Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary
S
S — SAGAPEN
S, the nineteenth letter of the English Alphabet, is a sibilant articulation, and numbered among the semi-vowels. It represents the hissing made by driving the breath between the end of the tongue and the roof of the mouth, just above the upper teeth. It has two uses; one to express a mere hissing, as in Sabbath, sack, sin, this, thus; the other a vocal hissing, precisely like that of z, as in muse, wise, pronounced muze, wize. It generally has its hissing sound at the beginning of all proper English words, but in the middle and end of words, its sound is to be known only by usage. In a few words it is silent, as in isle and viscount.
In abbreviations, S. stands for societas, society, or socius, fellow; as F.R.S. fellow of the Royal Society. In medical prescriptions, S.A. signifies secundem artem, according to the rules of art.
In the notes of the ancients, S. stands for Sextus; SP. for Spurius; S.C. for senatus consultum; S.P.Q.R. for senatus populusque Romanus; S.S.S. for stratum super stratum, one layer above another alternately; S.V.B.E.E.Q.V. for sivales, bene est, ego quoque valeo.
As a numeral, S. denoted seven. In the Italian music, S. signifies solo. In books of navigation and in common usage, S. stands for south; S.E. for south-east; S.W. for south-west; S.S.E. for south south-east; S.S.W. for south south-west, etc.
SABAOTH, n. Armies; a word used, Romans 9:29; James 5:4, the Lord of Sabaoth.
SABBATARIAN, n. [from sabbath.] One who observes the seventh day of the week as the sabbath, instead of the first. A sect of baptists are called sabbatarians. They maintain that the Jewish sabbath has not been abrogated.
SABBATARIAN, a. Pertaining to those who keep Saturday, or the seventh day of the week, as the sabbath.
SABBATH, n.
1. The day which God appointed to be observed by the Jews as a day of rest from all secular labor or employments, and to be kept holy and consecrated to his service and worship. This was originally the seventh day of the week, the day on which God rested from the work of creation; and this day is still observed by the Jews and some christians, as the sabbath. But the christian church very early begun and still continue to observe the first day of the week, in commemoration of the resurrection of Christ on that day, by which the work of redemption was completed. Hence it is often called the Lords day. The heathen nations in the north of Europe dedicated this day to the sun, and hence their christian descendants continue to call the day Sunday. But in the United States, christians have to a great extent discarded the heathen name, and adopted the Jewish name sabbath.
2. Intermission of pain or sorrow; time of rest.
Peaceful sleep out the sabbath of the tomb.
3. The sabbatical year among the Israelites. Leviticus 25:2-7.
SABBATH-BREAKER, n. One who profanes the sabbath by violating the laws of God or man which enjoin the religious observance of that day.
SABBATH-BREAKING, n. A profanation of the sabbath by violating the injunction of the fourth commandment, or the municipal laws of a state which require the observance of that day as holy time. All unnecessary secular labor, visiting, traveling, sports, amusements and the like are considered as sabbath-breaking.
SABBATHLESS, a. Without intermission of labor.
SABBATIC, SABBATICAL, a.
1. Pertaining to the sabbath.
2. Resembling the sabbath; enjoying or bringing an intermission of labor.
Sabbatical year, in the Jewish economy, was every seventh year, in which the Israelites were commanded to suffer their fields and vineyards to rest, or lie without tillage, and the year next following every seventh sabbatical year in succession, that is, every fiftieth year, was the jubilee, which was also a year of rest to the lands, and a year of redemption or release. Leviticus 25.
SABBATISM, n. Rest; intermission of labor.
SABEAN, [See Sabian.]
SABEISM, n. The same as Sabianism.
SABELLIAN, a. Pertaining to the heresy of Sabellius.
SABELLIAN, n. A follower of Sabellius, a philosopher of Egypt in the third century, who openly taught that there is one person only in the Godhead, and that the Word and Holy Spirit are only virtues, emanations or functions of the Deity.
SABELLIANISM, n. The doctrines or tenets of Sabellius.
SABER, SABRE, n. A sword or cimitar with a broad and heavy blade, thick at the back, and a little falcated or hooked at the point; a faulchion.
SABER, v.t. To strike, cut or kill with a saber. A small party was surprised at night and almost every man sabered.
