sink 
No Man is BO rnnle in Vice and Ignorance but there are 
still some bidden Seeds of Goodness and Knowledge in 
him. Addison, Spectator, V>. ^i;-J. 
Impropriety ! Oh, .Mrs. Weston, it is too calm a cm- 
sure. Much, much beyond impropriety ! It has sunk 
him I cannot say how it lias mnk him in my opinion. 
Jane Austen, Kmma, xlvi. 
7. To destroy ; ruin ; overwhelm. 
And if I have a conscience, let it sink me, 
Even as the axe falls, if I be not faithful ! 
Shak., Hen. VIII., ii. 1. tKi. 
8. To lose, as money, by unfortunate invest- 
ment. 
What can have brought the silly fool to London ? Some 
lover pressed and sent to sea, or some stock sunk in the 
South-Sea funds, ... I suppose. 
Scott, Heart of Mid-Lothian, xxxv. 
9. To put out of sight or knowledge ; suppress ; 
refrain from uttering, mentioning, or using. 
To sound or gink, in cano, or A, 
Or give up Cicero to C or K. 
Pope, Dunciad, iv. 221. 
Augustus . . . has sunk the fact of his own presence on 
that interesting occasion. 
Barhain, Ingoldsby Legends, I. 282. 
The old man never spoke about the shop himself, . . . 
sunk the black breeches and stockings altogether. 
Thackeray, Pendennis, ii. 
10. In decorative art, to depress, or cut to a lower 
level, as by engraving: said of a part of the de- 
sign or of a panel To sink the shop. SeeAopi. 
To sink upont, to keep out of sight or knowledge; 
be reticent about ; refrain from mentioning. 
He [Beattie] sunk upon us that he was married ; else we 
should have shown his lady more civilities. 
Johnson, in Boswell's Life, anno 1772. 
= 8yn. 3. To excavate, scoop out. 5 and 6. To abase. 
7 and 8. To waste, swamp. 
sink (singk), n. [< ME. si/nke ( MD. sinke) ; 
from the verb.] 1. A receptacle and conduit 
for foul liquids; a kennel; a sewer; a drain; 
a privy. 
Pool ! Sir Pool ! lord ! 
Ay, kennel, puddle, sink; whose filth and dirt 
Troubles the silver spring where England drinks. 
Shak., 2 Hen. VI., iv. 1. 71. 
The kitchen and buttery is entire ivory, the very purity 
of the elephant's tooth. The sink is paved with . . . rich 
rubies and incomparable carbuncles. 
Randolph, Hey for Honesty, iv. 1. 
Your lady chides you, and gives positive orders that you 
should carry the pail down, and empty it in the sink. 
Swift, Advice to Servants (House-Maid). 
2. A kind of box or basin having an outflow- 
pipe leading into a drain, and used for receiv- 
ing and carrying off dirty water, as in kitchens, 
etc. 3. An abode or resort of depraved and 
debauched persons ; slums. 
This [suburb] is the sinke of Fez, where euery one may 
be a Vintner and a Bawde. Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 621. 
From the very sinks of intemperance, from shops reek- 
ing with vapours of intoxicating drink, has God raised 
up witnesses against this vice. 
Channing, Perfect Life, p. "0. 
4f. CoiTuption ; debauchery ; moral filth. 
Outlaws, thieves, 
The murderers of their parents, all the sink 
And plague of Italy met in one torrent. 
B. Jonson, Catiline, v. 1. 
5. Same as sink-hole, 3. 6. An area (which 
may sometimes be a lake or pond, and at other 
times a marsh, or even entirely dry and cov- 
ered with more or less of various saline com- 
binations) in which a river or several rivers 
sink or disappear, because evaporation is in 
excess of precipitation: as, the sink of the 
Humboldt river, in the Great Basin. 
In the interior there are two great systems of drainage, 
one leading through the Murray River to the sea, the oth- 
er consisting of salt lakes and sinks. 
The Atlantic, LXIII. 677. 
7. In theaters, one of the long, narrow trap- 
doors used on the stage for the raising and 
lowering of scenery. 8. In mining, a down- 
ward excavation not sufficiently deep or im- 
portant to be called a shaft. 9. A depression 
in a stereotype plate; a bubble of air some- 
times formed below the surface of a plate, 
which causes the part of the surface affected 
to sink under impression. 
sinkable (sing'ka-bl), o. [< sink + -able.] Ca- 
pable of being sunk. 
Life Boat. A non-sinkable, large, heavy, six or eight- 
oared boat, constructed for the life-saving stations on the 
ocean coast and great lakes, 
Tribune Book of Sports, p. 309. 
sink-a-pacet (singk'a-pas), n. A .corrupt form 
of cinque-pace. 
My very walk should be a Jig ; I would not so much as 
make water but in a sink-a-pace. Shak,, T. N., i. 3. 139. 
Sink-dirt (singk'dert), n. Gutter-mud. Haiti- 
well. [Prov. Eng.] 
5650 
sinker (sing'ker), H. [< xink + -tr 1 .] 1. One 
who or that which sinks or causes to sink. 
