Chapter C: A. Young (2)

Spleen"ful (?), a. 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.

Spleen"ish, a. Spleeny; affected with spleen; fretful. -- Spleen"ish*ly, adv. -- Spleen"ish*ness, n.

Spleen"less, a. Having no spleen; hence, kind; gentle; mild. [Obs.] Chapman.

Spleen"wort` (?), n. [Spleen + wort; cf. L. splenium, asplenium, Gr. &?;&?;&?;&?;, &?;&?;&?;&?;, &?;&?;&?;. ] (Bot.) Any fern of the genus Asplenium, some species of which were anciently used as remedies for disorders of the spleen.

Spleen"y (?), a. 1. Irritable; peevish; fretful.

Spleeny Lutheran, and not wholesome to Our cause.

Shak.

2. Affected with nervous complaints; melancholy.

Spleg"et (?), n. [Cf. Pledget.] (Med.) A cloth dipped in a liquid for washing a sore. Crabb.

||Sple*nal"gi*a (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?;&?;&?; spleen + &?;&?;&?; ||pain.] (Med.) Pain over the region of the spleen.

||Splen"cu*lus (?), n.; pl. Splenculi (#). [NL., dim. of L. splen.] ||(Anat.) A lienculus.

Splen"dent (?), a. [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.

Splen"did (?), a. [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.

Splen*did"i*ous (?), a. Splendid. [Obs.]

Splen"did*ly (?), adv. In a splendid manner; magnificently.

Splen"did*ness, n. The quality of being splendid.

Splen"did*ous (?), a. Splendid. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

Splen*dif"er*ous (?), a. Splendor- bearing; splendid. Bale (1538). "A splendiferous woman." Haliburton. [Now used humorously.]

Splen"dor (?), n.[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.

{ Splen"drous (?), Splen"dor*ous (?) }, a. Splendid. Drayton.

Splen"e*tic (?), a. [L. spleneticus: cf. F. splénétique. See Spleen.] 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.

Splen"e*tic, n. A person affected with spleen.

Sple*net"ic*al (?), a. Splenetic.

Sple*net"ic*al*ly, adv. In a splenetical manner.

Sple"ni*al (?), a. [L. splenium a plaster, a patch, Gr. &?;&?;&?;&?; a bandage.] (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.

Sple"ni*al, n. (Anat.) The splenial bone.

Splen"ic (?), a. [L. splenicus, Gr. &?;&?;&?;&?;; cf. F. splénique.] (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the spleen; lienal; as, the splenic vein.

Splenic apoplexy or fever. (Med.) See Anthrax, n., 3.

Splen"ic*al (?), a. Splenic.

Splen"ish, a. Spleenish. [Obs.] Drayton.

||Sple*ni"tis (?), n.[NL., fr. Gr. &?;&?;&?;&?; of the spleen.] (Med.) ||Inflammation of the spleen.

Splen"i*tive (?), a. Splenetic. Shak.

Even and smooth as seemed the temperament of the nonchalant,
languid Virginian -- not splenitive or rash.

T. N. Page.

||Sple"ni*um (?), n.[L., a plaster, a patch, from Gr. &?;&?;&?;&?; a ||bandage, compress.] (Anat.) The thickened posterior border of the ||corpus callosum; -- so called in allusion to its shape.

||Sple"ni*us (?), n. [NL.] (Anat.) A flat muscle of the back of the ||neck.

Splen`i*za"tion (?), n. (Med.) A morbid state of the lung produced by inflammation, in which its tissue resembles that of the spleen.

Splen"o*cele (?), n. [Gr. &?;&?;&?;&?; spleen + &?;&?;&?; a tumor.] (Med.) Hernia formed by the spleen.

Sple*nog"ra*phy (?), n. [Gr. &?;&?;&?; spleen + -graphy.] A description of the spleen.

Sple"noid (?), a.[Gr. &?;&?;&?; spleeen + -oid.] (Anat.) Resembling the spleen; spleenlike.

