spreader 
stone-boat, cart, etc. E. H. Knight. Blower 
and spreader. Set'W"ir<'ri. 
spreading-adder (spred'ing-ad'er), n. Same 
as blowing-snake. 
spreading-board (spred'ing-bord), n. Same 
us sftting-bo&rd, 
spreading-frame (spred'ing-fram), ,. lasjihi- 
iiing, a machine for spreading slivers of flax 
and leading them to the drawing-rollers. E. 
II. K nil/lit. 
spreading-furnace (spred'ing-fer"nas), n. In 
Ulasx-iHiiiiuf., a flattening-t'urnace. in which the 
split cylinders of blown glass are flattened out. 
The hearth of this furnace is called the gprctid- 
ing-plate. 
spreadingly (spred'ing-li), adv. In a spread- 
ing or extending manner. 
The best times were spreadingly infected. 
Milton, Reformation in Eng., !. 
spreading-machine (spred'ing-ma-shen"), . 
In cotlon-manuf., a batting and cleaning ma- 
chine for forming loose cotton into a con- 
tinuous band ready for the carder. Compare 
scutcher. 
spreading-oven (spred'ing-uv'n), n. In glass- 
niHiiiif., a spreading- or flattening-furnace. 
spreading-plate (spred'ing-plat), n. In glass- 
manuf., a flat plate or heartn on which a split 
cylinder of glass is laid to be opened into a flat 
sheet. Seeflatteniiig-furnace, spreading-furnace, 
cylinder-glass. 
spreagh (sprech), . [Also spreach, spreich, 
spreath, spreith, spreth, spraith ; < Ir. Gael. 
gpreidh, cattle, = W. praidd, flock, herd, booty, 
prey.] Prey, especially in cattle ; booty ; plun- 
der. Gavin Douglas, tr. of Virgil, p. 64. 
[Scotch.] 
spreaghery, sprechery (sprech 'er-i), n. [Also 
spraygltfric, spreagherie, spreacheri/, spreacherie, 
sprecherie; < spreagh + -ery.] 1. Cattle-lifting; 
plundering. 2. Prey, in cattle or other prop- 
erty; booty; plunder; movables of an inferior 
sort, especially such as are collected by depre- 
dation. [Scotch in both uses.] 
spreat, w. Same as sprat 1 . [Scotch.] 
spreath, . See spreagh. [Scotch.] 
sprechery, . See spreaghery. [Scotch.] 
spreckled (sprek'ld), a. [< "spreckle (< Icel. 
sprekla (Haldorsen) = Sw. sprakla, a spot, 
speck) + -ed 2 . The E. may be in part a var. of 
speckled.] Speckled. [Prov. Eng. and Scotch.] 
" What like were your fishes, my jollie young man ? " 
"Black backs and spreM'd bellies." 
Lord Donald (Child's Ballads, II. 246). 
spredt, spreddet. Obsolete forms of spread, 
preterit and past participle of spread. 
spree 1 (spre), w. [Perhaps < Ir. spre, a spark, 
flash, animation, spirit; cf. sprac, a spark, life, 
motion, spraic, strength, vigor, sprightliness, 
= Gael, spraic, vigor, exertion. Cf. sprack and 
spry.] 1. A lively frolic ; a prank. 
spree 
dons. 
John Blower, honest man, as sailors are aye for some 
;ee or another, wad take me ance to see ane Mrs. Sid- 
is. Scott, St. Bonan's Well, xx. 
2. A bout or season of drinking to intoxication ; 
a fit of drunkenness. 
Periodic drinkers, with long intervals between spree*. 
Amer. Jour. 1'sychol., I. 518. 
= Syn. 2. Revel, Debauch, etc. See carousal^. 
spree 1 (spre), ?>. i. [< spree 1 , w.] To go on a 
spree ; carouse : often with an indefinite it : as, 
to spree it for a week. 
