining to the soul or its affections as influenced by the Spirit; controlled and inspired by the divine Spirit; proceeding from the Holy Spirit; pure; holy; divine; heavenly-minded; — opposed to carnal. That I may impart unto you some spiritual gift. Rom. i. ll. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings. Eph. i. 3. If a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one. Gal. vi. 1.

5. Not lay or temporal; relating to sacred things; ecclesiastical; as, the spiritual functions of the clergy; lords spiritual and temporal; a spiritual corporation. Spiritual coadjuctor. (Eccl.) See the Note under Jesuit. — Spiritual court (Eccl. Law), an ecclesiastical court, or a court having jurisdiction in ecclesiastical affairs; a court held by a bishop or other ecclesiastic.

SPIRITUAL Spir"it*u*al, n.

Defn: A spiritual function, office, or affair. See Spirituality, 2. He assigns supremacy to the pope in spirituals, and to the emperor in temporals. Lowell.

SPIRITUALISM Spir"it*u*al*ism, n.

1. The quality or state of being spiritual.

2. (Physiol.)

Defn: The doctrine, in opposition to the materialists, that all which exists is spirit, or soul — that what is called the external world is either a succession of notions impressed on the mind by the Deity, as maintained by Berkeley, or else the mere educt of the mind itself, as taught by Fichte.

3. A belief that departed spirits hold intercourse with mortals by means of physical phenomena, as by rappng, or during abnormal mental states, as in trances, or the like, commonly manifested through a person of special susceptibility, called a medium; spiritism; the doctrines and practices of spiritualists. What is called spiritualism should, I think, be called a mental species of materialism. R. H. Hutton.

SPIRITUALIST Spir"it*u*al*ist, n.

1. One who professes a regard for spiritual things only; one whose employment is of a spiritual character; an ecclesiastic.

2. One who maintains the doctrine of spiritualism.

3. One who believes in direct intercourse with departed spirits, through the agency of persons commonly called mediums, by means of physical phenomena; one who attempts to maintain such intercourse; a spiritist.

SPIRITUALIST Spir"it*u*al*ist, a.

Defn: Spiritualistic. Taylor.

SPIRITUALISTIC Spir`it*u*al*is"tic, a.

Defn: Relating to, or connected with, spiritualism.

SPIRITUALITY Spir`it*u*al"i*ty, n.; pl. Spiritualities. Etym: [L. spiritualitas: cf. F. spiritualité.]

1. The quality or state of being spiritual; incorporeality; heavenly- mindedness. A pleasure made for the soul, suitable to its spirituality. South. If this light be not spiritual, yet it approacheth nearest to spirituality. Sir W. Raleigh. Much of our spirituality and comfort in public worship depends on the state of mind in which we come. Bickersteth.

2. (Eccl.)

Defn: That which belongs to the church, or to a person as an ecclesiastic, or to religion, as distinct from temporalities. During the vacancy of a see, the archbishop is guardian of the spiritualities thereof. Blackstone.

3. An ecclesiastical body; the whole body of the clergy, as distinct from, or opposed to, the temporality. [Obs.] Five entire subsidies were granted to the king by the spirituality. Fuller.

SPIRITUALIZATION Spir`it*u*al*i*za"tion, n.

Defn: The act of spiritualizing, or the state of being spiritualized.

SPIRITUALIZE Spir"it*u*al*ize, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spiritualized; p. pr. & vb. n. Spiritualizing.] Etym: [Cf. F. spiritualiser.]

1. To refine intellectiually or morally; to purify from the corrupting influence of the world; to give a spiritual character or tendency to; as, to spiritualize soul. This seen in the clear air, and the whole spiritualized by endless recollections, fills the eye and the heart more forcibly than I can find words to say. Carlyle.

2. To give a spiritual meaning to; to take in a spiritual sense; — opposed to literalize.

3. (Old Chem.)

Defn: To extract spirit from; also, to convert into, or impregnate with, spirit.

SPIRITUALIZER Spir"it*u*al*i`zer, n.

Defn: One who spiritualizes.

SPIRITUALLY Spir"it*u*al*ly, adv.

Defn: In a spiritual manner; with purity of spirit; like a spirit.

SPIRITUAL-MINDED Spir"it*u*al-mind`ed, a.

Defn: Having the mind set on spiritual things, or filled with holy desires and affections. — Spir"it*u*al-mind`ed*ness, n.

SPIRITUALNESS Spir"it*u*al*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being spiritual or spiritual-minded; spirituality.

SPIRITUALTY Spir"it*u*al*ty, n. Etym: [See Spirituality.] (Eccl.)

Defn: An ecclesiastical body; a spirituality. Shak.

SPIRITUELLE Spi`ri`tu`elle", a. Etym: [F.]

Defn: Of the nature, or having the appearance, of a spirit; pure; refined; ethereal.

SPIRITUOSITY Spir`it*u*os"i*ty, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being spirituous; spirituousness. [R.]

SPIRITUOUS Spir"it*u*ous, a. Etym: [Cf. (for sense 2) F. spiritueux. Cf. Spiritous.]

1. Having the quality of spirit; tenuous in substance, and having active powers or properties; ethereal; immaterial; spiritual; pure.

2. Containing, or of the nature of, alcoholic (esp. distilled) spirit; consisting of refined spirit; alcoholic; ardent; as, spirituous liquors.

3. Lively; gay; vivid; airy. [Obs.] Sir H. Wotton. The mind of man is of that spirituous, stirring nature, that it is perpetually at work. South.

SPIRITUOUSNESS Spir"it*u*ous*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being spirituous. [R.] Boyle.

SPIRKETING Spirk"et*ing, n. (Naut.)

Defn: The planking from the waterways up to the port sills. Totten.

SPIRLING Spirl"ing, n.

Defn: Sparling. [Prov. Eng.]

SPIROBACTERIA Spi`ro*bac*te"ri*a, n. pl.; sing. Spirobacterium (. Etym: [NL. See 4th Spire, and Bacterium.] (Biol.)

Defn: See the Note under Microbacteria.

SPIROCHAETA; SPIROCHAETE Spi`ro*chæ"ta, Spi`ro*chæ"te, n. Etym: [L. spira a coil + Gr. (Biol.)

