| Words | Parts of Speech | Meaning/Definition/Similar Words |
|---|---|---|
| spaced | imp. & past participle | of Space |
| spaded | imp. & past participle | of Spade |
| spader | noun | One who, or that which, spades; specifically, a digging machine. |
| spadix | noun | A fleshy spike of flowers, usually inclosed in a leaf called a spathe., A special organ of the nautilus, due to a modification of the posterior tentacles. |
| spahee | noun | Formerly, one of the Turkish cavalry., An Algerian cavalryman in the French army. |
| spared | imp. & past participle | of Spare |
| sparer | noun | One who spares. |
| sparge | verb t. | To sprinkle; to moisten by sprinkling; as, to sparge paper. |
| sparry | adjective | Resembling spar, or consisting of spar; abounding with spar; having a confused crystalline structure; spathose. |
| sparse | superl. | Thinly scattered; set or planted here and there; not being dense or close together; as, a sparse population., Placed irregularly and distantly; scattered; — applied to branches, leaves, peduncles, and the like., To scatter; to disperse. |
| sparth | noun | An Anglo-Saxon battle-ax, or halberd. |
| sparve | noun | The hedge sparrow. |
| spatha | noun | A spathe. |
| spathe | noun | A special involucre formed of one leaf and inclosing a spadix, as in aroid plants and palms. See the Note under Bract, and Illust. of Spadix. |
| spauld | noun | The shoulder. |
| spavin | noun | A disease of horses characterized by a bony swelling developed on the hock as the result of inflammation of the bones; also, the swelling itself. The resulting lameness is due to the inflammation, and not the bony tumor as popularly supposed. |
| spayed | imp. & past participle | of Spay |
| spayad | noun | Alt. of Spayade |
| spoken | past participle | of Speak, Uttered in speech; delivered by word of mouth; oral; as, a spoken narrative; the spoken word., Characterized by a certain manner or style in speaking; — often in composition; as, a pleasant-spoken man. |
| speary | adjective | Having the form of a spear. |
| specht | noun | A woodpecker. |
| specie | abl. of L. species sort, kind. Used in the phrase in specie, that is, in sort, in kind, in (its own) form., Coin; hard money. | |
| speckt | noun | A woodpecker. See Speight. |
| speece | noun | Species; sort. |
| speech | noun | The faculty of uttering articulate sounds or words; the faculty of expressing thoughts by words or articulate sounds; the power of speaking., he act of speaking; that which is spoken; words, as expressing ideas; language; conversation., A particular language, as distinct from others; a tongue; a dialect., Talk; mention; common saying., formal discourse in public; oration; harangue., ny declaration of thoughts., To make a speech; to harangue. |
| speedy | superl. | Not dilatory or slow; quick; swift; nimble; hasty; rapid in motion or performance; as, a speedy flight; on speedy foot. |
| speiss | noun | A regulus consisting essentially of nickel, obtained as a residue in fusing cobalt and nickel ores with silica and sodium carbonate to make smalt. |
| spence | noun | A place where provisions are kept; a buttery; a larder; a pantry., The inner apartment of a country house; also, the place where the family sit and eat. |
| sperre | verb t. | To shut in; to support; to inclose; to fasten. |
| sperge | noun | A charge of wash for the still. |
| sperse | verb t. | To disperse. |
| spewed | imp. & past participle | of Spew |
| spewer | noun | One who spews. |
| sphene | noun | A mineral found usually in thin, wedge-shaped crystals of a yellow or green to black color. It is a silicate of titanium and calcium; titanite. |
| sphere | noun | A body or space contained under a single surface, which in every part is equally distant from a point within called its center., Hence, any globe or globular body, especially a celestial one, as the sun, a planet, or the earth., The apparent surface of the heavens, which is assumed to be spherical and everywhere equally distant, in which the heavenly bodies appear to have their places, and on which the various astronomical circles, as of right ascension and declination, the equator, ecliptic, etc., are conceived to be drawn; an ideal geometrical sphere, with the astronomical and geographical circles in their proper positions on it., In ancient astronomy, one of the concentric and eccentric revolving spherical transparent shells in which the stars, sun, planets, and moon were supposed to be set, and by which they were carried, in such a manner as to produce their apparent motions., The extension of a general conception, or the totality of the individuals or species to which it may be applied., Circuit or range of action, knowledge, or influence; compass; province; employment; place of existence., Rank; order of society; social positions., An orbit, as of a star; a socket., To place in a sphere, or among the spheres; to insphere., To form into roundness; to make spherical, or spheral; to perfect. |
