siccative 
siccative (sik'a-tiv), a. and . [= F. sicratif. < 
LL. siccatifiis,"that makes dry, < L. siccare, dry: 
see siccate."} I. a. Drying; causing to become 
dry, or to dry up. 
So did they with the juice of Cedars, which by the ex- 
tream bitternesse and siccative faculty . . . forthwith sub- 
dued the cause of interior corruption. 
Sandys, Travailes, p. 105. 
It is well known that cotton-seed oil is a semi-drying 
oil having strong siccative properties at the temperature 
of 212 F. Set. Amer., N. S., LVIII. 261. 
II. n. In painting, any material added to an 
oil-paint to hasten the drying of the oil; a dryer. 
Siccative is more of a book-word, dryer being 
the term commonly used by painters, 
siccific (sik-sif'ik), a. [< L. siccus, dry, + fa- 
cere, make : see -fie.'] Causing dryness. 
Siccity (sik'si-ti), n. [< F. sicciU = Pr. siccitat 
= It. siccita, < L. siccita(t-)s, dryness, < siccus, 
dry: see siccate.~\ Dryness; aridity; absence 
of moisture. 
Fire doth predominate in calidity, 
And then the next degree is siccity. 
Times' Wkistle(E. E. t. S.), p. 117. 
They speak much of the elementary quality of ticcity or 
drieness. Bacon, Hist. Life and Death, 
sice 1 (sis), n. [Also size, and formerly syse, syiss, 
sis, sise; < ME. sis, sys, < OF. six, < L. sex, six: 
see six.] 1. The number six at dice. 
Thy sys Fortune hath turned into as. 
Chaucer, Monk's Tale, 1. 671. 
But then my study was to cog the dice, 
And dexterously to throw the lucky sice. 
Dryden, tr. of Persius's Satires, ill. 93. 
2. Sixpence. Halliwell. [Eng. cant.] 
sice 2 , syce (sis), n. [Also saice; < Hind, sdis, 
mis, < Ar. sdis, seyis, a horse-keeper.] In Ben- 
gal, a groom; a horse-keeper; an attendant 
who follows on foot a mounted horseman or a 
carriage. 
All visits are made on horseback in Simla, as the dis- 
tances are often considerable. You ride quietly along, and 
the gaice follows you, walking or keeping pace with your 
gentle trot, as the case may be. - 
F. M. Crawford, Mr. Isaacs, Iv. 
Siceliot (si-sel'i-ot), a. and . [Also Sikeliot; 
< Gr. 2/cf/l(ur^f, a Sicilian Greek or a Siculian, 
< SoccXia, Sicily: see Sicilian.] I. a. Of or per- 
taining to the Siceliots. 
These Siceliot cities formed a fringe round the Siceli 
and Sicani of the interior. Encyc. Brit., XI. 95. 
II. a. 1. A Greek settler in Sicily. 2. A 
Siculian. 
sicert, . [ME. : see cider.] Strong drink. 
This Sampson never steer drank ne wyn. 
Chaucer, Monk's Tale, 1. 66. 
sich 1 (sich), n. and pron. A variant of *c/i, for- 
merly in good use, but now only dialectal. 
He . . . rather ioyd to bee then seemen sick, 
For both to be and seeme to him was labor lich. 
Spenser, F. Q., III. vii. 29. 
sich 2 (sich), r. and n. A Scotch form of sigh 1 . 
Sicht 1 (sicht), n. A Scotch form of sightl. 
sicht 2 (sicht), v. and n. A Scotch form of /</7ii. 
Sicilian (si-sil'ian), a. and n. [= F. sicilien = 
Sp. Pg. It. Siciliano (cf. L. Siciliensis), < L. 
