Silvanus surina- 
wcMsis. (Hair-line 
shows natural size.) 
siluroid 
ing their characters ; being or resembling a cat- 
fish or sheat-fish ; siluridan. 
II. H. A silure. 
Siluroidei (sil-u-roi'de-i). . pi. [NL. : see si- 
/Mroirf.] An order of fishes, conterminous with 
Ncmatognaihi. 
SilUTUS (si-lu'rus), >i. [NL., < L. silurux, < Gr. 
ofavpof, a kind of river-fish: see silure 2 .} 1. A 
Linnean genus of fishes, typical of the family 
SiltiridfF, formerly corresponding to that family, 
now restricted to the European sheat-fish, <S'. 
glauiit, and a few closely related species of 
Asia. See cut under Siluridx. 2. [7. c.] A 
fish of this genus: as, the sly siltii-iits. 
silva, silvan, etc. See syh-u, etc. 
Silvanus (sil-va'nus), . [L., < alien, a wood, 
a forest: see syh(i.~\ 1. A Roman rural deity. 
He is usually represented with a 
sickle in his right hand and a hough 
in his left, and is described as the 
protector of herds from wolves and 
of trees from lightning, and a patron 
of agriculture in general, and as the 
defender of boundaries. 
2. [NL. (Latreille, 1807).] 
A genus of clavicorn bee- 
tles, of the family Cucujirlse, 
consisting of small, slender 
species with five-jointed tarsi 
in both sexes, the fourth joint 
very small, and anteunal joints 
from nine to eleven, abruptly 
enlarged. It contains about 2S 
species, several of which are cosmo- 
politan. They live under the bark 
of trees or in stored food-products. S. furinamemii is 
found all over the world, feeding on many kinds of drugs, 
all stored farinaceous products, etc. 
silvate, See sylvate. 
Silver (sil'ver), . and a. [Also dial. (Sc.) 
siller ; < ME. silver, silvers, selcer, solver, seolver, 
< AS. seolfor, seolfi-r, siolfor, seolofor (seolfr-), 
Mercian sylfxr (for "silfor, like seolc for *silc), 
silver, money, = OS. siltibiiar, nilufar = OFries. 
selover, selver, selvir, silver = MD. silver, D. sil- 
ver = MLG. silver, sidver, LG. silver, suiter, sul- 
ver = OHG. silabar, silbar, MHG. G. silbcr, 
silver, money, = Icel. silfr = Sw. silfver = Dan. 
solv = Goth, silubr, silver, = OBulg. sirebro, 
Bulg. srebro, strebro = Serv. srebro = Bohem. 
.itrzliibro = Pol. srebro = Buss, serebro = Lith. 
sidabras = Lett, sidrabs, stidrabs, silver. = Finn. 
xilbba (< G .) ; ulterior origin unknown ; appar. 
not an Indo-Eur. word (the Slav, forms are prob. 
from the Teut. ). An Indo-Eur. name, not 
found in Teut., appears in Ir. Gael, airgiod, 
L. aryentum, Gr. apyvpof, Skt. rajata, silver, a 
name referring to its brightness or whiteness: 
see argent. Some attempt to connect silver 
with L. sulfur, sulphur (see sulphur), others 
with Gr. aifnipos, iron.] I. n. 1. Chemical sym- 
bol, Ag; atomic weight, 107.9. A metal of a 
white color, having a specific gravity of 10.4 
to 10.7 (according as it is cast, rolled, or ham- 
mered), harder than gold, and softer than cop- 
per, having a tenacity about equal to that of 
gold, and melting at a temperature a little 
lower than copper. Its whiteness is remarkable, 
that of tin alone among the common metals nearly ap- 
proaching it ; among the rare metals, indium and lith- 
ium are equal to silver in color and luster. Silver crys- 
tallizes in the regular (isometric) system; but, although 
native silver is of frequent occurrence, distinct crystals 
are very rare. Arborescent and filiform shapes are most 
common, but very large solid masses have been found. 
