The Gutenberg Webster's Unabridged Dictionary
Chapter 1557
Sizar <Xpage=1348>
Si"zar (?) , n. One of a body of students in the universities of Cambridge (Eng.) and Dublin, who, having passed a certain examination, are exempted from paying college fees and charges. A sizar corresponded to a servitor at Oxford.
The sizar paid nothing for food and tuition, and very little for lodging. Macaulay.
&hand; They formerly waited on the table at meals; but this is done away with. They were probably so called from being thus employed in distributing the size , or provisions. See 4th Size , 2.
Sizarship <Xpage=1348>
Si"zar*ship , n. The position or standing of a sizar.
Size <Xpage=1348>
Size (?) , n. [See Sice , and Sise .] Six.
Size <Xpage=1348>
Size (?) , n. [OIt. sisa glue used by painters, shortened fr. assisa , fr. assidere , p. p. assiso , to make to sit, to seat, to place, L. assidere to sit down; ad + sidere to sit down, akin to sedere to sit. See Sit , v. i. , and cf. Assize , Size bulk.] 1. A thin, weak glue used in various trades, as in painting, bookbinding, paper making, etc.
2. Any viscous substance, as gilder's varnish.
Size <Xpage=1348>
Size , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Sized (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Sizing .] To cover with size; to prepare with size.
Size <Xpage=1348>
Size , n. [Abbrev. from assize . See Assize , and cf. Size glue.] 1. A settled quantity or allowance. See Assize . [Obs.] "To scant my sizes ."
Shak.
2. (Univ. of Cambridge, Eng.) An allowance of food and drink from the buttery, aside from the regular dinner at commons; -- corresponding to battel at Oxford.
3. Extent of superficies or volume; bulk; bigness; magnitude; as, the size of a tree or of a mast; the size of a ship or of a rock .
4. Figurative bulk; condition as to rank, ability, character, etc.; as, the office demands a man of larger size .
Men of a less size and quality. L'Estrange.
The middling or lower size of people. Swift.
5. A conventional relative measure of dimension, as for shoes, gloves, and other articles made up for sale.
6. An instrument consisting of a number of perforated gauges fastened together at one end by a rivet, -- used for ascertaining the size of pearls.
Knight.
Size roll , a small piese of parchment added to a roll. -- Size stick , a measuring stick used by shoemakers for ascertaining the size of the foot.
Syn. -- Dimension; bigness; largeness; greatness; magnitude.
Size <Xpage=1348>
Size , v. t. 1. To fix the standard of. "To size weights and measures." [R.]
Bacon.
2. To adjust or arrange according to size or bulk. Specifically: (a) (Mil.) To take the height of men, in order to place them in the ranks according to their stature . (b) (Mining) To sift, as pieces of ore or metal, in order to separate the finer from the coarser parts.
3. To swell; to increase the bulk of.
Beau. & Fl.
4. (Mech.) To bring or adjust anything exactly to a required dimension, as by cutting.
To size up , to estimate or ascertain the character and ability of. See 4th Size , 4. [Slang, U.S.]
We had to size up our fellow legislators. The Century.
Size <Xpage=1348>
Size , v. i. 1. To take greater size; to increase in size.
Our desires give them fashion, and so, As they wax lesser, fall, as they size , grow. Donne.
2. (Univ. of Cambridge, Eng.) To order food or drink from the buttery; hence, to enter a score, as upon the buttery book.
Sized <Xpage=1348>
Sized (?) , a. 1. Adjusted according to size.
2. Having a particular size or magnitude; -- chiefly used in compounds; as, large- sized ; common- sized .
Sizel <Xpage=1348>
Si"zel (?) , n. Same as Scissel , 2.
Sizer <Xpage=1348>
Siz"er (?) , n. 1. See Sizar .
2. (Mech.) (a) An instrument or contrivance to size articles, or to determine their size by a standard, or to separate and distribute them according to size. (b) An instrument or tool for bringing anything to an exact size.
Siziness <Xpage=1348>
Siz"i*ness (?) , n. The quality or state of being sizy; viscousness.
Sizing <Xpage=1348>
Siz"ing , n. 1. Act of covering or treating with size.
2. A weak glue used in various trades; size.
Sizing <Xpage=1348>
Siz"ing , n. 1. The act of sorting with respect to size.
2. The act of bringing anything to a certain size.
3. (Univ. of Cambridge, Eng.) Food and drink ordered from the buttery by a student.
Sizy <Xpage=1348>
Siz"y (?) , a. [From 2d Size .] Sizelike; viscous; glutinous; as, sizy blood .