Sicilia, Gr. SmMa, Sicily, < Siculi, Gr. fucefoi, 
the Sicilians, Siculns, Gr. S<KE/IO?, Sicilian (a. 
and n., adj. usually 2fA</Sf).] I. a. Of or per- 
taining to Sicily (a large island in the Medi- 
terranean, south of Italy, now belonging to the 
kingdom of Italy) or its inhabitants Sicilian 
architecture, a special development of medieval archi- 
tecture peculiar to Sicily. It is characterized by a fusion 
of the Norman and the later French Pointed styles of the 
foreign race dominant from the eleventh to the thirteenth 
ceutury.with local Byzantine and Saracenic elements. Sev- 
Sicilian Architecture. 
Interior of Cathedral of Monreale, near Palermo. 
era! of its monuments are of superb effect, particularly in 
their interior decoration, notably the Capella del Pala- 
dini in the royal palace at Palermo, and the great cathe- 
dral of Monreale, the whole interior wall-surfaces of both 
being covered with mosaics which are among the most 
magnificent in color that exist. There is also decora- 
5010 
tive sculpture of great excellence. Sicilian beet. See 
beeti. Sicilian embroidery, fancy work done with thin 
translucent materials, and consisting in the application 
of a pattern cut out of cambric, or the like, upon a back- 
ground of similar material, so that the pattern shows 
thicker and more opaque than the ground. Sicilian 
pottery. See pottery. Sicilian saffron, an autumnal 
crocus, C. longifnnu (C. odorus), or the product said to be 
obtained from it. Sicilian sumac. See sumac. Si- 
cilian Vespers, the name given to a general massacre 
of the French residents of Sicily by the native inhabitants, 
in 1282, in revenge for the cruelties of the former as the 
dominant race under the French king of Sicily and Na- 
ples, Charles of Anjou. The rising began in Palermo on 
Raster Monday, at the stroke of the vesper-bell, the con- 
certed signal, and resulted in the expulsion of Charles and 
the introduction of Spanish rule. 
II. n. A native or a naturalized inhabitant 
of Sicily; specifically, a member of the indige- 
nous Sicilian race, now a mixture of many 
races who in former times successively colo- 
nized parts of the island. See Siculian. 
Siciliano, siciliana (si-sil-i-a'no, -nil; It. pron. 
se-che-li-a'no, -na), n. [It., masc. and fern.: 
see Sicilian.] 1. A dance of the peasants of 
Sicily in rather slow movement, accompanied 
with singing. 2. Music for such a dance or in 
its rhythm, which is sextuple and moderately 
slow, resembling the pastorale, and frequently 
written in the minor mode. It was common in the 
last century in vocal music and as the slow movement 
of sonatas. Also marked alia siciliana. 
sicilienne (si-sil-i-en'), n. [P., fern, of sicilien, 
Sicilian.] A textile fabric of silk with a ribbed 
surface ; a superior kind of poplin. 
sick 1 (sik), a. [< ME. sik, sic, si/k, sike, syke, 
seek, seke, sek, seok, < AS. sedc, sick, having dis- 
ease or wounds (fylle-seoc, 'fall-sick,' having 
thefallingsickness,epileptic, de6fol-seoc, 'devil- 
sick,' possessed by a devil, demoniac, monath- 
sedc, 'month-sick' (moon-sick), lunatic), = OS. 
sioc, scok, siak, siec = OFries. siek, siak, sek = 
MD. siek, D. ziek = MLG. sek, LG. siek = OHG. 
siuh, sioh, MHG. G. siech = Icel. sjukr = Sw. sjuk 
= Dan. syg = Goth, siuks, sick ; from a strong 
verb, Goth, siukan (pret. sauk). be sick; per- 
haps related to OHG. "swah, MHG. swach, G. 
schwach (> Dan. Sw. svag), weak, feeble.] 1. 
Affected with or suffering from physical disor- 
der; more or less disabled by disease or bad 
health; seriously indisposed; ill: as, tofallsi'cA-; 
to be sick of a fever; a very sick man. 
And ther myself lay seke by the space of vj wekys. 
TorHngtan, Diane of Eng. Travel], p. 57. 