Silver occurs in a great variety of ores, being mineralized 
by sulphur, antimony, and arsenic, as well as by chlorin, 
iodine, and bromine. These ores are widely distributed 
over the world. Silver is very commonly associated with 
lead ; and the common ore of the latter metal, galena, al- 
ways contains some silver, and generally enough to make 
its separation remunerative. Silver has also been de- 
tected in the water of the ocean. The principal silver- 
producing regions are the Andes and Cordilleras. From 
Peru and Bolivia came an immense supply of this metal 
during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Mexico 
has been a large producer of silver since the middle of 
the sixteenth century. The mines of the Comstock lode 
at Virginia City, in Nevada, produced about $320,000,000 
worth of bullion from 1860 to 1890, about five twelfths of 
the value of which was silver. This metal has always 
been accounted "precious," and has been used for orna- 
ment and as a measure of value from the earliest times of 
which there is any historical record. Its most marked 
point of inferiority to gold, apart from color, is its liabil- 
ity to tarnish when exposed to sulphurous emanations or 
brought into contact with anything containing sulphur. 
Silver is too soft to be used in the unalloyed condition. 
The ratio of silver to copper in the silver coinage of Eng- 
land is 92J to 7J (or 12J to 1) ; in that of France and the 
United States, 9 to 1 ; and in that of Prussia, 3 to 1. 
2. Silver coin; hence, money in general. 
Ne thi excecutors wel bisett the siluer that thow hem 
leuest. Fieri Plowman (B), v. 268. 
3. Silverware; tableware of silver; plate; a 
silver vessel or utensil. 
354 
The Cock . . . 
Crow'd lustier late and early, 
Sipt wine from silver, praising God. 
Tennyson, Will Waterproof. 
There was no silver at all, not even a salt-spoon ; it had 
been replaced by cheaply plated spoons and forks. 
Harper's Mag., LXXVIII. 450. 
4. Inpltotog., a salt of silver, as the nitrate, bro- 
mide, or chlorid, which three salts are of fun- 
damental importance as photographic sensitiz- 
ing agents. 5. Something resembling silver; 
something having a luster like silver. 
Pallas, piteous of her plaintive cries, 
In slumber clos'd her silver streaming eyes. 
Fenton, in Pope's Odyssey, i. 44. 
Aluminium silver. See aluminium. Antimonial sil- 
ver Same as dyscrasite. Bismuth silver. Same as 
aryentobismutite. Black silver, brittle silver ore. 
Same as stephanite. BromiC silver. Same as brmnyrite. 
Clerk of the king's silver. See clerk. Cloth of 
silver. See doth. Fulminating silver, a very ex- 
plosive powder formed by heating an aqueous solution 
of silver nitrate with strong nitric acid and alcohol. 
German silver, a white alloy of copper, zinc, and nickel, 
used as a cheap substitute for silver, and as a superior 
article for plated ware, being covered with silver by 
plating as is the cheaper Britannia metal. The rela- 
tive proportions of the metals in the alloy called Ger- 
man silver vary considerably, according to the desire of 
the manufacturer to produce a cheaper or more expen- 
sive article. The commonest kind contains about eight 
parts of copper, two of nickel, and three to five of zinc. A 
tlner kind of alloy is obtained by adding more nickel ; the 
metal is then less liable to tarnish, and the resemblance 
to silver in color and luster is more striking. Nickel is a 
much more expensive metal than copper, and very much 
more so than zinc. See nickel. King's silver. (a)Aname 
given to silver used in England from about 1700 to 1720 
for plate of an unusually high standard : apparently intro- 
duced by workmen from the continent, and abandoned 
because not sufficiently hard and durable. Compare ster- 
ling, (b) In old Eng. law, a payment made to the king for 
liberty to abandon or compromise the judicial proceeding 
for the conveyance of property called a, fine. Also called 
postjine. See Jtiuii, 3, and compare primer fine (under 
primer). Hock Silver, a white alloy allied to speculum- 
metal and Britannia metal ; pewter. It is compounded of 
copper, tin, nickel, zinc, lead, and other metals. Mosaic 
silver, a compound made of bismuth and tin melted to- 
gether, with the addition of quicksilver, used as a silver 
color. Thomas, UeA. Diet. Nitrate Of Silver. See ni- 
trate. Old silver, in silversmiths' work, silver to which 
an appearance of age has been imparted by applying a 
mixture of graphite and some fatty matter and cleaning 
off with blotting-paper. Oxidized silver. See oxidize. 
Red or ruby silver. Same asproustite and pyrargyrite. 
Shoe of silver. See sfowi. To think one's penny 
Silver. See penny. Vitreous silver, argentite or sil- 
ver-glance. 
