Sophora 
ioa, Africa, and Australia, and abundant on Fiji Island sea- 
beaches, where it is known as kau-ni-alewa, or women s- 
tree. S. tetrapteraot New Zealand is there known us la- 
burnum or kmcltai (for its variety Macnalriana, see pelu). 
S. Japonica is the Chinese or Japanese pagoda-tree or yen- 
ju a very handsome quick -growing tree reaching 60 feet in 
height, with dark-green younger branches and deep blue- 
green leaves, sometimes cultivated, especially for its large 
panicles of small whitish autumnal flowers. Its hard 
compact wood is valued for turners' work ; all parts are 
purgative ; the austere pulp of the pods dyes yellow ; and 
the flowers (called in Chinese wai-fa) furnish a yellow dye 
greatly valued in China. For this the tree is cultivated in 
several provinces, from which the dried flowers are ex- 
ported in small sacks and used to dye blue cloth green, 
and to dye yellow the silk garments of the mandarins and 
the rush-mats which form the Chinese sails, beds, bags, 
and floor-matting. 
Sophorese (so-fo're-e), . />!. [NL. (Sprengel, 
1802), < Sophora +'-<.] A tribe of leguminous 
plants, characterized by a commonly arboreous 
or high-climbing habit, pinnate leaves of five 
or numerous leaflets or of a single large leaf- 
let, and flowers with ten free stamens. It con- 
tains about 34 genera, of which Sophora is the type, na- 
tives chiefly of the tropics, and largely of the southern 
hemisphere in America and Africa. For other important 
genera, see Myroxylon and Cladrastis. The latter is the 
chief genus represented in the United States ; another, 
Camoensia, a lofty-climbing African shrub with handsome 
and gigantic flowers, is an exception in its trifoliate leaves. 
See cut under yellow-wood. 
SOphrosyne (so-fros'i-ne), . [< Gr. CHMppoai'V!/, 
discretion, temperance, < autypuv, earlier o-ao- 
<t>pwi>, of sound mind, temperate, < CTUC, orig. 
*o-<rof, sound, whole, safe, + <j>pijv, mind.] The 
quality of wise moderation; sound-minded- 
ness ; discreet good sense : referring especially 
to Greek art and philosophy. 
sophta, >i. See softa. 
sopient (so'pi-ent), n. [<L. sopien(t-)s, ppr. of 
sopire, put to sleep : see sopite.] A soporific ; 
some agent which promotes sleep. 
sopite (so'pit), v. t.; pret. and pp. sopited, ppr. 
sopiting. [< L. sopitus, pp. of sopire, put to 
sleep, lay at rest, settle, quiet (> It. sopire, 
quench, suppress) : see sopor.'] To put to sleep ; 
set at rest; quiet; silence; specifically, in Scots 
law, to quash. 
He is much offended that you do stickle and keep on 
foot such questions, which may be better sopited and si- 
lenced than maintained and drawn into sidings and par- 
takings. Wood, Athenae Oxon., II. 332. 
What could a woman desire in a match, more than 
the sopiting of a very dangerous claim, and the alliance of 
a son-in-law, noble, brave, well-gifted, and highly con- 
nected? Scott, Bride of Unrmermoor, xviii. 
sopitiont (so-pish'ou), n. [< sopite + -io.] The 
act of sopiting, or putting to sleep; also, the 
state of being put to sleep ; deep slumber ; dor- 
mancy; lethargy. 
As for dementation, sopitioit of reason, and the diviner 
particle, from drink, though American religion approve, 
and Pagan piety of old hath practised it, ... Christian 
morality and the doctrine of Christ will not allow it. 
Sir T. Browne, Vulg. Err., v. 23. 
sopor (so'por), . [= F. sopor, sopeur = Sp. Pg. 
sopor = It. soporc, < L. sopor, deep sleep, orig. 
"svapor, akin to sommis, orig. *sopnus, *svap- 
mis, sleep, = Gr. vnvof, sleep: see somnolent, 
uneven.] A deep, unnatural sleep; lethargy; 
stupor. 
