Spencer Spen"cer noun (Nautical) A fore- and-aft sail, abaft the foremast or the mainmast, hoisted upon a small supplementary mast and set with a gaff and no boom; a trysail carried at the foremast or mainmast; -- named after its inventor, Knight Spencer , of England [ 1802]. Spencer mast ,
a small mast just abaft the foremast or mainmast, for hoisting the spencer. R. H. Dana, Jr.
Spend Spend transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Spent ;
present participle & verbal noun Spending .] [ Anglo-Saxon
spendan (in comp.), from Latin
expendere or
dispendere to weigh out, to expend, dispense. See
Pendant , and confer
Dispend ,
Expend ,
Spence ,
Spencer .]
1. To weigh or lay out; to dispose of; to part with; as, to spend money for clothing. Spend thou that in the town.
Shak. Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread?
Isa. lv. 2. 2. To bestow; to employ; -- often with on or upon . I . . . am never loath
To spend my judgment.
Herbert. 3. To consume; to waste; to squander; to exhaust; as, to spend an estate in gaming or other vices. 4. To pass, as time; to suffer to pass away; as, to spend a day idly; to spend winter abroad. We spend our years as a tale that is told.
Ps. xc. 9. 5. To exhaust of force or strength; to waste; to wear away; as, the violence of the waves was spent . Their bodies spent with long labor and thirst.
Knolles.
Spend Spend intransitive verb 1. To expend money or any other possession; to consume, use, waste, or part with, anything; as, he who gets easily spends freely. He spends as a person who knows that he must come to a reckoning.
South. 2. To waste or wear away; to be consumed; to lose force or strength; to vanish; as, energy spends in the using of it. The sound spendeth and is dissipated in the open air.
Bacon. 3. To be diffused; to spread. The vines that they use for wine are so often cut, that their sap spendeth into the grapes.
Bacon. 4. (Mining) To break ground; to continue working.
Spender Spen"der noun One who spends; esp., one who spends lavishly; a prodigal; a spendthrift.
Spending Spend"ing noun The act of expending; expenditure. Spending money ,
money set apart for extra (not necessary) personal expenses; pocket money. [ Colloq.]
Spendthrift Spend"thrift` noun One who spends money profusely or improvidently; a prodigal; one who lavishes or wastes his estate. Also used figuratively. A woman who was a generous spendthrift of life.
Mrs. R. H. Davis.
Spendthrift Spend"thrift adjective Prodigal; extravagant; wasteful.
Spendthrifty Spend"thrift`y adjective Spendthrift; prodigal. [ R.]
Spenserian Spen·se"ri·an adjective Of or pertaining to the English poet Spenser ; -- specifically applied to the stanza used in his poem "The Faërie Queene."
Spent Spent (spĕnt)
adjective 1. Exhausted; worn out; having lost energy or motive force. Now thou seest me
Spent , overpowered, despairing of success.
Addison. Heaps of spent arrows fall and strew the ground.
Dryden. 2. (Zoology) Exhausted of spawn or sperm; -- said especially of fishes. Spent ball ,
a ball shot from a firearm, which reaches an object without having sufficient force to penetrate it.
Sper, Sperre Sper, Sperre transitive verb [ See
Spar bar.]
To shut in; to support; to inclose; to fasten. [ Obsolete] "To
sperre the gate."
Spenser.
Sperable Spe"ra·ble adjective [ Latin
spearabilis , from
sperare to hope.]
Within the range of hpe; proper to be hoped for. [ Obsolete]
Bacon.
Sperable Sper"a·ble noun See Sperable .
Sperage Sper"age noun Asperagus. [ Obsolete]
Sylvester.
Sperate Spe"rate adjective [ Latin
speratus , past participle of
sperare to hope.]
Hoped for, or to be hoped for. [ R.]
Bouvier.
Spere Spere intransitive verb [ Anglo-Saxon
spyrian to inquire, properly, to follow the track; akin to Dutch
speuren , German
spüren , Icelandic
spyrja . √171. See Spoor.]
To search; to pry; to ask; to inquire. [ Prov. Eng. & Scot.] [ Written also
speer ,
speir .]
