Chapter 3

Safety arch (Arch.), a discharging arch. See under Discharge, v. t. -- Safety belt, a belt made of some buoyant material, or which is capable of being inflated, so as to enable a person to float in water; a life preserver. -- Safety buoy, a buoy to enable a person to float in water; a safety belt. -- Safety cage (Mach.), a cage for an elevator or mine lift, having appliances to prevent it from dropping if the lifting rope should break. -- Safety lamp. (Mining) See under Lamp. -- Safety match, a match which can be ignited only on a surface specially prepared for the purpose. -- Safety pin, a pin made in the form of a clasp, with a guard covering its point so that it will not prick the wearer. -- Safety plug. See Fusible plug, under Fusible. -- Safety switch. See Switch. -- Safety touchdown (Football), the act or result of a player's touching to the ground behind his own goal line a ball which received its last impulse from a man on his own side; -- distinguished from touchback. See Touchdown. -- Safety tube (Chem.), a tube to prevent explosion, or to control delivery of gases by an automatic valvular connection with the outer air; especially, a bent funnel tube with bulbs for adding those reagents which produce unpleasant fumes or violent effervescence. -- Safety valve, a valve which is held shut by a spring or weight and opens automatically to permit the escape of steam, or confined gas, water, etc., from a boiler, or other vessel, when the pressure becomes too great for safety; also, sometimes, a similar valve opening inward to admit air to a vessel in which the pressure is less than that of the atmosphere, to prevent collapse.

Saf"flow (?), n. (Bot.) The safflower. [Obs.]

Saf"flow`er (?), n. [F. safleur, saflor, for safran, influenced by fleur flower. See Saffron, and Flower.] 1. (Bot.) An annual composite plant (Carthamus tinctorius), the flowers of which are used as a dyestuff and in making rouge; bastard, or false, saffron.

2. The dried flowers of the Carthamus tinctorius.

3. A dyestuff from these flowers. See Safranin (b).

Oil of safflower, a purgative oil expressed from the seeds of the safflower.

Saf"fron (?; 277), n. [OE. saffran, F. safran; cf. It. zafferano, Sp. azafran, Pg. açafrão; all fr. Ar. & Per. za' farn.] 1. (Bot.) A bulbous iridaceous plant (Crocus sativus) having blue flowers with large yellow stigmas. See Crocus.

2. The aromatic, pungent, dried stigmas, usually with part of the stile, of the Crocus sativus. Saffron is used in cookery, and in coloring confectionery, liquors, varnishes, etc., and was formerly much used in medicine.

3. An orange or deep yellow color, like that of the stigmas of the Crocus sativus.

Bastard saffron, Dyer's saffron. (Bot.) See Safflower. -- Meadow saffron (Bot.), a bulbous plant (Colchichum autumnale) of Europe, resembling saffron. -- Saffron wood (Bot.), the yellowish wood of a South African tree (Elæodendron croceum); also, the tree itself. -- Saffron yellow, a shade of yellow like that obtained from the stigmas of the true saffron (Crocus sativus).

Saf"fron (?; 277), a. Having the color of the stigmas of saffron flowers; deep orange-yellow; as, a saffron face; a saffron streamer.

Saf"fron, v. t. To give color and flavor to, as by means of saffron; to spice. [Obs.]

And in Latyn I speak a wordes few, To saffron with my predication.

Chaucer.

Saf"fron*y (?), a. Having a color somewhat like saffron; yellowish. Lord (1630).

Saf"ra*nin (?), n. (Chem.) (a) An orange-red dyestuff extracted from the saffron. [R.] (b) A red dyestuff extracted from the safflower, and formerly used in dyeing wool, silk, and cotton pink and scarlet; -- called also Spanish red, China lake, and carthamin. (c) An orange-red dyestuff prepared from certain nitro compounds of creosol, and used as a substitute for the safflower dye.

Saf"ra*nine (? or ?), n. [So called because used as a substitute for safranin.] (Chem.) An orange-red nitrogenous dyestuff produced artificially by oxidizing certain aniline derivatives, and used in dyeing silk and wool; also, any one of the series of which safranine proper is the type.