To awaken the Christian world out of this deep sopor or 
lethargy. 
Dr. H. More, Mystery of Iniquity, ii., Pref. (Encyc. Diet.) 
soporatet (so'por-at), v. t. [< L. soporatus, pp. 
of soporare, put to sleep, stupefy, < sopor, deep 
sleep: see sopor.'] To stupefy; make sleepy. 
It would be but a resurrection to another sleep : the 
soul seeming not to be thoroughly awake here, but as it 
were separated, with the dull steams and opiatick vapours 
of this gross body. Cudworth, Intellectual System, p. 795. 
soporiferous (so-po-rif 'e-rus), n. [= F. sopori- 
fere= Sp. soporifero ="Pg. It. soporifero, < L 
soporifer, sleep-bringing, < sopor, deep sleep, + 
ferre = 'E. tea**,] 1. Causing or tending to 
cause sleep; soporific. 
The soporifermis medicines ... are henbane, hemlock, 
mandrake, moonshade, tobacco, opium. 
Bacon, Nat. Hist., 975. 
2f. Sleepy; somnolent. 
Hark, you sluggish soporiferous villains ! there 's knaves 
abroad when you are a-bed. Middletm, Phoenix, iii. 1. 
soporiferously (so-po-rif'e-rus-li), adv. In a 
soponferous manner; so as to produce sleep 
Imp. Diet. 
soporiferousness (so-po-rif'e-rus-nes), n. The 
quality of being soporiferous ; the property of 
causing sleep. 
soporific (so-po-rif 'ik), a. and n. [= F. sopo- 
nftque = Sp. soporifico = Pg. It. soporifico, < 
L. *soporiftcus, < sopor, deep sleep, + facere 
make.] I. n . Tending to produce sleep 
5774 
The colour and taste of opium are, as well as its sopo- 
rific or anodyne virtues, mere powers depending on its 
primary qualities, whereby it is fitted to produce different 
operations on different parts of our bodies. 
Locke, Human Understanding, II. xxiii. 
II. . Anything which causes sleep, as cer- 
tain medicines. 
Nor has rhubarb always proved a purge, or opium a so- 
porific, to every one who has taken these medicines. 
Hume, Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding, vi. 
soporose (so'po-ros), a. [< L. sopor, deep sleep, 
+ -use.] Same as soporous. Imp. Diet. 
soporous (so'po-rus), a. [< L. sopor, deep sleep, 
+ -ous.] Causing deep sleep. 
In small syncopes it may perhaps rouse the spirits a 
little, but in soporous diseases it is commonly an uncer- 
tain and ineffectual remedy. 
Greenhill, Art of Embalming, p. 58. 
sopper (sop'er), . [< sop + -o- 1 .] One who 
sops or dips in liquor something to be eaten. 
Imp. Diet. 
sopping (sop'ing), a. [< sop, v.] Soaking, 
soaked, or drenched, as with rain. 
soppy (sop'i), a. [< sop + -y 1 .] Wet ; soaked ; 
abounding in moisture : as, a soppy day. 
It (Yarmouth] looked rather spongy and soppy, I 
thought. Dickens, David Copperfleld, iii. 
How damp and cheerless the houses . . . looked in the 
soppy hollows where the lush meadows were richest ! 
Harper's Mag., LXIX. 339. 
sopra (so'pra), adv. [It., < L. supra, above, 
over: see siipra.] In music, above: as, come 
sopra, as above ; nella parte di sopra, in the up- 
per or higher part. 
soprani, . Italian plural of soprano. 
sopranist (so-pra'nist), n. [< soprano + -int.] 
A soprano or treble singer : sometimes used at- 
tributively. 
Senesino, . . . one of the most famous of the sopraniit 
singers who flourished in the last century. 
Grove, Diet. Music, III. 461. 
sorbite 
Seldom or never complain they of any snranee in other 
parts of the body. Holland. 
sora-rail (so'ra-ral), n. Same as sum. 