Sple*nol"o*gy (?), n. [Gr. &?;&?;&?; spleen + -logy.] The branch of science which treats of the spleen.

Sple*not"o*my (?), n. [Gr. &?;&?;&?; spleen + &?;&?;&?; to cut.] (a) (Anat.) Dissection or anatomy of the spleen. (b) (Med.) An incision into the spleen; removal of the spleen by incision.

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.

Spleu"chan (?), n. [Gael. spliuchan.] A pouch, as for tobacco. [Scot.] Sir W. Scott.

Splice (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spliced (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Splicing (?).] [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, n. A junction or joining made by splicing.

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.

Splin"ing, a. Of or pertaining to a spline.

Splining machine, a machine tool for cutting grooves, key seats, or slots; a slotting machine.

Splint (?), n. [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.) 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.) A splint bone.

4. (Far.) A disease affecting the splint bones, as a callosity or hard excrescence.

5. (Anc. Armor.) 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, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Splinted; p. pr. & vb. n. Splinting.] 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.

Splin"ter (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Splintered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Splintering.] [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.

Splin"ter, v. i. To become split into long pieces.

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

<! p. 1390 !>

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.

Splin"ter*proof` (spln"tr*prf`), a. (Mil.) Proof against the splinters, or fragments, of bursting shells.

Splin"ter*y (-), a. Consisting of splinters; resembling splinters; as, the splintery fracture of a mineral.

Split (splt), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Split (Splitted, R.); p. pr. & vb. n. Splitting.] [Probably of Scand. or Low german origin; cf. Dan. splitte, LG. splitten, OD. splitten, spletten, D. splijten, G. spleissen, MHG. splzen. 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.) 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, 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.

6. (Blackjack) to divide one hand of blackjack into two hands, allowed when the first two cards dealt to a player have the same value.

To split on a rock, to err fatally; to have the hopes and designs frustrated.

Split, n. A crack, or longitudinal 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) A division of a stake happening when two cards of the kind on which the stake is laid are dealt in the same turn.

6. (Finance) the substitution of more than one share of a corporation's stock for one share. The market price of the stock usually drops in proportion to the increase in outstanding shares of stock. The split may be in any ratio, as a two-for-one split; a three-for-two split.

7. (Blackjack) the division by a player of one hand of blackjack into two hands, allowed when the first two cards dealt to a player have the same value; the player is usually obliged to increase the amount wagered by placing a sum equal to the original bet on the new hand thus created.

Split, a. 1. Divided; cleft.

2. (Bot.) 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"feet` (?), n. pl. (Zoöl.) The Fissipedia.

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

Split"ter (?), n. One who, or that which, splits.

Split"-tongued` (?), a. (Zoöl.) Having a forked tongue, as that of snakes and some lizards.

Splotch (?), n. [Cf. Splash.] A spot; a stain; a daub. R. Browning.

Splotch"y (?), a. Covered or marked with splotches.

Splurge (?), n. A blustering demonstration, or great effort; a great display. [Slang, U.S.] Bartlett.

Splurge, v. i. To make a great display in any way, especially in oratory. [Slang, U.S.]

Splut"ter (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Spluttered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Spluttering.] [Prov. E. splutter, eqivalent to sputter. Cf. Sputter.] To speak hastily and confusedly; to sputter. [Colloq.] Carleton.

Splut"ter, n. A confused noise, as of hasty speaking. [Colloq.]

Splut"ter*er (?), n. One who splutters.

Spod"o*man`cy (?), n. [Gr. spodo`s ashes + -mancy.] Divination by means of ashes.

Spod`o*man"tic (?), a. Relating to spodomancy, or divination by means of ashes. C. Kingsley.

Spod"u*mene (?; 135), n. [Gr. &?;, p. pr. pass. from &?; to burn to ashes, from spodo`s ashes; cf. F. spodumène.] (Min.) 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.

