PREFACE
TO
S-SH. THIS half-volume, conta in ing the word s from the beginning of
word s ,
3,470 C ombinations
S
to the end of Sh, incl udes 9,431 Ma in
e plained un d er the se, and 4,192 S ub ord i n at e ent r ies ; in all 17,093'
combinat ions , illustrated by quotat ions but not re quir ing e xpl anat ion, number
20,644·
Of the Main words , 1,671 are ma rke d
t
3,551
T he o bvious
m ore , making a total of
as obsolete, and 477 ar e marked II as a lien or not fully
na turali z ed.*
The half-volume may be divided na tura lly into two portions, which differ markedly with regard to the
etymological character of the words included.
The words from S to Sgraffito form a fairl y typical specime n
of the composition of the Eng l ish voca bu lary; all its li n guistic sourc es a re copiousl y r epresent ed , and probably
in somethi ng li ke their average propor tions.
The words of classical and French origin, taken together,
outnumber all the rest, and (notwithstanding the greater average length of the a r t icles on nat ive words) occupy
at least as much space.
When
we turn to the words with initial SH (which is pra ctical ly a distinct letter
from S) we find that c la ss ical and French derivatives are all but e ntir ely wanting (the few i nstances being due
to exceptional c ircumstances) , and ad options from Scandinavian are also a bsen t.
A lt hough there are a
considerable number of words adopted from vari ous other l an guages , or of o bscur e origin , the Sit division of
the vo ca bular y is essentia lly of Old English etymology.
It would not be p o ssi ble to find elsewhere in the
Dictionary an equal number of consec utive pages in which the prop or t ion of nati ve words is at all nearly
s o hi gh.
The article on t he verb set is, it wil l be observed, b y fa r t he l ongest in the Dictionar y.
This is due in
part to the multitude of senses and idiomatic uses of the simple verb, and in part to the abundance of its fixed
combinations with adverbs (as set in, set out, set up), which in languages of more synth e t i c structure are repre­
sented by compound verbs.
There are twenty-two of t hese combinations, each of them v irt ual ly a separate
word, wh ich ha s und ergone an extensive sense-development of its own ; set
forty-four d istinc t senses, several of which have subdivisions.
( to quote the extreme case ) has
The other art icles are not of e xtraordinary
length , but many of t h em (e. g. shape sb. and vb., sheet sb.1 and sb.2, shoot vb., show sb. and vb.) exhibit v ery
notewo rthy changes and ramifications of the meaning of word s .
The quotations for words like scimcc,
scimtijic, and the many derivat ives of the Latin smtire (from smsa!e to sentimmtally) cont a in much illustra­
tion of the history of E nglish and European t hough t.
The ar tic l e on the verb shall has cost a great deal
of labour, as the collected material was very i nadequ at e, and had to be lar gely suppl e mented by special
research.
Imperfect as the article must necessarily be, it is hoped that it will be of service not only in
throwing light on the process by which the modern use of the auxiliary has been deve loped , but also
as
a
guid e to the pre c i se in terpreta tion of many passages in earlier writers.
The whole of the S materi al collected up to th at time was sub-edited in 1881-2 by the late Mr.
P. W. J acob.
The portion d own to Sancy was re -subedit ed , and the new material incorp orat ed , by Mr. J. Brown, M.A.,
Kendal, in
1902-5,
and that from Saud to Shy was simi larly re-subedited by the late Mr. J. Bartlett, B.A., in
1902-6.
The proofs have been reg ularly read, and many valuable additions and corre ctions s u ggest ed, by the
Rev. Canon Fowler, D.D., Durham, the Rev. \V. B. R. Wil s on, B.A., Dollar, and latterly by Mr. \V. W.
J enkinson
( who has also rend ered much help in the verification of quotations at the Bri tish M use um) , and
Mr. Logan Pearsall S mi th , M.A.
Of the many friends who rep der ed valuable assistance and advice in the treatment of the earlier wor ds in
Dr. Furnivall and Professor Skeat, whos e constant help has been acknow ledg ed
S, several are no longer living.
in the preface to e very volume of the Dictionary, lived to see the publication of some of the sect ion s of this
half-v olume.
Other helpers who have been removed by death since the i ssue of S began are Mr. A. Caland,
Wagening en, Holland; Mr.
J.
P latt, Jr.; and Professors Morfi11 and Ro binson Ellis, Oxford.
Among th ose
still l i ving to whom thanks are due for information on p arti cular points are : Professors Bullock, Clifton, Elliott,
Firth, Goudy, Love, Ma rgoliout h , N ap ier , and Sir Walter Parratt, D.Mus., Oxford; Dr. Ingram B y w ater ;
Mr. J. E. Br idges, Lecturer in Burme se, and Lieut .- C o l . Ran king , Lecturer in Pe rsian, Oxford; Bodley's
Librarian; Dr. A. E. C owley, Bodleian Library; Don M. de Z. Wickrem asi n ghe, M.A., Indian Institute,
* The following figures show the comparative scale of this work and some oth er Dictionaries :Johnson.
