SPL 



675 



SPO 



Mne spirits. The word spirit is now almost 

 exclusively confined to the various pre- 

 parations of alcohol and ether. 2. In 



commercial language, the name of spirits 

 comprehends all inflammable liquors ob- 

 tained by distillation; as brandy, rum, 

 geneva, whisky, &c. British spirits are 

 such as are manufactured in Britain, as 

 whisky and gin. 



SPIR'IT OF SALT. An old name for mu- 

 riatic or hydrochloric acid. 



SPIR'IT OF WINE. Esprit de vin. Pure 

 spirit, so called because formerly obtained 

 only from wine. See ALCOHOL. 



SPIR'IT LEVEL. An instrument for 



ascertaining the deviation of any surface 



from the plane of the horizon. See LEVEL. 



SPIRITOSO, ) (It.). With spirit. In 



SPIRITO. ) music, denotes a spirited 



manner of performing. 



SPIRITUALISM. That system, opposed 

 to materialism, according to which, all 

 that is real is spirit. 



SPIR'KETTING. In ship-building , the 

 plank on the side between the water- 

 way and the port-sill. 



SPIR'OIL. In chemistry, the supposed 

 base of the volatile oil extracted from the 

 flowers of the spirtea ulmaria. The oil 

 itself is a compound of Cl2 Hs O4. 



SPIROI'LATE. A compound formed by 

 the spiroilic acid with a base. All the 

 spiroilates fulminate when heated in the 

 air, and when mixed with a combustible 

 body and heated they detonate. 



SPIROIL'IC ACID. An acid discovered by 

 M. LOwig, by treating the hydrospiroilic 

 acid (volatile oil of spireea ulma 

 with nitric acid. The oil is changed 

 into a solid crystalline mass, which is 

 spiroilic acid. It has scarcely any smell 

 is tasteless, but produces a violent feeling 

 of irritation in the pharynx, dissolves 

 readily in alcohol and ether, and shows 

 a tendency to crystallise. 



SPIR'CLA. The name of a genus o 

 multilocular shells. Some of the specie 

 still inhabit tropical seas, where thej 

 float on the surface of the ocean ; others 

 are only found fossil. 



SPLANCHNOL'OGY, from rnXaryxyov , an 

 entrail, and Aeyo?, discourse. The doc 

 trine of the viscera. 



SPLAYED. In architecture, signifies ai 

 angle cut off. 



SPLEEN, Lat. splen, Gr. ffxKw. Aspong 

 viscus, of a livid colour, and so varied i: 

 form, situation, and magnitude, tha 

 nothing general can be determined re 

 garding them. In its normal condition 

 is always placed on the left side, in th 

 left hypochondrium , between the ele vent 

 and twelfth false ribs. 



SPLEN'ALGY, from g-xXw, the spleen 

 and et\<yt(, pain. A pain in the spleen o 

 its region. 



SPLENI'TIS. Inflammation of the spleen , 

 oin a-!T/iv, the spleen. 

 SPLENIUS. A flat muscle at the back of 

 he neck. 



SPLEN'DENT, Lat. splendens, shining. A 

 erm applied to minerals as regards their 

 egree of lustre. The smooth surface of 

 most of the metals are splendent. 

 SPLI'CING. The process of joining the 

 nds of a rope together, or of uniting the 

 nd of a rope to any part thereof by in- 

 erweaving the strands in a regular man- 

 er. There are several kinds of splicing, 

 ccording to the services for which it is 

 ntended, all characterized by particular 

 pithets. The joining is called a splice. 

 'o splice the main brace, is to have an 

 xtra allowance of spirits in cases of cold 

 nd wet. 



_PLINT. In surgery, a long piece of 

 wood, tin, strong pasteboard, or the like, 

 mployed for preventing the ends of 

 iroken bones from moving so as to inter- 

 upt the process by which fractures unite. 



SPLINT-BONE. A name for the fibula. 



SPLINT'ERT. A term in mineralogy, 

 .pplied to a particular fracture of mine- 

 als. The fracture is splintery when the 

 urface produced by breaking the mineral 

 s nearly even, but exhibits little splinters 

 >r scales somewhat thicker at one extre- 

 mity than the other, and still adhering to 

 he surface by their thicker extremities. 



SPLIT-CLOTH. In surgery, a bandage 

 which consists of a central portion, and 

 lix or eight tails ; used principally for the 

 lead. 



SPO'DICM. XreX/cv. An old name for 

 many powders obtained by calcination ; 

 as ivory black, metallic calces, Ac. 



SPOD'UMENE. In mineralogy, the name 

 riven by Jameson to the Triphane of 

 ttatty. It is a rare mineral, found in the 

 .ron mine of Uton, in Sweden, and in 

 some primary rocks in Ireland. Name 

 from tr-.ToSoa, to reduce to ashes : fraitn, 

 spodium, because before the blowpipe it 

 exfoliates into little yellowish or grayish 

 scales. It consists of silica, alumina, 

 lime, potash, and oxide of iron. 



SPOIL. Spoil-bank. The surplus exca- 

 vation which is laid by the side of a line 

 of railway, canal, or other work, to save 

 the expense of removal, and which occurs 

 when the amount of cutting upon the line 

 exceeds that of the embankment. 



SPOKE (of a wheel). The spokes are the 

 small bare which are inserted into the 

 nave, and which serve to support the 

 rim or felly. 



SPOKE-SHAVE. A sort of plane used in 

 dressing the spokes of wheels and for 

 other curved work where the common 

 plane cannot be applied. 



SPOLIATION, WRIT or, in English etcie- 

 riailical law, is obtained by one of tho 



2x2 