Defn: A genus of Spirobacteria similar to Spirillum, but distinguished by its motility. One species, the Spirochæte Obermeyeri, is supposed to be the cause of relapsing fever.

SPIROGRAPH Spi"ro*graph, n. Etym: [L. spirare to breathe + -graph.] (Physiol.)

Defn: An instrument for recording the respiratory movements, as the sphygmograph does those of the pulse.

SPIROMETER Spi*rom"e*ter, n. Etym: [L. spirare to breathe + -meter.]

Defn: An instrument for measuring the vital capacity of the lungs, or the volume of air which can be expelled from the chest after the deepest possible inspiration. Cf. Pneumatometer.

SPIROMETRY Spi*rom"e*try, n.

Defn: The act or process of measuring the chest capacity by means of a spirometer.

SPIROSCOPE Spi"ro*scope, n. Etym: [L. spirare to breathe + -scope.] (Physiol.)

Defn: A wet meter used to determine the breathing capacity of the lungs.

SPIROYLIC; SPIROYLOUS Spi*royl"ic, Spi*royl"ous, a. Etym: [NL. Spir meadowsweet (a source of salicylal) + -yl + -ic, -ous.] (Chem.)

Defn: Pertaining to, or designating, a substance now called salicylal. [Obs.]

SPIRT Spirt, v. & n.

Defn: Same as Spurt.

SPIRTLE Spir"tle, v. t.

Defn: To spirt in a scattering manner.

SPIRULA Spir"u*la, n. Etym: [NL., dim. of L. spira a coil.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A genus of cephalopods having a multilocular, internal, siphunculated shell in the form of a flat spiral, the coils of which are not in contact.

SPIRULATE Spir"u*late, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Having the color spots, or structural parts, arranged spirally.

SPIRY Spir"y, a. Etym: [From Spire a winding line.]

Defn: Of a spiral form; wreathed; curled; serpentine. Hid in the spiry volumes of the snake. Dryden.

SPIRY Spir"y, a. Etym: [FR. Spire a steeple.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to a spire; like a spire, tall, slender, and tapering; abounding in spires; as, spiry turrets. "Spiry towns." Thomson.

SPISS Spiss, a. Etym: [L. spissus.]

Defn: Thick; crowded; compact; dense. [Obs.] This spiss and . . . copious, yet concise, treatise. Brerewood.

SPISSATED Spis"sa*ted, a.

Defn: Rendered dense or compact, as by evaporation; inspissated; thickened. [R.] The spissated juice of the poppy. Bp. Warburton.

SPISSITUDE Spis"si*tude, n. Etym: [L. spissitudo.]

Defn: The quality or state of being spissated; as, the spissitude of coagulated blood, or of any coagulum. Arbuthnot.

SPIT Spit, n. Etym: [OE. spite, AS. spitu; akin to D. spit, G. spiess, OHG. spiz, Dan. spid. Sw. spett, and to G. spitz pointed. sq. root170.]

1. A long, slender, pointed rod, usually of iron, for holding meat while roasting.

2. A small point of land running into the sea, or a long, narrow shoal extending from the shore into the sea; as, a spit of sand. Cook.

3. The depth to which a spade goes in digging; a spade; a spadeful. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

SPIT Spit, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spitted; p. pr. & vb. n. Spitting.] Etym: [From Spit, n.; cf. Speet.]

1. To thrust a spit through; to fix upon a spit; hence, to thrust through or impale; as, to spit a loin of veal. "Infants spitted upon pikes." Shak.

2. To spade; to dig. [Prov. Eng.]

SPIT Spit, v. i.

Defn: To attend to a spit; to use a spit. [Obs.] She's spitting in the kitchen. Old Play.

SPIT Spit, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spit (Spat, archaic); p. pr. & vb. n. Spitting.] Etym: [AS. spittan; akin to G. spützen, Dan. spytte, Sw. spotta,Icel. sp, and prob. E. spew. The past tense spat is due to AS. sp, from sp to spit. Cf. Spat, n., Spew, Spawl, Spot, n.]

1. To eject from the mouth; to throw out, as saliva or other matter, from the mouth. "Thus spit I out my venom." Chaucer.

2. To eject; to throw out; to belch.

Note: Spitted was sometimes used as the preterit and the past participle. "He . . . shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on." Luke xviii. 32.

SPIT Spit, n.

Defn: The secretion formed by the glands of the mouth; spitle; saliva; sputum.

SPIT Spit, v. i.

1. To throw out saliva from the mouth.

2. To rain or snow slightly, or with sprinkles. It had been spitting with rain. Dickens. To spit on or upon, to insult grossly; to treat with contempt. "Spitting upon all antiquity." South.

SPITAL Spit"al, n. Etym: [Abbreviated from hospital.] [Written also spittle.]

Defn: A hospital. [Obs.] Shak.

SPITALHOUSE Spit"al*house`, n.

Defn: A hospital. [Obs.]

SPITBALL Spit"ball`, n.

Defn: Paper chewed, and rolled into a ball, to be thrown as a missile.

SPIT BALL Spit ball. (Baseball)

Defn: A pitched ball in throwing which the pitcher grips the ball between two, or three, fingers on one side (which is made slippery, as by saliva) and the thumb on the other side, and delivers it so that it slips off the fingers with the least possible friction. When pitched directly overhand a spit ball darts downward, when pitched with the arm extended sidewise it darts down and out. [Cant] — Spit baller.

SPITBOX Spit"box`, n.

Defn: A vessel to receive spittle.

SPITCHCOCK Spitch"cock`, v. t. Etym: [1st spit + cock.] (Cookery)

Defn: To split (as an eel) lengthwise, and broil it, or fry it in hot fat.

SPITCHCOCK Spitch"cock`, n. (Cookery)

Defn: An eel split and broiled.

SPITCHCOCKED Spitch"cocked`, a. (Cookery)

Defn: Broiled or fried after being split lengthwise; — said of eels.

SPIT CURL Spit" curl`.

Defn: A little lock of hair, plastered in a spiral form on the temple or forehead with spittle, or other adhesive substance. [Colloq.]