He ... took to spreein' and liquor, and let down from a 
foreman to a hand. T. Winthrop, Love and Skates. 
spree 2 (spre), a. [Appar. a var. of spry. Con- 
nection with spree 1 is uncertain.] Spruce; 
gay. Hallmell. [Prov. Eng.] 
spreettail (spret'tal), . Same as sprittail. 
spreich 1 , '. and . See spraich. 
spreich-, spreith, . See spreagh. 
spreintt. Preterit and past participle of sprcng. 
Sprekelia(spre-ke'li-a),n. [NL.(Heister, 1753), 
named after J. H. von Sprekelsen of Hamburg, 
from whom Linnteus obtained the plant, and 
who wrote on the yucca in 1729.] A genus of 
monocotyledonous plants, of the order Amaryl- 
lidese and tribe Amaryllese. It is characterized by 
a one-flowered scape with a single spathaceous bract, by 
a perianth without a tube and with an ascendiug posterior 
segment, and by versatile anthers, a corona of small scales 
between the filaments, and a three-celled ovary with nu- 
merous ovules. The only species, S.formosiisima, is known 
in cultivation as the jacobsea-lily (which see). 
sprengt (spreng), t-.; pret. and pp. sprent, spreint. 
[An obs. verb, now merged, so far as existent, in 
its primary verb, spring, or represented by the 
dial, springe 1 ; < ME. sprengen (pret. sprente, 
spreynte, pp. sprcynd, spreind, spreint, yspreynd), 
5862 
< AS. sprengan, cause to spring, sprinkle (= 
Icel. xprciigjn = Sw. xprfinga. cause to burst, 
= Dan. xjirfengc, sprinkle, burst, = OHG. 
MHG. G. xpn ni/cii, cause to burst), causal of 
springan, etc., spring, burst: see spring; cf. 
bespreng.] I. trans. 1. To scatter in drops or 
minute particles; strew about; diffuse. 
Gamelyn sprengeth holy water with an oken spire. 
Tale of (Jamelyn (Lansdowne MS. ). 1. 603. 
A fewe fraknes in his face yspreynd. 
Chaucer, Knight's Tale, 1. 1311. 
2. To sprinkle ; overspread with drops, parti- 
cles, spots, or the like. [The past participle 
sprent is still in use as an archaism.] 
Sprengeth on [you] mid hali water. Ancren Ritrle, p. 16. 
Otherwhere the snowy substaunce sprent 
With vermeil. Spenser, F. Q., II. xii. 45. 
The cheek grown thin, the blown \iairsprcnt with grey. 
M. Arnold, Thyreis. 
II. intrans. 1. To leap; spring. 
To the chambyr dore he sprente, 
And claspid it with barres twoo. 
MS. Hart. 22S2, f. 109: (Halliu-ell.) 
The blode sprente owtte and sprede as the horse spryngez. 
Morte Arthure (E. F,. T. S.), 1. 2062. 
2. To rise ; dawn. 
Sprengel pump. See mercury air-pump, under 
mercury. 
sprenkelt, r- and n . An obsolete f orm of sprinkle. 
SprentH, ' [ME. sprenten = MHG. sprenzcn 
= Icel. spretta (for "sprenta), start, spring, 
spurt out, = Sw. spritta = Dan. sprsette, start, 
startle.] To leap; bound; dart. 
Sparkes of fire that obout sal eprent. 
Hampole, Prick of Conscience, 1. 6814. 
sprent 2 . Preterit and past participle of spretig. 
[Obsolete or archaic.] 
sprett, spretet, Obsolete forms of sprit 1 . 
sprett (spret), n. Same as sprat 1 , 1. [Scotch.] 
sprew, sprue (spro), . [Sc. also sproo; < D. 
spruw, sprouw, the thrush.] A disease: same 
as thrush'*. 
spreyndet, spreyndt. Old forms of the preterit 
and past participle of spreng. 
sprig* (sprig), M. [< ME. spryg, sprigge, per- 
haps a var. of "sprikke, < MLG. sprik, LG. 
sprikk, stick, twig, = AS. "spree (in Somner, 
not authenticated) = Icel. sprek, a stick (smd- 
sprek, small sticks); cf. Sw. dial, spragg, spragge 
= Dan. dial, sjirag, a sprig, spray: see spray 1 , 
sprag 1 .] 1 . A sprout ; a shoot ; a small branch ; 
a spray, as of a tree or plant. 
