Chapter 70

Prior.

Sol"i*ped (?), n. [Cf. F. solipède, It. solipede, Sp. solipedo; apparently fr. L. solus alone + pes, pedis, a foot; but probably fr. L. solidipes solid-footed, whole-hoofed. See Solid, and Pedal.] (Zoöl.) A mammal having a single hoof on each foot, as the horses and asses; a solidungulate. [Written also solipede.]

The solipeds, or firm-hoofed animals, as horses, asses, and mules, etc., -- they are, also, in mighty number.

Sir T. Browne.

So*lip"e*dous (?), a. Having single hoofs.

So*lip"sism (?), n. [L. solus alone + ipse self.] 1. (Ethics) Egotism. Krauth-Fleming.

2. (Metaph.) Egoism. Krauth- Fleming.

Sol`i*se"qui*ous (?), a. [L. sol sun + sequi to follow.] Following the course of the sun; as, solisequious plants. [R.] Sir T. Browne.

Sol`i*taire" (?), n. [F. See Solitary.] 1. A person who lives in solitude; a recluse; a hermit. Pope.

2. A single diamond in a setting; also, sometimes, a precious stone of any kind set alone.

Diamond solitaires blazing on his breast and wrists.

Mrs. R. H. Davis.

3. A game which one person can play alone; -- applied to many games of cards, etc.; also, to a game played on a board with pegs or balls, in which the object is, beginning with all the places filled except one, to remove all but one of the pieces by "jumping," as in draughts.

4. (Zoöl.) (a) A large extinct bird (Pezophaps solitaria) which formerly inhabited the islands of Mauritius and Rodrigeuz. It was larger and taller than the wild turkey. Its wings were too small for flight. Called also solitary. (b) Any species of American thrushlike birds of the genus Myadestes. They are noted their sweet songs and retiring habits. Called also fly-catching thrush. A West Indian species (Myadestes sibilans) is called the invisible bird.

Sol`i*ta"ri*an (?), n. [See Solitary.] A hermit; a solitary. [Obs.] Sir R. Twisden.

Sol`i*ta*ri"e*ty (?), n. The state of being solitary; solitariness. [Obs.] Cudworth.

Sol"i*ta*ri*ly (?), adv. In a solitary manner; in solitude; alone. Mic. vii. 14.

Sol"i*ta*ri*ness, n. Condition of being solitary.

Sol"i*ta*ry (?), a. [L. solitarius, fr. solus alone: cf. F. solitaire. See Sole, a., and cf. Solitaire.] 1. Living or being by one's self; having no companion present; being without associates; single; alone; lonely.

Those rare and solitary, these in flocks.

Milton.

Hie home unto my chamber, Where thou shalt find me, sad and solitary.

Shak.

2. Performed, passed, or endured alone; as, a solitary journey; a solitary life.

Satan . . . explores his solitary flight.

Milton.

3. Not much visited or frequented; remote from society; retired; lonely; as, a solitary residence or place.

4. Not inhabited or occupied; without signs of inhabitants or occupation; desolate; deserted; silent; still; hence, gloomy; dismal; as, the solitary desert.

How doth the city sit solitary, that was full of people.

Lam. i. 1.

Let that night be solitary; let no joyful voice come therein.

Job iii. 7.

5. Single; individual; sole; as, a solitary instance of vengeance; a solitary example.

6. (Bot.) Not associated with others of the same kind.

Solitary ant (Zoöl.), any solitary hymenopterous insect of the family Mutillidæ. The female of these insects is destitute of wings and has a powerful sting. The male is winged and resembles a wasp. Called also spider ant. -- Solitary bee (Zoöl.), any species of bee which does not form communities. -- Solitary sandpiper (Zoöl.), an American tattler (Totanus solitarius). -- Solitary snipe (Zoöl.), the great snipe. [Prov. Eng.] -- Solitary thrush (Zoöl.) the starling. [Prov. Eng.]

Sol"i*ta*ry (?), n. One who lives alone, or in solitude; an anchoret; a hermit; a recluse.

