Septembrist 5501 
of those who, in the first French Revolution, 
took part in the massacre of the prisoners in 
Paris in the beginning of September, 1792; 
hence, any malignant or bloodthirsty person. 
septemfluous (sep-tem'flo-us), a. [< L. sep- sep tennmm(sep-ten'i-um), n. [=lt.settennin, 
tern, seven, + fliiere, flow, + -oils.} * lowing < L scl> tcnniiii, a period of seven years, < sep- 
in seven streams or currents; having seven 
mouths, as a river. [Rare.] 
Septennial Act, n British statute of 1716 fixing the ex- 
istence of a parliament at seven years from the date of 
the writ summoning it, unless previously dissolved, 
septennially (sep-ten'i-al-i), adv. Once in 
seven years 
The town is seated on the east side of the river Ley 
[Lea], which not only parteth Hertfordshire from Essex, 
hut also seven times parteth from its self, whose septem- 
flwnu stream in coming to the town is crossed again 
with so many bridges. 
Fuller, Hist. Waltham Abbey, i. 83. (Dames.) 
The main streams of this seplemflwus river [the Nile). 
Dr. H. Mare, Mystery of Iniquity, I. xvi. S 11. (Trench.) 
septemia, septsemia (sep-te'mi-a), n. [NL. sep- 
lieiiiia, < Gr. mrirr6f, verbal adj. of ofartiv, make 
rotten, + ai/ia, blood.] Septicemia ; sepsis. 
septempartite (sep-tem-par'tit), a. [< L. sep- 
tem, seven, + partitus, divided: see partite.} 
Divided into seven parts; in hot., so divided 
nearly to the base. 
septemtriont, See septentrion. 
septemvious (sep-temVi-us), a. [< L. septem, 
seven, + via, a way.] Going in seven different 
directions. [Rare.] 
Officers of state ran septemmous, seeking an ape to coun- 
teract the bloodthirsty tomfoolery of the human species. 
C. Keade, Cloister and Hearth, Ixxiii. 
septemvir (sep-tem'ver), .; pi. scptemvirs, sep- 
temviri (-verz, -vi-ri). [L. septemviri, a board 
of seven men ; orig. two words : septem, seven ; 
viri, pi. of vir, man. ] One of seven men joined 
in any office or commission : as, the septenmri 
epulones, one of the four chief religious cor- 
porations of ancient Rome. 
septemvirate (sep-tem'vi-rat), n. [< L. sep- 
temviratus (see def.), < septemviri, septemvirs: 
see septemvir.'} The office of a septemvir; 
government or authority vested in seven per- 
sons. 
septenarius (sep-te-na'ri-us), n. ; pi. septenarii 
(-1). [L. , sc. versus, a verse of seven feet ; prop, 
adj., consisting of seven: see septenary.} In 
Latin pros., a verse consisting of seven feet. 
The name is used especially for the trochaic tetrameter 
catalectic (verms quadratic), which in the older Latin 
writers admits a spondee or anapest in the first, third, 
and fifth, as well as in the second, fourth, and sixth places, 
and for the iambic tetrameter catalectic. 
septenary (sep'te-na-ri), a. and n. [= F. sep- 
tcnaire = Pr. setenari = Sp. setenario = Pg. sep- 
tenario = It. settenario, \ L. septenartus, con- 
sisting of seven, < scpteni, pi., seven apiece, 
by sevens, < septem, seven: see seven.} I. a. 
1. Consisting of or relating to seven: as, a 
septenary number. 
They [Mohammedan Arabs] have discovered or imagined 
an immense number of septenary groups in religion, his- 
tory, art, philosophy, and indeed all branches of human 
knowledge. J. Hadley, Essays, p. 338. 
2. Lasting seven years; occurring once in 
seven years: as, a septenary term ; a, septenary 
council. 
II. n. ; pi. septenaries (-riz). 1. The num- 
ber seven; the heptad. [Rare.] 
These constitutions of Moses, that proceed so much 
upon a septenary, or number of seven, have no reason in 
the nature of the thing. Burnet. 
