sparkle 
Sparkling heat, such a heat as produces sparks ; espe- 
cially, a degree of heat in a piece of iron or steel that 
causes it to i>:irklc or emit sparks under the hainim r : a 
welding-heat. Sparkling wine, wine characterized by 
the presence or the emission of carbonic-acid gas in little 
bubbles which sparkle or glisten In the light. =Syn. 1 and 
2. Scintillate, (Jlitter, etc. (seei/lare.i, v. t.), coruscate. 
II. II-HII.I. 1. To emit with coruscations; 
throw out spurkliugly. 
The bright glister of their beames cleare 
Did tvurekle forth great light. 
Spenser, F. Q., III. i. 32. 
2. To scatter; disperse. [Obsolete or prov. 
Eng.] 
The riches of Darius was left alone, and lay sparkled 
abroade ouer all the fields. 
J. Breiide, tr. of Quintus Curtius, iii. 43. 
St. To sprinkle ; spatter. 
The pauement of the temple is all eparded with bludde. 
Peter Marti/r (tr. in Eden's First Books on America, 
[ed. Arber, p. 196). 
sparkle (spiir'kl), 11. [< ME. sparkle, sparele, 
with dim. -le, -el, < sparkl; or < sparkle, r.] 1. 
A spark; an ignited or a luminous particle, or 
something comparable to it ; a scintillation ; a 
gleam. 
Foure gleedeshan we, whiche I shal devyse, 
A vaunting, liyng, anger, coveitise, 
Thise foure sparkles longen unto elde. 
Chaucer, Prol. to Reeve's Tale, 1. 31. 
And drove his heel into the smoulder'd log, 
That sent a blast of sparkle* up the flue. 
Tennyson, Morte d'Arthur. 
2. The act or state of sparkling; emission of 
sparks or scintillations ; sparkling luminosity 
or luster : used literally or figuratively. 
Swift as the sparkle of a glancing star 
I shoot from heaven, to give him safe convoy. 
Milton, Comus, 1. 80. 
A zest and sparkle ran througli every part of the paper. 
6. 5. Merriam, S. Bowles, II. 359. 
sparkleberry (spar'kl-ber"i), n. Same as 
farkleberry. 
sparkler (spiirk'ler), n. [< sparkle + -trl.] 
1. A thing which or a person who sparkles; 
that which or one who gives off scintillations, 
as of light, beauty, or wit: often applied spe- 
cifically to gems, especially the diamond. 
But what would you say, should you see a Sparkler shak- 
ing her elbow for a whole night together, and thumping 
the table with a dice-box? Addison, Guardian, No. 120. 
It [Mercury] keeps so near the sun . . . that very few 
people have ever seen the brilliant sparkler. 
11. W. Warren, Astronomy, p. 113. 
2. One of various species of tiger-beetles (Ci- 
cindela) : so called in allusion to their shining 
or sparkling appearance when running in the 
sunshine. See cuts under Civindela. 
sparkless (spark'les), a. [< s]>arkl + -less.'] 
Free from sparks; not emitting sparks: as, a 
sparkless commutator. Electric Review (Eng.). 
XXVI. 203. 
sparklessly (spark'les-li), adc. Without the 
emission of sparks. 
sparklet (spark'let), 11. [< spark* + -let.'] A 
small spark, or minute sparkle ; a scintillating 
speck. [Rare.] 
sparklinesst (spiirk'li-nes), n. Sparklingness; 
sparkling vivacity. Aubrey, Lives (John Suck- 
ling). 
sparklingly (spark'ling-li), adv. In a sparkling 
manner ; with twinkling or vivid brilliancy. 
