Chapter CCCXCVII: Prologue (48)

2. A person employed to write orders, letters, dispatches, public or private papers, records, and the like; an official scribe, amanuensis, or writer; one who attends to correspondence, and transacts other business, for an association, a public body, or an individual. That which is most of all profitable is acquaintance with the secretaries, and employed men of ambassadors. Bacon.

3. An officer of state whose business is to superintend and manage the affairs of a particular department of government, and who is usually a member of the cabinet or advisory council of the chief executive; as, the secretary of state, who conducts the correspondence and attends to the relations of a government with foreign courts; the secretary of the treasury, who manages the department of finance; the secretary of war, etc.

4. A piece of furniture, with conveniences for writing and for the arrangement of papers; an escritoire.

5. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The secretary bird. Secretary Bird. Etym: [So called in allusion to the tufts of feathers at the back of its head, which were fancifully thought to resemble pens stuck behind the ear.] (Zoöl.) A large long-legged raptorial bird (Gypogeranus serpentarius), native of South Africa, but now naturalized in the West Indies and some other tropical countries. It has a powerful hooked beak, a crest of long feathers, and a long tail. It feeds upon reptiles of various kinds, and is much prized on account of its habit of killing and devouring snakes of all kinds. Called also serpent eater.

Syn. -- See the Note under Clerk, n., 4.

SECRETARYSHIP Sec"re*ta*ry*ship, n.

Defn: The office, or the term of office, of a secretary.

SECRETE Se*crete", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Secreted; p. pr. & vb. n. Secreting.] Etym: [L. secretus separated, secret, hidden, p. p. of secernere. See Secret, and cf. Discrete, Discreet.]

1. To deposit in a place of hiding; to hide; to conceal; as, to secrete stolen goods; to secrete one's self.

2. (Physiol.)

Defn: To separate from the blood and elaborate by the process of secretion; to elaborate and emit as a secretion. See Secretion. Why one set of cells should secrete bile, another urea, and so on, we do not known. Carpenter.

Syn. -- To conceal; hide. See Conceal.

SECRETION Se*cre"tion, n. Etym: [L. secretio: cf. F. sécrétion.]

1. The act of secreting or concealing; as, the secretion of dutiable goods.

2. (Physiol.)

Defn: The act of secreting; the process by which material is separated from the blood through the agency of the cells of the various glands and elaborated by the cells into new substances so as to form the various secretions, as the saliva, bile, and other digestive fluids. The process varies in the different glands, and hence are formed the various secretions.

3. (Physiol.)

Defn: Any substance or fluid secreted, or elaborated and emitted, as the gastric juice.

SECRETIST Se"cret*ist, n.

Defn: A dealer in secrets. [Obs.]

SECRETITIOUS Se`cre*ti"tious, a.

Defn: Parted by animal secretion; as, secretitious humors. Floyer.

SECRETIVE Se*cret"ive, a.

Defn: Tending to secrete, or to keep secret or private; as, a secretive disposition.

SECRETIVENESS Se*cret"ive*ness, n.

1. The quality of being secretive; disposition or tendency to conceal.

2. (Phren.)

Defn: The faculty or propensity which impels to reserve, secrecy, or concealment.

SECRETLY Se"cret*ly, adv.

Defn: In a secret manner.

SECRETNESS Se"cret*ness, n.

1. The state or quality of being secret, hid, or concealed.

2. Secretiveness; concealment. Donne.

SECRETO-MOTORY Se*cre`to-*mo"to*ry, a. (Physiol.)

Defn: Causing secretion; -- said of nerves which go to glands and influence secretion.

SECRETORY Se*cre"to*ry, a. Etym: [Cf. F. sécrétoire. See Secrete.] (Physiol.)

Defn: Secreting; performing, or connected with, the office secretion; secernent; as, secretory vessels, nerves. -- n.

Defn: A secretory vessel; a secernent.

SECRET SERVICE Se"cret serv"ice.

Defn: The detective service of a government. In the United States, in time of peace the bureau of secret service is under the treasury department, and in time of war it aids the war department in securing information concerning the movements of the enemy.

SECT Sect, n. Etym: [L. secare, sectum, to cut.]

Defn: A cutting; a scion. [Obs.] Shak.

SECT Sect, n. Etym: [F. secte, L. sects, fr. sequi to follew; often confused with L. secare, sectum, to cut. See Sue to follow, and cf. Sept, Suit, n.]

Defn: Those following a particular leader or authority, or attached to a certain opinion; a company or set having a common belief or allegiance distinct from others; in religion, the believers in a particular creed, or upholders of a particular practice; especially, in modern times, a party dissenting from an established church; a denomination; in philosophy, the disciples of a particular master; a school; in society and the state, an order, rank, class, or party. He beareth the sign of poverty, And in that sect our Savior saved all mankind. Piers Plowman. As of the sect of which that he was born, He kept his lay, to which that he was sworn. Chaucer. The cursed sect of that detestable and false prophet Mohammed. Fabyan. As concerning this sect [Christians], we know that everywhere it is spoken against. Acts xxviii. 22.

SECTANT Sec"tant, n. Etym: [L. secare, sectum, to cut.]

Defn: One of the portions of space bounded by the three coordinate planes. Specif. (Crystallog.), one of the parts of a crystal into which it is divided by the axial planes.

SECTARIAN Sec*ta"ri*an, n.

Defn: Pertaining to a sect, or to sects; peculiar to a sect; bigotedly attached to the tenets and interests of a denomination; as, sectarian principles or prejudices.

SECTARIAN Sec*ta"ri*an, n.

Defn: One of a sect; a member or adherent of a special school, denomination, or religious or philosophical party; one of a party in religion which has separated itself from established church, or which holds tenets different from those of the prevailing denomination in a state.

Syn. -- See Heretic.

SECTARIANISM Sec*ta"ri*an*ism, n.

Defn: The quality or character of a sectarian; devotion to the interests of a party; excess of partisan or denominational zeal; adherence to a separate church organization.

SECTARIANIZE Sec*ta"ri*an*ize, v. t.

Defn: To imbue with sectarian feelings; to subject to the control of a sect.

SECTARISM Sec"ta*rism, n.

Defn: Sectarianism. [Obs.]

SECTARIST Sec"ta*rist, n.

Defn: A sectary. [R.] T. Warton.

SECTARY Sec"ta*ry, n.;pl. Sectaries. Etym: [F. sectaire. See Sect.]

Defn: A sectarian; a member or adherent of a sect; a follower or disciple of some particular teacher in philosophy or religion; one who separates from an established church; a dissenter. I never knew that time in England when men of truest religion were not counted sectaries. Milton.

SECTATOR Sec*ta"tor, n. Etym: [L., fr. sectari, v. intens. fr. sequi to follow. See Sue to follow.]

