sediment 
Scdiliii, Southwell Minster, England. 
sediment (sed'i-ment), n. [< OF. sediment, F. 
sMimentaiSp, Pg. It.sedimciito, <.\j.sedimentum, 
a settling, subsidence, < seitere, sit, settle, = E. 
sit: see sit.] The matter which settles to the 
bottom of water or any other liquid; settlings; 
lees ; dregs ; in geol., detrital material mechani- 
cally suspended in or deposited from water; the 
material of which the sedimentary rocks are 
composed. 
It IB not bare agitation, bat the sediment at the bottom, 
that troubles and defiles the water. South, Sermons. 
In recent years it has been attempted to calculate the 
amounts of sediment worn off by various great rivers from 
the surface of the regions drained by them. 
J. Fislce, Evolutionist, p. 18. 
Latericeous sediment. See lattriceous. 
sedimental (sed-i-men'tal), a. [< sediment -t- 
-al.] Pertaining to or of the nature of sediment 
or dregs. 
For if the ratified and azure body of this lower heaven 
be folded up like a scroll of parchment, then much more 
this drossy, feculent, and sedimental earth shall he burnt. 
Bee, T. Adatw, Works, I. 336. 
sedimentary (sed-i-men'ta-ri), . [= F. sedi- 
mentaire; as sediment + -'.'/] In geol., formed 
by deposition of materials previously held in 
suspension by water: nearly synonymous with 
(igneous. A rock is massive when it has no structure 
indicating an aqueous origin ; it is sedimentary when its 
appearance indicates that it is made up of the detritus of 
other rocks, eroded and carried away by watery currents, 
to be deposited in another place. All sedimentary rocks 
are made up of the fragments of the original crust of the 
earth, of eruptive materials which have come up through 
this crust from below, or of other sedimentary beds which, 
having been deposited, have again in their turn been 
subjected to erosion and redeposition. It is in sedimen- 
tary rocks that organic remains are found ; in the original 
crust of the earth, or in volcanic materials, traces of life 
could not be expected to occur. Sedimentary cata- 
ract, a soft cataract, in which the denser parts have sub- 
sided. 
sedimentation (sed"i-men-ta'shou), H. [< sed- 
iment + -ation.] The deposition of sediment; 
the accumulation of earthy sediment to form 
strata. 
sediment-collector (sed'i-ment-ko-lek*tor), n. 
Auy apparatus in vessels containing fluids for 
receiving deposits of sediment and impurities, 
with provision for their removal. 
sedition (se-dish'on), . [Early mod. E. also 
sedition ; < ME. xeditioun, < OF. sedition, sedi- 
tion, F. sedition = Pr. sedicio = Sp. sedition = 
Pg. sediyao = It. xedizione, < L. seditio(n-), dis- 
sension, civil discord, sedition, lit. 'a going 
apart,' hence dissension, < * serf ire (not used), go 
apart, < serf-, apart, + ire, go : see iter 1 , etc. Cf . 
ambition, redition, transition."] A factious com- 
motion in a state ; the stirring up of such a 
commotion; incitement of discontent against 
government and disturbance of public tran- 
quillity, as by inflammatory speeches or writ- 
ings, or acts or language tending to breach of 
public order: as, to stir up a sedition; a speech 
or pamphlet abounding in sedition. Edition, which 
is not strictly a legal term, comprises such offenses against 
the authority of the state as do not amount to treason, for 
want of an overt act. But it is not essential to the offense 
of sedition that it threaten the very existence of the state 
or its authority in its entire extent Thus, there are se- 
ditious assemblies, seditious libels, etc., as well as direct 
and indirect threats and acts amounting to sedition all 
of which are punishable as misdemeanors by fine and im- 
prisonment. 
Thus have I evermore been burdened with the word 
of sedition. Latimer, 3d Sermon bef. Edw. VI., 1549. 
And he released nnto them him that for sedition and 
murder was cast into prison. Luke xxiii. 25. 
If the Devil himself were to preach sedition to the 
world, he would never appear otherwise than as an Angel 
of Light. StUlingfteet, Sermons, 1. Tli. 
5462 
The hope of impunity is a strong incitement to sedition; 
the dread of punishment, a proportionably strong dis- 
couragement to it. A. Hamilton, Federalist, No. 20. 
Sedition Act. See alien and sedition lam. under alien. 
= Syn. Rebellion, Revolt, etc. See insurrection. 
sedltionary (se-dish'on-a-ri), a. and H. [< sc- 
dition + -<iry.] I. a. Pertaining to sedition ; 
seditious. 
II. . ; pi. seditioiiaries (-riz). An inciter or 
promoter of sedition. 
A seditiunary in a state, or a schismatick in the church, 
is like a sulphureous fiery vapour in the bowels of the 
earth, able to make that stable element reel again. 