Spof"fish (?), a. [probably from Prov. E. spoffle to be spoffish.] Earnest and active in matters of no moment; bustling. [Colloq. Eng.] Dickens.

Spoil (?) (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spoiled (#) or Spoilt (#); p. pr. & vb. n. Spoiling.] [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 spoils 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 (?), 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, n. [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.

Spoil"a*ble (?), a. Capable of being spoiled.

Spoil"er (?), n. 1. One who spoils; a plunderer; a pillager; a robber; a despoiler.

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

Spoil"five` (?), n. 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.

Spoil"ful (?), a. Wasteful; rapacious. [Poetic]

Spoils"man (?), n.; pl. Spoilsmen (&?;). 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.

Spoils"mon`ger (?), n. One who promises or distributes public offices and their emoluments as the price of services to a party or its leaders.

Spoke (?), imp. of Speak.

Spoke, n. [OE. spoke, spake, AS, spca; akin to D. speek, LG. speke, OHG. speihha, G. speiche. &radic;170. 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.) 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, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spoked (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Spoking.] To furnish with spokes, as a wheel.

Spo"ken (?), a. [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.

Spoke"shave` (?), n. A kind of drawing knife or planing tool for dressing the spokes of wheels, the shells of blocks, and other curved work.

Spokes"man (?), n.; pl. Spokesmen (#). [Speak, spoke + man.] One who speaks for another.

He shall be thy spokesman unto the people.

Ex. iv. 16.

Spo"li*ate (?), v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Spoliated (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Spoliating (?).] [L. spoliatus, p. p. of spoliare spoil. See Spoil, v. t.] To plunder; to pillage; to despoil; to rob.

Spo`li*a"tion (?), n. [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) Injury done to a document.

Spo"li*a*tive (?), a. [Cf. F. spoliatif.] Serving to take away, diminish, or rob; esp. (Med.), serving to diminish sensibily the amount of blood in the body; as, spoliative bloodletting.

Spo"li*a`tor (?), n. One who spoliates; a spoiler.

Spo"li*a*to*ry (?), a. Tending to spoil; destructive; spoliative.

{ Spon*da"ic (?), Spon*da"ic*al (?) }, a. [L. spondaicus, spondiacus, Gr. &?;: cf. F. 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.

Spon"dee (?), n. [L. spondeus, Gr. &?; (sc. &?;), fr. &?; a drink offering, libation, fr. &?; to pour out, make a libation: cf. F. spondée. So called because at libations slow, solemn melodies were used, chiefly in this meter.] (pros.) A poetic foot of two long syllables, as in the Latin word lgs.

Spon*du"lics (?), n. Money. [Slang, U.S.] Bartlett.

{ Spon"dyl, Spon"dyle } (?), n. [L. spondylus, Gr. &?;, &?;: cf. F. spondyle.] (Anat.) A joint of the backbone; a vertebra.

Spong (?), n. [Etymol. uncertain.] An irregular, narrow, projecting part of a field. [Prov. Eng.]

Sponge (?), n. [OF. esponge, F. éponge, L. spongia, Gr. &?;, &?;. Cf. Fungus, Spunk.] [Formerly written also spunge.] 1. (Zoöl.) 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.) 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.) 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, 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, 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.

Sponge"let (?), n. See Spongiole.

Spon"geous (?), a. [See Spongious.] Resembling sponge; having the nature or qualities of sponge.

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.

<! p. 1391 !>

||Spon"gi*æ (?), n. pl. [See Sponge.] (Zoöl.) The grand division of the ||animal kingdom which includes the sponges; -- called also Spongida, ||Spongiaria, Spongiozoa, and Porifera.

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.

||Spon"gi*da (?), n. pl. [NL.] Spongiæ.

Spon"gi*form (?), a. Resembling a sponge; soft and porous; porous.

||Spon*gil"la (?), n. [NL., dim. of spongia a sponge.] (Zoöl.) A genus ||of siliceous spongea found in fresh water.

