sick-bay 
sick-bay (sik'ba), n. A compartment on board 
a man-of-war or a troop-ship for the accommo- 
dation and treatment of sick and wounded. 
sick-bed (sik'bed), n. A bed to which one is 
confined by sickness. 
Pray, Mother, be careful of yourself, and do not over- 
walke yourself, for that is wont to bring you upon a sick 
bed. John Strype, in Ellis's Letters, p. 177. 
sick-berth, (sik'berth), . Same as sick-bay. 
sick-brained (sik'brand), a. Mentally disor- 
dered. 
sick-call (sik'kal), . 1. A military call, sound- 
ed on a drum, bugle, or trumpet, to summon sick 
men to attend at the hospital. 2. A summons 
for a clergyman to minister to a sick person. 
sicken (sik'u), . [= Icel. sjukna = Sw. sjukna 
= Dan. sygne, become sick ; as sick 1 + -en 1 . Cf . 
sick 1 , v.] I. intrans. 1. To fall sick; fall into 
ill health ; become ill : used of persons, animals, 
or plants : as, the fowl sickened; the vine sick- 
ened. 
My Lord of Southampton and his eldest Son sickened at 
the Siege, and died at Berghen. Howell, Letters, I. iv. 15. 
Some who escape the Fury of the Wave 
Sicken on Earth, and sink into a Grave. 
Prior, Ode to George Villiers. 
2. To experience a sickening sensation; feel 
nauseated or disgusted : as, to sicken at the sight 
of squalor. 
The stars awhile withheld their gleamy light, 
And sick'ned to behold the fatal night. 
W. L. Lewis, tr. of Statius's Thebaid, v. 
I hate, abhor, spit, sicken at him. 
Tennyson, Lucretius. 
3. To lose force or vitality; become weakened, 
impaired, or deteriorated: said of things (in 
technical use, especially of mercury : compare 
mortification, 1 (d) ). 
When love begins to sicken and decay, 
It useth an enforced ceremony. 
Shak., J. C., iv. 2. 20. 
All pleasures sicken, and all glories sink. 
Pope, Essay on Man, iv. 46. 
It [mercury] sickens, as the miner puts it, and "flours," 
forming into a sort of scum on the surface. 
Sci. Amer., N. S., LXII. 410. 
II. trans. 1 . To make sick ; bring into a dis- 
ordered state or condition ; affect with disease, 
or (more commonly) with some temporary dis- 
order or indisposition, as nausea, vertigo, or 
languor : as, the bad odors sickened him. 
Why should one Earth, one Clime, one Stream, one Breath, 
Raise this to Strength, and sicken that to Death? 
Prior, Solomon, i. 
Through the room 
The sweetness sickened her 
Of musk and myrrh. 
D. G. Rossetti, The Staff and Scrip. 
2. To make mentally sick; cause to feel nau- 
seating contempt or disgust. See sickening. 
Mr. Smith endeavored to attach himself to me with such 
officious assiduity and impertinent freedom that he quite 
sickened me. Miss Burney, Evelina, xlvi. 
3. To make nauseatingly weary (of) or dissat- 
isfied (with) ; cause a disgusted dislike in : with 
of: as, this sickened him of his bargain. 4f. To 
bring into an unsettled or disordered state ; im- 
pair ; impoverish : said of things. 
I do know 
Kinsmen of mine, three at the least, that have 
By this so sickerid their estates that never 
They shall abound as formerly. 
Shak., Hen. VIII., i. 1. 82. 
Sickener (sik'n-er), re. Something that sickens, 
in any sense; especially, a cause of disgust, 
antipathy, or aversion ; a reason for being sick 
of something. [Rare.] 
It was plain this lucky shot had given them a sickener 
of their trade. R. L. Stevenson, Master of Ballantrae, ii. 
sickening (sik'n-ing), p. a. Making sick ; caus- 
ing or tending to cause faintness, nausea, dis- 
gust, or loathing: as, sickening sounds; sick- 
ening servility. 
Alp turu'd him from the sickening sight. 
Byron, Siege of Corinth, xvii. 
Life hung on her consent ; everything else was hopeless, 
confused, sickening misery. 
George Eliot, Mill on the Floss, vi. 13. 
sickeningly (sik'n-ing-li), adv. In a sickening 
manner; so as to sicken or disgust. 
Then ensued a sickening contest, sickeningly described. 
Athenaum, No. 3254, p. 302. 
sicker (sik'er), a. [So. also siccar, sikker, etc. ; 
< ME. siker, sikir, sekir, syker, sicur, < AS. "sicor, 
late AS. siker = OS. sicur, sicor = OFries. siker, 
fiikur = D. zeker = MLG. sekcr = OHG-. sichur, 
sihhar, sichure, sichiure, MHG. G. siclier = Dan. 
sikker = Sw. sdker = W. sicr (< E.), without 
care, secure, safe, < L. securus (later securtts, 
5611 
with recession of the accent, as the Teut. forms 
indicate), without care: see secure and sure, 
which are thus doublets of sicker. The intro- 
duction of a L. adj., having appar. no special 
eccl. or legal or other technical meaning, into 
Teut. at so early a period (before the 7th cen- 
tury) is remarkable; prob. a technical use ex- 
isted, or the adj. came in through the verb 
(OHGr. sihhoron, justify, clear (in a court), etc.).] 