Defn: A follower; a disciple; an adherent to a sect. [Obs.] Sir W. Raleigh.

SECTILE Sec"tile, a. Etym: [L. sectilis, fr. secare, sectum, to cut: cf. F. sectile. See Section.]

Defn: Capable of being cut; specifically (Min.), capable of being severed by the knife with a smooth cut; -- said of minerals.

SECTILITY Sec*til"i*ty, n.

Defn: The state or quality of being sectile.

SECTION Sec"tion, n. Etym: [L. sectio, fr. secare, sectum, to cut; akin to E. saw a cutting instrument: cf. F. section. See Saw, and cf. Scion, Dissect, Insect, Secant, Segment.]

1. The act of cutting, or separation by cutting; as, the section of bodies.

2. A part separated from something; a division; a portion; a slice. Specifically: -- (a) A distinct part or portion of a book or writing; a subdivision of a chapter; the division of a law or other writing; a paragraph; an article; hence, the character §, often used to denote such a division. It is hardly possible to give a distinct view of his several arguments in distinct sections. Locke.

(b) A distinct part of a country or people, community, class, or the like; a part of a territory separated by geographical lines, or of a people considered as distinct. The extreme section of one class consists of bigoted dotards, the extreme section of the other consists of shallow and reckless empirics. Macaulay.

(c) One of the portions, of one square mile each, into which the public lands of the United States are divided; one thirty-sixth part of a township. These sections are subdivided into quarter sections for sale under the homestead and preëmption laws.

3. (Geom.)

Defn: The figure made up of all the points common to a superficies and a solid which meet, or to two superficies which meet, or to two lines which meet. In the first case the section is a superficies, in the second a line, and in the third a point.

4. (Nat. Hist.)

Defn: A division of a genus; a group of species separated by some distinction from others of the same genus; -- often indicated by the sign §.

5. (Mus.)

Defn: A part of a musical period, composed of one or more phrases. See Phrase.

6. The description or representation of anything as it would appear if cut through by any intersecting plane; depiction of what is beyond a plane passing through, or supposed to pass through, an object, as a building, a machine, a succession of strata; profile.

Note: In mechanical drawing, as in these Illustrations of a cannon, a longitudinal section (a) usually represents the object as cut through its center lengthwise and vertically; a cross or transverse section (b), as cut crosswise and vertically; and a horizontal section (c), as cut through its center horizontally. Oblique sections are made at various angles. In architecture, a vertical section is a drawing showing the interior, the thickness of the walls, ets., as if made on a vertical plane passed through a building. Angular sections (Math.), a branch of analysis which treats of the relations of sines, tangents, etc., of arcs to the sines, tangents, etc., of their multiples or of their parts. [R.] -- Conic sections. (Geom.) See under Conic. -- Section liner (Drawing), an instrument to aid in drawing a series of equidistant parallel lines, -- used in representing sections. -- Thin sections, a section or slice, as of mineral, animal, or vegetable substance, thin enough to be transparent, and used for study under the microscope.

Syn. -- Part; portion; division. -- Section, Part. The English more commonly apply the word section to a part or portion of a body of men; as, a section of the clergy, a small section of the Whigs, etc. In the United States this use is less common, but another use, unknown or but little known in England, is very frequent, as in the phrases "the eastern section of our country," etc., the same sense being also given to the adjective sectional as, sectional feelings, interests, etc.

SECTIONAL Sec"tion*al, a.

1. Of or pertaining to a sections or distinct part of larger body or territory; local. All sectional interests, or party feelings, it is hoped, will hereafter yield to schemes of ambition. Story.

2. Consisting of sections, or capable of being divided into sections; as, a sectional steam boiler.

SECTIONALISM Sec"tion*al*ism, n.

Defn: A disproportionate regard for the interests peculiar to a section of the country; local patriotism, as distinguished from national. [U. S.]

SECTIONALITY Sec"tion*al"i*ty, n.

Defn: The state or quality of being sectional; sectionalism.

SECTIONALIZE Sec"tion*al*ize, v. t.

Defn: To divide according to gepgraphical sections or local interests. [U. S.] The principal results of the struggle were to sectionalize parties. Nicilay & Hay (Life of Lincoln).

SECTIONALLY Sec"tion*al*ly, adv.

Defn: In a sectional manner.

SECTIONIZE Sec"tion*ize, v. t.

Defn: To form into sections. [R.]

SECTISM Sect"ism, n.

Defn: Devotion to a sect. [R.]

SECTIST Sect"ist, n.

Defn: One devoted to a sect; a soetary. [R.]

SECTIUNCLE Sect"i*un`cle, n.

Defn: A little or petty sect. [R.] "Some new sect or sectiuncle." J. Martineau.

SECTOR Sec"tor, n. Etym: [L., properly, a cutter, fr. secare, sectum, to cut: cf. F. secteur. See Section.]

1. (Geom.)

Defn: A part of a circle comprehended between two radii and the included arc.

2. A mathematical instrument, consisting of two rulers connected at one end by a joint, each arm marked with several scales, as of equal parts, chords, sines, tangents, etc., one scale of each kind on each arm, and all on lines radiating from the common center of motion. The sector is used for plotting, etc., to any scale.

3. An astronomical instrument, the limb of which embraces a small portion only of a circle, used for measuring differences of declination too great for the compass of a micrometer. When it is used for measuring zenith distances of stars, it is called a zenith sector. Dip sector, an instrument used for measuring the dip of the horizon. -- Sector of a sphere, or Spherical sector, the solid generated by the revolution of the sector of a circle about one of its radii, or, more rarely, about any straight line drawn in the plane of the sector through its vertex.

SECTORAL Sec"tor*al, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to a sector; as, a sectoral circle.

SECTORIAL Sec*to"ri*al, a. (Anat.)

Defn: Adapted for cutting. -- n.

Defn: A sectorial, or carnassial, tooth.

SECULAR Sec"u*lar, a. Etym: [OE. secular, seculer. L. saecularis, fr. saeculum a race, generation, age, the times, the world; perhaps akin to E. soul: cf. F. séculier.]

1. Coming or observed once in an age or a century. The secular year was kept but once a century. Addison.

2. Pertaining to an age, or the progress of ages, or to a long period of time; accomplished in a long progress of time; as, secular inequality; the secular refrigeration of the globe.

3. Of or pertaining to this present world, or to things not spiritual or holy; relating to temporal as distinguished from eternal interests; not immediately or primarily respecting the soul, but the body; worldly. New foes arise, Threatening to bind our souls with secular chains. Milton.

4. (Eccl.)

Defn: Not regular; not bound by monastic vows or rules; not confined to a monastery, or subject to the rules of a religious community; as, a secular priest. He tried to enforce a stricter discipline and greater regard for morals, both in the religious orders and the secular clergy. Prescett.

