sky-gazer 
Sky-gazer (ski'ga"zer), . 1. Kaut. } a skysail. 
2. A fish of the family Uranoscopidx. Sir J. 
Richardson. See star-gazer. 
sky-high (ski'hi'), a. As high as the sky; very 
high. 
Utgard with his sky-high gates . . . had gone to air. 
Carlyle. 
The powder-magazine of St. John of Acre was blown 
up nicy-high. Thackeray, Second Funeral of Napoleon, ii. 
skyish (ski'ish), . [< sky 1 + -ish 1 .] Like the 
sky; also, approaching the sky. [Bare.] 
The skyish head 
Of blue Olympus. Shak., Hamlet, v. 1. 276. 
skylark (ski'liirk), n. The common lark of 
Europe, Alauda artensis: so called because it 
mounts toward the sky and sings as it flies. 
Skylark (Alauda arvtnsis). 
Also called sky-laverock, rising-lark, field-lark, 
short-heeled lark, etc. The name extends to 
some other true larks, and also to a few of the 
pipits Australian skylark, a dictionary name of an 
Australian bird, Cindarhamphiis canttttans (or antralis), 
which may have a habit of rising on wing to sing. Its 
systematic position is disputed, but it is neither a lark 
nor a pipit. It is about 9 inches long, and of varied 
brownish and whitish coloration. It is found in South 
Australia, Victoria, New South Wales, and north to Rock- 
ingham Bay on the east coast. Missouri skylark, An- 
thus or Neocoryt spraguei, Sprague's pipit, which abounds 
on some of the westeni prairies, especially in the Dakotas 
and Montana, and has a habit of singing as it soars aloft, 
like the true skylark of Europe: originally named by Au- 
dubon Spratjue's Missouri lark (Alauda spragueii), as dis- 
covered by Mr. Isaac Sprague, near Fort Union, on the 
upper Missouri river, June 19th, 1843. It is a pipit, not 
a true lark. 
skylark (ski'lark), r. ?. [< skylark, n. ; with an 
allusion to lark*. ] To engage in boisterous fun 
or frolic. [Colloq.] 
I had become from habit so extremely active, and so 
fond of displaying my newly acquired gymnastics, called 
by the sailors ky-larkiwj, that my speedy exit was often 
prognosticated. Marryat, Frank Mildmay, iv. 
skylet, ". and c. A Middle English form of 
skill. 
skyless (skl'les), a. [< sky 1 + -Jess.} Without 
sky; cloudy; dark; thick. 
A soulless, skyless, catarrhal day. Kingsley, Yeast, i. 
skylight (skl'lit), n. A window placed in the 
roof of a house, or in a ceiling ; a frame set with 
glass, whether horizontal or in one or more in- 
clined planes, and placed in a roof or ceiling, 
or in some cases, as in photographers' studios, 
forming a considerable part of the roof, for the 
purpose of lighting passages or rooms below, or 
for affording special facilities for lighting, as 
for artists' or photographers' needs. 
sky-line (skl'lin), . The horizon: the place 
where the sky and the earth or an object on 
the earth seem to meet. 
skyme (skim), . The glance of reflected light. 
Jamieson. [Scotch.] 
An' the skiine o' her een was the dewy sheen 
0' the bonny crystal-well. 
Lady Mary o' Craignethan. 
skyn, . Same as sakeen. 
sky-parlor (ski'par'lor), n. A room next the 
sky, or at the top of a building; hence, an attic. 
[Humorous.] 
Sow, ladies, up in the sky parlour; only once a year, if 
you please. Dickens, Sketches, Scenes, xx., motto. 
skypett, Same as skippet 2 . 
skyphos (ski'fos), n. Same as scyplius, I. 
sky-pipit (ski'pip'it), n. An American pipit, 
Antlius (Neocorys) sjiragiiei; the Missouri sky- 
lark (which see, under ski/lark). 
sky-planted (ski'plan'ted'), a. Placed or plant- 
ed in the sky. [Bare.] 
How dare you ghosts 
Accuse the thunderer, whose bolt, you know, 
Sky-planted, batters all rebelling coasts ? 
Shak., Cymbeline, v. 4. 96. 
skyr (sker), . [Icel. skyr, curdled milk, curds, 
= Dan. skjor, curdled milk, bonnyclabber.] 
Curds; bonnyclabber. 
5680 
Of curdled skyr and black bread 
Be daily dole decreed. 
Whitlier, The Dole of Jarl Thorkell. 
Skyrin (ski'rin), a. [Prop, skiriiig, ppr. of 
"skire, var. of sheer 1 , r.] Shining; gorgeous; 
flaunting; showy; gaudy. [Scotch.] 
But had you seen the philabegs, 
An' skyrin tartan trews, man. 
