seringa 
seringa = Sp. xeriiiga = It. srii-iiif/ii, urilinpa = 
OF. 'siringiir: xi/riii/iiie, F. seringue, a syringe: 
see syringe.] A name of several Brazilian trees 
of the genus Hevea, yielding india-rubber. 
Seringa-Oil. Same as siringaoil (which see, under oil). 
seringhi (se-ring'ge), . [K. Ind.J A musical 
instrument of the viol class, used in India. 
Serinus (se-ri'nus), n. [NL. (Koch, 1816), from 
the specific name of Fringilla serimis, < F. serin, 
a serin: see serin.'] A genus of birds of the 
family FringilliAx ; the serins, serin-finches, or 
canaries. The common serin is 5. hortulanus; the ca- 
Serin (Sertnits JtartHlanus). 
nary is X canarius of Madeira and the Canary Islands and 
Azores in its wild state hardly more than a variety of 
the foregoing ; a third species, S. aur\frons or canonicus, 
inhabits Palestine. There are more than a dozen other 
species. 
serio-comic (se'ri-6-kom'ik), a. Having a mix- 
ture of seriousness and comicality. 
serio-comical (se"ri-6-kom'i-kal), a. Same as 
serio-comic. 
serio-comically (se*ri-6-kom'i-kal-i), adv. In a 
half-serious, half-comic manner!' 
Seriola (se-ri'o-la), n. [NL. (Cuvier, 1829), from 
an Italian name of the type species, S. du- 
merili.] A genus of carangoid fishes ; the am- 
ber-fishes, of moderate and large size, often 
of showy coloration, and valuable for food. 5. 
zoiiata is the rudder-fish ; S. rivoliana and S. falcata are 
known as rocFf-salinon in Florida ; S. lalaiidi or d<trttalis is 
called yellowtml. These fishes inhabit warm waters of 
the Atlantic, the rudder-fish going as far north as Cape 
Cod. See cut under amber-fish. 
Seriolinae (se 'ri-o-li'ne),. pi. [< Seriola +-inae.] 
A subfamily of Caranyidee, typified by the ge- 
nus Seriola, with the premaxillaries protractile, 
the pectoral fins short and not falcate, maxil- 
laries with a distinct supplemental bone, and 
the anal fin shorter than the second dorsal. It 
includes the amber-fishes, pilot-fish, etc. See 
cuts under amber-fish and Numerates. 
serioline (se-ri'o-iin), a. and n. I. a. Of, or 
having characteristics of, the Seriolinx. 
II. . A carangoid fish of the subfamily Se- 
rioliitie. 
serioso (sa-ri-6'so), orffl. [It. : see serious.'] In 
music, in a serious, grave, thoughtful manner. 
serious (se'ri-us), a. [Early mod. E. serialise, 
seryouse; < ME. seryows, < OF. serieux, F. seri- 
eux = It. serioso, < ML. seriosus, an extension 
of L. serius (> It. Sp. Pg. serio), grave, earnest, 
serious; perhaps for *sevrius, and in effect an- 
other form of sever us, grave, serious, austere, 
severe: see severe. Some compare AS. swser, 
swdr = OS. swdr = OFries. swere = MD. swaere, 
D. ztvaar = MLG. swdr = OHG. swdri, swdr, 
MHG. sweere, G. scliwer, heavy, weighty, = Icel. 
svtirr = Sw. svdr = Dan. xvser, heavy, = Goth. 
swers, esteemed, honored (lit. 'heavy'!); cf. 
Lith. swarus, heavy, svdras, svdras, weight.] 
1. Grave in feeling, manner, or disposition; 
solemn; earnest; not light, gay, or volatile; 
of things, springing from, expressing, or indu- 
cing gravity or earnestness of feeling. 
Away, you fool ! the king is serious, 
And cannot now admit your vanities. 
Beau, and Ft., King and No King, iii. 3. 
I am more serious than my custom ; you 
Must be so too, if heed me. 
Shale., Tempest, ii. 1. 219. 
Whether thou choose Cervantes' serious air, 
Or laugh and shake in Rabelais' easy chair. 
Pope, Dunciad, i. 21. 
Retracing step by step our homeward walk, 
With many a laugh among our serious talk. 
Lowell, Agassiz, iv. 1. 
, 
2. In earnest ; not jesting or making pretense 
I hear of peace and war in newspapers ; but I am never 
alarmed, except when I am informed that the sovereigns 
want treasure ; then I know that the monarchs are seri- 
5510 
3. Important; weighty; not trifling. 
Socrates . . . was nat ashamed to account daunsinge 
amonge the seriouse disciplines, for the commendable 
beautie, for the apte and proportionate meuinge, and for 
the craftie disposition and facinnyng of the body. 
Sir T. Elyot, The Uovernour, i. 20. 
I'll hence to London on a serious matter. 
Shall., 3 Hen. VI., v. 6. 47. 
The State of Ireland being thus in combustion, a serious 
Consultation is holden whom to send to quench it. 
Baker, Chronicles, p. 387. 
