Search the Dictionary

cial officer who prepares warrants, writs, etc.; originally, a clerk in the office of the secretary of state.

Secrecy; as, these things were transacted in silence. The administration itself keeps a profound silence. D. Webster.

A genus of caryophyllaceous plants, usually covered with a viscid secretion by which insects are caught; catchfly. Bon Silène. See Silène, in the Vocabulary.

One appointed to keep silence and order in court; also, one sworn not to divulge secre

.), a breed of domestic fowls having silky plumage. -- Silk gland (Zoöl.), a gland which secretes the material of silk, as in spider or a silkworm; a sericterium. -- Silk gown, the distinctive robe of a barrister who has been appointed king's or queen's counsel; hence, the counsel himself. Such a one has precedence o…

fected; unconstrained; natural; inartificial;; straightforward. In simple manners all the secret lies. Young.

in of the Christian religion, or of the being, perfections, or truth of God. Let no . . . secret skepticism lead any one to doubt whether this blessed prospect will be realized. S. Miller.

e carnivores of the genus Mephitis and allied genera. They have two glands near the anus, secreting an extremely fetid liquid, which the animal ejects at pleasure as a means of defense.

To cause to move smoothly and quickly; to slide; to convey gently or secretly. He tried to slip a powder into her drink. Arbuthnot.

Artfully cunning; secretly mischievous; wily. For my sly wiles and subtle craftiness, The litle of the kingdom I possess. Spenser.

The matter secreted by any of the sebaceous glands. Specifically:

To import or export secretly, contrary to the law; to import or export without paying the duties imposed by law; as, to smuggle lace.

Mucus secreted in, or discharged from, the nose. [Low]

To convey rapidly and secretly, or mysteriously, as if by the agency of a spirit; to kidnap; -- often with away, or off. The ministry had him spirited away, and carried abroad as a dangerous person. Arbuthnot & Pope. I felt as if I had been spirited into some castle of antiquity. Willis. Spiriting away (Law), causing t…

The secretion formed by the glands of the mouth; spitle; saliva; sputum.

The thick, moist matter which is secreted by the salivary glands; saliva; spit. Spittle insect. (Zoöl.) See Cuckoo spit (b), under Cuckoo.

To divulge a secret; to betray confidence; to peach. [Slang] Thackeray. To split on a rock, to err fatally; to have the hopes and designs frustrated.

One of the cells which, in sponges, secrete the spongin, or the material of the horny fibers.

ater from the earth; a natural fountain. "All my springs are in thee." Ps. lxxxvii. 7. "A secret spring of spiritual joy." Bentley. "The sacred spring whence and honor streams." red rose of the House of Lancaster. Sir J. Davies.

To explore; to view; inspect; and examine secretly, as a country; -- usually with out. Moses sent to spy Jaazer, and they took the villages thereof. Num. xxi. 32.