soothsayer 
A amlfaaiier bids yon beware the idesof March. ^ ^ 
3 A mantis or rearhorse. See cut under M<m- 
Mm. Also called oameLertdeet, praying-mmtu, 
(Ifril's linrxc. fli'i-il'ii nice-horse, etc. =Syn. 2. Seer, 
etc Hee prophet. , 
soothsaying (soWa&'ing), L< <'' + '.'/- 
ing- in part verbal n. of soothsay, r.] 1. A 
foretelling; a prediction; especially, the prog- 
nostication of a diviner; also, the art or occu- 
pation of divination. 
Divinations, and goothmyings, and dreams are vain. ^ 
And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain 
damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which 
brought her masters much gain by soothsaying. 
Acts xvi. 16. 
2f. A true saying; truth. =Syn. 1. See prophet. 
SOOtily (suf- or sot'i-li), adv. In a sooty man- 
ner; with soot. Stor month. 
SOOtiness (suf- or sb't'i-nes), n. The state or 
property of being sooty. 
That raw sootiness of the London winter ah-. 
The Century, XXVI. 62. 
SOOtish (sut'ish or sS'tish), a. [< soofl + 
-is/* 1 .] Partaking of the nature of soot; like 
soot ; sooty. Sir T. Browne. 
SOOtless (sut'les or sot'les), a. [< soofl + -less.] 
Free from soot. Nature, XLII. 25. 
soot-wart (sufwart), n. Scrotal epithelioma 
of chimney-sweeps. 
SOOty (sut'i or so'ti), a. [< ME. sooty, soty, < 
AS. sotig (= Icel. sdtigr = Sw. sotig), sooty, 
<sot, soot: see soot 1 .] 1 . Covered or marked 
with soot ; black with soot. 
Ful sooty was hire bour and ekk hire halle. 
Chaucer, Nun's Priest's Tale, I. 12. 
Straight on the fire the sooty pot I plac'd. 
Gay, Shepherd's Week, Tuesday, 1. 67. 
2. Producing soot. 
By fire 
Of sooty coal the empiric alchemist 
Can turn . . . 
Metals of drossiest ore to perfect gold. 
Milton, P. L., v. 440. 
3. Produced by soot; consisting of soot. 
The sooty films that play upon the bars 
Pendulous. Cowper, Task, iv. 292. 
4. Resembling soot ; dark ; dusky. 
I ... will raise 
From black abyss and sooty hell that mirth 
Which fits their learned round. 
Randolph, Aristippus, Prol. 
5. In zoiil. and bot., fuliginous; of a dusky or 
dark fuscous color: specifically noting many 
animals Sooty albatross, Diomedea (Ph<?betria)fuli- 
ginom, a wide-ranging species of albatross in southern and 
south temperate seas, of a fuliginous color, with black 
feet and bill, the latter having a yellow stripe on the side 
of the under mandible. Sooty shearwater, Ptijimis 
fttliginosus, ablackhagden common on the Atlantic coast 
of North America, of medium size and entirely fuliginous 
plumage. SOOty tern, Sterna (Ilaliplana) fuliyinom, a 
tern glossy-black above and snowy-white below, with a 
white crescent on the forehead, black bill and feet, and the 
tail deeply forked, as is usual in terns. It is 16A inches 
5772 
fioinni, a sop (soppn nf rini, a sop in wine), = Sw. 
.vo/mrt, broth, soup; from the strong verb, Ah. 
.-.1,1,1111 (pp. sopeti), etc., sup : see sup. Sop is thus 
ult. a doublet of noup'* and sup, it. Cf . also sip.) 
I. Something soaked; a morsel, as of bread, 
dipped in a liquid before being eaten ; a piece 
of bread softened, as in broth or milk, or in- 
tended to be so softened. 
Thanne 
sophister 
Sooty Tern (Sterna {Hitliplana)fuligini>sd}. 
long, and 34 in extent of wings, and is a well-known inhabi- 
tant of the coasts of most warm and temperate seas ; on 
the United States coast of the Atlantic it abounds north 
to the Carolinas. It breeds in large companies, and lays 
three eggs on the sand, 2A by 1J inchea,of a buff or creamy 
color, spotted and dashed with light brown and purplish. 
The eggs have some commercial value, and the sooty tern 
is therefore one of the sea-fowl called egg-birds. 
SOOty (sut'i or sb'ti), v. t. ; pret. and pp. sootied, 
ppr. sootyiny. [< sooty, ,] To black or foul 
with soot. 
Then, for his own weeds, shirt and coat, all rent> 
Tann'd, and &\\-sootUd with noisome smoke, 
She put him on ; and over all a cloke. 
Chapman, Odyssey, xiii. 635. 
sop (sop), n. [< ME. sop, soppe, sope, < AS. 
"soppa, "soppe (found only in comp. sop-cuppa, 
and in the verb) = MD. soppe, sope, sop, D. sop, 
broth, sop, = MLG. LG. soppe = OHG. sopha, 
soffa, MHG. sophe, suppe. Or. suppe = Sw. soppa 
(cf . It. :nppa, sop, soaked bread, = Sp. Pg. sopa 
= F. soupe, soup, > E. soup : see soup'*) = Icel. 
