Chapter 54

Bar sinister. (Her.) See under Bar, n. -- Sinister aspect (Astrol.), an appearance of two planets happening according to the succession of the signs, as Saturn in Aries, and Mars in the same degree of Gemini. -- Sinister base, Sinister chief. See under Escutcheon.

Sin"is*ter-hand"ed (?), a. Left- handed; hence, unlucky. [Obs.] Lovelace.

Sin"is*ter*ly, adv. In a sinister manner. Wood.

Sin"is*trad (?), adv. [L. sinistra the left hand + ad to.] (Anat. & Zoöl.) Toward the left side; sinistrally.

Sin"is*tral (?), a. 1. Of or pertaining to the left, inclining to the left; sinistrous; -- opposed to dextral.

2. (Zoöl.) Having the whorls of the spire revolving or rising to the left; reversed; -- said of certain spiral shells.

Sin`is*tral"i*ty (?), n. The quality or state of being sinistral.

Sin"is*tral*ly (?), adv. Toward the left; in a sinistral manner. J. Le Conte.

Sin"is*trin (sn"s*trn), n. [L. sinister left.] (Chem.) A mucilaginous carbohydrate, resembling achroödextrin, extracted from squill as a colorless amorphous substance; -- so called because it is levorotatory.

Sin`is*tror"sal (?), a. [L. sinistrorsus, sinistroversus, turned toward the left side; sinister left + vertere, vortere, versum, vorsum, to turn.] Rising spirally from right to left (of the spectator); sinistrorse.

Sin"is*trorse` (?), a. [See Sinistrolsal.] Turning to the left (of the spectator) in the ascending line; -- the opposite of dextrorse. See Dextrorse.

Sin"is*trous (?), a. [See Sinister.] 1. Being on the left side; inclined to the left; sinistral. "Sinistrous gravity." Sir T. Browne.

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2. Wrong; absurd; perverse.

A knave or fool can do no harm, even by the most sinistrous and absurd choice.

Bentley.

Sin"is*trous*ly (sn"s*trs*l), adv. 1. In a sinistrous manner; perversely; wrongly; unluckily.

2. With a tendency to use the left hand.

Many, in their infancy, are sinistrously disposed, and divers continue all their life left-handed.

Sir T. Browne.

Sink (sk), v. i. [imp. Sunk (sk), or (Sank (sk)); p. p. Sunk (obs. Sunken, -- now used as adj.); p. pr. & vb. n. Sinking.] [OE. sinken, AS. sincan; akin to D. zinken, OS. sincan, G. sinken, Icel. sökkva, Dan. synke, Sw. sjunka, Goth. siggan, and probably to E. silt. Cf. Silt.] 1. To fall by, or as by, the force of gravity; to descend lower and lower; to decline gradually; to subside; as, a stone sinks in water; waves rise and sink; the sun sinks in the west.

I sink in deep mire.

Ps. lxix. 2.

2. To enter deeply; to fall or retire beneath or below the surface; to penetrate.

The stone sunk into his forehead.

1 San. xvii. 49.

3. Hence, to enter so as to make an abiding impression; to enter completely.

Let these sayings sink down into your ears.

Luke ix. 44.

4. To be overwhelmed or depressed; to fall slowly, as so the ground, from weakness or from an overburden; to fail in strength; to decline; to decay; to decrease.

I think our country sinks beneath the yoke.

Shak.

He sunk down in his chariot.

2 Kings ix. 24.

Let not the fire sink or slacken.

Mortimer.

5. To decrease in volume, as a river; to subside; to become diminished in volume or in apparent height.

The Alps and Pyreneans sink before him.

Addison.

Syn. -- To fall; subside; drop; droop; lower; decline; decay; decrease; lessen.

Sink, v. t. 1. To cause to sink; to put under water; to immerse or submerge in a fluid; as, to sink a ship.

[The Athenians] fell upon the wings and sank a single ship.

Jowett (Thucyd.).

2. Figuratively: To cause to decline; to depress; to degrade; hence, to ruin irretrievably; to destroy, as by drowping; as, to sink one's reputation.

I raise of sink, imprison or set free.

Prior.

If I have a conscience, let it sink me.

Shak.

Thy cruel and unnatural lust of power Has sunk thy father more than all his years.

Rowe.

