Chapter C: A. Young (4)

||Squa"li (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. L. squalus a kind of sea fish.] (Zoöl.) ||The suborder of elasmobranch fishes which comprises the sharks.

Squal"id (?), a. [L. squalidus, fr. squalere to be foul or filthy.] Dirty through neglect; foul; filthy; extremely dirty.

Uncomed his locks, and squalid his attrie.

Dryden.

Those squalid dens, which are the reproach of large capitals.

Macaulay.

Squa*lid"i*ty (?), n. [L. squaliditas.] The quality or state of being squalid; foulness; filthiness.

Squal"id*ly (?), adv. In a squalid manner.

Squal"id*ness, n. Quality or state of being squalid.

Squall (?), n. [Cf. Sw. sqval an impetuous running of water, sqvalregn a violent shower of rain, sqala to stream, to gush.] A sudden violent gust of wind often attended with rain or snow.

The gray skirts of a lifting squall.

Tennyson.

Black squall, a squall attended with dark, heavy clouds. -- Thick squall, a black squall accompanied by rain, hail, sleet, or snow. Totten. -- White squall, a squall which comes unexpectedly, without being marked in its approach by the clouds. Totten.

Squall, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Squalled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Squalling.] [Icel. skvala. Cf. Squeal.] To cry out; to scream or cry violently, as a woman frightened, or a child in anger or distress; as, the infant squalled.

Squall, n. A loud scream; a harsh cry.

There oft are heard the notes of infant woe, - The short, thick
sob, loud scream, and shriller squall.

Pope.

Squall"er (?), n. One who squalls; a screamer.

Squall"y (?), a. 1. Abounding with squalls; disturbed often with sudden and violent gusts of wind; gusty; as, squally weather.

2. (Agric.) Interrupted by unproductive spots; -- said of a flied of turnips or grain. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

3. (Weaving) Not equally good throughout; not uniform; uneven; faulty; -- said of cloth.

Squa"lo*don (?), n. [NL. Squalus a genus of sharks + Gr. &?;, &?;, a tooth.] (Paleon.) A genus of fossil whales belonging to the Phocodontia; -- so called because their are serrated, like a shark's.

Squa"lo*dont (?), a. (Zoöl.) Pertaining to Squalodon.

Squa"loid (?), a. [NL. Squalus a genus of sharks (fr. L. squalus a kind of sea fish) + - oid.] (Zoöl.) Like or pertaining to a shark or sharks.

Squa"lor (?), n. [L., fr. squalere to be foul or filthy.] Squalidness; foulness; filthness; squalidity.

The heterogenous indigent multitude, everywhere wearing nearly the
same aspect of squalor.

Taylor.

To bring this sort of squalor among the upper classes.

Dickens.

||Squa"ma (?), n.; pl. Squamæ (#). [L. a scale.] (Med.) A scale cast ||off from the skin; a thin dry shred consisting of epithelium.

Squa*ma"ceous (?), a. Squamose.

||Squa*ma"ta (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. L. squamatus scaly.] (Zoöl.) A ||division of edentates having the body covered with large, imbricated ||horny scales. It includes the pangolins.

{ Squa"mate (?), Squa"ma*ted (?) }, a. [L. squamatus.] Same as Squamose.

Squam"duck` (?). (Zoöl.) The American eider duck. [Local, U.S.]

Squame (?), n. [L. squama scale.] 1. A scale. [Obs.] "iron squames." Chaucer.

2. (Zoöl.) The scale, or exopodite, of an antenna of a crustacean.

||Squa*mel"la (?), n.; pl. Squamellæ (#). [NL., dim. fr. L. squama a ||scale.] (Bot.) A diminutive scale or bractlet, such as those found on ||the receptacle in many composite plants; a palea.

Squa*mel"late (?), a. Furnished or covered with little scales; squamulose.

Squa"mi*form (?), a.[L. squama a scale + -form.] Having the shape of a scale.

Squa*mig"er*ous (?), a. [L. squamiger; squama a scale + gerere to bear.] (Zoöl.) Bearing scales.

Squam"i*pen (? or ?), n. ;pl. Squamipennes (#). [L. squama a scale + penna a fin: cf. F. squamipenne.] (Zoöl.) Any one of a group of fishes having the dorsal and anal fins partially covered with scales.

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

Squa"moid (?), a. [L. squama scale + -oid.] Resembling a scale; also, covered with scales; scaly.

Squa*mo"sal (?), a. (Anat.) (a) Scalelike; squamous; as, the squamosal bone. (b) Of or pertaining to the squamosal bone. -- n. The squamous part of the temporal bone, or a bone correspondending to it, under Temporal.

{ Squa*mose" (? or &?;), Squa"mous (?) }, [L. squamosus, fr. squama a scale: cf. F. squameux.] 1. Covered with, or consisting of, scales; resembling a scale; scaly; as, the squamose cones of the pine; squamous epithelial cells; the squamous portion of the temporal bone, which is so called from a fancied resemblance to a scale.

2. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the squamosal bone; squamosal.

Squa`mo*zyg`o*mat"ic (?), a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to both the squamosal and zygomatic bones; -- applied to a bone, or a center of ossification, in some fetal skulls. -- n. A squamozygomatic bone.

||Squam"u*la (? or ?), n.; pl. Squamulæ (#). [L., dim. of squama a ||scale.] (Bot.) One of the little hypogynous scales found in the ||flowers of grasses; a lodicule.

Squam"u*late (?), a. Same as Squamulose.

Squam"ule (?), n. (Bot.) Same as Squamula.

