sparrow-hawk 
suhspheroidal eggs, 1 j inches long by 1 ,' a inches broad, of a 
butfy or pale-yellowish ground-color, spotted and splashed 
all over with dark brown. Several similar sparrow-hawks 
inhabit America, and various other species, of both the 
genera named, are found in most parts of the world. 
2. In silrcr-u'orkiiHj, a small anvil with two 
horns (one flat-sided and pyramidal, the other 
conical in form), held between the knees of the 
workman, for use in flanging, making bezels, 
etc. 
sparrow-owl (spar'6-onl), ii. Any one of many 
small owls of the genus (llancidium. Two occur 
in western parts of the United States, Q. onoma, the 
gnome-owl, and 6. ferruyinemn. See cut under Olauci- 
dium. 
sparrow-tail (spar'6-tal), w.and a. I. . Some- 
thing formed like a sparrow's tail; a swallow- 
tail. 
These long-tailed coats [in 1786) . . . were cut away in 
front to a sparrow-tail behind. Fairholt, Costume, I. 401. 
II. (i. Having a long skirt cut away at the 
sides and squared off at the end : as, a sparrow- 
tail coat (now usually called swallow-tail). 
The lawyers in their blue sparrow-tail coats with brass 
buttons, which constituted then [about 1840] a kind of pro- 
fessional uniform, moved about with as much animation 
as uneasy jay-birds. E. Egyleston, The Graysons, xxvi. 
sparrow-tonguet (spar'6-tung), . The knot- 
grass, Polynonum ai-icidare. 
sparrowwort (spar'6-wert), H. 1. Any plant 
of the genus Passerina. 2. A South African 
species of heath, Erica Passerinse. 
sparry (spiir'i), a. [< spar 2 + -y 1 .] Resem- 
bling spar; consisting of or abounding with 
spar; spathose. 
As the rude cavern's sparry sides 
When past the miner's taper glides. J. Baillie. 
The rock ... is a sparry iron ore, which turns reddish 
brown on exposure to the weather. 
J. Croll, Climate and Time, p. 308. 
Sparry iron, sparry iron ore, a carbonate of iron : same 
as siderite, 2. The clay-ironstones, or the clay-bands and 
black-bands of the coal and other formations, belong to 
this family of iron ores. 
sparsate (spiir'sat), a. [< sparse + -ate 1 .'} In 
entoin.. thinly scattered; sparse: as, sparsate 
punctures. [Rare.] 
Sparse (spars), a. [< OF. espars, F. epars = Pg. 
esparso, scattered, < L. S2>ar#us, pp. of spargere, 
scatter, sprinkle ( > It. spargere = Sp. esparcir = 
Pg. espargir, scatter): see sparge. Cf. sparse, 
v., sperse, disperse.'] 1. Thinly scattered; dis- 
persed round about; existing at considerable 
intervals ; as used of population or the like, not 
dense. [Sparse has been regarded, falsely, as an Amer- 
icanism, and has been objected to as being exactly equiv- 
alent to scattered, and therefore unnecessary. Asa merely 
qualifying adjective, however, it is free from the possible 
ambiguity inherent in the participial form and consequent 
verbal implication of scattered.] 
A sparse remnant of yellow leaves falling slowly athwart 
the dark evergreens. George Eliot, Middlemarch, ix. 
The sparse populations of new districts. 
Sir C. W. Dilke, Probs. of Greater Britain, ii. 1. 
Halley . . . was one of the first to discuss the possible 
luminosity of sparse masses of matter in space. 
Nineteenth Century, XXVI. 788. 
2. In lot., scattered; placed distantly or irreg- 
ularly without any apparent or regular order : 
applied to branches, leaves, peduncles, etc. 
3. In zodl., spare or remote, as spots or other 
markings; scattered irregularly; few or scan- 
ty, as hairs or other appendages. 
sparset (spars), v. t. [< OF. esparser, esparcer, 
\ L. sparsus, pp. of spargere, scatter : see sparse, 
a. Cf. sperse, disperse, sparge.] To disperse; 
scatter. 
As when the hollow flood of aire in Zephires cheeks doth 
swell, 
And sparseth all the gathered clouds. 
Chapman, Iliad, xi. 268. 
