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a return to the same position in respect to the stars; as, the sidereal revolution of a planet; a sidereal day. Sidereal clock, day, month, year. See under Clock, Day, etc. -- Sideral time, time as reckoned by sideral days, or, taking the sidereal day as the unit, the time elapsed since a transit of the vernal equino…

es proportional. -- Similar solids, such as are contained by the same number of similar planes, similarly situated, and having like inclination to one another.

Having one surface; -- said specif. of aëroplanes or aërocurves that are covered with fabric, etc., on only one side.

r sinister. (Her.) See under Bar, n. -- Sinister aspect (Astrol.), an appearance of two planets happening according to the succession of the signs, as Saturn in Aries, and Mars in the same degree of Gemini. -- Sinister base, Sinister chief. See under Escutcheon.

Bridge, n. -- Skew curve (Geom.), a curve of double curvature, or a twisted curve. See Plane curve, under Curve. -- Skew gearing, or Skew bevel gearing (Mach.), toothed gearing, generally resembling bevel gearing, for connecting two shafts that are neither parallel nor intersecting, and in which the teeth slant acro…

One of a pair of timbers or bars, usually arranged so as to form an inclined plane, as form a wagon to a door, along which anything is moved by sliding or rolling.

A thin piece of anything, especially of marble or other stone, having plane surfaces. Gwilt.

A slanting direction or plane; a slope; as, it lies on a slant.

leaves or plates, like those of slate; -- applied especially to those cases in which the planes of cleavage are not parallel to the planes of stratification. It is now believed to be caused by the compression which the strata have undergone. -- Slaty gneiss (Min.), a variety of gneiss in which the scales of mica or cr…

An inclined plane on which heavy bodies slide by the force of gravity, esp. one constructed on a mountain side for conveying logs by sliding them down.

An inclined plane on which a vessel is built, or upon which it is hauled for repair.

Any ground whose surface forms an angle with the plane of the horizon. buildings the summit and slope of a hill. Macaulay. Under the slopes of Pisgah. Deut. iv. 49. (Rev. Ver.).

Inclining or inclined from the plane of the horizon, or from a horizontal or other right line; oblique; declivous; slanting. -- Slop"ing*ly, adv. The sloping land recedes into the clouds. Cowper.

To make smooth; to make even on the surface by any means; as, to smooth a board with a plane; to smooth cloth with an iron. Specifically: --

rument with a polished face, for smoothing clothes; a sadiron; a flatiron. -- Smoothing plane, a short, finely set plane, for smoothing and finishing work.

A plane for cutting deep grooves in moldings.

l bodies which, held by its attraction, revolve round it. The system comprises the major planets, with their satellites; the minor planets, or asteroids, and the comets; also, the meteorids, the matter that furnishes the zodiacal light, and the rings of Saturn. The satellites that revolve about the major planets are tw…

The purslane tree of South Africa, -- said to be the favorite food of elephants. Balfour (Cyc. of India).

Hence, any globe or globular body, especially a celestial one, as the sun, a planet, or the earth. Of celestial bodies, first the sun, A mighty sphere, he framed. Milton.

at circles. -- Spherical projection, the projection of the circles of the sphere upon a plane. See Projection. -- Spherical sector. See under Sector. -- Spherical segment, the segment of a sphere. See under Segment. -- Spherical triangle,re on the surface of a sphere, bounded by the arcs of three great circles whic…