Part 693

Sprit"sail (? or ?), n. (Naut.) (a) A sail extended by a sprit. (b) A sail formerly hung under the bowsprit, from the spritsail yard.

Sprock"et wheel` (?). [Etymology of sprocket is uncertain.] (Mach.) Same as Chain wheel.

Sprod (?), n. [Cf. Gael. & Ir. bradan a salmon.] (Zoöl.) A salmon in its second year. [Prov. Eng.]

Sprong (?), obs. imp. of Spring. Sprung.

Sprout (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Sprouted; p. pr. & vb. n. Sprouting.] [OE. sprouten, spruten; akin to OFries. spr&?;ta, AS. spreótan, D. spruiten, G. spriessen, Sw. spruta to squirt, to spout. Cf. Sprit, v. t. & i., Sprit a spar, Spout, v. t., Spurt.] 1. To shoot, as the seed of a plant; to germinate; to push out new shoots; hence, to grow like shoots of plants.

2. To shoot into ramifications. [Obs.] Bacon.

Sprout, v. t. 1. To cause to sprout; as, the rain will sprout the seed.

2. To deprive of sprouts; as, to sprout potatoes.

Sprout, n. [Cf. AS. sprote a sprout, sprig; akin to Icel. sproti, G. sprosse. See Sprout, v. i.] 1. 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.

2. pl. Young coleworts; Brussels sprouts. Johnson.

Brussels sprouts (Bot.) See under Brussels.

Spruce (?), n. [OE. Spruce or Pruse, Prussia, Prussian. So named because it was first known as a native of Prussia, or because its sprouts were used for making, spruce beer. Cf. Spruce beer, below, Spruce, a.] 1. (Bot.) 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.

2. The wood or timber of the spruce tree.

3. Prussia leather; pruce. [Obs.]

Spruce, a sort of leather corruptly so called for Prussia leather.

E. Phillips.

Douglas spruce (Bot.), a valuable timber tree (Pseudotsuga Douglasii) of Northwestern America. -- Essence of spruce, a thick, dark-colored, bitterish, and acidulous liquid made by evaporating a decoction of the young branches of spruce. -- Hemlock spruce (Bot.), a graceful coniferous tree (Tsuga Canadensis) of North America. Its timber is valuable, and the bark is largely used in tanning leather. -- Spruce beer. [G. sprossenbier; sprosse sprout, shoot (akin to E. sprout, n.) + bier beer. The word was changed into spruce because the beer came from Prussia (OE. Spruce), or because it was made from the sprouts of the spruce. See Sprout, n., Beer, and cf. Spruce, n.] A kind of beer which is tinctured or flavored with spruce, either by means of the extract or by decoction. -- Spruce grouse. (Zoöl.) Same as Spruce partridge, below. - - Spruce leather. See Spruce, n., 3. -- Spruce partridge (Zoöl.), a handsome American grouse (Dendragapus Canadensis) found in Canada and the Northern United States; -- called also Canada grouse.

Spruce (?), a. [Compar. Sprucer (?); superl. Sprucest] [Perhaps fr. spruce a sort of leather from Prussia, which was an article of finery. See Spruce, n.] 1. Neat, without elegance or dignity; -- formerly applied to things with a serious meaning; now chiefly applied to persons. "Neat and spruce array." Remedy of Love.

2. Sprightly; dashing. [Obs.] "Now, my spruce companions." Shak.

He is so spruce that he can never be genteel.

Tatler.

Syn. -- Finical; neat; trim. See Finical.

-- Sruce"ly, adv. -- Spruce"ness, n.

Spruce, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spruced (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Sprucing (?).] To dress with affected neatness; to trim; to make spruce.

Spruce, v. i. To dress one's self with affected neatness; as, to spruce up.

Sprue (?), n. [Etymol. uncertain.] 1. (Founding) (a) Strictly, the hole through which melted metal is poured into the gate, and thence into the mold. (b) The waste piece of metal cast in this hole; hence, dross.

2. (Med.) Same as Sprew.

Sprug (?), v. t. [Cf. Prov. E. sprug up to dress neatly, sprag to prop, a., lively.] To make smart. [Obs.]