Spon"gin (?), n. (Physiol. Chem.) The chemical basis of sponge tissue, a nitrogenous, hornlike substance which on decomposition with sulphuric acid yields leucin and glycocoll.

Spon"gi*ness (?), n. The quality or state of being spongy. Dr. H. More.

Spon"ging (?), 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.

Spon"gi*ole (?; 277), n. [L. spongiola a rose gall, small roots, dim. of spongia: cf. F. spongiole.] (Bot.) A supposed spongelike expansion of the tip of a rootlet for absorbing water; -- called also spongelet.

Spon"gi*o*lite (?), n. [Gr. &?; sponge + -lite.] (Paleon.) One of the microsporic siliceous spicules which occur abundantly in the texture of sponges, and are sometimes found fossil, as in flints.

Spon`gi*o*pi"lin (?), n. [Gr. &?;, dim. of &?; a sponge + &?; felt.] (Med.) 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.

{ Spon"gi*ose` (?), Spon"gi*ous (?) }, a. [L. spongious, spongeosus: cf. F. spongieux. See Sponge.] Somewhat spongy; spongelike; full of small cavities like sponge; as, spongious bones.

||Spon`gi*o*zo"a (?), n. pl. [NL., Gr. &?; sponge + &?; an animal.] ||(Zoöl.) See Sponglæ.

Spon"go*blast (?), n. [Gr. &?; sponge + -blast.] (Zoöl.) One of the cells which, in sponges, secrete the spongin, or the material of the horny fibers.

Spon"goid (?; 277), a. [Gr. &?; sponge + -oid.] Resembling sponge; like sponge.

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 (?), n. See Spunk.

Spon"sal (?), a. [L. sponsalis, fr. sponsus a betrothal, fr. spondere, sponsum, to betroth. See Spouse, and cf. Esousal, Spousal.] Relating to marriage, or to a spouse; spousal.

Spon"si*ble (?), a. [Abbrev. from responsible.] responsible; worthy of credit. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]

Spon"sion (?), n. [L. sonsio, fr. spondere, sponsum, to promise solemnly.] 1. The act of becoming surety for another.

2. (Internat. Law) 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.

Spon"sion*al (?), a. 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.

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.

Spon"sor (?), n. [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 professes the Christian faith in its name, and guarantees its religious education; a godfather or godmother.

Spon*so"ri*al (?), a. Pertaining to a sponsor.

Spon"sor*ship (?), n. State of being a sponsor.

Spon`ta*ne"i*ty (?), n.; pl. Spontaneities (#). [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.

Spon*ta"ne*ous (?), a. [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.

Spon*toon" (?), n. [F. sponton, esponton, it. spontone, spuntone.] (Mil.) 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 (?), n. [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.) The chimæra.

Spool (?), n. [OE. spole, OD. spoele, D. spoel; akin to G. spule, OHG. spuola, Dan. & Sw. spole.] 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, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spooled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Spooling.] To wind on a spool or spools.

Spool"er (?), n. One who, or that which, spools.

Spoom (?), v. i. [Probably fr. spum foam. See Spume.] (Naut.) 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 (spn), v. i. (Naut.) See Spoom. [Obs.]

We might have spooned before the wind as well as they.

Pepys.

Spoon, n. [OE. spon, AS. spn, a chip; akin to D. spaan, G. span, Dan. spaan, Sw. spån, Icel. spánn, spónn, a chip, a spoon. &radic;170. 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, v. t. To take up in, or as in, a spoon.

Spoon, v. i. To act with demonstrative or foolish fondness, as one in love. [Colloq.]

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.

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` (?), a. (Zoöl.) Having the bill expanded and spatulate at the end.

Spoon"drift (?), n. [Spoom + drift.] Spray blown from the tops waves during a gale at sea; also, snow driven in the wind at sea; -- written also spindrift.