Sag (sg), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Sagged (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Sagging (?).] [Akin to Sw. sacka to settle, sink down, LG. sacken, D. zakken. Cf. Sink, v. i.] 1. To sink, in the middle, by its weight or under applied pressure, below a horizontal line or plane; as, a line or cable supported by its ends sags, though tightly drawn; the floor of a room sags; hence, to lean, give way, or settle from a vertical position; as, a building may sag one way or another; a door sags on its hinges.

2. Fig.: To lose firmness or elasticity; to sink; to droop; to flag; to bend; to yield, as the mind or spirits, under the pressure of care, trouble, doubt, or the like; to be unsettled or unbalanced. [R.]

The mind I sway by, and the heart I bear, Shall never sag with doubt nor shake with fear.

Shak.

3. To loiter in walking; to idle along; to drag or droop heavily.

To sag to leeward (Naut.), to make much leeway by reason of the wind, sea, or current; to drift to leeward; -- said of a vessel. Totten.

Sag, v. t. To cause to bend or give way; to load.

Sag, n. State of sinking or bending; sagging.

Sa"ga (s"g), n.; pl. Sagas (-gz). [Icel., akin to E. saw a saying. See Say, and cf. Saw.] A Scandinavian legend, or heroic or mythic tradition, among the Norsemen and kindred people; a northern European popular historical or religious tale of olden time.

And then the blue-eyed Norseman told A saga of the days of old.

Longfellow.

Sa*ga"cious (?), a. [L. sagax, sagacis, akin to sagire to perceive quickly or keenly, and probably to E. seek. See Seek, and cf. Presage.] 1. Of quick sense perceptions; keen-scented; skilled in following a trail.

Sagacious of his quarry from so far.

Milton.

2. Hence, of quick intellectual perceptions; of keen penetration and judgment; discerning and judicious; knowing; far-sighted; shrewd; sage; wise; as, a sagacious man; a sagacious remark.

Instinct . . . makes them, many times, sagacious above our apprehension.

Dr. H. More.

Only sagacious heads light on these observations, and reduce them into general propositions.

Locke.

Syn. -- See Shrewd.

-- Sa*ga"cious*ly, adv. -- Sa*ga"cious*ness, n.

Sa*gac"i*ty (?), n. [L. sagacitas. See Sagacious.] The quality of being sagacious; quickness or acuteness of sense perceptions; keenness of discernment or penetration with soundness of judgment; shrewdness.

Some [brutes] show that nice sagacity of smell.

Cowper.

Natural sagacity improved by generous education.

V. Knox.

Syn. -- Penetration; shrewdness; judiciousness. -- Sagacity, Penetration. Penetration enables us to enter into the depths of an abstruse subject, to detect motives, plans, etc. Sagacity adds to penetration a keen, practical judgment, which enables one to guard against the designs of others, and to turn everything to the best possible advantage.

Sag"a*more (?), n. 1. [Cf. Sachem.] The head of a tribe among the American Indians; a chief; -- generally used as synonymous with sachem, but some writters distinguished between them, making the sachem a chief of the first rank, and a sagamore one of the second rank. "Be it sagamore, sachem, or powwow." Longfellow.

2. A juice used in medicine. [Obs.] Johnson.

Sag"a*pen (?), n. Sagapenum.

||Sag`a*pe"num (?), n. [L. sagapenon, sacopenium, Gr. &?;: cf. F. ||sagapin, gomme sagapin, sagapénum, Ar. sikbnaj, Per. sakbnah, ||sikbnah.] (Med.) A fetid gum resin obtained from a species of Ferula. ||It has been used in hysteria, etc., but is now seldom met with. U. S. ||Disp.

Sag"a*thy (?), n. [F. sagatis: cf. Sp. sagatí, saetí.] A mixed woven fabric of silk and cotton, or silk and wool; sayette; also, a light woolen fabric.