Particularly (o) A weight atturlK-cl to a fishing-line to 
make it sink in the water. In bottom- or buit-tisliiiij:, 
sinkers of various sizes and shapes are used, the weight 
being proportioned to the tide or current. Split shot, 
closed on the line, are very commonly used as sinkers. 
(0) A weight used for sinking the sounding-line in taking 
deep-sea soundings, (c) Same as xiiik-stttiie, 2. 
2. In knitting-machines, stocking-frames, etc., 
one of several flat pieces of metal attached to 
the jacks, and also to the sinker-bar, and serv- 
ing to form loops in the thread between the 
needles. See jack 1 , 11 (d), xinker-bar, and knit- 
ting-Hiaeliinr. 3. A cesspool. Halliwell. [Prov. 
Eng.]_ Adjustable sinker, in angling: (a) A hollow 
sinker containing shot, that may be adjusted to any re- 
quired weight. (0) A sinker with spiral rings, which can 
be put on and taken off the line without disturbing the 
hook or bait. Ponderating sinker. See ponderate. 
Running or sliding sinker, a sinker in which there is 
a hole permitting it to slide along a fishing-line. 
sinker-bar (sing'ker-bar), . 1. In knitting- 
machines and stocking-frames, a bar carrying 
a series of sinkers, or flat plates, which act in 
conjunction with the jack-sinkers to form loops 
of thread between the needles. 2. In rope- 
drilling, a heavy bar attached above the jars 
to give force to the upward stroke. 
sinker-wheel (sing'ker-hwel), . In a knitting- 
machine, a wheel having a series of oblique 
wings to depress the varn between the needles. 
A'. //. Knight. 
sinkneld(singk'feld),w. [A corruption of cinque- 
foil. ] A species of fivefinger, Potentilla reptans. 
sink-hole (singk'hol), . 1. A hole for foul 
liquids to pass through ; specifically, an orifice 
for that purpose in a sink. 2. Any place given 
over to foulness or filth; especially, a resort of 
debauched and depraved persons. See sink, 
n., 3. 
From that Fountaine (or sinck-hole rather) of supersti- 
tion, to leade you along the gutters and streames thence 
deriued. Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 278. 
3. One of the cavities formed in limestone re- 
gions by the removal of the rock through the 
action of rain or running water, or both. The 
rock being dissolved away underneath, local sinkingsof the 
surface occur, and these are sometimes wholly or partly 
filled with water, forming pools. Similar sinkings occur 
in districts in which rock-salt abounds. Also called swal- 
low-hole, or simply sink. 
The caves form the natural drains of the country, all 
the surface drainage being at once carried down into them 
through the innumerable sink-holes which pierce the thin 
stratum overlying the Carboniferous Limestone. 
Xature, XLI. 507. 
sinking (sing'king), H. [Verbal n. of sink, r.] 
1. A falling or settling downward ; a subsi- 
dence. 
In consequence of the numerous deep crevasses, sink- 
ings in, and landslips, ... I could not reach the summit 
(of the hill) without much difficulty. 
Quart. Jour. Seal. Soc., XLVI. i. 34. 
2. The process of excavating down ward through 
the earth, as in mining, etc. 
If the underground passage is vertical, it is a shaft ; if 
the shaft is commenced at the surface, the operations are 
known as "sinking," and it is called a "rising " if worked 
upwards from a previously constructed heading or gallery. 
Encyc. Brit., XXIII. 622. 
3. In arch., sculp., etc., a depression ; a place 
hollowed out, whether for decoration or to re- 
ceive some other feature ; a socket. 
On the face of the tomb itself are the sinkings for the 
architraves and vaults which they supported. 
J. Fergusson, Hist. Arch., I. 439. 
4. \njoinery: (a) An angular groove or rabbet 
in the corner of a board. (6) The operation of 
making or of finishing rabbets. 
sinking (sing'king), p. a. Causing to sink, sub- 
side, or gradually disappear: as, a sinking 
weight; causing the sensation of sinking or 
fainting : as, a sinking apprehension or anxiety. 
It fan expected operation] is first looked forward to with 
sinking dread, but, if it is deferred, so much mental un- 
rest may be produced that we find our present state intol- 
erable. F. H. Bradley, Mind, XIII. 17. 
sinking-fund (sing'king-fund), n. See fund 1 . 
Sinking-fund cases, two cases decided by the United 
States Supreme Court in 1878 (99 U. S., 700), which held, 
although not unanimously, that acts of Congress which 
established in the United States treasury sinking-funds 
for the payment of money advanced by the government 
for interest on the bonds of the Union Pacific and Central 
Pacific railroads were constitutional. 
sinking-head (sing'kiug-hed), n. In founding, 
same as dead-head, 1 (a). 
sinking-papert(sing'king-pa"per), n. Blotting- 
paper. Xares. 
sinking-pump (sing'king-pump), n. A form 
of vertical pump of strong and simple construc- 
tion, and with parts readily interchangeable in 
sinologist 
case of wear or damage, used in mining for 
sinking shafts or pumping out water, 
sinking-ripe (sing'king-rip),n. Ready to sink; 
near sinking. [Poetical.] 