So it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and 
shot forth sprigs. Ezek. xvii. >'>. 
A faded Bilk, . . . 
With sprigs of summer laid between the folds. 
Tennyson, Geraint 
2. An offshoot from a human stock ; a young 
person ; a scion ; a slip : often implying slight 
disparagement or contempt. 
A sprig of the nobility, 
That has a spirit equal to his fortunes. 
Shirley, Hyde Park, L 1. 
3. An ornament or a design in the form of a 
spray ; especially, such a design stamped, wo- 
ven, or embroidered on a textile fabric. 
Ten Small Diamonds singly set in Silver, but made up 
together into a Sprig fastened by a Wire, which were lost 
from her Majesty's Robes. 
Quoted in Ashton's Social Life in Reign of Queen Anne, 
[I. 182. 
4. A kind of spike. 5. See the quotation. 
[Prov. Eng.] 
Men who work in wall or mud-work have to run bar- 
rows full of earth on planks, perhaps upwards. To pre- 
vent slips a triangular piece of iron is screwed to their 
shoe-heels, having three points half an Inch long project- 
ing downwards. These are called sprigs. Halliwell. 
6. A small brad or nail without a head. [Prov. 
Eng.] 7. A small wedge-shaped piece, usually 
of tin-plate, used to hold the glass in a wooden 
sash until the putty can be applied and has 
time to harden. 8. In lace-making, one of the 
separate pieces of lace, usually pillow-made 
lace, which are fastened upon a net ground or 
r6seau in all kinds of application-lace. They 
are generally in the form of flowers and leaves 
(whence the name). 9. The sprigtail or pin- 
tail duck, Dajila acuta. G. Trumbull, 1888. 
10. Naut., a small eye-bolt ragged at the point. 
Chantllly sprig pattern. See ChanKlly porcelain (a), 
under porcelain*. 
sprig 1 (sprig), r. (.; pret. and pp. sprigged, ppr. 
sprigging. [< sprig 1 , n.] 1 . To decorate with 
sprigs, as pottery or textile fabrics. 
A grey clay sprigged with white. Duright. 
Friday, went to the lower Rooms ; wore my sprigged 
muslin robe with blue trimmings. 
Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey, iil. 
spring 
2. To form into a sprig or sprigs. 
Sprigg'd rosemary the lads and lasses bore. 
Uay, Shepherd's Week, Friday, 1. 135. 
3. To drive sprigs into. 
sprig- (sprig), n. [Cf. xpriif/.] The sparrow, 
faster aomesticut. [Prov. Eng.] 
sprig :! t (sprig), . [Cf. xjirack.] Spruce; smart. 
For all he wears his beard so XJH /-/. 
Cotton, Burlesque upon Burlesque. (Danes.) 
sprig-bolt (sprig'bolt), n. Same as rag-bolt. 
sprig-crystal (sprig'kris'tal), . A crystal or 
cluster of prismatic, crystals of quartz, adher- 
ing to the rock at one end, and tapering off to 
a sharp point at the other extremity. 
In perpendicular fissures, crystal is found in form of an 
hexangular column, adhering at one end to the stone, and 
near the other lessening gradually, till it terminates in a 
point : this is called by lapidaries sprig or rock crystal. 
Woodward. 
spriggy (sprig'i), a. [< sprig 1 + -y 1 .] Full of 
sprigs or small branches. Jiailey, 1729. 
spright't, n. and r. An obsolete and erroneous 
spelling of sprite 1 . 
spright 2 t, . See sprite?. 
sprightfult (sprit'ful), a. [Prop, xprileful; < 
xpright, sprite 1 , + -fill.] Fll of spirit; spright- 
ly ; brisk ; animated ; gay. 
Spoke like a sprightfid noble gentleman. 