SPITE Spite, n. Etym: [Abbreviated fr. despite.]

1. Ill-will or hatred toward another, accompanied with the disposition to irritate, annoy, or thwart; petty malice; grudge; rancor; despite. Pope. This is the deadly spite that angers. Shak.

2. Vexation; chargrin; mortification. [R.] Shak. In spite of, or Spite of, in opposition to all efforts of; in defiance or contempt of; notwithstanding. "Continuing, spite of pain, to use a knee after it had been slightly ibnjured." H. Spenser. "And saved me in spite of the world, the devil, and myself." South. "In spite of all applications, the patient grew worse every day." Arbuthnot. See Syn. under Notwithstanding. — To owe one a spite, to entertain a mean hatred for him.

Syn. — Pique, rancor; malevolence; grudge. — Spite, Malice. Malice has more reference to the disposition, and spite to the manifestation of it in words and actions. It is, therefore, meaner than malice, thought not always more criminal. " Malice . . . is more frequently employed to express the dispositions of inferior minds to execute every purpose of mischief within the more limited circle of their abilities." Cogan. "Consider eke, that spite availeth naught." Wyatt. See Pique.

SPITE Spite, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spited; p. pr. & vb. n. Spiting.]

1. To be angry at; to hate. [Obs.] The Danes, then . . . pagans, spited places of religion. Fuller.

2. To treat maliciously; to try to injure or thwart.

3. To fill with spite; to offend; to vex. [R.] Darius, spited at the Magi, endeavored to abolish not only their learning, but their language. Sir. W. Temple.

SPITEFUL Spite"ful, a.

Defn: Filled with, or showing, spite; having a desire to vex, annoy, or injure; malignant; malicious; as, a spiteful person or act. Shak. — Spite"ful*ly, adv. Spite"ful*ness, n.

SPITFIRE Spit"fire`, n.

Defn: A violent, irascible, or passionate person. [Colloq.] Grose.

SPITFUL Spit"ful, n.; pl. Spitfuls (.

Defn: A spadeful. [Prov. Eng.]

SPITOUS Spit"ous, a.

Defn: Having spite; spiteful. [Obs.]

SPITOUSLY Spit"ous*ly, adv.

Defn: Spitefully. [Obs.] Chaucer.

SPITSCOCKED Spits"cocked`, a.

Defn: Spitchcocked.

SPITTED Spit"ted, a. Etym: [From Spit.]

1. Put upon a spit; pierced as if by a spit.

2. Shot out long; — said of antlers. Bacon.

SPITTED Spit"ted,

Defn: p. p. of Spit, v. i., to eject, to spit. [Obs.]

SPITTER Spit"ter, n. Etym: [See Spit to eject from the mouth.]

Defn: One who ejects saliva from the mouth.

SPITTER Spit"ter, n. Etym: [See Spit an iron prong.]

1. One who puts meat on a spit.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A young deer whose antlers begin to shoot or become sharp; a brocket, or pricket.

SPITTLE Spit"tle, n.

Defn: See Spital. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

SPITTLE Spit"tle, v. t. Etym: [See Spit to spade.]

Defn: To dig or stir with a small spade. [Prov. Eng.]

SPITTLE Spit"tle, n.

Defn: A small sort of spade. [Prov. Eng.]

SPITTLE Spit"tle, n. Etym: [From Spit to eject from the mouth: cf. Spattle, and AS. spatl.]

Defn: The thick, moist matter which is secreted by the salivary glands; saliva; spit. Spittle insect. (Zoöl.) See Cuckoo spit (b), under Cuckoo.

SPITTLY Spit"tly, a.

Defn: Like spittle; slimy. [Obs.]

SPITTOON Spit*toon", n.

Defn: A spitbox; a cuspidor.

SPIT-VENOM Spit"-ven"om, n.

Defn: Poison spittle; poison ejected from the mouth. [R.] Hooker.

SPITZ DOG Spitz" dog". Etym: [G. spitz, spitzhund.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A breed of dogs having erect ears and long silky hair, usually white; — called also Pomeranian dog, and louploup.

SPITZENBURGH Spitz"en*burgh, n.

Defn: A kind of red and yellow apple, of medium size and spicy flavor. It originated at Newtown, on Long Island.

SPLANCHNAPOPHYSIS Splanch`napoph"y*sis, n.; pl. Splanchnapophyses. Etym: [NL. See Splanchnic, and Apophysis.] (Anat.)

Defn: Any element of the skeleton in relation with the alimentary canal, as the jaws and hyoidean apparatus. — Splanch`nap`o*phys"i*al, a. Mivart.

SPLANCHNIC Splanch"nic, a. Etym: [Gr. (Anat.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to the viscera; visceral.

SPLANCHNOGRAPHY Splanch*nog"ra*phy, n. Etym: [Gr. -graphy.]

Defn: Splanchnology.

SPLANCHNOLOGY Splanch*nol"o*gy, n. Etym: [Gr. -logy.]

Defn: That part of anatomy which treats of the viscera; also, a treatise on the viscera.

SPLANCHNOPLEURE Splanch"no*pleure, n. Etym: [Gr. (Anat.)

Defn: The inner, or visceral, one of the two lamellæ into which the vertebrate blastoderm divides on either side of the notochord, and from which the walls of the enteric canal and the umbilical vesicle are developed. See Somatopleure. — Splanch`no*pleu"ric, a.

SPLANCHNO-SKELETON Splanch`no-skel"e*ton, n. Etym: [Gr. skeleton.] (Anat.)

Defn: That part of the skeleton connected with the sense organs and the viscera. Owen.

SPLANCHNOTOMY Splanch*not"o*my, n. Etym: [Gr.

Defn: The dissection, or anatomy, of the viscera.

SPLANDREL Splan"drel, n.

Defn: See Spandrel. [R.]

SPLASH Splash, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Splashed; p. pr. & vb. n. Splashing.] Etym: [Akin to plash.]

1. To strike and dash about, as water, mud, etc.; to plash.

2. To spatter water, mud, etc., upon; to wet.

SPLASH Splash, v. i.