Sparklingness (spiirk'ling-nes), n. The quality 
of being sparkling; vivid and twinkling luster. 
spark-netting (spark'net'tag), n. A spark- 
arrester or spark-consumer. 
sparling 1 (spttr'ling), n. [Also sperlina, spir- 
liwj, sjiorliiiy, spurting; < ME. aparhjnge, sper- 
lyng, sper/ynye, spyrlynye = MLG. sperliiik = 
G. spierliiKj (> OF. esperlanc, esperlan, F. eper- 
lan; ML. spcrlinyits), a smelt; of. D. spieriny, 
a smelt.] 1. A smelt. [Prov. Eng.] 
For sprats and spurlings for your house. 
Tusser, Husbandry. 
2. A samlet; a smolt. [Wales.] 
sparling 2 (spar'ling),?!. [Alsospurliny; < spear 1 
+ -liny, from the sharp, picked bill.] A tern 
or sea-swallow. [Prov. Eng.] 
sparling-fowl (spar'ling-foul), n. The goosan- 
der or merganser, especially the female. J. 
Latham. 
sparliret, " [ME., also sparlyre, sperlire, spar- 
lyuer, sperli/uer, the calf of the leg, a muscle, < 
AS. speerlira, sperlira, s/iearlira, < sneer, spare, 
+ lira, fleshy part of the body without fat or 
bone: see spare* and fire 2 .] The calf of the 
leg. 
Smyit thee the Lord with the moost yuel biel in knees, 
and in sparlyuen. Wydty, Deut. xxviil. 35. 
5798 
spar-maker (spiir'ma'ker), H. A carpenter 
whose special business is the making of masts, 
yards, etc. 
Sparmannia (spiir-man'i-a), n. [NL. (Linnreus 
filius, 1781), named after Andreas Kpurmunn or 
Spnrruiann, a Swedish naturalist of the ISthcen- 
tury.] A genus of polypetalous plants, of the 
on fer Tiliticex, the linden family , and of the tribe 
'l'ili'' t 'r. It is characterized by the outer stamens being 
without anthers, the numerous inner ones perfect, and by 
a globose or ovoid capsule which is echinate with rigid bris- 
tles. There are three species, nativesof tropical or southern 
Africa. They are shrubs or trees with soft stellate pubes- 
cence, bearing toothed or lobed heart-shaped leaves and 
white flowers in small terminal umbelliform cymes which 
are surrounded by an involucre of short bracts. S. Afri- 
cana is a handsome greenhouse-shrub reaching from 
to 12 feet high, with ornamental long-stalked leaves and 
downy white flowers with yellow and brown sterile sta- 
mens. It produces a fiber of very fine texture, known as 
African hemp, and recommended for its strength and 
beautiful silver-gray color. 
sparoid (spa'roid), a. and n. [< NL. Sparus + 
-oirf.] I. a. Resembling a sea-bream; of or 
pertaining to the Spuridte in a broad sense. 
Also sparidal Sparoid scales, scales characteristic 
of sparoid fishes thin, wide, with lines of growth pro- 
ceeding from their hind border. Agassiz. 
II. M. A sparoid fish. 
Sparoidae (spa-roi'de), n. pi. [NL.] Same as 
tiparidee. 
sparplet (spar'pl), r. t. [Also sparUe ; < ME. 
sparpleii, sparpyllcn, < OF. esparpeillcr, F. ipar- 
piller, scatter, fly off like a butterfly,= Pr. isjmr- 
palhar = It. sparpagliarc, scatter, fly off like a 
butterfly. Cf. disparple.] To scatter; spread 
abroad; disperse. 
The! made the renges to gparble a-brode. 
Merlin (E. E. T. S.), iii. 396. 
sparret, . and r. An obsolete form of spar*. 
sparrer (spar'er), H. One who spars; one who 
practises boxing. Thackeray, Adventures of 
Philip, vii. 
sparrow (spar'6), n. [< ME. sparowe, sparuwe, 
sparewe, sparwe, < AS. spearira, spearewa, in 
early glosses spearua, = OHG. sparo (spartv-), 
sparse, MHG. spar (MHG. dim. sperlinc, sper- 
lina) = Icel. sporr = Sw. sparf=. Dan. spare = 
Goth, spitrwa, a sparrow ; prob. from the root 
of spur, spurn, 'kick, quiver': see spur. Cf. 
