Chapter 68

Soft (?), a. [Compar. Softer (?); superl. Softest.] [OE. softe, AS. s&?;fte, properly adv. of s&?;fte, adj.; akin to OS. sfto, adv., D. zacht, OHG. samfto, adv., semfti, adj., G. sanft, LG. sacht; of uncertain origin.] 1. Easily yielding to pressure; easily impressed, molded, or cut; not firm in resisting; impressible; yielding; also, malleable; -- opposed to hard; as, a soft bed; a soft peach; soft earth; soft wood or metal.

2. Not rough, rugged, or harsh to the touch; smooth; delicate; fine; as, soft silk; a soft skin.

They that wear soft clothing are in king's houses.

Matt. xi. 8.

3. Hence, agreeable to feel, taste, or inhale; not irritating to the tissues; as, a soft liniment; soft wines. "The soft, delicious air." Milton.

4. Not harsh or offensive to the sight; not glaring; pleasing to the eye; not exciting by intensity of color or violent contrast; as, soft hues or tints.

The sun, shining upon the upper part of the clouds . . . made the softest lights imaginable.

Sir T. Browne.

5. Not harsh or rough in sound; gentle and pleasing to the ear; flowing; as, soft whispers of music.

Her voice was ever soft, Gentle, and low, -- an excellent thing in woman.

Shak.

Soft were my numbers; who could take offense?

Pope.

6. Easily yielding; susceptible to influence; flexible; gentle; kind.

I would to God my heart were flint, like Edward's; Or Edward's soft and pitiful, like mine.

Shak.

The meek or soft shall inherit the earth.

Tyndale.

7. Expressing gentleness, tenderness, or the like; mild; conciliatory; courteous; kind; as, soft eyes.

A soft answer turneth away wrath.

Prov. xv. 1.

A face with gladness overspread, Soft smiles, by human kindness bred.

Wordsworth.

8. Effeminate; not courageous or manly, weak.

A longing after sensual pleasures is a dissolution of the spirit of a man, and makes it loose, soft, and wandering.

Jer. Taylor.

9. Gentle in action or motion; easy.

On her soft axle, white she paces even, And bears thee soft with the smooth air along.

Milton.

10. Weak in character; impressible.

The deceiver soon found this soft place of Adam's.

Glanvill.

11. Somewhat weak in intellect. [Colloq.]

He made soft fellows stark noddies, and such as were foolish quite mad.

Burton.

12. Quiet; undisturbed; paceful; as, soft slumbers.

13. Having, or consisting of, a gentle curve or curves; not angular or abrupt; as, soft outlines.

14. Not tinged with mineral salts; adapted to decompose soap; as, soft water is the best for washing.

15. (Phonetics) (a) Applied to a palatal, a sibilant, or a dental consonant (as g in gem, c in cent, etc.) as distinguished from a guttural mute (as g in go, c in cone, etc.); -- opposed to hard. (b) Belonging to the class of sonant elements as distinguished from the surd, and considered as involving less force in utterance; as, b, d, g, z, v, etc., in contrast with p, t, k, s, f, etc.

Soft clam (Zoöl.), the common or long clam (Mya arenaria). See Mya. -- Soft coal, bituminous coal, as distinguished from anthracite, or hard, coal. -- Soft crab (Zoöl.), any crab which has recently shed its shell. -- Soft dorsal (Zoöl.), the posterior part of the dorsal fin of fishes when supported by soft rays. -- Soft grass. (Bot.) See Velvet grass. -- Soft money, paper money, as distinguished from coin, or hard money. [Colloq. U.S.] -- Soft mute. (Phonetics) See Media. -- Soft palate. See the Note under Palate. -- Soft ray (Zoöl.), a fin ray which is articulated and usually branched. -- Soft soap. See under Soap. -- Soft-tack, leavened bread, as distinguished from hard-tack, or ship bread. -- Soft tortoise (Zoöl.), any river tortoise of the genus Trionyx. See Trionyx.

Soft (?), n. A soft or foolish person; an idiot. [Colloq.] G. Eliot.

Soft, adv. Softly; without roughness or harshness; gently; quietly. Chaucer.

A knight soft riding toward them.

Spenser.

