Chapter 1547

&hand; Sight in this last sense was formerly employed in the best usage. "A sight of lawyers."

Latimer.

A wonder sight of flowers. Gower.

At sight , as soon as seen, or presented to sight; as, a draft payable at sight : to read Greek at sight ; to shoot a person at sight . -- Front sight (Firearms) , the sight nearest the muzzle. -- Open sight . (Firearms) (a) A front sight through which the objects aimed at may be seen, in distinction from one that hides the object . (b) A rear sight having an open notch instead of an aperture. -- Peep sight , Rear sight . See under Peep , and Rear . -- Sight draft , an order, or bill of exchange, directing the payment of money at sight. -- To take sight , to take aim; to look for the purpose of directing a piece of artillery, or the like.

Syn. -- Vision; view; show; spectacle; representation; exhibition.

Sight <Xpage=1338>

Sight (?) , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Sighted ; p. pr. & vb. n. Sighting .] 1. To get sight of; to see; as, to sight land; to sight a wreck.

Kane.

2. To look at through a sight; to see accurately; as, to sight an object, as a star .

3. To apply sights to; to adjust the sights of; also, to give the proper elevation and direction to by means of a sight; as, to sight a rifle or a cannon .

Sight <Xpage=1338>

Sight , v. i. (Mil.) To take aim by a sight.

Sighted <Xpage=1338>

Sight"ed , a. Having sight, or seeing, in a particular manner; -- used in composition; as, long- sighted , short- sighted , quick- sighted , sharp- sighted , and the like .

Sightful <Xpage=1338>

Sight"ful (?) , a. Easily or clearly seen; distinctly visible; perspicuous. [Obs.]

Testament of Love.

Sightfulness <Xpage=1338>

Sight"ful*ness , n. The state of being sightful; perspicuity. [Obs.]

Sir P. Sidney.

Sight-hole <Xpage=1338>

Sight"-hole` (?) , n. A hole for looking through; a peephole. "Stop all sight-holes ."

Shak.

Sighting <Xpage=1338>

Sight"ing , a & n. from Sight , v. t.

Sighting shot , a shot made to ascertain whether the sights of a firearm are properly adjusted; a trial shot.

Sightless <Xpage=1338>

Sight"less , a. 1. Wanting sight; without sight; blind.

Of all who blindly creep or sightless soar. Pope.

2. That can not be seen; invisible. [Obs.]

The sightless couriers of the air. Shak.

3. Offensive or unpleasing to the eye; unsightly; as, sightless stains . [R.]

Shak.

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

Sightliness <Xpage=1338>

Sight"li*ness (?) , n. The state of being sightly; comeliness; conspicuousness.

Sightly <Xpage=1338>

Sight"ly (?) , a. 1. Pleasing to the sight; comely. "Many brave, sightly horses."

L'Estrange.

2. Open to sight; conspicuous; as, a house stands in a sightly place .

Sightproof <Xpage=1338>

Sight"proof` (?) , a. Undiscoverable to sight.

Hidden in their own sightproof bush. Lowell.

Sight-seeing <Xpage=1338>

Sight"-see`ing (?) , a. Engaged in, or given to, seeing sights; eager for novelties or curiosities.

Sight-seeing <Xpage=1338>

Sight"-see`ing , n. The act of seeing sights; eagerness for novelties or curiosities.

Sight-seer <Xpage=1338>

Sight"-se`er (?) , n. One given to seeing sights or noted things, or eager for novelties or curiosities.

Sight-shot <Xpage=1338>

Sight"-shot` (?) , n. Distance to which the sight can reach or be thrown. [R.]

Cowley.

Sightsman <Xpage=1338>

Sights"man (?) , n. ; pl. Sightsmen (<?/) . (Mus.) One who reads or performs music readily at first sight. [R.] <-- now, sight-reader -->

Busby.

Sigil <Xpage=1338>

Sig"il (?) , n. [L. sigillum . See Seal a stamp.] A seal; a signature.

Dryden.

Of talismans and sigils knew the power. Pope.

Sigillaria <Xpage=1338>

Sig`il*la"ri*a (?) , n. pl. [L., from sigillum a seal. See Sigil .] (Rom. Antic.) Little images or figures of earthenware exposed for sale, or given as presents, on the last two days of the Saturnalia; hence, the last two, or the sixth and seventh, days of the Saturnalia.