4. Attended with danger; giving rise to ap- 
prehension: as, a serious illness. 
With serious lung-complication a full rash [of measles] 
may recede. Quain, Med. Diet,, p. 926. 
5. Deeply impressed with the importance of 
religion; making profession of or pretension 
to religion. [Now cant.] 
And Peter Bell . . . 
Grew serious from his dress and mien 
Twas very plainly to be seen 
Peter was quite reformed. 
Shelley, Peter Bell the Third, i. 1. 
Serious family . . . each female servant required to 
Join the Little Bethel Congregation three times every 
Sunday with a serious footman. 
Dickens, Nicholas Nickleby, xvi. 
= Byn. 1. Solemn, etc. See yrate. 1 and 2. Sedate, staid, 
sober, earnest. 3. Great, momentous. 
seriously 1 (se'ri-us-li), adv. 1. In a serious 
manner; gravely; solemnly; in earnest; with- 
out levity : as, to think seriously of amending 
one's life. 
Juno and Ceres whisper seriously. 
Shak., Tempest, iv. 1. 125. 
2. In a grave or alarming degree or manner; 
so as to give ground for apprehension. 
The sounder side of a beam should always be placed 
downwards. Any flaw on the lower surface will seriously 
weaken the beam. 
R. S. Ball, Experimental Mechanics, p. 188. 
seriously 2 t (se'ri-us-li), arfi'. [< "serious 2 (< L. 
series, series) + -ly 2 .] In a series; seriatim. 
Thus proceeding to the letters, to shewe your Grace 
summarily, for rehersing everything seriously, I shal over 
long moleste your Grace. 
State Paper*, i. 299. (UaUiweU.) 
seriousness (se'ri-us-ues), n. The condition 
or character of being serious, in any sense of 
that word. 
seriph, . See serif. 
Serj. An abbreviation of Serjeant. 
Serjania (ser-ja'ni-a), n. [NL. (Plumier, 1703), 
named after Paul Serjeant, a French botanist.] 
A genus of polypetalous shrubs of the order 
Sanindacese and tribe Paullitiiese. It is character- 
ized by irregular flowers with five concave sepals (or with 
two of them unitedX four petals, a wavy disk enlarging 
into four glands, eight stamens united at the base, a three- 
celled ovary containing three solitary ovules and ripening 
into three indehiscent wing-fruits bearing the seed at the 
apex. , About 155 species have been described, all South 
American, and mostly tropical. They are climbing or twin- 
ing shrubs, with alternate compound leaves, often pel- 
lucid-dotted, and yellowish flowers in axillary racemes or 
panicles, frequently tendril-bearing. Some of the species 
are narcotic poisonous, S. lethalis, of Brazil, there called 
timboe, being used as a fish-poison. For S. polyphylla, see 
basket-wood. 
serjantt, u. An obsolete spelling of sergeant. 
serieant, serjeancy, etc. See sergeant, etc. 
serkt, n. A Middle English spelling of sark. 
serkelt, . A Middle English spelling of circle. 
serlichet, a dr. Same as serely. 
sermocinal (ser-mos'i-nal), a. [Irreg. < L. ser- 
mocinari, talk, discourse, + -al.] Pertaining to 
speech. 
sermocination (ser-mos-i-na'shon), . [< F. 
sermocination, < L. sermocinatio(n-), < sermoci- 
nari (> It. sermocinare), talk, discourse, ha- 
rangue, < scrmo(n-), speech, talk, discourse : see 
sermon.] If. Speech-making. 
Sermodnations of ironmongers, felt-makers, cobblers, 
broom-men. ISp. Hall, Free Prisoner, 2. 
2. A form of prosopopoeia in which the speaker, 
having addressed a real or imaginary hearer 
with a remark or especially a question, im- 
mediately answers for the hearer: as, "Is a 
man known to have received foreign money T 
People envy him. Does he own it? They 
laugh. Is he formally convicted f They for- 
give him." 
sermocinatort (ser-mos'i-na-tor), n. [< LL. ser- 
mocinator, a talker, < L. sermocinari, discourse : 
see sermocination.'] One who makes speeches; 
one who talks or harangues. 
These obstreperous sennocinators make easy impression 
upon the minds of the vulgar. Hmeett. 
sermologus (ser-mol'o-gus). . ; pi. sermologi 
(-ji). [NL., < L. sermo, a speech, + Gr. 1.tyav, 
speak: see -ology.] A volume containing vari- 
Dia-aeli. ous sermons by the church fathers and the 
sermoning 
popes, or that section of the "Legenda" which 
contains such sermons. F. G. I^ee. 
sermon (ser'mon), . [< ME. sermon, sermone, 
Kcriiiiiiin, .it-mi HH, Minium, xannoun, < OF. ser- 
mon, xfntiuii, ni-rmiiiin. F. xtrmtin = Pi: sermon, 
xcrinti = Sp. sermon = Pg. xt-nnao = It. sermone 
= Icel. sermon, < L. xerniti(n-), speaking, speech, 
talk, conversation, discourse, discussion, a 
speech or discourse, report, rumor, a conversa- 
tional satire, style, a word, etc., ML. a sermon; 
perhaps akin to AS. xu-erian, speak: see swear, 
answer.] If. A speech, discourse, or writing. 