5. Belonging to the laity; lay; not clerical. I speak of folk in secular estate. Chaucer. Secular equation (Astron.), the algebraic or numerical expression of the magnitude of the inequalities in a planet's motion that remain after the inequalities of a short period have been allowed for. -- Secular games (Rom. Antiq.), games celebrated, at long but irregular intervals, for three days and nights, with sacrifices, theatrical shows, combats, sports, and the like. -- Secular music, any music or songs not adapted to sacred uses. -- Secular hymn or poem, a hymn or poem composed for the secular games, or sung or rehearsed at those games.

SECULAR Sec"u*lar, n.

1. (Eccl.)

Defn: A secular ecclesiastic, or one not bound by monastic rules. Burke.

2. (Eccl.)

Defn: A church official whose functions are confined to the vocal department of the choir. Busby.

3. A layman, as distinguished from a clergyman.

SECULARISM Sec"u*lar*ism, n.

1. The state or quality of being secular; a secular spirit; secularity.

2. The tenets or principles of the secularists.

SECULARIST Sec"u*lar*ist, n.

Defn: One who theoretically rejects every form of religious faith, and every kind of religious worship, and accepts only the facts and influences which are derived from the present life; also, one who believes that education and other matters of civil policy should be managed without the introduction of a religious element.

SECULARITY Sec`u*lar"i*ty, n. Etym: [Cf.F. sécularité, LL. saecularitas.]

Defn: Supreme attention to the things of the present life; worldliness. A secularity of character which makes Christianity and its principal doctrines distasteful or unintelligible. I. Taylor.

SECULARIZATION Sec`u*lar*i*za"tion, n. Etym: [Cf. F. sécularisation.]

Defn: The act of rendering secular, or the state of being rendered secular; conversion from regular or monastic to secular; conversion from religious to lay or secular possession and uses; as, the secularization of church property.

SECULARIZE Sec"u*lar*ize, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Secularized; p. pr. & vb. n. Secularizing.] Etym: [Cf. F. séculaiser.]

1. To convert from regular or monastic into secular; as, to secularize a priest or a monk.

2. To convert from spiritual or common use; as, to secularize a church, or church property. At the Reformation the abbey was secularized. W. Coxe.

3. To make worldly or unspiritual. Bp. Horsley.

SECULARLY Sec"u*lar*ly, adv.

Defn: In a secular or worldly manner.

SECULARNESS Sec"u*lar*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being secular; worldliness; worldly- minded-ness.

SECUND Se"cund, a. Etym: [L. secundus following the course or current of wind of water. See Second, a.] (Bot.)

Defn: Arranged on one side only, as flowers or leaves on a stalk. Gray.

SECUNDATE Se*cun"date, v. t. Etym: [L.secundatus, p. p. of secundare to direct faverably.]

Defn: To make prosperous. [R.]

SECUNDATION Sec`un*da"tion, n.

Defn: Prosperity. [R.]

SECUNDINE Sec"un*dine, n. Etym: [Cf. F. secondine.]

1. (Bot.)

Defn: The second coat, or integument, of an ovule, lying within the primine.

Note: In the ripened seed the primine and secundine are usually united to form the testa, or outer seed coat. When they remain distinct the secundine becomes the mesosperm, as in the castor bean.

2. Etym: [Cf. F. secondines.]

Defn: The afterbirth, or placenta and membranes; -- generally used in the plural.

SECUNDO-GENITURE Se*cun`do-gen"i*ture, n. Etym: [L. secundus second + genitura a begetting, generation.]

Defn: A right of inheritance belonging to a second son; a property or possession so inherited. The kingdom of Naples . . . was constituted a secundo-geniture of Spain. Bancroft.

SECURABLE Se*cur"a*ble, a.

Defn: That may be secured.

SECURE Se*cure", a. Etym: [L. securus; pref. se- without + cura care. See Cure care, and cf. Sure, a.]

1. Free from fear, care, or anxiety; easy in mind; not feeling suspicion or distrust; confident. But thou, secure of soul, unbent with woes. DRyden.

2. Overconfident; incautious; careless; -- in a bad sense. Macaulay.

3. Confident in opinion; not entertaining, or not having reason to entertain, doubt; certain; sure; -- commonly with of; as, secure of a welcome. Confidence then bore thee on, secure Either to meet no danger, or to find Matter of glorious trial. Milton.

4. Net exposed to danger; safe; -- applied to persons and things, and followed by against or from. "Secure from fortune's blows." Dryden.

Syn. -- Safe; undisturbed; easy; sure; certain; assured; confident; careless; heedless; inattentive.

SECURE Se*cure", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Secured; p. pr. & vb. n. Securing.]

1. To make safe; to relieve from apprehensions of, or exposure to, danger; to guard; to protect. I spread a cloud before the victor's sight, Sustained the vanquished, and secured his flight. Dryden.

2. To put beyond hazard of losing or of not receiving; to make certain; to assure; to insure; -- frequently with against or from, rarely with of; as, to secure a creditor against loss; to secure a debt by a mortgage. It secures its possessor of eternal happiness. T. Dick.

3. To make fast; to close or confine effectually; to render incapable of getting loose or escaping; as, to secure a prisoner; to secure a door, or the hatches of a ship.

4. To get possession of; to make one's self secure of; to acquire certainly; as, to secure an estate. Secure arms (Mil.), a command and a position in the manual of arms, used in wet weather, the object being to guard the firearm from becoming wet. The piece is turned with the barrel to the front and grasped by the right hand at the lewer band, the muzzle is dropped to the front, and the piece held with the guard under the right arm, the hand supported against the hip, and the thumb on the rammer.

SECURELY Se*cure"ly, adv.

Defn: In a secure manner; without fear or apprehension; without danger; safely. His daring foe . . . securely him defied. Milton.

SECUREMENT Se*cure"ment, n.

Defn: The act of securing; protection. [R.] Society condemns the securement in all cases of perpetual protection by means of perpetual imprisonment. C. A. Ives.

SECURENESS Se*cure"ness, n.

Defn: The condition or quality of being secure; exemption from fear; want of vigilance; security.

SECURER Se*cur"er, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, secures.

SECURIFERA Sec`u*rif"e*ra, n. pl. Etym: [NL., from L. securis an ax + ferre to bear.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The Serrifera.

SECURIFORM Se*cu"ri*form, a. Etym: [L. securis an ax or hatchet + -form: cf. F. sécuriforme.] (Nat. Hist.)

Defn: Having the form of an ax hatchet.

SECURIPALP Se*cu"ri*palp, n. Etym: [L. securis ax, hatchet + E. palp.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of a family of beetles having the maxillary palpi terminating in a hatchet-shaped joint.

SECURITY Se*cu"ri*ty, n.; pl. Securities. Etym: [L. securitas: cf. F. sécurité. See Secure, and cf. Surety.]

