Chapter 24

Sebaceous cyst (Med.), a cyst formed by distention of a sebaceous gland, due to obstruction of its excretory duct. -- Sebaceous glands (Anat.), small subcutaneous glands, usually connected with hair follicles. They secrete an oily semifluid matter, composed in great part of fat, which softens and lubricates the hair and skin.

Se*bac"ic (?), a. [L. sebum tallow: cf. F. sébacique.] (Chem.) Of or pertaining to fat; derived from, or resembling, fat; specifically, designating an acid (formerly called also sebic, and pyroleic, acid), obtained by the distillation or saponification of certain oils (as castor oil) as a white crystalline substance.

Se"bat (?), n. [Heb. shbt.] The eleventh month of the ancient Hebrew year, approximately corresponding with February. W. Smith (Bibl. Dict.).

Se"bate (s"b\ddt), n. (Chem.) A salt of sebacic acid.

Se*bes"ten (?), n. [Ar. sebestn the tree: cf. Sp. sebesten.] (Bot.) The mucilaginous drupaceous fruit of two East Indian trees (Cordia Myxa, and C. latifolia), sometimes used medicinally in pectoral diseases.

In the West Indies the name is given to the similar fruit of Cordia Sebestana.

Se"bic (?), a. See Sebacic. [Obs.]

Se*bif"er*ous (?), a. [L. sebum tallow + -ferous.] 1. (Bot.) Producing vegetable tallow.

2. (Physiol.) Producing fat; sebaceous; as, the sebiferous, or sebaceous, glands.

Se*bip"a*rous (?), a. [L. sebum tallow + parere to bring forth.] (Physiol.) Same as Sebiferous.

||Seb"or*rhe*a (?), n. [NL., fr. L. sebum tallow + Gr. &?; to flow.] ||(Med.) A morbidly increased discharge of sebaceous matter upon the ||skin; stearrhea.

||Se*ca"le (?), n. [L., a kind of grain.] (Bot.) A genus of cereal ||grasses including rye.

Se"can*cy (?), n. [See Secant.] A cutting; an intersection; as, the point of secancy of one line by another. [R.] Davies & Peck (Math. Dict. ).

Se"cant (s"knt), a. [L. secans, -antis, p. pr. of secare to cut. See Section.] Cutting; dividing into two parts; as, a secant line.

Secant, n. [Cf. F. sécante. See Secant, a.] 1. (Geom.) A line that cuts another; especially, a straight line cutting a curve in two or more points.

2. (Trig.) A right line drawn from the center of a circle through one end of a circular arc, and terminated by a tangent drawn from the other end; the number expressing the ratio of this line to the radius of the circle. See Trigonometrical function, under Function.

||Sec"co (?), a. [It.] Dry.

Secco painting, or Painting in secco, painting on dry plaster, as distinguished from fresco painting, which is on wet or fresh plaster.

Se"cede" (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Seceded; p. pr. & vb. n. Seceding.] [L. secedere, secessum; pref se- aside + cedere to go, move. See Cede.] To withdraw from fellowship, communion, or association; to separate one's self by a solemn act; to draw off; to retire; especially, to withdraw from a political or religious body.

Se*ced"er (?), n. 1. One who secedes.

2. (Eccl. Hist.) One of a numerous body of Presbyterians in Scotland who seceded from the communion of the Established Church, about the year 1733, and formed the Secession Church, so called.

Se*cern" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Secerned (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Secerning.] [L. secernere. See Secrete.] 1. To separate; to distinguish.

Averroes secerns a sense of titillation, and a sense of hunger and thirst.

Sir W. Hamilton.

2. (Physiol.) To secrete; as, mucus secerned in the nose. Arbuthnot.

Se*cern"ent (?), a. [L. secernens, p. pr.] (Physiol.) Secreting; secretory.

Se*cern"ent, n. 1. That which promotes secretion.

2. (Anat.) A vessel in, or by means of, which the process of secretion takes place; a secreting vessel.

Se*cern"ment (?), n. (Physiol.) The act or process of secreting.

Se*cess" (s*ss"), n. [L. secessus. See Secede.] Retirement; retreat; secession. [Obs.] Dr. H. More.

