Sigillaria 
concerned, but most paleobotanists consider it probable 
that it will be eventually proved to be closely related 
to Lepidodendron ; others refer it to the cycads ; while 
there are some who maintain that it is probable that 
various plants quite different from one another in their 
systematic position have been included under the name 
Siyillaria. 
sigillarian (sij-i-la'ri-an), a. Belonging or re- 
lated to Sigillaria. 
The author has demonstrated a peculiarity in the ori- 
gin of the medulla of the Sigillarian and Lepidodendroid 
plants. Nature, XLI. 578. 
sigillaroid, sigillarioid (sij'i-la-roid, sij-i-la'- 
n-oid),o. [< Sigillaria + -<>id.~\ Same as xii/il- 
Id i- in it. 
Lepidodendroid and siyillarmd plants abound. 
A. GfOie, Encyc. Brit, X. 345. 
sigillary (sij'i-la-ri), a. [< L. 'Kigilliirius (LL. 
as a noun, a maker of seals), < sigillum, a seal: 
see sigil.'] Of the nature of a seal ; connected 
with a seal or with sealing. 
Yr summons for my Court at Warley, with all those 
sigillary formalities of a perfect instrument. 
Evelyn, To .Mr. Thurland. 
sigillate (sij'i-lat), . [< L. slgillatus, adorned 
with figures, < sigillum, a mark, device, seal: 
see sigil."} 1. In ceram., decorated with im- 
pressed patterns. 2. In hot., marked as if with 
the impressions of a seal, as the rhizome of 
Solomon's-seal, Polyyonatum. 3. Expressly in- 
dicated.- sigillate distribution, distribution indi- 
cated by all, game, etc. 
sigillated (sij'i-la-ted), a. [< sigillate + -e<J2.] 
Same as sw'Mate.-sigillated ware, hard pottery 
decorated with patterns printed from stamps. 
sigillation (sij-i-la'shou), n. [< sigillate + 
-ion.'] The decoration of pottery by means of 
molds or stamps applied to the surface. 
Sigillativet (sij'i-la-tiv), a. [< OF. xigiJlatif, < 
L. sigillatus, adorned with figures or devices: 
see sigillate."] Fit to seal ; belonging to a seal ; 
composed of wax. 
Sigillatif: . . . Sigillative, scalable, apt to seale ; made 
of wax. Cotgrate (ed. 1611). 
Sigillography (sij-i-log'ra-fi), . [< L. sigillnm. 
a seal, + Gr. -ypa<f>ia, <"-)pd&etv, write.] The 
study or science of seals ; knowledge of the 
kinds and uses of seals. 
It is only of late years that much attention has been paid 
to Byzantine sigillography. Atherueum, No. 3072, p. 341. 
sigla (sig'lii), M. pi. [LL., abbr. of L. sigilla, 
pi. of sigillum, a mark, seal: see sigil, seal 2 ."] A 
monogram, usually an abbreviation of a proper 
name, especially one engraved upon the seal 
of a seal-ring, as was common in the middle 
ages. 
siglatont, . Same as ciclaton. 
siglos (sig'los), n. ; pi. sigli (-11). [< Gr. m'j-Aof, 
erkAof (see def.): see shcl-el."] A silver coin is- 
sued by the kings of ancient Persia ; a silver 
daric. Its normal weight was about 86.45 grains, and 
20 sigli were equivalent to one gold daric. (See daric.) 
The siglos, like the daric, bore on the obverse a figure of 
the King of Persia represented as an archer. 
Sigma (sig'ma), . [< L. sigma, < Gr. alyfta."\ 1. 
The name of the Greek letter 2, a, f, equivalent 
to the English S, s. (For its early forms, see 
under S.) There is also an uncial form (see unciall 
namely C, made from S by curving and slighting; this 
has been revived in some recent alphabets of Greek. 
2. An S-shaped or sigmoid flesh-spicule of a 
sponge Sigma function, a function used in the 
Weierstrassian theory of elliptic functions, and defined 
by the formula 
The root of the future is got from the root of the pres- 
ent (or infinitive) by ilpmaung it. 