He [God] opens his hand wide, he sparseth abroad his 
blessings, and fills all things living with his plenteous- 
ness. Rev. T. Adams, Works, II. 418. 
sparsedlyt (spar'sed-li), adv. In a scattered 
manner; dispersedly; sparsely. Imp. Diet. 
sparsely (spars'li), adv. 1. In a scattered or 
sparse manner; scantily; widely apart, as re- 
gards population, etc. ; thinly. 
The country between Trinity river and the Mississippi 
is sparsely settled, containing less than one inhabitant to 
the square mile. Olmsted, Texas, p. 365. 
2. In bot. and goal., so as to be sparse, thin, 
few, or scanty; sparely or sparingly. See sparse, 
a., 2, 3. 
sparseness (spars'nes), . The state of being 
sparse ; scattered condition ; wide separation : 
as, sparseness of population. 
The sparseness of the wires in the magnet coils and the 
use of the single cup battery were to me . . . obvious 
marks of defect. The Century, XXXV. 931. 
5799 
sparsile (spar'sil), a. [< LL. .sy<CM'/i'.<, < L. 
mix, pp. of xpargerr, scatter: see sparse.] Scat- 
tered; sparse. Sparsile star, in astron., a star not 
included in a constellation-figure. 
sparsity (spiir'si-ti), . [< sparse + -ity.] The 
state of being sparse or scattered about ; free- 
dom from closeness or compactness ; relative 
l'r\V!ieS8. 
At receptions where the sparsity of the company per- 
mits the lady of the house to be seen, she is commonly 
visible on a sofa, surrounded by visitors in a half-circle. 
Howells, Venetian Life, xxl. 
spart (spiirt), . [= F. spartc = Sp. Pg. espnrlo 
= It. sparto, < L. spartum, < Gr. axaprov, Spanish 
broom; a particular use of oiraprov, a rope, 
cable; of. airapri/, a rope. Cf. esparto."] If. A 
plant of the broom kind ; broom. 
The nature of apart or Spanish broome. 
Holland, tr. of Pliny, bk. xix. (Dames.) 
2. A rush, JHIICII.I iirt'i-ii/atiis, and other spe- 
cies. [Prov. Eng.] 
spartaite (spar'ta-It), n. [< Sparta (see def.) + 
-ite 2 .] A variety of caleite or calcium carbo- 
nate, containing some manganese. It is found 
in Sparta, Sterling Hill, New Jersey. 
Spartan (spar'tan), a. and n. [< L. Spartaiius, 
< Sparta, < Gr. "STrdpn?, Sparta, Lacedsemon.J 
I. a. 1 . Of or pertaining to Sparta or Lacedse- 
mon, the capital of Laconia, or the ancient 
kingdom of Sparta or Lacedsemon (Laconia), 
in the Peloponnesus ; Lacedsemonian ; specifi- 
cally, belonging to the branch of the ancient 
Dorian race dominant in Laconia. 2. Noting 
characteristics distinctive of, or considered as 
distinctive of, the ancient Spartans. 
Lycurgus . . . sent the Poet Thales from Greet to pre- 
pare and mollifle the Spartan surlinesse with his smooth 
songs and odes, the better to plant among them law and 
civility. Milton, Areopagitica. 
Spartan dog, a bloodhound ; hence, a cruel or blood- 
thirsty person. 
O Spartan dog, 
More fell than anguish, hunger, or the sea ! 
Shalt., Othello, v. 2. 361. 
II. H. A native or an inhabitant of Sparta or 
Laconia; a Lacedaemonian ; specifically (as op- 
posed to Lacedsemonian in a narrower sense), a 
member of that branch of the ancient Dorian 
race which conquered Laconia and established 
the kingdom of Sparta, celebrated for its mili- 
tary success and prestige, due to the rigid dis- 
cipline enforced upon all Spartans from early 
childhood ; a Spartiate. 
Spartanism (spar'tan-izm), . [< Spartan + 
-ism.] The distinguishing spirit or a charac- 
teristic practice or quality of the ancient Spar- 
tans. See Spartan. 
sparteine(spar'te-in),. [<.Spart(mm) + -e-ine.] 
A liquid alkaloid (Ci5H 2 6N 2 ) obtained from the 
common broom, Cytistis (Spartium) scoparius. 