I have been minded many times to have been a friar, 
namely when I was sore sick and diseased. 
Latimer, Remains, p. 332. 
In poison there is physic ; and these news, 
Having been well, that would have made me sick, 
Being sick, have in some measure made me well. 
Shak., 2 Hen. IV., i. 1. 188. 
And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw 
his wife's mother laid, and tick of a fever. Mat viii. 14. 
A kindlier influence reign'd ; and everywhere 
Low voices with the ministering hand 
Hung round the sick. Tennyson, Princess, vii. 
2. In a restricted sense, affected with nausea; 
qualmish ; inclined to vomit, or actually vomit- 
ing ; attended with or tending to cause vomit- 
ing : as, sick at the stomach. Formerly, and still 
generally in the United States, so used without conscious 
differentiation from sense 1. See syn. below. 
I was pitifully sick all the Voyage, for the Weather was 
rough, and the Wind untowards. Howell, Letters, I. i. 5. 
Whenever a sea was on they were all extremely tick. 
W. S. Gilbert, Bumboat Woman's Story. 
Figuratively 3. Seriously disordered, infirm, 
or unsound from any cause; perturbed; dis- 
tempered; enfeebled: used of mental and emo- 
tional conditions, and technically of states of 
some material things, especially of mercury in 
relation to amalgamation : as, to be sick at 
heart ; a sicfr-looking vehicle. 
I charge you, . . . tell him that I am sick of love. 
Cant. v. 8. 
"Tis meet we all go forth 
To view the sick and feeble parts of France. 
Shak., Hen. V., ii. 4. 22. 
It was a tone 
Such as sick fancies in a new-made grave 
Might hear. Shelley, Revolt of Islam, v. 27. 
The quicksilver constantly became tick, dragged in 
strings after the mullers, and lost apparently all its nat- 
ural affinity for gold. Ure, Diet., II. 696. 
4. In a depressed state of mind for want of 
something; pining; longing; languishing: with 
for: as, to be sick for old scenes or friends. 
Compare homesick. 
It well may serve 
A nursery to our gentry, who are sick 
Far breathing and exploit. 
Shak., All's Well, i. 2. 16. 
5. Disgusted from satiety; having a sickening 
surfeit : with of: as, to be siek of flattery or of 
drudgery. 
sick 
The commonwealth is sick of their own choice ; 
Their over-greedy love hath surfeited. 
Shak., 2 Hen. IV., L 8. 88. 
She 's sick of the young shepherd that bekissed her. 
B. Jonson, Sad Shepherd, i. 2. 
6. As a specific euphemism, confined in child- 
bed; parturient. 7. Tending to make one sick, 
in any sense. [Rare.] 
Yon have some sick offence within your mind. 
Shak., J. C., it 1. 268. 
8. Indicating, manifesting, or expressive of 
sickness, in any sense ; indicating a disordered 
state ; sickly : as, a sieJc look. [Now only col- 
loq. or slang.] 
Why, how now ? do you speak in the sick tune ? 
Shak., Much Ado, ill. 4. 42. 
9. Spawning, or in the milk, as an oyster ; poor 
and watery, as oysters after spawning. 10. 
Xaut., out of repair; unfit for service: said of 
ships or boats. Sometimes used in compounds, 
denoting the kind of repairs needed : as, iron- 
sick, nail-nick, paint-sicfc. 
If you put the Limber out to-night she'll be turned over 
. . . and sucked down by the swell. And the Shelley, she 
lays down at X, nick of paint. 
E. S. Sheppard, Counterparts, Int. 
My boat's kinder giv' out. She ain't nothin' more 'n 
nail-mot, though. Harper's Weekly, XXXIV. 564. 
Ministers of the sick. See minister. Oil of the sick. 
