similitude 
It Is chiefly my will which leads me to discern that I 
bear a certain image and similitude of Deity. 
Descartes, Meditations (tr. by Veitch), iv. 
2. A comparison ; a simile ; a parable or alle- 
gory. 
A similitude is a likenesse when twoo thynges or mo 
then twoo are so compared and resembled together that 
the! both in some one propertie seme like. 
Wilson, Rhetorike. 
As well to a good maker and Poet as to an excellent 
perswader in prose, the figure of Sittiilitude is very neces- 
sary, by which we not unely Ijewtifie our tale, but also 
very much infi.irce it inlargeit. 
I'Htleuham, Arte of Eng. Poesie, p. 201. 
He has I therefore] with great address interspersed sev- 
eral Speeches, Reflections, Similitude*, and the like Re- 
liefs, to diversine his Narration. 
Addison, Spectator, No. 333. 
3. That which bears likeness or resemblance ; 
an image ; a counterpart or facsimile. 
He knew nat Catoun for his wit was rude, 
That bad man sholde wedde his similitude. 
Chaucer, Miller's Tale, 1. J2. 
That we are the breath and ximftitude of God, it is in- 
disputable, and upon record of Holy Scripture. 
Sir T, Browne, Religio Medici, 1. 34. 
The appearance there of the very similitude of a green 
country gawky raised a shout of laughter at his expense. 
Pop. Sci. I/o., XIII. 488. 
4. In geont., the relation of similar figures to 
one another Axis of similitude of three circles. 
See axial. Center Of Similitude. See centeri. Circle 
Of similitude, a circle from any point on the circum- 
ference of which two given circles look equally large. 
External and internal centers of similitude for 
two Circles, the intersections of their common tangents 
on the line joining their centers. Principle of Simili- 
tude. See princii/le. Ratio of similitude. See ratio. 
Similitude clause or act. See clause. 
similitudinary (si-mil-i-tu'di-na-ri), . [< L. 
ximilitutlo (-din-), likeness, + -ary.] Pertaining 
to similitude or the use of simile ; introducing 
or marking similitude. 
"As" is sometimes a note of quality, sometimes of equal- 
ity; hereitisonlyrom'KhdKnari/.- "as lambs," "as doves," 
etc. Rev. T. Adams, Works, II. 118. 
similize (sim'i-liz), v. ; pret. and pp. similized, 
ppr. simiiiziny. [< L. similis, like (see simile), 
+ -i:e.~] I. trans. 1. To liken; compare. 
[Bare.] 
The best to whom he may be simttized herein is I'rtar 
Paul the Servite. 
Bp. Racket, Abp. Williams, i. 53. (Dames.) 
2. To take pattern by; copy ; imitate. [Rare.] 
I'll similize 
These Gabaonites; I will myself disguize 
To gull thee. 
Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, ii., The Captaines. 
II. intrans. To use similitude. [Bare.] 
If I may similize in my turn, a dull fellow might ask the 
meaning of a problem in Euclid from the Bishop of Salis- 
bury without being ever the better for his learned solu- 
tion of it. Dryden, Duchess of York's Paper Defended. 
similor (sim'i-lor), ii. [Also erroneously seini- 
lor (as if involving semi-, half) ; = It. similoro 
= G. similar, < F. similar, an alloy so called, 
irreg. < L. similis, like, + F. or (< L. durum), 
gold.] A (French) synonym of brass, defined 
as Mannheim gold, Prince Rupert's metal, etc. : 
chiefly applied to very yellow varieties of brass 
used instead of gold for personal ornaments, 
watch-cases, and the like that is, for what is 
called in English "brass jewelry" and (in the 
United States) " Attleboro' jewelry." 
simioid (sim'i-oid), a. [< L. simia, an ape, + 
Gr. fWof, form.] Same as simian. 
simious (sim'i-us), a. [< L. simia, an ape, + 
-ous.~\ Same as simian. 
That strange simious school-boy passion of giving pain 
to others. Sydney Smith. 