Sol"i*tude (?), n. [F., from L. solitudo, solus alone. See Sole, a.] 1. state of being alone, or withdrawn from society; a lonely life; loneliness.

Whosoever is delighted with solitude is either a wild beast or a god.

Bacon.

O Solitude! where are the charms That sages have seen in thy face?

Cowper.

2. Remoteness from society; destitution of company; seclusion; -- said of places; as, the solitude of a wood.

The solitude of his little parish is become matter of great comfort to him.

Law.

3. solitary or lonely place; a desert or wilderness.

In these deep solitudes and awful cells Where heavenly pensive contemplation dwells.

Pope.

Syn. Loneliness; soitariness; loneness; retiredness; recluseness. -- Solitude, Retirement, Seclusion, Loneliness. Retirement is a withdrawal from general society, implying that a person has been engaged in its scenes. Solitude describes the fact that a person is alone; seclusion, that he is shut out from others, usually by his own choice; loneliness, that he feels the pain and oppression of being alone. Hence, retirement is opposed to a gay, active, or public life; solitude, to society; seclusion, to freedom of access on the part of others; and loneliness, enjoyment of that society which the heart demands.

O blest retirement, friend to life's decline.

Goldsmith.

Such only can enjoy the country who are capable of thinking when they are there; then they are prepared for solitude; and in that [the country] solitude is prepared for them.

Dryden.

It is a place of seclusion from the external world.

Bp. Horsley.

These evils . . . seem likely to reduce it [a city] ere long to the loneliness and the insignificance of a village.

Eustace.

So*liv"a*gant (?), a. [L. solus alone + vagans wandering.] Wandering alone. [R.] T. Grander.

So*liv"a*gous (?), a. [L. solivagus.] Solivagant.

Sol"lar (?), n. 1. See Solar, n. [Obs.]

2. (Mining) A platform in a shaft, especially one of those between the series of ladders in a shaft.

Sol"lar, v. t. To cover, or provide with, a sollar.

Sol"lein (?), a. Sullen; sad. [Obs.] Spenser.

Sol*ler*et" (?), n. [F. soleretim. fr. OF. soler shoe.] A flexible steel shoe (or one of the plates forming such a shoe), worn with mediæval armor.

Sol`mi*za"tion (?), n. [F. solmisation, fr. solmiser to sol-fa; -- called from the musical notes sol, mi. See Sol-fa.] (Mus.) The act of sol-faing. [Written also solmisation.]

This art was practiced by the Greeks; but six of the seven syllables now in use are generally attributed to Guido d' Arezzo, an Italian monk of the eleventh century, who is said to have taken them from the first syllables of the first six lines of the following stanza of a monkish hymn to St. John the Baptist. --

Ut queant laxis Resonare fibris Mira gestorum Famuli tuorum Solve polluti Labii reatum, Sancte Joannes.

Professor Skeat says the name of the seventh note, si, was also formed by him [Guido] from the initials of the two words of the last line; but this is disputed, Littré attributing the first use of it to Anselm of Flanders long afterwards. The syllable do is often substituted for ut.

So"lo (?), n.; pl. E. Solos (#), It. Soli (#). [It., from L. solus alone. See Sole, a.] (Mus.) A tune, air, strain, or a whole piece, played by a single person on an instrument, or sung by a single voice.

So"lo*ist, n. (Mus.) One who sings or plays a solo.

Sol"o*mon (?), n. One of the kings of Israel, noted for his superior wisdom and magnificent reign; hence, a very wise man. -- Sol`o*mon"ic (#), a.

Solomon's seal (Bot.), a perennial liliaceous plant of the genus Polygonatum, having simple erect or curving stems rising from thick and knotted rootstocks, and with white or greenish nodding flowers. The commonest European species is Polygonatum multiflorum. P. biflorum and P. giganteum are common in the Eastern United States. See Illust. of Rootstock. -- False Solomon's seal (Bot.), any plant of the liliaceous genus Smilacina having small whitish flowers in terminal racemes or panicles.

So"lon (?), n. A celebrated Athenian lawmaker, born about 638 b. c.; hence, a legislator; a publicist; -- often used ironically.