3. To make (a depression) by digging, delving, or cutting, etc.; as, to sink a pit or a well; to sink a die.

4. To bring low; to reduce in quantity; to waste.

You sunk the river repeated draughts.

Addison.

5. To conseal and appropriate. [Slang]

If sent with ready money to buy anything, and you happen to be out of pocket, sink the money, and take up the goods on account.

Swift.

6. To keep out of sight; to suppress; to ignore.

A courtly willingness to sink obnoxious truths.

Robertson.

7. To reduce or extinguish by payment; as, to sink the national debt.

Sink, n. 1. A drain to carry off filthy water; a jakes.

2. A shallow box or vessel of wood, stone, iron, or other material, connected with a drain, and used for receiving filthy water, etc., as in a kitchen.

3. A hole or low place in land or rock, where waters sink and are lost; -- called also sink hole. [U. S.]

Sink hole. (a) The opening to a sink drain. (b) A cesspool. (c) Same as Sink, n., 3.

Sink"er (?), n. One who, or that which, sinks. Specifically: (a) A weight on something, as on a fish line, to sink it. (b) In knitting machines, one of the thin plates, blades, or other devices, that depress the loops upon or between the needles.

Dividing sinker, in knitting machines, a sinker between two jack sinkers and acting alternately with them. -- Jack sinker. See under Jack, n. -- Sinker bar. (a) In knitting machines, a bar to which one set of the sinkers is attached. (b) In deep well boring, a heavy bar forming a connection between the lifting rope and the boring tools, above the jars.

Sink"ing, a. & n. from Sink.

Sinking fund. See under Fund. -- Sinking head (Founding), a riser from which the mold is fed as the casting shrinks. See Riser, n., 4. -- Sinking pump, a pump which can be lowered in a well or a mine shaft as the level of the water sinks.

Sin"less (?), a. Free from sin. Piers Plowman.

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

Sin"ner (?), n. One who has sinned; especially, one who has sinned without repenting; hence, a persistent and incorrigible transgressor; one condemned by the law of God.

Sin"ner, v. i. To act as a sinner. [Humorous]

Whether the charmer sinner it or saint it.

Pope.

Sin"ner*ess, n. A woman who sins. [Obs.]

Sin"net (?), n. See Sennit .

Sin`o*log"ic*al (?), a. [See Sinologue.] Relating to the Chinese language or literature.

Si*nol"o*gist (?), n. A sinologue.

Sin"o*logue (?), n. [From L. Sinae, an Oriental people mentioned by Ptolemy, or Ar. Sin China or the Chinese + Gr. &?;&?;&?; discourse; formed like theologue: cf. F. sinologue.] A student of Chinese; one versed in the Chinese language, literature, and history.

Si*nol"o*gy (?), n. [Cf. F. sinologie.] That branch of systemized knowledge which treats of the Chinese, their language, literature, etc.

Sin"o*per (?), n. (Min.) Sinople.

{ Si*no"pi*a (?), Si*no"pis (?), } n. A red pigment made from sinopite.

Sin"o*pite (?), n. [F., fr. L. sinopis (sc. terra), a red earth or ocher found in Sinope, a town in Paphlagoma, on the Black Sea, Gr. &?;&?;&?;&?;.] (Min.) A brickred ferruginous clay used by the ancients for red paint.

Sin"o*ple (?), n. (Min.) Ferruginous quartz, of a blood-red or brownish red color, sometimes with a tinge of yellow.

Sin"o*ple, n. [F., fr. LL. sinopis. See Sinople a mineral.] (Her.) The tincture vert; green.

Sinque (?), n. See Cinque. [Obs.] Beau. & Fl.

Sins"ring (?), n. (Zoöl.) Same as Banxring.

Sin"ter (?), n. [G. Cf. Cinder.] (Min.) Dross, as of iron; the scale which files from iron when hammered; -- applied as a name to various minerals.

Calcareous sinter, a loose banded variety of calcite formed by deposition from lime-bearing waters; calcareous tufa; travertine. -- Ceraunian sinter, fulgurite. -- Siliceous sinter, a light cellular or fibrous opal; especially, geyserite (see Geyserite). It has often a pearly luster, and is then called pearl sinter.

{ Sin"to (?), or Sin"tu (?), Sin"to*ism (?), Sin"to*ist }. See Shinto, etc.

||Sin"toc (?), n. A kind of spice used in the East Indies, consisting ||of the bark of a species of Cinnamomum. [Written also sindoc.]