Squam"u*lose` (?; 277), a. Having little scales; squamellate; squamulate.

Squan"der (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Squandered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Squandering.] [Cf. Scot. squatter to splash water about, to scatter, to squander, Prov. E. swatter, Dan. sqvatte, Sw. sqvätta to squirt, sqvättra to squander, Icel. skvetta to squirt out, to throw out water.] 1. To scatter; to disperse. [Obs.]

Our squandered troops he rallies.

Dryden.

2. To spend lavishly or profusely; to spend prodigally or wastefully; to use without economy or judgment; to dissipate; as, to squander an estate.

The crime of squandering health is equal to the folly.

Rambler.

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

Squan"der, v. i. 1. To spend lavishly; to be wasteful.

They often squandered, but they never gave.

Savage.

2. To wander at random; to scatter. [R.]

The wise man's folly is anatomized Even by squandering glances of
the fool.

Shak.

Squan"der, n. The act of squandering; waste.

Squan"der*er (?), n. One who squanders.

Squan"der*ing*ly, adv. In a squandering manner.

Square (?), n. [OF. esquarre, esquierre, F. équerre a carpenter's square (cf. It. squadra), fr. (assumed) LL. exquadrare to make square; L. ex + quadrus a square, fr. quattuor four. See Four, and cf. Quadrant, Squad, Squer a square.] 1. (Geom.) (a) The corner, or angle, of a figure. [Obs.] (b) A parallelogram having four equal sides and four right angles.

2. Hence, anything which is square, or nearly so; as: (a) A square piece or fragment.

He bolted his food down his capacious throat in squares of three
inches.

Sir W. Scott.

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

3. An area of four sides, generally with houses on each side; sometimes, a solid block of houses; also, an open place or area for public use, as at the meeting or intersection of two or more streets.

The statue of Alexander VII. stands in the large square of the
town.

Addison.

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

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

6. (Arith. & Alg.) The product of a number or quantity multiplied by itself; thus, 64 is the square of 8, for 8 × 8 = 64; the square of a + b is a2 + 2ab + b2.

7. Exact proportion; justness of workmanship and conduct; regularity; rule. [Obs.]

They of Galatia [were] much more out of square.

Hooker.

I have not kept my square.

Shak.

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

9. Fig.: The relation of harmony, or exact agreement; equality; level.

We live not on the square with such as these.

Dryden.

10. (Astrol.) The position of planets distant ninety degrees from each other; a quadrate. [Obs.]

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

12. The front of a woman's dress over the bosom, usually worked or embroidered. [Obs.] Shak.

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

Square (?), a. 1. (Geom.) Having four equal sides and four right angles; as, a square figure.

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

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

4. Exactly suitable or correspondent; true; just.

She's a most truimphant lady, if report be square to her.

Shak.

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

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

7. Leaving nothing; hearty; vigorous.

By Heaven, square eaters. More meat, I say.

Beau. & Fl.

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

Square is often used in self-explaining compounds or combination, as in square-built, square-cornered, square-cut, square-nosed, etc.

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

Square, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Squared (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Squaring.] [Cf. OF. escarrer, esquarrer. See Square, n.] 1. To form with four sides and four right angles. Spenser.

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

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

4. To adjust; to regulate; to mold; to shape; to fit; as, to square our actions by the opinions of others.

Square my trial To my proportioned strength.

Milton.

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

6. (Math.) To multiply by itself; as, to square a number or a quantity.

7. (Astrol.) To hold a quartile position respecting.

The icy Goat and Crab that square the Scales.

Creech.

8. (Naut.) To place at right angles with the keel; as, to square the yards.

To square one's shoulders, to raise the shoulders so as to give them a square appearance, -- a movement expressing contempt or dislike. Sir W. Scott. -- To square the circle (Math.), to determine the exact contents of a circle in square measure. The solution of this famous problem is now generally admitted to be impossible.

Square, v. i. 1. To accord or agree exactly; to be consistent with; to conform or agree; to suit; to fit.

No works shall find acceptamce . . . That square not truly with the
Scripture plan.

Cowper.

2. To go to opposite sides; to take an attitude of offense or defense, or of defiance; to quarrel. [Obs.]

Are you such fools To square for this?

Shak.

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

Square"ly, adv. In a square form or manner.

Square"ness, n. The quality of being square; as, an instrument to try the squareness of work.

Squar"er (?), n. 1. One who, or that which, squares.

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

<! p. 1397 !>

Square"-rigged` (skwâr"rgd`), a. (Naut.) Having the sails extended upon yards suspended horizontally by the middle, as distinguished from fore-and-aft sails; thus, a ship and a brig are square-rigged vessels.

Square"-toed` (-td`), n. Having the toe square.

Obsolete as fardingales, ruffs, and square-toed shoes.

V. Knox.

Square"-toes` (?), n. A precise person; -- used contemptuously or jocularly. Thackeray.

Squar"ish, a. Nearly square. Pennant.

Squar*rose" (? or ?; 277), a. [L. squarrosus (perhaps) scurfy, scabby.] Ragged or full of lose scales or projecting parts; rough; jagged; as: (a) (Bot. & Zoöl.) Consisting of scales widely divaricating; having scales, small leaves, or other bodies, spreading widely from the axis on which they are crowded; -- said of a calyx or stem. (b) (Bot.) Divided into shreds or jags, raised above the plane of the leaf, and not parallel to it; said of a leaf. (c) (Zoöl.) Having scales spreading every way, or standing upright, or at right angles to the surface; -- said of a shell.

