sebaceous 
having been obstructed and the secretion accumulated, 
this being accompanied by overgrowth of the epithelial 
lining of the sac and the surrounding connective tissue. 
Sebaceous gland, crypt, or follicle, a cutaneous aci- 
nose gland of small size, opening usually into a hair-folli- 
cle, and secreting a greasy substance which lubricates the 
hair and the skin. Such structures are almost universal 
among the higher vertebrates, and of many special kinds, 
though all of one general character. In man they are es- 
pecially notable on the face, being represented by the pores 
in the skin, which when stopped with a morbidly consistent 
secretion produce the unsightly black specks called come- 
dones. The Meibomian follicles of the eyelids, the prepu- 
tiiil follicles of the penis, the anal or subcaudal pouch of 
the badger, etc., are similar structures. The rump-gland 
of birds is an enormous sebaceous gland. (See elfeodochon.) 
The mammary glands are allied structures, and apparently 
derived from sebaceous glands. The scent-glands of va- 
rious animals, as the musk, beaver, civet, badger, etc., 
are all of like character. They serve to keep the skin in 
order, attract the sexes, repel enemies, etc. See castorV, 
civet*, musk, and cut under hair. Sebaceous humor, 
an oily matter secreted by the sebaceous glands, which 
serves to lubricate the hairs and the skin. Also called 
sebum, sebum cutaneum, and smeffma. Sebaceous tu- 
mor, (a) A sebaceous cyst. See above, (ft) Same as 
pearl-tumor, 2. 
sebacic (se-bas'ik), a. [= F. sebacique ; as se- 
bac(eous) + -ic.] Of or pertaining to fat; ob- 
tained from fat: as, sebacic acid (CinHigO^), an 
acid obtained from olein. It crystallizes in 
white, nacreous, very light needles or laminae 
resembling those of benzoic acid. Also sebic. 
Se-Baptist (se'bap"tist), n. [< L. se, oneself, 
+ LL. baptistes, baptist : see baptist."] One who 
baptizes himself; specifically, a member of a 
small religious body which separated from the 
Brownists early in the seventeenth century: 
said to have been founded by John Smyth, who 
first baptized himself and then his followers. 
Sebastes (se-bas'tez), re. [NL. (Cuvier, 1829), 
< Gr. <jc/3aoTof, reverend, august, < oefid&oBai, 
be afraid of, < o^laf, reverential awe, < otflea- 
ffai, feel awe or fear.] A genus of scorprenoid 
fishes, with few species, of northern seas. It 
was employed first for Scorpxnidx with a scaly head and 
without filaments, but by recent ichthyologists it is re- 
stricted to species with 15 dorsal spines and 31 vertebra, 
inhabiting the North Atlantic, and typical of the Sebasti- 
Rose-fish, or Norway Haddock (Sebnstes marin 
rue. S. marinus, of both coasts of the North Atlantic, is 
the redttsh, rose-fish, red-snapper, Norway haddock, or 
hemdurgan, of a nearly uniform orange-red color. 
Sebastiania (se-bas-ti-a'ni-a), . [NL. (Spren- 
gel, 1821), named after Antonio Sebastiani, who 
wrote (1813-19) on the plants of Rome.] A ge- 
nus of apetalous plants of the order Euphorbia- 
cese, tribe Crotoneee, and subtribe ffippomaneee. 
It is characterized by monoecious flowers without a disk 
and with minute floral bracts, a three- to five-parted calyx, 
the stamens usually two or three, the ovary three-celled, 
with spreading or revolute undivided styles and with three 
ovules. There are about 40 species, natives chiefly of Bra- 
zil, with two in the tropics of the Old World, and another, 
S. lucida, known as crabwood or paisonwood, in the West 
Indies and Florida. They are usually slender shrubs, with 
small and narrow alternate leaves and slender racemes, 
which are terminal or also lateral, and consist of many 
minute staminate flowers, usually with a single larger soli- 
tary pistillate flower below. 