| sphery | adjective | Round; spherical; starlike., Of or pertaining to the spheres. |
| sphinx | noun | In Egyptian art, an image of granite or porphyry, having a human head, or the head of a ram or of a hawk, upon the wingless body of a lion., On Greek art and mythology, a she-monster, usually represented as having the winged body of a lion, and the face and breast of a young woman., Hence: A person of enigmatical character and purposes, especially in politics and diplomacy., Any one of numerous species of large moths of the family Sphingidae; — called also hawk moth., The Guinea, or sphinx, baboon (Cynocephalus sphinx). |
| spicae | plural | of Spica |
| spiced | imp. & past participle | of Spice |
| spicer | noun | One who seasons with spice., One who deals in spice. |
| spider | noun | Any one of numerous species of arachnids comprising the order Araneina. Spiders have the mandibles converted into poison fangs, or falcers. The abdomen is large and not segmented, with two or three pairs of spinnerets near the end, by means of which they spin threads of silk to form cocoons, or nests, to protect their eggs and young. Many species spin also complex webs to entrap the insects upon which they prey. The eyes are usually eight in number (rarely six), and are situated on the back of the cephalothorax. See Illust. under Araneina., Any one of various other arachnids resembling the true spiders, especially certain mites, as the red spider (see under Red)., An iron pan with a long handle, used as a kitchen utensil in frying food. Originally, it had long legs, and was used over coals on the hearth., A trevet to support pans or pots over a fire., A skeleton, or frame, having radiating arms or members, often connected by crosspieces; as, a casting forming the hub and spokes to which the rim of a fly wheel or large gear is bolted; the body of a piston head; a frame for strengthening a core or mold for a casting, etc. |
| spight | noun & verb | Spite., A woodpecker. See Speight. |
| spigot | noun | A pin or peg used to stop the vent in a cask; also, the plug of a faucet or cock. |
| spiked | imp. & past participle | of Spike, Furnished or set with spikes, as corn; fastened with spikes; stopped with spikes. |
| spilth | noun | Anything spilt, or freely poured out; slop; effusion. |
| spinal | adjective | Of, pertaining to, or in the region of, the backbone, or vertebral column; rachidian; vertebral., Of or pertaining to a spine or spines. |
| spined | adjective | Furnished with spines; spiny. |
| spinel | noun | Alt. of Spinelle, Bleached yarn in making the linen tape called inkle; unwrought inkle. |
| spinet | noun | A keyed instrument of music resembling a harpsichord, but smaller, with one string of brass or steel wire to each note, sounded by means of leather or quill plectrums or jacks. It was formerly much used., A spinny. |
| spinny | noun | A small thicket or grove with undergrowth; a clump of trees., Thin and long; slim; slender. |
| spiral | adjective | Winding or circling round a center or pole and gradually receding from it; as, the spiral curve of a watch spring., Winding round a cylinder or imaginary axis, and at the same time rising or advancing forward; winding like the thread of a screw; helical., Of or pertaining to a spiral; like a spiral., A plane curve, not reentrant, described by a point, called the generatrix, moving along a straight line according to a mathematical law, while the line is revolving about a fixed point called the pole. Cf. Helix., Anything which has a spiral form, as a spiral shell. |
| spired | imp. & past participle | of Spire, Having a spire; being in the form of a spire; as, a spired steeple. |