Sigillaria <Xpage=1338>

Sig`il*la"ri*a , n. [NL., fem sing. fr. L. sigillum a seal.] (Paleon.) A genus of fossil trees principally found in the coal formation; -- so named from the seallike leaf scars in vertical rows on the surface.

Sigillarid <Xpage=1338>

Sig`il*la"rid (?) , n. (Paleon.) One of an extinct family of cryptagamous trees, including the genus Sigillaria and its allies.

Sigillated <Xpage=1338>

Sig"il*la`ted (?) , a. [L. sigillatus adorned with little images.] Decorated by means of stamps; -- said of pottery.

Sigillative <Xpage=1338>

Sig"il*la*tive (?) , a. [L. sigillum a seal: cf. OF. sigillatif .] Fit to seal; belonging to a seal; composed of wax. [R.]

Sigillum <Xpage=1338>

Si*gil"lum (?) , n. ; pl. Sigilla (#) . [L.] (Rom. & Old Eng. Law) A seal.

Sigla <Xpage=1338>

Sig"la (?) , n. pl. [L.] The signs, abbreviations, letters, or characters standing for words, shorthand, etc., in ancient manuscripts, or on coins, medals, etc.

W. Savage.

Sigma <Xpage=1338>

Sig"ma (?) , n. ; pl. Sigmas (#) . [L., from Gr. <?/<?/<?/, <?/<?/<?/.] The Greek letter <SIGMA/, &sigma;, or &sigmat; (English S , or s ). It originally had the form of the English C.

Sigmodont <Xpage=1338>

Sig"mo*dont (?) , n. [Gr. <?/<?/<?/ sigma (<?/) + <?/<?/<?/, <?/<?/<?/, a tooth.] (Zo\'94l.) Any one of a tribe ( Sigmodontes ) of rodents which includes all the indigenous rats and mice of America. So called from the form of the ridges of enamel on the crowns of the worn molars. Also used adjectively.

Sigmoid, Sigmoidal <Xpage=1338>

Sig"moid (?) , Sig*moid"al (?) , a. [Gr. <?/<?/<?/; <?/<?/<?/ sigma + <?/<?/<?/ form, likeness: cf. F. sigmo\'8bde .] Curved in two directions, like the letter S, or the Greek &sigmat;.

Sigmoid flexure (Anat.) , the last curve of the colon before it terminates in the rectum. See Illust . under Digestive . -- Sigmoid valves . (Anat.) See Semilunar valves , under Semilunar .

Sigmoidally <Xpage=1338>

Sig*moid"al*ly , adv. In a sigmoidal manner.

<page="1339"> Page 1339

Sign <Xpage=1339>

Sign (?) , n. [F. signe , L. signum ; cf. AS. segen , segn , a sign, standard, banner, also fr. L. signum . Cf. Ensign , Resign , Seal a stamp, Signal , Signet .] That by which anything is made known or represented; that which furnishes evidence; a mark; a token; an indication; a proof. Specifically: (a) A remarkable event, considered by the ancients as indicating the will of some deity; a prodigy; an omen . (b) An event considered by the Jews as indicating the divine will, or as manifesting an interposition of the divine power for some special end; a miracle; a wonder.

Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God. Rom. xv. 19.

It shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign , that they will believe the voice of the latter sign . Ex. iv. 8.

(c) Something serving to indicate the existence, or preserve the memory, of a thing; a token; a memorial; a monument .

What time the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men, and they became a sign . Num. xxvi. 10.

(d) Any symbol or emblem which prefigures, typifles, or represents, an idea; a type; hence, sometimes, a picture .

The holy symbols, or signs , are not barely significative; but what they represent is as certainly delivered to us as the symbols themselves. Brerewood.

Saint George of Merry England, the sign of victory. Spenser.

(e) A word or a character regarded as the outward manifestation of thought; as, words are the sign of ideas . (f) A motion, an action, or a gesture by which a thought is expressed, or a command or a wish made known .

They made signs to his father, how he would have him called. Luke i. 62.

(g) Hence, one of the gestures of pantomime, or of a language of a signs such as those used by the North American Indians, or those used by the deaf and dumb .

&hand; Educaters of the deaf distinguish between natural signs , which serve for communicating ideas, and methodical , or systematic , signs , adapted for the dictation, or the rendering, of written language, word by word; and thus the signs are to be distinguished from the manual alphabet , by which words are spelled on the fingers.