Defn: To strike and dash about water, mud, etc.; to dash in such a way as to spatter.

SPLASH Splash, n.

1. Water, or water and dirt, thrown upon anything, or thrown from a puddle or the like; also, a spot or daub, as of matter which wets or disfigures.

2. A noise made by striking upon or in a liquid.

SPLASHBOARD Splash"board`, n.

Defn: A guard in the front part of vehicle, to prevent splashing by a mud or water from the horse's heels; — in the United States commonly called dashboard.

SPLASHER Splash"er, n.

1. One who, or that which, splashes.

2. One of the guarde over the wheels, as of a carriage, locomotive, etc. Weale.

3. A guard to keep off splashes from anything.

SPLASHY Splash"y, a.

Defn: Full of dirty water; wet and muddy, so as be easily splashed about; slushy.

SPLATTER Splat"ter, v. i. & t.

Defn: To spatter; to splash.

SPLATTERDASH Splat"ter*dash`, n .

Defn: Uproar. Jamieson.

SPLAY Splay, v. t. Etym: [Abbrev. of display.]

1. To display; to spread. [Obs.] "Our ensigns splayed." Gascoigne.

2. To dislocate, as a shoulder bone.

3. To spay; to castrate. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]

4. To turn on one side; to render oblique; to slope or slant, as the side of a door, window, etc. Oxf. Gloss.

SPLAY Splay, a.

Defn: Displayed; spread out; turned outward; hence, flat; ungainly; as, splay shoulders. Sonwthing splay, something blunt-edged, unhandy, and infelicitous. M. Arnold.

SPLAY Splay, a. (Arch.)

Defn: A slope or bevel, especially of the sides of a door or window, by which the opening is made larged at one face of the wall than at the other, or larger at each of the faces than it is between them.

SPLAYFOOT Splay"foot`, n.; pl. Splayfeet (.

Defn: A foot that is abnormally flattened and spread out; flat foot.

SPLAYFOOT; SPLAYFOOTED Splay"foot`, Splay"foot`ed a.

Defn: Having a splayfoot or splayfeet.

SPLAYMOUTH Splay"mouth`, n.; pl. Splaymouths (.

Defn: A wide mouth; a mouth stretched in derision. Dryden.

SPLAYMOUTHED Splay`mouthed", a.

Defn: Having a splaymouth. T. Brown.

SPLEEN Spleen, n. Etym: [L. splen, Gr. lien, plihan, plihan.]

1. (Anat.)

Defn: A peculiar glandlike but ductless organ found near the stomach or intestine of most vertebrates and connected with the vascular system; the milt. Its exact function in not known.

2. Anger; latent spite; ill humor; malice; as, to vent one's spleen. In noble minds some dregs remain, Not yet purged off, of spleen and sour disdain. Pope.

3. A fit of anger; choler. Shak.

4. A sudden motion or action; a fit; a freak; a whim. [Obs. or R.] A thousand spleens bear her a thousand ways. Shak.

5. Melancholy; hypochondriacal affections. Bodies changed to various forms by spleen. Pope. There is a luxury in self-dispraise: And inward self-disparagement affords To meditative spleen a grateful feast. Wordsworth.

6. A fit of immoderate laughter or merriment. [Obs.] Thy silly thought enforces my spleen. Shak.

SPLEEN Spleen, v. t.

Defn: To dislke. [Obs.] Bp. Hacket.

SPLEENED Spleened, a.

1. Deprived of the spleen.

2. Angered; annoyed. [Obs.] R. North.

SPLEENFUL Spleen"ful, a.

Defn: Displaying, or affected with, spleen; angry; fretful; melancholy. Myself have calmed their spleenful mutiny. Shak. Then rode Geraint, a little spleenful yet, Across the bridge that spann'd the dry ravine. Tennyson.

SPLEENISH Spleen"ish, a.

Defn: Spleeny; affected with spleen; fretful. — Spleen"ish*ly, adv. — Spleen"ish*ness, n.

SPLEENLESS Spleen"less, a.

Defn: Having no spleen; hence, kind; gentle; mild. [Obs.] Chapman.

SPLEENWORT Spleen"wort`, n. Etym: [Spleen + wort; cf. L. splenium, asplenium, Gr. (Bot.)

Defn: Any fern of the genus Asplenium, some species of which were anciently used as remedies for disorders of the spleen.

SPLEENY Spleen"y, a.

1. Irritable; peevish; fretful. Spleeny Lutheran, and not wholesome to Our cause. Shak.

2. Affected with nervous complaints; melancholy.

SPLEGET Spleg"et, n. Etym: [Cf. Pledget.] (Med.)

Defn: A cloth dipped in a liquid for washing a sore. Crabb.

SPLENALGIA Sple*nal"gi*a, n. Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Med.)

Defn: Pain over the region of the spleen.

SPLENCULUS Splen"cu*lus, n.; pl. Splenculi. Etym: [NL., dim. of L. splen.] (Anat.)

Defn: A lienculus.

SPLENDENT Splen"dent, a. Etym: [L. splendens, -entis, p. pr. of splendere to shine.]

1. Shining; glossy; beaming with light; lustrous; as, splendent planets; splendent metals. See the Note under 3d Luster, 4.

2. Very conspicuous; illustrious. "Great and splendent fortunes." Sir H. Wotton.

SPLENDID Splen"did, a. Etym: [L. splendidus, fr. splendere shine; cf. Lith. splendëti: cf. F. splendide.]

1. Possessing or displaying splendor; shining; very bright; as, a splendid sun.

2. Showy; magnificent; sumptuous; pompous; as, a splendid palace; a splendid procession or pageant.

3. Illustrious; heroic; brilliant; celebrated; famous; as, a splendid victory or reputation.

SPLENDIDIOUS Splen*did"i*ous, a.

Defn: Splendid. [Obs.]

SPLENDIDLY Splen"did*ly, adv.

Defn: In a splendid manner; magnificently.

SPLENDIDNESS Splen"did*ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being splendid.

SPLENDIDOUS Splen"did*ous, a.

Defn: Splendid. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

SPLENDIFEROUS Splen*dif"er*ous, a.