Shalt., K. John, iv. 2. 177. 
sprightfullyt (sprit'ful-i), rfc. In a sprightly 
or lively manner; with spirit. 
Archid. So, so, 'tis well : how do I look? 
Mar. Most sprightfully. JUassinger, The Bondman, il. 1. 
sprightfulnesst (sprit'fiil-nes), n. [Prop.sprite- 
f illness ;(.sprightf ill, spriteful,+ -ness.] Spright- 
liness ; vigor ; animation. Bp. Parker, Platon- 
ick Philos., p. 6. 
sprightlesst (sprit'les), a. [Prop, spriteless; < 
upright, sprite 1 , + -less.] Lacking spirit ; spirit- 
less. 
Nay, he is spriteless, sense or soul hath none. 
Marston, Scourge of Yillanie, vii. 44. 
sprightliness (sprit'li-nes), n. [Prop, spriteli- 
ness; < sprightly, spritely, + -ness.] The state or 
character of being sprightly ; liveliness ; life ; 
briskness; vigor; activity; gaiety; vivacity. 
To see such sprighttiness the prey of sorrow I pitied her 
from my soul. Steme, Sentimental Journey, p. 20. 
= Syn. / '/' Liveliness, etc. See animation. 
sprightly (sprit'li), a. [Prop, spritely, but 
sprightly is the common spelling, the literal 
meaning and therefore the proper form of the 
word being lost from view ; < spright 1 , sprite 1 , 
+ -ly 1 .] It. Of or pertaining to a sprite or 
spirit; ghostly; spectral; incorporeal. 
As I slept, me thought 
Great lupiter, vpon his Eagle back'd, 
Appear'U to me, with other sprightly shewes. 
Shale., Cymbeline (folio 1623), v. 5. 428. 
2. Full of spirit or vigor; brisk; lively; viva- 
cious; animated; spirited; gay. 
I am glad you are so sprightly. You fought bravely. 
Beau, and /'/.. Knight of Malta, ii. 1. 
Let me tell you, that sprightly grace and insinuating 
manner of yours will do some mischief among the girls 
here. Sheridan, The Rivals, ii. 1. 
Syn. 2. See animation. 
sprightly! (sprit'li), adv. [Prop, spritely; < 
sprightly, a.] In a sprightly manner; with 
vigor, liveliness, or gaiety. Shak., W. T., iv. 
4.53. 
sprigtail (sprig'tal), . 1. The pintail or sprig, 
a duck, Dafila acuta. See cut under Dafila. 
2. The sharp-tailed or pin-tailed grouse, Pedioe- 
cetes pliasiane Hits columbianus : more fully sprig- 
tailed grouse. See cut under Pedicecetcs. 
sprig-tailed (sprig'tald), a. Having a sprigged 
or sharp-pointed tail, as a bird ; pin-tailed: as, 
the sprig-tailed duck, Dafila acuta. 
spring (spring), t'. ; pret. sprang or sprung, pp. 
sprung, ppr. springing. [Also dial, sprink; < 
ME. springen, spryngen (pret. sprang, sprang, 
pi. sprungen, sprongen, pp. sprungen, sprongen, 
sprunge),<. AS. springan, sprincan (pret. sjirang, 
spranc, pi. sprungon, pp. sprungen), spring, = 
OS. springan = OFries. springa = D. springen 
= MLG. springen = OHG. springan, MHG. G. 
springen, spring, = Icel. springa = Sw. springa 
= Dan. springe, spring, run, burst, split, = Goth. 
*spriggan (not recorded); cf. OF. espringuier, 
ete., spring, dance, = It. springare, kick about 
(< OHG.); prob. akin to Gr. oirtpxeatiai, move 
rapidly, be in haste, ampxvuf, hasty. Cf. Lith. 
sprugii, spring away, escape. Hence spring, n., 
and ult. springal 1 , springaf*, the causal spreng 
(now mostly merged in sjiring), sprinkle, etc.] 
I. intrans. 1. To leap up; jump. 