SorastreSB (so-ras'tre-e), n.pl. [NL., < Soras- 
trum + -ex.] A small order of fresh-water 
alga?, of the class Ceenobieee, distinguished by 
the fact that the coenobium is uniciliated. ,s'i<- 
nmtrum is the typical genus. 
Sorastrum (so-ras'trum), n. [NL. (Kutzing), 
so called in allusion to the shape of the colonies 
of cells ; < Gr. aupof, a heap, + aarpov, a star.] 
A genus of fresh-water alga?, of the class Cn n/i- 
biese, and typical of the order Siirimtri'tr. The 
ccenobium is "globose, solid within, free-swimming, and 
composed of 4, 8, 16, or 32 compressed wedge-shaped cells, 
which are sinuate, emarginate. or bifid at the apex and 
radiately disposed. S. spinulosum is the only species 
found in North America. 
sorb 1 (sorb), H. [Early mod. E. sorbe, < OF. 
sorbe, F. sorbe, dial, sourbe = Sp. sorba, serbti 
= Pg. sorva = It. sor&o, sorbn = D. sorbe = 
Pol. sorba, < L. sorbus, the sorb-tree, sorbum . 
the fruit of the sorb-tree: s,ee Sorbus. Cf. 
serue 2 (a doublet of sorb) and serf ice 2 .] 1. The 
service-tree, Pyrus (Sorbus) domestica. The wild 
service-tree, Pyrus torminalis, is included under the name 
by Gerard, and is also often so called in more recent times. 
The mountain-ash, P. aucvparia, and other species of the 
old genus Sorbus are also likely to have been so called. 
Among crabbed sorbs 
It ill befits the sweet flg to bear fruit. 
LontjfeUow, tr. of Dante's Inferno, xv. (i5. 
2. The fruit of any of the above-named trees. 
Sorb 2 (s6rb), n. [Cf. Serb.] A member of a 
Slavic race resident in Saxony and adjoining 
parts of Prussia. Also called Wend, orLusntinn 
Wend. 
sorb-applet (sorb'ap'l), n. [= G. sorbapfel; 
as sorfei -f- apple.] The fruit of the service- 
tree. 
For their drink they had a kind of small well-watered 
wine, and some fine sorb-apple cider. 
UrtfaMrt, tr. of Rabelais, ii. 81. 
(s6r'bat), n. [< sorb(ic) + -ate*.] A 
[<L - 
sovereign, = Sp. Pg. soberano = F. goucerain, 
> E. sovereign : see sovereign, smran.] I. n. ; 
It. pi. soprani (so-pra'ui), E. pi. sopranos 
(-noz). 1. In music, the highest variety of the 
middle C upward two octaves or more, and is character- 
ized by a comparatively thin and incisive quality, usually 
combined with marked flexibility. Soprano is also the 
higher voice of boys, and is sometimes accidentally or ar- 
tificially preserved among men. It is the most important 
and effective voice for all kinds of solo singing, and is that 
to which is assigned the chief melody in modem choral 
music. A voice whose compass and quality are interme- 
diate between soprano and alto is called mezzo-soprano. 
2. A singer with such a voice. 
Soprano, basso, even the contra-alto, 
Wish'd him five fathoms under the Rialto. 
Byron, Beppo, xxxii. 
3. A voice-part for or sung by such a voice. 
Natural soprano, a male singer who produces tones of 
soprano pitch and quality by means of an unusually de- 
veloped falsetto. Soprano sfogato. Seesfogata. 
H. . Pertaining to the soprano : as, soprano 
music ; a soprano voice ; the soprano compass. 
Soprano clef, in musical no 1 -'-' - " ---* - - - - 
on the lower line of a staff. S 
Same as chanterelle, 1. 
SOra (so'ra), n. [Alsosoree.] A crake; a small 
short-billed rail, of the subfamily Rallinx and 
genus Porzana. Specifically, in the United States, 
P. Carolina, the Carolina rail, sora-rail, or soree, which 
throngs the marshes of the Atlantic coast in the au- 
tumn, furnishes fine sport, and is highly esteemed for 
is whitish; the vent is rufescent; the lining of the wings 
of facere, make, do, cause.] I. a. Promoting 
absorption. Imp. Diet. 