T. K. Arnold, First Greek Book, p. 5. (Encyc. Diet.) 
sigmate (sig'mat), <t. [<si</t + -rtfrl.] Hav- 
ing the form of the Greek sigma or of the let- 
ter S; sigma-shaped or S-shapoil. 
With rigmate flesh'Spicules [sponges]. 
Amer. Naturalist, XXI 937. 
sigmatic (sig-mat'ik), a. [< siymate + -ic.~\ 
Formed with a sigma or s: said of the Greek 
first aorist and first future, and also of parallel 
formations in other languages, as Sanskrit. 
Sigmatic aorists and futures in pure verbs are "new 
words." Amer. Jour, Philol., V. 165. 
Memini is a different thing from dixi (". Ja); the latter 
is a iigmatic aorist The Academy, Nov. 30, 1889, p. 358. 
sigmation (sig-ma'shou), n. [< sigmate + -ion.] 
The adding of a sigma or s at the end of a word 
or a syllable. 
This fondness for pluralizing . . . is constantly showing 
itself both in a purely senseless sigmation and in a dupli- 
cation of the plural ending. A", and Q., 7th ser., VII. 142. 
sigmatism (sig'ma-tizm), w. [< NL. sigmatis- 
m us, < MGr. atffuatfttgf write with sigma, < Gr. 
my/za, sigma : see sigma. ^ 1. The use or pres- 
ence of sigma ors; repetition or recurrence of 
s or of the *-sound. 
D read clearly "terrasquecitis ratis attigit auris," per- 
haps rightly, as the gigmatism is quite Ovidian. 
Classical Rev., III. 270. 
2. Difficult or defective pronunciation of the 
sound s. 
sigmatismns (sig-ma-tis'mus), n. [NL.: see 
sigmatism.] Same as gigmatism. 
There are three inseparable necessities which may be 
remembered by a iigmatismut site, soil, and sympathy. 
Quarterly Km., CXLV. 369. 
Sigmatophora (sig-ma-tof'o-ra), n. pi. [NL., 
neut. pi. of sigmatophortis : see sigmatophorous.] 
A suborder of choristidan tetractinellidan 
sponges, whose microseleres or flesh-spicules 
are sigmaspires. It contains the families Te- 
tillidse and Samidx. 
sigmatophorous (sig-ma-tof'o-rus), a. [< NL. 
sigmatophorus, < Gr. oiy/ja, sigma, + -tyopof, < 
fepeiv = E. Sear 1 .] Having gigmaspires, as a 
sponge ; of or pertaining to the Sigmatophora. 
sigmella (sig-mera), . ; pi. sigmellee (-e). [NL., 
dim. of L. sigma : see sigma."] A kind of sponge- 
spicule. Sollas. 
Sigmodon (sig'mo-don), w. [NL. (Say and Ord, 
1825): see sigmodont.] 1. Agenusof sigmodont 
murines ; the cotton-rats. S. hifpidvs is the common 
cotton-rat of the southern United States. It is a stout- 
bodied species, formerly wrongly referred to the genus 
Arvicola, -U to 5$ inches long, the tail about 3 inches more; 
with large hind feet, 1 ,' inches long, naked, and six-tuber- 
culate on the soles ; large rounded ears, nearly naked out- 
++r / \ 
2m2nl log II - r 1 -| 
_ M _ 35 L \ 7/lu) -)- nut f 
+ - 
1 Ow + 0//~ Ou + Ou>' 
-*/ 
The significance of the last terms is that the values m = 
n = are to be excluded in forming the sum. 
sigmaspiral (sig'ma-spr'ral), . [< sigmaspire 
f -at] Curved as one turn of a cylindrical 
spiral, as a sponge-spicule ; having the charac- 
ter of a sigmaspire. 
sigmaspire (sig'ma-spir), . [< Gr. aiyna, sig- 
ma. -I- axeipa, a coil, spire : see siama and spire 2 ."] 