Se*ces"sion (s*ssh"n), n. [L. secessio: cf. F. sécession. See Secede.] 1. The act of seceding; separation from fellowship or association with others, as in a religious or political organization; withdrawal.

2. (U.S. Hist.) The withdrawal of a State from the national Union.

Secession Church (in Scotland). See Seceder.

Se*ces"sion*ism (?), n. The doctrine or policy of secession; the tenets of secession; the tenets of secessionists.

Se*ces"sion*ist, n. 1. One who upholds secession.

2. (U.S. Hist.) One who holds to the belief that a State has the right to separate from the Union at its will.

Seche (?), v. t. & i. To seek. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Se"chi*um (?), n. [NL.: cf. F. séchion; perhaps formed fr. Gr. &?; cucumber.] (Bot.) The edible fruit of a West Indian plant (Sechium edule) of the Gourd family. It is soft, pear-shaped, and about four inches long, and contains a single large seed. The root of the plant resembles a yam, and is used for food.

Seck (?), a. [F. sec, properly, dry, L. siccus.] Barren; unprofitable. See Rent seck, under Rent.

Seck"el (?), n. (Bot.) A small reddish brown sweet and juicy pear. It originated on a farm near Philadelphia, afterwards owned by a Mr. Seckel.

Se"cle (?), n. [L. saeculum: cf. F. siècle. See Secular.] A century. [Obs.] Hammond.

Se*clude (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Secluded; p. pr. & vb. n. Secluding.] [L. secludere, seclusum; pref. se- aside + claudere to shut. See Close, v. t.] 1. To shut up apart from others; to withdraw into, or place in, solitude; to separate from society or intercourse with others.

Let Eastern tyrants from the light of heaven Seclude their bosom slaves.

Thomson.

2. To shut or keep out; to exclude. [Obs.] Evelyn.

-- Se*clud"ed*ly, adv. -- Se*clud"ed*ness, n.

Se*clu"sion (?), n. [See Seclude.] The act of secluding, or the state of being secluded; separation from society or connection; a withdrawing; privacy; as, to live in seclusion.

O blest seclusion from a jarring world, which he, thus occupied, enjoys!

Cowper.

Syn. -- Solitude; separation; withdrawment; retirement; privacy. See Solitude.

Se*clu"sive (?), a. Tending to seclude; keeping in seclusion; secluding; sequestering.

Sec"ond (?), a. [F., fr. L. secundus second, properly, following, fr. sequi to follow. See Sue to follow, and cf. Secund.] 1. Immediately following the first; next to the first in order of place or time; hence, occurring again; another; other.

And he slept and dreamed the second time.

Gen. xli. 5.

2. Next to the first in value, power, excellence, dignity, or rank; secondary; subordinate; inferior.

May the day when we become the second people upon earth . . . be the day of our utter extirpation.

Landor.

3. Being of the same kind as another that has preceded; another, like a prototype; as, a second Cato; a second Troy; a second deluge.

A Daniel, still say I, a second Daniel!

Shak.

Second Adventist. See Adventist. -- Second cousin, the child of a cousin. -- Second-cut file. See under File. -- Second distance (Art), that part of a picture between the foreground and the background; -- called also middle ground, or middle distance. [R.] -- Second estate (Eng.), the House of Peers. -- Second girl, a female house- servant who does the lighter work, as chamber work or waiting on table. -- Second intention. See under Intention. -- Second story, Second floor, in America, the second range of rooms from the street level. This, in England, is called the first floor, the one beneath being the ground floor. -- Second thought or thoughts, consideration of a matter following a first impulse or impression; reconsideration.

On second thoughts, gentlemen, I don't wish you had known him.

Dickens.

Sec"ond (?), n. 1. One who, or that which, follows, or comes after; one next and inferior in place, time, rank, importance, excellence, or power.

Man An angel's second, nor his second long.

Young.

2. One who follows or attends another for his support and aid; a backer; an assistant; specifically, one who acts as another's aid in a duel.

Being sure enough of seconds after the first onset.

Sir H. Wotton.

3. Aid; assistance; help. [Obs.]

Give second, and my love Is everlasting thine.

J. Fletcher.

4. pl. An article of merchandise of a grade inferior to the best; esp., a coarse or inferior kind of flour.

