spasm 
us, a K/IIIKIH of industry, of grief, of friglit, etc. : 
a .i/iiixiii of pain or of coughing. 
The sparaw of Nature are centuries and ages, and will tax 
the faith of short-lived men. Slowly, slowly the Avenger 
comes, but comes surely. Emerson, Fugitive Slave Law. 
Leslriinte, and others- See etltB under Spalan- 
a and Spatangus, with others there noted. Also called 
general term for the nervous disorders of artisans and writ- 
ers, as writers' cramp, etc. Usually called occupation neu- 
rosis. Habit spasm, a trick of winking, jerking the head, 
sudden brief grinning, making a sudden short vocal noise, 
running out the tongue, and similar acts of h:ilf- voluntary 
aspect, occurring at intervals long or short. Also called 
habit chorea. liispiratory spasm, a spasmodic contrac- 
tion of all or nearly all the inspiratory muscles. Mobile 
spasm, tonic spasm of varying intensity in the various 
muscles of a part, causing slow, irregular movements of 
the part, especially conspicuous in the hands. Sometimes 
the movements arequick. In rare cases it conies on with- 
out preceding hemiplegia ; it may then, as in other cases, 
be called athetosis. Also called, when following hemiple 
spate-bone 
composition, obtained by Brieger in 1887 from 
cultures of bacillus tetani. 
Spasmus (spas'mus), n. [L.: see miamu.} HnTtaTuriria ("snaf m ii'nS) 7 TNT < v,,,, 
Spasm.- Spasmus nutans. Same as *,, convul- T,,,tf + ll l" Tlfe s '.at ,,.id 's, -M r" 
rion (which see, under salaam). -mil-.] 1. 1 He spatangoid fcea-ur- 
[< Gr. a-an-iKi'n; drawing chins, as an order of petalostichous echinoids 
< cirav, draw, 'pull: see eo "ti'asted with Cln/M-imtrinii. 2. SameasiSpa- 
pertainiug or 'relating to '";/'". 
spasm; spasmodic: as. .^,,,.^/i,- contractions; opatangmae (spat-an-ji ne), n. jil. [>L., < 
.1/ni.itic remedies. 2. In zodl., convulsive, as >"''"'.'/' + -'"''] One of several subfamilies 
an infusorian; of or pertaining to the Spasticti. "' Spatmu/ida, including the genus Spatangvt 
-Spastic albuminuria, albuminuria dependent upon an(1 closely related forms, as Lovenia, Breynfa, 
a convulsive attack. Spastic anemia, local anemia or etc. 
ischemia from spastic contraction of the arteries of the snatflTioitp (snA tfln'iifl n 
part-Spastic hemiplegia, mobile spasm following ?/t2 1 A fossil , latamroHl See 
hemiplegia. See under ttjmm. Spastic infantile pa- , J , spatangoui. Bee 
ralysis. See paralysis. - Spastic paralysis, paralysis ail << Cllt under Aiuuekytta. 
with muscular rigidity and increase of reflexes. Spastic spatangoid (spa-tang'goid), a. and II. [< 
See 
pseudoparalysis, spastic 
j., < Gr. ( 
taiiyux + -oid.} I. a. Resembling a^heart- 
urchin; related to Spatangus; of or pertaining 
to the Spatangitlse in a broad sense. 
gia, spastic hemiplegia and poM-'hemipleyicchorea.-yicti- "?, drawing, pulling, stretching: see spastic.} T " e &* 
tatingspasm. See nictitate. - Nodding spasm. Same In Pertv's svstem of classification, ftdivisi, n nf .4 1 - " A spatangoid sea-urclnn; a heart-ur- 
tating spasm. See nictitate. Nodding spasm. Same 
as salaam convulsion (which see, under salaam). Re- 
trocollic spasm. See retrocollic. Saltatorial spasm, 
a form of clonic spasm of the legs, coming on when the 
patient attempts to walk, causing jumping movements. 
