| A | B |
|---|
| sackbut | n. Music. 1. A medieval instrument resembling the trombone. 2. An ancient triangular stringed instrument. |
| sacristan | n. 1. One who is in charge of a sacristy. 2. A sexton. |
| Saint Johnswort | n. Any of various herbs or shrubs of the genus Hypericum, having yellow flowers with five petals and numerous stamens that are united at the base into three to five fascicles. No origin given. |
| Saracen | n. 1. A member of a pre-Islamic nomadic people of the Syrian-Arabian deserts. 2. An Arab. 3. A Moslem, especially of the time of the Crusades. |
| sarcoma | n. pl. A malignant tumor arising from connective tissues. |
| scarifier | 1. To make shallow cuts in the skin, as when vaccinating. 2. To break up the surface of topsoil. 3. To distress deeply, as with severe criticism; lacerate. 4. Botany. To slit or soften the outer coat of seeds in order to speed germination. |
| schussing | Sports. intr. v. 1. To make a fast straight downhill run in skiing. |
| scirrhus | n. pl. A hard, dense cancerous growth usually arising from connective tissue. |
| scissile | adj. Cut or split easily. |
| scrooch | intr. v. To hunch down; crouch. |
| sedile | n. pl. One set of seats, usually three, provided in some Roman Catholic and Anglican churches for the use of the presiding clergy, traditionally placed on the epistle side of the choir near the altar, and in Gothic-style churches often built into the wall. |
| seguidilla (seg-uh-DEE-yuh) | n. 1. A Spanish stanza form of four to seven short verses. 2.a. A lively Spanish dance. b. The music for this dance in 3/4 time. |
| senary | adj 1. Of or relating to the number six. 2. Having six things or parts. |
| sepoy | n. A regular soldier in some Middle Eastern countries, especially an Indian soldier formerly serving under British command. |
| sepulture | n. 1. The act of interment; burial. 2. A sepulcher |
| serac | n. A large pointed mass of ice in a glavier isolated by intersecting crevasses. |
| shanghaiing (shang-HII-ing) | tr. v. 1. To kidnap for compulsory service aboard a ship, especially after drugging him. 2. To induce or compel to do something, especially by fraud or force. |
| sidereal day | n The time required for a complete rotation of the earth in reference to any star or to the vernal equinox at the meridian, equal to 23 hours, 56 minutes, 4.09 seconds in units of mean solar time. No origin given. |
| silesia (S) (sii-LEE-zhuh) | n. A sturdy twilled cotton fabric used for linings and pockets. |
| Silesia | A region of central Europe primarily in southwest Poland and northern Czechoslovakia. Settled by Slavic peoples c. A.D. 500, the region was long contested by various states an dprincipalities. After WW1 Silesia was partitioned among Germany, Poland, and Czechoslovakia. Much of the Czechoslovakian section passed to Germany and Poland after the signing of the Munich Pact in 1938. etc |
| sinistral | adj. 1. Of or facing the left side. 2. Left-handed. 3. Zoology. Relating to or being a gastropod shell that has its aperture to the left when facing the observer with the apex upward. adv. No origin given. |
| slickenside | n. A polished, striated rock surface caused by one rock mass sliding over another in a fault plane. |
| sodality | n. pl. 1. A society or an association, especially a devotional or charitable society for the laity in the Roman Catholic Churgh. 2. Fellowship. syns: d2 club, brotherhood, fraternity |
| sostenuto | Music. adv. adj. 1. Beyond or being sustained beyond a note's full value. Used chiefly as a direction. n. pl. A sostenuto passage or movement. |
| spatchcock | n. 1. A dressed and split chicken for roasting or broiling on a spit. 1. To prepare for grilling by splitting open. 2. To introduce or interpose, especially in a labored or unsuitable manner. |
| sphagnum (S) | n. Any of various pale or ashy mosses of the genus Sphagnum, the decomposed remains of which form peat. |
| stertorous adj of stertor | n. A heavy snoring sound in respiration. |
| strongylosis | n. Infestation with strongyles. No origin given. |
| styliform | adj. Having the shape of a style; slender and pointed. No origin given |
| sultanate | n. 1. The office, power, or reign of a sultan. 2. A country ruled by a sultan. No origin given. |
| sumptuary | adj. 1. Regulating or limiting personal expenditures. 2.a. Regulating commercial or real-estate activities. b. Regulating personal behavior on moral or religious grounds. |
| superable | adj. Possible to overcome; surmountable. syns: conquerable, beatable, vincible ant-insurmountable, insuperable |
| supersedure | n. 1. The act or process of superseding. 2. Replacement of a queen bee that has grown old or weak by one that is younger or more vigorous. No origin given. |
| supinator | n. A muscle, especially in the forearn, that effects or assists supination. No origin given. |
| surculose | adj. Botany. Producing suckers. |
| susurrus | n. A soft, whispering or rustling sound, a murmur. |
| symbiont | n. An organism in a symbiotic relationship. Also called symbiote. |
