Safeguard Safe"guard` noun [ Safe =
guard : confer French
sauvegarde .]
1. One who, or that which, defends or protects; defense; protection. Shak. Thy sword, the safeguard of thy brother's throne.
Granville. 2. A convoy or guard to protect a traveler or property. 3. A pass; a passport; a safe-conduct. Shak.
Safeguard Safe"guard` transitive verb To guard; to protect. Shak.
Safely Safe"ly adverb In a safe manner; danger, injury, loss, or evil consequences.
Safeness Safe"ness noun The quality or state of being safe; freedom from hazard, danger, harm, or loss; safety; security; as the safeness of an experiment, of a journey, or of a possession.
Safety Safe"ty noun [ Confer French
sauveté .]
1. The condition or state of being safe; freedom from danger or hazard; exemption from hurt, injury, or loss. Up led by thee,
Into the heaven I have presumed,
An earthly guest . . . With like safety guided down,
Return me to my native element.
Milton. 2. Freedom from whatever exposes one to danger or from liability to cause danger or harm; safeness; hence, the quality of making safe or secure, or of giving confidence, justifying trust, insuring against harm or loss, etc. Would there were any safety in thy sex,
That I might put a thousand sorrows off,
And credit thy repentance!
Beau. & Fl. 3. Preservation from escape; close custody. Imprison him, . . .
Deliver him to safety ; and return.
Shak. 4. (Football) Same as Safety touchdown , below. Safety arch (Architecture) ,
a discharging arch. See under
Discharge ,
transitive verb --
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 (Machinery) ,
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 (Chemistry) ,
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.
Safety Safe"ty noun (a) (Amer. Football) A safety touchdown. (b) Short for Safety bicycle .
Safety bicycle Safety bicycle A bicycle with equal or nearly equal wheels, usually 28 inches diameter, driven by pedals connected to the rear (driving) wheel by a multiplying gear.
Safety chain Safety chain (a) (Railroads) A normally slack chain for preventing excessive movement between a truck and a car body in sluing. (b) An auxiliary watch chain, secured to the clothes, usually out of sight, to prevent stealing of the watch. (c) A chain of sheet metal links with an elongated hole through each broad end, made up by doubling the first link on itself, slipping the next link through and doubling, and so on.
Safflow Saf"flow noun (Botany) The safflower. [ Obsolete]
Safflower Saf"flow`er noun [ French
safleur ,
saflor , for
safran , influenced by
fleur flower. See
Saffron , and
Flower .]
1. (Botany) 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.
Saffron Saf"fron noun [ Middle English
saffran , French
safran ; confer Italian
zafferano , Spanish
azafran , Portuguese
açafrão ; all from Arabic & Persian
za' farān .]
1. (Botany) 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 .
(Botany) See Safflower . --
Meadow saffron (Botany) ,
a bulbous plant ( Colchichum autumnale ) of Europe, resembling saffron. --
Saffron wood (Botany) ,
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 ).
Saffron Saf"fron adjective Having the color of the stigmas of saffron flowers; deep orange-yellow; as, a saffron face; a saffron streamer.
Saffron Saf"fron transitive verb To give color and flavor to, as by means of saffron; to spice. [ Obsolete]
And in Latyn I speak a wordes few,
To saffron with my predication.
Chaucer.
Saffrony Saf"fron·y adjective Having a color somewhat like saffron; yellowish. Lord (1630).
Safranin Saf"ra·nin noun (Chemistry) (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.
Safranine Saf"ra·nine noun [ So called because used as a substitute for safranin.]
(Chemistry) 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 Sag (săg)
intransitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Sagged ;
present participle & verbal noun Sagging .] [ Akin to Swedish
sacka to settle, sink down, LG.
sacken , Dutch
zakken . Confer
Sink ,
intransitive verb ]
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 (Nautical) ,
to make much leeway by reason of the wind, sea, or current; to drift to leeward; -- said of a vessel. Totten.
Sag Sag transitive verb To cause to bend or give way; to load.
Sag Sag noun State of sinking or bending; sagging.
Saga Sa"ga (sā"gȧ)
noun ;
plural Sagas (-gȧz). [ Icelandic , akin to English
saw a saying. See
Say , and confer
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.
Sagacious Sa·ga"cious adjective [ Latin
sagax ,
sagacis , akin to
sagire to perceive quickly or keenly, and probably to English
seek . See
Seek , and confer
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 ,
adverb --
Sa*ga"cious*ness ,
noun
Sagacity Sa·gac"i·ty noun [ Latin
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.
Sagamore Sag"a·more noun 1. [ Confer
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. [ Obsolete]
Johnson.
Sagapen Sag"a·pen noun Sagapenum.