Arbuthnot.
Sizzle <Xpage=1348>
Siz"zle (?) , v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Sizzled (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Sizzling (?) .] [See Siss .] To make a hissing sound; to fry, or to dry and shrivel up, with a hissing sound. [Prov. Eng. & Colloq. U. S.]
Forby.
Sizzle <Xpage=1348>
Siz"zle , n. A hissing sound, as of something frying over a fire. [Prov. Eng. & Colloq. U. S.]
Sizzling <Xpage=1348>
Siz"zling (?) , a. & n. from Sizzle .
Skaddle <Xpage=1348>
Skad"dle (?) , n. [Dim. of scath .] Hurt; damage. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]
Ray.
Skaddle <Xpage=1348>
Skad"dle , a. Hurtful. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]
Ray.
Skaddon <Xpage=1348>
Skad"don (?) , n. (Zo\'94l.) The larva of a bee. [Prov. Eng.]
Skag <Xpage=1348>
Skag (?) , n. (Naut.) An additional piece fastened to the keel of a boat to prevent lateral motion. See Skeg .
Skain <Xpage=1348>
Skain (?) , n. See Skein . [Obs.]
Skain <Xpage=1348>
Skain , n. See Skean .
Drayton.
Skainsmate <Xpage=1348>
Skains"mate` (?) , n. [Perhaps originally, a companion in winding thread (see Skein ), or a companion in arms, from skain a sword (see Skean ).] A messmate; a companion. [Obs.]
Scurvy knave! I am none of his firt-gills; I am none of his skainsmates . Shak.
Skaith <Xpage=1348>
Skaith (?) , n. See Scatch . [Scot.]
Skald <Xpage=1348>
Skald (?) , n. See 5th Scald .
Skaldic <Xpage=1348>
Skald"ic (?) , a. See Scaldic .
Max M\'81ller.
Skall <Xpage=1348>
Skall (?) , v. t. To scale; to mount. [Obs.]
Skar, Skare <Xpage=1348>
Skar (?) , Skare (?) , a. [From the root of scare .] Wild; timid; shy. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]
Skart <Xpage=1348>
Skart (?) , n. [Cf. Scarf a cormorant.] (Zo\'94l.) The shag. [Prov. Eng.]
Skate <Xpage=1348>
Skate (?) , n. [D. schaats . Cf. Scatches .] A metallic runner with a frame shaped to fit the sole of a shoe, -- made to be fastened under the foot, and used for moving rapidly on ice.
Batavia rushes forth; and as they sweep, On sounding skates , a thousand different ways, In circling poise, swift as the winds, along, The then gay land is maddended all to joy. Thomson.
Roller skate . See under Roller .
Skate <Xpage=1348>
Skate , v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Skated ; p. pr. & vb. n. Skating .] To move on skates.
Skate <Xpage=1348>
Skate , n. [Icel. skata ; cf. Prov. G. schatten , meer -schatten , L. squatus , squatina , and E. shad .] (Zo\'94l.) Any one of numerous species of large, flat elasmobranch fishes of the genus Raia , having a long, slender tail, terminated by a small caudal fin. The pectoral fins, which are large and broad and united to the sides of the body and head, give a somewhat rhombic form to these fishes. The skin is more or less spinose.
&hand; Some of the species are used for food, as the European blue or gray skate ( Raia batis ), which sometimes weighs nearly 200 pounds. The American smooth, or barn-door, skate ( R. l\'91vis ) is also a large species, often becoming three or four feet across. The common spiny skate ( R. erinacea ) is much smaller.
Skate's egg . See Sea purse . -- Skate sucker , any marine leech of the genus Pontobdella , parasitic on skates.
Skater <Xpage=1348>
Skat"er (?) , n. 1. One who skates.
2. (Zo\'94l.) Any one of numerous species of hemipterous insects belonging to Gerris , Pyrrhocoris , Prostemma , and allied genera. They have long legs, and run rapidly over the surface of the water, as if skating.
Skatol <Xpage=1348>
Ska"tol (?) , n. [Gr. <?/<?/<?/, dung + -ol .] (Physiol. Chem.) A constituent of human f\'91ces formed in the small intestines as a product of the putrefaction of albuminous matter. It is also found in reduced indigo. Chemically it is methyl indol, C9H9N .
Skayles <Xpage=1348>
Skayles (?) , n. [&root;159.] Skittles. [Obs.]
