sag 
He ventures boldly on the pith 
Of sugred rush, and eats the sagyc 
And well bestrutted bees sweet ba 
Herrick, Hesperides, p. 127. (Davift.) 
saga (sa'ga), n. [< Icel. sagtt (gen. siigu, pi. 
sogur) = Sw. Dan. saga, saga, a tale, story, 
legend, tradition, history (cf. Sw. sfigen, sagn, 
Dan. saga, a tale, story, legend), = OHG. saga, 
MHG. G. sage = AS. sagu, a saying, state- 
ment, report, tale, prophecy, saw : see saic 2 ."] 
An ancient Scandinavian legend or tradition of 
considerable length, relating either mythical 
or historical events; a tale; a history: as, the 
Volsunga saga; the Knytlinga saga. 
Sagaces (sa-ga'sez), n. pi. [NL., < L. sagax 
(sagac-), sagacious: see sagacious.'] An old 
division of domestic dogs, including those of 
great sagacity, as the spaniel: distinguished 
from Celeres and Pugnacfs. 
sagaciate (sa-ga'shi-at), . '.; pret. and pp. 
agaeiated, ppr. sagaciatiiig. [A made word, 
appar. based on sagacious + -ate 2 .'] To do or be 
in any way; think, talk, or act, as indicating a 
state of mind or body: as, how do you sagaei- 
ate this morning? [Slang, U. S.] 
"How duz yo' sjm'tmns seem ter segashuatt'" sez Brer 
Rabbit, sezee. J. C. Harris, Uncle Remus, ii. 
sagacious (sa-ga'shus), a. [= F. saguee = Sp. 
Pg. sagae = It. sagace, < L. sagax (sagac-), of 
quick perception, acute, sagacious, < sagire, 
perceive by the senses. Not connected with 
sage 1 .'] 1. Keenly perceptive ; discerning, as 
by some exceptionally developed or extraordi- 
nary natural power ; especially, keen of scent : 
with of. 
So scented the grim feature, and upturn'd 
His nostril wide into the murky air, 
Sagacious of his quarry from BO far. 
Milton, P. L, x. 281. 
'Tis the shepherd's task the winter long 
To wait upon the storms ; of their approach 
Sagacious, into sheltering coves he drives 
His flock. Wordiworth, Prelude, viii. 
2. Exhibiting or marked by keen intellectual 
discernment, especially of human motives and 
actions; having or proceeding from penetra- 
tion into practical affairs in general ; having 
keen practical sense ; acute in discernment or 
penetration; discerning and judicious; shrewd: 
as, a sagacious mind. 
Only sagacious heads light on these observations. 
Locke. 
True charity is sagacious, and will find out hints for 
beneficence. Sir T. Browne, Christ. Mor., i. 6. 
In Homer himself we find not a few of those sagacious, 
curt sentences, into which men unacquainted with books 
are fond of compressing their experience of human life. 
./. 5. Blaclcie, Lang, and Lit of Scottish Highlands, ii. 
3. Intelligent; endowed with sagacity. 
Of all the solitary insects I have ever remarked, the spi- 
der is the most sagacious. Goldsmith, The Bee, No. 4. 
= Syn. 2 and 3. Sage, Knotting, etc. (see astute); per- 
spicacious, clear-sighted, long-headed, sharp-witted, intel- 
ligent, well-judged, sensible. 
sagaciously (sa-ga'shus-li), adr. In a sagacious 
manner; wisely; sagely. 
Lord Coke sagaciously observes upon it. 
Burke, Economical Reformation. 
sagaciousness (sa-ga'shus-nes), H. The quality 
of being sagacious ; sagacity. 
sagacity (sa-gas'j-ti), . [< F. sagacite = Pr. 
sagacitat = Sp. sagacidad = Pg. sagacidatle = 
It. sagacita, < L. sagacita(t-)s, sagaciousness, < 
sagax (sagac-), sagacious: see sagacious."] The 
state or character of being sagacious, in any 
sense ; sagaciousness. 