Jamieson.
Spere Spere noun [ See
Sphere .]
A sphere. [ Obsolete]
Chaucer.
Sperge Sperge noun (Distilling) A charge of wash for the still. Knight.
Sperling Sper"ling noun [ See
Sparling .]
(Zoology) (a) A smelt; a sparling. [ Prov. Eng.]
(b) A young herring. [ Local, U.S.]
Sperm Sperm noun [ French
sperme , Latin
sperma , Greek ........., ........., from ............ to sow. Confer
Spore .]
(Physiol.) The male fecundating fluid; semen. See Semen . Sperm cell (Physiol.) ,
one of the cells from which the spermatozoids are developed. --
Sperm morula .
(Biol.) Same as Spermosphere .
Sperm Sperm noun [ Contr. from
spermaceti .]
Spermaceti. Sperm oil ,
a fatty oil found as a liquid, with spermaceti, in the head cavities of the sperm whale. --
Sperm whale .
(Zoology) See in the Vocabulary.
Sperm whale Sperm" whale` (Zoology) A very large toothed whale ( Physeter macrocephalus ), having a head of enormous size. The upper jaw is destitute of teeth. In the upper part of the head, above the skull, there is a large cavity, or case, filled with oil and spermaceti. This whale sometimes grows to the length of more than eighty feet. It is found in the warmer parts of all the oceans. Called also cachalot , and spermaceti whale .
Pygmy sperm whale (Zoology) , a small whale ( Kogia breviceps ), seldom twenty feet long, native of tropical seas, but occasionally found on the American coast. Called also snub-nosed cachalot . -- Sperm-whale porpoise (Zoology) , a toothed cetacean ( Hyperoödon bidens ), found on both sides of the Atlantic and valued for its oil. The adult becomes about twenty-five feet long, and its head is very large and thick. Called also bottle-nosed whale .
Spermaceti Sper`ma·ce"ti noun [ Latin
sperma sperm +
cetus ,gen.
ceti , any large sea animal, a whale, Greek .......... See
Sperm ,
Cetaceous .]
A white waxy substance obtained from cavities in the head of the sperm whale, and used making candles, oilments, cosmetics, etc. It consists essentially of ethereal salts of palmitic acid with ethal and other hydrocarbon bases. The substance of spermaceti after the removal of certain impurities is sometimes called cetin . Spermaceti whale (Zoology) ,
the sperm whale.
Spermalist Sper"mal·ist noun (Biol.) See Spermist .
Spermaphore Sper"ma·phore noun [ Greek ............ sperm + ............ to bear.]
(Botany) That part of the ovary from which the ovules arise; the placenta.
Spermary Sper"ma·ry noun (Anat.) An organ in which spermatozoa are developed; a sperm gland; a testicle.
Spermatheca Sper`ma·the"ca noun ;
plural Spermathecæ . [ New Latin , from Greek ............ seed + ............ case, or receptacle.]
(Zoology) A small sac connected with the female reproductive organs of insects and many other invertebrates, serving to receive and retain the spermatozoa.
Spermatic Sper·mat"ic adjective [ Latin
spermaticus , Greek ............: confer French
spermatique . See
Sperm .]
(Physiol.) Of or pertaining to semen; as, the spermatic fluid, the spermatic vessels, etc. Spermatic cord (Anat.) ,
the cord which suspends the testicle within the scrotum. It is made up of a connective tissue sheath inclosing the spermatic duct and accompanying vessels and nerves.
Spermatical Sper"mat"ic·al adjective Spermatic.
Spermatin Sper"ma·tin noun (Physiol. Chem.) A substance allied to alkali albumin and to mucin, present in semen, to which it is said to impart the mucilaginous character.
Spermatism Sper"ma·tism noun (Physiol.) The emission of sperm, or semen.
Spermatium Sper·ma"ti·um noun ;
plural Spermatia . [ New Latin ]
(Botany) One of the motionless spermatozoids in the conceptacles of certain fungi. J. H. Balfour.
Spermatize Sper"ma·tize intransitive verb [ Greek .......... See
Sperm .]