Squarrose-slashed (Bot.), doubly slashed, with the smaller divisions at right angles to the others, as a leaf. Landley.

Squar*ro`so-den"tate (?), a. (Bot.) Having the teeth bent out of the plane of the lamina; -- said of a leaf.

Squar"rous (? or ?), a. Squarrose.

Squar"ru*lose` (?), a. [Dim. of squarrose.] (Bot.) Somewhat squarrose; slightly squarrose. Gray.

Squash (?), n. [Cf. Musquash.] (Zoöl.) An American animal allied to the weasel. [Obs.] Goldsmith.

Squash, n. [Massachusetts Indian asq, pl. asquash, raw, green, immaturate, applied to fruit and vegetables which were used when green, or without cooking; askutasquash vine apple.] (Bot.) A plant and its fruit of the genus Cucurbita, or gourd kind.

The species are much confused. The long-neck squash is called Cucurbita verrucosa, the Barbary or China squash, C. moschata, and the great winter squash, C. maxima, but the distinctions are not clear.

Squash beetle (Zoöl.), a small American beetle (Diabrotica, or Galeruca vittata) which is often abundant and very injurious to the leaves of squash, cucumber, etc. It is striped with yellow and black. The name is applied also to other allied species. -- Squash bug (Zoöl.), a large black American hemipterous insect (Coreus, or Anasa, tristis) injurious to squash vines.

Squash, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Squashed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Squashing.] [OE. squashen, OF. escachier, esquachier, to squash, to crush, F. écacher, perhaps from (assumed) LL. excoacticare, fr. L. ex + coactare to constrain, from cogere, coactum, to compel. Cf. Cogent, Squat, v. i.] To beat or press into pulp or a flat mass; to crush.

Squash, n. 1. Something soft and easily crushed; especially, an unripe pod of pease.

Not yet old enough for a man, nor young enough for a boy; as a
squash is before 't is a peascod.

Shak.

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

3. A sudden fall of a heavy, soft body; also, a shock of soft bodies. Arbuthnot.

My fall was stopped by a terrible squash.

Swift.

Squash"er (?), n. One who, or that which, squashes.

Squash"i*ness (?), n. The quality or state of being squashy, or soft.

Squash"y (?), a. Easily squashed; soft.

Squat (?), n. (Zoöl.) The angel fish (Squatina angelus).

Squat, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Squatted; p. pr. & vb. n. Squatting.] [OE. squatten to crush, OF. esquater, esquatir (cf. It. quatto squat, cowering), perhaps fr. L. ex + coactus, p. p. cogere to drive or urge together. See Cogent, Squash, v. t.] 1. To sit down upon the hams or heels; as, the savages squatted near the fire.

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

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

Squat, v. t. To bruise or make flat by a fall. [Obs.]

Squat, a. 1. Sitting on the hams or heels; sitting close to the ground; cowering; crouching.

Him there they found, Squat like a toad, close at the ear of Eve.

Milton.

2. Short and thick, like the figure of an animal squatting. "The round, squat turret." R. Browning.

The head [of the squill insect] is broad and squat.

Grew.

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

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

3. (Mining) (a) A small vein of ore. (b) A mineral consisting of tin ore and spar. Halliwell. Woodward.

Squat snipe (Zoöl.), the jacksnipe; -- called also squatter. [Local, U.S.]

Squat"er*ole (?), n. (Zoöl.) The black-bellied plover.

Squat"ter (?), n. 1. One who squats; specifically, one who settles unlawfully upon land without a title. In the United States and Australia the term is sometimes applied also to a person who settles lawfully upon government land under permission and restrictions, before acquiring title.

In such a tract, squatters and trespassers were tolerated to an
extent now unknown.

Macaulay.

2. (Zoöl.) See Squat snipe, under Squat.

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

Squat"ty (?), a. Squat; dumpy. J. Burroughs.

Squaw (?), n. [Massachusetts Indian squa, eshqua; Narragansett squâws; Delaware ochqueu, and khqueu; used also in compound words (as the names of animals) in the sense of female.] A female; a woman; -- in the language of Indian tribes of the Algonquin family, correlative of sannup.

Old squaw. (Zoöl.) See under Old.

Squaw"ber`ry (?), n. (Bot.) A local name for the partridge berry; also, for the deerberry. [U. S.]

Squawk (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Squawked (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Squawking.] [See Squeak.] To utter a shrill, abrupt scream; to squeak harshly.

Squawking thrush (Zoöl.), the missel turush; -- so called from its note when alarmed. [Prov. Eng.]

Squawk, n. 1. Act of squawking; a harsh squeak.

2. (Zoöl.) The American night heron. See under Night.

Squawk duck (Zoöl.), the bimaculate duck (Anas glocitans). It has patches of reddish brown behind, and in front of, each eye. [Prov. Eng.]

Squawl (?), v. i. See Squall.

Squaw"root` (?), n. (Bot.) A scaly parasitic plant (Conopholis Americana) found in oak woods in the United States; -- called also cancer root.

Squaw"weed` (?), n. (Bot.) The golden ragwort. See under Ragwort.

Squeak (?), v. i. [imp.& p. p. Squaked (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Squeaking.] [Probably of imitative origin; cf. Sw. sqväka to croak, Icel. skvakka to give a sound as of water shaken in a bottle.] 1. To utter a sharp, shrill cry, usually of short duration; to cry with an acute tone, as an animal; or, to make a sharp, disagreeable noise, as a pipe or quill, a wagon wheel, a door; to creak.