Sebasticb.tb.ys (se-bas-tik'this), n. [NL. (Gill, 
1862), < Gr. oT/Sacrdf. reverend, august, + ixOi't, 
a fish.] A genus of scorpasnoid fishes, with 13 
dorsal spines, 27 vertebrae, and moderate lower 
jaw. About 40 species inhabit the North Pacific. They 
are chiefly known as roclifish and rock-cod. They are of ra- 
ther large size and varied, often brilliant, colors. All are 
ovoviviparous, and bring forth young about half an inch 
long. They have many local designations. See cuts un- 
der corsair, priest-fish, and rockfish. 
Sebastinae (se-bas-tl'ne), n. pi. [NL., < Sebastes 
+ -irne.] A subfamily of scorpsenoid fishes, 
typified by the genus Sebastes, having the verte- 
brse increased in number (12 abdominal, 15 to 
19 caudal), and the dorsal commencing over 
the operculum. The species are Pararctalian, 
and most numerous in the North Pacific. See 
rocA;/i.s7i . 
sebastine (se-bas'tin), n. and a. I. n. A scor- 
psenoid fish of the subfamily Sebastian. 
II. a. Of, or having characteristics of, the <S- 
buxtinse. 
Sebastodes (se-bas-to'dez), n. [NL. (Gill, 
1861), < Sebastes + Gr. fMof, form.] A genus of 
scorpasuoid fishes, containing one species, dif- 
fering from Scbastichthys by the very prominent 
chin and minute scales. 
5451 
sebastoid (se-bas'toid), a. Of, or having char- 
acteristics of, the Sebastitise ; like the genus ,V- 
bastes. 
sebastomania (se-bas-to-ma'ni-a), n. [< Gr. 
(Tffiaorof, reverend, august, + [trivia, madness.] 
Religious insanity. Wharton. [Rare.] 
Sebastopol goose. See goose. 
Sebat, Shebat (se-, she-bat'), n. [Heb.] The 
fifth month of the Jewish civil year, and the 
eleventh of the sacred or ecclesiastical year, 
corresponding to the latter part of January and 
the first part of February. Zech. i. 7. 
sebate (se'bat), . [= F. sebate = Sp. Pg. se- 
bato; as L. sebum, tallow, + -ate 1 .] In ehem., a 
salt formed by sebacic acid and a base. 
sebesten, sebestan (se-bes'ten, -tan), n. [Also 
sepistan ; = OF. sebeste, F. sebeste = Sp. sebesten, 
the tree, sebasta, the fruit, = Pg. sebeste, sebes- 
teira, the tree, sebesta, the fruit (NL. sebesten), 
= It. sebesten, < Ar. sebestan, Pers. sapistdn, the 
fruit sebesten.] A tree of the genus Cordia; 
also, its plum-like fruit. There are two species. C. 
Myxa, the more important, is found from Egypt to India 
and tropical Australia ; the other is the East Indian C. ob- 
liqua (C laHfolia). In the East their dried fruit is used 
medicinally for its demulcent properties ; it was formerly 
so used in Europe. In India the natives pickle the fresh 
fruit. Also called Assyrian or sebesten ptum. 
Sebic (se'bik), a. [< L. sebum, tallow, grease, 
+ -ic.] Same as sebacic. 
sebiferous (se-bif'e-rus), a. [< L. sebum, tal- 
low, grease, -f- ferre = E. bear 1 .] In anat., bot., 
and zoiil., sebaceous; sebiparous. Sebiferous 
gland. Same as sebaceous gland (which see, under seba- 
ceous). 
sebilla (se-bil'a), n. [= OF. sebitte, F. sebile, a 
basket, pannier, wooden bowl; origin unknown.] 
In stone-cutting, a wooden bowl for holding the 
sand and water used in sawing, grinding, pol- 
ishing, etc. 
sebiparous (se-bip'a-rus), a. [< L. sebum, tal- 
low, grease, +' parere, produce.] Producing se- 
baceous matter; sebiferous; sebaceous, as a 
follicle or gland. 
sebka (seb'ka), . [Also sebkha; Ar. (?).] A 
name given 'in northern Africa to the dry bed 
of a salt lake, or to an area covered with an 
incrustation of salt; a salt-marsh. Compare 
skott. 
