severalty 
In lir helil in severally, leaving the residue of the tribal 
possession to lie Bold by the government, in part or in 
whole, for the benefit of the tribe or members of it. 
severance (scv'er-ans), . [< xetrr + -tniiT. 
Cf. dixsrrcraitfc.] ''The act of severing, or the 
state of being severed; separation; the act of 
dividing or disuniting; partition. 
A God, n Clod their severance ruled ! 
And bade betwixt their shores to be 
The unpltimb'd, salt, estranging sea. 
M. Arnold, Switzerland, v. 
Severance of a joint tenancy, in law, a severance 
made by destroying the unity of interest. Thus, when 
there are two joint tenants for life, aifd the inheritance 
is purchased by or descends upon either, it is a severance. 
Severance of an action, the division of an action, as 
when two persons are joined in a writ and one is non- 
suited : in this case severance is permitted, and the other 
plaintiff may proceed in the suit. 
severe (se-ver'), a. [< OF. severe, F. severe = 
Sp. Pg. It. severe, < L. severus, severe, serious, 
grave in demeanor; perhaps orig. 'honored,' 
' reverenced,' being prob. < -\/ sev, honor, = Gr. 
aifSeaffai, honor, reverence. Cf. serious, < L. 
serins, prob. from the same root.] 1. Serious 
or earnest in feeling, manner, or appearance ; 
without levity; sedate; grave; austere; not 
light, lively, or cheerful. 
Then the justice, . . . 
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut. 
Shalt., As you Like it, ii. 7. 155. 
Happy who in his verse can gently steer 
From grave to light, from pleasant to severe. 
Dryden, Art of Poetry, i. 76. 
2. Very strict in judgment, discipline, or ac- 
tion; not mild or indulgent; rigorous; harsh; 
rigid; merciless: as, severe criticism; severe 
punishment. 
Come, you are too severe a moral er. 
Shak., Othello, ii. 3. 301. 
The boar, that bloody beast, 
Which knows no pity, but is still severe. 
Shak., Venus and Adonis, 1. 1000. 
In Madagascar . . . the people are governed on the se- 
verest maxims of feudal law, by absolute chieftains under 
an absolute monarch. H. Spencer, Social Statics, p. 460. 
' I was sorry not to meet a well-known character in the 
mountains, who has killed twenty-one men. ... He is 
called, in the language of the country, a severe man. 
Harper's May., LXXVIII. 270. 
3. Strictly regulated by rule or principle ; ex- 
actly conforming to a standard; rigidly me- 
thodical; hence, in lit., art, etc., avoiding, or 
not exhibiting or permitting, unnecessary or 
florid ornament, amplification, or the like ; re- 
strained; not luxuriant; always keeping mea- 
sure; pure inline and form; chaste in concep- 
tion ; subordinated to a high ideal : as, a severe 
style of writing; the severest style of Greek ar- 
chitecture ; the severe school of German music. 
The near scene, 
In naked and severe simplicity, 
Made contrast with the universe. 
Shelley, Alastor. 
The habits of the household were simple and severe. 
Froude, Csesar, vi. 
A small draped female figure, remarkable for the se- 
vere architectonic composition of the drapery. 
C. T. Newton, Art and Archseol., p. 91. 
4. Sharp; afflictive; distressing; violent; ex- 
treme : as, severe pain, anguish, or torture ; se- 
vere cold; a severe winter. 
See how they have safely surviv'd 
The frowns of a sky so severe. 
Cou'per, The Winter Nosegay. 
This action was one of the severest which occurred in 
these wars. Prescott, Ferd. and Isa., ii. 14. 
5. Difficult to be endured ; trying; critical; rig- 
orous: as, a severe test; a severe examination. 
I find you have a Genius for the most solid and severest 
sort of Studies. Hmeell, Letters, ii. 40. 
Olympia and the other great agonistic festivals were, as 
it were, the universities where this elaborate training was 
tested by competitive examinations of the severest kind. 