Sin"u*ate (?), a. [L. sinuatus, p. p. of sinuare to wind, bend, fr. sinus a bend.] Having the margin alternately curved inward and outward; having rounded lobes separated by rounded sinuses; sinuous; wavy.

Sin"u*ate (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Sinuated (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Sinuating.] To bend or curve in and out; to wind; to turn; to be sinuous. Woodward.

Sin"u*a`ted (&?;), a. Same as Sinuate.

Sin`u*a"tion (?), n. [L. sinuatio.] A winding or bending in and out.

Sin"u*ose` (?), a. Sinuous. Loudon.

Sin`u*os"i*ty (?), n.; pl. Sinuosities (#). [Cf. F. sinuosité.] 1. Quality or state of being sinuous.

2. A bend, or a series of bends and turns; a winding, or a series of windings; a wave line; a curve.

A line of coast certainly amounting, with its sinuosities, to more than 700 miles.

Sydney Smith.

Sin"u*ous (?), a. [L. sinuosus, fr. sinus a bent surface, a curve: cf. F. sinueux. See Sinus.] Bending in and out; of a serpentine or undulating form; winding; crooked. -- Sin"u*ous*ly, adv.

Streaking the ground with sinuous trace.

Milton.

Gardens bright with sinuous rills.

Coleridge.

Si`nu*pal"li*ate (?), a. (Zoöl.) Having a pallial sinus. See under Sinus.

Si"nus (?), n.; pl. L. Sinus, E. Sinuses (#). [L., a bent surface, a curve, the folds or bosom of a garment, etc., a bay. Cf. Sine, n.] 1. An opening; a hollow; a bending.

2. A bay of the sea; a recess in the shore.

3. (Anat. & Zoöl.) A cavity; a depression. Specifically: (a) A cavity in a bone or other part, either closed or with a narrow opening. (b) A dilated vessel or canal.

4. (Med.) A narrow, elongated cavity, in which pus is collected; an elongated abscess with only a small orifice.

5. (Bot.) A depression between adjoining lobes.

A sinus may be rounded, as in the leaf of the white oak, or acute, as in that of the red maple.

Pallial sinus. (Zoöl.) See under Pallial. -- Sinus venosus (?). [L., venous dilatation.] (Anat.) (a) The main part of the cavity of the right auricle of the heart in the higher vertebrates. (b) In the lower vertebrates, a distinct chamber of the heart formed by the union of the large systematic veins and opening into the auricle.

Si"nus*oid (?), n. [Sinus + - oid.] (Geom.) The curve whose ordinates are proportional to the sines of the abscissas, the equation of the curve being y = a sin x. It is also called the curve of sines.

Si`nus*oid"al (?), a. (Geom.) Of or pertaining to a sinusoid; like a sinusoid.

Sio"goon (?), n. See Shogun.

Sio*goon"ate (?), n. See Shogunate.

Sioux (?), n. sing. & pl. (Ethnol.) See Dakotas.

Sip (sp), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Sipped (spt); p. pr. & vb. n. Sipping.] [OE. sippen; akin to OD. sippen, and AS. span to sip, suck up, drink. See Sup, v. t.] 1. To drink or imbibe in small quantities; especially, to take in with the lips in small quantities, as a liquid; as, to sip tea. "Every herb that sips the dew." Milton.

2. To draw into the mouth; to suck up; as, a bee sips nectar from the flowers.

3. To taste the liquor of; to drink out of. [Poetic]

They skim the floods, and sip the purple flowers.

Dryden.

Sip, v. i. To drink a small quantity; to take a fluid with the lips; to take a sip or sips of something.

[She] raised it to her mouth with sober grace; Then, sipping, offered to the next in place.

Dryden.

Sip, n. 1. The act of sipping; the taking of a liquid with the lips.

2. A small draught taken with the lips; a slight taste.

One sip of this Will bathe the drooping spirits in delight Beyond the bliss of dreams.

Milton.

A sip is all that the public ever care to take from reservoirs of abstract philosophy.

De Quincey.

Sip"age (?), n. See Seepage. [Scot. & U.S.]

Sipe (sp), v. i. See Seep. [Scot. & U.S.]

Siph"i*lis (?), n. (Med.) Syphilis.

Si"phoid (?), n. [L. sipho a siphon + -oid: cf. F. vase siphoïde.] A siphon bottle. See under Siphon, n.

