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Read Ebook: The Gutenberg Webster's Unabridged Dictionary: Section S by Project Gutenberg Webster Noah
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Ebook has 19068 lines and 434599 words, and 382 pages
Begin file 9 of 11: S. of An electronic field-marked version of:
This electronic version was prepared by MICRA, Inc. of Plainfield, NJ. Last edit February 11, 1999.
This version is only a first typing, and has numerous typographic errors, including errors in the field-marks. Assistance in bringing this dictionary to a more accurate and useful state will be greatly appreciated. This electronic dictionary is made available as a potential starting point for development of a modern on-line comprehensive encyclopedic dictionary, by the efforts of all individuals willing to help build a large and freely available knowledge base. Anyone willing to assist in any way in constructing such a knowledge base should contact:
Patrick Cassidy cassidy@micra.com 735 Belvidere Ave. Office: 668-5252 Plainfield, NJ 07062 561-3416
S , the nineteenth letter of the English alphabet, is a consonant, and is often called a sibilant, in allusion to its hissing sound. It has two principal sounds; one a mere hissing, as in sack, this; the other a vocal hissing , as in is, wise. Besides these it sometimes has the sounds of sh and zh, as in sure, measure. It generally has its hissing sound at the beginning of words, but in the middle and at the end of words its sound is determined by usage. In a few words it is silent, as in isle, d?bris. With the letter h it forms the digraph sh. See Guide to pronunciation, ?? 255-261.
Both the form and the name of the letter S are derived from the Latin, which got the letter through the Greek from the Phaenician. The ultimate origin is Egyptian. S is etymologically most nearly related to c, z, t, and r; as, in ice, OE. is; E. hence, OE. hennes; E. rase, raze; erase, razor; that, G. das; E. reason, F. raison, L. ratio; E. was, were; chair, chaise .
-s. 1. The suffix used to form the plural of most words; as in roads, elfs, sides, accounts.
-'s The suffix used to form the possessive singular of nouns; as, boy's; man's.
's. A contraction for is or for has. "My heart's subdued." Shak.
Sa"adh , n. See Sadh.
Saan , n. pl. Same as Bushmen.
, n. See Sabianism.
Sa"bal , n. A genus of palm trees including the palmetto of the Southern United States.
Sab"bat , n. In mediaeval demonology, the nocturnal assembly in which demons and sorcerers were thought to celebrate their orgies.
There were Christians in the early church who held this opinion, and certain Christians, esp. the Seventh-day Baptists, hold it now.
Sab"bath , n. 1. A season or day of rest; one day in seven appointed for rest or worship, the observance of which was enjoined upon the Jews in the Decalogue, and has been continued by the Christian church with a transference of the day observed from the last to the first day of the week, which is called also Lord's Day.
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Ex. xx. 8.
Peaceful sleep out the sabbath of the tomb.
Pope.
Sabbath breaker, one who violates the law of the Sabbath. -- Sabbath breaking, the violation of the law of the Sabbath. -- Sabbath-day's journey, a distance of about a mile, which, under Rabbinical law, the Jews were allowed to travel on the Sabbath.
Syn. -- Sabbath, Sunday. Sabbath is not strictly synonymous with Sunday. Sabbath denotes the institution; Sunday is the name of the first day of the week. The Sabbath of the Jews is on Saturday, and the Sabbath of most Christians on Sunday. In New England, the first day of the week has been called "the Sabbath," to mark it as holy time; Sunday is the word more commonly used, at present, in all parts of the United States, as it is in England. "So if we will be the children of our heavenly Father, we must be careful to keep the Christian Sabbath day, which is the Sunday." Homilies.
, a. Of or pertaining to the Sabbath; resembling the Sabbath; enjoying or bringing an intermission of labor.
Sabbatical year , every seventh year, in which the Israelites were commanded to suffer their fields and vineyards to rest, or lie without tillage.
, n. A sword with a broad and heavy blade, thick at the back, and usually more or less curved like a scimiter; a cavalry sword.
Saber fish, or Sabre fish , the cutlass fish.
, v. t. To strike, cut, or kill with a saber; to cut down, as with a saber.
You send troops to saber and bayonet us into submission.
Burke.
, n. The curlew.
Sa"bine , a. Of or pertaining to the ancient Sabines, a people of Italy. -- n. One of the Sabine people.
Sab"ine , n. See Savin.
Sa"ble , n. 1. A carnivorous animal of the Weasel family native of the northern latitudes of Europe, Asia, and America, -- noted for its fine, soft, and valuable fur.
The sable resembles the marten, but has a longer head and ears. Its fur consists of a soft under wool, with a dense coat of hair, overtopped by another still longer. It varies greatly in color and quality according to the locality and the season of the year. The darkest and most valuable furs are taken in autumn and winter in the colder parts of Siberia, Russia, and British North America.
The American sable, or marten, was formerly considered a distinct species , but it differs very little from the Asiatic sable, and is now considered only a geographical variety.
Sa"ble , a. Of the color of the sable's fur; dark; black; -- used chiefly in poetry.
Night, sable goddess! from her ebon throne, In rayless majesty, now stretches forth Her leaden scepter o'er a slumbering world.
Young.
Sable antelope , a large South African antelope . Both sexes have long, sharp horns. The adult male is black; the female is dark chestnut above, white beneath. -- Sable iron, a superior quality of Russia iron; -- so called because originally stamped with the figure of a sable. -- Sable mouse , the lemming.
Sa"ble, v. t. To render sable or dark; to drape darkly or in black.
Sabled all in black the shady sky.
G. Fletcher.
||Sa`bot" , n. 1. A kind of wooden shoe worn by the peasantry in France, Belgium, Sweden, and some other European countries.
||Sa`bo"ti?re , n. A kind of freezer for ices.
Sa"bre , n. & v. See Saber.
Sac , n. See Sacs.
Sac, n. The privilege formerly enjoyed by the lord of a manor, of holding courts, trying causes, and imposing fines. Cowell.
Sac , n. 1. See 2d Sack.
Sa"car , n. See Saker.
Sac"cate , a. 1. Having the form of a sack or pouch; furnished with a sack or pouch, as a petal.
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