SABIAN, SABEAN, a. Pertaining to Saba, in Ara bia, celebrated for producing aromatic plants.
SABIAN, a. The Sabian worship or religion consisted in the the worship of the sun and other heavenly bodies.
SABIAN, n. A worshiper of the sun.
SABIANISM, n. That species of idolatry which consisted in worshiping the sun, moon and stars. This idolatry existed in the world, and was propagated by the inhabitants who migrated westward into Europe, and continued among our ancestors till they embraced the christian religion.
SABINE, n. A plant; usually written savin, which see.
SABLE, n.
1. A small animal of the weasel kind, the mustela zibelina, found in the northern latitudes of America and Asia. It resembles the martin, but has a longer head and ears. Its hair is cinereous, but black at the tips. This animal burrows in the earth or under trees; in winter and summer subsisting on small animals, and in autumn on berries. The fur is very valuable.
2. The fur of the sable.
SABLE, a. [Gr. darkness. See the Noun.]
Black; dark; used chiefly in poetry or in heraldry; as night with her sable mantle; the sable throne of night.
SABLIERE, n. [L. sabulum.]
1. A sand pit. [Not much used.]
2. In carpentry, a piece of timber as long, but not so thick as a beam.
SABOT, n. A wooden shoe. [Not English.]
SABULOSITY, n. [from sabulous.] Sandiness; grittiness.
SABULOUS, a. [L. sabulosus, from sabulum, sand.] Sandy; gritty.
SAC, n. [This is the English sake, which see.]
In English law, the privilege enjoyed by the lord of a manor, of holding courts, trying causes and imposing fines.
SACCADE, n. A sudden violent check of a horse by drawing or twitching the reins on a sudden and with one pull; a correction used when the horse bears heavy on the hand. It should be used discretely.
SACCHARIFEROUS, a. [L. saccharum, sugar, and fero, to produce.]
Producing sugar; as sacchariferous canes. The maple is a sacchariferous tree.
SACCHARINE, a. [L. saccharum, sugar.]
Pertaining to sugar; having the qualities of sugar; as a saccharine taste; the saccharine matter of the cane juice.
SACCHOLACTIC, a. [L. saccharum, sugar, and lac, milk.]
A term in the new chimistry, denoting an acid obtained from the sugar of milk; now called mucic acid.
SACCHOLATE, n. In chimistry, a salt formed by the union of the saccholactic acid with a base.
SACERDOTAL, a. [L. sacerdotalis, from sacerdos, a priest. See Sacred.]
Pertaining to priests or the priesthood; priestly; as sacerdotal dignity; sacerdotal functions or garments; sacerdotal character.
SACHEL, n. [L. sacculus, dim. of saccus.]
A small sack or bag; a bag in which lawyers and children carry papers and books.
SACHEM, n. In America, a chief among some of the native Indian tribes. [See Sagamore.]
SACK, n. [L. saccus. Heb. See the verb to sack.]
1. A bag, usually a large cloth bag, used for holding and conveying corn, small wares, wool, cotton, hops, and the like. Genesis 42:25.
Sack of wool, in England, is 22 stone of 14 lb. each, or 308 pounds. In Scotland, it is 24 stone of 16 pounds each, or 384 pounds.
A sack of cotton, contains usually about 300 lb. but it may be from 150 to 400 pounds.
Sack of earth, in fortification, is a canvas bag filled with earth, used in making retrenchments in haste.
2. The measure of three bushels.
SACK, n. A species of sweet wine, brought chiefly from the Canary isles.
SACK, n. [L. sagum, whence Gr. But the word is Celtic or Teutonic.]
Among our rude ancestors, a kind of cloak of a square form, worn over the shoulders and body, and fastened in from by a clasp or thorn. It was originally made of skin, afterwards of wool. In modern times, this name has been given to a woman’s garment, a gown with loose plaits on the back; but no garment of this kind is now worn, and the word is in disuse. [See Varro, Strabo, Cluver, Bochart.]
SACK, v.t. To put in a sac or in bags.
SACK, v.t. [From comparing this word and sack, a bag, in several languages, it appears that they are both from one root, and that the primary sense is to strain, pull, draw; hence sack, a bag, is a tie, that which is tied or drawn together; and sack, to pillage, is to pull, to strip, that is, to take away by violence.]