| spirit | noun | Air set in motion by breathing; breath; hence, sometimes, life itself., A rough breathing; an aspirate, as the letter h; also, a mark to denote aspiration; a breathing., Life, or living substance, considered independently of corporeal existence; an intelligence conceived of apart from any physical organization or embodiment; vital essence, force, or energy, as distinct from matter., The intelligent, immaterial and immortal part of man; the soul, in distinction from the body in which it resides; the agent or subject of vital and spiritual functions, whether spiritual or material., Specifically, a disembodied soul; the human soul after it has left the body., Any supernatural being, good or bad; an apparition; a specter; a ghost; also, sometimes, a sprite,; a fairy; an elf., Energy, vivacity, ardor, enthusiasm, courage, etc., One who is vivacious or lively; one who evinces great activity or peculiar characteristics of mind or temper; as, a ruling spirit; a schismatic spirit., Temper or disposition of mind; mental condition or disposition; intellectual or moral state; — often in the plural; as, to be cheerful, or in good spirits; to be downhearted, or in bad spirits., Intent; real meaning; — opposed to the letter, or to formal statement; also, characteristic quality, especially such as is derived from the individual genius or the personal character; as, the spirit of an enterprise, of a document, or the like., Tenuous, volatile, airy, or vapory substance, possessed of active qualities., Any liquid produced by distillation; especially, alcohol, the spirits, or spirit, of wine (it having been first distilled from wine): — often in the plural., Rum, whisky, brandy, gin, and other distilled liquors having much alcohol, in distinction from wine and malt liquors., A solution in alcohol of a volatile principle. Cf. Tincture., Any one of the four substances, sulphur, sal ammoniac, quicksilver, or arsenic (or, according to some, orpiment)., Stannic chloride. See under Stannic., To animate with vigor; to excite; to encourage; to inspirit; as, civil dissensions often spirit the ambition of private men; — sometimes followed by up., To convey rapidly and secretly, or mysteriously, as if by the agency of a spirit; to kidnap; — often with away, or off. |
| spital | noun | A hospital. |
| spited | imp. & past participle | of Spite |
| splash | verb t. | To strike and dash about, as water, mud, etc.; to plash., To spatter water, mud, etc., upon; to wet., To strike and dash about water, mud, etc.; to dash in such a way as to spatter., Water, or water and dirt, thrown upon anything, or thrown from a puddle or the like; also, a spot or daub, as of matter which wets or disfigures., A noise made by striking upon or in a liquid. |
| spleen | noun | A peculiar glandlike but ductless organ found near the stomach or intestine of most vertebrates and connected with the vascular system; the milt. Its exact function in not known., Anger; latent spite; ill humor; malice; as, to vent one’s spleen., A fit of anger; choler., A sudden motion or action; a fit; a freak; a whim., Melancholy; hypochondriacal affections., A fit of immoderate laughter or merriment., To dislke. |
| splent | noun | See Splent., See Splent coal, below. |
| splice | verb t. | To unite, as two ropes, or parts of a rope, by a particular manner of interweaving the strands, — the union being between two ends, or between an end and the body of a rope., To unite, as spars, timbers, rails, etc., by lapping the two ends together, or by applying a piece which laps upon the two ends, and then binding, or in any way making fast., To unite in marrige., A junction or joining made by splicing. |
| spline | noun | A rectangular piece fitting grooves like key seats in a hub and a shaft, so that while the one may slide endwise on the other, both must revolve together; a feather; also, sometimes, a groove to receive such a rectangular piece., A long, flexble piece of wood sometimes used as a ruler. |
| splint | verb t. | A piece split off; a splinter., A thin piece of wood, or other substance, used to keep in place, or protect, an injured part, especially a broken bone when set., A splint bone., A disease affecting the splint bones, as a callosity or hard excrescence., One of the small plates of metal used in making splint armor. See Splint armor, below., Splint, or splent, coal. See Splent coal, under Splent., To split into splints, or thin, slender pieces; to splinter; to shiver., To fasten or confine with splints, as a broken limb. See Splint, n., 2. |
| spoilt | of Spoil | |
| spoked | imp. & past participle | of Spoke |
