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Webster’s Dictionary (1828)



488 words match “POLY”

SAP n.
A simpleton; a saphead; a milksop. [Slang] Sap ball (Bot.), any large fungus of the genus Polyporus. See Polyporus. -- Sap green, a dull light green pigment prepared from the juice of the ripe berries of the Rhamnus catharticus, or buckthorn. It is used especially by water-color artists. -- Sap rot, the dry rot. See…
SAPONIN n.
ution, and produces a local anæstesia. Formerly called also struthiin, quilaiin, senegin, polygalic acid, etc. By extension, any one of a group of related bodies of which saponin proper is the type.
SATURNIAN n.
s species of large handsome moths belonging to Saturnia and allied genera. The Luna moth, polyphemus, and promethea, are examples. They belong to the Silkworn family, and some are raised for their silk. See Polyphemus.
SAXIFRAGA n.
A genus of exogenous polypetalous plants, embracing about one hundred and eighty species. See Saxifrage.
SCALEBACK n.
Any one of numerous species of marine annelids of the family Polynoidæ, and allies, which have two rows of scales, or elytra, along the back. See Illust. under Chætopoda.
SCORE n.
four score hogsheads. Shak. At length the queen took upon herself to grant patents of monopoly by score. Macaulay.
SCRATCH n.
h cradle. See Cratch cradle, under Cratch. -- Scratch grass (Bot.), a climbing knotweed (Polygonum sagittatum) with a square stem beset with fine recurved prickles along the angles. -- Scratch wig. Same as Scratch, 4, above. Thackeray.
SCREW n.
andanus, of which there are about fifty species, natives of tropical lands from Africa to Polynesia; -- named from the spiral arrangement of the pineapple-like leaves. -- Screw plate, a device for cutting threads on small screws, consisting of a thin steel plate having a series of perforations with internal screws for…
SENECAS n.
neca root, or Seneca snakeroot (Bot.), the rootstock of an American species of milkworth (Polygala Senega) having an aromatic but bitter taste. It is often used medicinally as an expectorant and diuretic, and, in large doses, as an emetic and cathartic. [Written also Senega root, and Seneka root.]
SENEGIN n.
A substance extracted from the rootstock of the Polygala Senega (Seneca root), and probably identical with polygalic acid.
SHEATHING p.
losing with a sheath; as, the sheathing leaves of grasses; the sheathing stipules of many polygonaceous plants.
SMARTWEED n.
An acrid plant of the genus Polygonum (P. Hydropiper), which produces smarting if applied where the skin is tender.
SNAKEWEED n.
A kind of knotweed (Polygonum Bistorta).
SOLDIER n.
One of the asexual polymorphic forms of white ants, or termites, in which the head and jaws are very large and strong. The soldiers serve to defend the nest. See Termite. Soldier beetle (Zoöl.), an American carabid beetle (Chauliognathus Americanus) whose larva feeds upon other insects, such as the plum curculio. -- S…
SOLOMON n.
an. -- Sol`o*mon"ic, a. Solomon's seal (Bot.), a perennial liliaceous plant of the genus Polygonatum, having simple erect or curving stems rising from thick and knotted rootstocks, and with white or greenish nodding flowers. The commonest European species is Polygonatum multiflorum. P. biflorum and P. giganteum are co…
SPHERICAL; SPHERIC a.
solid angle of the surface of any sphere whose center is the angular point. -- Spherical polygon,portion of the surface of a sphere bounded by the arcs of three or more great circles. -- Spherical projection, the projection of the circles of the sphere upon a plane. See Projection. -- Spherical sector. See under Sec…
STERCULIACEOUS a.
Of or pertaining to a natural order (Sterculiaceæ) of polypetalous exogenous plants, mostly tropical. The cacao (Theobroma Cacao) is the most useful plant of the order.
SWINE n.
young, pig. See Hog. "A great herd of swine." Mark v. 11. Swine grass (Bot.), knotgrass (Polygonum aviculare); -- so called because eaten by swine. -- Swine oat (Bot.), a kind of oat sometimes grown for swine. -- Swine's cress (Bot.), a species of cress of the genus Senebiera (S. Coronopus). -- Swine's head, a dolt…
TABOO n.
ath, -- an interdict of religious origin and authority, formerly common in the islands of Polynesia; interdiction. [Written also tabu.]
TANTALIC a.
; specifically, designating any one of a series of acids analogous to nitric acid and the polyacid compounds of phosphorus.
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