Sol*pu"gid (?), a. (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to the Solifugæ. -- n. One of the Solifugæ.

||Sol`pu*gid"e*a (?), n. pl. [NL. See Solifugæ.] (Zoöl.) Same as ||Solifugæ.

Sol"stice (?), n.[L. solstitium; sol the sun + sistere to cause to stand, akin to stare to stand: cf. F. solstice. See Solar, a., Stand, v. i.] 1. A stopping or standing still of the sun. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.

2. (Astron.) (a) The point in the ecliptic at which the sun is farthest from the equator, north or south, namely, the first point of the sign Cancer and the first point of the sign Capricorn, the former being the summer solstice, latter the winter solstice, in northern latitudes; -- so called because the sun then apparently stands still in its northward or southward motion. (b) The time of the sun's passing the solstices, or solstitial points, namely, about June 21 and December 21. See Illust. in Appendix.

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Sol*sti"tial (?), a. [L. solstitialis: cf. F. solsticial.] 1. Of or pertaining to a solstice.

2. Happening at a solstice; esp. (with reference to the northern hemisphere), happening at the summer solstice, or midsummer. "Solstitial summer's heat." Milton.

Sol`u*bil"i*ty (?), n. [Cf. F. solubilité.] 1. The quality, condition, or degree of being soluble or solvable; as, the solubility of a salt; the solubility of a problem or intricate difficulty.

2. (Bot.) The tendency to separate readily into parts by spurious articulations, as the pods of tick trefoil.

Sol"u*ble (?), a. [L. solubilis, fr. solvere, solutum, to loosen, to dissolve: cf. F. soluble. See Solve, and cf. Solvable.] 1. Susceptible of being dissolved in a fluid; capable of solution; as, some substances are soluble in alcohol which are not soluble in water.

Sugar is . . . soluble in water and fusible in fire.

Arbuthnot.

2. Susceptible of being solved; as, a soluble algebraic problem; susceptible of being disentangled, unraveled, or explained; as, the mystery is perhaps soluble. "More soluble is this knot." Tennyson.

3. Relaxed; open or readily opened. [R.] "The bowels must be kept soluble." Dunglison.

Soluble glass. (Chem.) See under Glass.

Sol"u*ble*ness, n. Quality or state of being soluble.

{ ||So"lus (?), masc. a., So"la (?), fem. a. } [L.] Alone; -- chiefly used in stage directions, and the like.

So*lute" (?), a. [L. solutus, p. p. of solvere to loosen. See Solve.] 1. Loose; free; liberal; as, a solute interpretation. [Obs.] Bacon.

2. Relaxed; hence; merry; cheerful. [R.]

A brow solute, and ever-laughing eye.

Young.

3. Soluble; as, a solute salt. [Obs.]

4. (Bot.) Not adhering; loose; -- opposed to adnate; as, a solute stipule.

So*lute", v. t. 1. To dissolve; to resolve. [Obs.]

2. To absolve; as, to solute sin. [Obs.] Bale.

So*lu"tion (s*l"shn), n. [OE. solucion, OF. solucion, F. solution, fr. L. solutio, fr. solvere, solutum, to loosen, dissolve. See Solve.] 1. The act of separating the parts of any body, or the condition of undergoing a separation of parts; disruption; breach.

In all bodies there is an appetite of union and evitation of solution of continuity.

Bacon.

2. The act of solving, or the state of being solved; the disentanglement of any intricate problem or difficult question; explanation; clearing up; -- used especially in mathematics, either of the process of solving an equation or problem, or the result of the process.

3. The state of being dissolved or disintegrated; resolution; disintegration.

It is unquestionably an enterprise of more promise to assail the nations in their hour of faintness and solution, than at a time when magnificent and seductive systems of worship were at their height of energy and splendor.

I. Taylor.

4. (Chem.Phys.) The act or process by which a body (whether solid, liquid, or gaseous) is absorbed into a liquid, and, remaining or becoming fluid, is diffused throughout the solvent; also, the product resulting from such absorption.

