silkworm 
in size. The principal moths of wild silkworms are the 
tusser (Attuetix iniililta) of India, the yama-mai (Anilie- 
rsea yama-maC) of Japan, the peniyi (Antherxapfin:,i\ .>i 
China, the ailantus or arrindy (Santia cynthia) of i liina, 
Introduced into Europe and America, ami the c-eeropia, 
polyphemus, promethia, and luna of North America. See 
cuts under Bumbyx, luna silkworm, and tamarin. 
2+. A shopper who examines goods without 
buying. [Old trade slang.] 
The silk-worms are, it seems, indulged by the tradesmen ; 
for, though they never buy, they are ever talking of new 
silks, laces, and ribbons, and serve the owners in getting 
them customers. Stecle, Spectator, No. 454. 
Silkworm disease, silkworm rot. See Jlacddity, 
mwcardinel , Micrococcut, Botrytis. Silkworm gut See 
gut, 4. 
Silky (sil'ki), o. and . [< s + -yl.] I. a . 
1. Having the qualities or properties of silk, 
as smoothness and luster; sericeoxis. 
Underneath the silky wings 
Of smallest insects there is stirred 
A pulse of air that must be heard. 
O. P. Lathrop, Music of Growth. 
2. Same as silken. [Bare.] 
But Albion's youth her native fleece despise ; . . . 
In silky folds each nervous limb disguise. 
Shenstone, Elegies, xviii. 
3. In bot., covered with long, very slender, 
close-pressed, glistening hairs ; sericeous. 4. 
Smooth to the taste. 
A very enticing mixture appropriately called silky, . . . 
made of rum and madeira. 
C. A. Bristed, English University, p. 71. 
Silky monkey or silky tamarin, a South A merican mar- 
moset, Midas rosalia, with long, yellow, silky fur forming 
a kind of mane. See marikina. Silky oak. See Ore- 
villea. 
II. . The silk-fowl : the more usual name 
in America. 
silky-wainscot (sil'ki-wan"skpt), H. A British 
noctuid moth, Senta maritima. 
Silky-wave (sil'ki-wav), . A British geotnetrid 
moth, Acidalla holosericata. 
Sill 1 (sil), . [< ME. sille, setle, sulk, sylle, < AS. 
syl, syll, a sill, base, support (> ML. silla), = MD. 
sidle = MLG. sul, suite, LG. sail, guile, a sill, = 
Icel. gyll, mod. sylla, a sill, = Sw. syll = Dan. 
syld, the base of a framework building; cf. 
OHG. swella, swelli, MHG. swelle, G. schwelle, a 
sill, threshold, beam (> Dan. svellc, a railroad- 
tie), = Icel. sril Sw. dial, mill, a sill ; ef . Goth. 
snljo, the sole of a shoe, ga-suljan, found, L. 
solca (for *st'otea ?), the sole of the foot, also a 
threshold: seesofel. Hence, in comp., ground- 
sill, groundsel?.] 1 . A stone or piece of timber 
on which a structure rests; a block forming a 
basis or foundation: as, the sills of a house, of 
a bridge, of a loom ; more specifically, a hori- 
zontal piece of timber of the frame of a build- 
ing, or of wood or stone at the bottom of a 
framed case, such as that of a door or win- 
dow; in absolute use, a door-sill. See door- 
sill, ground-sin, mudsill, port-sill, window-sill. 
Trauailers, that burn in braue desire 
To see strange Countries manners and attire, 
Make haste enough, if only the First Day 
From their owne Sill they set but on their way. 
Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, i. 1. 
Under this marble, or under this sill, 
Or under this turf, or e'en what they will, . . . 
Lies one who ne'er cared, and still cares not a pin, 
What they said, or may say, of the mortal within. 
Pope, Epitaph on One who would not be Buried in 
[Westminster Abbey. 
2. In fort., the inner edge of the bottom or sole 
of an embrasure. See diagram under embra- 
sure. 3. In mining: (a) The floor of a gallery 
or passage in a mine. (6) A term used by mi- 
ners in the lead districts of the north of Eng- 
land as nearly equivalent to bed or stratum. 
Thus, the basaltic sheets intercalated in the 
mountain-limestone are called whin-siHx. 
Head sill. See head -rill. - Sill-dressing machine, a 
form of wood-planing machine used to dress the sides of 
heavy timbers. It is adjustable for stuff of different 
widths and thicknesses. Sill knee-iron, an L-shaped 
or rectangular iron piece used to strengthen an inner 
angle of a car-frame. 
Sill' 2 (sil), . [Also site ; < Icel. sil, sili, sild, the 
young of herring, = Sw. sill = Dan. slid, a her- 
ring. Cf. sillock.] A young herring. l>,n/. 
[Prov. Eng.] 
Sill 3 t, . A variant of selVl. 
Sill* (sil), M. [Appar. a dial. var. of tliill] The 
thill or shaft of a carriage. [Prov. Eng.] 
sillablet, . An obsolete form of syllable 
sillabub, . See sillibub. 