1. The condition or quality of being secure; secureness. Specifically: (a) Freedom from apprehension, anxiety, or care; confidence of power of safety; hence, assurance; certainty. His trembling hand had lost the ease, Which marks security to please. Sir W. Scott.

(b) Hence, carelessness; negligence; heedlessness. He means, my lord, that we are too remiss, Whilst Bolingbroke, through our security, Grows strong and great in substance and in power. Shak.

(c) Freedom from risk; safety. Give up yourself merely to chance and hazard, From firm security. Shak. Some . . . alleged that we should have no security for our trade. Swift.

2. That which secures or makes safe; protection; guard; defense. Specifically: (a) Something given, deposited, or pledged, to make certain the fulfillment of an obligation, the performance of a contract, the payment of a debt, or the like; surety; pledge. Those who lent him money lent it on no security but his bare word. Macaulay.

(b) One who becomes surety for another, or engages himself for the performance of another's obligation.

3. An evidence of debt or of property, as a bond, a certificate of stock, etc.; as, government securities.

Syn. -- Protection; defense; guard; shelter; safety; certainty; ease; assurance; carelessness; confidence; surety; pledge; bail.

SEDAN Se*dan", n. Etym: [Said to be named from Sedan, in France, where it was first made, and whence it was introduced into England in the time of King Charles I.]

Defn: A portable chair or covered vehicle for carrying a single person, -- usually borne on poles by two men. Called also sedan chair.

SEDATE Se*date", a. Etym: [L. sedatus, p. p. of sedare, sedatum, to allay, calm, causative of sedere to sit. See Sit.]

Defn: Undisturbed by passion or caprice; calm; tranquil; serene; not passionate or giddy; composed; staid; as, a sedate soul, mind, or temper. Disputation carries away the mind from that calm and sedate temper which is so necessary to contemplate truth. I. Watts. Whatsoever we feel and know Too sedate for outward show. Wordsworth.

Syn. -- Settled; composed; calm; quiet; tranquil; still; serene; unruffled; undisturbed; conteplative; sober; serious. -- Se*date"ly, adv. -- Se*date"ness, n.

SEDATION Se*da"tion, n. Etym: [L. sedatio.]

Defn: The act of calming, or the state of being calm. [R.] Coles.

SEDATIVE Sed"a*tive, a. Etym: [Cf. F. sédatif.]

Defn: Tending to calm, moderate, or tranquilize; specifically (Med.), allaying irritability and irritation; assuaging pain.

SEDATIVE Sed"a*tive, n. (Med.)

Defn: A remedy which allays irritability and irritation, and irritative activity or pain.

SEDENT Se"dent, a. Etym: [L. sedens, -entis, p. pr. of sedere to sit. See Sit.]

Defn: Sitting; inactive; quiet. [R.]

SEDENTARILY Sed"en*ta*ri*ly, adv.

Defn: In a sedentary manner.

SEDENTARINESS Sed"en*ta*r*i*ness, n.

Defn: Quality of being sedentary.

SEDENTARY Sed"en*ta*ry, a. Etym: [L. sedentarius, fr. sedere to sit: cf. F. seédentaire. See Sedent.]

1. Accustomed to sit much or long; as, a sedentary man. "Sedentary, scholastic sophists." Bp. Warburton.

2. Characterized by, or requiring, much sitting; as, a sedentary employment; a sedentary life. Any education that confined itself to sedentary pursuits was essentially imperfect. Beaconsfield.

3. Inactive; motionless; sluggish; hence, calm; tranquil. [R.] "The sedentary earth." Milton. The soul, considered abstractly from its passions, is of a remiss, sedentary nature. Spectator.

4. Caused by long sitting. [Obs.] "Sedentary numbness." Milton.

5. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Remaining in one place, especially when firmly attached to some object; as, the oyster is a sedentary mollusk; the barnacles are sedentary crustaceans. Sedentary spider (Zoöl.), one of a tribe of spiders which rest motionless until their prey is caught in their web.

SEDERUNT Se*de"runt, n. Etym: [L., they sat, fr. sedere to sit.]

Defn: A sitting, as of a court or other body. 'T is pity we have not Burn's own account of that long sederunt. Prof. Wilson. Acts of sederunt (Scots Law), ordinances of the Court of Session for the ordering of processes and expediting of justice. Bell.

SEDGE Sedge, n. Etym: [OE. segge, AS. secg; akin to LG. segge; -- probably named from its bladelike appearance, and akin to L. secare to cut, E. saw a cutting instrument; cf. Ir. seisg, W. hesg. Cf. Hassock, Saw the instrument.]

1. (Bot.)

Defn: Any plant of the genus Carex, perennial, endogenous herbs, often growing in dense tufts in marshy places. They have triangular jointless stems, a spiked inflorescence, and long grasslike leaves which are usually rough on the margins and midrib. There are several hundred species.

Note: The name is sometimes given to any other plant of the order Cyperaceæ, which includes Carex, Cyperus, Scirpus, and many other genera of rushlike plants.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A flock of herons. Sedge ken (Zoöl.), the clapper rail. See under 5th Rail. -- Sedge warbler (Zoöl.), a small European singing bird (Acrocephalus phragmitis). It often builds its nest among reeds; -- called also sedge bird, sedge wren, night warbler, and Scotch nightingale.

SEDGED Sedged, a.

Defn: Made or composed of sedge. With your sedged crowns and ever-harmless looks. Shak.

SEDGY Sedg"y, a.

Defn: Overgrown with sedge. On the gentle Severn''s sedgy bank. Shak.

SEDILIA Se*dil"i*a, n. pl.; sing. Sedile (. Etym: [L. sedile a seat.] (Arch.)

Defn: Seats in the chancel of a church near the altar for the officiating clergy during intervals of service. Hook.

SEDIMENT Sed"i*ment, n. Etym: [F. sédiment, L. sedimentum a settling, fr. sedere to sit, to settle. See Sit.]

1. The matter which subsides to the bottom, frrom water or any other liquid; settlings; lees; dregs.

2. (Geol.)

Defn: The material of which sedimentary rocks are formed.

SEDIMENTAL Sed`i*men"tal, a.

Defn: Sedimentary.

SEDIMENTARY Sed`i*men"ta*ry, a. Etym: [Cf. F. sédimentaire.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to sediment; formed by sediment; containing matter that has subsided. Sedimentary rocks. (Geol.) See Aqueous rocks, under Aqueous.

SEDIMENTATION Sed`i*men*ta"tion, n.

Defn: The act of depositing a sediment; specifically (Geol.), the deposition of the material of which sedimentary rocks are formed.

SEDITION Se*di"tion, n. Etym: [OE. sedicioun, OF. sedition, F. sédition, fr. L. seditio, originally, a going aside; hence, an insurrectionary separation; pref. se-, sed-, aside + itio a going, fr. ire, itum, to go. Cf. Issue.]