At last its dwindling current bends westward to the 
sebkha (salt marsh) of Debiaya. Encyc. Brit., XVI. 832. 
seborrhea, seborrhcea (seb-o-re'a), . [NL. 
seborrhaia, < L. sebum, tallow (see sebaceous), + 
Gr. poia, a flow, < peiv, flow.] A disease of the 
sebaceous glands, characterized by excessive 
and perverted excretion. It is divisible into sebor- 
rhea oleosa and seborrhea sicca, the former covering the 
skin with an oily coating, and the latter presenting crusts 
of the dried secretion. Seborrhea genitalium, the ac- 
cumulation of a cheesy excretion under the prepuce in the 
male, and within the labia in the female. 
seborrheic, seborrhoeic (seb-o-re'ik), a. [< seb- 
orrhea + -ic.] Of the nature of, or pertaining 
to, seborrhea. 
Sebuaean(seb-u-e'an), n. [< LGr. 2e/3uaio.] One 
of a sect of Samaritans who kept the sacred 
festivals at dates different from those pre- 
scribed in the Jewish ritual. 
sebum (se'bum), . [NL., < L. sebum, tallow: 
see sebaceous. Cf. swum.] The secretion of 
the sebaceous glands. Also sebmn cutaneum. 
Sebum palpebrale, the secretion ol the Heibomian 
glands. Sebum prseputiale, smegma, 
sebundy, sebundee (se-bun'di, -de), n. [Also 
sibbendy; < Hind, sibandi, Telugu sibbandi, ir- 
regular soldiery.] In the East Indies, an irreg- 
ular or native soldier or local militiaman, gen- 
erally employed in the service of the revenue 
and police departments; also, collectively, lo- 
cal militia or police. 
I found him in the command of a regiment of sebundees, 
or native militia. Hon. R. Lindsay, Anecdotes of an 
[Indian Life, ii., note. 
The employment of these people ... as sebundy is ad- 
vantageous. Wellington Despatches (ed. 1837X II. 170. 
[(Yule and BurneU.) 
Sec., sec. An abbreviation of secretary, secant, 
second, section, etc. 
sec. An abbreviation of secundum, according to. 
secability (sek-a-bil'i-ti), n. [< LL. secabili- 
ta(t-)s, capacity for being cut, < secabilis, that 
may be cut, < L. secare, cut.] Capability of be- 
ing cut or divided into parts. 
It is possible that it {matter] may not be indefinitely 
divisible ; that there may be a limit to the successive divi- 
sion or stability of its parts. Graham, Chemistry, 1. 133. 
Secale (se-ka'le), n. [NL. (Linnasus, 1737),< L. 
secale, rye, < secare, cut : see secant.'] A genus 
of grasses, including rye, of the tribe Hordese 
and subtribe Triticese. It is characterized by its 
crowded cylindrical spike of compressed spikelets, which 
secern 
have the flat side sessile against a hollowed joint of the 
main axis of the plant, and which are commonly but two- 
flowered. The flowering glume is tipped with a long awn 
formed from the live nerves, of which the lateral are ob- 
scure on the inner face and conspicuous on the outer. The 
2 species have been long spontaneous in western and cen- 
tral Asia, and also in the Mediterranean region, where 3 
or 4 native varieties are by some considered distinct spe- 
cies. All are erect annual grasses with flat leaves and 
dense terminal bearded spikes. The secale cornutum of 
pharmacy, used in obstetric practice, is merely the com- 
mon rye affected with ergot. See rye. 
Secamone (sek-a-mo'ne), n. [NL. (R. Brown, 
1808).] A genus of gamopetalous plants, of 
the order Asclejiiadacex, type of the tribe Seca- 
moneee. It is distinguished from the other genus, Toxo- 
carptis, by the usually dextrorsely overlapping lobes of the 
wheel-shaped and five-parted corolla, and by the simple 
scales of the crown with distinct straight or incurved tips. 
There are about 24 species, natives of the tropics in Afri- 
ca, Asia, and Australia, extending to South Africa and the 
Mascarene Islands. They are much-branched shrubby 
climbers, bearing opposite leaves which are often punc- 
tate with pellucid dots. The small flowers are borne in 
axillary cymes. Some species secrete an acrid principle, 
useful in medicine. The roots of S. emetica are employed 
in India as a substitute for ipecacuanha. 