In small doses (.02 to .05 gram) it stimulates the action of 
the vagus, and is used medicinally in the form of the sul- 
phate in place of digitalis ; it acts more quickly than the 
latter drug, but not as powerfully. 
sparterie (spar'ter-i), . [< F. sparterie, < Sp. 
esparteria, <. esparto, Spanish grass, broom: see 
esparto, spart.] In com., a collective name for 
articles manufactured from esparto and its 
fiber, as mats, nets, cordage, and ropes. 
spart-grass (spart'gras), n. Same as spart, 2 ; 
also, a cord-grass, Spartina stricta. Britten and 
Holland, Eng. Plant Names. 
spartht, . L< ME. sparth, sparthe, sperthe, an 
ax, a battle-ax, < Icel. iparika. a kind of Irish 
ax ; perhaps akin to spear.'} A battle-ax, or per- 
haps in some cases a mace. 
He hath a sparth of twenti pound of wighte. 
Chaucer, Knight's Tale, 1. 1662. 
At his saddle-gerthe was a good steel sperthe, 
Full ten pound weight and more. 
Scott, Eve of St. John. 
Spartiate (spar'ti-at), H. [F., < L. Spartiates, 
< Gr. ^.irapriartK, a Spartan, < 2;rdpr>7, Sparta: 
see Spartan."} A citizen of Sparta; an ancient 
Laconian of the Dorian race. See Spartan. 
Aristotle recognizes only one thousand families of the 
ancient Spartiates ; and their landed possessions, the very 
groundwork of their state and its discipline, had in great 
measure passed into the hands of women. 
VmRanke, Univ. Hist, (trans.), p. 360. 
Spartina (spar'ti-na), n. [NL. (Von Schreber, 
1789), so called from the tough leaves; < Gr. 
cmapTivrt, a cord, < airdpTJi, airapTov, a rope or 
cord.] A genus of grasses, of the tribe Pani- 
cese. It is characterized by flowers with three glumes 
and a thread-shaped two-cleft style, grouped in dense one- 
sided commonly numerous and divergent panicled spikes 
with the rachis prolonged beyond the uppermost spike- 
let. There are 7 species, natives mostly of salt-marshes; 
one, S. stricta, is widely dispersed along the shores of 
America, Europe, and Africa ; four others are found in the 
spasm 
I nitetl States, one in South America beyond the tiopirs, 
and one in the islands of Tristan da t'uiiha. St. i'uul, ami 
Amsterdam. They are lini'l feed like grasses rising from 
a tufted or creeping base, with scaly ruot^t" k-, \<T\ smooth 
sheaths, and long convolute leaves sometime^ tl;ilti-iied at 
the base. Book-names for the species are tnartrh-yrass, 
cvrtt-ifraxs, and italt-yritxx; four 1 nl them an: ;tniung the 
most conspicuous maritime grasses of the United st;i! s. 
X. fxth/^/iK'fii/ii. the huto-M ^pi-. irs, ;t .-lately phuit \vitll a 
broad stilt panicle nf ten of iifty spikes, is known locally on 
the coast as creek-thatch and creek xtuff, from its nrotli in 
creeks or inlets of salt water, and from its use. when cut, 
as a cover for stacks of salt-hay and as bedding in stables. 
i S> < ;\\&usaltreed-yrass, under reed-grass.) S. cynontroides 
cord-grass of fresh-water lakes and rivers, smaller, 
attaining a height of about 6 feet; it occins fmin the 
Atlantic to the Pacific, and in great quantities along the 
Mississippi ; a superior brown wrapping-paper lias been 
made from it. ,S'. juncea, a low turf-forming species with 
diminutive three- to five-forked inflorescence, sometimes 
called rush salt-yrais, covers large tracts of salt-marsh on 
the Atlantic coast, is recommended for binding wet sands, 
and yields a tough fiber from its leaves. S. stricta, the salt- 
marsh grass, with very different inflorescence, bears its nu- 
merous branches rigidly appressed into a single long and 
slender erect spike, or sometimes two, when it is called 
tirin xpike grass. It is said to be also used as a durable 
thatch ; it is succulent and is eagerly eaten by cattle. 1m- 
parting to their milk, butter, and flesh a strong rancid fla- 
vor locally known as a " thatchy " taste. 