When a solvent will not take in any more of a substance the solution is said to be saturated. Solution is of two kinds; viz.: (a) Mechanical solution, in which no marked chemical change takes place, and in which, in the case of solids, the dissolved body can be regained by evaporation, as in the solution of salt or sugar in water. (b) Chemical solution, in which there is involved a decided chemical change, as when limestone or zinc undergoes solution in hydrochloric acid. Mechanical solution is regarded as a form of molecular or atomic attraction, and is probably occasioned by the formation of certain very weak and unstable compounds which are easily dissociated and pass into new and similar compounds.

This word is not used in chemistry or mineralogy for fusion, or the melting of bodies by the heat of fire.

5. Release; deliverance; discharge. [Obs.] Barrow.

6. (Med.) (a) The termination of a disease; resolution. (b) A crisis. (c) A liquid medicine or preparation (usually aqueous) in which the solid ingredients are wholly soluble. U. S. Disp.

Fehling's solution (Chem.), a standardized solution of cupric hydrate in sodium potassium tartrate, used as a means of determining the reducing power of certain sugars and sirups by the amount of red cuprous oxide thrown down. -- Heavy solution (Min.), a liquid of high density, as a solution of mercuric iodide in potassium iodide (called the Sonstadt or Thoulet solution) having a maximum specific gravity of 3.2, or of borotungstate of cadmium (Klein solution, specific gravity 3.6), and the like. Such solutions are much used in determining the specific gravities of minerals, and in separating them when mechanically mixed as in a pulverized rock. -- Nessler's solution. See Nesslerize. -- Solution of continuity, the separation of connection, or of connected substances or parts; -- applied, in surgery, to a fracture, laceration, or the like. "As in the natural body a wound, or solution of continuity, is worse than a corrupt humor, so in the spiritual." Bacon. -- Standardized solution (Chem.), a solution which is used as a reagent, and is of a known and standard strength; specifically, a normal solution, containing in each cubic centimeter as many milligrams of the element in question as the number representing its atomic weight; thus, a normal solution of silver nitrate would contain 107.7 mgr. of silver in each cubic centimeter.

Sol"u*tive (sl"*tv), a. [Cf. F. solutif.] Tending to dissolve; loosening; laxative. Bacon.

Solv`a*bil"i*ty (?), n. [F. solvabilité.] 1. The quality or state of being solvable; as, the solvability of a difficulty; the solvability of a problem.

2. The condition of being solvent; ability to pay all just debts; solvency; as, the solvability of a merchant.

Solv"a*ble (?), a. [F. solvable. See Solve, and cf. Soluble, Solvible.] 1. Susceptible of being solved, resolved, or explained; admitting of solution.

2. Capable of being paid and discharged; as, solvable obligations. Tooke.

3. Able to pay one's debts; solvent. [Obs.] Fuller.

Solv"a*ble*ness (?), n. Quality of being solvable.

Solve (slv), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Solved (slvd); p. pr. & vb. n. Solving.] [L. solvere, solutum; from a prefix so- expressing separation (cf. Sober) + luere to loosen; cf. OF. soldre, soudre. See Loose, and cf. Absolve.] To explain; to resolve; to unfold; to clear up (what is obscure or difficult to be understood); to work out to a result or conclusion; as, to solve a doubt; to solve difficulties; to solve a problem.

True piety would effectually solve such scruples.

South.

God shall solve the dark decrees of fate.

Tickell.

Syn. -- To explain; resolve; unfold; clear up.

Solve, n. A solution; an explanation. [Obs.] Shak.

Sol"ven*cy (sl"ven*s), n. [See Solvent.] The quality or state of being solvent.

Sol"vend (sl"vnd), n. [L. solvendus to be loosened or dissolved, fr. solvere. See Solution.] A substance to be dissolved. [R.]

Sol"vent (sl"vent), a. [L. solvens, p. pr. of solvere. See Solvable.] 1. Having the power of dissolving; dissolving; as, a solvent fluid. "The solvent body." Boyle.

2. Able or sufficient to pay all just debts; as, a solvent merchant; the estate is solvent.

Sol"vent, n. (Chem.) A substance (usually liquid) suitable for, or employed in, solution, or in dissolving something; as, water is the appropriate solvent of most salts, alcohol of resins, ether of fats, and mercury or acids of metals, etc.