Secamoneae (sek-a-mo'ne-e), n.pl. [NL. (End- 
licher, 1836), < Secamone + -ex.] A tribe of 
gamopetalous plants, of the order Asclejnada- 
CCiV. It is characterized by the two minute globular pol- 
len-masses within each anther-cell and by the inflexed 
membrane which terminates each anther. It includes the 
2 genera Secamone (the type) and Toxocarpus, both natives 
principally of Asia and Africa within the tropics, with per- 
haps a third genus, Gerianthus, of the East Indies. 
secancy (te'kan-si), n. [< secan(t) + -cy.] A 
cutting or intersection : as, the point of secancy 
of one line with another. 
secant (se'kant), a. and n. [= F. secant = Sp. 
Pg. It. secante = D. sccans = G. secante = Sw. 
Dan. sekant, < L. secan(t-)s, ppr. of secare, cut, 
= Teut. -\/ sag, seg, in AS. sagu, 
a saw, sigtlie, a scythe, etc. From 
the L. secare are also ult. section, 
sector, etc., bisect, dissect, exsect, 
intersect, prosect, resect, trisect, 
insect, scion, sickle, risk, etc.] I. 
a. Cutting; dividing into two 
parts. Secant plane, a plane cutting 
a surface or solid. 
II. n. 1. A line which cuts a 
figure in any way. 2. Specifi- Secant 
cally, in trigon., a line from the The ratio of AB 
center of a circle through one ex- toAuisthesecant 
., - . , i of the angle A ; 
tremity of an arc (whose secant and AB K the * 
it is said to be) to the tangent gg_ l of "" arc 
from the other extremity of the 
same arc ; or the ratio of this line to the radius ; 
the reciprocal of the cosine. Abbreviated sec. 
Double secant. See double. Secant of an angle, a 
trigonometrical function, the reciprocal of the cosine, 
equal to the ratio of the hypotenuse to a leg of a right 
triangle when these include the angle. Secant Of an 
arc, a line drawn normally outward from one extremity 
of the arc of a circle until it meets the tangent from the 
other extremity. This use of the term was introduced in 
1583 by the Danish mathematician Thomas Finke. 
secco (sek'ko), n. and a. [It., = F. sec, dry, < 
L. siccus, dry.] I. n. In the fine arts, same as 
tempera painting (which see, under tempera). 
Also called fresco secco. 
II. a. In music, unaccompanied; plain. See 
recitative. 
secede (se-sed'), v. i. ; pret. and pp. seceded, ppr. 
seceding. [< L. secedere, pp. secessus, go away, 
withdraw, < se-, apart, + ccdere, go, go away : 
see cede.] To go apart ; retire ; withdraw from 
fellowship, communion, or association; sepa- 
rate one's self from others or from some asso- 
ciation; specifically, to withdraw from a po- 
litical or religious organization : as, certain 
ministers seceded from the Church of Scotland 
about the year 1733 ; certain of the United 
States of America attempted to secede and form 
an independent government in 1860-61. 
seceder (se-se'der), n. [< secede + -er 1 .] 1. 
One who secedes or withdraws from commu- 
nion or association with an organization. 2. 
[cap.] A member of the Secession Church in 
Scotland. See Secession Church, under seces- 
sion original Seceders, United Original Seceders, 
religious denominations*in Scotland, offshoots, more or 
less remote, from branches of the Secession Church. 
Secern (se-sern'), v. t. and i. [< L. secernere, 
pp. secretus, sunder, separate, < se-, apart, + 
cernere, divide, separate: see concern, deeern, 
discern, etc., and cf. secret, secrete.] 1. To sep- 
arate. 
A vascular and tubular system, with a secerning or sep- 
arating cellular arrangement. 
B. W. Richardson, Prevent. Med., p. 95. 
2. To distinguish. 
Averroes secerns a sense of titillatiou and a sense of 
hunger and thirst. Sir W. Hamilton, Metaph., xxvii. 
