season 
tnate. In the United States and Canada spring is consid- 
ered to begin with the first of March, and summer, autnmn, 
and winter with the first of June, September, and Decem- 
ber respectively. In Great Britain spring is regarded as 
beginning with February, summer with May, etc. In the 
southern hemisphere the summer season is simultaneous 
with the northern winter, and the periods of the other 
seasons are similarly interchanged. Within the tropics 
the annual variation of temperature is not so marked as 
that of humidity and rainfall, and, according to the local- 
ity, sometimes two, sometimes three, and sometimes four 
climatic seasons are distinguished, termed the rainy sea- 
son, the dry season, etc. 
In a somer seson, whan soft was the sonne. 
Piers Plowman (15), Prol., 1. 1. 
The Turks do customably bring their galleys on shore 
every year in the winter season. 
Munday (Arber's Eng. Garner, I. 204). 
I shall not intend this hot season to bid you the base 
through the wide and dusty champaine of the Councels. 
Milton, On Def. of Humb. Kemonst. 
(6) The period of the year in which something is more in 
vogue than at others, as that in which a particular place 
is most frequented by visitors, or shows most bustling 
activity, or when a particular trade, business, or profession 
is in its greatest state of activity : as, the holiday season; 
the hop-picking season; the London season; the Newport 
season; the theatrical season; the peach season. 
The season was advanced when I first put the play into 
Mr. Harris's hands : it was at that time at least double the 
length of any acting comedy. Sheridan, The Rivals, Pref. 
The London season extended from October to May, leav- 
ing four months during which the theatres were closed 
and all forms of dissipation suspended. 
Lecky, Eng. in 18th Cent, iv. 
(c) A convenient or suitable time ; the right time ; period 
of time that is natural, proper, or suitable. See phrases 
below. 
2. A period Tif time, in general; a while; a 
time. 
Than stode y stille a litile sesone, 
And constred this lettres or y wente thens. 
Political Poems, etc. (ed. Furnivall), p. 1. 
Thou shalt he blind, not seeing the sun for a season. 
Acts xiii. 11. 
You may be favoured with those blessed seasons of uni- 
versal light and strength of which good men have often 
spoken. Chauning, Perfect Life, p. 24. 
3f. Seasoning; that which gives relish, or pre- 
serves vigor or fresGness. 
Salt too little which may season give 
To her foul-tainted flesh. 
Shak., Much Ado, iv. 1. 144. 
All fresh humours . . . 
Bearing no season, much less salt of goodness. 
B. Jonson, Cynthia's .Revels, v. 1. 
Close-season. Same as close-time. In season, (a) Beady 
for use ; on the market ; usable ; edible : as, cherries are 
now in season; oysters are not in season during May, June, 
July, and August. 
In that Contree, and in othere also, Men fynden longe 
Apples to selle, in hire cesoun; and Hen clepen hem Apples 
of Paradys. Mandenllc, Travels, p. 49. 
Now cometh May, when as the eastern morn 
Doth with her summer robes the fields adorn : 
Delightful month, when cherries and green peason, 
Custards, cheese-cakes, and kisses are in season. 
Poor Robin (1705). (Nares.) 
(V) Having the pelage in good order, as fur-bearing ani- 
mals. This is usually in winter, (c) In good flesh, as 
beasts, birds, fishes, shell-fish, etc. (d) Affording good 
sport, as birds well grown and strong of wing, (e) Mi- 
grating, and therefore numerous, or found where not oc- 
curring at some other time, as birds or fish. (/) Allowed 
by law to be killed, as any game, (g) Seasonably ; oppor- 
tunely ; at the right time ; soon enough : as, to go to the 
theater in season for the overture. In season and out 
of season, at all times ; always. 
A Church-mans jurisdiction is no more but to watch 
over his flock in season and mii of season. 
Mttton, On Def. of Humb. Remonst. 
Out Of season, (a) Unseasonable; inopportune. (6) Not 
in season, as game ; not in good condition for the table. 
In general, animals are out of season when breeding. 
Season ticket. See ticket. The Four Seasons (eccles ) 
the ember days. To take a seasont, to stay for a time. 
From heuen til erthe his sone be sent 
In mankinde to take a cesoun. 
Hymns to Virgin, etc. (E. E. T. S.), p. 42. 
season (se'zn), v. [= P. saisonner, have a good 
season, = Sp. Pg. sazonar, season with condi- 
ments; from the noun.] I. trans. If. To ren- 
der suitable or appropriate ; prepare ; fit. 
And am I then revenged, 
To take him in the purging of his soul, 
When he is fit and season'd for his passage? 
Shak., Hamlet, iii. 3. 84. 
2. To fit for any use by time or habit; habit- 
uate; accustom; mature; inure; acclimatize. 
How many things by season season'd are 
To their right praise and true perfection ! 
Shale., M. of V., v. 1. 107. 
A man should. . . harden and season himself beyondthe 
degree of cold wherein he lives. 