2. A group of seven things. 
The modern literature of Persia abounds in sevens. 
Native dictionaries enumerate above a hundred septena- 
rie, groups of objects designated as the seven so-and-so. 
J. Hadley, Essays, p. 329. 
scptenate (sep'te-nat), a. [< L. septeni, seven 
apiece (see septenary], + -ate 1 .} In oot., hav- 
ing seven parts, as a compound leaf with seven 
leaflets springing from one point. 
septennate (sep-ten'at), n. [= F. septennat; 
as LL. septennium, a period of seven years (see 
septennium),+ -ate 3 .} A period of seven years, 
or an arrangement lasting or intended to last 
through seven years. 
In sticking to the term of three years they [the Opposi- 
tion] showed themselves bad tacticians, the more so as 
the tradition of a double renewal of the Septennate was in 
favour of the Government demand. 
Contemporary Rev., LI. 593. 
septennial (sep-ten'i-al), a. [Cf. F. septainal 
= Sp. sieteaHal = Pg. scptenal; < L. septennium, 
a period of seven years: see septennium.} 1. 
Lasting or continuing seven years : as, septen- 
nial parliaments. 2. Occurring or returning 
once in every seven years: as, septennial elec- 
tions. 
Being dispensed with all for his septennial visit, . . . 
he resolved to govern them by subaltern ministers. 
Hawell, Vocall Forrest, p. 16. 
li'ii n is, of seven years, < septem, seven, + an- 
nus, a year.] A period of seven years, 
septentrialt (sep-ten'tri-al), a. [< septentri-on 
+ -al.} Of or pertaining to the north ; septen- 
trional. [Rare.] 
Waveny in her way, on this Septentrial side, 
That these two Eastern Shires doth equally divide, 
From Laphamford leads on her stream into the East. 
Drayton, Polyolbion, xx. 19. 
Septentrio (sep-ten'tri-6), n. [L., one of the 
Septentrion.es, tlie seven stars forming Charles's 
Wain, or the Great Bear: see septentrion.} In 
astron., the constellation Ursa Major, or Great 
Bear. 
septentriont (sep-ten'tri-on), n. and a. [< ME. 
septemtrion, septemtrioun, septemptrion, < OF. 
septemtrion, F. septentrion = Pr. septentrio = Sp. 
setentrion = Pg. septentriao = It. settentrione, < 
L. septentrio(n-), septemtrio(n-), usually in pi. 
septentriones, septemtriones, the seven stars of 
the Great Bear near the north pole, hence the 
north ; lit. the seven plow-oxen, < septem, seven, 
+ trio(n-), a plow-ox.] I. n. 1. [cop.] Same 
as Septentrio. 2. The north. 
But from the colde Septemptrion declyne, 
And from northwest there chylling sonnes shyne. 
PaUadius, Husbondrie (E. E. T. S.),p. 12. 
This wyde world hadde in subjeccioun. 
Both Est and West, South and Septemtrioun. 
Chaucer, Monk's Tale, 1. 477. 
And also that other parte of Indien is aboute Septen- 
tryon, and there is great plenty of wyne, bredde, and all 
maner of vytayle. 
n. Eden (First Books on America, ed. Arber, p. xxxii.). 
Thou art as opposite to every good . . . 
As the south to the septentrion. 
Shah., 3 Hen. VI., i. 4. 136. 
II. a. Northern; septentrional. [Rare.] 
A ridge of hills, 
That screen'd the fruits of the earth, and seats of men, 
From cold Septentrion blasts. Milton, P. R. , iv. 31. 
septentrional (sep-ten'tri-o-nal), a. [< ME. 
septentrional, septentrionel, septentrionelle, < OF. 
septentrionel, F. septentrional = Sp. setentrional 
= Pg. septentrional = It. settentrionale, < L. sep- 
tentrionalis, pertaining to the north, < septen- 
trio(n-), the north : see septentrion.} Northern ; 
boreal; hyperborean. 