To plunder or pillage, as a town or city. Rome was twice taken and sacked in the reign of one pope. This word is never, I believe, applied to the robbing of persons, or pillaging of single houses, but to the pillaging of towns and cities; and as towns are usually or often sacked, when taken by assault, the word may sometimes include the sense of taking by storm.
The Romans lay under the apprehension of seeing their city sacked by a barbarous enemy.
SACK, n. The pillage or plunder of a town or city; or the storm and plunder of a town; as the sack of Troy.
SACKAGE, n. The act of taking by storm and pillaging.
SACKBUT, n. [The last syllable is the L. buxus.]
A wind instrument of music; a kind of trumpet, so contrived that it can be lengthened or shortened according to the tone required.
SACKCLOTH, n. [sack and cloth.] Cloth of which sacks are made; coarse cloth. This word is chiefly used in Scripture to denote a cloth or garment worn in mourning, distress or mortification.
Gird you with sackcloth and mourn before Abner. 2 Samuel 3:31; Esther 4:1-4; Job 16:15.
SACKCLOTHED, a. Clothed in sackcloth.
SACKED, pp. Pillaged; stormed and plundered.
SACKER, n. One that takes a town or plunders it.
SACKFUL, n. A full sack or bag.
SACKING, ppr. Taking by assault and plundering or pillaging.
SACKING, n. The act of taking by storm and pillaging.
SACKING, n.
1. Cloth of which sacks or bags are made.
2. The coarse cloth or canvas fastened to a bedstead for supporting the bed.
SACKLESS, a.
Quiet; peaceable; not quarrelsome; harmless; innocent. [Local.]
SACK-POSSET, n. [sack and posset.] A posset made of sack, milk and some other ingredients.
SACRAMENT, n. [L. sacramentum, an oath, from sacer, sacred.]
1. Among ancient christian writers, a mystery. [Not in use.]
2. An oath; a ceremony producing an obligation; but not used in this general sense.
3. In present usage, an outward and visible sign of inward and spiritual grace; or more particularly, a solemn religious ceremony enjoined by Christ, the head of the christian church, to be observed by his followers, by which their special relation to him is created, or their obligations to him renewed and ratified. Thus baptism is called a sacrament, for by it persons are separated from the world, brought into Christ’s visible church, and laid under particular obligations to obey his precepts. The eucharist or communion of the Lord’s supper, is also a sacrament, for by commemorating the death and dying love of Christ, christians avow their special relation to him, and renew their obligations to be faithful to their divine Master. When we use sacrament without any qualifying word, we mean by it,
4. The eucharist or Lord’s supper.
SACRAMENT, v.t. To bind by an oath. [Not used.]
SACRAMENTAL, a. Constituting a sacrament or pertaining to it; as sacramental rites or elements.
SACRAMENTAL, n. That which relates to a sacrament.
SACRAMENTALLY, adv. After the manner of a sacrament.
SACRAMENTARIAN, n. One that differs from the Romish church in regard to the sacraments, or to the Lord’s supper; a word applied by the catholics to protestants.
SACRAMENTARY, n.
1. An ancient book of the Romish church, written by pope Gelasius, and revised, corrected and abridged by St. Gregory, in which were contained all the prayers and ceremonies practiced in the celebration of the sacraments.
2. A sacramentarian; a term of reproach applied by papists to protestants.
SACRAMENTARY, SACRAMENTARIAN, a. Pertaining to sacramentarians and to their controversy respecting the eucharist.
SACRE. [See Saker.]
SACRED, a. [L. sacer, sacred, holy, cursed, damnable. We here see the connection between sacredness and secrecy. The sense is removed or separated from that which is common, vulgar, polluted, or open, public; and accursed is separated from society or the privileges of citizens, rejected, banished.]
1. Holy; pertaining to God or to his worship; separated from common secular uses and consecrated to God and his service; as a sacred place; a sacred day; a sacred feast; sacred service; sacred orders.
2. Proceeding from God and containing religious precepts; as the sacred books of the Old and New Testament.
3. Narrating or writing facts respecting God and holy things; as a sacred historian.
4. Relating to religion or the worship of God; used for religious purposes; as sacred songs; sacred music; sacred history.
