seeming 
2. That appears to be (real, proper, or the 
like); having a semblance or appearance of 
being real, or what is purported ; ostensible ; 
apparent: as, .teeming happiness; a seeming 
Mend. 
We have very oft awaked him, as if to carry him to ex- 
ecution, and allowed him a seeming warrant for it. 
Shalt., M. for M., iv. 2. 160. 
To your court 
Whiles he was hastening, . . . meets he on the way 
The father of this seeming lady. Shak. , W. T., v. 1. 181. 
All things seek their own good, or at least seeming good. 
Burton, Anat. of Mel., p. 103. 
seemingt (se'ming), adv. [< seeming, /..] In 
a becoming or seemly manner; seemly. 
Bear your body more seeming, Audrey. 
Shak., As you Like it, v. 4. 72. 
seemingly (se'ming-li), adv. In a seeming 
manner; apparently; ostensibly; in appear- 
ance ; in show ; in semblance. 
This the father seemingly complied with. 
Addison, Freeholder, No. 43. 
This Kceminyly simple feeling. 
H. Spencer, Prin. of Psychol. (2d ed.), 60. 
seeniingness (se'ming-nes), . Fair appear- 
ance; plausibility; semblance. 
The authority of Aristotle and his learned followers 
presses us on the one side, and the seemingness of those 
reasons we have already mention'd perswades us on the 
other side. Sir K. DigTnj, Bodies, vii. 
seemlesst (sem'les), a. [< seem + -less.] Un- 
seemly; unfit; indecorous. [Bare.] 
The Prince . . . did his father place 
Amids the pav^d entry, in a seat 
Scemless and abject. Chapman, Odyssey, xx. 397. 
seemlihead (sem'li-hed), . [Also seemlihed ; < 
ME. semelyhede; < seemly + -head."} Seemli- 
ness; becomingness; fair appearance and bear- 
ing. [Obsolete or archaic.] 
A yong man ful of semelyhede. Horn, of the Rose, 1. U30. 
Yet nathemore his meaning she ared, . . . 
And by his persons secret seemlyhed 
Well weend that he had beene some man of place. 
Spenser, F. Q., IV. viii. 14. 
Then his tongue with sober seemlihed 
Gave utterance. Keats, Endymiou, iv. 
seemlily (sem'li-li), adv. In a seemly or be- 
coming manner; decently; comelily. Imp. Did. 
seemliness (sem'li-nes), u. [< ME. seemlinesse; 
< seemly + -ness.] Seemly character, appear- 
ance, or bearing; comeliness; grace; beautiful 
appearance or bearing; fitness; propriety; de- 
cency; decorum. 
Womanhod and trouthe and seemlinesse. 
Chaucer. Good Women, 1. 1041. 
And seemliness complete, that sways 
Thy courtesies, about thee plays. 
Wordsworth, To a Highland Girl. 
seemly (sem'li), a. [< ME. semJy, semli, semely, 
semeli, semlicii, semliche, semelich, semelike,(. Icel. 
ssemiligr = Dan. sommelig, seemly, becoming, 
fit, < sxmr, fit, becoming, < sama, beseem : see 
seem.] 1. Becoming; fit; suited to the object, 
occasion, purpose, or character; suitable; de- 
cent; proper. 
Hit were sittyng for sothe, & semly for wemen, 
Thaire houses to haunt & holde horn with in. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), 1. 2962. 
A sanely man oure hoost was withalle, 
For to han been a marshal in an halle. 
Chaucer, Gen. Prol. to C. T., 1. 751. 
', Are these seemly company for thee? 
B. Jonson, Poetaster, iv. 3. 
A xi-i'inly gown of Kendal green, 
With gorget closed of silver sheen. 
Scott, Rokeby, v. 16. 
2f. Comely; goodly; handsome; beautiful. 
By that same hade he sonnes, semly men all. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), 1. 1474. 
Hit maketh myn herte light 
Whan I thenke on that swete wight 
That is so semely on to se. 
Chaucer, Death of Blanche, 1. 1177. 
The erle buskyd and made hym yare 
For to ryde ovyr the revere, 
To see that semely syght. 
Sir Eglamour (Thornton Romances), 1. 198. 
seemly (sem'li), adv. [< seemly, ..] In a decent 
or suitable manner ; becomingly; fitly. 
There, seemly ranged in peaceful order, stood 
Ulysses' arms, now long disused to blood. 
Pope, Odyssey. 
Not rustic as before, but seemlier clad. 
Milton, P. R.,ii. 299. 
seemlyhedt, seemlyhoodt, Same as seemli- 
head. 
seen (sen), p. and a. I. p. Past participle of sec 1 . 
H.t a. 1. Manifest; evident. 
Al was forgeten, and that was sene. 
Chaucer, Death of Blanche, 1. 413. 
5467 
2. Experienced; versed; skilled. 
It is verie rare, and maruelous hard, to proue excellent 
in the Latin long, for him that is not also well seene in 
the Greeke long. Ascham, The Scholemaster, p. 157. 