C. T. Newton, Art and Archwol., p. 323. 
= Syn. 1 and 2. Harsh, Strict, etc. (see austere), unrelent- 
ing. 3. Exact, accurate, unadorned, chaste. 4. Cutting, 
keen, biting. 
severely (se-ver'li), adv. In a severe manner, 
in any sense of the word severe. 
severeness (se-ver'nes), . Severity. Sir W. 
Temple, United Provinces, i. 
severer (sev'er-er), n. One who or that which 
severs. 
Severian (se-ve'ri-an), n. [< Secerns, a name, 
+ -Jan.] IJccles. : (a) A member of an Encra- 
tite sect of the second century. (b) A member 
of a Gnostic sect of the second century : often 
identified with (a), (c) A follower of Severus, 
Monophysite patriarch of Antioch A. D. 512- 
519, still honored by the Jacobites next after 
Dioscorus. See Mimophynite. 
severity (se-ver'i-ti), . ; pi. severities (-tiz). 
[< OF. xrrrritt; F. xi'i'/'ritc = Sp. severidad = 
5533 
Pg. Kcn-ridnilc = It. xrrrrilii, < I/. yrri'riln(l-)>i, 
earnestness, severity, < severuH, earnest, severe: 
see severe.] The character or state of being 
severe. Especially (a) Gravity; austerity; serious- 
ness : the opposite of levity. 
It is too general a vice, and severity must cure it. 
Shak., Al. forM., iii. 2. 106. 
Strict Age, and sour Severity, 
With their grave saws in slumber lie. 
Milton, Comus, 1. 109. 
(b) Extreme rigor; strictness; rigidity; harshness. 
Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God : on 
them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness. 
Rom. xi. 22. 
Severity, gradually hardening and darkening into mis- 
anthropy, characterizes the works of Swift. 
Macaulay, Addison. 
(c) Harshness; cruel treatment; sharpness of punish- 
ment: as, severity practised on prisoners of war. 
The Pharisaical Superstitions, and Vows, and Severities 
to themselves in fetching blood and knocking their heads 
against the walls. Stittimjfleet, Sermons, II. i. 
(d) In lit., art, etc., the quality of strict conformity to an 
ideal rule or standard ; studied moderation ; freedom from 
all exuberance or florid ornament ; purity of line and form ; 
austerity of style. 
I thought I could not breathe in that fine air, 
That pure severity of perfect light 
I wanted warmth and colour, which I found 
In Lancelot. Tennyson, Guinevere. 
() The quality or power of afflicting, distressing, or pain- 
ing; extreme degree ; extremity; keenness: as, the sever- 
ity of pain or anguish ; the severity of cold or heat ; the 
severity of the winter. 
Lib'ral in all things else, yet Nature here 
With stern severity deals out the year ; 
Winter invades the spring. 
Cowper, Table-Talk, 1. 209. 
We ourselves have seen a large party of stout men trav- 
elling on a morning of intense severity. De Quincey, Plato. 
(/) Exactness ; rigor ; niceness : as, the severity of a test. 
(g) Strictness ; rigid accuracy. 
I may say it with all the severity of truth, that every line 
of yours is precious. Dryden, Orig. and Prog, of Satire. 
= Syn. (a) and (b) Asperity, Harshness, etc. (see acrimony), 
unkindness. (6), (c), and (e) Sharpness, keenness, force. 
See list under harshness. 
severyt, . See civery. Also spelled sererey, 
xeverie, sereree. 
Sevillan (se-vil'an), a. [< Seville (Sp. Sevilla) 
+ -OH.] Pertaining to Seville, a city and 
province in southern Spain Sevillan ware, pot- 
tery made in Seville ; specifically, an imitation of Italian 
majolica, differing from the original in being coarser and 
having a thinner glaze. 
SCVOcationt (ev-o-ka'shon), n. [<L. serocare, 
pp. sevocaius, call apart or aside, < se-, dis- 
junct, prefix, + vocare, call.] A calling aside. 
Bailey. 
Sevres (savr), n. [< Sevres, a town of France, 
near Paris, noted for its porcelain manufac- 
tures.] Sevres porcelain. See porcelain 1 . 