Addison, Guardian, No. 102. 
3. To bring to the best state for use by any 
process: as, to season a cask by keeping liquor 
in it; to season a tobacco-pipe by frequently 
smoking it; to season timber by drying or hard- 
ening, or by removing its natural sap. 
5448 
The good gardiner seasons his soyle by sundrie sorts of 
compost. Puttenham, Arte of Eng. Poesie. p. 254. 
Men are more curious what they put into a new vessel 
than into a vessel seasoned. 
Bacon, Advancement of Learning, i. 28. 
A clavestock and rabbetstock carpenters crave, 
And seasoned timber for pinwood to have. 
Tusser, Husbandly Furniture, st. 20. 
4. To fit for the taste; render palatable, or 
give a higher relish to, by the addition or mix- 
ture of another substance more pungent or 
pleasant : as, to season meat with salt ; to sea- 
son anything with spices. 
And every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou sea- 
son with salt. Lev. ii. 13. 
5. To render more agreeable, pleasant, or de- 
lightful; give a relish or zest to by something 
that excites, animates, or exhilarates. 
You season still with sports your serious hours. 
Dryden, To John Dryden, 1. 60. 
She had an easy fluency of discourse, which, though 
generally of a serious complexion, was occasionally sea- 
soned with agreeable sallies. 
Prescott, Ferd. and Isa., ii. 16. 
6. To render more agreeable or less rigorous 
and severe; temper; moderate; qualify by ad- 
mixture. 
Earthly power doth then show like si God's 
When mercy seasons justice. 
Shak., M. of V., iv. 1. 197. 
'Tis a pride becomes 'em, 
A little season'd with ambition 
To be respected, reckon'd well, and honour'd 
For what they have done. 
Fletcher, Loyal Subject, il. 1. 
7. To gratify; tickle. 
Let their beds 
Be made as soft as yours, and let their palates 
Be season'd with such viands. 
Shak., M. of V., iv. 1. 97. 
8. To imbue ; tinge or taint. 
There 's no mirth 
Which is not truly season'd with some madness. 
Ford, Lover's Melancholy, iv. 2. 
Then being first seasoned with y e seeds of grace and ver- 
tue, he went to ye Courte, and served that religious and 
godly gentlman, M r . Davison. 
Bradford, Plymouth Plantation, p. 409. 
By degrees to season them with Principles of Rebellion 
and Disobedience. StittingJUet, Sermons, I. iii. 
9f. To preserve from decay; keep sweet or 
fresh. 
All this to season 
A brother's dead love, which she would keep fresh 
And lasting in her sad remembrance. 
Shak., 1. N., i. 1. 30. 
10f. To impregnate. Holland Seasoning fever. 
See/euerl. 
II. intrans. 1. To become mature ; grow fit 
for use ; become adapted to a climate, as the 
human body. 2. To become dry and hard by 
the escape of the natural juices, or by being 
penetrated with other substance. 
Carpenters rough plane boards for flooring, that they 
may set them by to season. Moxon, Mechanical Exercises. 
3f. To give token ; smack ; savor. 
Lose not your labour and your time together ; 
It seasons of a fool. Fletcher, The Chances, i. 9. 
seasonable (se'zn-a-bl), a. [< ME. seasonable, 
< OF. *sesonable, < seson, season: see season and 
-able.] Suitable as to time or season; oppor- 
tune; occurring, happening, or done in due 
season or proper time for the purpose ; in keep- 
ing with the season or with the circumstances : 
as, a seasonable supply of rain. 
Thay sailed furth soundly with seasonable wyndes. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), 1. 2810. 
Then the sonne reneweth his finished course, and the 
seasonable spring refresheth the earth. 
Spenser, Shep. Cal., Gen. Arg. 
'Tis not seasonable to call a Man Traitor that has an 
Army at his Heels. Selden, Table-Talk, p. 111. 
seasonableness (se'zn-a-bl-nes), n. Season- 
able character or quality ; the quality of fitting 
the time or the circumstances ; opportuneness 
of occurrence. 
Seasonableness is best in all these things, which have their 
ripeness and decay. Up. Hall, Holy Observations, 15. 
seasonably (se'zn-a-bli), adv. In due time or 
season ; in time convenient ; sufficiently early : 
as, to sow or plant seasonably. 
Time was wanting ; the agents of Plymouth could not 
be seasonably summoned, and the subject was deferred. 
Bancroft, Hist. U. S., I. 339. 
seasonaget (se'zn-aj), . [< season + -age.] 
Seasoning; sauce. ' 
Charity is the grand seasonage of every Christian duty. 
South, Sermons, IX. v. 
seasonal (se'zn-al), a. [< season + -al.] Of 
or pertaining to the seasons; relating to a sea- 
son or seasons. 
sea-swallow 
The deviations which occur from the seasonal averages 
of climate. JSncyc. Brit., VI. 0. 