He 's affable, and seene in many thinges ; 
Discourses well, a good companion. 
Heywood, Woman Killed with Kindness. 
She was seene in the Hebrew, Greeke, and Latin tongues. 
Hakluyt's Vvyayes, II. -2. 
Arithmetic and Geometry I would wish you well seen in. 
Sir P. Sidney (Arber's Eng. Gamer, I. 308). 
For he right well in Leaches craft was seene. 
Spenser, F. Q., VI. vL 3. 
seenet, " [ME., also cene, Sc. seinye, senye, < 
OF. gene, a synod, prop, a senate : see senate, 
andcf. synod.] A synod. Prompt. Pare., p. 453. 
seep (sep), )'. i. [Also seap, seip; a var. of sipe, 
q. v.] 1. To ooze or percolate gently; flow 
gently or drippingly through pores; trickle. 
The melting waters of summer are diffused through the 
nnconsolidated snow of the preceding winter, and slowly 
seep through the soft slush, but have not a motion suf- 
ficiently rapid to cause them to gather into streams and 
erode well-defined channels. 
Amer. Jour. Sci., 3d ser., XL. 122. 
2. To drain off : said of any wet thing laid on 
a grating or the like to drain: as, let it seep 
there. 
seepage (se'paj), n. [Also seapage; < seep + 
-age.] Percolation ; oozing fluid or moisture ; 
also, the amount of a fluid that percolates: as, 
the seepage is great. 
We might call the vast streams which then filled the 
valleys ordinary rivers, since they were not bordered im- 
mediately by ice. Yet the seepage of ooze and flow of 
Gletschermilch, silt, and sand, which had helped fill the 
broad channels of the osar-plains period, still continued 
from the uplands with even greater rapidity. 
Amer. Jour. Sci., 3d ser., XL. 144. 
seepy (se'pi), a. [< seep + -y 1 .] Oozing; full 
of moisture : specifically noting land not prop- 
erly drained. 
seer 1 (ser or se'er), n. [Early mod. E. also sear 
(with distinctive term, -ar for -er, as in forebear, 
beggar, etc.); < ME. seere = D. ziener (with 
irreg. , from the inf.)= MHG. seller (instern- 
seher, star-gazer), G. seller = Dan. seer = Sw. 
siare, a seer, prophet ; as see 1 + -er 1 .] 1. One 
who sees. 
A dreamer of dreams, and a seer of visions. 
Addison, Spectator. 
2. A prophet; a person who foresees or fore- 
tells future events. 
So also were they the first Prophetes or seears, Videntes 
for so the Scripture tearmeth them in Latine, after the 
Hebrue word. Puttenham, Arte of Eng. Poesie, p. 5. 
Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to enquire of 
1 Sam. ix. 9. 
How soon hath thy prediction, Seer blest, 
Measured this transient world, the race of time, 
Till time stand flx'd ! Milton, P. L., xii. 553. 
3. Specifically, one supposed to be gifted with 
second sight. 
Go preach to the coward, thou death-telling seer! 
Campbell, Lochiel's Warning. 
= Syn. 2. Soothsayer, etc. See prophet. 
seer 2 t, a. An obsolete spelling of sear 1 . 
seer 3 t, See sere 2 . 
seer* (ser), . [Also saer, and more prop, ser; 
< Hind, ser.] An East Indian weight, of vary- 
ing value in different places, but officially de- 
termined in the Presidency of Bengal to be 
equal to 80 tolas, or about 2-J pounds troy. 
He receives about one dollar and sixty-five cents for a 
seer (one pound thirteen ounces) of the poppy-juice. 
S. W. Williams, Middle Kingdom, II. 375. 
seerfish (ser'fish), . [Also seirfish; a partial 
translation of Pg. peixe serra, lit. 'saw-fish,' 
applied to various species of the genus Cybium: 
peixe, < L. piscis, E. fish; serra, < L. serra, a 
saw: see serrate.] A scombroid fish, Sconibe- 
romorus guttatus, of an elongate fusiform shape, 
and resembling the Spanish mackerel, S. maeu- 
latus. It inhabits the Eastlndian seas, and is a valuable 
food-fish, much esteemed for its savoriness. 
seerpaw (ser'pa), . [Formerly also serpaw, 
serpow ; < Hind, sar-o-pd (also sar-td-pd), from 
head to foot: sar, also sir, head (< Pers. sar, 
head, = Gr. mpa, head : see cheer 1 ) ; pa, < Pers. 
pa, foot: see/oo<.] In India, a robe of honor 
or state suit, presented by way of compliment 
or as a token of either favor or homage. Com- 
pare Mll'Ut. 
seership (ser'ship), . [< seer 1 , n., + -ship.] 
