Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
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Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Sāp, n. p. 1170The juice of plants of any kind, especially the ascending and descending juices essential to nutrition. ☞ The ascending is the crude sap, the assimilation of which takes place in the leaves, when it…Sāp, v. t. p. 1170To subvert by digging or wearing away; to mine; to undermine; to destroy the foundation of. Their dwellings were sapped by floods. Dryden. 2. (Mil.) To pierce with saps.Sāp, v. i. p. 1170To proceed by mining, or by secretly undermining. Both assaults are carried on by sapping. Tatler. 2. (Mil.) To execute saps. Craighill.Sāp, n. p. 1170(Mil.) An approach made to a fortified place by digging under cover of gabions, &c. ☞ The single sap has only a single parapet; the double has one on each side. In all saps, traverses are left to…Sāp'a-dĭl'lo, n. p. 1170See SAPODILLA.Săp'a-jə p. 1170Synop., § 130}, n.Săp'a-jou p. 1170(Zoöl.) A monkey of South America, having a prehensile tail; — applied especially to those of the genus Cebus, but also to those of the genera Ateles and Lagothrix. P. Cyc.Sa-păn'-wōōd, n. p. 1170(Bot.) A dye-wood yielded by Cæsalpinia sapan, a thorny tree of Southern Asia and the neighboring islands. It resembles Brazil-wood in color and properties. [Written also sappan-wood.] P. Cyc.Sāp'-făg'ot, n. p. 1170(Mil.) A fascine about three feet long, used in sapping, to close the crevices between the gabions before the parapet is made.Sāp'ful, a. p. 1170Abounding in sap; sappy.Sāp'-green, n. p. 1170A light-green pigment prepared from the juice of the ripe berries of the Rhamnus catharticus, or buckthorn. Francis.Sāp'-hĕad, n. p. 1170A stupid fellow; a sap-skull; a blockhead. [Cant.] Halliwell.Sa-phē'nā, n. p. 1170(Anat.) One of two subcutaneous veins of the lower limb and foot. Dunglison.Săph'īre, n. p. 1170A sapphire. See SAPPHIRE.Sāp'id, a. p. 1170Having the power of affecting the organs of taste; possessing savor or flavor; having a relish; savory.Sa-pid'i-ty or Sa'pid-ness, n. p. 1170The quality of being sapid; taste; tastefulness; savor; savoriness. When the Israelites fancied the sapidness and relish of the flesh-pots, they longed to taste and to return. Bp. Taylor.Sā'pi-ence, n. p. 1170The quality of being sapient; wisdom; sageness, knowledge. If I might sit beside your feet, And glean your scattered sapience. Tennyson.Sā'pi-ent, a. p. 1170Wise; sage; discerning. There the sapient king held dalliance. Milton. 2. Would-be wise; supposing one's self sage; — in irony or contempt. Syn.—Sage; sagacious; knowing; wise; discerning.Sā'pi-ēn'tial, a. p. 1170Affording wisdom, or instructions for wisdom. [Obs.] “Out of the sapiential books of the Old [Testament];” viz., Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, &c. Bp. Taylor.Sā'pi-ēn’tial-ly, adv. p. 1170In a sapiential or wise manner. Baxter.Sā'pi-ĕn’tious, a. p. 1170Sapiential; sapient; wise. [Obs.]Sā'pi-ēn/tize, v. t. p. 1170To make or render sapient or wise. [Obs.]Sā'pi-ent-ly, adv. p. 1170In a sapient manner; wisely; sagaciously.Săp'/in-dā'/ceous, a. p. 1170(Bot.) Of, pertaining to, or resembling an order of trees, of which the type is the genus Sapindus.Sa-pīn'dus, n. p. 1170(Bot.) A genus of trees, found in America and the West Indies, remarkable for containing the saponaceous principle in large proportion, the berries of certain species being used in some countries as…Săp'less, a. p. 1170Destitute of sap; not juicy; as, a sapless tree or branch. 