Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
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.
Swash'y, a. p. 1337Soft, like fruit that is too ripe; quashy; swash. [Prov. Eng.]Swāt, imp. p. 1337of sweat. [Obs.] See SWEAT. Chaucer.Swatch, n. p. 1337A swath. [Obs.] Tusser.Swāte, imp. p. 1337of sweat. [Obs.] See SWEAT. Thomson.Swath, n. p. 1337A band or fillet. “They wrapped me in a hundred yards of swath.” Addison. 2. A line of grass or grain cut and thrown together by the scythe in mowing or cradling. 3. The whole sweep of a scythe, or…Swath'-bănk, n. p. 1337A strip of grass left standing between the strokes of a scythe. [Prov. Eng.]Swāthe, v. t. p. 1337To bind with a swath, band, bandage, or rollers; as, to swathe a child. Their children are never swathed or bound about with any thing when first born. Abbot.Swāthe, n. p. 1337A bandage. Milk and a swathe, at first, his whole demand. Young.Swāy, v. t. p. 1337To move or wield with the hand; as, to sway the scepter. 2. To influence or direct by power and authority, or by moral force; to rule; to govern. She could not sway her house. Shak. Take heed lest…Swāy, v. i. p. 1337To bear rule; to govern. “Hadst thou swayed as kings should do.” Shak. 2. To have weight or influence. The example of sundry churches . . . doth sway much. Hooker. 3. To be drawn to one side by…Swāy, n. p. 1337Power exerted in governing; rule; dominion; control. When vice prevails, and impious men bear sway, The post of honor is a private station. Addison. 2. Influence, weight, or authority that inclines…Swāy'-băcked, a. p. 1337Having the back hollow or fallen in, whether naturally or as the result of injury or weakness;—said of horses and other animals.Swāy'-brā'cing, n. p. 1337(Engin.) The horizontal bracing of a bridge, which prevents its swaying.Swāyed, a. p. 1337Bent down, and hollow in the back; — said of a horse. “Swayed in the back.” Shak.Swāy'ful, a. p. 1337Full of power; able to sway; swaying. [Rare.] “The swayful concrete of intonation in the violoncello.” Rush.Swāy'ing, n. p. 1337A kind of lumbago, caused by a fall, or by being overloaded;—applied to beasts.Sweal, v. i. p. 1337To melt and run down, as the tallow of a candle; to waste away without feeding the flame. 2. To blaze away. See SWALE.Swēal, v. t. p. 1337To dress, as a hog, by burning or singeing off the hair; to swale.Swear, v. i. p. 1337To affirm or utter a solemn declaration, with an appeal to God for the truth of what is affirmed. I swear by all the Roman gods. Shak. 2. (Law.) To give evidence on oath; as, to swear to the truth of…Swear, v. t. p. 1337To utter or affirm with a solemn appeal to God for the truth of the declaration; as, to swear an oath. 2. (Law.) To put to an oath; to cause to take an oath; to administer an oath to; — often…Swear'er, n. p. 1337One who swears; one who calls God to witness for the truth of his declaration. 2. A profane person; one who uses profane language. Then the liars and swearers are fools. Shak.Swĕat, n. p. 1337The fluid or sensible moisture which is excreted from the skin of an animal, more commonly that which is produced by hard work, mental excitement, bodily suffering, or medicine. In the sweat of thy…Swĕat, v. i. p. 1337To excrete sensible moisture from the skin. 2. To toil; to labor; to drudge. He'd have the poets sweat. Waller. 3. To emit moisture, as green plants in a heap.Swĕat, v. t. p. 1337To cause to excrete moisture from the skin; as, his physicians attempted to sweat him by the most powerful sudorifics. 2. To emit or suffer to flow from the pores; to exude. For him the rich Arabia…Swĕat'er, n. p. 1337One who sweats. 2. One who, or that which, causes to sweat; a sudorific.Swĕat'i-ly, adv. p. 1337In a sweaty manner; so as to be moist with sweat.Swĕat'i-ness, n. p. 1337The state of being sweaty, or moist with sweat.Sweat'ing-bâth, n. p. 1337A bath for producing sensible sweat; a stove; a sudatory.Swĕat'ing-house, n. p. 1337A house for sweating persons in sickness.Sweat'ing-ī'ron, n. p. 1337A kind of knife, or a piece of iron, used to scrape off sweat, especially from horses.Sweat'ing-room, n. p. 1337A room for sweating person. 