Skean <Xpage=1348>
Skean (?) , n. [Ir sgian ; akin to Gael. sgian , W. ysgien a large knife, a scimiter.] A knife or short dagger, esp. that in use among the Highlanders of Scotland. [Variously spelt.] "His skean , or pistol."
Spenser.
Skedaddle <Xpage=1348>
Ske*dad"dle (?) , v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Skedaddled (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Skedaddling (?) .] [Of uncertain etymology.] To betake one's self to flight, as if in a panic; to flee; to run away. [Slang, U. S.]
Skee <Xpage=1348>
Skee (?) , n. [Dan. ski ; Icel. sk\'c6<?/ a billet of wood. See Skid .] A long strip of wood, curved upwards in front, used on the foot for sliding. <-- now spelled ski -->
Skeed <Xpage=1348>
Skeed (?) , n. See Skid .
Skeel <Xpage=1348>
Skeel (?) , n. [Icel. skj<?/la a pail, bucket.] A shallow wooden vessel for holding milk or cream. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]
Grose.
Skeelduck, Skeelgoose <Xpage=1348>
Skeel"duck` (?) , Skeel"goose` (?) , n. [See Sheldrake .] (Zo\'94l.) The common European sheldrake. [Prov. Eng.]
Skeet <Xpage=1348>
Skeet (?) , n. [Etymol. uncertain.] (Naut.) A scoop with a long handle, used to wash the sides of a vessel, and formerly to wet the sails or deck.
Skeg <Xpage=1348>
Skeg (?) , n. [Prov. E., also a stump of a branch, a wooden peg; cf. Icel. sk<?/gr a wood, Sw. skog . Cf. Shaw .] 1. A sort of wild plum. [Obs.]
Holland.
2. pl. A kind of oats.
Farm. Encyc.
3. (Naut.) The after part of the keel of a vessel, to which the rudder is attached.
Skegger <Xpage=1348>
Skeg"ger (?) , n. (Zo\'94l.) The parr.
Walton.
Skein <Xpage=1348>
Skein (?) , n. [OE. skeyne , OF. escaigne , F. \'82cagne , probably of Celtic origin; cf. Ir. sgainne , Gael. sgeinnidh thread, small twine; or perhaps the English word is immediately from Celtic.] 1. A quantity of yarn, thread, or the like, put up together, after it is taken from the reel, -- usually tied in a sort of knot.
&hand; A skein of cotton yarn is formed by eighty turns of the thread round a fifty-four inch reel.
2. (Wagon Making) A metallic strengthening band or thimble on the wooden arm of an axle.
Knight.
Skein <Xpage=1348>
Skein , n. (Zo\'94l.) A flight of wild fowl (wild geese or the like). [Prov. Eng.]
Skeine <Xpage=1348>
Skeine (?) , n. See Skean .
Skelder <Xpage=1348>
Skel"der (?) , v. t. & i. [Etymol. uncertain.] To deceive; to cheat; to trick. [Obs.]
B. Jonson.
Skelder <Xpage=1348>
Skel"der , n. A vagrant; a cheat. [Obs.]
B. Jonson.
Skeldrake, ∨ Skieldrake <Xpage=1348>
Skel"drake` (?) , ∨ Skiel"drake` (?) , n. (Zo\'94l.) (a) The common European sheldrake. (b) The oyster catcher.
Skelet <Xpage=1348>
Skel"et (?) , n. A skeleton. See Scelet .
Skeletal <Xpage=1348>
Skel"e*tal (?) , a. Pertaining to the skeleton.
Skeletogenous <Xpage=1348>
Skel`e*tog"e*nous (?) , a. [ Skeleton + -genous .] Forming or producing parts of the skeleton.
Skeletology <Xpage=1348>
Skel`e*tol"o*gy (?) , n. [ Skeleton + -logy .] That part of anatomy which treats of the skeleton; also, a treatise on the skeleton.
Skeleton <Xpage=1348>
Skel"e*ton (?) , n. [NL., fr. Gr. <?/<?/<?/<?/ (sc. <?/<?/<?/) a dried body, a mummy, fr. <?/<?/<?/<?/ dried up, parched, <?/<?/<?/<?/ to dry, dry up, parch.] 1. (Anat.) (a) The bony and cartilaginous framework which supports the soft parts of a vertebrate animal. [See Illust . of the Human Skeleton, in Appendix.] (b) The more or less firm or hardened framework of an invertebrate animal.
&hand; In a wider sense, the skeleton includes the whole connective-tissue framework with the integument and its appendages. See Endoskeleton , and Exoskeleton .
2. Hence, figuratively: (a) A very thin or lean person . (b) The framework of anything; the principal parts that support the rest, but without the appendages.