Spasm of accommodation, spasm of the ciliary muscle, 
In Perty's system of classification, a division of 
ciliate infusorians, containing those which con- a ' -jr. 
tract and change form with a jerk. There were4 Spatangoida, SpatangOldea (spat-ang-goi'dk, 
families Urceolarina, Ophrydina, VortieelUna, ^ e ' a -': *-** - [I>lL -- : see */""<''<.'/"'<<] The Spa- 
-,- r . T . - and Vaginifera. 
producing accommodation for near objects. - Spasm Of snasrirallv Csnas'ti leal il nitr, Tn ,nti<. 
the chest, angina pectoris. Spasm of the glottis, spas- a LCaiiy (spas 1-Kal-iJ, adv. In a spastic 
modic contraction of the laryngeal muscles such as to close manner. 
the glottis. See child-crowing, and larynyismm stridulus spasticity (spas-tis'i-ti), n. [< spastic + -itu.} 
(under laryngismus).- Tetanic spasm. Same as tonic 1. A state of spasm." 2. Tendency to or capa- 
bility of suffering spasm. 
spat 1 (spat), n. [A var. of spot.'} A spot ; stain ; 
place. [Scotch.] 
spat 1 (spat), r. t.; pret. and pp. spatted, ppr. spat- 
,. ting. [A var. of spot, prob. in part < IX spatteii, 
spot: see spot. Cf. spatter.} To spatter; defile. 
~. . , j - . m 
t<ii/i/i(l, in a broad sense, as an order of petalos- 
tlcno s sea-urchins: synonymous in some uses 
wit h P e to/,,^,7m, but usually restricted to ex- 
n i,,.i n tv, _i,,_ 
e ude th cl yPastroids r &at sea-urchins: then 
also ealled 
spasm. 
spasmatic (spaz-mat'ik), . [= F. spasmatique 
= 8p. espasmdtico, < ML. s/U4*, < Gr. 
<TJrd<7/j(T-), a spasm: seeai.j Same as suns- 
Thy mind is spotted, spatted, spilt; 
Thy soule is soyld with sinue. 
Kendall, Flowers of Epigrammes (1577). 
spasmatical (spaz-mat'i-kal), a. 
+ -at.} Same as spasmodic. 
The Ligaments and Sinews of my Love to you have been 
^SSnU^SoSSSJS^^ to " UCh *- **; "- ofEpigramme. (1577> (Nore..) 
HoweU, Letters, iL 20. Spa t2 (spat), . [Prob., like the similar D. spat, 
spasmatomancy(spaz'ma-to-man-si), w. [<Gr. a speck, spot, = Sw. spott, spittle, etc. (see 
avdafui(T-), a spasm, + /tavifia, divination.] Div- spot), from the root of spit 2 (cf. gpatl): see 
ination from spasmodic or involuntary move- spit 2 .} The spawn of shell-fish; specifically, 
ments, as of the muscles, features, or limbs. the spawn of the oyster ; also, a young oyster, or 
The treatises [on physiognomy] also contain occasional young oysters collectively, up to about the time 
digressions on onychomancy. . . . spastnatomancy, etc. of their becoming set, or fixed to some support. 
Encyc. Brit., XIX. 4. gee gp a , rH> H-> 2 . 
spasmodic (spaz-mod'ik), a. and . [= F. spas- oyster spat may be reared from artificially fertilized 
modique = Sp. cspasmodtco = Pg. espasmodico eggs. The American VII. 75 
^*^.^^^!!??^^!^-/!^ SPat 2 (spat), r ; pret and pp. spatted, ppr. spat- 
tiny. [< spat?, .] I. intrans. To spawn, as an 
oyster; shed spat. 
The surfaces upon which spatting occurs must be kept 
as free as possible from sediment and organic growths. 
Science, VI. 466. 
II. trans. To shed or emit (spawn), as an 
oyster. 