Sage (?), n. [OE. sauge, F. sauge, L. salvia, from salvus saved, in allusion to its reputed healing virtues. See Safe.] (Bot.) (a) A suffruticose labiate plant (Salvia officinalis) with grayish green foliage, much used in flavoring meats, etc. The name is often extended to the whole genus, of which many species are cultivated for ornament, as the scarlet sage, and Mexican red and blue sage. (b) The sagebrush.

Meadow sage (Bot.), a blue-flowered species of Salvia (S. pratensis) growing in meadows in Europe. -- Sage cheese, cheese flavored with sage, and colored green by the juice of leaves of spinach and other plants which are added to the milk. -- Sage cock (Zoöl.), the male of the sage grouse; in a more general sense, the specific name of the sage grouse. -- Sage green, of a dull grayish green color, like the leaves of garden sage. -- Sage grouse (Zoöl.), a very large American grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), native of the dry sagebrush plains of Western North America. Called also cock of the plains. The male is called sage cock, and the female sage hen. -- Sage hare, or Sage rabbit (Zoöl.), a species of hare (Lepus Nuttalli, or artemisia) which inhabits the arid regions of Western North America and lives among sagebrush. By recent writers it is considered to be merely a variety of the common cottontail, or wood rabbit. -- Sage hen (Zoöl.), the female of the sage grouse. -- Sage sparrow (Zoöl.), a small sparrow (Amphispiza Belli, var. Nevadensis) which inhabits the dry plains of the Rocky Mountain region, living among sagebrush. -- Sage thrasher (Zoöl.), a singing bird (Oroscoptes montanus) which inhabits the sagebrush plains of Western North America. -- Sage willow (Bot.), a species of willow (Salix tristis) forming a low bush with nearly sessile grayish green leaves.

Sage (?), a. [Compar. Sager (?); superl. Sagest.] [F., fr. L. sapius (only in nesapius unwise, foolish), fr. sapere to be wise; perhaps akin to E. sap. Cf. Savor, Sapient, Insipid.] 1. Having nice discernment and powers of judging; prudent; grave; sagacious.

All you sage counselors, hence!

Shak.

2. Proceeding from wisdom; well judged; shrewd; well adapted to the purpose.

Commanders, who, cloaking their fear under show of sage advice, counseled the general to retreat.

Milton.

3. Grave; serious; solemn. [R.] "[Great bards] in sage and solemn tunes have sung." Milton.

Syn. -- Wise; sagacious; sapient; grave; prudent; judicious.

Sage, n. A wise man; a man of gravity and wisdom; especially, a man venerable for years, and of sound judgment and prudence; a grave philosopher.

At his birth a star, Unseen before in heaven, proclaims him come, And guides the Eastern sages.

Milton.

Sage"brush` (?), n. A low irregular shrub (Artemisia tridentata), of the order Compositæ, covering vast tracts of the dry alkaline regions of the American plains; -- called also sagebush, and wild sage.

Sage"ly, adv. In a sage manner; wisely.

Sa*gene" (?), n. [Russ. sajene.] A Russian measure of length equal to about seven English feet.

Sage"ness (?), n. The quality or state of being sage; wisdom; sagacity; prudence; gravity. Ascham.

Sag"e*nite (?), n. [F. sagénite, fr. L. sagena a large net. See Seine.] (Min.) Acicular rutile occurring in reticulated forms imbedded in quartz.

Sag`e*nit"ic (?), a. (Min.) Resembling sagenite; -- applied to quartz when containing acicular crystals of other minerals, most commonly rutile, also tourmaline, actinolite, and the like.

Sag"ger (?), n. [See Seggar.] 1. A pot or case of fire clay, in which fine stoneware is inclosed while baking in the kiln; a seggar.

2. The clay of which such pots or cases are made.

Sag"ging (?), n. A bending or sinking between the ends of a thing, in consequence of its own, or an imposed, weight; an arching downward in the middle, as of a ship after straining. Cf. Hogging.

Sag"i*nate (?), v. t. [L. saginatus, p. p. of saginare to fat, fr. sagina stuffing.] To make fat; to pamper. [R.] "Many a saginated boar." Cowper.