Who can endure to hear one of the rough old Romans squeaking
through the mouth of an eunuch?

Addison.

Zoilus calls the companions of Ulysses the "squeaking pigs" of
Homer.

Pope.

2. To break silence or secrecy for fear of pain or punishment; to speak; to confess. [Colloq.]

If he be obstinate, put a civil question to him upon the rack, and
he squeaks, I warrant him.

Dryden.

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

Squeak"er (?), n. 1. One who, or that which, squeaks.

2. (Zoöl.) The Australian gray crow shrile (Strepera anaphonesis); -- so called from its note.

Squeak"ing*ly, adv. In a squeaking manner.

Squeal (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Squealed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Squealing.] [Of Scand. origin; cf. Sw. sqväla, Norw. skvella. Cf. Squeak, Squall.] 1. To cry with a sharp, shrill, prolonged sound, as certain animals do, indicating want, displeasure, or pain.

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

Squeal, n. A shrill, somewhat prolonged cry.

Squeal"er (?), n. 1. One who, or that which, squeals.

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

Squeam"ish (?), a. [OE. squaimous, sweymous, probably from OE. sweem, swem, dizziness, a swimming in the head; cf. Icel. svemr a bustle, a stir, Norw. sveim a hovering about, a sickness that comes upon one, Icel. svimi a giddiness, AS. swmi. The word has been perhaps confused witrh qualmish. Cf. Swim to be dizzy.] Having a stomach that is easily or nauseated; hence, nice to excess in taste; fastidious; easily disgusted; apt to be offended at trifling improprieties.

Quoth he, that honor's very squeamish That takes a basting for a
blemish.

Hudibras.

His muse is rustic, and perhaps too plain The men of squeamish
taste to entertain.

Southern.

So ye grow squeamish, Gods, and sniff at heaven.

M. Arnold.

Syn. -- Fastidious; dainty; overnice; scrupulous. See Fastidious.

-- Squeam"ish*ly, adv. -- Squeam"ish*ness, n.

Squeam"ous (?), a. Squeamish. [Obs.]

Squea"si*ness (?), n. Queasiness. [Obs.]

Squea"sy (?), a. Queasy; nice; squeamish; fastidious; scrupulous. [Obs.] Bp. Earle.

Squee"gee (?), n. Same as Squilgee.

Squeeze (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Squeezed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Squeezing.] [OE. queisen, AS. cwsan, cwsan, cwsan, of uncertain origin. The s- was probably prefixed through the influence of squash, v.t.] 1. To press between two bodies; to press together closely; to compress; often, to compress so as to expel juice, moisture, etc.; as, to squeeze an orange with the fingers; to squeeze the hand in friendship.

2. Fig.: To oppress with hardships, burdens, or taxes; to harass; to crush.

In a civil war, people must expect to be crushed and squeezed
toward the burden.

L'Estrange.

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

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

Squeeze, v. i. To press; to urge one's way, or to pass, by pressing; to crowd; -- often with through, into, etc.; as, to squeeze hard to get through a crowd.

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

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

Squeez"er (?), n. 1. One who, or that which, squeezes; as, a lemon squeezer.

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

Squeez"ing, n. 1. The act of pressing; compression; oppression.

2. pl. That which is forced out by pressure; dregs.

3. Same as Squeeze, n., 2.

Squelch (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Squelched (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Squelching.] [Cf. prov. E. quelch a blow, and quel to crush, to kill.] To quell; to crush; to silence or put down. [Colloq.]

Oh 't was your luck and mine to be squelched.

Beau. & Fl.

If you deceive us you will be squelched.

Carlyle.

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

Sque*teague" (skw*tg"), n. [from the North American Indian name.] (Zoöl.) An American sciænoid fish (Cynoscion regalis), abundant on the Atlantic coast of the United States, and much valued as a food fish. It is of a bright silvery color, with iridescent reflections. Called also weakfish, squitee, chickwit, and sea trout. The spotted squeteague (C. nebulosus) of the Southern United States is a similar fish, but the back and upper fins are spotted with black. It is called also spotted weakfish, and, locally, sea trout, and sea salmon.

Squib (skwb), n. [OE. squippen, swippen, to move swiftly, Icel. svipa to swoop, flash, dart, whip; akin to AS. swipian to whip, and E. swift, a. See Swift, a.] 1. A little pipe, or hollow cylinder of paper, filled with powder or combustible matter, to be thrown into the air while burning, so as to burst there with a crack.

Lampoons, like squibs, may make a present blaze.

Waller.

The making and selling of fireworks, and squibs . . . is
punishable.

Blackstone.

2. (Mining) A kind of slow match or safety fuse.

3. A sarcastic speech or publication; a petty lampoon; a brief, witty essay.

Who copied his squibs, and reëchoed his jokes.

Goldsmith.

4. A writer of lampoons. [Obs.]

The squibs are those who in the common phrase of the world are
called libelers, lampooners, and pamphleteers.

Tatler.

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

Squib, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Squibbed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Squibbing.] To throw squibs; to utter sarcastic or severe reflections; to contend in petty dispute; as, to squib a little debate. [Colloq.]

Squid (skwd), n. [Cf. Squirt.] 1. (Zoöl.) Any one of numerous species of ten-armed cephalopods having a long, tapered body, and a caudal fin on each side; especially, any species of Loligo, Ommastrephes, and related genera. See Calamary, Decacerata, Dibranchiata.

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

2. A fishhook with a piece of bright lead, bone, or other substance, fastened on its shank to imitate a squid.

Flying squid, Giant squid. (Zoöl.) See under Flying, and Giant. -- Squid hound (Zoöl.), the striped bass.