Bp. Hall, Remains, p. 71. 
seditious (se-dish'us), . [Early mod. E. also 
seditious; <'OF. seditieux, seditieus, F. seditieux 
= Sp. Pg. sedicioso = It. sedizioso, < L. seditio- 
sus, factious, seditious, < seditio(n-), sedition: 
see sedition.] 1. Partaking of the nature of 
sedition ; tending to the promotion of sedition : 
as, seditious strife ; seditious speech; & sedition.* 
harangue. 
This sedicious conspiracye was not so secretly kept, nor 
so closely cloked. Hall, Henry IV., an. 6. 
We weaken the Reins of the Government of our selves 
by not holding them with a stricter hand, and make our 
Passions more seditious and turbulent by letting them 
alone. Stittinyjtett, Sermons, III. vii. 
It was enacted "that such as imagined or spoke any 
seditious or scandalous news, rumours, sayings, or tales of 
the King or the Queen should be set upon the pillory if 
it fortuned to be said without any city or town corpo- 
rate." Strype, Memorials, Queen Mary, an. 1554. 
2. Engaged in sedition ; guilty of sedition ; ex- 
citing or promoting sedition: as, seditious per- 
sons. 
While they lived together in one city, their number* 
exposed them to the delusions of sedition* demagogues. 
J. Adams, Works, IV. 49. 
= Svn. Incendiary. See insurrection. 
seditiously (se-dish'us-H), adt: In a seditious 
manner; with sedition. Locke, On Toleration. 
seditiousness (se-dish'us-nes), H. The state or 
character of being seditious. 
Sedlitz powder. See Scidlitz powder, under 
powder. 
seduce (se-dus' ), c. t. ; pret. and pp. seduced, ppr. 
seducing.' [= F. seduire = Pr. seduire = Sp. se- 
dutir = Pg. seduzir = It. sedurre, seducere, < L. 
seducere, lead apart or astray, < se-, apart, + 
ducere, lead: see duct. Cf. adduce, conduce, de- 
duce, etc.] To lead aside or astray; entice 
away from duty, legal obligation, or rectitude, 
as by promises, bribes, etc.; corrupt; specifi- 
cally, to entice (a woman) to a surrender of 
chastity. See seduction, '2. 
For me, the gold of France did not seduce ; 
Although I did admit it as a motive. 
Shall., Hen. V., ii. 2. 155. 
Beware of them, Diana; their promises, enticements, 
oaths, tokens, and all these engines of lust, are not the 
things they go under: many a maid hath been seduced by 
them. Shalt., All's Well, Hi. 5. 22. 
The best historians of later times have been seduced 
from truth, not by their imagination, but by their reason. 
Macaulay, History. 
<) Popular Applause ! what heart of man 
Is proof against thy sweet seducing charms? 
Courper, Task, ii. 4S2. 
= Syn. Lure, Decoy, etc. See allure*, and list iimlcr entice. 
seduceable (se-dii'sa-bl), a. [< seduce + -able.] 
Capable of being seduced or led astray ; seduci- 
ble. 
seducement (se-dus'ment), n. [= It. sednci- 
inento; as seduce + -went.] 1. The act of se- 
ducing; seduction. 
Court-madams, 
Daughters of my seducement. 
Middleton, Game at Chess, iv. 2. 
He made a very free and full acknowledgement of his 
error and seducement. 
Winthrop, Hist New England, II. 74. 
2. The means employed to seduce ; the arts of 
flattery, falsehood, and deception. 
'Twas a weak Part in Eve to yield to the Seducement of 
Satan ; but it was a weaker Thing in Adam to suffer him- 
self to be tempted by Eve. Houtell, Letters, ii. 24. 
seducer (se-du'ser), . [< seduce + -er 1 .] One 
who seduces; one who entices another from 
the path of rectitude and duty ; specifically, one 
who, by solicitation, flattery, or promises, per- 
suades a woman to surrender her chastity. 
Grant it me, king ! . . . otherwise a seducer flourishes, 
and a poor maid is undone. Shak., All's Well, v. 3. 146. 
God's eye sees in what seat there sits, or in what cor- 
ner there stands, some one man that wavers in matters 
of doctrine, and inclines to hearken after a seducer. 
Donne, Sermons, x. 
seducible (se-du'si-bl), . [< seduce + -ible.] 
Capable of being seduced, or drawn aside from 
the path of rectitude ; corruptible. 
Sedum 
The vicious examples of ages past poison the curiosity of 
these present, affording a hint of sin unto seducible spirits. 
Sir T. Browne, Vulg. Err., vii. 19. 
seducingly (se-du'siug-li), adv. In a seducing 
or seductive manner. 
seducive (se-du'siv), a. [< seduce + -ire.] Se- 
ductive, [bare.] 