| sponge | noun | Any one of numerous species of Spongiae, or Porifera. See Illust. and Note under Spongiae., The elastic fibrous skeleton of many species of horny Spongiae (keratosa), used for many purposes, especially the varieties of the genus Spongia. The most valuable sponges are found in the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, and on the coasts of Florida and the West Indies., One who lives upon others; a pertinaceous and indolent dependent; a parasite; a sponger., Any spongelike substance., Dough before it is kneaded and formed into loaves, and after it is converted into a light, spongy mass by the agency of the yeast or leaven., Iron from the puddling furnace, in a pasty condition., Iron ore, in masses, reduced but not melted or worked., A mop for cleaning the bore of a cannon after a discharge. It consists of a cylinder of wood, covered with sheepskin with the wool on, or cloth with a heavy looped nap, and having a handle, or staff., The extremity, or point, of a horseshoe, answering to the heel., To cleanse or wipe with a sponge; as, to sponge a slate or a cannon; to wet with a sponge; as, to sponge cloth., To wipe out with a sponge, as letters or writing; to efface; to destroy all trace of., Fig.: To deprive of something by imposition., Fig.: To get by imposition or mean arts without cost; as, to sponge a breakfast., To suck in, or imbile, as a sponge., Fig.: To gain by mean arts, by intrusion, or hanging on; as, an idler sponges on his neighbor., To be converted, as dough, into a light, spongy mass by the agency of yeast, or leaven. |
| spongy | adjective | Soft, and full of cavities; of an open, loose, pliable texture; as, a spongy excrescence; spongy earth; spongy cake; spongy bones., Wet; drenched; soaked and soft, like sponge; rainy., Having the quality of imbibing fluids, like a sponge. |
| spoony | adjective & noun | Same as Spooney. |
| sporid | noun | A sporidium. |
| spotty | adjective | Full of spots; marked with spots. |
| spouse | noun | A man or woman engaged or joined in wedlock; a married person, husband or wife., A married man, in distinct from a spousess or married woman; a bridegroom or husband., To wed; to espouse. |
| sprack | adjective | Quick; lively; alert. |
| sprain | verb t. | To weaken, as a joint, ligament, or muscle, by sudden and excessive exertion, as by wrenching; to overstrain, or stretch injuriously, but without luxation; as, to sprain one’s ankle., The act or result of spraining; lameness caused by spraining; as, a bad sprain of the wrist. |
| sprang | imp. of Spring., of Spring | |
| sprawl | verb i. | To spread and stretch the body or limbs carelessly in a horizontal position; to lie with the limbs stretched out ungracefully., To spread irregularly, as vines, plants, or tress; to spread ungracefully, as chirography., To move, when lying down, with awkward extension and motions of the limbs; to scramble in creeping. |
| spread | imp. & past participle | of Spread, To extend in length and breadth, or in breadth only; to stretch or expand to a broad or broader surface or extent; to open; to unfurl; as, to spread a carpet; to spread a tent or a sail., To extend so as to cover something; to extend to a great or grater extent in every direction; to cause to fill or cover a wide or wider space., To divulge; to publish, as news or fame; to cause to be more extensively known; to disseminate; to make known fully; as, to spread a report; — often acompanied by abroad., To propagate; to cause to affect great numbers; as, to spread a disease., To diffuse, as emanations or effluvia; to emit; as, odoriferous plants spread their fragrance., To strew; to scatter over a surface; as, to spread manure; to spread lime on the ground., To prepare; to set and furnish with provisions; as, to spread a table., To extend in length and breadth in all directions, or in breadth only; to be extended or stretched; to expand., To be extended by drawing or beating; as, some metals spread with difficulty., To be made known more extensively, as news., To be propagated from one to another; as, the disease spread into all parts of the city., Extent; compass., Expansion of parts., A cloth used as a cover for a table or a bed., A table, as spread or furnished with a meal; hence, an entertainment of food; a feast., A privilege which one person buys of another, of demanding certain shares of stock at a certain price, or of delivering the same shares of stock at another price, within a time agreed upon., An unlimited expanse of discontinuous points., imp. & p. p. of Spread, v. |
| sprent | p. p. of Sprenge. Sprinkled. | |
| sprung | of Spring, of Spring, imp. & p. p. of Spring., Said of a spar that has been cracked or strained. | |