Squier (?), n. A square. See 1st Squire. [Obs.]

Not the worst of the three but jumps twelve foot and a half by the
squier.

Shak.

{ Squi"er*ie, Squi"er*y }, (&?;), n. [OF. escuiere. See Esquire.] A company of squires; the whole body of squires.

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

Squig"gle (?), v. i. [Cf. Prov. E. swiggle to drink greedily, to shake liquor in a close vessel, and E. sqig.] To shake and wash a fluid about in the mouth with the lips closed. [Prov. Eng.] Forby.

Squig"gle, v. i. [Cf. Squirm, Wiggle.] To move about like an eel; to squirm. [Low, U.S.] Bartlett.

<! p. 1398 !>

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

Squill (?), n. [F. squille (also scille a squill, in sense 1), L. squilla, scilla, Gr. &?;.] 1. (Bot.) (a) A European bulbous liliaceous plant (Urginea, formerly Scilla, maritima), of acrid, expectorant, diuretic, and emetic properties used in medicine. Called also sea onion. (b) Any bulbous plant of the genus Scilla; as, the bluebell squill (S. mutans).

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

||Squil"la (?), n.; pl. E. Squillas (#), L. Squillæ (#). [L., a sea ||onion, also, a prawn or shrimp. See Squill.] (Zoöl.) Any one of ||numerous stomapod crustaceans of the genus Squilla and allied genera. ||They make burrows in mud or beneath stones on the seashore. Called ||also mantis shrimp. See Illust. under Stomapoda.

Squill*it"ic (?), a. Of or pertaining to squills. [R.] "Squillitic vinegar." Holland.

{ Squin"ance (?), Squin"an*cy (?) }, n. [F. esquinancie, OF. squinance, esquinance. See Quinsy.] 1. (Med.) The quinsy. See Quinsy. [Obs.]

2. (Bot.) A European perennial herb (Asperula cynanchica) with narrowly linear whorled leaves; -- formerly thought to cure the quinsy. Also called quincewort.

Squinancy berries, black currants; -- so called because used to cure the quinsy. Dr. Prior.

Squinch (?), n. [Corrupted fr. sconce.] (Arch.) A small arch thrown across the corner of a square room to support a superimposed mass, as where an octagonal spire or drum rests upon a square tower; -- called also sconce, and sconcheon.

Squin"sy (?), n. (Med.) See Quinsy. [Obs.]

Squint (?), a. [Cf. D. schuinte a slope, schuin, schuinisch, sloping, oblique, schuins slopingly. Cf. Askant, Askance, Asquint.] 1. Looking obliquely. Specifically (Med.), not having the optic axes coincident; -- said of the eyes. See Squint, n., 2.

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

Squint, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Squinted; p. pr. & vb. n. Squinting.] 1. To see or look obliquely, asquint, or awry, or with a furtive glance.

Some can squint when they will.

Bacon.

2. (Med.) To have the axes of the eyes not coincident; -- to be cross-eyed.

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

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

2. To cause to look with noncoincident optic axes.

He . . . squints the eye, and makes the harelid.

Shak.

Squint, n. 1. The act or habit of squinting.

2. (Med.) A want of coincidence of the axes of the eyes; strabismus.

3. (Arch.) Same as Hagioscope.

Squint"er (?), n. One who squints.

Squint"-eye` (?), n. An eye that squints. Spenser.

Squint"-eyed` (?), a. 1. Having eyes that quint; having eyes with axes not coincident; cross-eyed.

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

Squint`i*fe"go (?), a. Squinting. [Obs. & R.]

Squint"ing (?), a. & n. from Squint, v. -- Squint"ing*ly, adv.

Squin"y (?), v. i. To squint. [Obs.] Shak.

Squin"zey (?), n. (Med.) See Quinsy. [Obs.]

Squir (skwr), v. t. To throw with a jerk; to throw edge foremost. [Obs.] [Written also squirr.] Addison.

Squir"al*ty (?), n. Same as Squirarchy.

That such weight and influence be put thereby into the hands of the
squiralty of my kingdom.

Sterne.

Squir"arch (?), n. [Squire + - arch.] One who belongs to the squirarchy. -- Squir"arch*al (#), a.

Squir"arch*y (?), n. [Squire + -archy.] The gentlemen, or gentry, of a country, collectively. [Written also squirearchy.]

Squire (?), n. [OF. esquierre, F. équerre. See Square, n.] A square; a measure; a rule. [Obs.] "With golden squire." Spenser.

Squire, n. [Aphetic form of esquire.] 1. A shield-bearer or armor- bearer who attended a knight.

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

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

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

Squire, v. t. [imp. & p. p. squired (?); p. pr. & vb. n. squiring.] 1. To attend as a squire. Chaucer.

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

Squir*een" (?), n. One who is half squire and half farmer; -- used humorously. [Eng.] C. Kingsley.

Squire"hood (?), n. The rank or state of a squire; squireship. Swift.

squire"ling (?), n. A petty squire. Tennyson.

Squire"ly, a. & adv. Becoming a squire; like a squire.

squire"ship, n. Squirehood.

Squirm (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Squirmed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Squirming.] [Cf. Swarm to climb a tree.] To twist about briskly with contor&?;ions like an eel or a worm; to wriggle; to writhe.

Squirr (?), v. t. See Squir.