Defn: Splendor-bearing; splendid. Bale (1538). "A splendiferous woman." Haliburton. [Now used humorously.]

SPLENDOR Splen"dor, n.Etym: [L. fr. splendere to shine: cf. F. splendeur.]

1. Great brightness; brilliant luster; brilliancy; as, the splendor ot the sun. B. Jonson.

2. Magnifience; pomp; parade; as, the splendor of equipage, ceremonies, processions, and the like. "Rejoice in splendor of mine own." Shak.

3. Brilliancy; glory; as, the splendor of a victory.

Syn. — Luster; brilliancy; magnifience; gorgeousness; display; showiness; pomp; parade; grandeur.

SPLENDROUS; SPLENDOROUS Splen"drous, Splen"dor*ous, a.

Defn: Splendid. Drayton.

SPLENETIC Splen"e*tic, a. Etym: [L. spleneticus: cf. F. splénétique. See Spleen.]

Defn: Affected with spleen; malicious; spiteful; peevish; fretful. "Splenetic guffaw." G. Eliot. You humor me when I am sick; Why not when I am splenetic Pope.

Syn. — Morese; gloomy; sullen; peevish; fretful.

SPLENETIC Splen"e*tic, n.

Defn: A person affected with spleen.

SPLENETICAL Sple*net"ic*al, a.

Defn: Splenetic.

SPLENETICALLY Sple*net"ic*al*ly, adv.

Defn: In a splenetical manner.

SPLENIAL Sple"ni*al, a. Etym: [L. splenium a plaster, a patch, Gr. (Anat.) (a) Designating the splenial bone. (b) Of or pertaining to the splenial bone or splenius muscle. Splenial bone (Anat.), a thin splintlike bone on the inner side of the proximal portion of the mandible of many vertebrates.

SPLENIAL Sple"ni*al, n. (Anat.)

Defn: The splenial bone.

SPLENIC Splen"ic, a. Etym: [L. splenicus, Gr. splénique.] (Anat.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to the spleen; lienal; as, the splenic vein. Splenic apoplexy or fever. (Med.) See Anthrax, n., 3.

SPLENICAL Splen"ic*al, a.

Defn: Splenic.

SPLENISH Splen"ish, a.

Defn: Spleenish. [Obs.] Drayton.

SPLENITIS Sple*ni"tis, n.Etym: [NL., fr. Gr. (Med.)

Defn: Inflammation of the spleen.

SPLENITIVE Splen"i*tive, a.

Defn: Splenetic. Shak. Even and smooth as seemed the temperament of the nonchalant, languid Virginian — not splenitive or rash. T. N. Page.

SPLENIUM Sple"ni*um, n.Etym: [L., a plaster, a patch, from Gr. (Anat.)

Defn: The thickened posterior border of the corpus callosum; — so called in allusion to its shape.

SPLENIUS Sple"ni*us, n. Etym: [NL.] (Anat.)

Defn: A flat muscle of the back of the neck.

SPLENIZATION Splen`i*za"tion, n. (Med.)

Defn: A morbid state of the lung produced by inflammation, in which its tissue resembles that of the spleen.

SPLENOCELE Splen"o*cele, n. Etym: [Gr. (Med.)

Defn: Hernia formed by the spleen.

SPLENOGRAPHY Sple*nog"ra*phy, n. Etym: [Gr. -graphy.]

Defn: A description of the spleen.

SPLENOID Sple"noid, a.Etym: [Gr. -oid.] (Anat.)

Defn: Resembling the spleen; spleenlike.

SPLENOLOGY Sple*nol"o*gy, n. Etym: [Gr. -logy.]

Defn: The branch of science which treats of the spleen.

SPLENOTOMY Sple*not"o*my, n. Etym: [Gr. (a) (Anat.) Dissection or anatomy of the spleen. (b) (Med.) An incision into the spleen; removal of the spleen by incision.

SPLENT Splent, n.

1. See Splent.

2. See Splent coal, below. Splent coal, an inferior kind of cannel coal from Scotch collieries; — called also splent, splint, and splint coal.

SPLEUCHAN Spleu"chan, n. Etym: [Gael. spliuchan.]

Defn: A pouch, as for tobacco. [Scot.] Sir W. Scott.

SPLICE Splice, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spliced; p. pr. & vb. n. Splicing.] Etym: [D. splitsen, splitten; akin to G. splissen, Sw. splissa, Dan. splisse, and E. split; — from the dividing or splitting the ends into separate strands. See Split, v. t.]

1. To unite, as two ropes, or parts of a rope, by a particular manner of interweaving the strands, — the union being between two ends, or between an end and the body of a rope.

2. To unite, as spars, timbers, rails, etc., by lapping the two ends together, or by applying a piece which laps upon the two ends, and then binding, or in any way making fast.

3. To unite in marrige. [Slang] Splice grafting.ee under Grafting. — To splice the main brace (Naut.), to give out, or drink, an extra allowance of spirits on occasion of special exposure to wet or cold, or to severe fatigue; hence, to take a dram.

SPLICE Splice, n.

Defn: A junction or joining made by splicing.

SPLINE Spline, n.

1. A rectangular piece fitting grooves like key seats in a hub and a shaft, so that while the one may slide endwise on the other, both must revolve together; a feather; also, sometimes, a groove to receive such a rectangular piece.

2. A long, flexble piece of wood sometimes used as a ruler.

SPLINING Splin"ing, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to a spline. Splining machine, a machine tool for cutting grooves, key seats, or slots; a slotting machine.

SPLINT Splint, n. Etym: [Akin to D. splinter,G. splinter, splitter, Dan. splint, Sw. splint a kind of spike, a forelock (in nautical use), Sw. splintato splint, splinter, Dan. splinte, and E. split. See Split, v. t., and cf. Splent.]

1. A piece split off; a splinter.

2. (Surg.)

Defn: A thin piece of wood, or other substance, used to keep in place, or protect, an injured part, especially a broken bone when set.

3. (Anat.)

Defn: A splint bone.

4. (Far.)

Defn: A disease affecting the splint bones, as a callosity or hard excrescence.

5. (Anc. Armor.)