The rainfall of the British Islands has been examined 
with reference to its seasonal distribution in relation to 
the physical configuration of the surface. 
Xature, XXXIII. 355. 
Seasonal dimorphism, in zool., a dimorphism or change 
of form occurring at stated seasons: applied especially 
to the changes observed in successive generations of cer- 
tain insects, those appearing at one season being remark- 
ably different from the other broods of the year, so that 
they have frequently been described as distinct species. 
Seasonal dimorphism has been observed in the Cynipidse 
or gall-flies, in Aphididss or plant-lice, in some Chalcididee, 
and in some butterflies and moths, 
seasonally (se'zn-al-i), arfc. Periodically; ac- 
cording to the season. 
He believed that the fact of the moth being seasonally 
dimorphic was likely to introduce disturbing elements 
into the experiments. 
Proc. of Ent. Sac., Nature, XXXV. 463. 
seasoner (se'zn-er), n. [< season + -er 1 .] 1. 
One who seasons. 2. That which seasons, 
matures, or gives a relish. 3. A seaman or 
fisherman who hires for the season ; by exten- 
sion, a loafer; a beach-comber. [U.S.] 
seasoning (se'zn-ing), n. [Verbal n. of season, 
.] 1. The act by which anything is seasoned. 
2. That which is added to any species of food 
to .give it a higher relish, usually something 
pungent or aromatic, as salt, spices, etc. 
There are many vegetable substances used by mankind 
as seasonings which abound with a highly exalted aromat- 
ick oil, as thyme and savoury and all spices. 
Arbuthnot, Aliments, iii. 4. 
3. Something added or mixed to enhance plea- 
sure or enjoyment, or give spice and relish: 
as, wit or humor serves as a seasoning to elo- 
quence. 
Political speculations . . . are of so dry and austere a 
nature that they will not go down with the public with- 
out frequent seasonings [of mirth and humour). 
Addison, Freeholder, No. 46. 
There was a seasoning of wisdom unaccountably mixed 
up with his strangest whims. 
Sterne, Tristram Shandy, v. 42. 
4. In diamond-cittting, the charging of the laps 
or wheels with diamond-dust and oil. 
seasoning-tub (se'zn-ing-tub), . In baking, a 
trough in which dough is set to rise. 
seasonless (se'zn-les), . [< season + -less.] 
1. Unmarked by a succession of seasons. 2f. 
Without seasoning or relish; insipid. 
And when the stubborne stroke of my harsh song 
Shall seasonlesse glide through almightie eares, 
Vouchsafe to sweet it with thy blessed tong. 
O. JIarkham, Tragedy of Sir R. Grinuile. 
sea-spider (se'spi'der), n. Some marine ani- 
mal whose appearance suggests a spider, (a) A 
pycnogonid. See cuts under Nymphon and Pycnogonida. 
(6) A spider-crab ; any maioid, as Maia souinado. See 
cuts under Leptopodia, Maia, and Oxyrhyncha. 
sea-spleenwort (se'splen"wert), n. A fern, 
Asj>l?nium marinum, native alongthe west coast 
of Europe. 
sea-squid (se'skwid), n. Any squid; a cuttle 
or calamary. 
sea-squirt (se'skwert), n. Any ascidian or tu- 
nicate: so called from their squirting water 
when they contract. 
sea-staff (se'staf), n. Same as hanger, 7. 
sea-star (se'star), . A starfish of any kind. 
sea-starwort (se'star*wert), x. See starwort. 
sea-stick (se'stik), . A herring cured at sea as 
soon as it is caught, in order that it may be first 
in market and bring a high price. [Eng.] 
The herrings caught and cured at sea are called sea sticks. 
In order to render them what are called merchantable 
herrings, it is necessary to repack them with an additional 
quantity of salt. A. Smith, Wealth of Nations, III. 81. 
sea-stickleback (se'stik"l-bak), n. A marine 
gasterosteid, Spinachia vulgaris. 
sea-stock (se'stok),)i. Fresh provisions, stores, 
etc., placed on board ship for use at sea. 
With perhaps a recruit of green turtles for a sea-stock 
of fresh meat. Scammon. 
sea-Strawberry (se'stra"ber-i), n. A kind of 
polyp, Aleyonium rubiforme. 
sea-sunflower (se'sun"flou-er), n. A sea-anem- 
one. 
sea-surgeon (se'ser"jon), n. The surgeon-fish. 
sea-swallow (se'swoFo), . 1. A tern; any 
bird of the family Laridx and subfamily Ster- 
ninie: so called from the long pointed wings, 
long forked tail, and slender form of most of 
these birds, whose flight and carriage resem- 
ble those of swallows. See cuts under Sterna, 
tern, roseate, Gygis, Hydrocltelidon, and Inca. 
2. The stormy petrel, Profdlaria pelagica. 
See cut under petrel. [Prov. Eng.] 3. Inher., 
same as aylet. 
