Part 135

Pope.

Scream, n. A sharp, shrill cry, uttered suddenly, as in terror or in pain; a shriek; a screech. "Screams of horror." Pope.

Scream"er (?), n. (Zoöl.) Any one of three species of South American birds constituting the family Anhimidæ, and the suborder Palamedeæ. They have two spines on each wing, and the head is either crested or horned. They are easily tamed, and then serve as guardians for other poultry. The crested screamers, or chajas, belong to the genus Chauna. The horned screamer, or kamichi, is Palamedea cornuta.

Scream"ing, a. 1. Uttering screams; shrieking.

2. Having the nature of a scream; like a scream; shrill; sharp.

The fearful matrons raise a screaming cry.

Dryden.

Scree (skr), n. A pebble; a stone; also, a heap of stones or rocky débris. [Prov. Eng.] Southey.

Screech (skrch), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Screeched (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Screeching.] [Also formerly, scritch, OE. skriken, skrichen, schriken, of Scand. origin; cf. Icel. skrækja to shriek, to screech, skrkja to titter, Sw. skrika to shriek, Dan. skrige; also Gael. sgreach, sgreuch, W. ysgrechio, Skr. kharj to creak. Cf. Shriek, v., Scream, v.] To utter a harsh, shrill cry; to make a sharp outcry, as in terror or acute pain; to scream; to shriek. "The screech owl, screeching loud." Shak.

Screech, n. A harsh, shrill cry, as of one in acute pain or in fright; a shriek; a scream.

Screech bird, or Screech thrush (Zoöl.), the fieldfare; -- so called from its harsh cry before rain. -- Screech rain. -- Screech hawk (Zoöl.), the European goatsucker; -- so called from its note. [Prov. Eng.] -- Screech owl. (Zoöl.) (a) A small American owl (Scops asio), either gray or reddish in color. (b) The European barn owl. The name is applied also to other species.

Screech"ers (?), n. pl. (Zoöl.) The picarian birds, as distinguished from the singing birds.

Screech"y (?), a. Like a screech; shrill and harsh.

Screed (skrd), n. [Prov. E., a shred, the border of a cap. See Shred.] 1. (Arch.) (a) A strip of plaster of the thickness proposed for the coat, applied to the wall at intervals of four or five feet, as a guide. (b) A wooden straightedge used to lay across the plaster screed, as a limit for the thickness of the coat.

2. A fragment; a portion; a shred. [Scot.]

Screed, n. [See 1st Screed. For sense 2 cf. also Gael. sgread an outcry.] 1. A breach or rent; a breaking forth into a loud, shrill sound; as, martial screeds.

2. An harangue; a long tirade on any subject.

The old carl gae them a screed of doctrine; ye might have heard him a mile down the wind.

Sir W. Scott.

Screen (skrn), n. [OE. scren, OF. escrein, escran, F. écran, of uncertain origin; cf. G. schirm a screen, OHG. scirm, scerm a protection, shield, or G. schragen a trestle, a stack of wood, or G. schranne a railing.] 1. Anything that separates or cuts off inconvenience, injury, or danger; that which shelters or conceals from view; a shield or protection; as, a fire screen.

Your leavy screens throw down.

Shak.

Some ambitious men seem as screens to princes in matters of danger and envy.

Bacon.

2. (Arch.) A dwarf wall or partition carried up to a certain height for separation and protection, as in a church, to separate the aisle from the choir, or the like.

3. A surface, as that afforded by a curtain, sheet, wall, etc., upon which an image, as a picture, is thrown by a magic lantern, solar microscope, etc.

4. A long, coarse riddle or sieve, sometimes a revolving perforated cylinder, used to separate the coarser from the finer parts, as of coal, sand, gravel, and the like.

Screen (skrn), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Screened (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Screening.] 1. To provide with a shelter or means of concealment; to separate or cut off from inconvenience, injury, or danger; to shelter; to protect; to protect by hiding; to conceal; as, fruits screened from cold winds by a forest or hill.