sportive 
4. In lint, and Miil., tending to vary from the 
normal type. See sport, n., 8. Jttinriii, Var. of 
Animals and Plants, p. 407.=Syn. 1. Jocose, jocu- 
lar, facetious, gamesome, prankish. 
sportively (spor'tiv-li), adr. In a sportive or 
playful manner. Drayton, Duke of Suffolk to 
the French Queen. 
sportiveness (spor'tiv-nes), n. The state of 
being sportive ; disposition to mirth ; playful- 
ness; mirth; gaiety; frolicsomeness: as, the 
sportiveness of one's humor. /. Walton, Com- 
plete Angler. 
sportless (sport'les), . [< sport + -less.'] 
Without sport or mirth ; joyless. P. Fletcher, 
Piscatory Eclogues, vii. 1. 
sportling (sport'ling), . [< sport + -/iw;/ 1 .] 
1. A light or playful sport; a frolic. 
The shepherd's boys with hundred sparUiiujs light 
Gave wings unto the time's too speedy haste. 
Britain's Ida, i. 1. (Mason's Supp. to Johnson.) 
2. A playful little creature. 
When again the lambkins play, 
Pretty sportlings .' full of May. 
A. Philips, Ode to Miss Carteret. 
[Bare in both uses.] 
SpOrtsman(sp6rts'man), n.;p\.sportsme>i(-men). 
[< sport's, poss. of sport, + man.'} 1. A man 
who sports ; specifically, a man who practises 
field-sports, especially hunting or fishing, usu- 
ally for pleasure and in a legitimate manner. 
The pointer ranges, and the sportsman beats 
In russet jacket ; lynx-like Is his aim ; 
Full grows his bag. Byron, Don Juan, xiii. 75. 
2. One who bets or is otherwise interested in 
field-sports, especially racing ; a sporting man. 
It was pleasant to be called a gentleman sportsman 
also to have a chance of drawing a favourite horse. 
T. Hughes, Tom Brown at Eugby, i. 8. 
sportsmanlike (sports' man -Ilk), a. Having 
the characteristics of sportsmen ; fond of field- 
sports; also, characteristic of or befitting a 
sportsman; hence, legitimate from the point 
of view of a sportsman. 
sportsmanly ( sports 'man-li,, . [< sportsman 
+ -ly 1 .] Same as sportsmanlike. 
sportsmanship (sports'man-ship), n. [< sports- 
nuin + -ship.} The practice or art of sports- 
men ; skill in field-sports. 
sportswoman (sports'wum*'an), w.; pi. sports- 
women (-wim^en). A woman who engages in 
or is interested in field-sports. [Rare.] 
sportularyt (spor'tu-la-ri), a. [< spot-title + 
-(try.] Subsisting on alms or charitable con- 
tributions. Sp. Hall, Cases of Conscience, 
iii. 7. 
sportulet (spor'tul), . [< L. sportula, a little 
basket, esp. one in which food or money was 
given to a great man's clients, a present, dim. 
of sporta, a plaited basket.] An alms ; a dole ; 
a gift or contribution. 
The bishops who consecrated the ground had a spill or 
sportule from the credulous laity. Ayli/e, Parergon. 
sporular (spor'o-lar), a. [< sporute + -)-3.] 
Having the character of a sporule ; pertaining 
to a sporule ; sporoid ; sporuloid ; also, swarm- 
ing like a mass of spores. 
sporulate (spor'p-lat), v. ; pret. and pp. sporu- 
lated, ppr. sporulating. [< sporule + -ate 2 .] 
I. intrans. To form spores. 
II. trans. To convert into spores. Encuc. 
Brit., XIX. 854. 
sporulation (spor-ij-la'shon), n. [< sporulate 
+ -ion.] Formation of or conversion into 
spores or sporules ; sporation. 
sporule (spor'61), . [< NL. sporula, dim. of 
sptira, spore : seesporA] A spore ; sometimes, 
a small spore. 
sporuliferous (spor-o-lif ' e-rus), a. [< NL. spo- 
rula + L. ferre = E. bear 1 .] In hot., bearing 
sporules. 
sporuloid (spor'o-loid), a. [< sftorule + -aid.] 
Resembling a sporule; sporular. 
sposh (sposh), H. [Perhaps a var. of splosii for 
splash, like sputter for splutter. The resem- 
blance to slosh, slnsh, is merely accidental.] 
Slush, or something resembling it; splosh. 
[Local, U. S.] 
sposhy(sposh'i), . [<sposh +-/!.] Soft and 
watery; sploshy. [Local, U. S.] 
There 's a sight o' difference between good upland fruit 
and the sposky apples that grows in wet ground. 
S. 0. Jewett, A Country Doctor, p. 22. 
spot (spot), 11. [< ME. spot, spotte = OFlem 
spotte, a spot; cf. D. spat, a speck (see epafl), 
Dan. spiette, a spot ; these forms are appar. con- 
nected with Icel. spotti, spottr, Sw. gpott, spit- 
tle, and so with E. */>2; but ME. spot maybe 
5858 
ill part a var. of xplut, < AS. />li>l, >i spot: see 
splnt. The D. spot = OHG. MUG. np,it, (.!. //.. 