The office or character of a seer. 
seersucker (ser'suk-er), n. [E. Ind.] A thin 
linen fabric, usually imported from the East 
Indies, though sometimes imitated in Europe. 
seethe 
Its surface is irregularly crinkled, producing an effect 
somewhat like crape ; it is usually imported in narrow 
stripes of grayish blue and white. India seersucker. 
a thin cotton cloth having alternate smooth and puckered 
stripes running lengthwise, which are usually about a 
quarter of an inch in width. The puckering is produced 
by holding the threads in the warp of the puckered sec- 
tions more loosely than the other threads during the pro- 
cess of weaving. 
seerwoodt, See searwood. 
see-saw (se'sa), . and a. [1 
cation of saw 1 , in allusion to i 
men sawing wood or stone : see saw 1 .] I. n. 1. 
A sport in which two children sit one at each 
end of a board or long piece of timber balanced 
on some support, and move alternately up and 
down. This amusement is of remote antiquity; it is 
familiar in Greek vase-paintings as a pastime, especially of 
girls older than the children who usually resort to it now. 
The butt-ends of the three old streets that led down to- 
wards the sea-ground were dipped as if playing see-saw in 
the surf. S. D. Blackmore, Erema, liv. 
2. A board adjusted for this sport. 3. Any 
process resembling directly or indirectly the 
reciprocating motion of the see-saw. 
The sovereignty was at see-saw between the throne and 
the parliament and the throne-end of the beam was gen- 
erally uppermost. 
W. Wilson, Congressional Government, vi. 
Especially (a) A circular definition or proof; the defini- 
tion of a word or thing by means of another which is itself 
defined by means of the first ; the proof of a proposition by 
means of a premise which is itself proved from the first 
proposition as a premise. 
The ancients called the circular definition also by the 
name of diallelon, as in this case we declare the deflnitum 
and the deflniens reciprocally by each other. In proba- 
tion, there is a similar vice which bears the same names. 
We may, I think, call them by the homely English appella- 
tion of the see-saw. Sir W. Hamilton, Logic, xxiv. 
(ft) In whist, the playing of two partners so that each alter- 
nately trumps a low non- trump card led by the other; a 
double ruff ; a cross-ruff. 
II. a. Eeciprocating ; reciprocal; back and 
forth, or up and down : as, a see-sate motion. 
His wit all see-saw, between that and this. 
Pope, Prol. to Satires, 1. 323. 
see-saw (se'sa), v. [< see-saw, n.] I. intrans. 
To move as in the see-saw ; move backward 
and forward, or upward and downward ; teeter : 
literally or figuratively. 
So they went seesawing up and down, from one end of 
the room to the other. Arbuthnot. 
II. traiMi. To cause to move or act in a see- 
saw manner. 
'Tis a poor idiot boy. 
Who sits in the sun and twirls a bough about, 
And, staring at his bough from morn to sunset, 
See-saws his voice in inarticulate noises. Coleridge. 
He ponders, he see-saws himself to and fro. 
JSulwer, Eugene Aram, i. 9. 
seethe (SBTH), r. ; pret. seethed (formerly sod), 
pp. seethed (formerly sodden, sod), ppr. seething. 
[Also seeth ; < ME. sethen (pret. seeth, pi. soden, 
sudon, sothen, pp. soden, sothen), < AS. sedlhan 
(pret. sedth, pp. soden) = OFries. siatha = D. 
zieden = MLG. seden, LG. seden = OHG. siodan, 
MHG. G. sieden = Icel. sjotha = Sw. sjttda = 
Dan. syde, boil, seethe; hence Icel. saudhr, a 
sheep, orig. a burnt-offering, = Goth, souths, a 
burnt-offering ; akin to Icel. svitha (pret. sveith), 
burn, singe (svitha, a burning, roasting), = Sw. 
sveda = Dan. svide, srie, burn, singe, = OHG. 
swedan, burn in a smolderingfire, whence MHG. 
swadem, swaden, G. schwadem, schwaden, steam ; 
AS. swathul, smoke; < Teut. V suth, / switlt, 
burn. Hence ult. sod, suds.] I. trans. 1. To 
boil ; decoct, or prepare for food by boiling : as, 
to seethe flesh. 
Wortes or othere herbes tymes ofte 
The whiche she shredde and seeth for hir livinge. 
Chaucer, Clerk's Tale, 1. 171. 
Of the fat of them [serpents], beinge thus sodde, is made 
an excedinge pleasaunte brothe or potage. 
R. Eden, tr. of Peter Martyr (First Books on America, ed. 
[Arber, p. 85). 
Jacob sod pottage. Gen. xxv. 29. 
Thou shall not seethe a kid in his mother's milk. 
Ex. xxiii. 19. 
Can sodden water, 
A drench for sur-rein'd jades, their barley-broth, 
Decoct their cold blood to such valiant heat? 
Shalt., Hen. V., ill. 5. 18. 
2. To soak. 
They drown their wits, seethe their brains in ale. 
Burton, Anat. of Mel., p. 340. 
There was a man sleeping still alive ; though 
seethed in drink, and looking like death. 
D. Jerrold, St. Giles and St. James. 
II. intrans. 1. To boil; be in a state of ebul- 
lition, literally or figuratively. 
Thothe godemon iioldedon after him, a caudrun he lette 
fulle 
With oyle and let hit sethen faste and let him ther-Inne 
putte. Holy Rood (E. E. T. S.), p. 61. 