Silladar (sil'a-dar), re. [Also silledar; < Hind. 
silalidar, < Pers. silahdar, an armed man : see 
selictar. the same word derived through Turk.] 
In India, a trooper of irregular cavalry, who 
furnishes his own arms and horse. 
Sillaginidae(sil-a-jin'i-de), n.pl. [NL., <Sittag<> 
(-gin-) + -idx.~] A family of acanthopterygian 
5631 
fishes, typified by the genus Sillago. They have 
the body elongated ; scales pectinated ; lateral line 
straight ; head oblong ; pre-orbital bones very largely ex- 
panded from the side in front of the eyes; preoperculum 
much longer than high, with a prominent longitudinal 
fold, incurved below, forming the inferior flattened sur- 
face of the head ; dorsal fins two ; anal with two small 
spines ; pectorals normal ; and ventrals thoracic and nor- 
mal. About a dozen species are known, confined to the 
Pacific and East Indian seas. 
sillaginoid (si-lai'i-noid), a. and n. [< Silliiyo 
(-gin-) + -oid.~\ I. a. Of or relating to the Silla- 
ginidss. 
II. H. A fish of the family Sillaginidx. 
Sillago (sil'a-go), H. [NL. (Cuvier, 1820).] A 
genus of acanthopterygian fishes, confined to 
Sillago sihamn, 
the Pacific and East Indian seas, typical of the 
family Sillaginidse. 
siller (sil'er), . and a. A Scotch form of 
silver. 
siller-fish (sil'er-fish), . The bib, blens, or 
whiting-pout, Gadus lusciis. [Moray Firth.] 
Siller-fluke (sil'er-flok), n. The brill: prob- 
ably in allusion to the light spots. [Scotch.] 
Sillery (sil'e-ri), . [< F. Sillery (see def.).] 1. 
Originally, one of the sparkling wines of Cham- 
pagne produced at Sillery, a village in the de- 
partment of Marne: now a mere trade-name 
having little signification. Compare cham- 
pagne. 2. A still white wine produced within 
a few miles of Rheims. it is the chief of the still 
wines of Champagne. To distinguish it from the spark- 
ling wines, it is commonly called Sillery see. 
sillibaukt, . Same as sillibouk. 
silliboukt, n. [Also silliboulce, sillybauk, & kind 
of posset; prob. a humorous fanciful name, lit. 
' silly (i. e. happy, jolly) belly' (formed after the 
first element has been variously referred to 
swell (cf. MD. swelbuyck, 'swell-belly,' dropsy), 
to E. dial, silel, strain, milk, and to Icel. sylgr, 
a drink (< svelgja = E. swallowi).] Same as sil- 
libub. Hallnoell. 
sillibub (sil'i-bub), n. [Also sillabub, syllabub ; 
an altered form (with the second element con- 
formed to bub 1 , a kind of liquor T ) of sillibouk, 
q. v.] A dish made by mixing wine, ale, or 
cider with cream or milk, so as to form a soft 
curd: this is sweetened, and flavored withlemon- 
juice, rose-water, etc. W hipped sillibub is made by 
thoroughly whisking or beating, and skimming or pour- 
ing off the froth into glasses ; solid sillibub is made by 
adding gelatin and water, and boiling. 
Laid aigre, whay ; also, a sillibub or merribowke. 
Cotymve. 
Your ale-berries, caudles, and possets each one, 
And sillabubs made at the milking-pail, 
Although they be many, beer comes not in any, 
But all are compos'd with a pot of good ale. 
Randolph, Commendation of a Pot of Good Ale. 
Sillik (sil'ik), n. See sillock. 
sillily (sil'i-li), adv. [A mod. form of seelily 
(cf. silly for seely) : see scclily.'] In a silly man- 
ner; foolishly. 
MOM. . . . Come, come, dear Gerrard, prithee don't be 
out of humour, and look so sillily. 
Oer. Prithee do not talk so sillily. 
Wycherley, Gentleman Dancing-Master, v. 1. 
He had those traits of a man of the world which all silly 
women admire, and some sensible women admire sillily 
Harper's Mag., LXXVII. 316. 
Sillimanite (sil'i-man-it), n. [Named after Ben- 
jamin Silliman, an American scientist (1779- 
1864).] A silicate of aluminium (Al 2 SiO 5 ), hav- 
ing the same composition as andalusite and 
cyanite. It occurs usually in fibrous or columnar 
masses (hence also called JtbroUte), and shows perfect 
macrodiagonal cleavage. 
silliness (sil'i-nes), . [A mod. form of seeli- 
ncss (as silly for seely').'] The quality of being 
silly; foolishness; senselessness; weakness of 
understanding ; extreme simplicity ; absurd or 
contemptible folly. 
It is silliness to live when to live is torment. 