Spoon"ey (?), a. Weak-minded; demonstratively fond; as, spooney lovers. [Spelt also spoony.] [Colloq.]

Spoon"ey, n.; pl. Spooneye (&?;). 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.

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.

Spoon"i*ly (?), adv. In a spoony manner.

Spoon"-meat` (?), n. Food that is, or must be, taken with a spoon; liquid food. "Diet most upon spoon-meats." Harvey.

Spoon"wood` (?), n. (Bot.) The mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia).

Spoon"worm` (?), n. (Zoöl.) A gephyrean worm of the genus Thalassema, having a spoonlike probiscis.

Spoon"wort` (?), n. (Bot.) Scurvy grass.

Spoon"y (?), a. & n. Same as Spooney.

Spoor (?), n. [D. spoor; akin to AS. spor, G. spur, and from the root of E. spur. &radic;171. See Spur.] The track or trail of any wild animal; as, the spoor of an elephant; -- used originally by travelers in South Africa.

Spoor, v. i. To follow a spoor or trail. [R.]

||Spor"a*des (?), n. pl. [L., fr. Gr. spora`des. Cf. Sporadic.] ||(Astron.) Stars not included in any constellation; -- called also ||informed, or unformed, stars.

Spo*ra"di*al (?), a. Sporadic. [R.]

Spo*rad"ic (?), a. [Gr. &?; scattered, fr. &?;, &?;, scattered, fr. &?; to sow seed, to scatter like seed: cf. F. sporadique. See Spore.] 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.

Spo*rad"ic*al (?), a. Sporadic.

Spo*rad"ic*al*ly, adv. In a sporadic manner.

Spo*ran"gi*o*phore (?), n. [Sporangium + Gr. &?; to bear.] (Bot.) The axis or receptacle in certain ferns (as Trichomanes), which bears the sporangia.

||Spo*ran"gi*um (?), n.; pl. Sporangia (#). [NL., fr. Gr. &?; a sowing, ||seed + &?; a receptacle.] (Bot.) A spore case in the cryptogamous ||plants, as in ferns, etc.

Spore (?), n. [Gr. &?; a sowing, seed, from &?; to sow. Cf. Sperm.] 1. (Bot.) (a) One of the minute grains in flowerless plants, which are analogous to seeds, as serving to reproduce the species.

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.

Spo"rid (?), n. (Bot.) A sporidium. Lindley.

Spo`ri*dif"er*ous (?), a. [Sporidium + -ferous.] (Bot.) Bearing sporidia.

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

Spo*rif"er*ous (?), a. [Spore + -ferous.] (Biol.) Bearing or producing spores.

Spo`ri*fi*ca"tion (?), n. [Spore + L. -ficare (in comp.) to make. See -fy.] (Biol.) Spore formation. See Spore formation (b), under Spore.

Spo"ro*carp (?), n. [Spore + Gr. &?; fruit.] (Bot.) (a) A closed body or conceptacle containing one or more masses of spores or sporangia. (b) A sporangium.

Spo"ro*cyst (?), n. [Gr. &?; seed + &?; bladder.] 1. (Zoöl.) 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.) Any protozoan when it becomes encysted produces germs by sporulation.

Spo`ro*gen"e*sis (?), n. [Spore + genesis.] (Biol.) reproduction by spores.

Spo*rog"o*ny (?), n. [Spore + root of Gr. &?; to be born.] (Zoöl.) The growth or development of an animal or a zooid from a nonsexual germ.

Spo"ro*phore (?), n. [Spore + Gr. &?; to bear.] (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.

Spo`ro*phor"ic (?), a. (Bot.) Having the nature of a sporophore.

<! p. 1392 !>

Spo"ro*sac (?), n. [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.

||Spo`ro*zo"a (?), n. pl. [NL., from Gr. spo`ros a spore + zo^,on an ||animal.] (Zoöl.) An extensive division of parasitic Protozoa, which ||increase by sporulation. It includes the Gregarinida.