Sag`i*na"tion (?), n. [L. saginatio.] The act of fattening or pampering. [R.] Topsell.

||Sa*git"ta (?), n. [L., an arrow.] 1. (Astron.) A small constellation ||north of Aquila; the Arrow.

2. (Arch.) The keystone of an arch. [R.] Gwilt.

3. (Geom.) The distance from a point in a curve to the chord; also, the versed sine of an arc; -- so called from its resemblance to an arrow resting on the bow and string. [Obs.]

4. (Anat.) The larger of the two otoliths, or ear bones, found in most fishes.

5. (Zoöl.) A genus of transparent, free-swimming marine worms having lateral and caudal fins, and capable of swimming rapidly. It is the type of the class Chætognatha.

Sag"it*tal (?), a. [L. sagitta an arrow: cf. F. sagittal.] 1. Of or pertaining to an arrow; resembling an arrow; furnished with an arrowlike appendage.

2. (Anat.) (a) Of or pertaining to the sagittal suture; in the region of the sagittal suture; rabdoidal; as, the sagittal furrow, or groove, on the inner surface of the roof of the skull. (b) In the mesial plane; mesial; as, a sagittal section of an animal.

Sagittal suture (Anat.), the suture between the two parietal bones in the top of the skull; -- called also rabdoidal suture, and interparietal suture.

||Sag`it*ta"ri*us (?), n. [L., literally, an archer, fr. sagittarius ||belonging to an arrow, fr. sagitta an arrow.] (Astron.) (a) The ninth ||of the twelve signs of the zodiac, which the sun enters about ||November 22, marked thus [] in almanacs; the Archer. (b) A zodiacal ||constellation, represented on maps and globes as a centaur shooting ||an arrow.

Sag"it*ta"ry (?), n. [See Sagittarius.] 1. (Myth.) A centaur; a fabulous being, half man, half horse, armed with a bow and quiver. Shak.

2. The Arsenal in Venice; -- so called from having a figure of an archer over the door. Shak.

Sag"it*ta*ry, a. [L. sagittarius.] Pertaining to, or resembling, an arrow. Sir T. Browne.

Sag"it*tate (?), a. [NL. sagittatus, fr. L. sagitta an arrow.] Shaped like an arrowhead; triangular, with the two basal angles prolonged downward.

Sag"it*ta`ted (?), a. Sagittal; sagittate.

Sag"it*to*cyst (?), n. [See Sagitta, and Cyst.] (Zoöl.) A defensive cell containing a minute rodlike structure which may be expelled. Such cells are found in certain Turbellaria.

Sa"go (s"g), n. [Malay. sgu.] A dry granulated starch imported from the East Indies, much used for making puddings and as an article of diet for the sick; also, as starch, for stiffening textile fabrics. It is prepared from the stems of several East Indian and Malayan palm trees, but chiefly from the Metroxylon Sagu; also from several cycadaceous plants (Cycas revoluta, Zamia integrifolia, etc.).

Portland sago, a kind of sago prepared from the corms of the cuckoopint (Arum maculatum). -- Sago palm. (Bot.) (a) A palm tree which yields sago. (b) A species of Cycas (Cycas revoluta). -- Sago spleen (Med.), a morbid condition of the spleen, produced by amyloid degeneration of the organ, in which a cross section shows scattered gray translucent bodies looking like grains of sago.

Sa*goin" (?), n. [F. sagouin(formed from the native South American name).] (Zoöl.) A marmoset; -- called also sagouin.

||Sa"gum (?), n.; pl. Saga (#). [L. sagum, sagus; cf. Gr. &?;. Cf. Say ||a kind of serge.] (Rom. Antiq.) The military cloak of the Roman ||soldiers.

||Sa"gus (?), n. [NL. See Sago.] (Bot.) A genus of palms from which ||sago is obtained.

Sa"gy (?), a. Full of sage; seasoned with sage.

||Sa"hib (?), ||Sa"heb (&?;), n. [Ar. çhib master, lord, fem. çhibah.] ||A respectful title or appellation given to Europeans of rank. [India]

||Sa"hi*bah (?), n. [See Sahib.] A lady; mistress. [India]

Sa*hid"ic (?), a. Same as Thebaic.