| spring | verb i. | To leap; to bound; to jump., To issue with speed and violence; to move with activity; to dart; to shoot., To start or rise suddenly, as from a covert., To fly back; as, a bow, when bent, springs back by its elastic power., To bend from a straight direction or plane surface; to become warped; as, a piece of timber, or a plank, sometimes springs in seasoning., To shoot up, out, or forth; to come to the light; to begin to appear; to emerge; as a plant from its seed, as streams from their source, and the like; -often followed by up, forth, or out., To issue or proceed, as from a parent or ancestor; to result, as from a cause, motive, reason, or principle., To grow; to prosper., To cause to spring up; to start or rouse, as game; to cause to rise from the earth, or from a covert; as, to spring a pheasant., To produce or disclose suddenly or unexpectedly., To cause to explode; as, to spring a mine., To crack or split; to bend or strain so as to weaken; as, to spring a mast or a yard., To cause to close suddenly, as the parts of a trap operated by a spring; as, to spring a trap., To bend by force, as something stiff or strong; to force or put by bending, as a beam into its sockets, and allowing it to straighten when in place; — often with in, out, etc.; as, to spring in a slat or a bar., To pass over by leaping; as, to spring a fence., A leap; a bound; a jump., A flying back; the resilience of a body recovering its former state by elasticity; as, the spring of a bow., Elastic power or force., An elastic body of any kind, as steel, India rubber, tough wood, or compressed air, used for various mechanical purposes, as receiving and imparting power, diminishing concussion, regulating motion, measuring weight or other force., Any source of supply; especially, the source from which a stream proceeds; as issue of water from the earth; a natural fountain., Any active power; that by which action, or motion, is produced or propagated; cause; origin; motive., That which springs, or is originated, from a source;, A race; lineage., A youth; a springal., A shoot; a plant; a young tree; also, a grove of trees; woodland., That which causes one to spring; specifically, a lively tune., The season of the year when plants begin to vegetate and grow; the vernal season, usually comprehending the months of March, April, and May, in the middle latitudes north of the equator., The time of growth and progress; early portion; first stage., A crack or fissure in a mast or yard, running obliquely or transversely., A line led from a vessel’s quarter to her cable so that by tightening or slacking it she can be made to lie in any desired position; a line led diagonally from the bow or stern of a vessel to some point upon the wharf to which she is moored. |
| sprint | verb i. | To run very rapidly; to run at full speed., The act of sprinting; a run of a short distance at full speed. |
| sprite | noun | A spirit; a soul; a shade; also, an apparition. See Spright., An elf; a fairy; a goblin., The green woodpecker, or yaffle. |
| sprong | imp. of Spring. Sprung. | |
| sprout | verb t. | To shoot, as the seed of a plant; to germinate; to push out new shoots; hence, to grow like shoots of plants., To shoot into ramifications., To cause to sprout; as, the rain will sprout the seed., To deprive of sprouts; as, to sprout potatoes., The shoot of a plant; a shoot from the seed, from the stump, or from the root or tuber, of a plant or tree; more rarely, a shoot from the stem of a plant, or the end of a branch., Young coleworts; Brussels sprouts. |
| spruce | adjective | Any coniferous tree of the genus Picea, as the Norway spruce (P. excelsa), and the white and black spruces of America (P. alba and P. nigra), besides several others in the far Northwest. See Picea., The wood or timber of the spruce tree., Prussia leather; pruce., Neat, without elegance or dignity; — formerly applied to things with a serious meaning; now chiefly applied to persons., Sprightly; dashing., To dress with affected neatness; to trim; to make spruce., To dress one’s self with affected neatness; as, to spruce up. |
| sprunt | verb i. | To spring up; to germinate; to spring forward or outward., Anything short and stiff., A leap; a spring., A steep ascent in a road., Active; lively; vigorous. |
| spumed | imp. & past participle | of Spume |
| spumid | adjective | Spumous; frothy. |
| spunge | noun | A sponge. |
| spunky | superl. | Full of spunk; quick; spirited. |
| spurge | verb t. | To emit foam; to froth; — said of the emission of yeast from beer in course of fermentation., Any plant of the genus Euphorbia. See Euphorbia. |
| spurry | noun | An annual herb (Spergula arvensis) with whorled filiform leaves, sometimes grown in Europe for fodder. |
| sputum | noun | That which is expectorated; a salival discharge; spittle; saliva. |
| spying | present participle & vb. noun | of Spy |
| spyism | noun | Act or business of spying. |