2. That which resolves; as, a solvent of mystery.

Sol"ver (slv"r), n. One who, or that which, solves.

Solv"i*ble (-*b'l), a. See Solvable.

Sol"y (sl"), adv. Solely. [Obs.] Spenser.

||So"ma (s"m), n. [NL., fr. Gr. sw^ma, sw`matos, the body.] (Anat.) The ||whole axial portion of an animal, including the head, neck, trunk, ||and tail. B. G. Wilder.

{ So"maj" (s*mäj"), Sa*maj" (s*mäj") }, n. A society; a congregation, a worshiping assembly, or church, esp. of the Brahmo- somaj. [India]

{ So*ma"li (s*mä"l), So*mal" (s*mäl") }, n. (Ethnol.) A Hamitic people of East Central Africa.

So*mat"ic (s*mt"k), a. [Gr. swmatiko`s, fr. sw^ma the body.] 1. Of or pertaining to the body as a whole; corporeal; as, somatic death; somatic changes.

2. Of or pertaining to the wall of the body; somatopleuric; parietal; as, the somatic stalk of the yolk sac of an embryo.

Somatic death. See the Note under Death, n., 1.

So*mat"ic*al (?), a. Somatic.

So*mat"ics (?), n. The science which treats of the general properties of matter; somatology.

So"ma*tist (?), n. One who admits the existence of material beings only; a materialist. Glanvill.

So"ma*to*cyst (?), n. [Gr. sw^ma, sw`matos, body + ky`stis a bladder.] (Zoöl.) A cavity in the primary nectocalyx of certain Siphonophora. See Illust. under Nectocalyx.

So`ma*tol"o*gy (?), n. [Gr. sw^ma, sw`matos, body + -logy.] 1. The doctrine or the science of the general properties of material substances; somatics.

2. A treatise on the human body; anatomy. Dunglison.

So"ma*tome (?), n. [Gr. sw^ma, body + te`mnein to cut.] (Anat. & Zoöl.) See Somite.

So"ma*to*pleure (?), n. [Gr. sw^ma, sw`matos, body + pleyra` side.] (Anat.) The outer, or parietal, one of the two lamellæ into which the vertebrate blastoderm divides on either side of the notochord, and from which the walls of the body and the amnion are developed. See Splanchnopleure.

So`ma*to*pleu"ric (?), a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the somatopleure.

So`ma*tot"ro*pism (?), n. [Gr. sw^ma, sw`matos, the body + tre`pein to turn.] (Physiol.) A directive influence exercised by a mass of matter upon growing organs. Encyc. Brit.

{ Som"ber, Som"bre } (?; 277), a. [F. sombre; cf. Sp. sombra, shade, prob. from LL. subumbrare to put in the shade; L. sub under + umbra shade. See Umbrage.] 1. Dull; dusky; somewhat dark; gloomy; as, a somber forest; a somber house.

2. Melancholy; sad; grave; depressing; as, a somber person; somber reflections.

The dinner was silent and somber; happily it was also short.

Beaconsfield.

{ Som"ber, Som"bre }, v. t. To make somber, or dark; to make shady. [R.]

{ Som"ber, Som"bre }, n. Gloom; obscurity; duskiness; somberness. [Obs.]

{ Som"ber*ly, Som"bre*ly }, adv. In a somber manner; sombrously; gloomily; despondingly.

{ Som"ber*ness, Som"bre*ness }, n. The quality or state of being somber; gloominess.

||Som*bre"ro (?), n. [Sp., from sombra shade. See Sombre.] A kind of ||broad-brimmed hat, worn in Spain and in Spanish America. Marryat.

Som"brous (?), a. [Cf. Sp. sombroso.] Gloomy; somber. "Tall and sombrous pines." Longfellow.

-- Som"brous*ly, adv. -- Som"brous*ness, n.

-some (-sm). A combining form or suffix from Gr. sw^ma (gen. sw`matos) the body; as in merosome, a body segment; cephalosome, etc.