Sah"lite (?), n. (Min.) See Salite.

||Sa*hui" (?), n. (Zoöl.) A marmoset.

||Sa"i (?), n. [Cf. Pg. sahi.] (Zoöl.) See Capuchin, 3 (a).

||Sai"bling (?), n. [Dial. G.] (Zoöl.) A European mountain trout ||(Salvelinus alpinus); -- called also Bavarian charr.

Sa"ic (?), n. [F. saïque, Turk. shaïka.] (Naut.) A kind of ketch very common in the Levant, which has neither topgallant sail nor mizzen topsail.

Said (?), imp. & p. p. of Say.

Said, a. Before-mentioned; already spoken of or specified; aforesaid; -- used chiefly in legal style.

||Sai"ga (?), n. [Russ. saika.] (Zoöl.) An antelope (Saiga Tartarica) ||native of the plains of Siberia and Eastern Russia. The male has ||erect annulated horns, and tufts of long hair beneath the eyes and ||ears.

Sai"kyr (?), n. (Mil.) Same as Saker. [Obs.]

Sail (?), n. [OE. seil, AS. segel, segl; akin to D. zeil, OHG. segal, G. & Sw. segel, Icel. segl, Dan. seil. √ 153.] 1. An extent of canvas or other fabric by means of which the wind is made serviceable as a power for propelling vessels through the water.

Behoves him now both sail and oar.

Milton.

2. Anything resembling a sail, or regarded as a sail.

3. A wing; a van. [Poetic]

Like an eagle soaring To weather his broad sails.

Spenser.

4. The extended surface of the arm of a windmill.

5. A sailing vessel; a vessel of any kind; a craft.

In this sense, the plural has usually the same form as the singular; as, twenty sail were in sight.

6. A passage by a sailing vessel; a journey or excursion upon the water.

Sails are of two general kinds, fore-and-aft sails, and square sails. Square sails are always bent to yards, with their foot lying across the line of the vessel. Fore-and-aft sails are set upon stays or gaffs with their foot in line with the keel. A fore- and-aft sail is triangular, or quadrilateral with the after leech longer than the fore leech. Square sails are quadrilateral, but not necessarily square. See Phrases under Fore, a., and Square, a.; also, Bark, Brig, Schooner, Ship, Stay.

Sail burton (Naut.), a purchase for hoisting sails aloft for bending. -- Sail fluke (Zoöl.), the whiff. -- Sail hook, a small hook used in making sails, to hold the seams square. -- Sail loft, a loft or room where sails are cut out and made. -- Sail room (Naut.), a room in a vessel where sails are stowed when not in use. -- Sail yard (Naut.), the yard or spar on which a sail is extended. -- Shoulder-of- mutton sail (Naut.), a triangular sail of peculiar form. It is chiefly used to set on a boat's mast. -- To crowd sail. (Naut.) See under Crowd. -- To loose sails (Naut.), to unfurl or spread sails. -- To make sail (Naut.), to extend an additional quantity of sail. -- To set a sail (Naut.), to extend or spread a sail to the wind. -- To set sail (Naut.), to unfurl or spread the sails; hence, to begin a voyage. -- To shorten sail (Naut.), to reduce the extent of sail, or take in a part. -- To strike sail (Naut.), to lower the sails suddenly, as in saluting, or in sudden gusts of wind; hence, to acknowledge inferiority; to abate pretension. -- Under sail, having the sails spread.

Sail (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Sailed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Sailing.] [AS. segelian, seglian. See Sail, n.] 1. To be impelled or driven forward by the action of wind upon sails, as a ship on water; to be impelled on a body of water by the action of steam or other power.

2. To move through or on the water; to swim, as a fish or a water fowl.

3. To be conveyed in a vessel on water; to pass by water; as, they sailed from London to Canton.

4. To set sail; to begin a voyage.

5. To move smoothly through the air; to glide through the air without apparent exertion, as a bird.

As is a winged messenger of heaven, . . . When he bestrides the lazy pacing clouds, And sails upon the bosom of the air.

