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An American Dictionary of the English Language

by Noah Webster

Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)

Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865

Entries
95,912
Pages
1,538
Illustrations
2,133

Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.

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  1. Sow'ens, n. pl.p. 1264A nutritious article of food made from the husk of the oat, by a process not unlike that by which common starch is made;—called flummery in England. [Written also sowans and sowins.]
  2. Sōw'er, n.p. 1264One who sows or scatters. Behold, a sower went forth to sow. Matt. xiii. 3. 2. A breeder; a promoter; as, a sower of suits.
  3. Sow'ins, n. pl.p. 1264See SOWENS.
  4. Sowl or Sow'le, v. t.p. 1264To pull by the ears. [Obs.] Shak.
  5. Sowl, v. i.p. 1264See SOUL, v. i.
  6. Sow'ter, n.p. 1264The same as SOUTER. [Obs.] B. Jon.
  7. Sow'-this'tle, n.p. 1264(Bot.) A plant of the genus Sonchus, said to be eaten by swine and some other animals. Downy sow-thistle, a plant of the genus Andryala.
  8. Soy, n.p. 1264A kind of sauce for fish, brought chiefly from Japan, said to be produced from a species of bean, the Dolichos soya or soja. S. W. Williams. 2. (Bot.) The plant from which this sauce is obtained…
  9. Soyl, v. t.p. 1264To solve. [Obs.] Likewise mayest thou soyl all other texts. Tyndale.
  10. Soyl, n.p. 1264Prey. [Obs.] Spenser.
  11. Soyn'ed, a.p. 1264Filled with care; anxious; astonished. [Obs.] Mirror for Mag.
  12. Sŏz'le, n.p. 1264A sluttish woman, or one who spills water and other liquids carelessly. [Local U. S.] 2. A mass, or heap, confusedly mingled.
  13. Sŏz'le, v. t.p. 1264To spill, or wet, through carelessness; to move about confusedly or carelessly; as, to sozzle the feet in water. [Local U. S.] Bartlett. 2. To intermingle in a confused heap. Forby.
  14. Sŏz'le, v. i.p. 1264To be sluttish; to manage or act in a careless, sluttish manner. [Local U. S.]
  15. Spā, n.p. 1264A spring of mineral water;—so called from a place of this name in Belgium.
  16. Späad, n.p. 1264(Min.) A kind of mineral; spar. [Obs.] Woodward.
  17. Spāçe, n.p. 1264Extension, considered independently of any thing which it may contain; that which makes extended objects conceivable and possible; room; extension. Pure space is capable neither of resistance nor…
  18. Spāçe, v. i.p. 1264To rove. [Obs.] “And loved in forests wild to space.” Spenser.
  19. Spāçe, v. t.p. 1264(Print.) To arrange the spaces and intervals in or between; as, to space a paragraph; to space words, lines, or letters.
  20. Spāce'fūl, a.p. 1264Wide; extensive. [Obs.] Sandys.
  21. Spāce'less, a.p. 1264Having no space or room; without space. [Rare.] Coleridge.
  22. Spāce'-līne, n.p. 1264(Print.) A thin piece of metal used by printers to open the lines of type to a regular distance from each other, and for other purposes; a lead. Hansard.
  23. Spāce'-rŭle, n.p. 1264(Print.) A fine line on a short, thin piece of metal of the same height as the type, to answer the purpose of brass rule in table-work, when a number of short pieces are required. Savage.
  24. Spā'ciōŭs, a.p. 1264Including an extended space; wide extended; vast in extent. “A spacious plain outstretched in circuit.” Milton. 2. Having large or ample room; not contracted or narrow; roomy; as, a spacious church…
  25. Spā'cioŭs-ly, adv.p. 1264In a spacious manner; widely; extensively.
  26. Spā'cioŭs-ness, n.p. 1264The quality of being spacious; largeness of extent; extensiveness; roominess.
  27. Spād'dle, n.p. 1264A little spade. [Obs.] — Mortimer.
  28. Spāde, n.p. 1264An instrument for digging or cutting the ground, consisting of a broad and nearly rectangular blade of iron, with a handle. “With spade and pick-ax armed.” Milton. 2. (pl.) A suit of cards, each of…