S-Sh. Words recorded
v.'ords illustrated by quotations
Number of quotations
1589
1228
4910
Cassell's
' Encyc1opa:dic'
and SuppI.
9034
2708
4III
I
Century' Diet.
and Suppl.
10,500
3260
8935
I Standard'
(ed. 1895).
:Funk's
10,429
814
nSo
In the corresponding portion of Richardson the number of quo t ations is 3932.
Here.
20,644
15,760
94,497
PREFACE
TO S-SH
Oxford ; Dr. R. L. Poole, Keeper of the Archives, Oxford; the S e cretary and the Controller of the Clarendon
Press; the Rev. A. H. Johnson, M.A., All Souls College; M r. C. Burrage , B.L itt. ; Captain C. S. Harris,
Oxford;
Dr. R. F. A. H oernle , Oxford;
Sir Frederick Pollock, Bart.;
Mr. W. H. St. John Hope , F.S.A.; Mr. Edward
G reenly;
the Right Hon. Viscount Dillon ;
Sir Thomas Hunter, Edinburgh; Mr. J. Maitland
Anderson, M.A., U niversity Library, St . Andrews; Pl'Ofessor Silvanus P. Thompson, London;
Mr. J o hn
Hodgk in ; Professor T. N. Toller, Manchester; Mr. Albert Matthe ws and Mr. C:W. Ernst, of Boston, U.S.A.
F requent help has been rendered, in the treatment of military terms, by Maj or J. H. Leslie; in that of n auti c al
terms, by Sir J. K. Laughton and M r. L.
G.
Carr Laughton; and in the illustration of legal and historical
ten n s, by Mr. R. J. Whitwell, B.Litt.
engaged on this half-volume have been Mr. Walter 'Worrall, B.A., Mr. W. J. Lewis,
Bay li ss, M r. G. R. Carl in e, Mr. Charlton Walker, B.A., Miss E. S. Bradley, and ( in the early part)
The assistants
Mr. H.
J.
Mr. James Dallas.
Several e x tensive portions of the work were specially prepared by Mr. C. T. Onions, M.A.,
who has now been plac e d in ed i t or i a l charge of a separate part of the Dictionary, b eg innin g with Suo
HENRY BRADLEY.
OXFORD, Febrltarv 191.\.
ADDITIONS AND EMENDA TrONS.
Sabbatical a. 2. Ea r l ier example :
J"ears 2 These Sahbaticall yeares.
1599 rONT
Riglzt
Reckoning of
Sabbatine a. Earlier example :-1674 BREVIlCT Saul & Sam. xiii.
281 Sabbatine bull.
Sagamite. Earlier ex ampl e :-1698 I£en1tepi1l's Contn.
,A mer. xxviii. 106 Sagam ite , or Pap m a de of Indian Corn.
Salient
TOVTQ o
T6
New DiStov.
a. 3. The source of this use i s Ari stotl e, Hist. Anim. YI. iii,
(11JP-EWV 1T'TjoCj.. "a "'VEtrat {/;UTTfP [ "'vxov, 'this po int [repre ..
.
se ll t ing the he art in the egg] l eaps and moyes as al ive '
Saliva. Earl ier instance (in a n gl ici ze d form) :-c '400 Pety Job 40
in 26 Pol. Poems 122 Thow woldest suffer neller more "Ie to swolowe
my salyue 1
Salsitude. Ear li e r occurrence :-1623 COCKERA)I I, Saldtude, br ine
liquor that is salt. Ibid. II, Britze, salsitude.
Saltation. Earlier occurrence :-1623 COCKERAM T, Saltation, danc-
in
Samcloth. Earl ie r occurrence :-a 1450 Glossary (i}[S. EIarl. 1 00 2 ) ,
Hoc jerzoma, a samcloth.
Sanable a. Earlier o ccur rence :-1623 COCKER.\ll I, Sanable, which
may be healed.
Sanguine a. 5. Earlier instance of s allgu i n e stone : - 1 486 Bk. St.
A lbans, Her. a iii, The .v. stone is calde a Loys, a sanquine stone or
sinamer hit is eald e in a rmys . Also eUipt. as sb. :-Ibid., Aloys is calde
sinamer or sanquine in armys.
Sarrasin. Earlier example:-1621 LODGE Summary Du B a rtas 1.
13." That graine, which we c all Sarazin 'Vheate, or Turky Viheate.
Saucer + Earlier e xample : 13 • . ::i'ettynSag. (W.) 2784 With eghen
that war ful bright and clere, And brade, ilkone, als a sawsere.
Sauciate v. Eorlier example :-1644 HAl>IMOND Of Conscience 27
Any such act of wil l ful l sinne . . is a naturall m eanes . • of sau ciating
and w ouudin g the soule.
Screvity. Earlier occurre nce :-1623 COCKERAM, SC8:uitie, vnlucki­
ne sse.