Sure; certain; assured; Secure; firm; safe. 
[Old Eng. and Scotch.] 
With me the! lefte alle theire thyng, 
That I am sicur of theire comyng. 
MS. Cantab. Ff. v. 48, f. 48. (Halliwell.) 
Setting my staff wi' a' my skill 
To keep me sicker. 
Burns, Death and Doctor Hornbook. 
"I doubt," said Bruce, "that I have slain the Red Co- 
myn." "Do you leave such a matter to doubt?" said 
Kirkpatrick. "I will make sicker." 
Scott, Tales of a Grandfather, 1st ser., vi. 
sickert (sik'er), adv. [< ME. "sikere, sekere; < 
sicker, a.] Certainly; indeed; surely; firmly; 
securely; confidently; safely. 
That shall help the of thy doloure, 
As sekere as bred ys made of floure. 
Political Poems, etc. (ed. Furnivall), p. 217. 
Sicker, now I see thou speakest of spight. 
Spenser, Shep. Cal., May. 
The nurice she knet the knot, 
And O she knet it sicker. 
Laird of Waristoun (Child's Ballads, III. 111). 
sickert (sik'er), v. t. [< ME. sikeren, sekiren (= 
OS. sicoron = OFries. sikria, sikeria, sikura 
= MLG. sekeren = OHG. sihhoron, MHG. G. 
sichern = Dan. sikre), make safe, secure ; from 
the adj.] To secure; assure; make certain or 
safe; plight; betroth. 
Now be we duchesses, bothe I and ye, 
And sikered to the regals of Athenes. 
Chaucer, Good Women, 1. 2128. 
gife I say the sothely, and sekire the my trowthe, 
So surggone in Salarne salle save the bettyre. 
Morte Arthure (E. E. T. S.), 1. 2585. 
sickerlyt (sik'6r-li), adv. [< ME. sikerly, syk- 
erly, sekerly, sikirly, sikerliche, sikerlike (= D. 
zekerlijk = MLG. sekerliken, sekerken = OHG. 
sichurlicho, MHG. sicherliche, G. sicherlich = Sw. 
sakerligen = Dan. sikkerlig) ; < sicker + -ly%. 
Doublet of securely and surely.] Same as sicker. 
Heere-aftir y hope ful sikirly 
For to come to that blis ageyn. 
Hymns to Virgin, etc. (E. E. T. S.), p. 51. 
Whoso wille go be Londe thorghe the Lond of Baby- 
lone, where the Sowdan dwellethe commonly, he moste 
gete Grace of him and Leve, to go more sikerly thorghe 
tho Londes and Contrees. Mandeville, Travels, p. 34. 
sickerness (sik'er-nes), n. [< ME. sikentesse, 
sykernes, sikirnesse, sykirnes, sekirnes; < sicker 
+ -ness. Doublet of secureness and sureness.] 
The state of being sicker or secure ; security ; 
safety. [Obsolete or Scotch.] 
A ful grete charge hath he with-outyne faile that his 
worship kepithe in sikernesse. 
Political Poems, etc. (ed. Furnivall), p. 76. 
Thus mene I, that were a gret folye, 
To putten that sykernesse in jupartye. 
Chaucer, Troilus, iv. 1512. 
In sickernesst , assuredly ; certainly ; of a truth. 
He is a foole in sikernesse, 
That with daunger or stoutenesse 
Rebelleth there he snulde plese. 
Rom. of the Rose, 1. 1935. 
sick-fallen (sik'fa'ln), a. Struck down with 
sickness or disease. [Rare.] 
Vast confusion waits, 
As doth a raven on a sick-fall'n beast. 
Shak., K. John, iv. 3. 152. 
sick-flag (sik'flag), n. A yellow flag indicating 
the presence of disease, displayed at a quaran- 
tine station, or on board a ship in quarantine, 
to prevent unauthorized communication. Also 
called quarantine-flag. 
sick-headache (sik'hed'ak), n. Headache ac- 
companied by nausea ; especially, megrim, 
sickish (sik'ish), a. [< sick 1 + -ish 1 .'] 1. In a 
disordered condition or state of health ; out of 
proper condition; sickly. 
Not the body only, but the mind too (which commonly 
follows the temper of the body) is sickish and indisposed. 
HakevM, Apology, p. 296. 
Whereas the soul might dwell in the body as a palace 
of delight, she flnda it a crazy, sickish, rotten cottage, in 
danger, every gust, of dropping down. 
Rev. T. Adams, Works, I. 330. 