Squir"rel (skwr"rl or skwr"-; 277), n. [OE. squirel, OF. esquirel, escurel, F. écureuil, LL. squirelus, squirolus, scuriolus, dim. of L. sciurus, Gr. si`oyros; skia` shade + o'yra` tail. Cf. Shine, v. i.] 1. (Zoöl.) Any one of numerous species of small rodents belonging to the genus Sciurus and several allied genera of the family Sciuridæ. Squirrels generally have a bushy tail, large erect ears, and strong hind legs. They are commonly arboreal in their habits, but many species live in burrows.

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

2. One of the small rollers of a carding machine which work with the large cylinder.

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

Squirt (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Squirted; p. pr. & vb. n. Squirting.] [Cf. LG. swirtjen to squirt, OSw. sqvätta, E. squander.] To drive or eject in a stream out of a narrow pipe or orifice; as, to squirt water.

The hard-featured miscreant coolly rolled his tobacco in his cheek,
and squirted the juice into the fire grate.

Sir W. Scott.

Squirting cucumber. (Bot.) See Ecballium.

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

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

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

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

Squirt"er (?), n. One who, or that which, squirts.

Squir"y (?), n. [See Squiery.] The body of squires, collectively considered; squirarchy. [Obs.]

The flower of chivalry and squiry.

Ld. Berbers.

Squitch" grass` (?). (Bot.) Quitch grass.

Squi*tee" (?), n. [From the N. American Indian name.] (Zoöl.) The squeteague; -- called also squit.

Stab (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stabbed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Stabbing.] [Cf. OD. staven to fix, fasten, fr. stave, staff, a staff, rod; akin to G. stab a staff, stick, E. staff; also Gael. stob to stab, as n., a stake, a stub. Cf. Staff.] 1. To pierce with a pointed weapon; to wound or kill by the thrust of a pointed instrument; as, to stab a man with a dagger; also, to thrust; as, to stab a dagger into a person.

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

Stab, v. i. 1. To give a wound with a pointed weapon; to pierce; to thrust with a pointed weapon.

None shall dare With shortened sword to stab in closer war.

Dryden.

2. To wound or pain, as if with a pointed weapon.

She speaks poniards, and every word stabs.

Shak.

To stab at, to offer or threaten to stab; to thrust a pointed weapon at.

Stab, n. 1. The thrust of a pointed weapon.

2. A wound with a sharp-pointed weapon; as, to fall by the stab an assassin. Shak.

3. Fig.: An injury inflicted covertly or suddenly; as, a stab given to character.

||Sta"bat Ma"ter (?). [L., the mother was standing.] A celebrated Latin ||hymn, beginning with these words, commemorating the sorrows of the ||mother of our Lord at the foot of the cross. It is read in the Mass ||of the Sorrows of the Virgin Mary, and is sung by Catholics when ||making "the way of the cross" (Via Crucis). See Station, 7 (c).

Stab"ber (?), n. 1. One who, or that which, stabs; a privy murderer.

2. (Naut.) A small marline spike; a pricker.

Stab"bing*ly (?), adv. By stabbing; with intent to injure covertly. Bp. Parker.

Sta*bil"i*ment (?), n. [L. stabilimentum, fr. stabilire to make firm ir stable, fr. stabilis. See Stable, a.] The act of making firm; firm support; establishment. [R.] Jer. taylor.

They serve for stabiliment, propagation, and shade.

Derham.

Sta*bil"i*tate (?), v. t. [LL. stabilitatus, p. p. of stabilitare to make stable.] To make stable; to establish. [Obs.] Dr. H. More.

Sta*bil"i*ty (?), n. [L. stabilitas; cf. F. stabilité. See Stable, a.] 1. The state or quality of being stable, or firm; steadiness; firmness; strength to stand without being moved or overthrown; as, the stability of a structure; the stability of a throne or a constitution.

2. Steadiness or firmness of character, firmness of resolution or purpose; the quality opposite to fickleness, irresolution, or inconstancy; constancy; steadfastness; as, a man of little stability, or of unusual stability.

3. Fixedness; -- as opposed to fluidity.

Since fluidness and stability are contary qualities.

Boyle.

Syn. -- Steadiness; stableness; constancy; immovability; firmness.

Sta"ble (?), a. [OE. estable, F. stable, fr. L. stabilis, fr. stare to stand. See Stand, v. i. and cf. Establish.] 1. Firmly established; not easily moved, shaken, or overthrown; fixed; as, a stable government.

In this region of chance, . . . where nothing is stable.

Rogers.

2. Steady in purpose; constant; firm in resolution; not easily diverted from a purpose; not fickle or wavering; as, a man of stable character.

And to her husband ever meek and stable.

Chaucer.

3. Durable; not subject to overthrow or change; firm; as, a stable foundation; a stable position.

Stable equibrium (Mech.), the kind of equilibrium of a body so placed that if disturbed it returns to its former position, as in the case when the center of gravity is below the point or axis of support; -- opposed to unstable equilibrium, in which the body if disturbed does not tend to return to its former position, but to move farther away from it, as in the case of a body supported at a point below the center of gravity. Cf. Neutral equilibrium, under Neutral.

Syn. -- Fixed; steady; constant; abiding; strong; durable; firm.

Sta"ble, v. t. To fix; to establish. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Sta"ble, n. [OF. estable, F. étable, from L. stabulum, fr. stare to stand. See Stand, v. i.] A house, shed, or building, for beasts to lodge and feed in; esp., a building or apartment with stalls, for horses; as, a horse stable; a cow stable. Milton.

