SENSELESS a.
n, or contrary to, sense; without sensibility or feeling; unconscious; stupid; foolish; unwise; unreasonable. You blocks, you stones, you worse than senseless things. Shak. The ears are senseless that should give us hearing. Shak. The senseless grave feels not your pious sorrows. Rowe. They were a senseless, stupid rac…
SENSIBLE a.
ning sense or reason; giftedwith, or characterized by, good or common sense; intelligent; wise. Now a sensible man, by and by a fool. Shak. Sensible note or tone (Mus.), the major seventh note of any scale; -- so called because, being but a half step below the octave, or key tone, and naturally leading up to that, it m…
SERPENT n.
sh (Cepola rubescens) with a long, thin, compressed body, and a band of red running lengthwise. -- Serpent star (Zoöl.), an ophiuran; a brittle star. -- Serpent's tongue (Paleon.), the fossil tooth of a shark; -- so called from its resemblance to a tongue with its root. -- Serpent withe (Bot.), a West Indian climbin…
SEXUAL a.
with the other sex, on account of greater activity, strength, courage, etc.; applied likewise to that kind of evolution which results from such sexual preferences. Darwin. In these cases, therefore, natural selection seems to have acted independently of sexual selection. A. R. Wallace.
SIDE a.
rms, a mechanism for operating the breech block, which is moved by a lever that turns sidewise. -- Side arms, weapons worn at the side, as sword, bayonet, pistols, etc. -- Side ax, an ax of which the handle is bent to one side. -- Side-bar rule (Eng. Law.), a rule authorized by the courts to be granted by their offi…
SINGLE a.
Simple; not wise; weak; silly. [Obs.] He utters such single matter in so infantly a voice. Beau & Fl. Single ale, beer, or drink, small ale, etc., as contrasted with double ale, etc., which is stronger. [Obs.] Nares. -- Single bill (Law), a written engagement, generally under seal, for the payment of money, without a…