The sailors sought for safety by our boat, 
And left the ship, then ninkitKi-ripe, to us. 
Shak., C. of E., i. 1. 78. 
Sink-room (singk'rom), . A room containing 
a sink, and, in old New England houses, usu- 
ally adjoining the kitchen ; a scullery. 
The apartment known in New England houses as the 
sink-room. H. B. Starve, Oldtown, p. 87. 
sink-stone (singk'ston), . 1. A perforated 
hollowed stone at the top of a sink. Halliwell. 
[Prov. Eng.] 2. In arcliteol., a stone sinker 
primitively used to sink lines or nets. 
sink-trap (singk'trap), n. A trap for a sink, 
so constructed as to allow water to pass down, 
but not to permit an upward escape of air or 
gases. 
Sinless (sin'les), a. [< ME. sinneles, synneles, 
senncles, < AS. synleds (= G. stindenlos = Icel. 
tsyndalauss = Sw. sundaliis = Dan. syndclos), < 
sijn, sin, + -leas, E. -less: see sin 1 and -less.~] 
1. Guiltless of sin; pure in heart, character, 
or conduct. 
And Crist cam . . . and seide to the lewes, 
" That seeth hym-self synneles cesse nat, ich hote, 
To stryke with stoon other with staf this strompet to dethe." 
Piers Plowman (C), xv. 41. 
Thou who, sinless, yet hast known 
All of man's infirmity. 
O. W. Doane, Softly Now the Light of Day. 
2. Made, done, or existing without sin ; con- 
formed to the standard of righteousness. 
Thou 
Sat'st unappall'd in calm and sinless peace ! 
Milton, P. R., Iv. 425. 
sinlessly (sin'les-li), adv. In a sinless manner ; 
innocently. 
sinlessness (sin'les-nes), n. The state of being 
sinless; freedom from sin. 
sinner (sin'er), . [< ME. synnere, senegere (= 
OFries. sondere = MD. sondatr, D. zondaar = 
MLG. sunder = OHG. atntari, MHG. sund&re, 
sunder, G. siinder = Icel. si/ndari = Sw. syndare 
= Dan. synder); < sin 1 + -er 1 .] 1. One who 
sins; one who disobeys or transgresses the di- 
vine law. 
Ne is hit na^tgrat thing negratofseruinge aye God to do 
guod to ham thet ous doth guod, . . . vor that deth the 
paen and the Sarasyn and othre senejeres. 
Ayenbite of Inuijt (E. E. T. S.), p. 114. 
God be merciful to me a sinner. Luke xviii. 13. 
Forbear to judge, for we are tinners all. 
Shalt., 2 Hen. VI., ill. 3. 31. 
2. One who fails in any duty or transgresses 
any law; an offender; a criminal. 
Like one 
Who having unto truth, by telling of it, 
Made such a sinner of his memory, 
To credit his own lie. Shak., Tempest, 1. 2. 101. 
sinner (sin'fer), v. i. [< sinner, .] To act as 
a sinner: with indefinite it. [Rare.] 
Whether the charmer sinner it or saint it, 
If folly grows roraantick, I must paint it. 
Pope, Moral Essays, ii. 15. 
sinneress (sin'er-es), n. [< ME. synneresse; 
< sinner + -ess.] A woman who sins; a female 
sinner. Wyclif, Luke vii. 37. [Rare.] 
sinnet (sin'et), n. Same as sennit 1 . 
sinnewt, . An obsolete spelling of sinew. 
sinnowt, r. t. [Origin obscure.] To ornament. 
A high towring faulcon, who, whereas she wont in her 
feathered youthfulnesse to lookewith amiable eye on her 
gray breast, and her speckled side sayles, all sinnowed 
with siluer quilles, and to driue whole armies of fearfull 
foules before her to her master's table ; now shee sits sadly 
on the ground. Nashe, Pierce Penilesse, p. 27. 
sinnowt, [Cf. sinnotc, '.] A woman very 
finely dressed. Halliwell. 
sinnyt (sin'i), a. [< ME. si/nny, < AS. synnig 
(= OS. suiidig = MD. sotidigh, D. zondiy = 
OHG. suntig, sundig, MHG. siindic, siindec, G. 
siindig), sinful, < syn, synn, sin: see sin 1 ."] Sin- 
ful ; wicked. 
Unto the Pope cam, and hym gan confesse 
With gret repentaunce full deuoutly ; 
Off his synny cr[i]me lefte not more ne lesse, 
Full dolerus was and repentant truly. 
Rom. of Partenay (E. E. T. S.), 1. 5218. 
sin-offering (sin'of'er-ing), n. A sacrifice or 
other offering for sin. See offering. 
And the flesh of the bullock . . . shall thou burn with 
fire without the camp ; it is a sin offering. Ex. xxix. 14. 
sinological (sin-o-loj'i-kal), o. [< sinolog-y + 
-if-nl.] Pertaining to sinology, 
sinologist (si-nol'o-jist), n. [< sinolog-y + -ist.] 
A sinologue. 