Si"phon (?), n. [F. siphon, L. sipho, -onis, fr. Gr. &?;&?;&?; a siphon, tube, pipe.] 1. A device, consisting of a pipe or tube bent so as to form two branches or legs of unequal length, by which a liquid can be transferred to a lower level, as from one vessel to another, over an intermediate elevation, by the action of the pressure of the atmosphere in forcing the liquid up the shorter branch of the pipe immersed in it, while the continued excess of weight of the liquid in the longer branch (when once filled) causes a continuous flow. The flow takes place only when the discharging extremity of the pipe ia lower than the higher liquid surface, and when no part of the pipe is higher above the surface than the same liquid will rise by atmospheric pressure; that is, about 33 feet for water, and 30 inches for mercury, near the sea level.

2. (Zoöl.) (a) One of the tubes or folds of the mantle border of a bivalve or gastropod mollusk by which water is conducted into the gill cavity. See Illust. under Mya, and Lamellibranchiata. (b) The anterior prolongation of the margin of any gastropod shell for the protection of the soft siphon. (c) The tubular organ through which water is ejected from the gill cavity of a cephaloid. It serves as a locomotive organ, by guiding and confining the jet of water. Called also siphuncle. See Illust. under Loligo, and Dibranchiata. (d) The siphuncle of a cephalopod shell. (e) The sucking proboscis of certain parasitic insects and crustaceans. (f) A sproutlike prolongation in front of the mouth of many gephyreans. (g) A tubular organ connected both with the esophagus and the intestine of certain sea urchins and annelids.

3. A siphon bottle.

Inverted siphon, a tube bent like a siphon, but having the branches turned upward; specifically (Hydraulic Engineering), a pipe for conducting water beneath a depressed place, as from one hill to another across an intervening valley, following the depression of the ground. -- Siphon barometer. See under Barometer. -- Siphon bottle, a bottle for holding aërated water, which is driven out through a bent tube in the neck by the gas within the bottle when a valve in the tube is opened; -- called also gazogene, and siphoid. -- Siphon condenser, a condenser for a steam engine, in which the vacuum is maintained by the downward flow of water through a vertical pipe of great height. -- Siphon cup, a cup with a siphon attached for carrying off any liquid in it; specifically (Mach.), an oil cup in which oil is carried over the edge of a tube in a cotton wick, and so reaches the surface to be lubricated. -- Siphon gauge. See under Gauge. -- Siphon pump, a jet pump. See under Jet, n.

Si"phon (?), v. t. (Chem.) To convey, or draw off, by means of a siphon, as a liquid from one vessel to another at a lower level.

Si"phon*age (?), n. The action of a siphon.

Si"phon*al (?), a. Of or pertaining to a siphon; resembling a siphon.

Siphonal stomach (Zoöl.), a stomach which is tubular and bent back upon itself, like a siphon, as in the salmon.

Si`pho*na"rid (?), n. (Zoöl.) Any one of numerous species of limpet-shaped pulmonate gastropods of the genus Siphonaria. They cling to rocks between high and low water marks and have both lunglike organs and gills. -- Si`pho*na"rid, a.

||Si`pho*na"ta (?), n. pl. [NL.] (Zoöl.) A tribe of bivalve mollusks in ||which the posterior mantle border is prolonged into two tubes or ||siphons. Called also Siphoniata. See Siphon, 2 (a), and Quahaug.

Si"phon*ate (?), a. 1. Having a siphon or siphons.

2. (Zoöl.) Belonging to the Siphonata.

Si"phon*et (?), n. (Zoöl.) One of the two dorsal tubular organs on the hinder part of the abdomen of aphids. They give exit to the honeydew. See Illust. under Aphis.

||Si*pho"ni*a (?), n. [NL.] (Bot.) A former name for a euphorbiaceous ||genus (Hevea) of South American trees, the principal source of ||caoutchouc.

||Si*pho`ni*a"ta (?), n. pl. [NL.] (Zoöl.) Same as Siphonata.

Si*phon"ic (?), a. Of or pertaining to a siphon.

Si*phon"i*fer (?), n. [NL., fr. L. sipho, -onis, siphon + ferre to bear.] (Zoöl.) Any cephalopod having a siphonate shell.