In sponges, a simple kind of microsclere or flesh- 
spicule, whose form is that of a single turn of 
a cylindrical spiral, so that it looks like the 
letter C, or S, according to the direction from 
which it is viewed. Sollas. 
sigmate (sig'mat), c. t.; pret. and pp.sw/woted, 
ppr. sigmatliiy. [< sigma + -ate'*.] To add a 
sigma or s to ; change by the addition of an * at 
the end, as in upwards, alternative of upward. 
The question of the plural treatment, or otherwise, of 
some sigmated words [as "means"l is fair matter for dis- 
cussion. N. and Q., 7th ser., VIII. 216. 
side, hairy inside ; blunt muzzle, furry except on the sep- 
tum ; long, coarse pelage, hispid with bristly hairs, above 
finely lined with black and brownish-yellow, below gray- 
ish-white ; and the tail scarcely bicolor. It is a very com- 
mon and troublesome animal. Similar species, or varie- 
ties of this one, extend through most of Mexico to Guate- 
mala. 
2. [I. c."] An animal of this genus. 
sigmodont (sig'mo-dont), a. and. K Gr. niyna, 
sigma, + bdovf (bSmiT-) = E. tooth."] I, a. Show- 
ing a sigmoid pattern of the molar crowns when 
the biserial tubercles of these teeth are ground 
flat by wear, as a murine ; of or pertaining to 
the Sigmodontes, as any murine indigenous to 
America. 
II. n. Any sigmodont murine. 
Sigmodontes (Big-mo-don 'tez), n. pi. [NL., pi. 
of Sigmodon, q. v.] The Neogsean or New World 
murine rodents ; a tribe or series of the family 
Muridse and subfamily Mitrinse, peculiar to 
America, and containing all the American 
murines : named from one of the genera, 
Sigmodon, and contrasted with Hurts. They have 
the upper molars tuberculate in double series, and the 
bony palate ending opposite the last molars. There are 
many genera, and numerous species. The North Ameri- 
can genera are Sigmadon, Neotoma, Ochetodon, and Hespe- 
rotnys with its subdivisions. See cuts under deer-mouse, 
Nfotoma, rice-Jield, and Sigmodon. 
sigmoid (sig'moid), a. and n. [< Gr. aiyfioeiSfc, 
also aryftaroetMx, of the shape of sigma, < aljfia, 
sign 
sigma, + firfof, form.] I. /. Shaped like the 
Greek capital letter sigma in either of its forms. 
(See Sigma, 1.) In anat., specifically (a) Having the 
curve of the uncial sigma or the roniitn C; si'iuiliin:ir; 
crescentic : as. tin 1 ^rt-;itcr uiul II'>MT *i^u /<>,'<! aivity uf the 
ulna; the sigmoid cavity of the railius. [Now rare.] (6) 
Resembling the earlier and now usual form of the sigma, 
or the roman S, or the old italic long /; sinuous; sinu- 
ate : as, the giamoid flexure of the colon (the last curve 
of the colon before it terminates in the rectum); the sig- 
moid shape of the human collar- bone. Great(or greater) 
sigmoid cavity of the ulna, a concavity at the superior 
extremity of the ulna, which receives the trochlear surface 
of the humerus. See olecranon, and cut under forearm. 
Sigmoid artery, a branch of the inferior mesenteric 
artery which supplies the sigmoid flexure of the colon. 
Sigmoid cavity of the radius, the concave articular 
surface of the lower end of the radius, which articulates 
with the ulna. Sigmoid flexure, an S-shaped curve of 
several parts. Specifically (a) Of the colon, at the end of 
the descending colon, terminating in the rectum, (b) Of the 
spinal column of man and a few ot the highest apes, highly 
characteristic of the erect attitude. It does not exist in the 
infant (c) Of the cervical vertebra of birds and some 
reptiles, as cryptodirous turtles, when the head is drawn 
in straight upon the shoulders. It disappears when the 
head Is thrust forward and the neck thus straightened 
out. It is very strongly marked in long-necked birds, as 
herons. Sigmoid fossa, gyrus, notch. See the nouns. 
Sigmoid valve, one of the aortic or pulmonary semi- 
lunar valves : an example of the old use of the term. See 
semiltntar. Small (or lesser) Bigmold cavity of the 
ulna, a small depression on the outer side of the base of 
the coronoid process of the ulna, which receives the head 
of the radius. See cut under /orearm. = 8yiL See semi- 
lunar. 