Of brede i-byten no 
Jesus answered, He it is to whom I shall give a sop when 
I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he 
gave it to Judas Iscariot. John xin. 26. 
H ence _ 2. A morsel of food; a small portion 
of food or drink ; a mouthful ; a bite. [Obso- 
lete or prov. Eng.] 
If he soupeth, eet but a soppe. 
Piers Plowman (BX XT. 175. 
3. Something given to pacify or quiet; a bribe: 
so used in allusion to the sop given to Cerberus 
in order to secure a quiet entrance to the lower 
world. 
Why, you unconscionable Rascal, are you angry that I 
am unlucky, or do you want some Fees? I'll perish in a 
Dungeon before I'll consume with throwing Sops to such 
Curs" Sir K. Howard, The Committee, iv. 1. 
To Cerberus they give a sop, 
His triple barking mouth to stop. Swift. 
4. A small piece; a fragment; a particle; hence, 
a trifle; a thing of little or no value. 
For one Pieres the Ploughman hath inpugned vs alle, 
And sette alle sciences at a soppe saue loue one. 
Piers Plowman (B), xiii. 124. 
A sop In the pan, a piece of bread soaked in the dripping 
whlcn falls from baking or roasting meat ; hence, a dainty 
morsel ; a tidbit. 
Stir no more abroad, but tend your business ; 
You shall have no more sops t" the pan else, nor no porridge. 
Fletcher, Pilgrim, ill. 7. 
Sops In Wlnet, the common garden pink, Dianthtu pltt- 
rnanus apparently used along with the carnation or clove- 
pink, D. Caryophyllus, to flavor wine. Britten and Holland, 
Eng. Plant Names. 
Bring Coronations, and Sops in wine, 
Worne of Paramoures. 
Spenser, Shep. Cal., April. 
Sour BOP, sweet sop. See sour-sop, sweet-sop. To give 
or throw a sop to Cerberus, to quiet a troublesome per- 
son by a concession or a bribe. See def. 3. 
SOP (sop), v. ; pret. and pp. sopped, ppr. sopping. 
[Early mod. E. soppe, < ME.'soppen, < AS.*sop- 
pian, soppigan, sop (= D. soppen = Sw. supa = 
Dan. suppe, sop), a secondary form otsiipan (pp. 
sopen), sup: see sop, n., and sup.] I. trans. 1. 
To dip or soak in a liquid. 
To Soppe, offam intingere. 
Lemns, Manip. Vocab. (E. E. T. S.), p. 169. 
His cheeks, as snowy apples sopt in wine, 
Had their red roses qnencht with lilies white. 
G. Fletcher, Christ's Triumph on Earth, st. 11. 
2. To take up by absorption: followed by up: 
as, to sop up water with a sponge. 
II. intrans. 1. To soak in; penetrate, as a 
liquid; percolate. 
Sopping and soaking in among the leaves, . . . oozing 
down into the boggy ground, . . . went a dark, dark stain. 
Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit, xlvii. 
2. To be drenched; be soaked with wet: as, 
his clothes were sopping with rain. 
sope 1 , n. An archaic or obsolete form of soap: 
retained in modern copies of the authorized 
version of the Bible. 
Sope 2 , . and r. An obsolete or dialectal form 
of sup. 
SOpelka (so-pel'ka), n. [Russ. sopelka, dim. 
of sopeli, a pipe.] A musical reed-instrument 
popular in southern Russia. It is about 15 inches 
long, made of elder-wood, with a brass mouthpiece and 
eight large and seven small finger-holes. 
sopert, n. An old spelling of soaper, supper. 
Soper rifle. See rmtP. 
soph (sof ), . [Abbr. of sophister and of sopho- 
more.'] 1. In the English universities, same 
as sophister, and the more usual word. 
Three Cambridge Sophs and three pert Templars came, . . . 
Each prompt to query, answer, and debate. 
Pope, Dunciad, ii. S79. 
2. In United States colleges, same as sopho- 
more. [Colloq.] Senior soph. See sophitter, 3. 
sophat, . An obsolete spelling of sofa. 
sophemet, An obsolete form of sophism. 
Sopheric (so'fe-rik), a. [< Sopher-im + -ic.] 
Pertaining to the Sopherim, or to their teach- 
ings or labors. 
A vast amount of Sopheric literature not to be found in 
the canonical Mishnah. Encyc. Brit., XXIII. 37. 
Sopherim (so'fe-rim), n. pi. [Heb. sopherim.] 
The scribes ; tne ancient teachers or expound- 
ers of the Jewish oral law. 
wel 
not .ui .... ^ "~~K neile : Brit., XIII. 379. 
sophit " An obsolete spelling of sofi for safi. 
sophic (sof'ik), . [< Gr. aoMa, skill, clever- 
ness, wisdom, < o-o^of, skilled, intelligent, learn- 
ed, wise : see sophist.] Pertaining to or teach- 
ing wisdom; sapiential. 