5. [F. seconde. See Second, a.] The sixtieth part of a minute of time or of a minute of space, that is, the second regular subdivision of the degree; as, sound moves about 1,140 English feet in a second; five minutes and ten seconds north of this place.

6. In the duodecimal system of mensuration, the twelfth part of an inch or prime; a line. See Inch, and Prime, n., 8.

7. (Mus.) (a) The interval between any tone and the tone which is represented on the degree of the staff next above it. (b) The second part in a concerted piece; -- often popularly applied to the alto.

Second hand, the hand which marks the seconds on the dial of a watch or a clock.

Sec"ond, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Seconded; p. pr. & vb. n. Seconding.] [Cf. F. seconder, L. secundare, from secundus. See Second, a.] 1. To follow in the next place; to succeed; to alternate. [R.]

In the method of nature, a low valley is immediately seconded with an ambitious hill.

Fuller.

Sin is seconded with sin.

South.

2. To follow or attend for the purpose of assisting; to support; to back; to act as the second of; to assist; to forward; to encourage.

We have supplies to second our attempt.

Shak.

In human works though labored on with pain, A thousand movements scarce one purpose gain; In God's, one single can its end produce, Yet serves to second too some other use.

Pope.

3. Specifically, to support, as a motion or proposal, by adding one's voice to that of the mover or proposer.

Sec"ond*a*ri*ly (?), adv. 1. In a secondary manner or degree.

2. Secondly; in the second place. [Obs.]

God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers.

1 Cor. xii. 28.

Sec"ond*a*ri*ness, n. The state of being secondary.

Full of a girl's sweet sense of secondariness to the object of her love.

Mrs. Oliphant.

Sec"ond*a*ry (?), a. [Cf. F. secondaire, L. secundaire. See Second, a.] 1. Succeeding next in order to the first; of second place, origin, rank, etc.; not primary; subordinate; not of the first order or rate.

Wheresoever there is moral right on the one hand, no secondary right can discharge it.

L'Estrange.

Two are the radical differences; the secondary differences are as four.

Bacon.

2. Acting by deputation or delegated authority; as, the work of secondary hands.

3. (Chem.) Possessing some quality, or having been subject to some operation (as substitution), in the second degree; as, a secondary salt, a secondary amine, etc. Cf. primary.

4. (Min.) Subsequent in origin; -- said of minerals produced by alteration or deposition subsequent to the formation of the original rock mass; also of characters of minerals (as secondary cleavage, etc.) developed by pressure or other causes.

5. (Zoöl.) Pertaining to the second joint of the wing of a bird.

6. (Med.) (a) Dependent or consequent upon another disease; as, Bright's disease is often secondary to scarlet fever. (b) Occurring in the second stage of a disease; as, the secondary symptoms of syphilis.

Secondary accent. See the Note under Accent, n., 1. -- Secondary age. (Geol.) The Mesozoic age, or age before the Tertiary. See Mesozoic, and Note under Age, n., 8. -- Secondary alcohol (Chem.), any one of a series of alcohols which contain the radical CH.OH united with two hydrocarbon radicals. On oxidation the secondary alcohols form ketones. -- Secondary amputation (Surg.), an amputation for injury, performed after the constitutional effects of the injury have subsided. -- Secondary axis (Opt.), any line which passes through the optical center of a lens but not through the centers of curvature, or, in the case of a mirror, which passes through the center of curvature but not through the center of the mirror. -- Secondary battery. (Elec.) See under Battery, n., 4. -- Secondary circle (Geom. & Astron.), a great circle that passes through the poles of another great circle and is therefore perpendicular to its plane. -- Secondary circuit, Secondary coil (Elec.), a circuit or coil in which a current is produced by the induction of a current in a neighboring circuit or coil called the primary circuit or coil. -- Secondary color, a color formed by mixing any two primary colors in equal proportions. -- Secondary coverts (Zoöl.), the longer coverts which overlie the basal part of the secondary quills of a bird. See Illust. under Bird. -- Secondary crystal (Min.), a crystal derived from one of the primary forms. -- Secondary current (Elec.), a momentary current induced in a closed circuit by a current of electricity passing through the same or a contiguous circuit at the beginning and also at the end of the passage of the primary current. -- Secondary evidence, that which is admitted upon failure to obtain the primary or best evidence. -- Secondary fever (Med.), a fever coming on in a disease after the subsidence of the fever with which the disease began, as the fever which attends the outbreak of the eruption in smallpox. -- Secondary hemorrhage (Med.), hemorrhage occuring from a wounded blood vessel at some considerable time after the original bleeding has ceased. -- Secondary planet. (Astron.) See the Note under Planet. -- Secondary qualities, those qualities of bodies which are not inseparable from them as such, but are dependent for their development and intensity on the organism of the percipient, such as color, taste, odor, etc. -- Secondary quills or remiges (Zoöl.), the quill feathers arising from the forearm of a bird and forming a row continuous with the primaries; -- called also secondaries. See Illust. of Bird. -- Secondary rocks or strata (Geol.), those lying between the Primary, or Paleozoic, and Tertiary (see Primary rocks, under Primary); -- later restricted to strata of the Mesozoic age, and at present but little used. -- Secondary syphilis (Med.), the second stage of syphilis, including the period from the first development of constitutional symptoms to the time when the bones and the internal organs become involved. -- Secondary tint, any subdued tint, as gray. -- Secondary union (Surg.), the union of wounds after suppuration; union by the second intention.