2. Somewhat sick ornauseated; slightly qualm- 
ish; disgusted: as, a sickish feeling. 3. Mak- 
ing slightly sick ; sickening; nauseating: as, a 
sickish taste or smell. 
sickishly (sik'ish-li), adv. In a sickish man- 
ner. 
sickless 
sickishness (sik'ish-nes), n. The state of being 
sickish. 
sicklatount, . Same as ciclaton. 
sickle (sik'l), n. [< ME. sikel, sykel, sykyl, sikul, 
side, < AS. sicol, sicul, sicel = MD. sickel, D. 
sikkel = MLG. sekele, LG. sekele, sekel = OHG. 
xililtild, sihila, sichila, MHG. G. sichel = Dan. 
set/I, a sickle, = It. segolo, a hatchet, < L. secu- 
la, a sickle (so called by the Campanians, the 
usual L. word being falx: see falx), < secure, 
cut: see secant. Cf. scythe (AS. sigthe, sitlie) 
and saw 1 (AS. saga), from the Teut. form of 
the same verb.] 1. A reaping-hook; a curved 
blade of steel (anciently also of bronze) having 
the edge on the inner 
side of the curve, with a 
short handle or haft, for 
cutting with the right 
hand grain or grass 
which is grasped by the 
left. The sickle is the oldest 
of reaping-instruments, and 
still continues in use for some 
purposes, including in certain Sickle with Serrated Edge, 
localities the gathering of 
crops. Sickles were formerly sometimes serrated, or made 
with sharp sloping teeth; the ordinary smooth-edged 
sickles are now sometimes called grass-knives or grass- 
hooks. 
Knyves crooked 
For vyne and bough with sithes, sides hocked, 
And croked sithes kene upon the bake. 
Pattadius, Husbondrie (E. E. T. S.), p. 42. 
Thou shalt not move a sickle unto thy neighbour's 
standing corn. Deut. xxiii. 25. 
In the vast field of criticism on which we are entering 
innumerable reapers have already put their sickles. 
Macaulay, Milton. 
2. A sickle-shaped sharp-edged spur or gaff 
formerly used in cock-fighting. 
Note that on Wednesday there will be a single battle 
fought with Sickles, after the East India manner. And on 
Thursday there will be a Battle Royal, one Cock with a 
Sickle, and 4 Cocks with fair Spurs. 
Quoted in Ashton's Social Life in Reign of Queen Anne, 
[I. 301. 
The Sickle, a group of stars in the constellation Leo, hav- 
ing the form of a sickle. 
sick-leave (sik'lev), . Leave of absence from 
duty granted on account of physical disability. 
Sir Thomas Cecil was returning on sick-leave from his 
government of the Brill. 
Motley, Hist. Netherlands, I. 424. 
sicklebill (sik'1-bil), n. A name of various 
birds whose bill is sickle-shaped or falciform ; 
a saberbill. (a) Those of the genera Drepanis, Dre- 
panornis, and some allied forms. (6) Those of the genus 
Epimachus. (c) The humming-birds of the genus Eutcx- 
eres, in which the bill is falcated in about the quadrant 
of a circle, (d) The saberbills of the genus Xiphorhynchus. 
(e) The long-billed curlew of the United States, Numenius 
longirostris. See cuts under Drepanis, Epimachus, Eu- 
toxeres, saberbill, and curlew. 
sickle-billed (sik'1-bild), a. Having a falcate 
or falciform bill, as a bird; saber-billed. 
sickled (sik'ld), a. [< sickle + -ed 2 .'] Furnished 
with or bearing a sickle. 
When autumn's yellow lustre gilds the world, 
And tempts the sickled swain into the field. 
Thomson, Autumn, 1. 1322. 
Sickle-feather (sik'l-feTH"er), n, One of the 
paired, elongated, falcate or sickle-shaped mid- 
dle feathers of the tail of the domestic cock; 
strictly, one of the uppermost and largest pair 
of these feathers, which in some varieties at- 
tain remarkable dimensions. See Japanese long- 
tailed fowls, under Japanese. 
sickle-head (sik'1-hed), . In a reaping-ma- 
chine, the pitman-head which holds the end of 
the cutter-bar. E. H. Knight. 
sickleheal (sik'1-hel), . See Prunella^, 2. 
sickleman (sik'1-man), n. ; pi. sickle-men (-men). 
[< sickle + man."] One who uses a sickle ; a 
reaper. 
You sunburnt sicklemen, of August weary, 
Come hither from the furrow and be merry. 
Shak., Tempest, iv. 1. 134. 
Like a Held of corn 
Under the hook of the swart sickleman. 
Shelley, Hellas. 
sickle-pear (sik'1-par'), . See seckel. 
Sicklepod (sik'1-pod), n. An American rock- 
cress, AraMs Canadensis, with flat drooping 
pods, which are scythe-shaped rather than 
sickle-shaped. 
Sickler (sik'ler), n. [< sickle + -er 1 ."] A reaper; 
a sickleman. 
Their sicklers reap the corn another sows. 
Sandys, Paraphrase upon Job, xxiv. 
Sickle-shaped (sik'l-shapt), a. Shaped like a 
sickle ; falcate in form ; falciform ; drepaniform. 
Sicklesst (sik'les), a. [< sick 1 + -less."] Free 
from sickness or ill health. 