Stable fly (Zoöl.), a common dipterous fly (Stomoxys calcitrans) which is abundant about stables and often enters dwellings, especially in autumn. These files, unlike the common house files, which they resemble, bite severely, and are troublesome to horses and cattle.

Sta"ble, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stabled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Stabling (?).] To put or keep in a stable.

Sta"ble, v. i. To dwell or lodge in a stable; to dwell in an inclosed place; to kennel. Milton.

{ Sta"ble*boy` (?), Sta"ble*man (?) }, n. A boy or man who attends in a stable; a groom; a hostler.

Sta"ble*ness, n. The quality or state of being stable, or firmly established; stability.

Sta"bler (?), n. A stable keeper. De Foe.

Sta"ble stand` (?). (O.Eng. Law) The position of a man who is found at his standing in the forest, with a crossbow or a longbow bent, ready to shoot at a deer, or close by a tree with greyhounds in a leash ready to slip; -- one of the four presumptions that a man intends stealing the king's deer. Wharton.

Sta"bling (?), n. 1. The act or practice of keeping horses and cattle in a stable.

2. A building, shed, or room for horses and cattle.

Stab"lish (?), v. t. [Aphetic form of establish.] To settle permanently in a state; to make firm; to establish; to fix. [Obs.] 2 Sam. vii. 13.

Stab"lish*ment (?), n. Establishment. [Obs.]

Sta"bly (?), adv. In a stable manner; firmly; fixedly; steadily; as, a government stably settled.

Stab`u*la"tion (?), n. [L. stabulatio, fr. stabulari to stable cattle, fr. stabulum. See Stable, n.] 1. The act of stabling or housing beasts.

2. A place for lodging beasts; a stable. [Obs.]

||Stac*ca"to (?), a. [It., p. p. of staccere, equivalent to distaccare. ||See Detach.] 1. (Mus.) Disconnected; separated; distinct; -- a ||direction to perform the notes of a passage in a short, distinct, and ||pointed manner. It is opposed to legato, and often indicated by heavy ||accents written over or under the notes, or by dots when the ||performance is to be less distinct and emphatic.

2. Expressed in a brief, pointed manner.

Staccato and peremptory [literary criticism].

G. Eliot.

Stack (?), a. [Icel. stakkr; akin to Sw. stack, Dan. stak. Sf. Stake.] 1. A large pile of hay, grain, straw, or the like, usually of a nearly conical form, but sometimes rectangular or oblong, contracted at the top to a point or ridge, and sometimes covered with thatch.

But corn was housed, and beans were in the stack.

Cowper.

2. A pile of poles or wood, indefinite in quantity.

Against every pillar was a stack of billets above a man's height.

Bacon.

3. A pile of wood containing 108 cubic feet. [Eng.]

4. (Arch.) (a) A number of flues embodied in one structure, rising above the roof. Hence: (b) Any single insulated and prominent structure, or upright pipe, which affords a conduit for smoke; as, the brick smokestack of a factory; the smokestack of a steam vessel.

Stack of arms (Mil.), a number of muskets or rifles set up together, with the bayonets crossing one another, forming a sort of conical self-supporting pile.

Stack, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Stacked (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Stacking.] [Cf. Sw. stacka, Dan. stakke. See Stack, n.] To lay in a conical or other pile; to make into a large pile; as, to stack hay, cornstalks, or grain; to stack or place wood.

To stack arms (Mil.), to set up a number of muskets or rifles together, with the bayonets crossing one another, and forming a sort of conical pile.

<! p. 1399 !>

Stack"age (?), n. 1. Hay, gray, or the like, in stacks; things stacked. [R.]

2. A tax on things stacked. [R.] Holinshed.

Stack"et (?), n. [Cf. F. estacade and E. stockade.] (Mil.) A stockade. [Scot.] Sir W. Scott.

Stack"-guard` (?), n. A covering or protection, as a canvas, for a stack.

Stack"ing, a. & n. from Stack.

Stacking band, Stacking belt, a band or rope used in binding thatch or straw upon a stack. -- Stacking stage, a stage used in building stacks.

Stack"stand` (?), n. A staging for supporting a stack of hay or grain; a rickstand.

Stack"yard` (?), n. A yard or inclosure for stacks of hay or grain. A. Smith.

Stac"te (?), n. [L., fr. Gr. &?;, strictly fem. of &?; cozing out in drops, fr. &?; to drop.] One of the sweet spices used by the ancient Jews in the preparation of incense. It was perhaps an oil or other form of myrrh or cinnamon, or a kind of storax. Ex. xxx. 34.

Stad"dle (?), n. [AS. staðol, sraðul, a foundation, firm seat; akin to E. stand. &radic;163. See Stand, v. i.] [Formerly written stadle.] 1. Anything which serves for support; a staff; a prop; a crutch; a cane.

His weak steps governing And aged limbs on cypress stadle stout.

Spenser.

2. The frame of a stack of hay or grain. [Eng.]

3. A row of dried or drying hay, etc. [Eng.]

4. A small tree of any kind, especially a forest tree.

In America, trees are called staddles from the time that they are three or four years old till they are six or eight inches in diameter, or more. This is also the sense in which the word is used by Bacon and Tusser.

Stad"dle, v. t. 1. To leave the staddles, or saplings, of, as a wood when it is cut. [R.] Tusser.

2. To form into staddles, as hay. [Eng.]

Stade (?), n. [Cf. F. stade.] A stadium. Donne.

Stade, n. [Cf. G. gestade shore.] A landing place or wharf. Knight.

