Webster's Dictionary, 1913
Seven-shooter noun A firearm, esp. a pistol, with seven barrels or chambers for cartridges, or one capable of firing seven shots without reloading. [ Colloq.]
Seven-thirties noun plural A name given to three several issues of United States Treasury notes, made during the Civil War, in denominations of $50 and over, bearing interest at the rate of seven and three tenths (thirty hundredths) per cent annually. Within a few years they were all redeemed or funded.
Seven-up noun The game of cards called also all fours , and old sledge . [ U. S.]
Sevenscore noun & adjective Seven times twenty, that is, a hundred and forty. The old Countess of Desmond . . . lived sevenscore years.
Bacon.
Seventeen adjective [ Middle English
seventene , Anglo-Saxon
seofontȳne , i. e.,
seven- ten . Confer
Seventy .]
One more than sixteen; ten and seven added; as, seventeen years.
Seventeen noun
1. The number greater by one than sixteen; the sum of ten and seven; seventeen units or objects. 2. A symbol denoting seventeen units, as 17, or xvii.
Seventeenth adjective [ From
Seventeen : confer Anglo-Saxon
seofonteóða ,
seofonteogeða .]
1. Next in order after the sixteenth; coming after sixteen others. In . . . the seventeenth day of the month . . . were all the fountains of the great deep broken up.
Gen. vii. 11. 2. Constituting or being one of seventeen equal parts into which anything is divided.
Seventeenth noun
1. The next in order after the sixteenth; one coming after sixteen others. 2. The quotient of a unit divided by seventeen; one of seventeen equal parts or divisions of one whole. 3. (Mus.) An interval of two octaves and a third.
Seventh adjective [ From
Seven : confer Anglo-Saxon
seofoða .]
1. Next in order after the sixth;; coming after six others. On the seventh day, God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
Gen. ii. 2. 2. Constituting or being one of seven equal parts into which anything is divided; as, the seventh part. Seventh day ,
the seventh day of the week; Saturday. --
Seventh-day Baptists .
See under Baptist .
Seventh noun
1. One next in order after the sixth; one coming after six others. 2. The quotient of a unit divided by seven; one of seven equal parts into which anything is divided. 3. (Mus.) (a) An interval embracing seven diatonic degrees of the scale. (b) A chord which includes the interval of a seventh whether major, minor, or diminished.
Seventhly adverb In the seventh place.
Seventieth adjective [ Anglo-Saxon hund- seofontigoða .]
1. Next in order after the sixty-ninth; as, a man in the seventieth year of his age. 2. Constituting or being one of seventy equal parts.
Seventieth noun
1. One next in order after the sixty-ninth. 2. The quotient of a unit divided by seventy; one of seventy equal parts or fractions.
Seventy adjective [ Anglo-Saxon hund
- seofontig . See
Seven , and
Ten , and confer
Seventeen ,
Sixty .]
Seven times ten; one more than sixty-nine.
Seventy noun ;
plural Seventies 1. The sum of seven times ten; seventy units or objects. 2. A symbol representing seventy units, as 70, or lxx. The Seventy ,
the translators of the Greek version of the Old Testament called the Septuagint. See Septuagint .
Seventy-four noun (Nautical) A naval vessel carrying seventy-four guns.
Sever transitive verb [
imperfect &. past participle Severed ;
present participle & verbal noun Severing .] [ Old French
sevrer ,
severer , to separate, French
sevrer to wean, from Latin
separare . See
Separate , and confer
Several .]
1. To separate, as one from another; to cut off from something; to divide; to part in any way, especially by violence, as by cutting, rending, etc.; as, to sever the head from the body. The angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just.
Matt. xiii. 49. 2. To cut or break open or apart; to divide into parts; to cut through; to disjoin; as, to sever the arm or leg. Our state can not be severed ; we are one.
Milton. 3. To keep distinct or apart; to except; to exempt. I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there.
Ex. viii. 22. 4. (Law) To disunite; to disconnect; to terminate; as, to sever an estate in joint tenancy. Blackstone.
Sever intransitive verb 1. To suffer disjunction; to be parted, or rent asunder; to be separated; to part; to separate. Shak. 2. To make a separation or distinction; to distinguish. The Lord shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt.
Ex. ix. 4. They claimed the right of severing in their challenge.
Macaulay.
Severable adjective Capable of being severed. Encyc. Dict.
Several adjective [ Old French , from Late Latin
separalis , from Latin
separ separate, different. See
Sever ,
Separate .]