Si"phon*if"er*ous (?), a. [Siphon + -ferous.] (Zoöl.) Siphon-bearing, as the shell of the nautilus and other cephalopods.

||Si*pho"ni*um (?), n.; pl. Siphonia (#). [NL., from Gr. &?;&?;&?;&?;, ||dim. of &?;&?;&?;&?;. See Siphon.] (Anat.) A bony tube which, in some ||birds, connects the tympanium with the air chambers of the articular ||piece of the mandible.

||Si`pho*no*bran`chi*a"ta (?), n. pl. [NL. See Siphon, and Branchia.] ||(Zoöl.) A tribe of gastropods having the mantle border, on one or ||both sides, prolonged in the form of a spout through which water ||enters the gill cavity. The shell itself is not always ||siphonostomatous in this group.

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Si`pho*no*bran"chi*ate (?), a. (Zoöl.) Having a siphon, or siphons, to convey water to the gills; belonging or pertaining to the Siphonobranchiata. -- n. One of the Siphonobranchiata.

Si`pho*nog"ly*phe (?), n. [Siphon + Gr. &?;&?;&?; to engrave.] (Zoöl.) A gonidium.

||Si`pho*noph"o*ra (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. &?;&?;&?; a siphon + ||&?;&?;&?;&?; to bear.] (Zoöl.) An order of pelagic Hydrozoa including ||species which form complex free-swimming communities composed of ||numerous zooids of various kinds, some of which act as floats or as ||swimming organs, others as feeding or nutritive zooids, and others as ||reproductive zooids. See Illust. under Physallia, and Porpita.

Si`pho*noph"o*ran (?), a. (Zoöl.) Belonging to the Siphonophora. -- n. One of the Siphonophora.

Si*phon"o*phore (?), n. (Zoöl.) One of the Siphonophora.

||Si`pho*nop"o*da (?), n. pl. [NL. See Siphon, and -poda.] (Zoöl.) A ||division of Scaphopoda including those in which the foot terminates ||in a circular disk.

||Si`pho*no*stom"a*ta (?), n. pl. [NL. See Siphon, and Stoma.] (Zoöl.) ||(a) A tribe of parasitic copepod Crustacea including a large number ||of species that are parasites of fishes, as the lerneans. They have a ||mouth adapted to suck blood. (b) An artificial division of gastropods ||including those that have siphonostomatous shells.

Si`pho*no*stom"a*tous (?), a. (Zoöl.) (a) Having the front edge of the aperture of the shell prolonged in the shape of a channel for the protection of the siphon; -- said of certain gastropods. (b) Pertaining to the Siphonostomata.

Si`pho*nos"tome (?), n. [Gr. &?;&?;&?; a siphon + &?;&?;&?; mouth.] (Zoöl.) (a) Any parasitic entomostracan of the tribe Siphonostomata. (b) A siphonostomatous shell.

Si`pho*rhi"nal (?), a. [Siphon + rhinal.] (Zoöl.) Having tubular nostrils, as the petrels.

Si`pho*rhin"i*an (?), n. (Zoöl.) A siphorhinal bird.

Si"phun`cle (?), n. [L. siphunculus, sipunculus, dim. of sipho. See Siphon.] (Zoöl.) The tube which runs through the partitions of chambered cephalopod shells.

Si"phun`cled (?), a. (Zoöl.) Having a siphuncle; siphunculated.

Si*phun"cu*lar (?), a. (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to the siphuncle.

Si*phun"cu*la`ted (?), a. (Zoöl.) Having a siphuncle. Huxley.

Sip"id (?), a. [See Insipid, Sapid.] Having a taste or flavorl savory; sapid. [Obs.] Cockeram.

Sip"per (?), n. One whi sips.

Sip"pet (?), n. [See Sip, Sop.] A small sop; a small, thin piece of toasted bread soaked in milk, broth, or the like; a small piece of toasted or fried bread cut into some special shape and used for garnishing.

Your sweet sippets in widows' houses.

Milton.

Sip"ple (?), v. i. [Freq. of sip.] To sip often. [Obs. or Scot.]

Sip"pling (?), a. Sipping often. [Obs.] "Taken after a sippling sort." Holland.

||Si*pun`cu*la"ce*a (?), n. pl. [NL., from Sipunculus, the typical ||genus. See Siphuncle.] (Zoöl.) A suborder of Gephyrea, including ||those which have the body unarmed and the intestine opening ||anteriorly.