= Icel. Sw. spott, Dan. .yjoi, mockery, drri: ion. 
is not related.] 1. A stain made by foreign 
matter; a blot: a speck. 
Thi best cote. Hnukyn, 
Hath many moles and spottes, it moste ben yn-asshe. 
1'iers Plowman (B), xiii. 315. 
Out, damned spot .' out, I say ! Shalt. , Macbeth, v. 1. 39. 
2. A blemish; a flaw; a fault; especially, a 
stain upon moral purity. 
Alsno is the spot of lecherie more uouler and more peri 
lous ine clerkes and ine prelas thanne ine leawede uolke. 
Ayenbite of Imnyt (E. E. T. S.), p. 237. 
Sublimely mild, a spirit without spot. 
Shelley, Adonals, st. 45. 
3. A bit of surface differing in some way from 
the rest, as in color, material, or finish ; a dot ; 
a small mark. Specifically - (at) A patch; a beauty- 
spot. 
I was sorry to see my Lady Castlemaine ; for the mourn- 
ing forcing all the ladles to go in black, with their hair 
plain and without spots, I find her to be a much more or- 
dinary woman than ever I durst have thought she was. 
Pepys, Diary, April 21, 1660. 
(b) A pustule or other eruptive mark, as in a rash, (c) One 
of the pips on a playing-card : hence, in composition with 
a numeral, the card having pips to the number expressed : 
as, to play a ten-spot, (d) One of two marked points on 
a billiard-table, on which balls are placed, or from which 
they are to be played, (e) A dark place on the disk or 
face of the sun or of a planet. See sun-spot. (/) In zodl., 
a color-mark of rounded or indeterminate form, but not 
very long for its width, and thus not forming a streak 
or stripe ; a blotch ; a macula : usually said of markings 
larger than those called dots or points. An eyed spot forms 
an ocellus (which see). 
4. A small extent of space; a particular local- 
ity ; a place ; a site. 5. A piece ; a bit ; hence, 
something very minute ; a particle ; an atom. 
This earth, a spot, a grain, 
An atom, with the firmament compared. 
Stilton, P. L., vill. 17. 
6. A breed of domestic pigeons having a spot 
on the head above the beak. 7. (a ) A scitenoid 
fish, Liostomus xanthurus (obliquus), also called 
goody, lafayette, oldwife, and pig-fish. See cut 
under lafayette. (b) The southern redfish or 
drum, Scixnops ocellatus. See cut under redfish. 
8. A small fishing-ground. Acoustic spot. See 
macula acitstica, under macula. Black-spot. See black. 
Blind spot. See blindi. Compound ocellated spot 
See compound!. Confluent, discal, distinct, ermine 
spots. See the qualifying words. Crescent spot, iti 
entom., a butterfly of the genus Mtlitaa and some related 
forms, having crescentic white spots on the edges of the 
wings. Embryonal spot. S&me&sgerminalspot. Eyed 
spot, an ocellus. Geminate, germinal, obliterate 
spot. See the adjectives. On the spot, (a) Without 
change of place ; before moving ; at once ; immediately. 
Treasury Department, Jan. 29, 1881. . . . If any one at- 
tempts to haul down the American flag, shoot him on the 
spot. John A. Dix (Memoirs, by Morgan Dix, I. 870). 
(b) At the precise place and time ; at the place and time at 
which something specified occurred : as, a picture of a skir- 
mish made on the spot. Orbicular spot. See orbicular. 
"Receptive, reniform, sagittate spot. See the 
adjectives. Sieve-like spot. See macula cribrosa, under 
macula. Solar spots. See sun-spnt. Sommering's 
spot, the macula lutea, or yellow spot of the eye. Spot 
of Wagner. See nucleolus, 1. To knock spots out of. 
See knock. Yellow spot of the eye. See macula lutea, 
under macula. 
spot (spot), v. ; pret. and pp. spotted, ppr. spot- 
ting. [<ME.spoe(=OFlem.spotten); < spot, 
n. Cf. spat 1 *, spatter.] I. trans. 1. To make a 
spot on ; blot ; stain ; discolor or defile in a spot 
or spots. 
He that meddleth with pitch is like to be spotted with 
it. Latimer, 5th Sermon bef. Edw. VI., 1549. 
With rust his armor bright was spotted o'er. 
William Morris, Earthly Paradise, III. 84. 
2. To mar the perfection or moral purity of; 
blemish; tarnish; stilly. 
Spotted with the stain of unlawful or indirect procure- 
ment Hooker, Eccles. Polity, v. 79. 
3. To mark or cover with spots ; mark in spots ; 
dot. 
A handkerchief 
Spotted with strawberries. 
Shale., Othello, III. 3. 435. 
The surface of the water was spotted with rings where 
the trout were rising. Froude, Sketches, p. 75. 
Specifically 4f. To put a patch or patches on 
(the face) by way of ornament. 
Faces spotted after the Whiggish manner. 