1. The raising of commotion in a state, not amounting to insurrection; conduct tending to treason, but without an overt act; excitement of discontent against the government, or of resistance to lawful authority. In soothing them, we nourish 'gainst our senate The cockle of rebellion, insolence, sedition. Shak. Noisy demagogues who had been accused of sedition. Macaulay.

2. Dissension; division; schism. [Obs.] Now the works of the flesh are manifest, . . . emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies. Gal. v. 19, 20.

Syn. -- Insurrection; tumult; uproar; riot; rebellion; revolt. See Insurrection.

SEDITIONARY Se*di"tion*a*ry, n.

Defn: An inciter or promoter of sedition. Bp. Hall.

SEDITIOUS Se*di"tious, a.Etym: [L. seditiosus: cf. F. séditieux.]

1. Of or pertaining to sedition; partaking of the nature of, or tending to excite, sedition; as, seditious behavior; seditious strife; seditious words.

2. Disposed to arouse, or take part in, violent opposition to lawful authority; turbulent; factious; guilty of sedition; as, seditious citizens. -- Se*di"tious*ly, adv. -- Se*di"tious*ness, n.

SEDLITZ Sed"litz, a.

Defn: Same as Seidlitz.

SEDUCE Se*duce", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Seduced; p. pr. & vb. n. Seducing.] Etym: [L. seducere, seductum; pref. se- aside + ducere to lead. See Duke.]

1. To draw aside from the path of rectitude and duty in any manner; to entice to evil; to lead astray; to tempt and lead to iniquity; to corrupt. For me, the gold of France did not seduce. Shak.

2. Specifically, to induce to surrender chastity; to debauch by means of solicitation.

Syn. -- To allure; entice; tempt; attract; mislead; decoy; inveigle. See Allure.

SEDUCEMENT Se*duce"ment, n.

1. The act of seducing.

2. The means employed to seduce, as flattery, promises, deception, etc.; arts of enticing or corrupting. Pope.

SEDUCER Se*du"cer, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, seduces; specifically, one who prevails over the chastity of a woman by enticements and persuasions. He whose firm faith no reason could remove, Will melt before that soft seducer, love. Dryden.

SEDUCIBLE Se*du"ci*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being seduced; corruptible.

SEDUCING Se*du"cing, a.

Defn: Seductive. "Thy sweet seducing charms." Cowper. -- Se*du"cing*ly, adv.

SEDUCTION Se*duc*tion, n. Etym: [L. seductio: cf. F. séduction. See Seduce.]

1. The act of seducing; enticement to wrong doing; specifically, the offense of inducing a woman to consent to unlawful sexual intercourse, by enticements which overcome her scruples; the wrong or crime of persuading a woman to surrender her chastity.

2. That which seduces, or is adapted to seduce; means of leading astray; as, the seductions of wealth.

SEDUCTIVE Se*duc"tive, a.

Defn: Tending to lead astray; apt to mislead by flattering appearances; tempting; alluring; as, a seductive offer. This may enable us to understand how seductive is the influence of example. Sir W. Hamilton.

SEDUCTIVELY Se*duc"tive*ly, adv.

Defn: In a seductive manner.

SEDUCTRESS Se*duc"tress, n.

Defn: A woman who seduces.

SEDULITY Se*du"li*ty, n. Etym: [L. sedulitas. See Sedulous.]

Defn: The quality or state of being sedulous; diligent and assiduous application; constant attention; unremitting industry; sedulousness. The industrious bee, by his sedulity in summer, lives in honey all the winter. Feltham.

SEDULOUS Sed"u*lous, a. Etym: [L. sedulus, perhaps from sedere to sit, and so akin to E. sit.]

Defn: Diligent in application or pursuit; constant, steady, and persevering in business, or in endeavors to effect an object; steadily industrious; assiduous; as, the sedulous bee. What signifies the sound of words in prayer, without the affection of the heart, and a sedulous application of the proper means that may naturally lead us to such an end L'Estrange.

Syn. -- Assiduous; diligent; industrious; laborious; unremitting; untiring; unwearied; persevering. -- Sed"u*lous*ly, adv. -- Sed"u*lous*ness, n.

SEDUM Se"dum, n. Etym: [NL., fr. L. sedere to sit; so called in allusion to the manner in which the plants attach themselves to rocks and walls.] (Bot.)

Defn: A genus of plants, mostly perennial, having succulent leaves and cymose flowers; orpine; stonecrop. Gray.

SEE See, n. Etym: [OE. se, see, OF. se, sed, sied, fr. L. sedes a seat, or the kindred sedere to sit. See Sit, and cf. Siege.]

1. A seat; a site; a place where sovereign power is exercised. [Obs.] Chaucer. Jove laughed on Venus from his sovereign see. Spenser.

2. Specifically: (a) The seat of episcopal power; a diocese; the jurisdiction of a bishop; as, the see of New York. (b) The seat of an archibishop; a province or jurisdiction of an archibishop; as, an archiepiscopal see. (c) The seat, place, or office of the pope, or Roman pontiff; as, the papal see. (d) The pope or his court at Rome; as, to appeal to the see of Rome. Apostolic see. See under Apostolic.

SEE See, v. t. [imp. Saw; p. p. Seen; p. pr. & vb. n. Seeing.] Etym: [OE. seen, sen, seon, As. seón; akin to OFries. sia, D. zien, OS. & OHG. sehan, G. sehen, Icel. sja, Sw. se, Dan. see, Goth. saíhwan, and probably to L. sequi to follow (and so originally meaning, to follow with the eyes). Gr. sac. Cf. Sight, Sun to follow.]

1. To perceive by the eye; to have knowledge of the existence and apparent qualities of by the organs of sight; to behold; to descry; to view. I will new turn aside, and see this great sight. Ex. iii. 3.

2. To perceive by mental vision; to form an idea or conception of; to note with the mind; to observe; to discern; to distinguish; to understand; to comprehend; to ascertain. Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren. Gen. xxxvii. 14. Jesus saw that he answered discreetly. Mark xii. 34. Who 's so gross That seeth not this palpable device Shak.

3. To follow with the eyes, or as with the eyes; to watch; to regard attentivelly; to look after. Shak. I had a mind to see him out, and therefore did not care for centradicting him. Addison.

4. To have an interview with; especially, to make a call upon; to visit; as, to go to see a friend. And Samuel came no more to see Saul untill the day of his death. 1 Sam. xv. 35.

5. To fall in with; to have intercourse or communication with; hence, to have knowledge or experience of; as, to see military service. Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil. Ps. xc. 15. Verily, verily, I say unto you, if a man keep my saying, he shall never see death. John viii. 51. Improvement in visdom and prudence by seeing men. Locke.