He'll drop the sword, or shut the sophic page, 
And pensive pay the tributary tear. 
Cunningham, Death of George II. 
sophical (sof'i-kal), a. [< sophic + -al.] Same 
as sophic. 
All those books which are called sophical, such as the 
Wisdom of Sirach, &c., tend to teach the Jews the true 
spiritual meaning of God's economy. 
Harris, On the Fifty-third Chapter of Isaiah, p. 256. 
sophically (sof'i-kal-i), adv. In a sophical man- 
ner. 
The Spagyric Quest of Beroaldus Cosmopolita, in which 
is Sophically and Jlystagoricslly declared the First Mat- 
ter of the Stone. Title, in Atheiueum, No. 3189, p. 789. 
sophiet, [< OF. sophie, < L. sophia, < Gr. ao- 
tyia, wisdom, < aotyos, wise : see sophic.] Wisdom. 
That in my shield 
The seuen fold sophie of Minerue contein 
A match more mete, syr king, than any here. 
Poems of Vncertaine Auctors, Death of Zoroas. 
[(Richardson.) 
sophimet, n. An obsolete form of sophixm. 
sophimoret, n. An obsolete spelling of 
more. 
sophish (sof 'ish), a. Characteristic of a soph. 
sophism (sof'izm), n. [< ME. sophisme, orig. 
with silent s, and oftener spelled sophime, so- 
phyme, sopheme, sophym, soj'yme, sojym, < OF. 
sophisme, F. sophisme = Pr. sofisme = Sp. sofisma 
= Pg. sophisma, sofisma = It. sofisma = D. sofisme 
= G. sophisma = Sw. sofism Dan. sofisme, < L. 
sophisma, a sophism, < Gr. ooQia/ia, a clever de- 
vice, an ingenious contrivance, a Sly trick, a 
captious argument, sophism, < ooQiZeiv, make 
wise, instruct, dep. deal or argue subtly: see 
sophist. Cf. sophomore.] A false argumentation 
devised for the exercise of one's ingenuity or 
for the purpose of deceit ; sometimes, alogically 
false argumentation; a fallacy. The word Is es- 
pecially applied to certain ancient tricks of reasoning, 
which before the systematization of logic and grammar 
had a real value, and were treated as important secrets. 
For the various kinds of sophism, see fallacy. 
This day ne herde I of your tonge a word, 
I trowe ye studie about* soro sophyme. 
Chaucer, Prol. to Clerk's Tale, 1. B. 
Some other reasons there are . . . which seem to have 
been objected ... for the exercise of men's wits in dis- 
solving sophisms. Hooker, Eccles. Polity, viii. 4. 
The litigious sophism. See litigious. =Syn. k sophism 
Is an argument known to be unsound by him who uses it ; 
^paralogism is an unsound argument used without know- 
ledge of its unsoundness. Paralogism is a strictly tech- 
nical word of logic ; sophism is not. Sophistry applies to 
reasoning as sophism to a single argument. See fallacy. 
sophist (sof'ist), n. [In ME. sophister, q. v. ; 
< F. sophiste = Pr. sophista = Sp. sofista = Pg. 
sophista, sofista = It. sofista = D. sofist = G. so- 
phist = Sw. Dan. sofist, < LL. sophista, a sophist, 
< Gr. o-o07T)7f, a master of one's craft, a wise or 
prudent man, a teacher of arts and sciences for 
money, a sophist (see def. 2), < aofyi&tv, make 
wise, instruct, in pass, be or become wise, dep. 
deal or argue subtly, bea sophist, <o-o0of;8killed, 
intelligent, learned, clever, wise ; cf . aaiju/f , clear; 
perhaps akin to L. sapere, taste, > sapiens, wise : 
see sapient.] 1. One who is skilled or versed 
in a thing; a specialist. 2. An ancient Greek 
philosophic and rhetorical teacher who took 
pay for teaching virtue, the management of a 
household or the government of a state, and 
all that pertains to wise action or speech. 
Sophists taught before the development of logic and 
grammar, when skill in reasoning and in disputation 
could not be accurately distinguished, and thus they came 
to attach great value to quibbles, which soon brought them 
into contempt. 
Love teacheth a man to carry himself better than the 
Kophist or preceptor. 
Bacon, Advancement of Learning, ii. 
The Sophists did not profess to teach a man his duty as 
distinct from his interest, or his interest as distinct from 
his duty, hut Good Conduct conceived as duty and interest 
identified. H. Sidgwick, Methods of Ethics, p. 94. 
Hence 3. A captious or fallacious reasoner; 
a quibbler. 
Dark-brow'd sophist, come not anear ; 
All the place is holy ground ; 
Hollow smile and frozen sneer 
Come not here. 
Tennyson, The Poet's Mind. 
sophister (sof'is-ter), n. [< ME. sophister, 
sofyster, < OF. "sophistre, a var. of sophiste, a 
sophist : see sophist. The term, -er is unorigi- 