II. a. 1. Made of silver; silvern: as, a silver 
cup ; silver coin or money. 
The chaste huntress of the silver bow. 
Pope, Iliad, xz. 54. 
2. Pertaining or relating to silver; concerned 
with silver; producing silver: as, silver legisla- 
tion ; a (Congressional) silver bill ; the silver 
men; the silver States. 3. Resembling silver; 
having some of the characteristics of silver ; sil- 
very, (o) White like silver ; of a shining white hue : as, 
nicer willow (so called in allusion to the silvery leaves) ; 
silver dew (referring to the appearance of dew in the early 
morning). 
Salisbury, shame to thy silver hair, 
Thou mad misleader of thy brain-sick son ! 
Shak., 2 Hen. VI., v. 1. 162. 
Vast halls with golden floors, and bright alcoves, 
And walls of pearl, and Sapphire vault besprent 
With silver stars. Bryant, Tale of Cloudland. 
A vast stiver willow, 
I know not how planted. 
Lowell, Fountain of Youth. 
(6) Having a pale luster or a soft splendor. 
Yon silver beams. 
Sleep they leas sweetly on the cottage thatch 
Than on the dome of kings? 
Shelley, Queen Mab, Hi. 
(c) Bright; lustrous; shining; glittering. 
Spread o'er the silver waves thy golden hairs. 
Shak., C. of E.,iii. 2.48. 
(d) Having a soft and clear tone, like that fancifully or po- 
etically attributed to a silver bell, or a bar of silver when 
struck. 
When griping grief the heart doth wound, . . . 
Then music with her silver sound- 
Why "inliier sound?" Shak., R. and J., iv. 5. 180. 
(e) Soft; gentle; quiet; peaceful. 
His lord in silver slumber lay. 
Spenser, F. Q., VI., vii. 1. 
Bland Silver Bill. See bill*. Silver age. Bee ayes in 
mythology and history (a), under age. Silver bronze, a 
kind of bronze-powder used in printing and in other ways 
to produce a silver color. Silver certificate. See gold 
and silver certificate*, under certificate. Silver Chick- 
weed. See P'aronychiai, 2. Silver cochineal. See 
cochineal, 1. Silver Chub. Same as .fall-fish. Silver 
daiic. See daric. Silver fir, a coniferous tree of the ge- 
nus Abies; specifically, A. alba (Pinna Picea, A.pectinata): 
so called from the two silvery lines on the under side of the 
leaves. It is a native of the mountains of central and south- 
ern Europe, planted elsewhere. It grows from 80 to 120 or 
even 200 feet high. Its timber is soft, tough, and elastic, of 
a creamy-white color, useful for many building and cabi- 
net purposes, for making the sounding-boards of musical 
silver-barred 
instruments, toys, etc. It yields resin, tar, and the Stras- 
burg turpentine. This is the "noble flr" (edler Tannen- 
baum) of the Hermans. The silver flr of the Alleghany re- 
gion, etc., is A. balsamea, mostly called balsam or balm of - 
liilnitl fir. It is a moderate-sized tree, its twigs sought for 
d cushions, its bark secreting Canada balsam (see 
balsam), also the source of spruce-gum. Pacific North 
America presents several noble silver firs, as A. grandis. 
the white flr of Oregon bottom-lands, and A. nobilis and 
..(. tMiynifca, the red flrs of the mountains of Oregon and 
California, all trees between 200 and 300 feet in height- 
Silver fox, the common red fox, Vulpes fvlna, in a mela- 
nistic variation, in which the pelage is black or blackish, 
overlaid with hoary or silver-gray ends of the longer hairs. 
It is an extreme case of the range of variation from the 
normal color, of which the cross-fox is one stage. It oc- 
curs in the red foxes of both America and Europe, espe- 
cially in high latitudes, and constitutes the Cants or 
Vulpes aryentatus or argenteus of various authors. The 
silver fox has sometimes been defined wrongly as a vari- 
ety of the gray fox of the United States (Urocyon cinereo- 
argentatuJi), perhaps by some misapprehension of Schre- 
ber's (1778) specific name, just cited ; but this is a distinct 
species of a different genus, and one in which the silver- 
black variation is not known to occur. Compare cut un- 
der cross-fox. 