But to students of natural or literary history who can- 
not discern the human from the simious element it sug- 
gests that the man thus imitated must needs have been 
the imitator of himself. Nineteenth Century, XXIV. 543. 
simiri (si-me'ri), . [Brit. Guiana.] A tree, 
Hymewea Cotirbarif. 
Simitar, scimitar (sim'i-tar), n. [This word, 
owing to its Oriental origin and associations, 
to ignorance of its original form, and to the 
imitation now of the F. now of the It. spell- 
ing, has appeared in a great variety of forms, 
of which the first three are perhaps the most 
common namely, simitar, scimitar, cimitar, 
rimitcr, rymiti-r, ritui/crn; cimetvr, fi/in>tiii\ 
xri/mit<tr. xi-imiter, scimetei; .ifi/mi-tfi; lOfmetar, 
xrinitar, xi-mitari/, also smilei', miiyti'i; smeetcr 
(simulating smite); < OF. cimeti-r're, eemiti-i-rr, 
similrrn; m'mittirye = Sp. cimitarni, xeniitierra 
= Pg. eimitarra = It. i-iiuitnrti, riniilnrra, xriini- 
tui'ii, xrimitarra, mod. sciHiitiirra: origin uncer- 
tain; according to Larramendi, < Basque i-inn-- 
'</;, with a sharp edge; but prob., with a cor- 
ruption of the termination due to some confor- 
5637 
mation, of Pers. origin (through It. < Turk. < 
IVrs. .' it .Iocs not appear in Turk., where 
'simitar' is denoted by pain), 
> Hind, shamiliir. I/IIIIII.I/H-I\ 
< Pers. xli i m i!i ir, xlniiii.il/ii- 
(in E. written shamxlieer (Sir 
T. Herbert), in Gr. aa^ii/pa), 
a sword, simitar; appar. lit. 
' lion's claw,' < sliam, a nail, 
claw, + shir, .ihcr, a lion (> 
Hind, glifr, a tiger).] A 
short, curved, single-edged 
sword, much in use among 
Orientals. It is usually broadest 
at the point-end, but the word is 
also used for sabers without this 
peculiarity, and loosely for all 
one-edged curved swords of non- 
European nations. See cut under 
mber. 
He dies upon my scimitar's sharp 
point. 
Shalt., Tit. And., iv. 2. 91. 
Moreouer, they haue painted a 
Cimiterre hung in the middest, in 
memory of Haly,who forsooth with 
his sword cut the rockes in sunder. S """ ar c 'em u s r 1 ""' 
Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 307. 
Their Wastes hoop'd round with Turkey Leather Belts, 
nt which hung a Bagonet, or short Scyinitar. 
London Spy, quoted in Ashton's Social Life in Reign of 
[Queen Anne, I. 84. 
When Winter wields 
His icy scimitar. Wordsworth, Misc. Pieces. 
simitared, scimitared (sim'i-tiird), a. [< JM'/H- 
itar + -ccP.] Shaped like a simitar; acinaci- 
form. 
simitar-pod (sim'i-tar-pod), n. The woody 
legume of Entada scandens, a strong shrubby 
climber of the tropics. Its pods are said to be from 
4 to 6 feet long, flat, and often curved so as to resemble a 
simitar. The seeds are 2 inches long, rounded and hard, 
and are made into snuff- and toy-boxes. See sea-bean. 
simitar-Shaped (sim'i-tar-shapt), . In bot., 
same as aciiiaciform. 
simitar-tree (sim'i-tiir-tre), . See Harpephyl- 
I n m. 
simkin (sim'kin), M. [A Hind, form of E. cham- 
pagne.] The common Anglo-Indian word for 
champagne. Also spelled simpkin. 
A basket of simian, which is as though one should say 
champagne, behind |the chariot], 
J. W. Palmer, The New and the Old, p. 283. 
simlin (sim'lin), H. [Also siniblin, simbling; 
sometimes spelled, erroneously, eymlin, cym- 
bliii, cymbling; a dial. var. of simnel, q. v.] 1. 