Syn. -- Second; second-rate; subordinate; inferior.

Sec"ond*a*ry (?), n.; pl. Secondaries (&?;). 1. One who occupies a subordinate, inferior, or auxiliary place; a delegate or deputy; one who is second or next to the chief officer; as, the secondary, or undersheriff of the city of London.

Old Escalus . . . is thy secondary.

Shak.

2. (Astron.) (a) A secondary circle. (b) A satellite.

3. (Zoöl.) A secondary quill.

Sec"ond-class` (?), a. Of the rank or degree below the best or highest; inferior; second-rate; as, a second-class house; a second-class passage.

Sec"ond*er (?), n. One who seconds or supports what another attempts, affirms, moves, or proposes; as, the seconder of an enterprise or of a motion.

Sec"ond*hand` (?), a. 1. Not original or primary; received from another.

They have but a secondhand or implicit knowledge.

Locke.

2. Not new; already or previously possessed or used by another; as, a secondhand book, garment.

At second hand. See Hand, n., 10.

Sec"ond*ly, adv. In the second place.

||Se*con"do (s*kn"d; It. s*kn"d), n. [It.] (Mus.) The second part in a ||concerted piece.

Sec"ond-rate` (?), a. Of the second size, rank, quality, or value; as, a second-rate ship; second-rate cloth; a second-rate champion. Dryden.

Sec"ond-sight` (?), n. The power of discerning what is not visible to the physical eye, or of foreseeing future events, esp. such as are of a disastrous kind; the capacity of a seer; prophetic vision.

He was seized with a fit of second- sight.

Addison.

Nor less availed his optic sleight, And Scottish gift of second-sight.

Trumbull.

Sec"ond-sight`ed, a. Having the power of second-sight. [R.] Addison.

Se"cre (? or ?), a. Secret; secretive; faithful to a secret. [Obs.]

To be holden stable and secre.

Chaucer.

Se"cre, n. A secret. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Se"cre*cy (?), n.; pl. Secrecies (#). [From Secret.] 1. The state or quality of being hidden; as, his movements were detected in spite of their secrecy.

The Lady Anne, Whom the king hath in secrecy long married.

Shak.

2. That which is concealed; a secret. [R.] Shak.

3. Seclusion; privacy; retirement. "The pensive secrecy of desert cell." Milton.

4. The quality of being secretive; fidelity to a secret; forbearance of disclosure or discovery.

It is not with public as with private prayer; in this, rather secrecy is commanded than outward show.

Hooker.

Se"cre*ly (?), adv. Secretly. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Se"cre*ness, n. Secrecy; privacy. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Se"cret (?), a. [F. secret (cf. Sp. & Pg. secreto, It. secreto, segreto), fr. L. secretus, p. p. of secernere to put apart, to separate. See Certain, and cf. Secrete, Secern.] 1. Hidden; concealed; as, secret treasure; secret plans; a secret vow. Shak.

