Part 53

Star sapphire, or Asteriated sapphire (Min.), a kind of sapphire which exhibits asterism.

Sap"phire, a. Of or resembling sapphire; sapphirine; blue. "The sapphire blaze." Gray.

Sap"phir*ine (?), n. Resembling sapphire; made of sapphire; having the color, or any quality of sapphire. "Sapphirine degree of hardness." Boyle.

Sap"pho (?), n. [See Sapphic.] (Zoöl.) Any one of several species of brilliant South American humming birds of the genus Sappho, having very bright- colored and deeply forked tails; -- called also firetail.

Sap"pi*ness (?), n. The quality of being sappy; juiciness.

Sap`po*dil"la (?), n. (Bot.) See Sapodilla.

Sap"py (?), a. [Compar. Sappier (?); superl. Sappiest.] [From 1st Sap.]

1. Abounding with sap; full of sap; juicy; succulent.

2. Hence, young, not firm; weak, feeble.

When he had passed this weak and sappy age.

Hayward.

3. Weak in intellect.

4. (Bot.) Abounding in sap; resembling, or consisting largely of, sapwood.

Sap"py (?), a. [Written also sapy.] [Cf. L. sapere to taste.] Musty; tainted. [Obs.]

Sa*proph"a*gan (?), n. [Gr. sapro`s rotten + fagei^n to eat: cf. F. saprophage.] (Zoöl.) One of a tribe of beetles which feed upon decaying animal and vegetable substances; a carrion beetle.

Sa*proph"a*gous (?), a. (Zoöl.) Feeding on carrion.

Sap"ro*phyte (?), n. [Gr. sapro`s rotten + fyto`n a plant.] (Bot.) Any plant growing on decayed animal or vegetable matter, as most fungi and some flowering plants with no green color, as the Indian pipe.

Sap`ro*phyt"ic (?), a. Feeding or growing upon decaying animal or vegetable matter; pertaining to a saprophyte or the saprophytes.

Sap"sa*go (?), n. [G. schabzieger; schaben to shave, to scrape + zieger a sort of whey.] A kind of Swiss cheese, of a greenish color, flavored with melilot.

Sap"skull` (?), n. A saphead.

Sap`u*ca"ia (?; Pg. &?;), n. [Pg. sapucaya.] (Bot.) A Brazilian tree. See Lecythis, and Monkey-pot. [Written also sapucaya.]

Sapucaia nut (Bot.), the seed of the sapucaia; -- called also paradise nut.

Sap"wood` (?), n. (Bot.) The alburnum, or part of the wood of any exogenous tree next to the bark, being that portion of the tree through which the sap flows most freely; -- distinguished from heartwood.

Sar"a*ba*ite (?), n. [LL. Sarabaïtae, pl.] (Eccl. Hist.) One of certain vagrant or heretical Oriental monks in the early church.

Sar"a*band (?), n. [F. sarabande, Sp. zarabanda, fr. Per. serbend a song.] A slow Spanish dance of Saracenic origin, to an air in triple time; also, the air itself.

She has brought us the newest saraband from the court of Queen Mab.

Sir W. Scott.

Sar"a*cen (?), n. [L. Saracenus perhaps fr. Ar. sharqi, pl. sharqin, Oriental, Eastern, fr. sharaqa to rise, said of the sun: cf. F. sarrasin. Cf. Sarcenet, Sarrasin, Sirocco.] Anciently, an Arab; later, a Mussulman; in the Middle Ages, the common term among Christians in Europe for a Mohammedan hostile to the crusaders.