1. Separate; distinct; particular; single. Each several ship a victory did gain.
Dryden. Each might his several province well command,
Would all but stoop to what they understand.
Pope. 2. Diverse; different; various. Spenser. Habits and faculties, several , and to be distinguished.
Bacon. Four several armies to the field are led.
Dryden. 3. Consisting of a number more than two, but not very many; divers; sundry; as, several persons were present when the event took place.
Several adverb By itself; severally. [ Obsolete]
Every kind of thing is laid up several in barns or storehoudses.
Robynson (More's Utopia).
Several noun 1. Each particular taken singly; an item; a detail; an individual. [ Obsolete]
There was not time enough to hear . . .
The severals .
Shak. 2. Persons oe objects, more than two, but not very many. Several of them neither rose from any conspicuous family, nor left any behind them.
Addison. 3. An inclosed or separate place; inclosure. [ Obsolete]
They had their several for heathen nations, their several for the people of their own nation.
Hooker. In several ,
in a state of separation. [ R.] "Where pastures
in several be."
Tusser.
Severality noun ;
plural Severalities Each particular taken singly; distinction. [ Obsolete]
Bp. Hall.
Severalize transitive verb To distinguish. [ Obsolete]
Severally adverb Separately; distinctly; apart from others; individually. There must be an auditor to check and revise each severally by itself.
De Quincey.
Severalty noun A state of separation from the rest, or from all others; a holding by individual right. Forests which had never been owned in severalty .
Bancroft. Estate in severalty (Law) ,
an estate which the tenant holds in his own right, without being joined in interest with any other person; -- distinguished from joint tenancy , coparcenary , and common . Blackstone.
Severance noun
1. The act of severing, or the state of being severed; partition; separation. Milman. 2. (Law) The act of dividing; the singling or severing of two or more that join, or are joined, in one writ; the putting in several or separate pleas or answers by two or more disjointly; the destruction of the unity of interest in a joint estate. Bouvier.
Severe adjective [
Compar. Severer ;
superl. Severest .] [ Latin
severus ; perhaps akin to Greek ......... awe, ......... revered, holy, solemn, Goth.
swikns innocent, chaste: confer French
sévère . Confer
Asseverate ,
Persevere .]
1. Serious in feeeling or manner; sedate; grave; austere; not light, lively, or cheerful. Your looks alter, as your subject does,
From kind to fierce, from wanton to severe .
Waller. 2. Very strict in judgment, discipline, or government; harsh; not mild or indulgent; rigorous; as, severe criticism; severe punishment. "Custody
severe ."
Milton. Come! you are too severe a moraler.
Shak. Let your zeal, if it must be expressed in anger, be always more severe against thyself than against others.
Jer. Taylor. 3. Rigidly methodical, or adherent to rule or principle; exactly conformed to a standard; not allowing or employing unneccessary ornament, amplification, etc.; strict; -- said of style, argument, etc. "Restrained by reason and
severe principles."
Jer. Taylor. The Latin, a most severe and compendious language.
Dryden. 4. Sharp; afflictive; distressing; violent; extreme; as, severe pain, anguish, fortune; severe cold. 5. Difficult to be endured; exact; critical; rigorous; as, a severe test. Syn. -- Strict; grave; austere; stern; morose; rigid; exact; rigorous; hard; rough; harsh; censorious; tart; acrimonious; sarcastic; satirical; cutting; biting; keen; bitter; cruel. See
Strict . --
Se*vere"ly ,
adverb --
Se*vere"ness ,
noun
Severity noun ;
plural Severities . [ Latin
severitas : confer French
sévérité .]
The quality or state of being severe. Specifically: --
(a) Gravity or austerity; extreme strictness; rigor; harshness; as, the severity of a reprimand or a reproof; severity of discipline or government; severity of penalties. "Strict age, and sour
severity ."
Milton. (b) The quality or power of distressing or paining; extreme degree; extremity; intensity; inclemency; as, the severity of pain or anguish; the severity of cold or heat; the severity of the winter. (c) Harshness; cruel treatment; sharpness of punishment; as, severity practiced on prisoners of war. (d) Exactness; rigorousness; strictness; as, the severity of a test. Confining myself to the severity of truth.
Dryden.
Severy noun [ Prob. corrupted from ciborium . Oxf . Gloss .] (Architecture) A bay or compartment of a vaulted ceiling. [ Written also civery .]