Soft, interj. Be quiet; hold; stop; not so fast.

Soft, you; a word or two before you go.

Shak.

Sof"ta (?), n. [Corruption of Per. s&?;khtah one who burns, is ardent or zealous.] Any one attached to a Mohammedan mosque, esp. a student of the higher branches of theology in a mosque school. [Written also sophta.]

Sof"ten (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Softened (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Softening.] To make soft or more soft. Specifically: --

(a) To render less hard; -- said of matter.

Their arrow's point they soften in the flame.

Gay.

(b) To mollify; to make less fierce or intractable.

Diffidence conciliates the proud, and softens the severe.

Rambler.

(c) To palliate; to represent as less enormous; as, to soften a fault.

(d) To compose; to mitigate; to assuage.

Music can soften pain to ease.

Pope.

(e) To make calm and placid.

All that cheers or softens life.

Pope.

(f) To make less harsh, less rude, less offensive, or less violent, or to render of an opposite quality.

He bore his great commision in his look, But tempered awe, and softened all he spoke.

Dryden.

(g) To make less glaring; to tone down; as, to soften the coloring of a picture.

(h) To make tender; to make effeminate; to enervate; as, troops softened by luxury.

(i) To make less harsh or grating, or of a quality the opposite; as, to soften the voice.

Sof"ten, v. i. To become soft or softened, or less rude, harsh, severe, or obdurate.

Sof"ten*er (?), n. One who, or that which, softens. [Written also, less properly, softner.]

Sof"ten*ing, a. & n. from Soften, v.

Softening of the brain, or Cerebral softening (Med.), a localized softening of the brain substance, due to hemorrhage or inflammation. Three varieties, distinguished by their color and representing different stages of the morbid process, are known respectively as red, yellow, and white, softening.

Soft"-finned` (?), a. (Zoöl.) Having the fin rays cartilaginous or flexible; without spines; -- said of certain fishes.

Soft"-head`ed (?), a. Weak in intellect.

Soft"-heart`ed (?), a. Having softness or tenderness of heart; susceptible of pity or other kindly affection; gentle; meek. -- Soft"-heart`ed*ness, n.

Soft"ish (?), a. Somewhat soft. De Witt Clinton.

Soft"ling (?), n. A soft, effeminate person; a voluptuary. [R.] Bp. Woolton. .

Soft"ly, adv. In a soft manner.

Soft"ner (?), n. See Softener.

Soft"ness (?), n. [AS. s&?;ftness, s&?;ftnyss.] The quality or state of being soft; -- opposed to hardness, and used in the various specific senses of the adjective.

Soft"-shell` (?), Soft"-shelled` (?), } a. Having a soft or fragile shell.

Soft-shell clam (Zoöl.), the long clam. See Mya. -- Soft-shelled crab. (Zoöl.) See the Note under Crab, 1. -- Soft-shelled turtle. (Zoöl.) Same as Soft tortoise, under Soft.

Soft"-spo`ken (?), a. Speaking softly; having a mild or gentle voice; hence, mild; affable.

Sog"gi*ness (?), n. The quality or state of being soggy; soddenness; wetness.

Sog"gy (?), a. [Compar. Soggier (?); superl. Soggiest.] [Cf. Icel. söggr damp, wet, or E. soak.] Filled with water; soft with moisture; sodden; soaked; wet; as, soggy land or timber.

So*ho" (?), interj. Ho; -- a word used in calling from a distant place; a sportsman's halloo. Shak.

||Soi`-di`sant" (?), a. [F.] Calling himself; self-styled; pretended; ||would-be.

Soil (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Soiled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Soiling.] [OF. saoler, saouler, to satiate, F. soûler, L. satullare, fr. satullus, dim. of satur sated. See Satire.] To feed, as cattle or horses, in the barn or an inclosure, with fresh grass or green food cut for them, instead of sending them out to pasture; hence (such food having the effect of purging them), to purge by feeding on green food; as, to soil a horse.

Soil, n. [OE. soile, F. sol, fr. L. solum bottom, soil; but the word has probably been influenced in form by soil a miry place. Cf. Saloon, Soil a miry place, Sole of the foot.] 1. The upper stratum of the earth; the mold, or that compound substance which furnishes nutriment to plants, or which is particularly adapted to support and nourish them.