That is at the Northe parties, that men clepen the Sep- 
tentrionelle, where it is alle only cold. 
}[andemlle, Travels, p. 131. 
In the same maner maistow wyrke with any latitude 
septentrional in alle signes. Chaucer, Astrolabe, ii. 40. 
The parts Septentrionall are with these Sp'ryts 
Much haunted. 
Ileywood, Hierarchy of Angels, p. 568. 
Not only our Saxons, but all the septentrional Nations, 
adored and sacrificed to Thor, a Statue resembling a 
crown'd King. Baker, Chronicles, p. 3. 
septentrionality (sep-ten"tri-o-nal'i-ti), . [< 
septentrional + -i-ty.} The state of being north- 
ern; northerliness. Bailey. 
septentrionally (sep-ten'tri-o-nal-i), adv. 
Northerly; toward the north. 
For if they be powerfully excited and equally let fall, 
they commonly sink down and break the water at that ex- 
tream whereat they were septentrionally excited. 
Sir T. Browne, Vulg. Err., ii. 2. 
septentrionate (sep-ten'tri-o-nat), v. i. ; pret. 
and pp. septentrionated, ppr. septentrionating. 
[< septentrion + -ate 2 .] To tend, turn, or point 
toward the north. [Rare.] 
True it Is, and conflrmable by every experiment, that 
steel and good iron never excited by the loadstone dis- 
cover in themselves a verticity : that is, a directive or po- 
lary facultie, whereby, conveniently placed, theydoep(7i- 
trionate at one extream, and australize. 
Sir T. Browne, Vulg. Err., ii. 2. 
Septentriones (sep-ten-tri-6'nez), n. pi. [L., 
pf. of Septentrio: see septentrion.} The seven 
stars belonging to the constellation of the Great 
Bear ; hence, this constellation itself. 
This Nero governed by ceptre alle the poeples that ben 
under the colde sterres that hyhten vii tyryones. 
Chaucer, Boethius, ii. meter 6. 
septet (sep-tef), n. [< L. septem, seven, + -ft.} 
In music : (a) A work for seven voices or in- 
struments. Compare quartet and quintet, (b) 
A company of seven performers who sing or 
play septets. Also septette, septuor. 
septfoil (sept'foil), n. [< F. sept (< L. septem), 
seven, 4- feuille (< folium), a leaf: see foil 1 .} 
1. A plant. Potent ilia Tormentilla. See tormen- 
til. 2. A figure composed of seven lobes or 
septilateral 
leaves. Compare cinquefoil, qnuircfoil, sexfoil. 
Specifically 3. A figure of seven equal seg- 
ments of a circle, used as an ecclesiastical sym- 
bol of the seven sacraments, seven gifts of the 
Holy Spirit, etc. 
septic (sep'tik), a. and n. [< Gr. ariirriK^, char- 
acterized by putridity, < o^Trroc, verbal adj. of 
ri/Ttetv, make rotten.] I. a. Of or pertaining to 
sepsis in general; putrefactive or putrefying; 
septical: opposed to antiseptir. 
If hospitals were not overcrowded, if the system of ven- 
tilation were perfect, if there were a continuous water sup- 
ply, a proper isolation of wards and distribution of patients, 
the causes of septic diseases would not be generated. 
N. A. Rev., CXXIII. 236. 
Septic fever, peritonitis, etc. See the nouns. Septic 
poisoning. See sepsis. 
II. n. A substance which causes sepsis. 
septicaemia, septicsemic. See Mgrifamto, sep- 
ticemic. 
septical (sep'ti-kal), a. Same as septic. 
septically (sep'ti-kal-i), adv. In a septic man- 
ner ; by means of septics. 
septicemia, septicaemia (sep-ti-se'mi-a), n. 
[NL. septicaemia, irreg. < Gr. OIJTTIKO^, putrefy- 
ing (see septic), + a'ifta, blood.] Sepsis. Pyemia 
is the term used to designate cases in which there are 
multiple metastatic abscesses. Also septemia, septsemia,. 