5. Consecrated; dedicated; devoted; with to.
A temple sacred to the queen of love.
6. Entitled to reverence; venerable.
Poet and saint to thee alone were given, the two most sacred names of earth and heav’n.
7. Inviolable, as if appropriated to a superior being; as sacred honor or promise.
Secrets of marriage still are sacred held.
Sacred majesty. In this title, sacred has no definite meaning, or it is blasphemy.
Sacred place, in the civil law, is that where a deceased person is buried.
SACREDLY, adv.
1. Religiously; with due reverence as of something holy or consecrated to God; as, to observe the sabbath sacredly; the day is sacredly kept.
2. Inviolably; strictly; as, to observe one’s word sacredly; a secret to be sacredly kept.
SACREDNESS, n.
1. The state of being sacred, or consecrated to God, to his worship or to religious uses; holiness; sanctity; as the sacredness of the sanctuary or its worship; the sacredness of the sabbath; the sacredness of the clerical office.
2. Inviolableness; as the sacredness of marriage vows or of a trust.
SACRIFIC, SACRIFICAL, a. [L. sacrificus. See Sacrifice.] Employed in sacrifice.
SACRIFICABLE, a. Capable of being offered in sacrifice. [Ill formed, harsh and not used.]
SACRIFICANT, n. [L. sacrificans.] One that offers a sacrifice.
SACRIFICATOR, n. A sacrificer; one that offers a sacrifice. [Not used.]
SACRIFICATORY, a. Offering sacrifice.
SACRIFICE, v.t. sac’rifize. [L. sacrifico; sacer, sacred, and facio, to make.]
1. To offer to God in homage or worship, by killing and consuming, as victims on an altar; to immolate, either as an atonement for sin, or to procure favor, or to express thankfulness; as, to sacrifice an ox or a lamb. 2 Samuel 6:13.
2. To destroy, surrender or suffer to be lost for the sake of obtaining something; as, to sacrifice the peace of the church to a little vain curiosity. We should never sacrifice health to pleasure, nor integrity to fame.
3. To devote with loss.
Condemn’d to sacrifice his childish years to babbling ignorance and to empty fears.
4. To destroy; to kill.
SACRIFICE, v.i. To make offerings to God by the slaughter and burning of victims, or of some part of them. Exodus 3:18.
SACRIFICE, n. [L. sacrificium.]
1. An offering made to God by killing and burning some animal upon an altar, as an acknowledgment of his power and providence, or to make atonement for sin, appease his wrath or conciliate his favor, or to express thankfulness for his benefits. Sacrifices have been common to most nations, and have been offered to false gods, as well as by the Israelites to Jehovah. A sacrifice differs from an oblation; the latter being an offering of a thing entire or without change, as tithes or first fruits; whereas sacrifice implies a destruction or killing, as of a beast. Sacrifices are expiatory, impetratory, and eucharistical; that is, atoning for sin, seeking favor, or expressing thanks.
Human sacrifices, the killing and offering of human beings to deities, have been practiced by some barbarous nations.
2. The thing offered to God, or immolated by an act of religion.
My life if thou preserv’st, my life thy sacrifice shall be.
3. Destruction, surrender or loss made or incurred for gaining some object, or for obliging another; as the sacrifice of interest to pleasure, or of pleasure to interest.
4. Any thing destroyed.
SACRIFICED, pp. Offered to God upon an altar; destroyed, surrendered, or suffered to be lost.
SACRIFICER, n. One that sacrifices or immolates.
SACRIFICIAL, a. Performing sacrifice; included in sacrifice; consisting in sacrifice.
SACRILEGE, n. [L. sacrilegium; sacer, sacred, and lego, to take or steal.]
The crime of violating or profaning sacred things; or the alienating to laymen or to common purposes what has been appropriated or consecrated to religious persons or uses.
And the hid treasures in her sacred tomb with sacrilege to dig.
SACRILEGIOUS, a. [L. sacrilegus.]
1. Violating sacred things; polluted with the crime of sacrilege.
Above the reach of sacrilegious hands.
2. Containing sacrilege; as a sacrilegious attempt or act.
SACRILEGIOUSLY, adv. With sacrilege; in violation of sacred things; as sacrilegiously invading the property of a church.
SACRILEGIOUSNESS, n.
