Two-handed Sword, with Second 
Guard a; isth century. 
second 
Second coining, i 1 1 theul. , the second coming of Christ ; the 
second advent. Second controller. See contrail, / '. 
Second cousin, see mi, -2. Second curvature. 
See curmlvre. Second-day, .Monday, the second day of 
the week: so called by members of the Society of Friends. 
Second death. See death. Second dentition, in 
dipliyodont mammals, the set of teeth which replaces the 
first or milk dentition; the permanent dentition of any 
such mammal ; also, the period during which this denti- 
tion is acquired, in man ranging from tlie sixth to the 
twentieth year, or later, when the last molar (wisdom- 
tooth) comes into functional position. Second dis- 
tance, in iKttntiny, the part of a picture between the fore- 
ground and background. Second ditch, energy, ex- 
treme. See the nouns. Secondflgureofsyllpgism. See 
jigure, 9. Second flour, fluxion, furrows, intention, 
inversion, iron, Joint, 
man, matter.notion, ped- 
al. See the nouns. Second 
guard, an additional or out- 
er guard of a sword, (a) In 
the two-handed sword, or 
spadone, a pair of hooks or 
projections slightly curved 
toward the point,forged with 
the blade itself, and separat- 
ing the heel from the sharp- 
ened part of the blade. See 
spadone. (f>) In rapiers ol 
the sixteenth and seven- 
teenth centuries, the outer 
defense beyond the cross- 
guard, formed of a ring sur- 
rounding the blade, a cross, 
pair of shells, or the like. 
Second nerve. Same as 
ttptic nerve (which see, under 
optic). Second position. 
Sea position, 4 and 10. Sec- 
ond probation, a second 
trial which some theologians 
suppose will be given in an- 
other life to those who have 
refused to repent and accept 
the gospel in this life. See 
probation. Second scent, 
shift, sight. See the nouns. 
Secondsubstance.agen- 
eral substance ; a thing gen- 
erally considered, as man in 
general. To get one's second breath or wind. See 
breath. Ho play second fiddle. See fiddle. 
II. . 1. The one next after the first in order, 
place, time, rank, value, quality, or impor- 
tance; that one of any two considered rela- 
tively which follows or comes immediately af- 
ter the other. 
Tis great pity that the noble Moor 
Should hazard such a place as his own second 
With one of an ingraft infirmity. 
Shalt., Othello, ii. 3. 143. 
2. Inmusie: (a) A tone on the next or second dia- 
tonic degree above or below a given tone ; the 
next tone in a diatonic series. (6) The interval 
between any tone and a tone on the next degree 
above or below, (c) The harmonic combina- 
tion of two tones at the interval thus described. 
(d) In a scale, the second tone from the bot- 
tom : solmizated re. The typical interval of the sec- 
ond is that between the first and second tones of the 
major scale, which is acoustically represented by the ra- 
tio 8 : 9. Such a second is called major, and also the great- 
er or acute major second, to distinguish it from the second 
between the second and third tones of the scale, whose 
ratio is 9 : 10, and which is called the less or grave major 
second. Both of these contain two half-steps. A second 
a half-step shorter than the above is called minor; and 
one a half-step longer is called augmented. All kinds of 
seconds are classed as dissonances. Both varieties of 
major second are also called whole steps, whole tones, or 
simply tones; and a minor second is also called a half-step 
or semitone. See interval, (e) A second voice or 
instrument that is, one whose part is subordi- 
nate to or lower than another of the same kind ; 
specifically, a second violin or second soprano ; 
popularly, an alto. (/) Same as seconclo. 
Sometimes he sings second to her, sometimes she sings 
second to him ; and it is a fragmentary kind of thing a 
line, or a verse, or merely the humming of the tune. 
W. Black, In Far Lochaber, iii. 
3. pi. That which is of second grade or quality ; 
hence, any inferior or baser matter. 
Take thou my oblation, poor but free, 
Which is not mix'd with seconds. 