Burns, Battle of Sherirt-Mui, 
sky-rocket (skl'rok"et), . A rocket that as- 
cends high and burns as it flies: a species of 
firework Singing sky-rocket, an occasional name of 
the whitethroat, Sylvia cinerea, from its habit of rising 
straight up in the air as it sings. 
sky-rocket (ski'rok"et), r. i. To move like a 
sky-rocket; rise suddenly, explode, and dis- 
appear : literally or figuratively. [Colloq.] 
skysail (ski 'sal), n. A light sail in a square- 
rigged vessel, next above the royal. It is some- 
times called a sky-scraper when it is triangular, 
also a sky-gazer. See cut under */</>. 
skyscape (ski'skap), H. [< sky 1 + -scape as in 
landscape. Cf. seascape.] A view of the sky; 
a part of the sky within the range of vision, 
or a picture or representation of such a part. 
[Rare.] 
We look upon the reverse side of the skyscape. 
R. A. Proctor, Other Worlds than Ours, p. 130. 
sky-SCraper(ski'skra*per),M. 1. Animaginary 
sail, set along with moon-sails, sky-gazers, and 
the like, jokingly assumed to be carried in the 
days when sail-power was the sole reliance at 
sea, and United States ships had the reputa- 
tion of being the fastest afloat. 2. A triangu- 
lar skysail. 3. A ball or missile sent high up 
in the air; anything which reaches or extends 
far into the sky. [Colloq.] 
sky-sett (ski'set), n. Sunset. 
The Elfin court will ride ; . . . 
O they begin at .-;,/( set in, 
Hide a' the evenin' tide. 
Tam-a-Uw (Child's Ballads, I. 262). 
skyte, )'. and . See skite. 
skyt-gatet (skit'gat), n. A sally-port (f). Cot- 
ton, tr. of Montaigne's Essays, xiv. (Davies.) 
sky-tinctured (ski'tingk"turd), a. Of the color 
of the sky. 
Shadow'd from either heel with feather'd mail, 
Sky -tinctured grain. Milton, P. L., v. 286. 
Skyward, skywards (ski 'ward, -wiirdz). adr. 
[(sky 1 + -ward, -wards.] 'Toward the sky. 
Watching the twilight smoke of cot or grange, 
Skyivard ascending from a woody dell. 
Wordsworth, Sonnets, ii. 9. 
S. L. Au abbreviation of south latitude. 
slab 1 (slab), n. [< ME. slab, slabbe, sclabbe: 
perhaps an altered form of *slap, related to E. 
dial, slappel, a piece, portion, and prob. slope, 
slippery, < Norw. sleip, slippery, > sleip, a 
smooth piece of timber for dragging anything 
over, esp. a piece of timber used for the founda- 
tion of a road: see slape, slip 1 .] 1. A thick 
piece of timber ; especially, the outer cut of a 
tree or log when sawed up into planks or boards. 
Save slap of thy timber for stable and stye. 
Tusser, September's Husbandry, st. 8fi. 
The proprietor had erected a slab hut, barkroofed, lying 
"5- to the street. 
Kingsley, Hillyars and Burtons, xlviii. 
slab-grinder 
jft, slime, strip, slimy offal offish: see slop 1 .] 
Moist earth; slime; puddle; mud. E. Pliilliii*. 
1706. 
Slab- (slab), a. [<sta&2 ; - Cf. slabby.] Thick; 
viscous; pasty. 
Make the gruel thick and slab. 
Shak., Macbeth, iv. 1. :i-2. 
The worms, too, like the rain, for they can creep easily 
over the slab ground, opening and shutting up their bodies 
like telescopes. P. Robinson, Under the Sun, p. 77. 
slab :f (slab), n. [Origin obscure.] The wry- 
neck, lynx torquilla. [North. Eng.] 
slabber 1 (slab'er), v. [Also slobber (and slub- 
ber), q. v. ; < ME. slaberen, < MD. slabberen = 
LG. slabbem, > G. scldabbern, lap, sup, slaver, 
slabber, = Icel. slafra, slaver; freq. of MD. 
xiiibben, slaver, Blabber, J). xluhhfn = MLG. 
Klubbcn, lap as a dog in drinking, sup, lick, > 
G. schltibben, slaver, slabber (cf. schlabbe, an 
animal's mouth); cf. slaver 1 (< Icel.), a doublet 
of slabber.'] I. intrans. To let saliva or other 
liquid fall from the mouth carelessly ; drivel ; 
slaver. 
You think you're in the Country, where great lubberly 
Brothers slabber and kiss one another when they meet. 
Congreve, Way of the World, iii. 15. 
II. trans. 1. To eat hastily or in a slovenly 
manner, as liquid food. 
To slabber pottage. Baret. 
2. To wet and befoul by liquids falling care- 
lessly from the mouth; slaver; slobber. 
He slabbereth me all over, from cheek to cheek, with his 
great tongue. Arbuthnot, Hist. John Bull. 
3. To cover, as with a liquid spilled; soil; 
befoul. 