Sagapenum Sag`a·pe"num noun [ Latin
sagapenon ,
sacopenium , Greek ...: confer French
sagapin , gomme
sagapin , sagapénum, Arabic
sikbīnaj , Persian
sakbīnah ,
sikbīnah .]
(Medicine) 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.
Sagathy Sag"a·thy noun [ French
sagatis : confer Spanish
sagatí ,
saetí .]
A mixed woven fabric of silk and cotton, or silk and wool; sayette; also, a light woolen fabric.
Sage Sage noun [ Middle English
sauge , French
sauge , Latin
salvia , from
salvus saved, in allusion to its reputed healing virtues. See
Safe .]
(Botany) (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 (Botany) ,
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 (Zoology) ,
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 (Zoology) ,
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 (Zoology) ,
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 (Zoology) ,
the female of the sage grouse. --
Sage sparrow (Zoology) ,
a small sparrow ( Amphispiza Belli , var. Nevadensis ) which inhabits the dry plains of the Rocky Mountain region, living among sagebrush. --
Sage thrasher (Zoology) ,
a singing bird ( Oroscoptes montanus ) which inhabits the sagebrush plains of Western North America. --
Sage willow (Botany) ,
a species of willow ( Salix tristis ) forming a low bush with nearly sessile grayish green leaves.
Sage Sage adjective [
Compar. Sager ;
superl. Sagest .] [ French, from Latin
sapius (only in
nesapius unwise, foolish), from
sapere to be wise; perhaps akin to English
sap . Confer
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 Sage noun 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.
Sagebrush Sage"brush` noun 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 .
Sagebrush State Sagebrush State Nevada; -- a nickname.
Sagely Sage"ly adverb In a sage manner; wisely.
Sagene Sa·gene" noun [ Russian
sajene .]
A Russian measure of length equal to about seven English feet.
Sageness Sage"ness noun The quality or state of being sage; wisdom; sagacity; prudence; gravity. Ascham.
Sagenite Sag"e·nite noun [ French
sagénite , from Latin
sagena a large net. See
Seine .]
(Min.) Acicular rutile occurring in reticulated forms imbedded in quartz.
Sagenitic Sag`e·nit"ic adjective (Min.) Resembling sagenite; -- applied to quartz when containing acicular crystals of other minerals, most commonly rutile, also tourmaline, actinolite, and the like.
Sagger Sag"ger noun [ 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.
Sagging Sag"ging noun 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. Confer Hogging .
Saginate Sag"i·nate transitive verb [ Latin
saginatus , past participle of
saginare to fat, from
sagina stuffing.]
To make fat; to pamper. [ R.] "Many a
saginated boar."
Cowper.
Sagination Sag`i·na"tion noun [ Latin
saginatio .]
The act of fattening or pampering. [ R.]
Topsell.
Sagitta Sa·git"ta noun [ Latin , an arrow.]
1. (Astron.) A small constellation north of Aquila; the Arrow. 2. (Architecture) 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. [ Obsolete]
4. (Anat.) The larger of the two otoliths, or ear bones, found in most fishes. 5. (Zoology) 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.
Sagittal Sag"it·tal adjective [ Latin
sagitta an arrow: confer French
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 .
Sagittarius Sag`it·ta"ri·us noun [ Latin , literally, an archer, from
sagittarius belonging to an arrow, from
sagitta an arrow.]
(Astron.) (a) The ninth of the twelve signs of the zodiac, which the sun enters about November 22, marked thus [ &sagittarius;] in almanacs; the Archer. (b) A zodiacal constellation, represented on maps and globes as a centaur shooting an arrow.
Sagittary Sag"it·ta"ry noun [ 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.
Sagittary Sag"it·ta·ry adjective [ Latin
sagittarius .]
Pertaining to, or resembling, an arrow. Sir T. Browne.
Sagittate Sag"it·tate adjective [ New Latin
sagittatus , from Latin
sagitta an arrow.]
Shaped like an arrowhead; triangular, with the two basal angles prolonged downward.
Sagittated Sag"it·ta`ted adjective Sagittal; sagittate.
Sagittocyst Sag"it·to·cyst noun [ See
Sagitta , and
Cyst .]
(Zoology) A defensive cell containing a minute rodlike structure which may be expelled. Such cells are found in certain Turbellaria.
Sago Sa"go (sā"go)
noun [ Malay.
sāgu .]
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 .
(Botany) (a) A palm tree which yields sago .
(b) A species of Cycas ( Cycas revoluta ). --
Sago spleen (Medicine) ,
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.
Sagoin Sa·goin" noun [ French
sagouin (formed from the native South American name).]
(Zoology) A marmoset; -- called also sagouin .
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