Defn: One of the small plates of metal used in making splint armor. See Splint armor, below. The knees and feet were defended by splints, or thin plates of steel. Sir. W. Scott.

6. Splint, or splent, coal. See Splent coal, under Splent. Splint armor,a kind of ancient armor formed of thin plates of metal, usually overlapping each other and allowing the limbs to move freely. — Splint bone (Anat.), one of the rudimentary, splintlike metacarpal or metatarsal bones on either side of the cannon bone in the limbs of the horse and allied animals. — Splint coal. See Splent coal, under Splent.

SPLINT Splint, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Splinted; p. pr. & vb. n. Splinting.]

Defn: To split into splints, or thin, slender pieces; to splinter; to shiver. [Obs. or R.] Florio.

2. To fasten or confine with splints, as a broken limb. See Splint, n., 2. [R.] Shak.

SPLINTER Splin"ter, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Splintered; p. pr. & vb. n. Splintering.] Etym: [Cf. LG. splittern, splinteren. See Splint, n., Split.]

1. To split or rend into long, thin pieces; to shiver; as, the lightning splinters a tree. After splintering their lances, they wheeled about, and . . . abandoned the field to the enemy. Prescott.

2. To fasten or confine with splinters, or splints, as a broken limb. Bp. Wren.

SPLINTER Splin"ter, v. i.

Defn: To become split into long pieces.

SPLINTER Splin"ter, n. Etym: [See Splinter, v., or Splint, n.]

Defn: A thin piece split or rent off lengthwise, as from wood, bone, or other solid substance; a thin piece; a sliver; as, splinters of a ship's mast rent off by a shot.

Splinter bar. (a) A crossbar in a coach, which supports the springs. (b) The bar to which the traces are attached; a roller bolt; a whiffletree.

SPLINTERPROOF Splin"ter*proof` (splîn"ter*proof`), a. (Mil.)

Defn: Proof against the splinters, or fragments, of bursting shells.

SPLINTERY Splin"ter*y (-y), a.

Defn: Consisting of splinters; resembling splinters; as, the splintery fracture of a mineral.

SPLIT Split (splît), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Split (Splitted, R.); p. pr. & vb. n. Splitting.] Etym: [Probably of Scand. or Low german origin; cf. Dan. splitte, LG. splitten, OD. splitten, spletten, D. splijten, G. spleissen, MHG. splizen. Cf. Splice, Splint, Splinter.]

1. To divide lengthwise; to separate from end to end, esp. by force; to divide in the direction of the grain layers; to rive; to cleave; as, to split a piece of timber or a board; to split a gem; to split a sheepskin. Cold winter split the rocks in twain. Dryden.

2. To burst; to rupture; to rend; to tear asunder. A huge vessel of exceeding hard marble split asunder by congealed water. Boyle.

3. To divide or break up into parts or divisions, as by discord; to separate into parts or parties, as a political party; to disunite. [Colloq.] South.

4. (Chem.)

Defn: To divide or separate into components; — often used with up; as, to split up sugar into alcohol and carbonic acid. To split hairs, to make distinctions of useless nicety.

SPLIT Split, v. i.

1. To part asunder; to be rent; to burst; as, vessels split by the freezing of water in them.

2. To be broken; to be dashed to pieces. The ship splits on the rock. Shak.

3. To separate into parties or factions. [Colloq.]

4. To burst with laughter. [Colloq.] Each had a gravity would make you split. Pope.

5. To divulge a secret; to betray confidence; to peach. [Slang] Thackeray. To split on a rock, to err fatally; to have the hopes and designs frustrated.

SPLIT Split, n.

Defn: A crack, or longitudinl fissure.

2. A breach or separation, as in a political party; a division. [Colloq.]

3. A piece that is split off, or made thin, by splitting; a splinter; a fragment.

4. Specif (Leather Manuf.), one of the sections of a skin made by dividing it into two or more thicknesses.

5. (Faro)

Defn: A division of a stake happening when two cards of the kind on which the stake is laid are dealt in the same turn.

SPLIT Split, a.

1. Divided; cleft.

2. (Bot.)

Defn: Divided deeply; cleft. Split pease, hulled pease split for making soup, etc. — Split pin (Mach.), a pin with one end split so that it may be spread open to secure it in its place. — Split pulley, a parting pulley. See under Pulley. — Split ring, a ring with overlapped or interlocked ends which may be sprung apart so that objects, as keys, may be strung upon the ring or removed from it. — Split ticket, a ballot containing the names of only a portion of the candidates regularly nominated by one party, other names being substituted for those omitted. [U.S.]

SPLIT DYNAMOMETER Split dynamometer. (Elec.)

Defn: An electric dynamometer having two coils so arranged that one carries the primary current, and the other the secondary current, of a transformer.

SPLITFEET Split"feet`, n. pl. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The Fissipedia.

SPLIT INFINITIVE Split infinitive. (Gram.)

Defn: A simple infinitive with to, having a modifier between the verb and the to; as in, to largely decrease. Called also cleft infinitive.

SPLIT KEY Split key. (Mach.)

Defn: A key split at one end like a split pin, for the same purpose.

SPLIT SHOT; SPLIT STROKE Split shot or stroke .

Defn: In croquet, etc., a shot or stroke in which one drives in different directions one's own and the opponent's ball placed in contact.

SPLIT STITCH Split stitch.

Defn: A stitch used in stem work to produce a fine line, much used in old church embroidery to work the hands and faces of figures.

SPLIT STUFF Split stuff.

Defn: Timber sawn into lengths and then split.

SPLIT SWITCH Split switch. (Railroading)

Defn: = Point switch.

SPLIT-TAIL Split"-tail`, n. (Zoöl.) (a) A california market fish (Pogonichthys macrolepidotus) belonging to the Carp family. (b) The pintail duck.

SPLITTER Split"ter, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, splits.

SPLIT-TONGUED Split"-tongued`, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Having a forked tongue, as that of snakes and some lizards.

SPLIT WHEEL Split wheel.

Defn: = Split pulley.

SPLOTCH Splotch, n. Etym: [Cf. Splash.]

Defn: A spot; a stain; a daub. R. Browning.

SPLOTCHY Splotch"y, a.