(h) A military emblem carried on a banner or a standard . Milton . (i) A lettered board, or other conspicuous notice, placed upon or before a building, room, shop, or office to advertise the business there transacted, or the name of the person or firm carrying it on; a publicly displayed token or notice .

The shops were, therefore, distinguished by painted signs , which gave a gay and grotesque aspect to the streets. Macaulay.

(j) (Astron.) The twelfth part of the ecliptic or zodiac .

&hand; The signs are reckoned from the point of intersection of the ecliptic and equator at the vernal equinox, and are named, respectively, Aries (<Aries/), Taurus (<Taurus/), Gemini (II), Cancer (<Cancer/), Leo (<Leo/), Virgo (<Virgo/), Libra (<Libra/), Scorpio (<Scorpio/), Sagittarius (<Sagittarius/), Capricornus (<Capricorn/), Aquarius (<Aquarius/), Pisces (<Pisces/). These names were originally the names of the constellations occupying severally the divisions of the zodiac, by which they are still retained; but, in consequence of the procession of the equinoxes, the signs have, in process of time, become separated about 30 degrees from these constellations, and each of the latter now lies in the sign next in advance, or to the east of the one which bears its name, as the constellation Aries in the sign Taurus, etc.

(k) (Alg.) A character indicating the relation of quantities, or an operation performed upon them; as, the sign + (plus); the sign -- (minus); the sign of division \'f6, and the like . (l) (Med.) An objective evidence of disease; that is, one appreciable by some one other than the patient .

&hand; The terms symptom and and sign are often used synonymously; but they may be discriminated. A sign differs from a symptom in that the latter is perceived only by the patient himself. The term sign is often further restricted to the purely local evidences of disease afforded by direct examination of the organs involved, as distinguished from those evidence of general disturbance afforded by observation of the temperature, pulse, etc. In this sense it is often called physical sign .

(m) (Mus.) Any character, as a flat, sharp, dot, etc. (n) (Theol.) That which, being external, stands for, or signifies, something internal or spiritual; -- a term used in the Church of England in speaking of an ordinance considered with reference to that which it represents .

An outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace. Bk. of Common Prayer.

&hand; See the Table of Arbitrary Signs , p. 1924.

Sign manual . (a) (Eng. Law) The royal signature superscribed at the top of bills of grants and letter patent, which are then sealed with the privy signet or great seal, as the case may be, to complete their validity . (b) The signature of one's name in one's own handwriting. Craig. Tomlins. Wharton.

Syn. -- Token; mark; note; symptom; indication; signal; symbol; type; omen; prognostic; presage; manifestation. See Emblem .

Sign <Xpage=1339>

Sign (?) , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Signed (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Signing .] [OE. seinen to bless, originally, to make the sign of the cross over; in this sense fr. ASS. segnian (from segn , n.), or OF. seignier , F. signer , to mark, to sign (in sense 3), fr. L. signare to mark, set a mark upon, from signum . See Sign , n. ] 1. To represent by a sign; to make known in a typical or emblematic manner, in distinction from speech; to signify.

I signed to Browne to make his retreat. Sir W. Scott.

2. To make a sign upon; to mark with a sign.

We receive this child into the congregation of Christ's flock, and do sign him with the sign of the cross. Bk. of Com Prayer.

3. To affix a signature to; to ratify by hand or seal; to subscribe in one's own handwriting.

Inquire the Jew's house out, give him this deed, And let him sign it. Shak.

4. To assign or convey formally; -- used with away .

5. To mark; to make distinguishable.

Shak.

Sign <Xpage=1339>

Sign (?) , v. i. 1. To be a sign or omen. [Obs.]

Shak.

2. To make a sign or signal; to communicate directions or intelligence by signs.

3. To write one's name, esp. as a token of assent, responsibility, or obligation.

<-- 4. to communicate in sign language (subtype of 3) -->

Signable <Xpage=1339>

Sign"a*ble (?) , a. Suitable to be signed; requiring signature; as, a legal document signable by a particular person .

Signal <Xpage=1339>

Sig"nal (?) , n. [F., fr. LL. signale , fr. L. signum . See Sign , n. ] 1. A sign made for the purpose of giving notice to a person of some occurence, command, or danger; also, a sign, event, or watchword, which has been agreed upon as the occasion of concerted action.