Spartium (spar'shi-um), . [NL. (Linneeus, 
1737), < L. spartum, spnrton, < Gr. anaprov, Span- 
ish broom : see spart, esparto.] A genus of legu- 
minous plants, of the tribe Genisteee, type of the 
subtribe Spartiese. It is distinguished from the related 
genus Genista by a somewhat spathaceous calyx with very 
short teeth, by acuminate and incurved keel-petals, and 
by a narrower pod. The only species, S. junceum, is a 
native of the Mediterranean region and of the Canary 
Islands, known as Spanish broom, now naturalized in va- 
rious parts of tropical America and long cultivated in 
gardens. It is a shrub with numerous long, straight, 
rush like branches, which are green, polished, and round 
notangular like the similar branches of the Irish broom. 
They are commonly without leaves ; when these are pres- 
ent, they are composed each of a single leaflet and are with- 
out stipules. The handsome pea-like flowers form terminal 
racemes; they are yellow, fragrant, and highly attractive 
to bees, and are the source of a yellow dye. The branches 
are used to make baskets and fasten vines in vineyards ; 
they yield by maceration a fiber which is made into cord 
and thread, and in Italy and Spain into cloth. The seeds 
in small doses are diuretic and tonic ; in large, emetic and 
cathartic. 
spartot (spar'to), n. Same as esparto. 
spar-torpedo (spar'tor-pe'do), n. A torpedo 
secured to the end of a spar, rigged outboard of 
a vessel, and arranged to be fired on coming into 
contact with another vessel. Sometimes called 
pole-torpedo. 
Spams (spa'rus), n. [NL. (Linnteus, 1766), < 
L. sparus, < Gr. airdpof, a kind of fish, the gilt- 
head.] 1. The name-giving genus of Sparidee, 
whose longest-known representative is the gilt- 
head of Europe : used at first in a very compre- 
hensive sense, embracing many heterogene- 
ous species belonging to a number of modern 
families, but now restricted to the gilthead and 
very closely related species, typical of the fam- 
ily Sparid&. See cut under ponjy. 2. [_l. c.] 
A fish of this or some related genus ; a spar. 
sparve (sparv), n. [A dial, form of sparrow, ult. 
< AS. spearwa : see sparrow.] A sparrow : still 
locally applied to the hedge-sparrow, Accentor 
modularis. [Cornwall, Eng.] 
sparvert (spar'ver), . [Also esparver; early 
mod. E. also spanier, sparriour, spencer, spar- 
vill; < OF. espervier, esprevier, the furniture of 
a bed; perhaps a transferred use of esparvier, 
espereier, a sweep-net, which is a fig. use of es- 
pervier, a sparrow-hawk: see sparrow, and cf. 
pavilion, ult. < L. papilio(n-), a butterfly.] 1. 
The canopy of a bed, or the canopy and curtains 
taken together. 
I will that my 
bedde. 
. . daughter have the sparver of my 
Sir T. Elyot, The Governour, App. 
2. In lier., a tent. 
SparviOUTt, Same as sparrcr. 
sparwet, A Middle English form of sparrow. 
sparyt (spar'i), a. [< sparel + -yi.] Sparing. 
Homer, being otherwise sparie ynough in speaking of 
pictures and colours, yet commendeth the ships painted 
therwith. Holland, tr. of Pliny, rxxiii. 7. 
spasm (spazm), n. [Early mod. E. spasnie; < F. 
spasme = Pr. espasme = Sp. Pg. espasmo = It. 
spasimo, spasmo, < L. spasmus, < Gr. airaautif, 
also anda/M, a spasm, < OTTOV, draw, pull, pluck, 
tear, rend. Cf. span 1 , space, from the same 
ult. root.] 1. Excessive muscular contraction. 
When this is persistent, it is called tonic spasm ; when it 
consists of alternating contractions and relaxations, it is 
called clonic spasm. A spasm of one side of the body is 
called hemitpaxm; a spasm of some particular part, as 
one arm, or one side of the face, is called a mottospasm. 
2. In general, any sudden transitory move- 
ment of a convulsive character, voluntary or 
involuntary ; an abnormally energetic action or 
phase of feeling; a wrenching strain or effort: 