-some (-sm). [AS. -sum; akin to G. & OHG. -sam, Icel. samr, Goth. lustusams longed for. See Same, a., and cf. Some, a.] An adjective suffix having primarily the sense of like or same, and indicating a considerable degree of the thing or quality denoted in the first part of the compound; as in mettlesome, full of mettle or spirit; gladsome, full of gladness; winsome, blithesome, etc.

Some (sm), a. [OE. som, sum, AS. sum; akin to OS., OFries., & OHG. sum, OD. som, D. sommig, Icel. sumr, Dan. somme (pl.), Sw. somlige (pl.), Goth. sums, and E. same. &radic;191. See Same, a., and cf. -some.] 1. Consisting of a greater or less portion or sum; composed of a quantity or number which is not stated; -- used to express an indefinite quantity or number; as, some wine; some water; some persons. Used also pronominally; as, I have some.

Some theoretical writers allege that there was a time when there was no such thing as society.

Blackstone.

2. A certain; one; -- indicating a person, thing, event, etc., as not known individually, or designated more specifically; as, some man, that is, some one man. "Some brighter clime." Mrs. Barbauld.

Some man praiseth his neighbor by a wicked intent.

Chaucer.

Most gentlemen of property, at some period or other of their lives, are ambitious of representing their county in Parliament.

Blackstone.

3. Not much; a little; moderate; as, the censure was to some extent just.

4. About; near; more or less; -- used commonly with numerals, but formerly also with a singular substantive of time or distance; as, a village of some eighty houses; some two or three persons; some hour hence. Shak.

The number slain on the rebel's part were some two thousand.

Bacon.

5. Considerable in number or quantity. "Bore us some leagues to sea." Shak.

On its outer point, some miles away. The lighthouse lifts its massive masonry.

Longfellow.

6. Certain; those of one part or portion; -- in distinction from other or others; as, some men believe one thing, and others another.

Some [seeds] fell among thorns; . . . but other fell into good ground.

Matt. xiii. 7, 8.

7. A part; a portion; -- used pronominally, and followed sometimes by of; as, some of our provisions.

Your edicts some reclaim from sins, But most your life and blest example wins.

Dryden.

All and some, one and all. See under All, adv. [Obs.]

The illiterate in the United States and Scotland often use some as an adverb, instead of somewhat, or an equivalent expression; as, I am some tired; he is some better; it rains some, etc.

Some . . . some, one part . . . another part; these . . . those; -- used distributively.

Some to the shores do fly, Some to the woods, or whither fear advised.

Daniel.

Formerly used also of single persons or things: this one . . . that one; one . . . another.

Some in his bed, some in the deep sea.

Chaucer.

Some"bod*y (sm"bd*), n. 1. A person unknown or uncertain; a person indeterminate; some person.

Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me.

Luke viii. 46.

We must draw in somebody that may stand 'Twixt us and danger.

Denham.

2. A person of consideration or importance.

Before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody.

Acts v. 36.

Some"deal` (-dl`), adv. In some degree; somewhat. [Written also sumdel, sumdeale, and sumdele.] [Obs.] "She was somedeal deaf." Chaucer.

Thou lackest somedeal their delight.

Spenser.

Some"how` (-hou`), adv. In one way or another; in some way not yet known or designated; by some means; as, the thing must be done somehow; he lives somehow.

By their action upon one another they may be swelled somehow, so as to shorten the length.

Cheyne.

The indefiniteness of somehow is emphasized by the addition of or other.

Although youngest of the familly, he has somehow or other got the entire management of all the others.

Sir W. Scott.

{ Som"er*sault (?), Som"er*set (?) }, n. [F. soubresaut a jump, leap, OF. soubresault, It. soprassalto an overleap, fr. L. supra over + saltus a leap, fr. salire to leap; or the French may be from Sp. sobresalto a sudden asault, a surprise. See Supra, and Salient.] A leap in which a person turns his heels over his head and lights upon his feet; a turning end over end. [Written also summersault, sommerset, summerset, etc.] "The vaulter's sombersalts." Donne.

Now I'll only Make him break his neck in doing a sommerset.

Beau. & Fl.