,uu<%, avaaiMTufiijf, convulsive, spasmodic, < 
oiraa/i6f, mraa^a(T-), a spasm, + fMof, form.] I. 
a. 1. Pertaining to, of the nature of, or charac- 
terized by spasm ; affected by spasm or spasms ; 
convulsive: as, spasmodic movements; spasmod- 
ic ; asthma; a spasmodic person. 2. Attended 
by or manifesting procedure by fits and starts; 
jerky; overstrained; high-strung; rhapsodical: S p'at a 
AmphidotHs fordatus (or Eckino- 
cardium cordatum),ont of the Sfn- 
taHgoida, viewed from above. 
a , anterior am bulacrum.forniinirwith 
*, *. anterolateral ambulacra, the tri- 
vium ; c, c, two posterolateral ambu- 
lacra, forming the bivium ; d, tnadre- 
poric tubercle surrounded by genital 
pores ; t, intrapetalous semita or fas- 
ciole ; /' circumana) semita. 
as, spasmodic action or efforts ; spasmodic utter- 
ance or literature Spasmodic asthma, true asth- 
ma caused by spasm of the Bronchial tubes, as distinguish- 
ed from other forms of paroxysmal dyspnuja, as from heart 
disease. Spasmodic cholera, Asiatic cholera with 
severe cramps. Spasmodic croup. See croupi. Spas- 
modic school, a group of British authors of the middle of 
the nineteenth century, including Philip Bailey, George 
Gilflllan, and Alexander Smith, whose writingswere consid- 
fin the 
". L"' lie 
' blow ' I Ant 
(WOW (.061. 
cf. spot; in part prob. imitative, like pat.} 1. 
A light blow or slap. [Local.] 2. A large 
drop; a spatter: as, two or three spats of ram 
fell. 3. A petty contest; a little quarrel or 
dissension. [U. S.] 
They was pretty apt to have spats. 
H. B. Stance, Oldtown, p. 33. 
ered to be distinguished by an overstrained and unnatural spat :i (spat), f. ; pret. and pp. spatted, ppr. spat- 
st 
style. The name, however, properly has a much more ex- 
tensive scope, being exemplified more or less in nearly all 
times and countries, both in literature and in art. 
The so-called spasmodic school of poetry, whose pecu- 
liarities first gained for it a hasty reputation, and then 
having suffered under closer critical examination, it al- 
most as speedily dropped out of mind again. 
Encyc. Brit., XXII. 172. 
Spasmodic stricture, a stricture, as of the urethra, va- 
gina, or rectum, caused by spasmodic muscular contrac- 
ting. [< spafi, .] I. trans. To give a light 
blow to, especially with the flat of the hand ; 
strike lightly; slap: as, to spat dough; to spat 
one's hands together. 
The little Isabel leaped up and down, spattinu her hands. 
S. Judd, Margaret. 
II. intrans. To engage in a trivial quarrel or 
dispute; have a petty contest. [U. S.] 
tion, and not permanent, or involving any organic lesion. spat 1 (spat). A preterit of ffutt 2 . 
P H m ^^^^^ 
.nasmnriiral fonu-m/tAft-Wn r/ ,, j;- m P 1 ' l >P a . K i */'" ,_aDDr. Ot tpllttmlai, 
SSii4.T7, '.>< o. Lr,are.j in p\. spats, spatts ; n.l>})T. ot spatterdashes.} A 
TSf S^r^^^ "' [<*-* gaHerorleggfng. [ScotlandTnd North of Eng- 
spasmodically (spaz-mod'i-kal-i), adv. In a 
spasmodic manner- bv fits s ifl strts- bv KT, Cloth gaiters seem to have revived, after about thirty 
o^caoujvuii, UJrtlllitJl , UV lllb aUU SCarCS, D\ SPaS- VPAVR nf ilisilftp and are nnw ^alloH tnutlf 
spasmodic manner; by fits and starts; by spas- 
modic action or procedure. 
Gradual oscillations of the land are, in the long run of 
far greater importance in the economy of nature than 
those abrupt movements which occur spasmodically. 
veare ' <"*"*. and are now ca '' ed ** 
and Spataiiyina. The 
forms are numerous : 
most of them fall in the 
family Spatangidx as 
usually limited, from 
which the Cassidtilidle 
are distinguished by the 
absence of seniitee and 
other approaches to the 
regular sea-urchins. 
The form of the spatan- 
goids is various, and 
only a part of them have 
a cordate figure. Some 
are quite elongate, and 
may even bear a sort of 
beak or rostrum, as in 
the genus Pourtalesia. 