6. To accompany in person; to escort; to wait upon; as, to see one home; to see one aboard the cars. God you (him, or me, etc.) see, God keep you (him, me, etc.) in his sight; God protect you. [Obs.] Chaucer. -- To see (anything) out, to see (it) to the end; to be present at, or attend, to the end. -- To see stars, to see flashes of light, like stars; -- sometimes the result of concussion of the head. [Colloq.] -- To see (one) through, to help, watch, or guard (one) to the end of a course or an undertaking.

SEE See, v. i.

1. To have the power of sight, or of perceiving by the proper organs; to possess or employ the sense of vision; as, he sees distinctly. Whereas I was blind, now I see. John ix. 25.

2. Figuratively: To have intellectual apprehension; to perceive; to know; to understand; to discern; -- often followed by a preposition, as through, or into. For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind. John ix. 39. Many sagacious persons will find us out, . . . and see through all our fine pretensions. Tillotson.

3. To be attentive; to take care; to give heed; -- generally with to; as, to see to the house. See that ye fall not out by the way. Gen. xiv. 24.

Note: Let me see, Let us see, are used to express consideration, or to introduce the particular consideration of a subject, or some scheme or calculation. Cassio's a proper man, let me see now, -To get his place. Shak.

Note: See is sometimes used in the imperative for look, or behold. "See. see! upon the banks of Boyne he stands." Halifax. To see about a thing, to pay attention to it; to consider it. -- To see on, to look at. [Obs.] "She was full more blissful on to see." Chaucer. -- To see to. (a) To look at; to behold; to view. [Obs.] "An altar by Jordan, a great altar to see to" Josh. xxii. 10. (b) To take care about; to look after; as, to see to a fire.

SEECATCH See"catch, n. [Russ. siekach.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A full-grown male fur seal. [Alaska]

SEED Seed, n.; pl. Seed or Seeds. Etym: [OE. seed, sed, AS. s, fr. sawan to sow; akin to D. zaad seed, G. saat, Icel. sa, s, Goth. manas seed of men. world. See Sow to scatter seed, and cf. Colza.]

1. (Bot.) (a) A ripened ovule, consisting of an embryo with one or more integuments, or coverings; as, an apple seed; a currant seed. By germination it produces a new plant. (b) Any small seedlike fruit, though it may consist of a pericarp, or even a calyx, as well as the seed proper; as, parsnip seed; thistle seed. And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself. Gen. i. 11.

Note: The seed proper has an outer and an inner coat, and within these the kernel or nucleus. The kernel is either the embryo alone, or the embryo inclosed in the albumen, which is the material for the nourishment of the developing embryo. The scar on a seed, left where the stem parted from it, is called the hilum, and the closed orifice of the ovule, the micropyle.

2. (Physiol.)

Defn: The generative fluid of the male; semen; sperm; -- not used in the plural.

3. That from which anything springs; first principle; original; source; as, the seeds of virtue or vice.

4. The principle of production. Praise of great acts he scatters as a seed, Which may the like in coming ages breed. Waller.

5. Progeny; offspring; children; descendants; as, the seed of Abraham; the seed of David.

Note: In this sense the word is applied to one person, or to any number collectively, and admits of the plural form, though rarely used in the plural.

6. Race; generation; birth. Of mortal seed they were not held. Waller. Seed bag (Artesian well), a packing to prevent percolation of water down the bore hole. It consists of a bag encircling the tubing and filled with flax seed, which swells when wet and fills the space between the tubing and the sides of the hole. -- Seed bud (Bot.), the germ or rudiment of the plant in the embryo state; the ovule. -- Seed coat (Bot.), the covering of a seed. -- Seed corn, or Seed grain (Bot.), corn or grain for seed. -- Seed down (Bot.), the soft hairs on certain seeds, as cotton seed. -- Seed drill. See 6th Drill, 2 (a). -- Seed eater (Zoöl.), any finch of the genera Sporophila, and Crithagra. They feed mainly on seeds. -- Seed gall (Zoöl.), any gall which resembles a seed, formed, on the leaves of various plants, usually by some species of Phylloxera. -- Seed leaf (Bot.), a cotyledon. -- Seed lobe (Bot.), a cotyledon; a seed leaf. -- Seed oil, oil expressed from the seeds of plants. -- Seed oyster, a young oyster, especially when of a size suitable for transplantation to a new locality. -- Seed pearl, a small pearl of little value. -- Seed plat, or Seed plot, the ground on which seeds are sown, to produce plants for transplanting; a nursery. -- Seed stalk (Bot.), the stalk of an ovule or seed; a funicle. -- Seed tick (Zoöl.), one of several species of ticks resembling seeds in form and color. -- Seed vessel (Bot.), that part of a plant which contains the seeds; a pericarp. -- Seed weevil (Zoöl.), any one of numerous small weevels, especially those of the genus Apion, which live in the seeds of various plants. -- Seed wool, cotton wool not yet cleansed of its seeds. [Southern U.S.]

SEED Seed, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Seeded; p. pr. & vb. n. Seeding.]

1. To sprinkle with seed; to plant seeds in; to sow; as, to seed a field.

2. To cover thinly with something scattered; to ornament with seedlike decorations. A sable mantle seeded with waking eyes. B. Jonson. To seed down, to sow with grass seed.

SEEDBOX Seed"box`, n. (Bot.) (a) A capsule. (b) A plant (Ludwigia alternifolia) which has somewhat cubical or box-shaped capsules.

SEEDCAKE Seed"cake`, n.

Defn: A sweet cake or cooky containing aromatic seeds, as caraway. Tusser.

SEEDCOD Seed"cod`, n.

Defn: A seedlip. [Prov. Eng.]

SEEDER Seed"er, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, sows or plants seed.

SEEDINESS Seed`i*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being seedy, shabby, or worn out; a state of wretchedness or exhaustion. [Colloq.] G. Eliot. What is called seedness, after a debauch, is a plain proof that nature has been outraged. J. S. Blackie.

SEED-LAC Seed"-lac`, n.

Defn: A species of lac. See the Note under Lac.

SEEDLESS Seed"less, a.

Defn: Without seed or seeds.

SEEDLING Seed"ling, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A plant reared from the seed, as distinguished from one propagated by layers, buds, or the like.

SEEDLIP; SEEDLOP Seed"lip`, Seed"lop`, n. Etym: [AS. s; s seed + leáp basket.]

Defn: A vessel in which a sower carries the seed to be scattered. [Prov. Eng.]

SEEDMAN Seed"man, See

Defn: Seedsman.

SEEDNESS Seed"ness, n.

Defn: Seedtime. [Obs.] Shak.

SEEDSMAN Seeds"man, n.; pl. Seedsmen (.