The secret things belong unto the Lord our God; but those things which are revealed belong unto us.

Deut. xxix. 29.

2. Withdrawn from general intercourse or notice; in retirement or secrecy; secluded.

There, secret in her sapphire cell, He with the Naïs wont to dwell.

Fenton.

3. Faithful to a secret; not inclined to divulge or betray confidence; secretive. [R.]

Secret Romans, that have spoke the word, And will not palter.

Shak.

4. Separate; distinct. [Obs.]

They suppose two other divine hypostases superior thereunto, which were perfectly secret from matter.

Cudworth.

Syn. -- Hidden; concealed; secluded; retired; unseen; unknown; private; obscure; recondite; latent; covert; clandestine; privy. See Hidden.

Se"cret, n. [F. secret (cf. Pr. secret, Sp. & Pg. secreto, It. secreto, segreto), from L. secretum. See Secret, a.] 1. Something studiously concealed; a thing kept from general knowledge; what is not revealed, or not to be revealed.

To tell our own secrets is often folly; to communicate those of others is treachery.

Rambler.

2. A thing not discovered; what is unknown or unexplained; a mystery.

All secrets of the deep, all nature's works.

Milton.

3. pl. The parts which modesty and propriety require to be concealed; the genital organs.

In secret, in a private place; in privacy or secrecy; in a state or place not seen; privately.

Bread eaten in secret is pleasant.

Prov. ix. 17.

Se"cret (?), v. t. To keep secret. [Obs.] Bacon.

Se"cret*age (?), n. [F.] A process in which mercury, or some of its salts, is employed to impart the property of felting to certain kinds of furs. Ure.

Sec`re*ta"ri*al (?), a. Of or pertaining to a secretary; befitting a secretary. [R.]

Secretarial, diplomatic, or other official training.

Carlyle.

{ Sec`re*ta"ri*at (?), Sec`re*ta"ri*ate (?), } n. [F. secrétariat.] The office of a secretary; the place where a secretary transacts business, keeps records, etc.

Sec"re*ta*ry (?), n.; pl. Secretaries (#). [F. secrétaire (cf. Pr. secretari, Sp. & Pg. secretario, It. secretario, segretario) LL. secretarius, originally, a confidant, one intrusted with secrets, from L. secretum a secret. See Secret, a. & n.] 1. One who keeps, or is intrusted with, secrets. [R.]

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.) The secretary bird.

Secretary bird. [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.

Sec"re*ta*ry*ship, n. The office, or the term of office, of a secretary.

Se*crete" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Secreted; p. pr. & vb. n. Secreting.] [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.) 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 know.

Carpenter.

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

Se*cre"tion (?), n. [L. secretio: cf. F. sécrétion.] 1. The act of secreting or concealing; as, the secretion of dutiable goods.

2. (Physiol.) 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.) Any substance or fluid secreted, or elaborated and emitted, as the gastric juice.

Se"cret*ist (?), n. A dealer in secrets. [Obs.]

Se`cre*ti"tious (?), a. Parted by animal secretion; as, secretitious humors. Floyer.

Se*cret"ive (?), a. Tending to secrete, or to keep secret or private; as, a secretive disposition.

Se*cret"ive*ness, n. 1. The quality of being secretive; disposition or tendency to conceal.

2. (Phren.) The faculty or propensity which impels to reserve, secrecy, or concealment.

Se"cret*ly (?), adv. In a secret manner.

Se"cret*ness, n. 1. The state or quality of being secret, hid, or concealed.

2. Secretiveness; concealment. Donne.

Se*cre`to-mo"to*ry (?), a. (Physiol.) Causing secretion; -- said of nerves which go to glands and influence secretion.

Se*cre"to*ry (?), a. [Cf. F. sécrétoire. See Secrete.] (Physiol.) Secreting; performing, or connected with, the office of secretion; secernent; as, secretory vessels, nerves. -- n. A secretory vessel; a secernent.

Sect (skt), n. [L. secare, sectum, to cut.] A cutting; a scion. [Obs.] Shak.

Sect (skt), n. [F. secte, L. secta, fr. sequi to follow; often confused with L. secare, sectum, to cut. See Sue to follow, and cf. Sept, Suit, n.] 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.