While the Cross and Black and Silver Foxes are usually 
considered as different varieties, they are not such in the 
classiflcatory sense of that term, any more than are the 
red, black, or white wolves, the black marmots, squirrels, 
etc. The proof of this is in the fact that one or both of 
the " varieties " occur in the same litter of whelps from 
normally colored parents. They have no special distribu- 
tion, although, on the whole, both kinds are rather north- 
erly than otherwise, the Silver Fox especially so. 
Coue-i and Yarrow, Wheeler's Expl. West of the 100th Me- 
[ridian, V. 53. 
Silver ear. See jrari. Silver glass. See ylass. Sil- 
ver grebe, a misnomer of the red-throated diver or loon, 
Colymbus (or Unnator) seplentrionalis. Silver hake, 
heather, lace. See the nouns. Silver ink. See gold 
ink, under t'n*i. Silver longe, the namaycush, or great 
lake-trout. See cut under lake-trout. Silver luster. 
Same as platinum luster (which see, under luster?). Sil- 
ver maple. See jnapfei. Silver moth. See silver-moth, 
2. Silver perch, pheasant, pine, plover, pomfret, 
poplar. See the nouns. Silver point, a point or pen- 
cil of silver (somewhat like the "ever- pointed" pencil), 
formerly much used by artists for making studies and 
sketches on a prepared paper; also, the process of mak- 
ing such sketches. 
The beautiful head in silver-point which appeared in 
"The Graphic Arts" . . . was executed expressly for that 
work, in deference to the example of the old masters who 
used silver-point so much. The Portfolio, No. 234, p. 101. 
Silver powder, a powder made of melted tin and bismuth 
combined with mercury: used in japanning. Silver 
rain, in pyrotechny, a composition used in rockets and 
bombs. It is made in small cubes, which are set free in 
the air, and in burning emit a white light as they fall. 
Silver sand, a fine sharp sand of a silvery appearance, 
used for grinding lithographic stones, etc. Silver side, 
the choicer part of a round of beef. 
Lift up the lid and stick the fork into the beef such 
a beautiful bit of beef, too : silverside lovely ! 
Besant and Rtee, This Son of Vulcan, i. 6. 
Silver string, wedding, etc. See the nouns. Silver- 
top palmetto. See palmetto. Silver trout. See trout. 
- - Silver wattle, an Australian species of acacia, Acacia 
rtcalbata. Silver Whiting, the surf-whiting. See whit- 
ing. The Silver doors or gates. See the royal doors, 
under door. The Silver State, Nevada. 
silver (sil'ver), v. [< ME. sylreren (= D. ver- 
zilveren = MHG. silbern, G. ver-silbern = Sw. 
fnr-silfra = Dan. far-soh-e, plate); from the 
noun.] I. trans. 1. To cover the surface of 
with a coat of silver; silver-plate: as, to silver 
a dial-plate. 
On a tribunal silver'd, 
Cleopatra and himself in chairs of gold 
Were publicly enthroned. 
Shak., A. andC., Ui. 6.3. 
2. To cover with anything resembling silver 
in color and luster; specifically, to coat with 
tin-foil and quicksilver, as a looking-glass. 
The horizon-glass [of the sextant! is divided into two 
parts, of which the lower one is silvered, the upper half 
being transparent. Newcamb and Holden, Astron., p. 93. 
3. To adorn with mild or silver-like luster ; give 
a silvery sheen to. 
The loveliest moon that ever sUver'd o'er 
A shell for Neptune's goblet. Keats, Endymion, i. 
The moonlight silvered the distant hills, and lay, white 
almost as snow, on the frosty roofs of the village. 
Longfellow, Kavanagh, vi. 
4. To make hoary ; tinge with gray. 
It [his beard) was, as I have seen it in his life, 
A sable silver'd. Shak., Hamlet, i. 2. 242. 
His head was xilcer'd o'er with age. 
Oay, Shepherd and Philosopher. 
Silvered glass. See glass. 
II. iittrami. To assume the appearance of 
silver in color ; become of a silvery whiteness. 
[Rare.] 
All the eastern sky began to silver and shine. 
L. Wallace, Ben-Hur, p. 409. 
silverback (sil'ver-bak), . The knot or 
canute, a sandpiper. See cut under Tringa. 
[Ipswich, Massachusetts.] 
silver-barred (sil'ver-bard), a. Barred with 
silvery color Silver-barred moth, Bankia arym- 