1. A sower; one who sows or scatters seed. The seedsman Upon the slime and ooze scatters his grain. Shak.

2. A person who deals in seeds.

SEEDTIME Seed"time`, n. Etym: [AS. s.]

Defn: The season proper for sowing. While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night, shall not cease. Gen. viii. 22.

SEEDY Seed"y, a. [Compar. Seedier; superl. Seediest.]

1. Abounding with seeds; bearing seeds; having run to seeds.

2. Having a peculiar flavor supposed to be derived from the weeds growing among the vines; -- said of certain kinds of FRench brandy.

3. Old and worn out; exhausted; spiritless; also, poor and miserable looking; shabily clothed; shabby looking; as, he looked seedy coat. [Colloq.] Little Flanigan here . . . is a little seedy, as we say among us that practice the law. Goldsmith. Seedy toe, an affection of a horse's foot, in which a cavity filled with horn powder is formed between the laminæ and the wall of the hoof.

SEEING See"ing, conj.

Defn: (but originally a present participle). In view of the fact (that); considering; taking into account (that); insmuch as; since; because; -- followed by a dependent clause; as, he did well, seeing that he was so young. Wherefore come ye to me, seeing ye hate me Gen. xxvi. 27.

SEEK Seek, a.

Defn: Sick. [Obs.] Chaucer.

SEEK Seek, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Sought; p. pr. & vb. n. Seeking.] Etym: [OE, seken, AS. s, s; akin to OS. s, LG. söken, D. zoeken, OHG. suohhan, G. suchen, Icel. s, Sw. söka, Dan. söge, Goth. s, and E. sake. Cf. Beseech, Ransack, Sagacious, Sake, Soc.]

1. To go in search of; to look for; to search for; to try to find. The man saked him, saying, What seekest thou And he said, I seek my brethren. Gen. xxxvii. 15,16.

2. To inquire for; to ask for; to solicit; to bessech. Others, tempting him, sought of him a sign. Luke xi. 16.

3. To try to acquire or gain; to strive after; to aim at; as, to seek wealth or fame; to seek one's life.

4. To try to reach or come to; to go to; to resort to. Seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal. Amos v. 5. Since great Ulysses sought the Phrygian plains. Pope.

SEEK Seek, v. i.

Defn: To make search or inquiry: to endeavor to make discovery. Seek ye out of the book of the Lord, and read. Isa. xxxiv. 16. To seek, needing to seek or search; hence, unpreparated. "Unpracticed, unpreparated, and still to seek." Milton. [Obs] -- To seek after, to make pursuit of; to attempt to find or take. -- To seek for, to endeavor to find. -- To seek to, to apply to; to resort to; to court. [Obs.] "All the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom." 1. Kings x. 24. -- To seek upon, to make strict inquiry after; to follow up; to persecute. [Obs.] To seek Upon a man and do his soul unrest. Chaucer.

SEEKER Seek"er, n.

1. One who seeks; that which is used in seeking or searching.

2. (Eccl.)

Defn: One of a small heterogeneous sect of the 17th century, in Great Britain, who professed to be seeking the true church, ministry, and sacraments. A skeptic [is] ever seeking and never finds, like our new upstart sect of Seekers. Bullokar.

SEEK-NO-FURTHER Seek"-no-fur`ther, n.

Defn: A kind of choice winter apple, having a subacid taste; -- formerly called go-no-further.

SEEK-SORROW Seek"-sor`row, n.

Defn: One who contrives to give himself vexation. [Archaic.] Sir P. Sidney.

SEEL Seel, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Seeled; p. pr. & vb. n. Seeling.] Etym: [F.siller, ciller, fr. cil an eyelash, L. cilium.]

1. (Falconry)

Defn: To close the eyes of (a hawk or other bird) by drawing through the lids threads which were fastened over the head. Bacon. Fools climbs to fall: fond hopes, like seeled doves for want of better light, mount till they end their flight with falling. J. Reading.

2. Hence, to shut or close, as the eyes; to blind. Come, seeling night, Scarf up the tender eye of pitiful day. Shak. Gold death, with a violent fate, his sable eyes did seel. Chapman.

SEEL Seel, v. i. Etym: [Cf. LG. sielen to lead off water, F. siller to run ahead, to make headway, E. sile, v.t.]

Defn: To incline to one side; to lean; to roll, as a ship at sea. [Obs.] Sir W. Raleigh.

SEEL; SEELING Seel, Seel"ing, n.

Defn: The rolling or agitation of a ship in a sterm. [Obs.] Sandys.

SEEL Seel, n. Etym: [AS. s, from s good, prosperous. See Silly.]

1. Good fortune; favorable opportunity; prosperity. [Obs.] "So have I seel". Chaucer.

2. Time; season; as, hay seel. [Prov. Eng.]

SEELILY Seel"i*ly, adv.

Defn: In a silly manner. [Obs.]

SEELY Seel"y, a.

Defn: See Silly. [Obs.] Spenser.

SEEM Seem, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Seemed; p. pr. & vb. n. Seeming.] Etym: [OE. semen to seem, to become, befit, AS. s to satisfy, pacify; akin to Icel. s to honor, to bear with, conform to, s becoming, fit, s to beseem, to befit, sama to beseem, semja to arrange, settle, put right, Goth. samjan to please, and to E. same. The sense is probably due to the adj. seemly. sq. root191. See Same, a., and cf. Seemly.]

Defn: To appear, or to appear to be; to have a show or semblance; to present an appearance; to look; to strike one's apprehension or fancy as being; to be taken as. "It now seemed probable." Macaulay. Thou picture of what thou seem'st. Shak. All seemed well pleased; all seemed, but were not all. Milton. There is a way which seemeth right unto a man; but the end thereof are the ways of death. Prov. xiv. 12. It seems, it appears; it is understood as true; it is said. A prince of Italy, it seems, entertained his misstress on a great lake. Addison.

Syn. -- To appear; look. -- Seem, Appear. To appear has reference to a thing's being presented to our view; as, the sun appears; to seem is connected with the idea of semblance, and usually implies an inference of our mind as to the probability of a thing's being so; as, a storm seems to be coming. "The story appears to be true," means that the facts, as presented, go to show its truth; "the story seems to be true," means that it has the semblance of being so, and we infer that it is true. "His first and principal care being to appear unto his people such as he would have them be, and to be such as he appeared." Sir P. Sidney. Ham. Ay, madam, it is common. Queen. If it be, Why seems it so particular with thee Ham. Seems, madam! Nay, it is; I know not "seems." Shak.

SEEM Seem, v. t.

Defn: To befit; to beseem. [Obs.] Spenser.

SEEMER Seem"er, n.

Defn: One who seems; one who carries or assumes an appearance or semblance. Hence shall we see, If power change purpose, what our seemers be. Shak.

SEEMING Seem"ing, a.