1. The quality of being sacrilegious.
2. Disposition to sacrilege.
SACRILEGIST, n. One who is guilty of sacrilege.
SACRING, ppr. Consecrating. [Not in use.]
SACRING-BELL, n. A bell rung before the host.
SACRIST, n. A sacristan; a person retained in a cathedral to copy out music for the choir, and take care of the books.
SACRISTAN, n. [L. sacer, sacred.]
An officer of the church who has the care of the utensils or movables of the church. It is now corrupted into sexton.
SACRISTY, n. [L. sacer, sacred.]
An apartment in a church where the sacred utensils are kept; now called the vestry.
SACROSANCT, a. [L. sacrosanctus; sacer and sanctus, holy.] Sacred; inviolable. [Not in use.]
SAD, a. [It is probable this word is from the root of set. I have not found the word is from the root of set. I have not found the word in the English sense, in any other language.]
1. Sorrowful; affected with grief; cast down with affliction.
Th’ angelic guards ascended, mute and sad.
Sad for their loss, but joyful of our life.
2. Habitually melancholy; gloomy; not gay or cheerful.
See in her cell sad Eloisa spread.
3. Downcast; gloomy; having the external appearance of sorrow; as a sad countenance. Matthew 6:16.
4. Serious; grave; not gay, light or volatile.
Lady Catherine, a sad and religious woman.
5. Afflictive; calamitous; causing sorrow; as a sad accident; a sad misfortune.
6. Dark colored.
Woad or wade is used by the dyers to lay the foundation of all sad colors.
[This sense is, I believe, entirely obsolete.]
7. Bad; vexatious; as a sad husband. [Colloquial.]
8. Heavy; weighty; ponderous.
With that his hand more sad than lump of lead. Obs.
9. Close; firm; cohesive; opposed to light or friable.
Chalky lands are naturally cold and sad. Obs.
[The two latter senses indicate that the primary sense is set, fixed.]
SADDEN, v.t. sad’n.
1. To make sad or sorrowful; also, to make melancholy or gloomy.
2. To make dark colored. Obs.
3. To make heavy, firm or cohesive.
Marl is binding, and saddening of land is the great prejudice it doth to clay lands. Obs.
SADDENED, pp. Made sad or gloomy.
SADDENING, ppr. Making sad or gloomy.
SADDLE, n. sad’l. [L. sedeo, sedile.]
1. A seat to be placed on a horse’s back for the rider to sit on. Saddles are variously made, as the common saddle and the hunting saddle, and for females the side-saddle.
2. Among seamen, a cleat or block of wood nailed on the lower yard-arms to retain the studding sail-booms in their place. The name is given also to other circular pieces of wood; as the saddle of the bow-spirit.
SADDLE, v.t.
1. To put a saddle on.
Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his ass. Genesis 22:3.
2. To load; to fix a burden on; as, to be saddled with the expense of bridges and highways.
SADDLE-BACKED, a. Having a low back and an elevated neck and head, as a horse.
SADDLE-BOW, n. The bows of a saddle, or the pieces which form the front.
SADDLE-MAKER, SADDLER, n. One whose occupation is to make saddles.
SADDUCEAN, a. Pertaining to the Sadducees, a sect among the ancient Jews, who denied the resurrection, a future state, and the existence of angels. Acts 23:6-8.
SADDUCISM, n. The tenets of the Sadducees.
SADLY, adv.
1. Sorrowfully; mournfully.
He sadly suffers in their grief.
2. In a calamitous or miserable manner. The misfortunes which others experience we may one day sadly feel.
3. In a dark color. Obs.
SADNESS, n.
1. Sorrowfulness; mournfulness; dejection of mind; as grief and sadness at the memory of sin.
2. A melancholy look; gloom of countenance.
Dim sadness did not spare Celestial visages.
3. Seriousness; sedate gravity. Let every thing in a mournful subject have an air of sadness.
SAFE, a. [L. salvus, from salus, safety, health.]
1. Free from danger of any kind; as safe from enemies; safe from disease; safe from storms; safe from the malice of foes.