There is John Courtland ah ! a seducive dog to drink 
with. Bulwer, Eugene Aram, I. 11. 
seduction (se-duk'shon), ii. [< OF. xrtlm'tion, 
F. seduction = Pr. seduction = Sp. seduction = 
Pg. seducqSo = It. nedueione, < L. seductio(n-), 
a leading astray, < seducere, pp. tteductus, se- 
duce: see seduce.] 1. The act of seducing; 
enticement, especially to evil ; seductive influ- 
ences : as, the seductions of wealth. 
The seductions of such Averroistic pantheism as was 
preached by heretics like Amalric of Bena. 
Encyc. Brit., X. 649. 
2. The act of persuading a woman to surrender 
her chastity. 
A woman who is above flattery, and despises all praise 
but that which flows from the approbation of her own 
heart, is, morally speaking, out of reach of seduction. 
Richardson, Clarissa Harlowe. 
Specifically, in law : (a) The tort committed against a wo- 
man, or against her parent or master, by enticing her to 
surrender her chastity. (6) In some jurisdictions (by stat- 
ute), the criminal offense of so doing, especially under 
promise of marriage. 
seductive (se-duk'tiv), a. [= Sp. seductiro, < 
L. geductus, 'pp- of seducere. lead astray (see 
seduce), + -ive.] Tending to seduce or lead 
aside or astray; apt to mislead by flattering 
appearances. 
Go, splendid sycophant ! No more 
Display thy soft seductive arts. 
Langhorne, Fables of Flora, I. 
seductively (se-duk'tiv-li), adr. In a seduc- 
tive manner ; with seduction, 
seductiveness (se-duk'tiv-nes). w. Seductive 
character, influence, or tendency : as, the seduc- 
tiveness of sin. 
seductor (se-duk'tor), n. [= F. seducteur = 
Sp. Pg. sedtictor = It. seducitore, < LL. seductor, 
a misleader, seducer, < L. seducere, pp. seduc- 
tus, mislead, seduce: see seduce.] One who 
seduces or leads astray ; a leader of sedition. 
[Rare.] 
To suppress 
This hold seductor. 
Massinger, Believe as you List, ii. >. 
seductress (se-duk'tres), . [< seductor + -ess.] 
A female seducer ; a woman who leads a man 
astray. Imp. Diet. 
sedulity (se-du'li-ti), n. [< OF. sedulite = It. 
sedulita, < Li. sedulita(t-)s, sedulousness, assidu- 
ity, < sedulus, sedulous: see sedulous.] Sedu- 
lous care and diligence ; diligent and assiduous 
application ; constant attention ; unremitting 
industry. 
Let there be but the same propensity and bent of will 
to religion, and there will be the same sedulity and inde- 
fatigable industry in men's enquiries into it South. 
Sedulity . . . admits no intermission, no interruption, 
no discontinuance, no trepidity, no indifferency in reli- 
gious offices. Donne, Sermons, xxlii. 
That your Sedulities in the Reception of our Agent were 
so cordial and so egregious we both gladly understand, 
and earnestly exhort ye that you would persevere in your 
good Will and Affection towards us. 
Mitton, Letters of State, May 31, 1650. 
sedulous (sed'u-lus), a. [< L. sedulus, diligent, 
prob. lit. 'sitting fast, persistent ' (cf. assiduus, 
busy, occupied, assiduous), < sedere, sit (cf. se- 
des, a seat) : see sedent, sit. In another view, 
lit. ' going, active, agile,' < -tf sad, go, seen in 
Gr. 6o6f, a way, b&tven, travel.] Diligent in ap- 
plication or in the pursuit of an object; con- 
stant, steady, and persevering; steadily indus- 
trious; assiduous. 
The sedulous Bee 
Distill'd her Honey on thy purple Lips. 
Prior, First Hymn of Callimachus. 
The laziest will be sedulous and active where he is in 
1 mi suit of what he has much at heart. 
Sw\fl, Against Abolishing Christianity. 
=SyiL See assiduity. 
sedulously (sed'u-lus-li), adv. In a sedulous 
manner ; diligently ; industriously ; assidu- 
ously. 
sedulousness (sed'u-lus-nes), . The state or 
quality of beingsediilous; assiduity; assiduous- 
ness ; steady diligence ; continued industry or 
effort. = Syn. See comparison under assiduity. 
Sedum (se'dum), n. [ML. (Tournefort, 1700), 
< L. sedum, houseleek.] 1. A genus of poly- 
petalous plants, of the order Crassulacex. it 
is characterized by flowers with a four- or five-lobed 
calyx, the same number of separate petals, twice as 
many stamens alternately adnate to the petals, and a 
number of small scales inserted beneath the four or 