Spo`ro*zo"id (?), n. [Spore + Gr. &?; an animal.] (Bot.) Same as Zoöspore.

Spor"ran (spr"ran), n. [Gael. sporan.] 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 (sprt), n. [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.) 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, 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.) 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, 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.

Sport`a*bil"i*ty (?), n. Sportiveness. [Obs.]

Sport"al (?), a. Of or pertaining to sports; used in sports. [R.] "Sportal arms." Dryden.

Sport"er (?), n. One who sports; a sportsman.

As this gentleman and I have been old fellow sporters, I have a
frienship for him.

Goldsmith.

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.

Sport"ing, a. 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.

Sport"ing*ly, adv. In sport; sportively.

The question you there put, you do it, I suppose, but sportingly.

Hammond.

Sport"ive (?), a. 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.

Sport"less, a. Without sport or mirth; joyless.

Sport"ling (?), n. A little person or creature engaged in sports or in play.

When again the lambkins play -- Pretty sportlings, full of May.

Philips.

Sports"man (?), n.;pl. Sportsmen (&?;). One who pursues the sports of the field; one who hunts, fishes, etc.

Sports"man*ship, n. The practice of sportsmen; skill in field sports.

||Spor"tu*la (?), n.; pl. Sportulæ (&?;). [L.] 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.

Spor"tu*la*ry (?), a. Subsisting on alms or charitable contributions. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.

Spor"tule (?), n. [L. sportula a little basket, a gift, dim. of sporta a basket: cf. F. sortule.] A charitable gift or contribution; a gift; an alms; a dole; a largess; a sportula. [Obs.] Ayliffe.

Spor`u*la"tion (?), n. (Biol.) The act or process of forming spores; spore formation. See Illust. of Bacillus, b.

Spor"ule (?), n. [Dim. of spore.] (Biol.) A small spore; a spore.

Spor`u*lif"er*ous (?), a. [Sporule + -ferous.] (Biol.) Producing sporules.

Spot (?), n. [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.) 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. Commodities, as merchandise and cotton, sold for immediate delivery. [Broker's Cant]

Crescent spot (Zoöl.), any butterfly of the family Melitæidæ having crescent- shaped white spots along the margins of the red or brown wings. - - Spot lens (Microscopy), a condensing lens in which the light is confined to an annular pencil by means of a small, round diaphragm (the spot), and used in dark-field ilumination; -- called also spotted lens. -- Spot rump (Zoöl.), the Hudsonian godwit (Limosa hæmastica). -- Spots on the sun. (Astron.) See Sun spot, ander Sun. -- On, or Upon, the spot, immediately; before moving; without changing place.

It was determined upon the spot.

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

Spot, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spotted; p. pr. & vb. n. Spotting.] 1. To make visible marks upon with some foreign matter; to discolor in or with spots; to stain; to cover with spots or figures; as, to spot a garnment; to spot paper.

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

3. To stain; to blemish; to taint; to disgrace; to tarnish, as reputation; to asperse.

My virgin life no spotted thoughts shall stain.

Sir P. Sidney.

If ever I shall close these eyes but once, May I live spotted for
my perjury.

Beau. & Fl.

To spot timber, to cut or chip it, in preparation for hewing.

Spot, v. i. To become stained with spots.

Spot"less, a. Without a spot; especially, free from reproach or impurity; pure; untainted; innocent; as, a spotless mind; spotless behavior.

A spotless virgin, and a faultless wife.

Waller.

Syn. -- Blameless; unspotted; unblemished; pure; immaculate; irreproachable. See Blameless.

-- Spot"less*ly, adv. -- Spot"less*ness, n.

Spot"ted, a. Marked with spots; as, a spotted garment or character. "The spotted panther." Spenser.