2. Land; country.

Must I thus leave thee, Paradise? thus leave Thee, native soil?

Milton.

3. Dung; fæces; compost; manure; as, night soil.

Improve land by dung and other sort of soils.

Mortimer.

Soil pipe, a pipe or drain for carrying off night soil.

Soil, v. t. To enrich with soil or muck; to manure.

Men . . . soil their ground, not that they love the dirt, but that they expect a crop.

South.

Soil, n. [OF. soil, souil, F. souille, from OF. soillier, F. souiller. See Soil to make dirty.] A marshy or miry place to which a hunted boar resorts for refuge; hence, a wet place, stream, or tract of water, sought for by other game, as deer.

As deer, being stuck, fly through many soils, Yet still the shaft sticks fast.

Marston.

To take soil, to run into the mire or water; hence, to take refuge or shelter.

O, sir, have you taken soil here? It is well a man may reach you after three hours' running.

B. Jonson.

Soil, v. t.[OE. soilen, OF. soillier, F. souiller, (assumed) LL. suculare, fr. L. sucula a little pig, dim. of sus a swine. See Sow, n.] 1. To make dirty or unclean on the surface; to foul; to dirty; to defile; as, to soil a garment with dust.

Our wonted ornaments now soiled and stained.

Milton.

2. To stain or mar, as with infamy or disgrace; to tarnish; to sully. Shak.

Syn. -- To foul; dirt; dirty; begrime; bemire; bespatter; besmear; daub; bedaub; stain; tarnish; sully; defile; pollute.

Soil, v. i. To become soiled; as, light colors soil sooner than dark ones.

Soil, n. [See Soil to make dirty, Soil a miry place.] That which soils or pollutes; a soiled place; spot; stain.

A lady's honor . . . will not bear a soil.

Dryden.

Soil"i*ness (?), n. Stain; foulness. [R.] Bacon.

Soil"less, a. Destitute of soil or mold.

Soil"ure (?), n. [OF. soillure, F. souillure. See Soil to make dirty.] Stain; pollution. Shak.

Then fearing rust or soilure, fashioned for it A case of silk.

Tennyson.

Soil"y (?), a. Dirty; soiled. [Obs.] Fuller.

||Soi`ree" (?), n. [F., fr. soir evening, fr. L. serus late, serum late ||time. Cf. Serenade.] An evening party; -- distinguished from levee, ||and matinée.

So"ja (s"j or s"y), n. (Bot.) An Asiatic leguminous herb (Glycine Soja) the seeds of which are used in preparing the sauce called soy.

So"journ (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Sojourned (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Sojourning.] [OE. sojornen, sojournen, OF. sojorner, sejorner, F. séjourner, fr. L. sub under, about + diurnus belonging to the day. See Journal, Diurnal.] To dwell for a time; to dwell or live in a place as a temporary resident or as a stranger, not considering the place as a permanent habitation; to delay; to tarry.

Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there.

Gen. xii. 30.

Home he goeth, he might not longer sojourn.

Chaucer.

The soldiers first assembled at Newcastle, and there sojourned three days.

Hayward.

So"journ, n. [Cf. OF. sujurn, sujur, sejor, F. séjour. See Sojourn, v. i.] A temporary residence, as that of a traveler in a foreign land.

Though long detained In that obscure sojourn.

Milton.

So"journ*er (?), n. One who sojourns.

We are strangers before thee, and sojourners.

1. Chron. xxix. 15.

So"journ*ing, n. The act or state of one who sojourns.

So"journ*ment (?), n. Temporary residence, as that of a stranger or a traveler. [R.]

Soke (?), n. 1. (Eng. Law) See Soc.

<! p. 1367 !>

2. One of the small territorial divisions into which Lincolnshire, England, is divided.

Soke"man (?), n. See Socman.

Soke"man*ry (?), n. See Socmanry.

Sok"en (?), n. [Cf. Socome.] 1. A toll. See Soc, n., 2. [Obs.]

Great sooken had this miller, out of doubt.

Chaucer.

2. A district held by socage.

So"ko (?), n. (Zoöl.) An African anthropoid ape, supposed to be a variety of the chimpanzee.

||Sol (?), n. [L.] 1. The sun.