Mouse septicemia, an infectious disease of mice, first 
described by R. Koch in 1878, who produced it by in- 
jecting under the skin minute quantities of putrescent 
liquids. These contained a very small, slender bacillus, 
which rapidly multiplies in the body of mice and pigeons, 
and causes death in a few days. The bacillus closely 
resembles that of rouget in swine. Pasteur's septice- 
mia, the malignant edema of Koch, produced in rabbits 
by inserting garden-mold under the skin of the abdo- 
men. Death follows in one or two days. A delicate mo- 
tile bacillus is found in the edematous tissues. Puerpe- 
ral septicemia. See puerperal. 
septicemic, septicsemic (sep-ti-se'mik), a. [< 
septicemia, septicsemia, + -ic.} Pertaining to, of 
the nature of, or affected with septicemia. 
A specific gepttc/Fmrcmicrococcus not necessarily always 
present in the sputum and lungs of human croupous pneu- 
monia. E. Klein, Micro-organisms and Disease, p. 60. 
septicidal (sep'ti-si-dal), a. [< scpticlde + 
-al.} Dividing at the septa or 
partitions : in botany, noting a 
mode of dehiscence in which the 
pericarp or fruit is resolved into 
its component carpels by split- 
ting asunder through the dis- 
sepiments. See dehiscence, 2, and 
compare loeulicidal. 
septicidally (sep'ti-si-dal-i), adv. 
In a septicidal manner. 
The fruit is described as septicidally 
septifragal. Encyc. Brit., IV. 149. 
septicide (sep'ti-sid), a. [< L. 
sxptum, septum, a fence, an in- 
closure (see septum), + -cida, < 
csedere, cut.] Same as septicidal. 
septicine (sep'ti-sin),n. [Irreg. < septic + -ine 2 .} 
A name given by Hager to a ptomaine resem- 
bling conine, obtained from putrefying bodies. 
septicity (sep-tis'i-ti), n. [< septic + -ity.} 
Septic character or quality ; tendency to pro- 
mote putrefaction ; sepsis. 
septifarious (sep-ti-fa'ri-us), a. [< LL. septi- 
farius, sevenfold, < L. septem, seven, + -farms, 
as in bifarius: see bifarious.} Turned seven 
different ways. 
septiferous (sep-tif'e-rus), a. [< L. sieptum, 
septum, an inclosure,' + ferre = E. bear 1 .} In 
zool. and hot., having a septum ; septate. 
septiflllOUS (sep-tif'lij-us), a. [< L. septem, 
seven, -V fluere, flow : see fluent. Cf . septem- 
fluous.} Flowing in seven streams. 
septifolious (sep-ti-fo'li-us), a. [< L. septem, 
seven, + folium, leaf.] Having seven leaves. 
septiform 1 (sep'ti-f6rm), a. [< L. sieptum, sep- 
tum, an inclosure, + forma, form.] Having 
the character of a septum ; forming a septum ; 
septal. 
septiform 2 (sep'ti-fdrm), a. [< L. septem, seven, 
+ forma, form.] Sevenfold. septiform litany, 
a litany said to have been instituted by St. Gregory the 
Great, A. D. 590, and used on St Mark's day (April 25th). 
Seven processions started, each from a different church, 
all meeting at one church (whence the name). 
septifragal (sep-tif'ra-gal), a. [< L. sieptum, 
septum, an inclosure, 4- frangere (i/ "frag), 
break, + -al.} In hot., literally, breaking from 
the partitions: noting a mode of dehiscence in 
which the backs of the carpels separate from 
the dissepiments, whether formed by their sides 
or by expansions of the placenta. See dehis- 
cence, 2, and compare septicidal and loeulicidal. 
septilateral (sep-ti-lat'e-ral), a. [< L. septem, 
seven, + latus (later-), side: see lateral.} Hav- 
ing seven sides: as, a septilateral figure. 
Septicidal Dehis- 
cence. 
v, valves; d, 
dissepiments ; i , 
axis. 