Defn: Covered or marked with splotches.

SPLURGE Splurge, n.

Defn: A blustering demonstration, or great effort; a great display. [Slang, U.S.] Bartlett.

SPLURGE Splurge, v. i.

Defn: To make a great display in any way, especially in oratory. [Slang, U.S.] splurge on a new hi-fi system.

SPLUTTER Splut"ter, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Spluttered; p. pr. & vb. n. Spluttering.] Etym: [Prov. E. splutter, eqivalent to sputter. Cf. Sputter.]

Defn: To speak hastily and confusedly; to sputter. [Colloq.] Carleton.

SPLUTTER Splut"ter, n.

Defn: A confused noise, as of hasty speaking. [Colloq.]

SPLUTTERER Splut"ter*er, n.

Defn: One who splutters.

SPODOMANCY Spod"o*man`cy, n. Etym: [Gr. spodo`s ashes + -mancy.]

Defn: Divination by means of ashes.

SPODOMANTIC Spod`o*man"tic, a.

Defn: Relating to spodomancy, or divination by means of ashes. C. Kingsley.

SPODUMENE Spod"u*mene, n. Etym: [Gr. spodo`s ashes; cf. F. spodumène.] (Min.)

Defn: A mineral of a white to yellowish, purplish, or emerald-green color, occuring in prismatic crystals, often of great size. It is a silicate of aluminia and lithia. See Hiddenite.

SPOFFISH Spof"fish, a. Etym: [probably from Prov. E. spoffle to be spoffish.]

Defn: Earnest and active in matters of no moment; bustling. [Colloq. Eng.] Dickens.

SPOIL Spoil (, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spoiled or Spoilt; p. pr. & vb. n. Spoiling.] Etym: [F. spolier, OF. espoilelier, fr. L. spoliare, fr. spolium spoil. Cf. Despoil, Spoliation.]

1. To plunder; to strip by violence; to pillage; to rob; — with of before the name of the thing taken; as, to spoil one of his goods or possession. "Ye shall spoil the Egyptians." Ex. iii. 22. My sons their old, unhappy sire despise, Spoiled of his kingdom, and deprived of eues. Pope.

2. To seize by violence;; to take by force; to plunder. No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man. Mark iii. 27.

3. To cause to decay and perish; to corrput; to vitiate; to mar. Spiritual pride spils many graces. Jer. Taylor.

4. To render useless by injury; to injure fatally; to ruin; to destroy; as, to spoil paper; to have the crops spoiled by insects; to spoil the eyes by reading.

SPOIL Spoil, v. i.

1. To practice plunder or robbery. Outlaws, which, lurking in woods, used to break forth to rob and spoil. Spenser.

2. To lose the valuable qualities; to be corrupted; to decay; as, fruit will soon spoil in warm weather.

SPOIL Spoil, n. Etym: [Cf. OF. espoille, L. spolium.]

1. That which is taken from another by violence; especially, the plunder taken from an enemy; pillage; booty. Gentle gales, Fanning their odoriferous wings, dispense Native perfumes, and whisper whence they stole Those balmy spoils. Milton.

2. Public offices and their emoluments regarded as the peculiar property of a successful party or faction, to be bestowed for its own advantage; — commonly in the plural; as to the victor belong the spoils. From a principle of gratitude I adhered to the coalition; my vote was counted in the day of battle, but I was overlooked in the division of the spoil. Gibbon.

3. That which is gained by strength or effort. each science and each art his spoil. Bentley.

4. The act or practice of plundering; robbery; aste. The man that hath no music in himself, Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds, Is fit for treason, stratagems, and spoil. Shak.

5. Corruption; cause of corruption. [Archaic] Villainous company hath been the spoil of me. Shak.

6. The slough, or cast skin, of a serpent or other animal. [Obs.] Bacon. Spoil bank, a bank formed by the earth taken from an excavation, as of a canal. — The spoils system, the theory or practice of regarding public and their emoluments as so much plunder to be distributed among their active partisans by those who are chosen to responsible offices of administration.

SPOILABLE Spoil"a*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being spoiled.

SPOILER Spoil"er, n.

1. One who spoils; a plunderer; a pillager; a robber; a despoiler.

2. One who corrupts, mars, or renders useless.

SPOILFIVE Spoil"five`, n.

Defn: A certain game at cards in which, if no player wins three of the five tricks possible on any deal, the game is said to be spoiled.

SPOILFUL Spoil"ful, a.

Defn: Wasteful; rapacious. [Poetic]

SPOILSMAN Spoils"man, n.; pl. Spoilsmen (.

Defn: One who serves a cause or a party for a share of the spoils; in United States politics, one who makes or recognizes a demand for public office on the ground of partisan service; also, one who sanctions such a policy in appointments to the public service.

SPOILSMONGER Spoils"mon`ger, n.

Defn: One who promises or distributes public offices and their emoluments as the price of services to a party or its leaders.

SPOKE Spoke,

Defn: imp. of Speak.

SPOKE Spoke, n. Etym: [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spaca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. sq. root170. Cf. Spike a nail.]

1. The radius or ray of a wheel; one of the small bars which are inserted in the hub, or nave, and which serve to support the rim or felly.

2. (Naut.)

Defn: A projecting handle of a steering wheel.

3. A rung, or round, of a ladder.

4. A contrivance for fastening the wheel of a vehicle, to prevent it from turning in going down a hill. To put a spoke in one's wheel, to thwart or obstruct one in the execution of some design.

SPOKE Spoke, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spoked; p. pr. & vb. n. Spoking.]

Defn: To furnish with spokes, as a wheel.

SPOKEN Spo"ken, a. Etym: [p.p. of Speak.]

1. Uttered in speech; delivered by word of mouth; oral; as, a spoken narrative; the spoken word.

2. Characterized by a certain manner or style in speaking; — often in composition; as, a pleasant-spoken man. Methinks you 're better spoken. Shak.

SPOKESHAVE Spoke"shave`, n.

Defn: A kind of drawing knife or planing tool for dressing the spokes of wheels, the shells of blocks, and other curved work.

SPOKESMAN Spokes"man, n.; pl. Spokesmen. Etym: [Speak, spoke + man.]