Jeweled Sevres, a variety of Sevres porcelain decorated 
with small bubbles or drops of colored enamel, translucent 
and brilliant, like natural rubies, emeralds, etc., or opaque, 
like turquoises cut en cabochon. This decoration was in- 
troduced about 1780, and is confined to the richest pieces, 
the jewels being set in bands of gold slightly in relief, and 
serving to frame medallion pictures. 
sevum (se'vum), n. [NL., < L. serum, sebum, 
suet: see sebaceous, sew 2 , suet.'] Suet; the in- 
ternal fat of the abdomen of the sheep (Ovis 
aries), purified by melting and straining. It 
is used in the preparation of ointments, etc. 
V. S. Pharmacopceia. 
sew 1 (so), r. ; pret. sewed, pp. sewed or sewn, ppr. 
setting. [Early mod. E. also sow (in accordance 
with the pronunciation so, the proper historical 
spelling being sew, pron. su; cf. shew, now 
written show, pron. sho), < ME. semen, sowen, 
souwen (pret. sewide, souwede, sewede, pp. sewed, 
sowed), < AS. siwian, siwigan, seoman (pret. 
siwode) = OFries. sia = OHG. siuwan, siwati, 
MHG. siuwen, suwen, sen = Icel. syja = Sw. 
si/ = Dan. sye = Goth, sinjan = L. snere (in 
comp. con-sucre, sew together, in ML. reduced 
to "cosire, eosere, eusire, > It. entire, cuscire = 
Sp. Pg. coser, ciisir = Pr. coser, cuzir = F. COH- 
dre, sew) = OBulg. "ajtiti, shiti = Serv. Bohem. 
shiti = Pol.s2i/c = Russ. shift = Lith. siuti = 
Lett, shut = Skt. y sw, sew. From the Teut. 
root are ult. seam 1 , seamster, seamstress, etc. ; 
from the L. are ult. suture, eonsute, conmililr, 
etc. ; from the Skt., sutra. The historical form 
of the pp. is sewed; the collateral form sewn 
is modern, due, as in shown, worn, and other 
cases, to conformation with participles histori- 
cally strong, as, wii'w, blown, etc.] I. trans. 1. 
To unite, join, or attach by means of a thread, 
twine, wire, or other flexible material, with or 
without the aid of a needle, awl, or other tool. 
The wotlnde to sewe fast he began to spede, . . . 
And they yet say that the stytches brake. 
JosepTi of Arimathie (E. E. T. S.), p. 45. 
sew 
" Myself to medes |for my reward] wol the lettre sowe," 
And helde his liondes up, and til on knowe ; 
" Now, gode nece, be it never so lite, 
(iif me the labour it to sowe and plyte [fold]." 
Chaucer, Troilus, ii. 1201. 
Till over the buttons I fall asleep, 
And sew them on in a dream ! 
Hood, Song of the Shirt. 
2. To put together or construct, or to repair, as 
a gannent, by means of a needle and thread. 
And seouweth and amendeth chirche clothes. 
Aneren Riwle, p. 420. 
And 36, louely ladyes, with soure longe fyngres, 
That 30 han silke and sendal, to sowe [var. feu-en}, whan 
time is, 
Chesibles for chapelleynes, cherches to honoure. 
Piers Plowman (B), vi. 11. 
I sew'd his sheet, making my mane. 
The Lament o/ the Border Widow (Child's Ballads, III. 87). 
Sewing at once, with a double thread, 
A Shroud as well as a Shirt. 
Hood, Song of the Shirt. 
Sewed flexible, noting a book with unsawed sections, 
on the back of which the cross-bands are placed, project- 
ing outward, giving more flexibility. Sewed on bands, 
noting a book on the back of which bands of tape or strips 
of parchment are used instead of twine. Sewed on false 
bands, noting a book sewed on bands that are drawn out 
after the sewing has been done. Sewed on sunk bands, 
noting a book that has its bands of twine sunk in the 
grooves made by saw-cuts in the backs of the sections. 