Shak.

Sail, v. t. 1. To pass or move upon, as in a ship, by means of sails; hence, to move or journey upon (the water) by means of steam or other force.

A thousand ships were manned to sail the sea.

Dryden.

2. To fly through; to glide or move smoothly through.

Sublime she sails The aërial space, and mounts the wingèd gales.

Pope.

3. To direct or manage the motion of, as a vessel; as, to sail one's own ship. Totten.

Sail"a*ble (?), a. Capable of being sailed over; navigable; as, a sailable river.

Sail"boat`, n. A boat propelled by a sail or sails.

Sail"cloth` (?), n. Duck or canvas used in making sails.

Sail"er (?), n. 1. A sailor. [R.] Sir P. Sidney.

2. A ship or other vessel; -- with qualifying words descriptive of speed or manner of sailing; as, a heavy sailer; a fast sailer.

Sail"fish (?), n. (Zoöl.) (a) The banner fish, or spikefish (Histiophorus.) (b) The basking, or liver, shark. (c) The quillback.

Sail"ing (?), n. 1. The act of one who, or that which, sails; the motion of a vessel on water, impelled by wind or steam; the act of starting on a voyage.

2. (Naut.) The art of managing a vessel; seamanship; navigation; as, globular sailing; oblique sailing.

For the several methods of sailing, see under Circular, Globular, Oblique, Parallel, etc.

Sailing master (U. S. Navy), formerly, a warrant officer, ranking next below a lieutenant, whose duties were to navigate the vessel; and under the direction of the executive officer, to attend to the stowage of the hold, to the cables, rigging, etc. The grade was merged in that of master in 1862.

Sail"less (?), a. Destitute of sails. Pollok.

Sail"mak`er (?), n. One whose occupation is to make or repair sails. -- Sail"mak`ing, n.

Sail"or (?), n. One who follows the business of navigating ships or other vessels; one who understands the practical management of ships; one of the crew of a vessel; a mariner; a common seaman.

Syn. -- Mariner; seaman; seafarer.

Sailor's choice. (Zoöl.) (a) An excellent marine food fish (Diplodus, or Lagodon, rhomboides) of the Southern United States; -- called also porgy, squirrel fish, yellowtail, and salt- water bream. (b) A species of grunt (Orthopristis, or Pomadasys, chrysopterus), an excellent food fish common on the southern coasts of the United States; -- called also hogfish, and pigfish.

Sail"y (?), a. Like a sail. [R.] Drayton.

Saim (?), n. [OF. sain, LL. saginum, fr. L. sagina a fattening.] Lard; grease. [Scot. & Prov. Eng.]

||Sai*mir" (?), n. (Zoöl.) The squirrel monkey.

Sain (?), obs. p. p. of Say, for sayen. Said. Shak.

Sain, v. t. [Cf. Saint, Sane.] To sanctify; to bless so as to protect from evil influence. [R.] Sir W. Scott.

Sain"foin (?; 277), n. [F., fr. sain wholesome (L. sanus; see Sane.) + foin hay (L. fænum); or perh. fr. saint sacred (L. sanctus; see Saint) + foin hay.] (Bot.) (a) A leguminous plant (Onobrychis sativa) cultivated for fodder. [Written also saintfoin.] (b) A kind of tick trefoil (Desmodium Canadense). [Canada]

Saint (snt), n. [F., fr. L. sanctus sacred, properly p. p. of sancire to render sacred by a religious act, to appoint as sacred; akin to sacer sacred. Cf. Sacred, Sanctity, Sanctum, Sanctus.] 1. A person sanctified; a holy or godly person; one eminent for piety and virtue; any true Christian, as being redeemed and consecrated to God.

Them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints.

1 Cor. i. 2.

2. One of the blessed in heaven.

Then shall thy saints, unmixed, and from the impure Far separate, circling thy holy mount, Unfeigned hallelujahs to thee sing.

Milton.

3. (Eccl.) One canonized by the church. [Abbrev. St.]