See holy oil, under oil. The sick man. See man. To 
be sick of the Idlest. See idle. [Sick is used as the first or 
the second element of some compounds, the other element 
in the former case naming something used for or on ac- 
count of the sick or a sick person, and in the latter ex- 
pressing the cause or occasion of sickness : as, mdr-bed, 
-room, -diet, etc.; love-sick; home*icjt.] = 8yn. Sick, 111, 
Ailing, Unwell, Diseased, Morbid, Sickly. Sick and ill are 
general words for being positively out of a healthy state, 
as ailinff and unwell are in some sense negative and there- 
fore weaker words for the same thing. There has been 
some tendency in England to confine sick to the distinc- 
tive sense of 'nauseated,' but in America the word has con- 
tinued to have its original breadth of meaning, as found 
in the Bible and in Shakspere. Diseased follows the ten- 
dency of disease to be specific, as in diseased lungs, or a 
diseased leg that is, lungs or a leg affected by a certain 
disease ; but the word may be used in a general way. M or- 
bid is a more technical or professional term, indicating 
that which is not healthy or does not act in a healthy way : 
the word is also the one most freely used in figurative 
senses: as, morbid sensitiveness, self-consciousness, or ir- 
ritability. Sick and ill apply to a state presumably tem- 
porary, however severe ; sickly indicates a state not quite 
equal to sickness, but more permanent, because of an un- 
derlying lack of constitutional vigor. See illness, debility, 
disease. 
My daughter has been sick, and she is now far from well. 
Howells, Undiscovered Country, xi. 
And now my sight fails, and my brain is giddy. 
O me ! come near me ; now I am much iff. 
Shak., 2 Hen. IV., iv. 4. 111. 
A voice 
Of comfort and an open hand of help . . . 
To ailing wife or wailing infancy 
Or old bedridden palsy. 
Tennyson, Aylmer's Field. 
The lady on my arm is tired, unwell, 
And loyally I've promised she shall say 
No harder word this evening than . . . good-night. 
Mrs. Browning, Aurora Leigh, v. 
Diseased nature oftentimes breaks forth 
In strange eruptions. Shak., 1 Hen. IV., iii. 1. 27. 
Most evidently all that has been morbid in Christian 
views of the world has resembled the sickliness of early 
youth rather than the decay of age. 
J. R. Seeley, Nat. Religion, p. 145. 
Then moving homeward came on Annie pale. 
Nursing the sickly babe, her latest-born. 
Tennyson, Enoch Arden. 
sick 1 (sik), v. [< ME. syken, siiken, seeken, se- 
ken = D. zieken = OHG. siuchan, ttiuhhan, siu- 
chen, siuhhen, siuhlion, MHG. G. siechen; from 
the adj. ; cf. Goth, siukan (strong verb), fall 
sick: see sick 1 , a.] I. intrans. To grow sick; 
become sick or ill. 
Our great-grandsire, Edward, sick'd and died. 
Shak., 2 Hen. IV., iv. 4. 128. 
II. trans. To make sick; sicken. 
His piercing beams I never shall endure, 
They sicke me of a fatall Calenture. 
Beywood, Apollo and Daphne (Works, 1874, VI. 289). 
sick 2 (sik), v. t. [A var. pron. of seek.~\ 1. To 
seek ; chase ; set upon : used in the imperative 
in inciting a dog to chase or attack a person or 
an animal : often with prolonged sibilation : as, 
sick or s-s-sick 'im, Bose! 
"Sic 'em, Andy!" screamed Granny. "Sic 'em, Bud! 
Sic 'em ! sic 'em ! " The growls and snarls of the fighting 
animals [dogs and racoons] . . . made a terrific din. 
Golden Days (Philadelphia), Sept. 6, 1890. 
Hence 2. To cause to seek or pursue ; incite 
to make an attack ; set on by the exclamation 
"Sick!" as, to sick a dog at a tramp; I'll sick 
the constable on you. [Prov.,iJ. S.] 
That thar 'Cajah Green, he sick-ed him [a dog) on all 
the time. H. X. Hurfree, Great Smoky Mountains, xi. 