Knowledge of the world . . . consists in knowing from 
what principles men generally act ; and it is commonly 
the fruit of natural sagacity joined with experience. 
Reid, Active Powers, III. i. 1. 
= Syn. Perspicacity, etc. (see judgment), insight, mother- 
wit. See astute and discernment. 
sagale, '< Same as assagai. 
sagaman (sa'ga-man), . [< Icel. sogumadlti- 
(= Dan. sagamand), < saga (gen. sogu), saga, + 
madhr, man.] A narrator or chanter of sagas ; 
a Scandinavian minstrel. 
You are the hero ! you are the Sagaman. We are not 
worthy ; we have been cowards and sluggards. 
KingsUy, Hypatia, xxix. 
sagamite, . [Amer. Ind. (Algonkin).] An In- 
dian dish of coarse hominy boiled to gruel. 
Corn was liberally used, and was dressed in various 
ways, of which the most relished was one which is still in 
fashion among the old French population of Louisiana, 
and which is called "sagamite." 
Oayarre, Hist. Louisiana, I. 817. 
Sagamore (sag'a-mor), n. [Amer. Lid. sagamore. 
chief, king: supposed to be connected with sa- 
chem: see sachem, ] A king or chief among 
some tribes of American Indians. Some writers 
5302 
regard sagamore as synonymous with tacliem, but others 
distinguish between them, regarding sachem as a chief of 
the first rank, and sagamore as one of the second. 
The next day . . . came a tall Saluage boldly amount 
vs. ... He was a Sagamo. 
Capt. John Smith, Works (ed. Arber), p. 754. 
Wahginnacut, a sagamore upon the River Quonehtacut, 
which lies west of Naragancet, came to the governour at 
Boston. Winthrop, Hist. New England, I. 62. 
The barbarous people were lords of their own ; and have 
their sagamores, and orders, and forms of government 
under which they peaceably live. 
/>>. Hall. Cases of Conscience, Ui. 8. 
Foot by foot, they were driven back from the shores, 
until I, that am a chief and a sagamore, have never seen 
the sun shin 3 but through the trees, and have never vis- 
ited the graves of my fathers. 
J. F. Cooper, Last of Mohicans, iii. 
sagapen (sag'a-pen), . Same as saganenitm. 
sagapenum (sag-a-pe'num), it. [NL., < L. saga- 
penon, sacopenium, < Gr. aaydiniwv, a gum of 
some umbelliferous plant (supposed to be Feru- 
la Persica) used as a medicine; cf. Imyamivoi, 
sage-bread 
The seven sages, seven men of ancient Greece, famous 
for their practical wisdom. A list commonly given com- 
prises Thales, Solon, Bias, cbilo. cleobiilus, Pel-lander, 
and Plttacus. 
sage 2 (saj). n. [< ME. aiiiiiji . stnri/i; al*o xttrt; 
< OF. navge, stuilgc (also "same), F. sauge = 
Pr. Sp. It. salria = Pg. salrti = AS. saluige, 
saljigc = MD. salgii: *<irli/ir, xti/it. savie, seHc, 
D. sali = MLG. salric, salri/t', Ktilrcige = OHG. 
salbcia, salreia, MHG. snlrcit: xallu-ie, G. salbei 
= Sw. salvia = Dan. salvie, < L. salvia, the 
sage-plant : so called from the saving virtue 
attributed to the plant, < xalvus, safe: see 
w)/fei.] 1. A plant of th genus Salria, es- 
pecially S. officiiHilis, the common garden sage. 
the name of a people of Assyria.] A fetid gum- 
resin, the concrete juice of a Persian species of 
Ferula, formerly used in amenorrhea, hysteria, 
etc., or externally. 
sagart, n. An obsolete form of cigar. 
Many a sagar have little Goldy and I smoaked together. 