Sevocation noun [ Latin sevocare , sevocatum , to call aside.] A calling aside. [ Obsolete]
Sèvres blue A very light blue.
Sèvres ware Porcelain manufactured at Sèvres , France, ecpecially in the national factory situated there.
Sew noun [ Middle English See
Sewer household officer.]
Juice; gravy; a seasoned dish; a delicacy. [ Obsolete]
Gower. I will not tell of their strange sewes .
Chaucer.
Sew transitive verb [ See
Sue to follow.]
To follow; to pursue; to sue. [ Obsolete]
Chaucer. Spenser.
Sew transitive verb [
imperfect Sewed ;
past participle Sewed , rarely
Sewn ;
present participle & verbal noun Sewing .] [ Middle English
sewen ,
sowen , Anglo-Saxon
siówian ,
sīwian ; akin to Old High German
siuwan , Icelandic
s...ja , Swedish
sy , Danish
sye , Goth.
siujan , Lithuanian
siuti , Russ,
shite , Latin
ssuere , Greek ............, Sanskrit
siv . √156. Confer
Seam a suture,
Suture .]
1. To unite or fasten together by stitches, as with a needle and thread. No man also seweth a piece of new cloth on an old garment.
Mark ii. 21. 2. To close or stop by ssewing; -- often with up ; as, to sew up a rip. 3. To inclose by sewing; -- sometimes with up ; as, to sew money in a bag.
Sew intransitive verb To practice sewing; to work with needle and thread.
Sew transitive verb [ √151
b. See
Sewer a drain.]
To drain, as a pond, for taking the fish. [ Obsolete]
Tusser.
Sewage noun
1. The contents of a sewer or drain; refuse liquids or matter carried off by sewers 2. Sewerage, 2.
Sewe intransitive verb To perform the duties of a sewer. See 3d Sewer . [ Obsolete]
Sewel noun [ Etymol. uncertain.] A scarecrow, generally made of feathers tied to a string, hung up to prevent deer from breaking into a place. Halliwell.
Sewellel noun [ Of American Indian origin.] (Zoology) A peculiar gregarious burrowing rodent ( Haplodon rufus ), native of the coast region of the Northwestern United States. It somewhat resembles a muskrat or marmot, but has only a rudimentary tail. Its head is broad, its eyes are small and its fur is brownish above, gray beneath. It constitutes the family Haplodontidæ . Called also boomer , showt'l , and mountain beaver .
Sewen noun (Zoology) A British trout usually regarded as a variety (var. Cambricus ) of the salmon trout.
Sewer noun
1. One who sews, or stitches. 2. (Zoology) A small tortricid moth whose larva sews together the edges of a leaf by means of silk; as, the apple-leaf sewer ( Phoxopteris nubeculana )
Sewer noun [ Old French
sewiere ,
seuwiere , ultimately from Latin
ex out + a derivative of
aqua water; confer Old French
essevour a drain,
essever ,
esseuwer ,
essiaver , to cause to flow, to drain, to flow, Late Latin
exaquatorium a channel through which water runs off. Confer
Ewer ,
Aquarium .]
A drain or passage to carry off water and filth under ground; a subterraneous channel, particularly in cities.
Sewer noun [ Confer Middle English
assewer , and
asseour , Old French
asseour , French
asseoir to seat, to set, Latin
assidere to sit by;
ad + sedere to sit (cf.
Sit ); or confer Middle English
sew pottage, sauce, boiled meat, Anglo-Saxon
seáw juice, Sanskrit
su to press out.]
Formerly, an upper servant, or household officer, who set on and removed the dishes at a feast, and who also brought water for the hands of the guests. Then the sewer
Poured water from a great and golden ewer,
That from their hands to a silver caldron ran.
Chapman.
Sewerage noun
1. The construction of a sewer or sewers. 2. The system of sewers in a city, town, etc.; the general drainage of a city or town by means of sewers. 3. The material collected in, and discharged by, sewers. [ In this sense sewage is preferable and common.]
Sewin noun (Zoology) Same as Sewen .
Sewing noun
1. The act or occupation of one who sews. 2. That which is sewed with the needle.
Sewing horse (Harness making) , a clamp, operated by the foot, for holding pieces of leather while being sewed. -- Sewing machine , a machine for sewing or stitching. -- Sewing press , or Sewing table (Bookbinding) , a fixture or table having a frame in which are held the cords to which the back edges of folded sheets are sewed to form a book.
Sewster noun A seamstress. [ Obsolete] B. Jonson.