Defn: One who speaks for another. He shall be thy spokesman unto the people. Ex. iv. 16.

SPOLIATE Spo"li*ate, v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Spoliated; p. pr. & vb. n. Spoliating.] Etym: [L. spoliatus, p.p. of spoliare spoil. See Spoil, v. t.]

Defn: To plunder; to pillage; to despoil; to rob.

SPOLIATION Spo`li*a"tion, n. Etym: [L. spoliatio; cf. F. spoliation. See Spoil, v. t.]

1. The act of plundering; robbery; deprivation; despoliation. Legal spoliation, which will impoverish one part of the community in order to corrupt the remainder. Sir G. C. Lewis.

2. Robbery or plunder in war; especially, the authorized act or practice of plundering neutrals at sea.

3. (Eccl. Law) (a) The act of an incumbent in taking the fruits of his benefice without right, but under a pretended title. Blackstone. (b) A process for possession of a church in a spiritual court.

4. (Law)

Defn: Injury done to a document.

SPOLIATIVE Spo"li*a*tive, a. Etym: [Cf. F. spoliatif.]

Defn: Serving to take away, diminish, or rob; esp. (Med.), serving to diminish sensibily the amount of blood in the body; as, spoliative bloodletting.

SPOLIATOR Spo"li*a`tor, n.

Defn: One who spoliates; a spoiler.

SPOLIATORY Spo"li*a*to*ry, a.

Defn: Tending to spoil; destructive; spoliative.

SPONDAIC; SPONDAICAL Spon*da"ic, Spon*da"ic*al, a. Etym: [L. spondaicus, spondiacus, Gr. spondaïque.]

1. Or of pertaining to a spondee; consisting of spondees.

2. Containing spondees in excess; marked by spondees; as, a spondaic hexameter, i. e., one which has a spondee instead of a dactyl in the fifth foot.

SPONDEE Spon"dee, n. Etym: [L. spondeus, Gr. spondée. So called because at libations slow, solemn melodies were used, chiefly in this meter.] (pros.)

Defn: A poetic foot of two long syllables, as in the Latin word leges.

SPONDULICS Spon*du"lics, n.

Defn: Money. [Slang, U.S.] Bartlett.

SPONDYL; SPONDYLE Spon"dyl, Spon"dyle, n. Etym: [L. spondylus, Gr. spondyle.] (Anat.)

Defn: A joint of the backbone; a vertebra.

SPONG Spong, n. Etym: [Etymol. uncertain.]

Defn: An irregular, narrow, projecting part of a field. [Prov. Eng.]

SPONGE Sponge, n. Etym: [OF. esponge, F. éponge, L. spongia, Gr. Fungus, Spunk.] [Formerly written also spunge.]

1. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any one of numerous species of Spongiæ, or Porifera. See Illust. and Note under Spongiæ.

2. The elastic fibrous skeleton of many species of horny Spongiæ (keratosa), used for many purposes, especially the varieties of the genus Spongia. The most valuable sponges are found in the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, and on the coasts of Florida and the West Indies.

3. Fig.: One who lives upon others; a pertinaceous and indolent dependent; a parasite; a sponger.

4. Any spongelike substance. Specifically: (a) Dough before it is kneaded and formed into loaves, and after it is converted into a light, spongy mass by the agency of the yeast or leaven. (b) Iron from the puddling furnace, in a pasty condition. (c) Iron ore, in masses, reduced but not melted or worked.

5. (Gun.)

Defn: A mop for cleaning the bore of a cannon after a discharge. It consists of a cylinder of wood, covered with sheepskin with the wool on, or cloth with a heavy looped nap, and having a handle, or staff.

6. (Far.)

Defn: The extremity, or point, of a horseshoe, answering to the heel. Bath sponge, any one of several varieties of coarse commercial sponges, especially Spongia equina. — Cup sponge, a toilet sponge growing in a cup-shaped form. — Glass sponge. See Glass-sponge, in the Vocabulary. — Glove sponge, a variety of commercial sponge (Spongia officinalis, variety tubulufera), having very fine fibers, native of Florida, and the West Indies. — Grass sponge, any one of several varieties of coarse commercial sponges having the surface irregularly tufted, as Spongia graminea, and S. equina, variety cerebriformis, of Florida and the West Indies. — Horse sponge, a coarse commercial sponge, especially Spongia equina. — Platinum sponge. (Chem.) See under Platinum. — Pyrotechnical sponge, a substance made of mushrooms or fungi, which are boiled in water, dried, and beaten, then put in a strong lye prepared with saltpeter, and again dried in an oven. This makes the black match, or tinder, brought from Germany. — Sheep's-wool sponge, a fine and durable commercial sponge (Spongia equina, variety gossypina) found in Florida and the West Indies. The surface is covered with larger and smaller tufts, having the oscula between them. — Sponge cake, a kind of sweet cake which is light and spongy. — Sponge lead, or Spongy lead (Chem.), metallic lead brought to a spongy form by reduction of lead salts, or by compressing finely divided lead; — used in secondary batteries and otherwise. — Sponge tree (Bot.), a tropical leguminous tree (Acacia Farnesiana), with deliciously fragrant flowers, which are used in perfumery. — Toilet sponge, a very fine and superior variety of Mediterranean sponge (Spongia officinalis, variety Mediterranea); — called also turkish sponge. — To set a sponge (Cookery), to leaven a small mass of flour, to be used in leavening a larger quantity. — To throw up the sponge, to give up a contest; to acknowledge defeat; — from a custom of the prize ring, the person employed to sponge a pugilist between rounds throwing his sponge in the air in token of defeat. [Cant or Slang] "He was too brave a man to throw up the sponge to fate." Lowell. — Vegetable sponge. (Bot.) See Loof. — Velvet sponge, a fine, soft commercial sponge (Spongia equina, variety meandriniformis) found in Florida and the West Indies. — Vitreous sponge. See Glass-sponge. — Yellow sponge, a common and valuable commercial sponge (Spongia agaricina, variety corlosia) found in Florida and the West Indies.

SPONGE Sponge, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Sponged; p. pr. & vb. n. Sponging.]

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.