SAo*., Othello, i. 3. 309. 
sillite (sil'it), H. [< Sill(berg) (see def.) + 
-(te 2 .] A variety of gabbro occurring at Sill- 
berg near Berchtesgaden in Bavaria : so named 
by Giimbel. According to Tschermak, it is a 
true gabbro. 
silly 
sillock (sil'ok), n. [Also written sillH; sellok ; 
appar. < si/ft + -ock.~] A young coalfish. [Lo- 
cal, Eng. and Scotch.] 
A large quantity of sillocks, or young saithe, were got 
to-day here with the sweep-nets. 
London Daily Telegraph, Nov. 26, 18S1. (Encyc. Diet.) 
sillogismet, An obsolete form of syllogism. 
Sillograph (sil'o-graf), n. [< LL. sillographus, 
< Gr. ai'AAoypdifos, < ai~/J.o(, satire, a satirical 
poem, + ypa<j>eiv, write.] A satirist ; a writer of 
satirical poems: an epithet of Timon of Phlius, 
author of three books of SiMat in hexameters 
against the Greek dogmatic (non-skeptical) 
philosophers, of which a few fragments re- 
main. 
Timon of Phlius, the well-known silloyraph and sceptic 
philosopher, flourished about 280 B. c. 
Encyc. Brit., XXIII. 397. 
sillographist (si-log'ra-fist), n. [As sttlograph 
+ -ist.] Same as sillbgraph. 
sillometer (si-lom'e-tfrr), . [Irreg. < F. siller, 
make headway (see single^), + Gr. uer/mv, mea- 
sure.] An instrument for determining the 
speed of a ship without the aid of a log-line. 
The various forms Include the indication of speed at any 
time or for any given length of time, as well as the total 
distance passed over. 
Sillon (sil'on), n. [< F. sillon, OF. seillon, a 
furrow.] In fort., a work raised in the middle 
of a ditch, to defend it when it is too wide : 
frequently called an envelop. 
sill-step (sil'step), n. On a railway box-car, 
an iron bar on the ear-sill below the ladder, so 
shaped as to form a step for the ladder, 
silly (sil'i), a. and n. [A mod. form, with short- 
ened vowel, of early mod. E. seely: see seely. 
This is one of the few instances in which an 
orig. long e (ee) has become shortened to i. 
The same change occurs in breeches, and in 
the American pron. of been, with no change 
in spelling.] J. . If. Happy; fortunate; 
blessed. Wyclif.2\. Plain; simple; rustic; 
rude. 
Meantime Carinus in this silly grove 
Will spend his days with prayers and orisons 
To mighty Jove to further thine intent. 
Greene, Alphonsus, i. 
Such therefore as knew the poor and silly estate 
wherein they [the apostles] had lived could not but won- 
der to hear the wisdom of their speech. 
Hooker, Eccles. Polity, ill. 8. 
It is silly sooth, 
And dallies with the innocence of love. 
Slmk.,T. N.,ii. 4.47. 
3. Simple-hearted; guileless; ingenuous; in- 
nocent. [Archaic.] 
Provided that you do no outrages 
On silly women or poor passengers. 
Shak.,T.(i. of V., iv. 1. 72. 
But yet he could not keep, . . . 
Here with the shepherds and the silly sheep. 
M. Arnold, Thyrsis. 
4. Weak ; impotent ; helpless ; frail. [Obso- 
lete or provincial.] 
After long storms, . . . 
In dread of death and dangerous dismay, 
With which my silly bark was tossed sore, 
I do at length descry the happy shore. 
Spenser, Sonnets, Ixiii. 
5. Foolish, as a term of pity; deficient in un- 
derstanding; weak-minded; witless; simple. 
For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and 
lead captive silly women. 2 Tim. iii. 6. 
She, silly queen, with more than love's good will, 
Forbade the boy. Shak., Passionate Pilgrim, 1. 123. 
What am I? 
The siUy people take me for a saint. 
Tennyson, St. Simeon Stylites. 
6. Foolish, as an epithet of contempt ; char- 
acterized by weakness or folly; manifesting 
want of judgment or common sense ; stupid or 
unwise: as, a silly coxcomb; asi%book; silly 
conduct. 
This is the silliest stuff that ever I heard. 
Shak., M. N. D., v. 1. 212. 
From most silly novels we can at least extract a laugh. 
George Eliot, Silly Novels. 
7. Fatuous; imbecile; mentally weak to the 
verge of idiocy. [Scotch.] 
Na, na, Davie 's no just like other folk, puir fallow ; but 
he 's no sae silly as folk tak him for. Scott, Waverley, Ixiv. 
8. Weak in body; not in good health; sickly; 
weakly. [Scotch.] 
To pleise baith, and eise baith, 
This silly sickly man. 
Cherrie and Sloe, St. 108. (Jamieson.) 
= Syn. 6. ->#, etc. Seesimple. 6. Absurd, Silly, Foolish, 
etc. See absurd. 
II. .; pi. sillies (-iz). A silly person: as, 
what a silly you are ! [Colloq.] 