2. (Alchem.) Gold; -- so called from its brilliancy, color, and value. Chaucer.

Sol (?), n. [It.] (Mus.) (a) A syllable applied in solmization to the note G, or to the fifth tone of any diatonic scale. (b) The tone itself.

Sol (?), n. [See Sou.] 1. A sou.

2. A silver and gold coin of Peru. The silver sol is the unit of value, and is worth about 68 cents.

||So"la (?), a. [L., fem. of solus.] See Solus.

So"la, n. [Native name.] (Bot.) A leguminous plant (Æschynomene aspera) growing in moist places in Southern India and the East Indies. Its pithlike stem is used for making hats, swimming-jackets, etc. [Written also solah, shola.]

Sol"ace (?), n. [OF. solas, ssoulaz, L. solacium, solatium, fr. solari to comfort, console. Cf. Console, v. t.] 1. Comfort in grief; alleviation of grief or anxiety; also, that which relieves in distress; that which cheers or consoles; relief.

In business of mirth and of solace.

Chaucer.

The proper solaces of age are not music and compliments, but wisdom and devotion.

Rambler.

2. Rest; relaxation; ease. [Obs.]

To make his steed some solace.

Chaucer.

Syn. -- Comfort; consolation; alleviation; relief.

Sol"ace, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Solaced (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Solacing (?).] [OF. solacier, soulacier, F. solacier, LL. solatiare. See Solace, n.] 1. To cheer in grief or under calamity; to comfort; to relieve in affliction, solitude, or discomfort; to console; -- applied to persons; as, to solace one with the hope of future reward.

2. To allay; to assuage; to soothe; as, to solace grief.

Syn. -- To comfort; assuage; allay. See Comfort.

Sol"ace, v. i. To take comfort; to be cheered. Shak.

Sol"ace*ment (?), n. The act of solacing, or the state of being solaced; also, that which solaces. [R.]

So*la"cious (?), a. [Cf. OF. solacieux.] Affording solace; as, a solacious voice. [Obs.] Bale.

Sol`a*na"ceous (?), a. (Bot.) Of or pertaining to plants of the natural order Solanaceæ, of which the nightshade (Solanum) is the type. The order includes also the tobacco, ground cherry, tomato, eggplant, red pepper, and many more.

So"land (?), n. (Zoöl.) A solan goose.

So*lan"der (?), n. See Sallenders.

So"lan goose` (?). [Icel. s&?;la; akin to Norw. sula.] (Zoöl.) The common gannet.

So*la"ni*a (?), n. [NL.] (Chem.) Solanine.

So*lan"i*cine (?), n. [See Solanine.] (Chem.) An alkaloid produced by the action of hydrochloric acid on solanidine, as a tasteless yellow crystalline substance.

So*lan"i*dine (?), n. [See Solanine.] (Chem.) An alkaloid produced by the decomposition of solanine, as a white crystalline substance having a harsh bitter taste.

Sol"a*nine (?), n. [L. solanum nightshade.] (Chem.) A poisonous alkaloid glucoside extracted from the berries of common nightshade (Solanum nigrum), and of bittersweet, and from potato sprouts, as a white crystalline substance having an acrid, burning taste; -- called also solonia, and solanina.

||So*la"no (?), [Sp., fr. L. solanus (sc. ventus), from sol the sun.] A ||hot, oppressive wind which sometimes blows in the Mediterranean, ||particularly on the eastern coast of Spain.

Sol"a*noid (?), a. [Solanum + -oid.] (Med.) Resembling a potato; -- said of a kind of cancer.

So*la"num (?), n. [L., nightshade.] (Bot.) A genus of plants comprehending the potato (S. tuberosum), the eggplant (S. melongena, and several hundred other species; nightshade.

So"lar (?), n. [OE. soler, AS. solere, L. solarium, from sol the sun. See Solar, a.] A loft or upper chamber; a garret room. [Obs.] [Written also soler, solere, sollar.] Oxf. Gloss.