Shak., Sonnets, cxxv. 
Specifically (a) A coarse kind of flour, or the bread made 
from it. 
We buys a pound of bread, that 's two- pence farthing 
best seconds, and a farthing's worth of dripping. 
Mayheiv, London Labour and London Poor, II. 563. 
(6) Acetic acid made from acetate of lime. 
4. In base-ball, same as second base. See base- 
ball. 5. Another; another person; an in- 
ferior. 
He which setteth a second in the place of God shall goe 
into hell. Az. 31. 
The Koran, trans, in Purchas's Pilgrimage, p. 251. 
6. One who assists and supports another; 
specifically, one who attends a principal in a 
duel or a pugilistic encounter, to advise or aid 
him, and see that all proceedings between the 
combatants are fair, and in accordance with 
5453 
the rules laid down for the duel or the prize- 
ring. 
I'll be your second with all my heart and if you should 
get a quietus, you may command me entirely. 
Sheridan, The Rivals, v. 3. 
The seconds left off fighting, and went to the assistance 
of their principals ; and it was then, it was averred, that 
Gen. Macartney treacherously stabbed the Duke. 
J. Ashton, Social Life in Reign of Queen Anne, II. 195. 
7f. Aid; help; assistance. 
This second from his mother will well urge 
Our late design, and spur on Cresar's rage. 
B. Jonson, Sejanus, ii. 2. 
Second Of exchange. See first of exchange, under ex- 
change. 
second 1 (sek'und), v. t. [< OF. (and F.) secon- 
der = Pr. segondar = Cat. secundar = Sp. Pg. 
scgtmdar = It. secondare (= D. sekonderen = G. 
sccundiren = Dan. sekundere = Sw. selcundera), 
second, < L. secundare, direct favorably, adapt, 
accommodate, favor, further, second, < secun- 
dtts, following, favorable, propitious : see sec- 
ond 1 , a. ] 1. To follow up; supplement. 
You some permit 
To second ills with ills, each elder worse, 
And make them dread it, to the doers' thrift. 
Shak., Cymbeline, v. 1. 14. 
They intend to second thir wicked Words, if ever they 
have Power, with more wicked Deeds. 
Milton, Free Commonwealth. 
2. To support; aid; forward; promote; back, 
or back up ; specifically, to assist in a duel. 
We have supplies to second our attempt. 
Shak., 2 Hen. IV., iv. 2. 45. 
Come, follow me, assist me, second me 1 
B. Jonson, Poetaster, v. 1. 
It is a mortifying circumstance, which greatly perplexes 
many a painstaking philosopher, that nature often refuses 
to second his most profound and elaborate efforts. 
Irving, Knickerbocker, p. 40. 
3f. In music, to sing second to. 
Hoarse is my voice with crying, else a part 
Sure would I beare, though rude ; but, as I may, 
With sobs and sighes I second will thy song. 
L. Bryskett, Pastorall ^Eglogue. 
4. In legislative and deliberative bodies, pub- 
lic meetings, etc., formally to express approval 
and support of (a motion, amendment, or pro- 
posal), as a preliminary to further discussion or 
to formal adoption. 5. In the British Royal 
Artillery and Royal Engineers, to put into tem- 
porary retirement, as an officer when he accepts 
civil employment under the crown. He is seconded 
after sixmonthsof such employment that is, he loses mili- 
tary pay, but retains his rank, seniority, etc., in his corps. 