Scale sb.2 3. Earlier e xample :-c 1450 ME. 1Ild. Bk. (Heinrich)
208 1'e scales o f notes ant ry ndes.
Scarlet sb. 4a. Fo r quot. a 1683 substitute the follo w ing :-c 1610
BEAmr, & Fl,. piz ilaster v. i. (1622) 70 Doe the Lords bow, au d the
regarded scarlets , Kisse thei r gumd gols, and cry we are your ser·
ua nts 1
Scarlet a. 4. Earlier exampl e of sca rle t wkore :
1590 SPENSER F. Q.
1. viii. 29 Forthwith he gaue in charge vnto his Squire That scarlot whore
to ke e pen ca r efull), .
Scart sb.l In li st of Forms dele' 9 scrat h (? error) , and read' See
also SCRATH '.
Schiller. The Ger. word has b een used by English entomol ogists in
th e literal sense: 1835 J. DUNCAN Beetles 87 The elegant tribe of
CetonidEJJ . . are g e nerally of a nne green, often accomp anied with a
d el i cate schiller or play of colour.
Scholiastic. Pronunciation: For C skotl'lirestik' read' skoulire'stik '.
School sb.I 19. Additional exam pl e of sclzool"blttter : -1 61 8 FLETCHER
Loyal Sub}. v. iv, An(. He was whipt like a top, I never Saw a wh or e
so lae'e! : Court schoole·butter! Is this their diet 1
Earlier example :-1594 BWNDEVIL Exercises IV. (1597)
ScreaUng.
2 7 0 , Descr. of p. Pla1Zcius lzis Map, This C ountre y is inhabited of
Dwarfes called in L ati t l e Pigmei, being in h e igh t 4 foot e as those be of
Groy nl a nd, which are called Serelings [printed Se relings, edd. 1622, 1637
Sereeli ngs1Scuddle v.2 Earlier ex ampl e :-1577 GRANGE Goldm Aplzrod. G iv,
The Goddesses ..skuddelyng and sekyng to defende them selues .
Sea-swallow 3. Delete quot. 1902 ( wh ere the word den ote s a kind
of s w all o w or swift).
Seed sb. 5 a. Earlier example :-1620 Observ. Making Fit Rooms
Silkworms 5 The Silk-wormes c o mm ing of ten ounces of seed .. must [etc.].
Seeker 1 b.
The date and a uthor s hi p of the nrst quotation seem to
be highly questionable. The passage quoted from P agitt 1645 appears
to contain the earliest known example of the use of the word as the
de si gnation of a sect , tho u gh the opinion there describe d was hel d by the
three brothers Legate (c r600), who se followers were called Legatine­
Ar ians . (Sec C. Burr a ge, Tize Early English Dissenters, 1912,1. 214-6,
259-61, and App. A.)
Sentimentalize v. I. Earlier exam ple :- 1764 Let. to V. C. 5 Aug.,
Orig. Lett. (1788) 14.
Tn the mean time we will philosop hiz e and
sentimeutalize; the last WOld is a hright invention of the momen t in
which it was wri tten , for yours or Dr. Johnson's service.
Sepal. The etymology should be as follows :-[ad. F. sepale, mon.L.
sepal1lm (N. J. de Necker, phytologie plzilosoplzique, 1790, p. 55, and
Corol!arium ad plzilosopkiam bota1Zicam Lim'EJJi, 1 790 , p.l8). Necker
derives the word from Gr. (lIC'1T7! cover ing ; as he refused to acknowledge
the distinction be tween the calyx and t h e cor olla (using the term pert'­
g;manda to comprise both), sepale (sepalurn) in his use denotes the petal s
as well as what are now called' sepals '.]
Servetist. Earlier e xampl e :-1621 LODGE Summary Du Bartas 1.
9 The an cient and moderne Diuines, who haue disputed a gainst the
Ar iaus, and Seruetists.
Shiner 1 b. The word in the qu otati on is p erhaps a misprint for
slziver (pulley).
-ship. At end of first p ,{ragraph de let e ' an d perhaps . • . r egion '.
The al lege d OE. landsceap is due to a misreading: see Napier Contrib.
OE. Lexicogr. (1906) 41.
Shirley. For • Obs. or sp u rious ' read 'Obs.' The bird , a South
American tanager, was named by G. Edwards (Glean. Nat. Hi st. , 1 764 ,
m. 276) from Shirley, the fa m ily name of Earl F errer s, to whom the
specimen desc rib ed be longed.
Shittle a. The form skuttle s u rvive s dial.; see SHUTTLE a., wh ere
additional qu otations are given.
The following e xam ples of skoe-tlzong should have
Shoe sh. 6 c.
been given :-c 1000 Ags. Gosp. John i. 27 Ne eom ic wyr15e pret ie
u nbinde his sceo-pwang. c 1200 ORMIN 10387 1'att he ne wass nohht
go d inoh Cristess shopwang tun nbind enn . c 1200 Tn"n. Colt. Hom. 137
Ae ich nam noht ne for15en wur15e pat ich lIn-cnutte his sho jmong.