  29. Spāde, v. t.p. 1264To dig with a spade; or to pare off the sward of, as land, with a spade.
  30. Spāde'-bōne, n.p. 1264(Anat.) The shoulder-blade; the scapula. [Rare.]
  31. Spāde'ful, n.p. 1264As much as a spade will hold.
  32. Spāde'-hăn'dle, n.p. 1264(Mach.) A pin held at both ends by the forked end of a connecting-rod. [See Illust. of Knuckle-joint.]
  33. Spa-di'ceous (-dĭsh'us) or Spā'di-eōse (125), a.p. 1264Of a light red color, usually denominated bay. Browne. 2. (Bot.) [See SPADIX.] Being like a spadix; resembling a spadix. Martyn.
  34. Spa-dille', n.p. 1264The ace of spades at omber and quadrille.
  35. Spā'dix, n.p. 1264(Bot.) A fleshy spike of flowers, usually covered by a leaf called a spathe.
  36. Spā'do, n.p. 1264A castrated beast; a gelding. 2. (Law.) A person who is unable to procreate; an impotent person.
  37. Spa-drōn’, n.p. 1264A cut-and-thrust sword, lighter than a broadsword. Smart.
  38. Spa-gy'rie, a.p. 1264[L. Lat. spagyricus, ill-
  39. Spa-gyr'ic-alp. 1264formed from Gr. σπάειν, σπαν, to draw, to tear, to separate, and ἀγείρειν, to assemble; Fr. spagirique.] Chemical. [Obs.
  40. Spa-gȳr'ie, n.p. 1264A chemist, especially one devoted to alchemy. [Obs.] Hall. 2. One of a former sect of physicians, who pretended to account for the changes that occur in the human body in health and disease, in the…
  41. Spā'gyr-ist, n.p. 1264A chemist, especially one devoted to alchemistic pursuits. [Obs.]
  42. Spā'hee or Spā'hi, n.p. 1264Formerly, one of the Turkish cavalry.
  43. Spāke, imp.p. 1264of speak. [Obs.] See SPEAK.
  44. Spāke'nĕt, n.p. 1264A net for catching crabs. Halliwell.
  45. Spāk'y, a.p. 1264The same as SPECKY. [Obs.] “Where thou eatest spak'y fruit.” Chapman.
  46. Spāle, n.p. 1264A lath; also, a shaving of wood. [Eng.] Simmonds.
  47. Spall, n.p. 1264The shoulder. “And naked made each other’s manly spalls.” Spenser. 2. [Prov. Eng. spall, spell, from O. & Prov. Ger. spellen, to split.] [Written also spale.] A chip; a fragment. [Obs.]
  48. Spall, v. t.p. 1264(Mining.) To break into small pieces, as ore, for the sake of separating from rock. Pryce.
  49. Spalt, n.p. 1264A whitish, scaly mineral, used to promote the fusion of metals. [Written also spelt.] Bailey. Ash.
  50. Spalt, a.p. 1264Liable to break or split; brittle; as, spalt timber. Halliwell. 2. Heedless; careless; clumsy; pert; saucy; giddy and frail. Halliwell.
  51. Spalt, v. t.p. 1264To split off; to cleave off, as chips from a piece of timber, with an ax. [Prov. Eng. Local U. S.]
  52. Spalt, v. i.p. 1264To split or break off, as a chip or piece from timber in working. [Prov. Eng. Local U. S.]
  53. Spăn, n.p. 1264The space from the end of the thumb to the end of the little finger when extended; nine inches; the eighth of a fathom. 2. Hence, a brief extent or portion of time. Life's but a span; I'll every inch…
  54. Spăn, v. t.p. 1264To measure by the hand with the fingers extended, or with the fingers encompassing the object; as, to span a space or distance; to span a cylinder. 2. To measure, or reach, from one side to the…
  55. Spăn, v. i.p. 1264To be well matched; to agree in color, or in color and size; as, the horses span well. [U. S.]
  56. Spăn, imp.p. 1264of spin, for spun. [Obs.] See SPIN.
  57. Spăn'çel, n.p. 1264A rope to tie a cow’s hind legs. [Prov. Eng.] Grose.
  58. Spăn'cel, v. t.p. 1264To tie, as the legs of a horse or cow, with a rope. [Prov. Eng.] Malone.
  59. Spān'-count'er, n.p. 1264A child's game, at which one throws a counter on the ground, and another tries to hit it with his counter, or to get it near enough to the first to span the space between them, and touch both the…
  60. Spān'drel, n.p. 1264(Arch.) The irregular triangular space between the curve of an arch and the inclosing right angle; or the space between the outer moldings of two contiguous arches, and an horizontal line above them…