2. Dry; old; husky; withered. Now sapless on the verge of death he stands. Dryden.Săp'ling, n. p. 1170A young tree.Săp'o-dil'la, n. p. 1170(Bot.) A tree of the genus Achras (A. sapota), growing in the West Indies, and in some parts of South America. It is a large, tall, and straight tree, often having no branches for the distance of…Sapodilla plum p. 1170the fruit of Achras sapota. It is about the size of an ordinary quince, having a rough, brittle, dull-brown rind, the flesh being of a dirty yellowish-white color, very soft, and deliciously sweet…Săp'/o-nā'ceous, a. p. 1170Resembling soap; having the qualities of soap; soapy. Saponaceous bodies are compounds of an acid and a base, and are in reality a kind of salt.Săp'o-năs'i-ty, n. p. 1170The quality of being saponaceous.Săp'o-na-ry, a. p. 1170Saponaceous.Sa-pŏn'i-fi'a-ble, a. p. 1170Capable of conversion into soap; as, a saponifiable substance. Gregory.Sa-pŏn'i-fi-cā'tion, n. p. 1170The act of converting into soap, or the state of being converted into soap; or the process in which fatty substances become changed into acids when in contact with an alkali, and, through combination…Sa-pŏn'i-fy, v. t. p. 1170To convert into soap.Săp'o-nīne, n. p. 1170(Chem.) A peculiar principle obtained from the root of Saponaria officinalis, or soapwort. It is white, amorphous, soluble in water, and its solution froths, when agitated, like a solution of soap.Săp'o-nūle, n. p. 1170(Chem.) An imperfect soap, formed by the action of an alkali upon an essential oil.Sā'por, n. p. 1170Taste; relish; flavor; power of affecting the organs of taste; savor. There is some sapor in all aliments. Browne.Săp'o-rĭf'ic, a. p. 1170Having the power to produce taste; producing taste.Săp'/o-rŏs'i-ty, n. p. 1170The quality of a body by which it excites the sensation of taste.Săp'o-rous, a. p. 1170Having taste; yielding some kind of taste. [Rare.] Bailey.Sa-pō'tă, n. p. 1170(Bot.) A tree or plant of the genus Achras (A. sapota).Săp′pa-dĭl′lo, n. p. 1170See SAPODILLA. Lee.Sap-păn'-wood, n. p. 1170See SAPAN-WOOD.Săp'pāre, n. p. 1170(Min.) A certain mineral; kyanite. [Written also soppar.]Săp'per, n. p. 1170One who saps. 2. (Mil.) One who is employed in working at saps, building and repairing fortifications, and the like.Săp'phic, a. p. 1170Pertaining to Sappho, a Grecian poetess; as, Sapphic odes; Sapphic verse. 2. (Pros.) Belonging to, or in the manner of, Sappho; — used of a certain kind of verse (said to have been invented by…Săp'phie, n. p. 1170(Pros.) A Sapphic verse.Săp’phire, n. p. 1170(Min.) Pure, crystallized alumina. Sapphire occurs in hexagonal crystals, and also in grains and massive. The name sapphire is usually restricted to the blue crystals, while the bright-red are called…Săp'phire, a. p. 1170Of, or resembling, sapphire. “The sapphire blaze.” Gray.Săp'phir-ine, a. p. 1170Resembling sapphire; made of sapphire; having the qualities of sapphire. Boyle.Săp'pi-ness, n. p. 1170The state or quality of being sappy or full of sap; succulence; juiciness.Sāp'po-dil'la, n. p. 1170See SAPODILLA.Săp'py, a. p. 1170Abounding with sap; juicy; succulent. 2. Hence, young; not firm; weak. When he had passed this weak and sappy age. Hayward. 3. Weak in intellect.Sāp'py, a. p. 1170Musty; tainted. [Obs.]Săp'-rōll'er, n. p. 1170(Mil.) A large gabion, six or seven feet long, filled with fascines, which the sapper sometimes rolls along before him to protect from the fire of an enemy.Sa-prŏph'a-gan, n. p. 1170(Entom.) One of a tribe of coleopterous insects, which feed on animal and vegetable substances in a state of decomposition. Brande.Sāp'-rōt, n. p. 1170The dry rot, a disease of timber.Sā'p'sa-go, n. p. 1170A kind of cheese, made in Switzerland, having a dark-green color and agreeable flavor. It is flavored with melilot.Săp'-skŭll, n. p. 1170A stupid fellow; a sap-head. [Low.]