So"lar, a. [L. solaris, fr. sol the sun; akin to As. sl, Icel. sl, Goth. sauil, Lith. saule, W. haul,. sul, Skr. svar, perhaps to E. sun:F. solaire. Cf. Parasol. Sun.] 1. Of or pertaining to the sun; proceeding from the sun; as, the solar system; solar light; solar rays; solar influence. See Solar system, below.

2. (Astrol.) Born under the predominant influence of the sun. [Obs.]

And proud beside, as solar people are.

Dryden.

3. Measured by the progress or revolution of the sun in the ecliptic; as, the solar year.

4. Produced by the action of the sun, or peculiarly affected by its influence.

They denominate some herbs solar, and some lunar.

Bacon.

Solar cycle. See under Cycle. -- Solar day. See Day, 2. -- Solar engine, an engine in which the energy of solar heat is used to produce motion, as in evaporating water for a steam engine, or expanding air for an air engine. -- Solar flowers (Bot.), flowers which open and shut daily at certain hours. -- Solar lamp, an argand lamp. -- Solar microscope, a microscope consisting essentially, first, of a mirror for reflecting a beam of sunlight through the tube, which sometimes is fixed in a window shutter; secondly, of a condenser, or large lens, for converging the beam upon the object; and, thirdly, of a small lens, or magnifier, for throwing an enlarged image of the object at its focus upon a screen in a dark room or in a darkened box.

-- Solar month. See under Month. -- Solar oil, a paraffin oil used an illuminant and lubricant. -- Solar phosphori (Physics), certain substances, as the diamond, siulphide of barium (Bolognese or Bologna phosphorus), calcium sulphide, etc., which become phosphorescent, and shine in the dark, after exposure to sunlight or other intense light. -- Solar plexus (Anat.), a nervous plexus situated in the dorsal and anterior part of the abdomen, consisting of several sympathetic ganglia with connecting and radiating nerve fibers; -- so called in allusion to the radiating nerve fibers. -- Solar spots. See Sun spots, under Sun. -- Solar system (Astron.), the sun, with the group of celestial bodies which, held by its attraction, revolve round it. The system comprises the major planets, with their satellites; the minor planets, or asteroids, and the comets; also, the meteorids, the matter that furnishes the zodiacal light, and the rings of Saturn. The satellites that revolve about the major planets are twenty-two in number, of which the Earth has one (see Moon.), Mars two, Jupiter five, Saturn nine, Uranus four, and Neptune one. The asteroids, between Mars and Jupiter, thus far discovered (1900), number about five hundred, the first four of which were found near the beginning of the century, and are called Ceres, Pallas, Juno, and Vesta.

The principal elements of the major planets, and of the comets seen at more than one perihelion passage, are exhibited in the following tables: --

-- Solar telegraph, telegraph for signaling by flashes of reflected sunlight. -- Solar time. See Apparent time, under Time.

||So*la"ri*um (?), n.; pl. Solaria (#). [L. See Solar, n.] 1. An ||apartment freely exposed to the sun; anciently, an apartment or ||inclosure on the roof of a house; in modern times, an apartment in a ||hospital, used as a resort for convalescents.

2. (Zoöl.) Any one of several species of handsome marine spiral shells of the genus Solarium and allied genera. The shell is conical, and usually has a large, deep umbilicus exposing the upper whorls. Called also perspective shell.

So`lar*i*za"tion (?), n. (Photog.) Injury of a photographic picture caused by exposing it for too long a time to the sun's light in the camera; burning; excessive insolation.

So"lar*ize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Solarized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Solarizing (?).] (Photog.) To injure by too long exposure to the light of the sun in the camera; to burn.

So"lar*ize, v. i. (Photog.) To become injured by undue or too long exposure to the sun's rays in the camera.

So"la*ry (?), a. Solar. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.

Sol"as (?), n. Solace. [Obs.] Chaucer.

||So*la"ti*um (?), n. [L. See Solace, n.] Anything which alleviates or ||compensates for suffering or loss; a compensation; esp., an ||additional allowance, as for injured feelings.

Sold (?), imp. & p. p. of Sell.

Sold, n. [F. solde. See Soldier, and cf. Sou.] Solary; military pay. [Obs.] Spenser.

Sol"dan (?), n.[OE. soudan, F. soudan, from the Arabic. See Sultan.] A sultan. [Obs.] Milton.