II. n. In med., that which produces or pro- 
motes absorption. 
SOrbent (sdr'bent), n. [< L. sorben(t-)s, ppr. of 
sorbere, suck in, swallow up, = Gr. pmjtfiv (for 
*a/>o<t>elv), sup up, = OBulg. srubati = Russ. 
serbati= Litli. surbti = Lett, surbt, suck in. Cf. 
absorb.] An absorbent. [Rare.] Imp. Diet. 
sorbet (sor'bet), it. [< F. sorbet = Sp. sorbeto, 
< It. sorbetto, < Turk. sherbet, < AT. sharbat, 
sherbet: see sherbet.] Sherbet; also, water-ice 
of any kind ; especially, a water-ice which is not 
very hard frozen, so that it remains semi-liquid; 
also, water-ice flavored with rum, kirschwasser, 
or the like, as distinguished from that made 
without spirit. 
Among the refreshments of these warm countries I 
ought not to forget mentioning the sorbets, which are sold 
in coffeehouses and places of publick resort ; they are Iced 
froth made with juice of oranges, apricots, or peaches. 
Smollett, Travels, Letter xix., Oct 10, 1764. 
Sorbian (sor'bi-au), a. and n. [< Sorb? + -ian.] 
I. a. Pertaining to the Sorbs or to their lan- 
guage. Also Sorbish. 
II. . 1. A Sorb. 2. The language of the 
Sorbs, or Lusatian Wends. It belongs to the west- 
ern branch of the Slavic family. It is divided into Upper 
Sorbian and Lower Sorbian. Also Sorbish. 
sorbic (sor'bik), a. [< sorb 1 + -ic.] Pertain- 
ing to or derived from the mountain-ash, Pyrus 
aucuparia, formerly classed as Sorbus: as, sor- 
an acid obtained from 
Sometimes miscalled ortolan (which see) See cut under 
Porzana. 
soraeet, n. [Also sorrage and soreage (as if < 
sore* + age) ; < F. *sorage, saurage, the first year 
ot a talcon before it has molted, < sor, saur, sore 
sorrel: see sor2.] J. l n falconry, the period 
from the time when a hawk is taken from the 
aery until she mews her feathers. 
If her downy soreage she but ruffe 
So strong a dove, may it be thought enough. 
Quarles, Feast for Worms, (ffrujht.) 
2. The blades of green wheat or barley. Bai- 
ley, 1731 (spelled sorrage). 
soranees, n. Same as sura-hai. 
sorancet (sor'ans), . [Also sorrance; < sorel, 
., + -ance.] Soreness; a sore feeling. 
The malady of the joynts comprehendeth al griefes and 
soranees that be in the joyntes. 
ropeH, Four-Footed Beasts (1607X p. 341. (HaUiweU.) 
, t may b , e 
or supped up, < sorbere, suck in, swal- 
low up: see sorbent.] Capable of being drunk 
or sipped; liquid. [Rare.] 
This [sop] most probably refers to sorbile food, what is 
vulgarly called spoon-meat. 
Jamieson, Diet. Scottish Lang., IV. 337. 
SOrbin, SOrbine (sor'bin), n. [< sorftl + -in*. 
-iiw 2 .] A glucose sugar (C 6 Hj 2 C>6)> obtained 
from mountain-ash berries. It is crystalline, 
is very sweet, and reduces copper solutions, 
but does not ferment with yeast. 
Sorbish (sor'bish), a. and . [= G. Sorbisch ; 
as Sorb% + -iW.] I. a. Same as Sorbian. 
II. . Same as Sorbian, 2. 
SOrbite (sor'bit), n. [< sorb* + -ite?.] A crys- 
talline principle (C 6 H 1 ^O 6 ) isomeric with man- 
n ' te : ^ oun d in mountain-ash berries. It does 
not ferment with veast or reduce copper solu- 
tions. 