Caiman, Man of Business, iv. (Daviet.) 
Sagartia (sa-gar'ti-a), w. [NL.] A genus of 
sea-anemones, typical of the family Sagartiidse. 
>V. leucoltema is the white-armed sea-anemone. 
See cut under cancriaocial. 
Sagartiidae (sag-ar-ti'i-de), n. pi. [NL., < 
Sagartia + -idee.] A family of Jiexactinis, 
typified by the genus Sagartia, having acontia, 
numerous highly contractile tentacles, a strong 
mespdermal circular muscle, and only the 
sterile septa of the first order perfect. Also 
tiagartiadx, Sagartidx. 
sagathyt (sag'a-thi), H. [Also sagathee ; < F. 
sagatis = Sp. sagati, < L. miijti. gaguin, a blan- 
ket, mantle : see say*."] A woolen stuff. 
Making a panegyrick on pieces of sagathy or Scotch 
plaid. The Tatter, No. 270. (Latham.) 
There were clothes of Drap du Barri, and D'Oyley suits, 
so called after the famous haberdasher whose name still 
survives in the dessert napkin. They were made of drug- 
get and sagathay, camlet, but the majority of men wore 
cloth. 
./. Atlilmi, Social Life in Reign of Queen Anne, I. 151. 
sagbut (sag'but), . Same as sackbut. 
sage 1 (saj), a. and . [< ME. sage, sauge, < OF. 
sage, also salves, F. sage, dial, saige, seige = Pr. 
sage, sum, sabi = Sp. Pg. sabio = It. sat'io, stuj- 
gio, < LL. "sabius (a later form of *sapius, found 
only in comp. ne-sapitts, unwise), < sapere, be 
wise : see sapid, sapien t. Not connected with 
sagacious.] I. n. 1. Wise; judicious; prudent. 
Specifically (o) Applied to persons: Discreet, far-seeing, 
and cool-headed ; able to give good counsel. 
There was A grete lorde that had A Sage fole, the whyche 
he lovyd Marvaylous well, Be Cawse of hys pastyme. 
Booke of Precedence (E. E. T. S., extra ser.), L 77. 
Very gage, discreet, and ancient persons. 
Sir T. More, Utopia (tr. by RobinsonX U. 1. 
Cousin of Buckingham, and you sane, grave men. 
Shall., Rich. III., ill 7. 227. 
(6) Applied to advice : Sound ; well-judged ; adapted to 
the situation. 
The sage counsayle of Nestor. 
Sir T. Elyot, The Governour, iii. 25. 
Little thought he (ElutheriusJ of this sage caution. 
Milton, Reformation In Eng., ii. 
There are certain emergencies when ... an ounce of 
hare-brained decision is worth a pound of sage doubt and 
cautious discussion. Irving, Knickerbocker, p. 203. 
2. Learned; profound; having great science. 
Of this wisdom, it seemeth, some of the ancient Ro- 
mans, in the sagest and wisest times, were professors. 
Bacon, Advancement of Learning, ii. 310. 
And if aught else great bards beside 
In sage and solemn tunes have sung. 
Milton, II Penseroso, 1. 117. 
Fool sage*. See /noil. =Svn. 1. Sagaciotts, Knowing, etc. 
(see astute), judicious. Seelistundera#a<rf<m. 2. Oracu- 
lar, venerable. 
II. H. A wise man ; a man of gravity and wis- 
dom; particularly, a man venerable for years. 
and known as a man of sound judgment and 
prudence ; a grave philosopher. 
This old fader he knowit very sure, 
Of vij Saugys called the wysest 
That was in Rome. 
Generydes (E. E. T. S.), 1. 88. 
A star. 
Unseen before in heaven, proclaims him come, 
And guides the eastern sages. Milton, P. L., xii. 363. 
Father of all. in every age, 
In every clime adored, 
By saint, by savage, and by sage, 
Jehovah, Jove, or Lord ! 