But what availeth suche a longe sennoun 
Of aventures of love up and donne? 
Chaucer, Complaint of Mars, 1. 209. 
Yelverton mad a fayir sermone at {he Sesschyonys, and 
seyd ... so that the Kyng was informyd that ther was a 
ryotows felawschep in thys centre. Paston Letters, 1. 178. 
2. A discourse delivered by a clergyman, licen- 
tiate, or other person, for the purpose of reli- 
gious instruction and edification, during divine 
service, usually founded upon or in elucidation 
of some text or passage of Scripture. 
For alle cunnynge clerkis siththe Crist jede on erthe 
Taken ensaumples of here sawis in *armot that thei 
maken, 
And be here werkis and here werdis wissen vs to Dowel. 
Piers Plou-man (A), xi. 266. 
So worthy a part of divine sen-ice we should greatly 
wrong, if we did not esteem Preaching as the blessed ordi- 
nance of God, sermons as keys to the kingdom of heaven, 
as wings to the soul, as spurs to the good affections of man. 
Hooker, Eccles. Polity, v. 22. 
A verse may find him who a Sermon flies. 
G. Herbert, The Temple, The Church Porch. 
Upon this occasion ... he [Sydney Smith] preached in 
the cathedral two remarkable sermons, upon the unjust 
judge, and the lawyer who tempted Christ. 
Lady Holland, Sydney Smith, viii. 
Hence (a) A written dissertation of similar character, 
(b) Any serious address on a moral or religious theme, 
whether delivered or published, by a clergyman or by a 
layman : as, a lay sermon, (c) Any serious exhortation, 
counsel, or reproof : usually in an admonitory or reproba- 
tory sense. 
Perhaps it may turn out a sang, 
Perhaps turn out a sermon. 
Buna, Epistle to a Young Friend. 
Baccalaureate sermon. See tjaccalaureate. Sermon 
on the Mount, the discourse reported in the fifth, sixth, 
and seventh chapters of Matthew and in the sixth chapter 
of Luke, as delivered by Christ. =Syn. 2. Sermon, Homily, 
Exhortation. Sermon is the standard word for a formal 
address on a religious subject, founded upon a text of 
Scripture. Homily is an old word for the same thing, es- 
pecially for an exposition of doctrine, but is now more 
often used for a conversational address, shorter than a 
sermon, of much directness and seriousness, perhaps upon 
a point of duty. Exhortation is occasionally used for a 
religious address appealing to one's conscience or calling 
one to the performance of duty in general or some'speciflc 
duty. 
sermon (ser'mon), r. [< ME. gcrmonen, (. OF. 
sermoner, F. sermonner = It. sermonare, dis- 
course, lecture, < LL. sermonari, talk, discourse, 
< sermo(n-), speech, talk, LL. a sermon : see ser- 
mon, n.] I. trans. If. To discourse of, as in a 
sermon. 
To some, I know, this Methode will seeme displeasaunt, 
which had rather have good discipline delivered plainly 
In way of precepts, or sermfmed at large. 
Spenser, To Sir Walter Kaleigh, Prefix to F. Q. 
2. To tutor; lecture. 
Come, sermon me no further. Shak., T. of A., ii. 2. 181. 
n.t intrans. To compose or deliver a sermon ; 
discourse. 
You sermon to vs of a dungeon appointed for offenders 
and raiscredents. 
HMnshed, Chron., I., Descrip. of Ireland, iv. 
sermoneer (ser-mo-neV), n. [< sermon + -eer.] 
A preacher of sermons; a sermonizer. 
The wits will leave you if they once perceive 
You cling to lords ; and lords, if them you leave 
For sermoneers. B. Jonson, Underwoods, Ixviii. 
sermoner (ser'mon-er), n. Same as sermoni:er. 
This [grandiloquence] is the sin of schoolmasters, gov- 
ernesses, critics, sermonen, and instructors of young or old 
people. Thackeray, Roundabout Papers, De Finibus. 
sermonet, sermonette (scr'mon-et), . [< ser- 
mon + -ct.~\ A little sermon. [Recent.] 
It [the Rule of Benedict] opens with a sermonet or hor- 
tatory preface. Eneyc. rit., XVI. 704. 
It was his characteristic plan to preach a series of week- 
day sermonets. 
Pall Mall Gazette, Dec. 27, 1883. (Encyc. Diet.) 
sermonic (ser-mon'ik), a. [< sermon + -io.] 
Having the character of a sermon. [Rare.] 
Conversation . . . grave or gay, satirical or sermonic. 
J. Wilson. 
sermonical (ser-mon'i-kal), a. [< sermonic + 
-o?.] Same as sermonic. 
sermoning (ser'mon-ing), . [< ME. sermoning; 
verbal n. of sermon, i\] The act of preaching 