To yield seed; to emit seed, or sperm. [ Obsolete]
Sir T. Browne.
Spermato-, Spermo- Sper"ma·to-, Sper"mo- Combining forms from Greek spe`rma , -atos , seed , sperm , semen (of plants or animals); as, spermato blast, spermo blast.
Spermatoblast Sper"ma·to·blast noun Same as Spermoblast .
Spermatocyte Sper"ma·to·cyte noun [
Spermato- + Greek ............ a hollow vessel.]
(Physiol.) Same as Spermoblast .
Spermatogemma Sper`ma·to·gem"ma noun [ New Latin See
Spermato- , and
Gemma .]
(Physiol.) Same as Spermosphere .
Spermatogenesis Sper`ma·to·gen"e·sis noun [
Spermato- +
genesis .]
(Biol.) The development of the spermatozoids.
Spermatogenetic Sper`ma·to·ge·net"ic adjective (Physiol.) Relating to, or connected with, spermatogenesis; as, spermatogenetic function.
Spermatogenous Sper`ma·tog"e·nous adjective [
Spermato- +
-genous .]
(Physiol.) Sperm- producing.
Spermatogonium Sper`ma·to·go"ni·um noun [ New Latin , from Greek ............, ........., sperm + ......... offspring.]
(Physiol.) A primitive seminal cell, occuring in masses in the seminal tubules. It divides into a mass (spermosphere) of small cells (spermoblast), which in turn give rise to spermatozoids.
Spermatoid Sper"ma·toid adjective [
Spermato- +
-oid .]
(Physiol.) Spermlike; resembling sperm, or semen.
Spermatophore Sper"ma·to·phore noun [
Spermato- + Greek ......... to bear.]
1. (Physiol.) Same as Spermospore . 2. (Zoology) A capsule or pocket inclosing a number of spermatozoa. They are present in many annelids, brachiopods, mollusks, and crustaceans. In cephalopods the structure of the capsule is very complex.
Spermatophorous Sper`ma·toph"o·rous adjective (Physiol.) Producing seed, or sperm; seminiferous; as, the so-called spermatophorous cells.
Spermatophyta Sper`ma·toph"y·ta noun plural [ New Latin ;
spermato- + Greek ... plant.]
(Botany) A phylum embracing the highest plants, or those that produce seeds; the seed plants, or flowering plants. They form the most numerous group, including over 120,000 species. In general, the group is characterized by the marked development of the sporophyte, with great differentiation of its parts (root, stem, leaves, flowers, etc.); by the extreme reduction of the gametophyte; and by the development of seeds. All the Spermatophyta are heterosporous; fertilization of the egg cell is either through a pollen tube emitted by the microspore or (in a few gymnosperms) by spermatozoids. The phrase "flowering plants" is less distinctive than "seed plants," since the conifers, grasses, sedges, oaks, etc., do not produce flowers in the popular sense. For this reason the terms
Anthrophyta ,
Phænogamia , and
Panerogamia have been superseded as names of the phylum by
Spermatophyta .
Spermatophyte Sper"ma·to"phyte` noun Any plant of the phylum Spermatophyta. --
Sper`ma*to*phyt"ic adjective
Spermatorrhea, Spermatorrhœa Sper`ma·tor·rhe"a, Sper`ma·tor·rhœ"a ,
noun [ New Latin , from Greek
spe`rma ,
- atos , seed + ......... to flow.]
(Medicine) Abnormally frequent involuntary emission of the semen without copulation.
Spermatospore Sper"ma·to·spore noun Same as Spermospore .
Spermatozoid Sper`ma·to·zo"id noun [
Spermatozoön + Greek ......... form.]
(Biol.) The male germ cell in animals and plants, the essential element in fertilization; a microscopic animalcule-like particle, usually provided with one or more cilia by which it is capable of active motion. In animals, the familiar type is that of a small, more or less ovoid head, with a delicate threadlike cilium, or tail. Called also spermatozoön . In plants the more usual term is antherozoid .
Spermatozooid Sper`ma·to·zo"oid noun (Biol.) A spermatozoid.
Use the search box below if you want to search in Websters only, use the search box at the right to search all of Enyclo.