II. n. 1. A sigmoid curve. 2. The region 
of the sigmoid flexure of the colon. 
sigmoidal (sig-moi'dal), a. [< sigmoid + -al.~] 
Same as sigmoid. sigmoidal fold, in geol., a re- 
versed or inverted fold ; a mass of strata which, as the 
result of crust-movements, have been turned back on 
themselves into a form somewhat resembling that of the 
Greek letter sigma. 
sigmoidally (sig-moi'dal -i), adv. In the shape 
of the Greek letter sigma. 
The sigmoidally curved folds of the ganoine. 
J. W. Davis, Geol. Mag., III. 150. 
sign (sin), . [< ME. signe, sygne, syng, seine, 
sine, syne, < OF. signe, seing, sign, mark, signa- 
ture, F. signe, sign, seing, signature, = Pr. signe = 
Sp. Pg. signo = It. segno, sign, = AS. segen, segn, 
a sign, standard, = D. sein = OHG. segan, MHG. 
G. segcn = Olr. sen, sign, < L. signwn, a mark, 
sign, token; root uncertain. From L. signum are 
also ult. E. signature, signet, signify, etc., assign, 
consign, countersign, design, ensign, resign, insig- 
nia, etc. , sigil, nigilla te, seal 2 , w(i'i, etc . ] 1 . A vis- 
ible mark or impress, whether natural or artifi- 
cial, accidental or purposed, serving to convey 
information, suggest an idea, or assist infer- 
ence; a distinctive guiding indication to the 
eye. 
Nowe nede is sette a signe on every vyne 
That fertile is, scions of it to take 
For setting. 
PaUadius, Husbondrie (E. E. T. S.), p. 188. 
Ther ys sette a syne of his tote 
On a marbulle stone ther as he stode. 
Political Poems, etc. (ed. Furnivall), p. 122. 
2. An arbitrary or conventional mark used as 
an abbreviation for a known meaning; a fig- 
ure written technically instead of the word or 
words which it represents, according to pre- 
scription or usage: as, mathematical, astro- 
nomical, medical, botanical, or musical signs; 
occult signs; an artist's sign. The most common 
mathematical signs are those indicating the relations of 
quantities in arithmetical and algebraic processes. (See 
notation, 2.) The principal astronomical signs are those 
representing the names of the twelve divisions or constel- 
lations of the zodiac. (See def. 11.) Others symbolize the 
sun, the earth, and the other planets, the moon and its 
different phases, and the first twenty or more of the as- 
teroids or planetoids. (See symbol. ) All these, as well as 
the zodiacal signs, are in form significant of the names or 
the bodies for which they stand. The eight aspects have 
also signs, as follows : ^ conjunction, v opposition, A trine, 
D quadrature, * sextile, and threeothers very rarely used. 
In zoology two astronomical signs, f. and s, of Mara and 
Venus, are constantly used to denote male and female re- 
spectively ; to which is sometimes added a plain circle, O, 
meaning a young animal of undetermined sex. These 
signs for sex are in a good many of the cuts of insects fig- 
ured in this volume (see, for example, silt-spider). In bot- 
any indicates a monocarpic plant ; , an annual ; , a 
biennial; "n, a perennial ; ,^,a shrub; 5,atree; ,amale 
plant or flower ; $ , a female plant or flower ; 9 , a hermaph- 
rodite plant or flower; a, indefinitely numerous; O=, 
cotyledons accumbent ; On, cotyledons incumbent, etc. 
The following signs are in common use in medicine and 
pharmacy : Ijfc, recipe ; 3, ounce ; fs. fluidounce ; 3, dram ; 
fS, flnidrachm ; 8, scruple ; iij', minim. 
3. Something displayed to announce the pres- 
ence of any one ; a cognizance ; a standard ; a 
banner. 
When the great ensign of Messiah blazed, 
Aloft by angels borne, his eiyn in heaven. 
Milton, P. L., vi. 778. 
4. An inscribed board, plate, or space, or a 
symbolical representation or figure, serving 