Sol"da*nel (?), n. (Bot.) A plant of the genus Soldanella, low Alpine herbs of the Primrose family.

Sol"dan*rie (?), n. The country ruled by a soldan, or sultan. [Poet.] Sir W. Scott.

Sol"der (?), n. [Formerly soder; F. soudure, OF. soudeure, fr. OF. & F. souder to solder, L. solidare to fasten, to make solid. See Solid, and cf. Sawder.] A metal or metallic alloy used when melted for uniting adjacent metallic edges or surfaces; a metallic cement. Hence, anything which unites or cements.

Hard solder, a solder which fuses only at a red heat, as one composed of zinc and copper, or silver and copper, etc. -- Soft solder, a solder fusible at comparatively low temperatures; as, plumbers' solder, consisting of two parts lead and one part tin, is a soft solder.

Sol"der, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Soldered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Soldering.] [Formerlysoder. See Solder, n.] 1. To unite (metallic surfaces or edges) by the intervention of a more fusible metal or metallic alloy applied when melted; to join by means of metallic cement.

2. To mend; to patch up. "To solder up a broken cause." Hooker.

Sol"der*er (?), n. One who solders.

Sol"der*ing, a. & n. from Solder, v. t.

Soldering iron, Soldering tool, an instrument for soldering, consisting of a bit or bolt of copper having a pointed or wedge-shaped end, and furnished with a handle.

Sol"dier (?), n. [OE. souldier, soudiour, souder, OF. soldier, soldoier, soldeier, sodoier, soudoier, soudier, fr. L. solidus a piece of money (hence applied to the pay of a soldier), fr. solidus solid. See Solid, and cf. Sold, n.] 1. One who is engaged in military service as an officer or a private; one who serves in an army; one of an organized body of combatants.

I am a soldier and unapt to weep.

Shak.

2. Especially, a private in military service, as distinguished from an officer.

It were meet that any one, before he came to be a captain, should have been a soldier.

Spenser.

3. A brave warrior; a man of military experience and skill, or a man of distinguished valor; -- used by way of emphasis or distinction. Shak.

4. (Zoöl.) The red or cuckoo gurnard (Trigla pini.) [Prov. Eng.]

5. (Zoöl.) One of the asexual polymorphic forms of white ants, or termites, in which the head and jaws are very large and strong. The soldiers serve to defend the nest. See Termite.

Soldier beetle (Zoöl.), an American carabid beetle (Chauliognathus Americanus) whose larva feeds upon other insects, such as the plum curculio. -- Soldier bug (Zoöl.), any hemipterous insect of the genus Podisus and allied genera, as the spined soldier bug (Podius spinosus). These bugs suck the blood of other insects. -- Soldier crab (Zoöl.) (a) The hermit crab. (b) The fiddler crab. -- Soldier fish (Zoöl.), a bright-colored etheostomoid fish (Etheostoma cœruleum) found in the Mississippi River; -- called also blue darter, and rainbow darter. -- Soldier fly (Zoöl.), any one of numerous species of small dipterous flies of the genus Stratyomys and allied genera. They are often bright green, with a metallic luster, and are ornamented on the sides of the back with markings of yellow, like epaulets or shoulder straps. -- Soldier moth (Zoöl.), a large geometrid moth (Euschema militaris), having the wings bright yellow with bluish black lines and spots. -- Soldier orchis (Bot.), a kind of orchis (Orchis militaris).

Sol"dier, v. i. 1. To serve as a soldier.

2. To make a pretense of doing something, or of performing any task. [Colloq.U.S.]

In this sense the vulgar pronounciation (s"jr) is jocosely preserved.

It needs an opera glass to discover whether the leaders are pulling, or only soldiering.

C. D. Warner.

Sol"dier*ess, n. A female soldier. [Obs.]

Sol"dier*ing, n. 1. The act of serving as a soldier; the state of being a soldier; the occupation of a soldier.

2. The act of feigning to work. See the Note under Soldier, v. i., 2. [Colloq. U.S.]

Sol"dier*like" (?), a. Like a soldier; soldierly.

Sol"dier*ly, a. Like or becoming a real soldier; brave; martial; heroic; honorable; soldierlike. "Soldierly discipline." Sir P. Sidney.