A kind of cake: same as simnel, i. Halliwell. 
[Prov. Eng.] 2. Akindof small squash. See 
simnel, 2. [Southern and western U. S.] 
"That 'ar lot," said Teague Poteet, after a while, "is the 
ole Mathis lot. The line runs right acrost my simblin' 
patch." J. C. Harris, The Century, XXVI. 143. 
simmer 1 (sini'er), r. [Formerly also simber and 
simper, early mod. E. symper (see simper 1 ); a 
freq. form of *sim, < Sw. dial, summa, hum, buzz, 
= Dan. summe = MLG. summen = G. summen, 
hum; cf. Hind, sumsum, sunsun, sansan, the 
crackling of moist wood when burning, simmer- 
ing: an imitative word, like hum, and bum*, 
boom 1 .] I. intrans. 1. To make a gentle mur- 
muring or hissing sound, under the action of 
heat, as liquids when beginning to boil ; hence, 
to become heated gradually : said especially of 
liquids which are to be kept, while heating, just 
below the boiling-point. 
Placing the vessel in warm sand, increase the heat by 
degrees, till the spirit of wine begin to simmer or to boil a 
little. Boyle, Works, I. 712. (Richardson.) 
A plate of hot buttered toast was gently sirnmerinij be- 
fore the fire. Dickem, Pickwick, xxvii. 
Between the andirons' straddling feet 
The mug of cider simmered slow. 
Whittier, Snow-Bound. 
2. Figuratively, to be on the point of boiling or 
breaking forth, as suppressed anger. 
" Old Joshway," as he is irreverently called by his neigh- 
bours, is in a state of simmering indignation ; but he has 
not yet opened his lips. Georye Eliot, Adam Bede, ii. 
This system . . . was suited for a period when colonies 
in a state of simmering rebellion had to be watched. 
Fortnightly Reo., N. S., XLIII. 177. 
II. trans. To cause to simmer; heat gradu- 
ally: said especially of liquids kept just below 
the boiling-point. 
Green wood will at last simmer itself into a blaze. 
tf. //. UoUister, Kinley Hollow, xv. 
simmer 1 (sim'er), . l< simmer 1 , p.] A gentle, 
gradual, uniform heating: said especially of 
liquids. 
Bread-sauce is so ticklish ; a simmer too much, and it 's 
clean done for. Trollope, Orley Farm, xlvii. 
Simonianism 
simmer 2 (sim'pr), . A Scotch form of nm- 
HMfl. 
simmetriet, An obsolete form of si/iiiHit'tri/. 
simnel (sim'ncl). . [Early mod. E. also xim- 
iiell, si/iiint'l. ci/miH'/, also dial, xintliii, .iin<li/ii/, 
sinililiii;/ (see xinilin); < ME. simnel, simnell, 
shitcinil. xi/iitiifll, yi/iitHfllc, < OF. ximeiirl. .liniiiii- 
iirl (Mlj. sinii'iit'/liix, also siinella), bread or cake 
of fine wheat flour, < L. similti, wheat flour of 
the finest quality: see seuioltt.] If. A cake 
made of fine flour; a kind of rich sweet cake 
offered as a gift at Christmas and Easter, ami 
especially on Mothering (Simnel) Sunday. 
Simnell, bunne, or cracknel!. Baret, Alvearie, 1580. 
Ill to thee a simnel bring 
'Gainst tlinii go'st a mothering. 
Herrick, To Dianeme. 
Cakes of all formes, simnels, cracknels, buns, wafers, and 
other things made of wheat flowre, as fritters, pancakes, 
and such like, are by this rule rejected. 
Haven of Health, p. 20. (Nares.) 
2. A variety of squash having a round flattish 
head with a wavy or scalloped edge, and so re- 
sembling the cake so called : now called simlin. 
[Southern U. S.] 
The clypeatre are sometimes called ci/mnels (as are some 
others also), from the lenteu cake of that name, which 
many of them much resemble. Squash or squanter-squash 
is their name among the northern Indians, and so they 
are called in New York and New England. 