Spotted fever (Med.), a name applied to various eruptive fevers, esp. to typhus fever and cerebro-spinal meningitis. -- Spotted tree (Bot.), an Australian tree (Flindersia maculosa); -- so called because its bark falls off in spots.

Spot"ted*ness, n. State or quality of being spotted.

Spot"ter (?), n. One who spots.

Spot"ti*ness (?), n. The state or quality of being spotty.

Spot"ty (?), a. Full of spots; marked with spots.

Spous"age (?; 48), n. [OF. espousaige, from espouser. See Spouse, v. t.] Espousal. [Obs.] Bale.

Spous"al (?), a. [See Espousal, Sponsal, and Spouse.] Of or pertaining to a spouse or marriage; nuptial; matrimonial; conjugal; bridal; as, spousal rites; spousal ornaments. Wordsworth.

Spous"al, n. [See Espousal, Spouse.] Marriage; nuptials; espousal; -- generally used in the plural; as, the spousals of Hippolita. Dryden.

Boweth your head under that blissful yoke . . . Which that men
clepeth spousal or wedlock.

Chaucer.

the spousals of the newborn year.

Emerson.

Spouse (?), n. [OF. espous, espos, fem. espouse, F. époux, épouse, fr. L. sponsus, sponsa, prop. p. p. of spondere, sponsum, to promise solemnly, to engage one's self. Cf. Despond, Espouse, respond, Sponsor.] 1. A man or woman engaged or joined in wedlock; a married person, husband or wife.

At last such grace I found, and means I wrought, That that lady to
my spouse had won.

Spenser.

2. A married man, in distinct from a spousess or married woman; a bridegroom or husband. [Obs.]

At which marriage was [were] no person present but the spouse, the
spousess, the Duchess of Bedford her mother, the priest, two
gentlewomen, and a young man.

Fabyan.

Spouse (?), v. t. [See Espouse, and Spouse, n.] To wed; to espouse. [Obs.]

This markis hath her spoused with a ring.

Chaucer.

Though spoused, yet wanting wedlock's solemnize.

Spenser.

She was found again, and spoused to Marinell.

Spenser.

Spouse"-breach` (?), n. Adultery. [Obs.]

Spouse"less, a. Destitute of a spouse; unmarried.

Spous"ess, n. A wife or bride. [Obs.] Fabyan.

Spout (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spouted; p. pr. & vb. n. Spouting.] [Cf. Sw. sputa, spruta, to spout, D. spuit a spout, spuiten to spout, and E. spurt, sprit, v., sprout, sputter; or perhaps akin to E. spit to eject from the mouth.] 1. To throw out forcibly and abudantly, as liquids through an office or a pipe; to eject in a jet; as, an elephant spouts water from his trunk.

Who kept Jonas in the fish's maw Till he was spouted up at Ninivee?

Chaucer.

Next on his belly floats the mighty whale . . . He spouts the tide.

Creech.

2. To utter magniloquently; to recite in an oratorical or pompous manner.

Pray, spout some French, son.

Beau. & Fl.

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

Spout, v. i. 1. To issue with with violence, or in a jet, as a liquid through a narrow orifice, or from a spout; as, water spouts from a hole; blood spouts from an artery.

All the glittering hill Is bright with spouting rills.

Thomson.

2. To eject water or liquid in a jet.

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

Spout, n. [Cf. Sw. spruta a squirt, a syringe. See Spout, v. t.] 1. That through which anything spouts; a discharging lip, pipe, or orifice; a tube, pipe, or conductor of any kind through which a liquid is poured, or by which it is conveyed in a stream from one place to another; as, the spout of a teapot; a spout for conducting water from the roof of a building. Addison. "A conduit with three issuing spouts." Shak.

In whales . . . an ejection thereof [water] is contrived by a
fistula, or spout, at the head.

Sir T. Browne.

From silver spouts the grateful liquors glide.

Pope.

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

3. A discharge or jet of water or other liquid, esp. when rising in a column; also, a waterspout.