All obeyed The wonted signal and superior voice Of this great potentate. Milton.

2. A token; an indication; a foreshadowing; a sign.

The weary sun . . . Gives signal of a goodly day to-morrow. Shak.

There was not the least signal of the calamity to be seen. De Foc.

Signal <Xpage=1339>

Sig"nal , a. [From signal , n.: cf. F. signal\'82 .] 1. Noticeable; distinguished from what is ordinary; eminent; remarkable; memorable; as, a signal exploit; a signal service; a signal act of benevolence .

As signal now in low, dejected state As erst in highest, behold him where he lies. Milton.

2. Of or pertaining to signals, or the use of signals in conveying information; as, a signal flag or officer .

The signal service , a bureau of the government (in the United States connected with the War Department) organized to collect from the whole country simultaneous raports of local meteorological conditions, upon comparison of which at the central office, predictions concerning the weather are telegraphed to various sections, where they are made known by signals publicly displayed. -- Signal station , the place where a signal is displayed; specifically, an observation office of the signal service.

Syn. -- Eminent; remarkable; memorable; extraordinary; notable; conspicuous.

Signal <Xpage=1339>

Sig"nal , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Signaled (<?/) or Signalled ; p. pr. & vb. n. Signaling or Signalling .] 1. To communicate by signals; as, to signal orders .

2. To notify by a signals; to make a signal or signals to; as, to signal a fleet to anchor .

M. Arnold.

Signalist <Xpage=1339>

Sig"nal*ist , n. One who makes signals; one who communicates intelligence by means of signals.

Signality <Xpage=1339>

Sig*nal"i*ty (?) , n. The quality or state of being signal or remarkable. [Obs.]

Sir T. Browne.

Signalize <Xpage=1339>

Sig"nal*ize (?) , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Signalized (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Signalizing (?) .] [From Signal , a. ] 1. To make signal or eminent; to render distinguished from what is common; to distinguish.

It is this passion which drives men to all the ways we see in use of signalizing themselves. Burke.

2. To communicate with by means of a signal; as, a ship signalizes its consort .

3. To indicate the existence, presence, or fact of, by a signal; as, to signalize the arrival of a steamer .

Signally <Xpage=1339>

Sig"nal*ly , adv. In a signal manner; eminently.

Signalman <Xpage=1339>

Sig"nal*man (?) , n. ; pl. -men (<?/) . A man whose business is to manage or display signals; especially, one employed in setting the signals by which railroad trains are run or warned.

Signalment <Xpage=1339>

Sig"nal*ment (?) , n. The act of signaling, or of signalizing; hence, description by peculiar, appropriate, or characteristic marks.

Mrs. Browning.

Signate <Xpage=1339>

Sig"nate (?) , a. [L. signatus , p. p. See Sign , v. t. ] (Zo\'94l.) Having definite color markings.

Signation <Xpage=1339>

Sig*na"tion (?) , n. [L. signatio . See Sign , v. t. ] Sign given; marking. [Obs.]

Sir T. Browne.

Signatory <Xpage=1339>

Sig"na*to*ry (?) , a. [L. signatorius .] 1. Relating to a seal; used in sealing. [Obs.]

Bailey.

2. Signing; joining or sharing in a signature; as, signatory powers .

Signatory <Xpage=1339>

Sig"na*to*ry , n. ; pl. -ries (<?/) . A signer; one who signs or subscribes; as, a conference of signatories .

Signature <Xpage=1339>

Sig"na*ture (?) , n. [F. (cf. It. signatura , segnatura , Sp. & LL. signatura ), from L. signare , signatum . See Sign , v. t. ] 1. A sign, stamp, or mark impressed, as by a seal.

The brain, being well furnished with various traces, signatures , and images. I. Watts.

The natural and indelible signature of God, which human souls . . . are supposed to be stamped with. Bentley.

2. Especially, the name of any person, written with his own hand, employed to signify that the writing which precedes accords with his wishes or intentions; a sign manual; an autograph.

3. (Physiol.) An outward mark by which internal characteristics were supposed to be indicated.

Some plants bear a very evident signature of their nature and use. Dr. H. More.

4. (Old Med.) A resemblance between the external characters of a disease and those of some physical agent, for instance, that existing between the red skin of scarlet fever and a red cloth; -- supposed to indicate this agent in the treatment of the disease.