After being seconded for ten years, he must elect to return 
to military duty or to retire altogether. [Among military 
men generally pronounced se-kond'ed or s?-kund'ed.) 
second 2 (sek'und), n. [= D. sekonde,< F. seconde 
= Pr. segonda = Sp. Pg. segundo = It. secondo 
= G. sekunde = Icel. sekwnda = Dan. Sw. sekund, 
< ML. secunda, a second, abbr. otminuta secunda, 
'second minute,' i. e. second small division, 
distinguished from minutaprima, ' first minute,' 
prime (see minute?) ; fern, of L. secundvs, sec- 
ond: see second 1 . Cf. prime.'] The sixtieth 
part of a minute, (a) The sixtieth part of a minute 
of time that is, the second division, next to the hour; 
hence, loosely, a very short time. (6) The sixtieth part of 
a minute of a degree that is, the second division, next to 
the degree. A degree of a circle and an hour of time are 
each divided into 60 minutes, and each minute is divided 
into 60 seconds, usually marked 60" for subdivisions of the 
degree, and 60s. for seconds of time. See degree, 8 (&), and 
minutes, 2. 
second-adventist(sek'imd-ad'ven-tist), n. One 
who believes in the second coming of Christ to 
establish a person al kingdom on the earth ; a pre- 
millenarian ; more specifically, one of an organ- 
ized body of such believers, embracing several 
branches, with some differences in creed and 
organization. See second advent, under advent. 
secondarily (sek'un-da-ri-li), adv. [< ME. sec- 
undarilie; < secondary + -fy 2 .] 1. In a secon- 
dary or subordinate manner; not primarily or 
originally. 
These atoms make the wind primarily tend downwards, 
though other accidental causes impel them secondarily to 
a sloping motion. Sir K. Digby. 
2. Secondly ; in the second place. 
Raymonde swere agayn secundarUie 
That neuer no day forsworne wolde he be. 
Bom. of Partenay (E. E. T. S.), 1. 512. 
First apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers. 
1 Cor. xii. 28. 
secondariness (sek'un-da-ri-nes), n. Secondary 
or subordinate character, quality, or position. 
The primariness and secondariness of the perception. 
Norri&. 
Full of a girl's sweet sense of secondariness to the ob- 
ject of her love. The Century, XXVII. 70. 
secondary 
secondary (sek'un-da-ri), a. and n. [Early 
mod. E. xecoiidnrir, xmnxlurit; < ME. seciin- 
darie (in adv.); = G. wmxli'ir = Sw. m-lcuixliii' 
= Dan. sekuneusr, < OF. secondaire, F. si-coti- 
ilaire = Pr. secuixlari = Sp. Pg. secmidario = 
It. secondario, < L. secinidariitx, of or belonging 
to the second class, second-class, second-rate, 
inferior, < secundus, second: see second 1 .'] I. 
a. 1. Of a second class or group; second, not 
merely as so counted, but in its own nature ; 
appropriately reckoned as second ; fulfilling a 
function similar to that which is primary, but 
less important: opposed to jiriniary or jirinci- 
pal. That which is secondary, properly speaking, differs 
from anything subsidiary or subordinate in that the latter 
only serves to enable the primary to fulfil its function, 
while the secondary thing fulfils a similar but less impor- 
tant function. Thus, a subsidiary purpose is a means to 
an ultimate end ; but a secondary purpose or end is a 
weaker motive reinforcing a stronger one. 
Qualities calde elementarie, 
Knowne by the names of first & secundarie. 
Times' Whistle (E. E. T. S.), p. 117. 
The supreme power can never be said to be lodged in the 
original body of electors, but rather in those assemblies 
of secondary or tertiary electors who chose the represen- 
tative. Brougham. 
Hence 2. Subordinate; inferior. 
The work 
Of secondary hands by task transferr'd 
From Father to his Son. Milton, P. L., v. 854. 
3. In ornith. : (a) Of the second order, rank, 
row, or series, between the primary and the ter- 
tiary, as remiges or flight-feathers. See cuts 
under covert, ., 6, and 6ml 1 . (6) Pertaining 
to the secondaries : as, the secondary coverts. 
These are the largest and most conspicuous of the tec- 
trices of a bird's wing, and are divided into greater, me- 
dian or middle, and lesser. See cut under covert, n., 6. 