Defn: Having a semblance, whether with or without reality; apparent; specious; befitting; as, seeming friendship; seeming truth. My lord, you have lost a friend indeed; And I dare swear you borrow not that face Of seeming sorrow, it is sure your own. Shak.

SEEMING Seem"ing, n.

1. Appearance; show; semblance; fair appearance; speciousness. These keep Seeming and savor all the winter long. Shak.

2. Apprehension; judgment. [Obs.] Chaucer. Nothing more clear unto their seeming. Hooker. His persuasive words, impregned With reason, to her seeming. Milton.

SEEMINGLY Seem"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: In appearance; in show; in semblance; apparently; ostensibly. This the father seemingly complied with. Addison.

SEEMINGNESS Seem"ing*ness, n.

Defn: Semblance; fair appearance; plausibility. Sir K. Digby.

SEEMLESS Seem"less, a.

Defn: Unseemly. [Obs.] Spenser.

SEEMLILY Seem"li*ly, adv.

Defn: In a seemly manner. [Obs.]

SEEMLINESS Seem"li*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being seemly: comeliness; propriety.

SEEMLY Seem"ly, a. [Compar.Seemlier (; superl. Seeliest.] Etym: [Icel. s, fr. s becoming, fit; akin to samr same, E. same; the sense being properly, the same or like, hence, fitting. See Seem, v. i.]

Defn: Suited to the object, occasion, purpose, or character; suitable; fit; becoming; comely; decorous. He had a seemly nose. Chaucer. I am a woman, lacking wit To make a seemly answer to such persons. Shak. Suspense of judgment and exercise of charity were safer and seemlier for Christian men than the hot pursuit of these controversies. Hooker.

Syn. -- Becoming; fit; suitable; proper; appropriate; congruous; meet; decent; decorous.

SEEMLY Seem"ly, adv. [Compar. Seemlier; superl. Seemliest.]

Defn: In a decent or suitable manner; becomingly. Suddenly a men before him stood, Not rustic as before, but seemlier clad, As one in city or court or place bred. Milton.

SEEMLYHED Seem"ly*hed, n. Etym: [See -hood.]

Defn: Comely or decent appearance. [Obs.] Rom. of R. Spenser.

SEEN Seen, p. p.

Defn: of See.

SEEN Seen, a.

Defn: Versed; skilled; accomplished. [Obs.] Well seen in every science that mote be. Spenser. Noble Boyle, not less in nature seen, Than his great brother read in states and men. Dryden.

SEEP; SIPE Seep, or; Sipe, v. i. Etym: [AS. sipan to distill.]

Defn: To run or soak through fine pores and interstices; to ooze. [Scot. & U. S.] Water seeps up through the sidewalks. G. W. Cable.

SEEPAGE; SIPAGE Seep"age, or; Sip"age, n.

Defn: Water that seeped or oozed through a porous soil. [Scot. & U. S.]

SEEPY; SIPY Seep"y, or; Sip"y, a.

Defn: Oozy; -- applied to land under cultivation that is not well drained.

SEER Seer, a.

Defn: Sore; painful. [Prov. Eng.] Ray.

SEER Se"er, n.

Defn: One who sees. Addison.

SEER Seer, n. Etym: [From See.]

Defn: A person who foresees events; a prophet. Milton.

SEERESS Seer"ess, n.

Defn: A female seer; a prophetess.

SEERFISH Seer"fish`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A scombroid food fish of Maderia (Cybium Commersonii).

SEERHAND Seer"hand, n. Etym: [Etymol. uncertain.]

Defn: A kind of muslin of a texture between nainsook and mull.

SEERSHIP Seer"ship, n.

Defn: The office or quality of a seer.

SEERSUCKER Seer"suck`er, n.

Defn: A light fabric, originally made in the East Indies, of silk and linen, usually having alternating stripes, and a slightly craped or puckered surface; also, a cotton fabric of similar appearance.

SEERWOOD Seer"wood`, n. Etym: [See Sear.]

Defn: Dry wood. [Written also searwood.] [Obs.] Dryden.

SEESAW See"saw`, n. Etym: [Probably a reduplication of saw, to express the alternate motion to and fro, as in the act of sawing.]

1. A play among children in which they are seated upon the opposite ends of a plank which is balanced in the middle, and move alternately up and down.

2. A plank or board adjusted for this play.

3. A vibratory or reciprocating motion. He has been arguing in a circle; there is thus a seesaw between the hypothesis and fact. Sir W. Hamilton.

4. (Whist.)

Defn: Same as Crossruff.

SEESAW See"saw`, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Seesawad; p. pr. & vb. n. Seesawing.]

Defn: To move with a reciprocating motion; to move backward and forward, or upward and downward.

SEESAW See"saw`, v. t.

Defn: To cause to move backward and forward in seesaw fashion. He seesaws himself to and fro. Ld. Lytton.

SEESAW See"saw`, a.

Defn: Moving up and down, or to and fro; having a reciprocating motion.

SEET Seet, obs. imp. of Sit.

Defn: Sate; sat. Chaucer.

SEETH Seeth, obs.

Defn: imp. of Seethe. Chaucer.

SEETHE Seethe, v. t. [imp. Seethed (Sod (, obs.); p. p. Seethed, Sodden (; p. pr. & vb. n. Seething.] Etym: [OE. sethen, AS. seó; akin to D. sieden, OHG. siodan, G. sieden, Icel. sj, Sw. sjuda, Dan. syde, Goth. saubs a burnt offering. Cf. Sod, n., Sodden, Suds.]

Defn: To decoct or prepare for food in hot liquid; to boil; as, to seethe flesh. [Written also seeth.] Set on the great pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the prophets. 2 Kings iv. 38.

SEETHE Seethe, v. i.

Defn: To be a state of ebullition or violent commotion; to be hot; to boil. 1 Sam. ii. 13. A long Pointe, round which the Mississippi used to whirl, and seethe, and foam. G. W. Cable.

SEETHER Seeth"er, n.

Defn: A pot for boiling things; a boiler. Like burnished gold the little seether shone. Dryden.

SEG Seg, n. Etym: [See Sedge.] (Bot.)

1. Sedge. [Obs.]

2. The gladen, and other species of Iris. Prior.

SEG Seg, n. Etym: [Probably from the root of L. secare to cut.]

Defn: A castrated bull. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.] Halliwell.

SEGAR Se*gar", n.

Defn: See Cigar.

SEGGAR Seg"gar, n. Etym: [Prov. E. saggard a seggar, seggard a sort of riding surtout, contr. fr. safeguard.]

Defn: A case or holder made of fire clay, in which fine pottery is inclosed while baking in the kin. [Written also saggar, sagger, and segger.] Ure.

SEGGE Segge, n. (Zoöl.

Defn: The hedge sparrow. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.