MD. spanner, spericer, D. sperwer = MLG. spar- 
teer, sperwer = OHG. sparwari, sparicdri, MHG. 
sperwsere, sparwserc, G. sperbcr (cf. It. sparviere, 
sparariere = Pr. esparrier = OF. espervier, F. 
epervier, iu ML. sparrarim, spararerius, cspar- 
rarius, < OHG., cf. Sp. esparavan), a sparrow- 
hawk, lit. ' sparrow-eagle,' the second element 
being OHG. aro (in comp. -an), eagle: see 
earn". Cf. sparrer, spavin."] 1. The house- 
spaiTow, Passer doniesticus, a fringilline bird 
of Europe, which has been imported and 
naturalized in America, Australia, and other 
countries. It is about 6 inches long and 9J in extent 
of wings. The upper parts of the male are ashy-gray, 
boldly streaked on the back with black and bay ; there 
is a dark-chestnut or mahogany spot on each side of 
the neck; the lesser wing-coverts are chestnut; the 
median are tipped with white, forming a wing-bar ; the 
greater coverts and inner secondaries have a black 
field bordered with gray ; and the lower parts are ashy 
or gray, with jet-black on the throat, spreading on the 
breast, and bordered on the side of the neck with white. 
The female is similar, but more plainly feathered, lack- 
ing the distinctive head-markings of the male. The 
sparrow is a conirostral granivorous bird, whose food is 
principally seeds and grain, yet it has been introduced 
in many countries for the purpose of destroying noxious 
insects. It is extremely hardy, pugnacious, and prolific, 
rearing several large broods annually. Of all birds the 
sparrow naturally attaches itself most closely to man, and 
easily modifies its habits to suit artificial conditions of 
environment It is thus one of several animals, as rats, 
mice, and other vermin, well fitted to survive under what- 
ever conditions man may offer or enforce; hence it wins 
in competition with the native birds of the foreign coun- 
tries where it naturalizes, without as readily developing 
counteractive agencies to check its increase. It speedily 
becomes a pest wherever introduced, and seldom destroys 
noxious insects to any appreciable extent. It was brought 
into the United States from Germany about 1869, and is 
now probably more numerous than any single native bird. 
In New York city thousands of sparrows are sold and 
eaten as reed-birds. See cut under Passer. 
2. Some or any fringilline bird resembling the 
sparrow, as Passer montanus, the tree-sparrow ; 
one of various finches and buntings, mostly of 
plain coloration. In the United States the name is 
given, with a qualifying word, to very many small sparrow- 
like birds, mostly of homely streaked coloration. Chip- 
ping- or field-sparrows belong to the genus Spizella; 
crown-sparrows to Zonotrichia; fox-sparrows to Passe- 
rella; grasshopper-sparrows to Coturnicitlus ; the grass- 
sparrow to Pooecetes ; the lark-sparrow to Chondestes; sage- 
sparrows to Amphispiza ; savanna-sparrows to Passer- 
nditt; seaside sparrows to Ammodromits; snow-spar- 
rows to Junto ; song-sparrows to Melospiza. See cuts un- 
der Chondestes, Coturnindim, Emoernagra, field-sparrow, 
grass/inch, sage-sparrow, savanna-sparrow, snowbird, and 
song -sparrow. 