Beverley, Hist. Virginia, Iv. II 19. 
Simnel Sunday. Mid-Lent or Refreshment Sunday(which 
see, under refreshment). 
Simocyon (si-mos'i-on), . [NL., < Gr. o-;//of, 
flat-nosed (see simoiis), + KVUV, a dog.] A genus 
of fossil carnivorous quadrupeds, from the Up- 
per Miocene of Greece, giving name to the .SV- 
mneifiiniilie. It had (probably) 32 teeth, the last lower 
premolar moderate, first molar obtusely sectorial, and the 
second one oblong tuberculate. 
Simocyonidae (sim*'o-si-on'i-de), . pi. [NL., 
< Simocyon + -/rfa;.] A family of extinct Car- 
iiieora, of uncertain affinity, formed for the re- 
ception of the fossil called Simocyoit. 
simoner (sim'o-ner), . [< simon-y + -er 1 .] A 
simonist. [Rare.] 
These gimoners sell sin, suffering men and women in 
every degree and estate to lie and continue from year to 
year in divers vices slanderously. 
Bp. Bale, Select Works, p. 129. (Dairies.) 
simoniac (si-mo'ni-ak), n. [< OF. (and F.) gi- 
moniaque = Pr. simoniac, simoniaic = Sp. simo- 
nlaco = Pg. It. simoniaco, < ML. simoniaciis, re- 
lating to simony, < simonia, simony: see si- 
mony.] One who practises simony. 
Witches, heretics, simoniacs, and wicked persons of 
other Instances, have done miracles. 
Jer. Taylor, Works (ed. 1835), 1. 632. 
simoniacal (sim-o-ni'a-kal), . [< simoniac + 
-al.] 1. Guilty of simony. 
H a priest be simoniacal, he cannot be esteemed right- 
eous before God by preaching well. 
Jer. Taylor, Works (ed. 1835), II. 8. 
What shall we expect that have such multitudes of 
Achans, church robbers, eimoniacal patrons? 
Burton, Anat. of Mel., To the Reader, p. 52. 
2. Partaking of, involving, or consisting in 
simony : as, a simoniacal presentation. 
Simoniacal corruption I may not for honour's sake sus- 
pect to be amongst men of so great place. 
Hooter, Eccles. Polity, vii. 24. 
When the common law censures simoniacal contracts, 
It affords great light to the subject to consider what the 
canon law has adjudged to be simony. 
Blackstone, Com., Int., ii. 
Simoniacally (sim-o-ni'a-kal-i), adv. In a sim- 
oniacal manner; with tlie guilt or offense of 
simony. 
Simoniacalness (sim-p-ni'a-kal-nes). n. The 
state or quality of being simoniacal. Bailey, 
1727. 
simonialt, . [ME. symonyal, < OF. "simonial, 
< ML. simonia, simony : see simony.] A prac- 
tiser of simony ; a simonist. 
Understoonde that bothe her that selleth and he that 
beyeth thynges espirituels been cleped symonyalfi. 
Chaucer, Parson's Tale. 
Simonian (si-mp'ui-an), . and n. [< LGr. 2<- 
/juviav6f, Sirnoiiian, a Simonian, < i!///w/', Simon 
(see def .). The Gr. name ~Lifuw is (a) pure Gr., < 
aiftdf, flat-nosed (see simous); (b) an adaptation 
of Sujucui', Simeon, < Heb. SJiim'on, lit. 'barken- 
ing,' < slidma', hear, harken. Cf. simony.] I. a. 
Belonging or pertaining to Simon Magus or the 
Simouians: as, Simonian doctrines. 
II. . One of a Gnostic sect named from 
Simon Magus : it held doctrines similar to those 
of the Cainites, etc. ; hence, a term loosely ap- 
plied to many of the early Gnostics. 
Simonianism (si-ino'ni-an-izm), H. [< Simo- 
nidii + -ixm.] The doctrines of the Simonians. 