Her milk-pan and cream-pot so slabber'd and sost 
That butter is wanting, and cheese is half lost. 
Tusser, April's Husbandry, st. 20. 
slabber 1 (slab'er), n. [Also slobber, q. v. ; < slab- 
ber 1 , v. Cf. slaver 1 , n.] Moisture falling from 
the mouth ; slaver. 
slabber 2 (slab'er), . [< slab 1 + -er 1 .] 1 . One 
who or that which slabs; specifically, a saw 
for removing the slabs or outside parts of a 
log. 2. In metal-working, a machine for dress- 
ing the sides of nuts or the heads of bolts. 
Slabberdegulliont (slab'er-de-guryon), . 
Same as slubbcrdegullion. 
Slapsauce fellows, slabberdeffullion druggels, lubbardly 
louts. Urquhart, tr. of Rabelais, i. 26. 
at an angle of say SSf_to the street. 
In rear of the kitchen was a shed, a rough frame of 
slabs and poles. S. Judd, Margaret, L 3. 
2. A thick plate of stone, slate, metal, etc. 
A slab of ire [iron]. 
Pop. Treatises on Science (ed. Wright), p. 135. 
3. In general, a piece of anything solid and 
compact, heavy, and thin in proportion to its 
length and breadth, but thick enough not to be 
pliable, especially when of considerable size. 
We should know hardly anything of the architecture of 
Assyria but for the existence of the wainscot slabs of their 
palaces. J. Feryusson, Hist. Arch., I. 209. 
Specifically 4. A flat stone, or plate of iron or 
glass, on which printing-ink is sometimes dis- 
tributed for use on a hand-press. 5. A thick 
web or bat of fiber. E. H. Knigli t. - Bndlng-slab, 
a large slab of iron having numerous holes arranged in 
regular order, used for the purpose of bending frame and 
reverse angle-irons to a required shape. Pins are driven 
into the holes to secure the heated frames in position 
until they set. Slab Of bone, a layer of whalebone or 
baleen. Slabs of tin, the lesser masses of the metal run 
into molds of stone. 
slab 1 (slab), v. t.; pret. and pp. slabbed, ppr. slab- 
bing. [<sta&l,.] To cut slabs or outside pieces 
from, as from a log, in order to square it for use, 
or that it may be sawn into boards with square 
edges. 
Slab 2 (slab), . [Also slob (and slub), q. v. ; < Ir. 
slab, slaib = Gael, slaib, mire, mud. Cf. Icel. 
Slabberer (slab'er-er), . [Also slobberer, q. y. ; 
< slabber 1 + -er 1 .] One who slabbers; a driv- 
eler. 
slabbery (slab'er-i), a. [Also slobbery, q. v. ; < 
slabber 1 + -y 1 ."] Covered with slabber; wet; 
sloppy. 
Our frost is broken since yesterday ; and it Is very slab- 
bery. Swift, Journal to Stella, xxxviU. 
slabbiness (slab'i-nes), n. [< slobby + -ness.] 
Slabby character or condition; muddiness; 
sloppiness. 
The playnes and fyeldes are therby ouerflowen with 
marisshes, and all iorneys incumbered with continuall 
waters and myrie slabbynesse. vntyl by the beneflte of the 
new wynter the ryuers and marisshes bee frosen. 
-ft. Eden, tr. of Paolo Giovio (First Books on AmeriCH, 
[ed. Arber, p. 310). 
The way also here was very wearisome through dirt and 
slabbiness. Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress, p. 334. 
Slabbing-gang (slab'ing-gang), n. In a saw- 
mill. a gang of saws in a gate by which a cen- 
tral balk of required width is cut from a log, 
while the slabs at the sides are simultaneously 
ripped into boards of desired thickness. E. H. 
Knigli t, 
slabbing-machine (slab'ing-ma-shen"), . In 
metal-work, a form of milling-machine for mill- 
ing the flat parts of connecting-rods and simi- 
lar work. 
slabbing-saw (slab'ing-sa), n. A saw designed 
especially for slabbing logs. In some mills such 
saws are used in gangs. See slabbing-gaiif/. 
slab-board (slab'bord), . A board cut from 
the side of a log so that it has bark and sap- 
wood upon one side ; a slab. 
Slabby (slab'i), a. [< s/a&2, a ., + -y 1 . Cf. Gael. 
slaibeach, miry, < slaib, mire, mud.] 1. Thick; 
viscous. 
In the cure of an ulcer with a moist intemperies, slabby 
and greasy medicaments are to be forborne, and drying to 
be used. Wiseman, Surgery. 
2. Wet; muddy; slimy; sloppy. 
Bad slabby weather to-day. 
Swift, Journal to Stella, xxxiv. 
slab-grinder (slab'grin"der), n. A machine for 
grinding to sawdust the refuse wood from a 
saw-mill. 