Pupe, Universal Prayer. 
Sage (Salvia 
i, inflorescence ; 2, tower part of stem with leaves. 
This is a shrubby perennial, sometimes treated as an 
annual, with rough noary-green leaves, and blue flowers 
variegated with white and purple and arranged in spiked 
whorls. Medicinally, sage is slightly tonic, astringent, 
and aromatic. It was esteemed by the ancients, but at 
present, though officinal, is little used as a remedy except 
in domestic practice. The great use of sage is as a con- 
diment in flavoring dressings, sausages, cheese, etc. In 
Europe S. pratensis, the meadow-sage, a blue-flowered 
species growing in meadows, and S. Sclarea, the clary, 
are also officinal, and the latter is used in soups, but the 
taste is less agreeable. The ornamental species (which 
include the two last named) are numerous, and in several 
cases brilliant. Such are the half-hardy 5. splendens, the 
scarlet sage of Brazil ; & fulgens, the cardinal or Mexican 
red sage ; and the Mexican S. patens, with deep-blue, wide- 
ly ringent corolla over two inches long. The European A'. 
argentea, the silver -leafed sage, or clary, is cultivated for 
its foliage. Blue-flowered species fit for the garden, na- 
tive in the United States, are S. azurea of the southern 
.States, S. Pitcheri, with the leaves minutely soft-downy, 
found from Kansas to Texas, and the Texan S. farinosa, 
with a white hoary surface. See chia, clary?, and phrases 
below. 
2. A name of certain plants of other genera. 
See the phrases below Apple-tearing sage.a spe- 
cies, Salma triloba, bearing the galls known wsatjt-apjde*. 
(See sage-apple.) The leaves and twigs of this plant 
form what is called Phaskomylia tea. Black sage, (a) A 
boraginaceous shrub with sage-like leaves, Cordia cylindri- 
stachya, of tropical America, (fc) In California, Tricttostfnta 
l'i n :i'n in. a labiate plant. Garlic-sage, an old name of the 
wood-sage. Indian sage, a name sometimes given to the 
thoroughwort or boneset, Eupatorium per/oliatum. Je- 
rusalem Sage, a name of species of Phlojnis, chiefly P. 
fruticosa, a half-shrubby plant 3 or 4 feet high, covered 
with rusty down, and producing many dense whorls of rich 
yellow flowers. Meadow-sage. Seedef. 1. Mountain- 
sage. Same as wood-sage. Sage cheese. See cheese^. 
-Sage tea. See tea. Scarlet sage. See def. i. 
White sage, (a) A woolly chenopodiaceous plant, Euro- 
tin lanata. It is a low, somewhat woody herb, abounding 
in some valleys of the Rocky Mountain region, and val- 
ued as a winter forage ; also esteemed as a remedy for in- 
termittent fevers. Also called mnterfat. (b) See Kochia. 
(c) In southern California, another whitish plant of the 
same order, Audibertia polystachya, a shrub from 3 to 10 
feet high, useful in bee-pastures. It is one of the plants 
called greatetrood. Wild sage. (<0 In England, Salria 
Verbenaca. Also called mid clary, (b) In Jamaica, spe- 
cies of LantaiM. (c) At the C'ape of Good Hope, a large 
composite shrub, Tarchonanthus camphoratvs, having a 
strong balsamic odor. Also called African fleabane. 
Wood-sage the wild germander, Tevcrium Scorodonia, 
of the northern Old World. 
sage-apple (saj'ap"l), H. A gall formed on a 
species of sage, Salvia triloba, from the punc- 
ture of the insect I'yttips salviie. It is eaten as 
a fruit at Athens. 
sage-breadt (saj'bred), . Bread baked from 
dough mixed with a strong infusion of sage in 
milk. 
I have known sage-bread do much good in drying up 
wati-ry humours. R.fVuirmeli, T" Hciyh-. April 7, 1668. 