Sewn all along, noting a book sewed the whole length 
of the back. To be sewed, or sewed up. (o) Saul., to 
rest upon the ground, as a ship, when there is not suf- 
ficient depth of water to float her. A ship thus situated 
is said to be sewed, or sewed up, by as much as is the 
difference between the surface of the water and her float- 
ing-mark or -line. Also spelled sue in this sense, (b) To 
be brought to a standstill ; be ruined or overwhelmed. 
[Slang.] 
Here's Mr. Vinkle reg'larly sewed up vith desperation. 
Dickens, Pickwick, xl. 
(c) To be intoxicated. [Slang.] 
He ... had twice had Sir Rumble Tumble (the noble 
driver of the Flash-o'-lightning-light-four-inside-post- 
coach) up to his place, and took care to tell you that some 
of the party were pretty considerably sewn up too. 
Thackeray, Shabby Genteel Story, i. 
To sew up. (a) To secure or fasten within some envel- 
oping fabric or substance by means of stitches, (b) To 
close or unite by sewing : as, to sew up a rent. 
I commanded the sleeves should be cut out and sewed 
up again. Shak., T. of the S., iv. 3. 148. 
To sew up one's stocking, to put one to silence ; dis- 
comfit one ; confute one. [Prov. Eng.] 
At this home thrust Mrs. Wilson was staggered. . . . 
"Eh! Miss Lucy, "cried she, . . . "but ye've got a tongue 
In your head. Ye've sewed up my stocking." 
C. Beade, Love me Little, xxvi. 
II. intrans. 1. To practise sewing; join 
things by means of stitches. 
A time to rend, and a time to sew. Eccl. iii. 7. 
Fair lady Isabel sits in her bower sewing, 
Aye as the gowans grow gay. 
Lady Isabel and the Etf-Kniyht (Child's Ballads, I. 195). 
2. Naut., to be sewed, or sewed up. See phrase 
above. 
sew'-'t, n. [(n) < ME.-seic, seem, sewe, ssew, juice, 
broth, gravy, < AS. sedw = OHG. MHG. sou 
(souw-), juice, sap, = Skt. sava, juice, < / su, 
press out (see soma). The ME. word has also 
been referred to (6) OF. sui, sue, F. sue = Pr. 
sue = Sp. suco = Pg. sumo, sticco = It. sticco, < 
L. siicus, succus, juice, sap (see sew 3 ), or to (c) 
OF. sen, suis, suif, F. suif = Pr. sen = Sp. 
Pg. sebo = It. sevo, < L. sebum, also sevum, tal- 
low, suet, fat, grease (> ult. E. suet, formerly 
sewet) ; perhaps akin to L. sapo, soap, and to 
sapa, sap, juice: see soap, sap 1 , sevum, suet. 
Some confusion with these OF. forms may have 
occurred. Cf. W. sewion, gravy, juice, jelly.] 
Juice; broth; gravy; hence, a pottage; a made 
dish. 
Fele kyn flschej, . . . 
Summe sothen [boiled] snmme in sewe, sauered with 
spyces. 
Sir Oawayne and the Green Knight (E. E. T. S.), 1. 892. 
I wol nat tellen of her strange sewes. 
Chaucer, Squire's Tale, 1. 59. 
Droppe not thi brest with seew & other potage. 
Babees Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 81. 
sew 3 (su), f. [< ME. sewen, dry, wipe (the 
beak), for "essewen, < OF. essuier, essuyer, essuer, 
also in partly restored form essticquer, F. es- 
stiyer, dry (pp. essuye, > E. dial, assue, drained, 
as a cow), = Pr. eisugar, essugar, eehucar, is- 
siigar = Sp. enjugar = Pg. enxugqr = It. asciug- 
are, < L. exsueare, exsuccare, exucare, dry, de- 
prive of moisture, suck the juice from, < ex-, 
out (see ex-), + sums, succus, juice, sap, mois- 
ture : see scir 2 . succulent. Cf . sewer 3 .] I. trans. 
1. To drain dry, as land; drain off, as water. 
[Obsolete or prov. Eng.] 
Rather breake a statute which is but penall then few a 
pond that maye be perpetual). 
Lyly, Euphues and his England, p. 414. 