Sta*dim"e*ter (?), n. [Stadium + -meter.] A horizontal graduated bar mounted on a staff, used as a stadium, or telemeter, for measuring distances.

||Sta"di*um (?), n.; pl. Stadia (#). [L., a stadium (in sense 1), from ||Gr. &?;.] 1. A Greek measure of length, being the chief one used for ||itinerary distances, also adopted by the Romans for nautical and ||astronomical measurements. It was equal to 600 Greek or 625 Roman ||feet, or 125 Roman paces, or to 606 feet 9 inches English. This was ||also called the Olympic stadium, as being the exact length of the ||foot-race course at Olympia. Dr. W. Smith.

2. Hence, a race course; especially, the Olympic course for foot races.

3. A kind of telemeter for measuring the distance of an object of known dimensions, by observing the angle it subtends; especially (Surveying), a graduated rod used to measure the distance of the place where it stands from an instrument having a telescope, by observing the number of the graduations of the rod that are seen between certain parallel wires (stadia wires) in the field of view of the telescope; -- also called stadia, and stadia rod.

Stadt"hold`er (?), n. [D. stadhouder; stad a city, a town + houder a holder.] Formerly, the chief magistrate of the United Provinces of Holland; also, the governor or lieutenant governor of a province.

{ Stadt"hold`er*ate (?), Stadt"hold`er*ship (?) }, n. The office or position of a stadtholder.

Sta*fette" (?), n. [Cf. G. stafette. See Estafet.] An estafet. [R.] arlyle.

Staff (?), n.; pl. Staves (&?; or &?;; 277) or Staffs (#) in senses 1-9, Staffs in senses 10, 11. [AS. stæf a staff; akin to LG. & D. staf, OFries stef, G. stab, Icel. stafr, Sw. staf, Dan. stav, Goth. stabs element, rudiment, Skr. sthpay to cause to stand, to place. See Stand, and cf. Stab, Stave, n.] 1. A long piece of wood; a stick; the long handle of an instrument or weapon; a pole or srick, used for many purposes; as, a surveyor's staff; the staff of a spear or pike.

And he put the staves into the rings on the sides of the altar to
bear it withal.

Ex. xxxviii. 7.

With forks and staves the felon to pursue.

Dryden.

2. A stick carried in the hand for support or defense by a person walking; hence, a support; that which props or upholds. "Hooked staves." Piers Plowman.

The boy was the very staff of my age.

Shak.

He spoke of it [beer] in "The Earnest Cry," and likewise in the
"Scotch Drink," as one of the staffs of life which had been struck
from the poor man's hand.

Prof. Wilson.

3. A pole, stick, or wand borne as an ensign of authority; a badge of office; as, a constable's staff.

Methought this staff, mine office badge in court, Was broke in
twain.

Shak.

All his officers brake their staves; but at their return new staves
were delivered unto them.

Hayward.

4. A pole upon which a flag is supported and displayed.

5. The round of a ladder. [R.]

I ascend at one [ladder] of six hundred and thirty-nine staves.

Dr. J. Campbell (E. Brown's Travels).

6. A series of verses so disposed that, when it is concluded, the same order begins again; a stanza; a stave.

Cowley found out that no kind of staff is proper for an heroic
poem, as being all too lyrical.

Dryden.

7. (Mus.) The five lines and the spaces on which music is written; -- formerly called stave.

8. (Mech.) An arbor, as of a wheel or a pinion of a watch.

9. (Surg.) The grooved director for the gorget, or knife, used in cutting for stone in the bladder.

10. [From Staff, 3, a badge of office.] (Mil.) An establishment of officers in various departments attached to an army, to a section of an army, or to the commander of an army. The general's staff consists of those officers about his person who are employed in carrying his commands into execution. See État Major.

11. Hence: A body of assistants serving to carry into effect the plans of a superintendant or manager; as, the staff of a newspaper.

Jacob's staff (Surv.), a single straight rod or staff, pointed and iron-shod at the bottom, for penetrating the ground, and having a socket joint at the top, used, instead of a tripod, for supporting a compass. -- Staff angle (Arch.), a square rod of wood standing flush with the wall on each of its sides, at the external angles of plastering, to prevent their being damaged. -- The staff of life, bread. "Bread is the staff of life." Swift. -- Staff tree (Bot.), any plant of the genus Celastrus, mostly climbing shrubs of the northern hemisphere. The American species (C. scandens) is commonly called bittersweet. See 2d Bittersweet, 3 (b). -- To set, or To put, up, or down, one's staff, to take up one's residence; to lodge. [Obs.]

Staf"fi*er (?), n. An attendant bearing a staff. [Obs.] "Staffiers on foot." Hudibras.

Staff"ish (?), a. Stiff; harsh. [Obs.] Ascham.

Staff"man (?), n.; pl. Staffmen (&?;). A workman employed in silk throwing.

Stag (?), n. [Icel. steggr the male of several animals; or a doubtful AS. stagga. Cf. Steg.] 1. (Zoöl.) (a) The adult male of the red deer (Cervus elaphus), a large European species closely related to the American elk, or wapiti. (b) The male of certain other species of large deer.

2. A colt, or filly; also, a romping girl. [Prov. Eng.]

3. A castrated bull; -- called also bull stag, and bull seg. See the Note under Ox.

4. (Stock Exchange) (a) An outside irregular dealer in stocks, who is not a member of the exchange. [Cant] (b) One who applies for the allotment of shares in new projects, with a view to sell immediately at a premium, and not to hold the stock. [Cant]

5. (Zoöl.) The European wren. [Prov. Eng.]