The tendency is away 
from radiisin and to- 
ward a sort of bilateral 
symmetry, as evidenced 
by the disposition of 
five ambulacra in two 
groups, an anterior tri- 
vium under the odd 
ambulacrum of which is 
the mouth and a pos- 
terior bivium, in relation 
with which Is the anus. The odd anterior ambulacrum 
often aborts, leaving apparently but four ambulacra on 
the upper surface; in other cases it is disproportionally 
enlarged. The ambulacra are always petaloid ; Semite 
are not recognized outside this group, and occur nearly 
throughout it (but not in Cassidulidte and the fossil Dysas- 
terida) ; the spines are very variable, and few or many, 
but always slender or fine, sometimes like hairs of great 
length. The genital and ocular plates are centric ; there 
are no Folian vesicles, and four kinds of pedicels or tube- 
feet occur, of which the semital are always different from 
the two or three kinds of ambulacral feet. See cuts un- 
der Ananchytes, Echinocardium, petalostichous, semita, and 
Spatangus. 
Spatangus (spa-tang'gus), w. [NL., < Gr. oira- 
Taf-j-rK, a sea-urchin.] 1. The representative 
genus of the family Spa- 
tangidse, and a type form 
of the irregular sea-urchins 
called Spatangoida. 2. 
[1. c.] A species of this ge- 
nus: as, the violet spatan- 
gu.i, S. purnttreus. 
spatch-cock (spach'kok), 
w. [Usually supposed to 
stand for "despatch-cock, 
meaning 'a cock quickly 
done'; but such a forma- 
tion is irregular, and no 
record of it exists. There 
is prob. some confusion with sjtitchcock, q. v.] 
A fowl killed and immediately broiled, as for 
some sudden occasion. [Colloq., Eng.] 
Violet Spatangus (5. fur. 
fttreus). One half shown 
with its spines removed. 
A pair of black spats covering broad flat feet. 
S. Macleod, The Starling, iii. 
Huxley, Physiography, p. 205. Spatangida (spa-tan'ji-da), n.pl. [NL., < Spa- 
spasmodist (spaz'mo-dist), . [< snasmod-ic tan ff us + -*"] The sp'atangoid sea-urchins, 
+ -ist.J One who acts spasmodically; a per- as distinguished from Clypeastri^a. See Spa- 
son whose work is of a spasmodic character, J""*""*'-. 
or marked by an overstrained and unnatural opatanglda (spa-tan ji-de), . pi. 
manner. [Rare.] 
De Meyer and the rest of the spasmodists [in music]. 
Foe, Marginalia, xxxvii. (Dairies.) 
spasmology (spas-mol'o-ji), n. [< Gr. OTraofj.6c, 
a spasm, -I- -Ao)-/a, < Uyuv, speak : see -oJoyy.] 
Inpathol., scientific knowledge of spasms. 
spasmotoxin (spas-mo-tok'sin), . [< Gr. <77ra<7- 
f6f, a spasm, + E. toxin.} A toxin of unknown 
Spatangus + -idx.} A family of irregular sea- 
urchins, typified by the genus Spatangus; the 
heart-urchins. The mouth is eccentric, transverse, or 
reniform, and without dentary apparatus ; there are peta- 
loid ambulacra, of which the anterior one is unpaired; 
semita? or fascioles are always present ; and the figure is 
oval or cordate. This is the leading family of the order, 
divided mainly by the characters of the ambulacra and 
seinitaj into several subfamilies (some of which rank as 
separate families with some authors), as Ananchytina, 
N. and Q., 7th ser., VI. 87. spate (spat), n. [Also spait, speat; appar. < 
Ir. speid, a great river-flood.] A natural out- 
pour of water; a flood; specifically, a sudden 
flood or freshet, as from a swollen river or lake. 
[Originally Scotch.] 
Down the water wi' speed she rins, 
While tears in spaiti fa' fast frae her eie. 
Jock if the Side (Child's Ballads, VI. 82). 
Mr. Scrope held that whole spawning-beds are swept 
away by spates on the Tweed. 
Quarterly Rev., CXXVI. 361. 
The Avon . . . running yellow in spate, with the recent 
heavy rains. W. Black, House-boat, xix. 
spate-bonet, Same as spade-bone. 
Some afterwards set up on a window a painted Mastiff- 
dog gnawing the spate-bone of a shoulder of mutton. 
Fuller, Ch. Hist., V. i. 32. (Daciet.) 