Si*pun"cu*loid (?), a. [NL. Sipunculus, the typical genus + -oid.] (Zoöl.) Pertaining to the Sipunculoidea. -- n. One of the Sipunculoidea.

||Si*pun`cu*loi"de*a (?), n. pl. [NL.] (Zoöl.) (a) Same as Gephyrea. ||(b) In a restricted sense, same as Sipunculacea.

||Si` quis" (?). [L., if any one (the first words of the notice in ||Latin).] (Ch. of Eng.) A notification by a candidate for orders of ||his intention to inquire whether any impediment may be alleged ||against him.

Sir (?), n. [OE. sire, F. sire, contr. from the nominative L. senior an elder, elderly person, compar. of senex,senis, an aged person; akin to Gr. &?;&?;&?; old, Skr. sana, Goth. sineigs old, sinista eldest, Ir. & Gael. sean old, W. hen. Cf. Seignior, Senate, Seneschal, Senior, Senor, Signor, Sire, Sirrah.] 1. A man of social authority and dignity; a lord; a master; a gentleman; -- in this sense usually spelled sire. [Obs.]

He was crowned lord and sire.

Gower.

In the election of a sir so rare.

Shak.

2. A title prefixed to the Christian name of a knight or a baronet.

Sir Horace Vere, his brother, was the principal in the active part.

Bacon.

3. An English rendering of the LAtin Dominus, the academical title of a bachelor of arts; -- formerly colloquially, and sometimes contemptuously, applied to the clergy. Nares.

Instead of a faithful and painful teacher, they hire a Sir John, which hath better skill in playing at tables, or in keeping of a garden, than in God's word.

Latimer.

4. A respectful title, used in addressing a man, without being prefixed to his name; -- used especially in speaking to elders or superiors; sometimes, also, used in the way of emphatic formality. "What's that to you, sir?" Sheridan.

Anciently, this title, was often used when a person was addressed as a man holding a certain office, or following a certain business. "Sir man of law." "Sir parish priest." Chaucer.

Sir reverance. See under Reverence, n.

Si*ras"kier (?), n. See Seraskier.

Si*ras"kier*ate (?), n. See Seraskierate.

Sir*bo"ni*an (?), a. See Serbonian.

Sir*car" (?), n. [Hind. & Per. sarkr a superintendant, overseer, chief; Per. sar the head + kr action, work.] 1. A Hindoo clerk or accountant. [India]

2. A district or province; a circar. [India]

3. The government; the supreme authority of the state. [India]

Sir*dar" (?), n. [Hind. & Per. sardr a chief, general; sar the head, top + dr holding, possessing.] A native chief in Hindostan; a headman. Malcom.

Sire (?), n. [F. sire, originally, an older person. See Sir.] 1. A lord, master, or other person in authority. See Sir. [Obs.]

Pain and distress, sickness and ire, And melancholy that angry sire, Be of her palace senators.

Rom. of R.

2. A tittle of respect formerly used in speaking to elders and superiors, but now only in addressing a sovereign.

3. A father; the head of a family; the husband.

Jankin thet was our sire [i.e., husband].

Chaucer.

And raise his issue, like a loving sire.

Shak.

4. A creator; a maker; an author; an originator.

[He] was the sire of an immortal strain.

Shelley.

5. The male parent of a beast; -- applied especially to horses; as, the horse had a good sire.

Sire is often used in composition; as in grandsire, grandfather; great-grandsire, great- grandfather.

Sire, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Sired (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Siring.] To beget; to procreate; -- used of beasts, and especially of stallions.

Si*re"don (?), n. [NL., from Gr. &?;&?;&?; a siren.] (Zoöl.) The larval form of any salamander while it still has external gills; especially, one of those which, like the axolotl (Amblystoma Mexicanum), sometimes lay eggs while in this larval state, but which under more favorable conditions lose their gills and become normal salamanders. See also Axolotl.

Si"ren (?), n. [L., fr. Gr. &?;&?;&?;: cf. F. sirène.] 1. (Class. Myth.) One of three sea nymphs, -- or, according to some writers, of two, -- said to frequent an island near the coast of Italy, and to sing with such sweetness that they lured mariners to destruction.

Next where the sirens dwell you plow the seas; Their song is death, and makes destruction please.

Pope.

2. An enticing, dangerous woman. Shak.

3. Something which is insidious or deceptive.

Consumption is a siren.

W. Irving.

4. A mermaid. [Obs.] Shak.