2. Free from hurt, injury or damage; as, to walk safe over red hot plowshares. We brought the goods safe to land.
3. Conferring safety; securing from harm; as a safe guide; a safe harbor; a safe bridge.
4. Not exposing to danger. Philippians 3:1.
5. No longer dangerous; placed beyond the power of doing harm; a ludicrous meaning.
Banquo’s safe. - Aye, my good lord, safe in a ditch.
SAFE, n. A place of safety; a place for securing provisions from noxious animals.
SAFE, v.t. To render safe. [Not in use.]
SAFE-CONDUCT, n. [safe and conduct.]
That which gives a safe passage, either a convoy or guard to protect a person in an enemy’s country or in a foreign country, or a writing, a pass or warrant of security given to a person by the sovereign of a country to enable him to travel with safety.
SAFEGUARD, n. [safe and guard.]
1. He or that which defends or protects; defense; protection.
The sword, the safeguard of thy brother’s throne.
2. A convoy or guard to protect a traveler.
3. A passport; a warrant of security given by a sovereign to protect a stranger within his territories; formerly, a protection granted to a stranger in prosecuting his rights in due course of law.
4. An outer petticoat to save women’s clothes on horseback.
SAFEGUARD, v.t. To guard; to protect. [Little used.]
SAFE-KEEPING, n. [safe and keep.] The act of keeping or preserving in safety from injury or from escape.
SAFELY, adv.
1. In a safe manner; without incurring danger or hazard of evil consequences. We may safely proceed, or safely conclude.
2. Without injury. We passed the river safely.
3. Without escape; in close custody; as, to keep a prisoner safely.
SAFENESS, n.
1. Freedom from danger; as the safeness of an experiment.
2. The state of being safe, or of conferring safety; as the safeness of a bridge or of a beat.
SAFETY, n.
1. Freedom from danger or hazard; as the safety of an electrical experiment; the safety of a voyage.
I was not in safety, nor had I rest. Job 3:26.
2. Exemption from hurt, injury or loss. We crossed the Atlantic in safety.
SAFETY-VALVE, n. A valve by means of which a boiler is preserved from bursting by the force of steam.
SAFFLOW, SAFFLOWER, n. The plant, bastard saffron, of the genus Carthamus.
SAFFLOWER, n. A deep red fecula separated from orange-colored flowers, particularly those of the Carthamustinctorius; called also Spanish red and China lake.
The dried flowers of the Carthamustinctorius.
SAFFRON, n. [The radical sense is to fail, or to be hollow, or to be exhausted.]
1. A plant of the genus Crocus. The bastard saffron is of the genus Carthamus, and the meadow saffron of the genus Colchicum.
2. In the materia medica, saffron is formed of the stigmata of the Crocus officinalis, dried on a kiln and pressed into cakes.
SAFFRON, a. Having the color of saffron flowers; yellow; as a saffron face; a saffron streamer.
SAFFRON, v.t. To tinge with saffron; to make yellow; to gild.
SAG, v.i. [a different spelling of swag, which see.]
1. To yield; to give way; to lean or incline from an upright position, or to bend from a horizontal position. Our workmen say, a building sags to the north or south; or a beam sags by means of its weight.
2. In sailing, to incline to the leeward; to make lee way.
SAG, v.t. To cause to bend or give way; to load or burden.
SAGACIOUS, a. [L. sagax, from sagus, wise, foreseeing; saga, a wise woman; sagio, to perceive readily. The latter signifies wise, prudent, sage, and an essay, which unites this word with seek, and L. sequor.]
1. Quick of scent; as a sagacious hound; strictly perhaps, following by the scent, which sense is connected with L. sequor; with of; as sagacious of his quarry.
2. Quick of thought; acute in discernment or penetration; as a sagacious head; a sagacious mind.
I would give more for the criticisms of one sagacious enemy, than for those of a score of admirers.
SAGACIOUSLY, adv.
1. With quick scent.
2. With quick discernment or penetration.
SAGACIOUSNESS, n.
1. The quality of being sagacious; quickness of scent.
2. Quickness or acuteness of discernment.
SAGACITY, n. [L. sagacitas.]
1. Quickness or acuteness of scent; applied to animals.
2. Quickness or acuteness of discernment or penetration; readiness of apprehension; the faculty of readily discerning and distinguishing ideas, and of separating truth from falsehood.
Sagacity finds out the intermediate ideas, to discover what connection there is in each link of the chain.