J.iv;i Spairow (Airfrf.) uryzivora). 
sparrow-hawk 
3. Some little bird likened to or mistaken for 
a sparrow. Thus, the hedge-sparrow is the hedge chant- 
er, Accentor modularis, and some other warblers are loose- 
ly called sparrnuv. Bush-sparrow, the hedge-sparrow, 
Accentor moditlarix. English sparrow, the common Eu- 
ropean house-sparrow, I'anier dwnextieus : so called in the 
United States, s, ?. 
ilef. i. Green- 
tailed sparrow, 
Blandlng'B tinch. 
sec fneb.Jm 
sparrow, the rice- 
bird of Java, Alna- 
dina (Murtia or 
Padda) tiryzitora, 
about as large as 
the tiubolink, of a 
bluish-gray color 
with pink bill and 
white ear-coverts : 
:i well-known cage- 
bird. Sandwich 
sparrow, a vari- 
ety of the common 
savanna-sparrow found in Alaska. White-throated 
sparrow, a crown-sparrow. (See tltoJUd-tfeamai, licdrif- 
sparrow, fiHl-sparrow. howe-sparnnr, reed-sparrow, satin- 
uparrow, water-sparrow, and other compounds noted in 
def. 2.) 
sparrow-bill (spar'6-bil), . 1. The bill of a 
sparrow. 2. A kind of shoe-nail: the original 
form of sparable. 
Hob-nailes to serve the man i' th' moone, 
And sparrou'bils to cloute Pan's shoone. 
Dekker, Londons Tempe. 
sparrowblet (spar'o-bl), H. Same as xparrmc- 
li/ll, '2, sparable. 
sparrow-grass (spar'6-gras), w. [A corruption, 
simulating sparrow + grass, of sparayrass, it- 
self a corruption of sparagus for aspartiyu*. ] 
Asparagus. [Prov. or vulgar.] French spar- 
row-grass, the sprouts of the spiked 8tar-of- Bethlehem, 
OrnitTtogalum Pyrenaicum, sold to be eaten as asparagus. 
Prior, Popular Names of British Plants. I Prov. Eng. J 
sparrow-hawk (spar'6-hak), . [Also contr. 
gparhatck; < ME. spar-hauk, sperltauk, < AS. 
spearhafoc, spcartiabuc, spaerliabnc (= Icel. 
sparrhaukr = Sw. sparfliok = D&n.spurvelii)<j),< 
spearwa, spar- 
row, + hafoc, 
hawk : see 
sparrow and 
hawk 1 . For 
theD.,G., and 
Rom. names 
for ' sparrow- 
hawk,' see un- 
der sparrow, ~\ 
1. One of 
several small 
hawks which 
prey on spar- 
rows and oth- 
er small birds, 
(a) A hawk of the 
genus Accipiter 
orKisus. In Ureat 
Britain the name 
is appropriated 
to A. nisus, or 
Nisus frinffffla- 
riu, about 12 inches long, closely related to the sharp- 
shinned hawk of America. (6) In the United States, a 
hawk of the genus Falco and subgenus Tinnuiiculua, es- 
pecially F. (T.) sparcerius, which abounds in nearly all 
European Sparrow-hawk (AniJ>iter HISUS'I. 
American Sparrow-hawk (falca ifarvtrius), adult male. 
parts of the country, and is known in books as the rwsly- 
croicned falcon and prairie-hawk. It is 10 or 11 inches 
long, and from 20 to 23 in extent of wings. The adult is 
ashy -blue on the crown, with a chestnut spot : on the back 
cinnamon-rufous, the male having few black marks or 
none, and the female numerous black bars. The wing- 
coverts in the male are ashy-blue, usually spotted with 
black ; in the female cinnamon barred with black. The 
tail is bright-chestnut, in the male with a broad subter- 
minal black band, and the outer feathers mostly white 
with black bars; in the female barred throughout with 
black. The under parts are white, variously tinted with 
buff or tawny, in the male with few black spots if any : in 
the female with many dark-brown stripes. The bill is 
dark horn-blue ; the cere and feet are yellow or orange. 
It is an elegant and spirited falcon, breeding in hollows 
of trees, building no nest, but often taking possession of 
a woodpecker's hole. The female lays five, six, or seven 