2. (Dairy Business.) A room for sweating cheese and carrying off the superfluous juices.Sweat'ing-sick'ness, n. p. 1337(Med.) A febrile epidemic disease which prevailed in some countries of Europe, but particularly in England, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, characterized by profuse sweating, which…Sweat'y, a. p. 1337Moist with sweat; as, a sweaty skin; a sweaty garment. 2. Consisting of sweat. “No noisy whiffs or sweaty streams.” Swift. 3. Laborious; toilsome; difficult. “The sweaty forge.” Prior.Swēde, n. p. 1337(Geog.) A native or inhabitant of Sweden. 2. A Swedish turnip.Swē'den-bôr'gi-an, n. p. 1337One who holds the doctrines of the New Jerusalem church, as taught by Emanuel Swedenborg, a Swedish philosopher and religious writer (born A. D. 1688, died 1772), who claimed to have direct…Swē'den-bôr'gi-an, a. p. 1337Of, or pertaining to, Swedenborg or his views.Swē'den-bôr'gi-an-īzm, n. p. 1337The doctrines of the Swedenborgians.Swĕdge, n. & v. t. p. 1337The same as SWAGE. See SWAGE.Swēd’ish, a. p. 1337(Geog.) Of, or pertaining to, Sweden. Swedish turnip (Bot.), the ruta-baga. See RUTA-BAGA.Swēd'ish, n. p. 1337The language of the Swedes.Sweep, v. t. p. 1337To brush, or rub over with a brush, broom, or besom, for removing loose dirt; to clean by brushing; as, to sweep a chimney or a floor. 2. To drive or carry along or off by a long, brushing stroke or…Sweep, v. i. p. 1337To pass with swiftness and violence, as something broad, or brushing the surface of any thing; as, a sweeping rain; a sweeping flood. 2. To pass over or brush along with celerity and force; as, the…Sweep, n. p. 1337The act of sweeping. 2. The compass of a stroke; as, a long sweep. 3. The compass of any turning body or motion; as, the sweep of a door. 4. The compass of any thing flowing or brushing; as, the…Sweep'age, n. p. 1338The crop of hay got in a meadow. [Prov. Eng.] Ogilvie.Sweep'er, n. p. 1338One who sweeps; a sweep.Sweep'ing-ly, adv. p. 1338In a sweeping manner; by sweeping.Sweep'ing-ness, n. p. 1338The quality of being sweeping; as, the sweepingness of a charge.Sweep'ing-s, n. pl. p. 1338Things collected by sweeping; rubbish; as, the sweepings of streets are often used as manure.Sweep'-nĕt, n. p. 1338A net for drawing over a large compass.Sweep'stāke, n. p. 1338One who wins all;—usually written sweepstakes. Shak.Sweep'stākes, n. sing. or pl. p. 1338The whole money or other things staked or won at a horse-race. 2. A sweepstake. See SWEEPSTAKE.Sweep'-wash'er, n. p. 1338The person who extracts the residuum of precious metals from the sweepings, potsherds, &c., of refineries of gold and silver, or places where these metals are manufactured or used. Ure.Sweep'y, a. p. 1338Passing with speed and violence over a great compass at once; sweeping. The branches bend before their sweepy sway. Dryden. 2. Wavy. “The sweepy crest.” Pope. 3. Strutting; expanded. “His sweepy…Sweet, a. p. 1338Having a certain agreeable taste or flavor, like or resembling that of honey or sugar; saccharine;—opposed to sour and bitter; as, a sweet beverage; sweet fruits; sweet oranges. 2. Pleasing to the…Sweet, n. p. 1338That which is sweet to the taste;—used chiefly in the plural; as, (a.) Confectionery, preserves, sugars, honey, and the like. (b.) Homemade wines, cordials, metheglin, and the like. 2. That which is…Sweet'-ăp'ple, n. p. 1338(Bot.) The Anona squamosa, or sweet-sop. See SWEET-sop. Lee.Sweet'-bāy, n. p. 1338(Bot.) (a.) A plant of the genus Laurus (L. nobilis), a species of laurel. See LAUREL. (b.) A small North American tree of the genus Magnolia; swamp-sassafras.Sweet'-bread, n. p. 1338The pancreas of an animal, used for food.Sweet'-bri'er, n. p. 1338(Bot.) A shrubby plant of the genus Rosa, cultivated for its fragrant smell.Sweet'-broom, n. p. 1338A certain plant. Ainsworth.