The great skeleton of the world. Sir M. Hale.
(c) The heads and outline of a literary production, especially of a sermon .
Skeleton <Xpage=1348>
Skel"e*ton , a. Consisting of, or resembling, a skeleton; consisting merely of the framework or outlines; having only certain leading features of anything; as, a skeleton sermon; a skeleton crystal.
Skeleton bill , a bill or draft made out in blank as to the amount or payee, but signed by the acceptor. [Eng.] -- Skeleton key , a key with nearly the whole substance of the web filed away, to adapt it to avoid the wards of a lock; a master key; -- used for opening locks to which it has not been especially fitted. -- Skeleton leaf , a leaf from which the pulpy part has been removed by chemical means, the fibrous part alone remaining. -- Skeleton proof , a proof of a print or engraving, with the inscription outlined in hair strokes only, such proofs being taken before the engraving is finished. -- Skeleton regiment , a regiment which has its complement of officers, but in which there are few enlisted men. -- Skeleton shrimp (Zo\'94l.) , a small crustacean of the genus Caprella . See Illust . under L\'91modipoda .
Skeletonize <Xpage=1348>
Skel"e*ton*ize (?) , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Skeletonized (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Skeletonizing (?) .] To prepare a skeleton of; also, to reduce, as a leaf, to its skeleton.
Pop. Sci. Monthly.
Skeletonizer <Xpage=1348>
Skel"e*ton*i`zer (?) , n. (Zo\'94l.) Any small moth whose larva eats the parenchyma of leaves, leaving the skeleton; as, the apple-leaf skeletonizer .
Skellum <Xpage=1348>
Skel"lum (?) , n. [Dan. schelm , fr. G. schelm .] A scoundrel. [Obs. or Scot.]
Pepys. Burns.
Skelly <Xpage=1348>
Skel"ly (?) , v. i. [Cf. Dan. skele , Sw. skela .] To squint. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]
Sir W. Scott.
Skelly <Xpage=1348>
Skel"ly , n. A squint. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]
Skelp <Xpage=1348>
Skelp (?) , n. [Cf. Prov. E. skelp to kick severely, to move rapidly; Gael. sgealp , n., a slap with the palm of the hand, v., to strike with the palm of the hand.] 1. A blow; a smart stroke. [Prov. Eng.]
Brockett.
2. A squall; also, a heavy fall of rain. [Scot.]
Skelp <Xpage=1348>
Skelp , v. t. To strike; to slap. [Scot.]
C. Reade.
Skelp <Xpage=1348>
Skelp , n. A wrought-iron plate from which a gun barrel or pipe is made by bending and welding the edges together, and drawing the thick tube thus formed.
Skelter <Xpage=1348>
Skel"ter (?) , v. i. [Cf. Helter-skelter .] To run off helter-skelter; to hurry; to scurry; -- with away or off . [Colloq.]
A. R. Wallace.
Sken <Xpage=1348>
Sken (?) , v. i. To squint. [Prov. Eng.]
Skene <Xpage=1348>
Skene (?) , n. See Skean .
C. Kingsley.
Skep <Xpage=1348>
Skep (?) , n. [Icel. skeppa a measure, bushel; cf. Gael. sgeap a basket, a beehive.] 1. A coarse round farm basket. [Obs. or Prov. Eng. & Scot.]
Tusser.
2. A beehive. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]
Skeptic <Xpage=1348>
Skep"tic (?) , n. [Gr. skeptiko`s thoughtful, reflective, fr. ske`ptesqai to look carefully or about, to view, consider: cf. L. scepticus , F. sceptique . See Scope .] [Written also sceptic .] 1. One who is yet undecided as to what is true; one who is looking or inquiring for what is true; an inquirer after facts or reasons.
<page="1349"> Page 1349
2. (Metaph.) A doubter as to whether any fact or truth can be certainly known; a universal doubter; a Pyrrhonist; hence, in modern usage, occasionally, a person who questions whether any truth or fact can be established on philosophical grounds; sometimes, a critical inquirer, in opposition to a dogmatist.
All this criticism [of Hume] proceeds upon the erroneous hypothesis that he was a dogmatist. He was a skeptic ; that is, he accepted the principles asserted by the prevailing dogmatism: and only showed that such and such conclusions were, on these principles, inevitable. Sir W. Hamilton.
3. (Theol.) A person who doubts the existence and perfections of God, or the truth of revelation; one who disbelieves the divine origin of the Christian religion.
Suffer not your faith to be shaken by the sophistries of skeptics . S. Clarke.