Addison, Spectator, No. 81. 
5. To mark as with a spot; especially, to note 
as of suspicious or doubtful character. Tuft's 
Glossary of I/neves' Jargon (1798). [Thieves' 
slang.] 
At length he became spotted. The police got to know 
him, and he was apprehended, tried, and convicted. 
Mayheu; London Labour and London Poor, I. 484. 
spotted 
6. To note or recognize by soim- peculiarity; 
catch with the eye; detect; come upon; liinl 
out. [Slang.] 
The Widow Leech . . . rang three times with long inter- 
vals. but all in vain : the inside Widow having spottedttlv 
outside one through the blinds. 
0. IT. Holmes, Elsie Venner, xxi. 
7. In horse-racing, to indicate, give a hint as 
to, or name : as, to xjmt the winner of a future 
race. 8. To place upon a spot; specifically, in 
billianls, to place (a ball) on one of the spots 
or marks on the table To spot timber, to cut or 
chip it, in preparation for hewing. 
II. i iitra us. 1. To make a spot ; cause a stain, 
discoloration, or shadow. 2. To be subject to 
spots ; be easily spotted : as, a fabric that spots 
when exposed to damp. 
spot-ball (spot'bal), H. In billiard*: (a) The 
ball which belongs on the spot. (6) That one 
of the two white balls which is distinguished 
by a black spot; the "black" ball, 
spot-lens (spot'lenz), . In microscopy, a plano- 
convex lens used in the place of an ordinary 
condenser. It has a central stop on the plane side 
toward the object, and since the rays which pass through 
the annular portion converge, too strongly to enter the 
objective, the transparent or translucent object under ex- 
amination appears to be self-luminous surrounded by a 
dark background. 
spotless (spot'les), a. [< ME. spottes, < spot + 
-less.] 1. Free from spots, foul matter, or dis- 
coloration. 
Otspotlez perlez tha(y) beren the creste. 
Alliterative Poems (ed. Morris), i. 856. 
This palliament of white and spotless hue. 
Shale., Tit. And., i. 1. 182. 
2. Free from blemish, fault, or reproach ; im- 
maculate; pure. 
My true service . . . 
May so approve my spotless loyalty. 
Chapman, Byron's Tragedy, iv. 1. 
3. Guiltless; innocent: followed by of. [Rare.] 
You fight for her, as spotless of these mischiefs 
As Heaven is of our sins, or truth of errors. 
Beau, and Fl., Knight of Malta, U. 5. 
= Syn. Unspotted, blameless, unblemished, irreproach- 
able, untainted, untarnished. 
spotlessly (spot'les-li), adr. In a spotless man- 
ner; without spot, stain, or blemish. 
spotlessness (spot'les-nes), n. The state or 
quality of being spotless; freedom from spot, 
stain, or blemish. Donne, Devotions. 
spotneck (spot'nek), w. The Hudsonian cur- 
lew, Xumenius hudsonicus. [Local, New Eng.] 
spotrump (spot 'rump), n. The Hudsonian 
godwit, Limosa hsemastica. Also whitermnp. 
G. Trumbttll. [Massachusetts.] 
spot-Stitch (spot'stich), n. In crochet-work, a 
stitch by means of which raised rounded figures 
are produced at equal intervals, forming a kind 
of pattern. 
spotted (spot'ed), p. a. [< ME. spotted; < spot 
+ -erf 2 .] 1. Marked with a spot or spots; 
dotted or sprinkled with spots: as, the spotted 
leopard. 2. Distributed in separate places or 
spots: said of a mineral vein when the ore 
which it carries is very irregularly distributed 
through the workingsBlack and spotted heath- 
cockt.the Canada grouse. Dusky and spotted duck. 
See dwc*2. Spotted adder. See Oligodontidee. - Spotted 
alder, the wych-hazel. Spotted axis. See ax&, i. 
Spotted cat, any one of the larger felines which is spotted 
(not striped as the tiger, nor plain as the lion). See cuts 
under chetah, jaguar, leopard, ocelut, otmce, panther, and 
tenal. Spotted comfrey. See Pulmonariai. Spotted 
cowbane, eyebrignt, fever. See the nouns. Spotted 
deer. Same as axis'?, 1. Spotted grouse, the Canada 
grouse, or spruce-partridge. See cut under Canace. Spot- 
ted gum. See jrum2, 3. Spotted hemlock, same as 
hemlock, 1.- Spotted Iceland falcon. See Iceland fal- 
con, under falcon Spotted kidney, the condition of the 
kidney in chronic parenchymatous nephritis. Spotted 
knotweed, mackerel, medic. See the nouns. Spotted 
lace, an openwork material, generally made of cotton, 
somewhat resembling a lace reseau with small spots at 
equal intervals. Spotted metal. See organ, metal, un- 
der metal. Spotted net. Same as spotted lace. Spot- 
ted rail, skitty, water-hen. See ra il*. Spotted sand- 
piper. *ee sandpiper. Spotted schists. See spilosite. 
Spotted Yellow Warbler (Dendrcrca maiulosai. 