4. In mineral., subsequent in origin ; produced 
by chemical change or by mechanical or other 
means after the original mineral was formed : 
said of cleavage, twinning, etc. : as, the secon- 
dary twinning sometimes developed in pyroxene 
and other species by pressure. 5. [.cap.'] \npa- 
leon., same as Mesozoic Secondary acids, acids 
derived from organic acids by the substitution of two equiv- 
alents of an alcoholic radical for two of hydrogen. Sec- 
ondary alcohol. See alcohol, s. Secondary ampu- 
tation, amputation of a limb, etc. , performed after inflam- 
matory complication or suppuration has set in. Secon- 
dary battery, in elect. See battery. Secondary capit- 
ulum, in bot., one ol the six smaller cells borne by each 
of the eight capitula in the antheridium of the Characete. 
Secondary cause, a partial cause producing a small 
part of the effect ; also, a less principal cause ; one which 
aids the principal cause to produce the effect, as a pro- 
egumenal or procatarctical cause,or an instrument. Sec- 
ondary caustic. See caustic. Secondary charge, in 
her., a small charge of which a number are borne upon 
the field, originally as a mark of cadency and not of the 
achievement of the head of the family : these have gener- 
ally decreased in number, sometimes to six or even fewer; 
but in some cases the escutcheon remains covered with 
them, and they are then blazoned sans nombre or seme. 
Secondary circle. See circle. Secondary coil, that 
coil of an inductorium in which the secondary currents are 
induced. It is of fine or coarse wire, and long or short, 
according as the potential of the induced current is to be 
higher or lower than that of the primary. See induction, 6. 
Secondary colors, in a fanciful theory of colors for- 
merly in some vogue, colors produced by the mixture of any 
two primary colors in equal proportions, as green, formed 
of blue and yellow, orange, of red and yellow, or purple, 
of red and blue. All this, however, is now discarded as in- 
consistent with fact ; since yellow is not a primary color, 
the mixture of blue and yellow is never more than greenish, 
and often pink, etc. Secondary consciousness, reflec- 
tive consciousness ; consciousness trained to self-observa- 
tion. Secondary conveyance, in law, same as deriva- 
tive conveyance. See conveyance. Secondary creditor. 
See creditor. Secondary current, in efec!., a momentary 
current induced in a closed circuit by a current of elec- 
tricity passing through the same or a contiguous circuit 
at the beginning and also at the end of the passage of the 
primitive current. Secondary deviation, dial. See 
the nouns. Secondary education. See education, 1. 
Secondary embryo-sacs, in bot., certain chambers 
within the embryo-sac of gymnosperms within which 
the female elements are directly developed. See corpus- 
cle, 3. Secondary end. See def. l. Secondary en- 
largement (of mineral fragments), the growth of grains 
of quartz, feldspar, hornblende, etc., as in a fragmental 
rock, by gradual deposition of the material about the ori- 
ginal fragment, the newer parts (secondary quartz, etc.) 
ordinarily having the same crystallographic orientation 
as the old : in this way complete quartz-crystals are some- 
times formed from rounded grains in a sandstone. Sec- 
ondary evidence. See evidence. Secondary fever, a 
febrile condition which recurs in certain affections, as in 
the maturation of smallpox. Secondary hemorrhage, 
hemorrhage occurring several days after a wound or op- 
eration. Secondary liber, in bot., liber formed on the 
outer face of a liber-bundle. Secondary linkage, me- 
ridian, motion. See the nouns. Secondary myceli- 
um, in bot. , certain rhizoid attachments developed from 
the base of a sporophore, which are somewhat like the 
normal mycelium of the species. DeBarti. Secondary 
plane, in crjtstal., any plane on a crystal which is not one 
of the primary planes. Secondary planet. See planet, 
1. Secondary prothallium, in bot., the supplementary 
or second prothallium developed from the mucilaginous 
protoplasm which fills the basal part of the macrospore 
in the Selaginellefe. It is frequently separated from the 
