squattocracy 
squattocracy (skwot-ok'ra-si), n. [For "sqitnf- 
ti'n)i'i'<n'/j, < xi/ti<ittfr* -r- -iimit'if as in nrtxtnc- 
i-iii-i/, etc.] The squatters of Australia collec- 
tively; the rich squatters who are interested 
in pastoral property. [Slang, Australia.] 
The bloated squattocracy represents Australian Con- 
servatism. Mrs. Campbell- Praed, The Head-Station, p. 35. 
squatty (skwot'i), a. [< squat*- + -i/ 1 .] Squat ; 
short and thick; dumpy; low-set. 
A few yards away stood another short, squatty hem- 
lock, and I said my bees ought to be there. 
J. Burroughs, Pepacton, iii. 
squaw (sk via.), n. [Formerly also squa; < Mass. 
Eld. squa, eshqua, Narragansett squdws, Cree 
/.V/'HTW; Delaware ochqueu, khqueu, a woman, 
squaw, in comp. female.] A female American 
Indian; an American Indian woman. 
squaw-berry (skwa'ber'i), n. Same as squau- 
ntuskleberry. 
squaw-duck (skwa'duk), n. See duck*. 
squaw-huckleberry (skwa'huk"l-ber-i), . The 
deerberry, Vaccinium stamineum, a neat low 
bush of the eastern United States, with scarcely 
edible fruit, but with pretty racemed flowers 
having white recurved corolla and projecting 
yellow stamens. 
squawk (skwak), r. i. [A var. of squeak, per- 
haps affected by squall 2 .] To cry with a loud 
harsh voice ; make a loud outcry, as a duck or 
other fowl when frightened. 
Your peacock perch, pet post, 
To strut and spread the tail and squawk upon. 
Browning. 
squawk (skwak), n. [< squawk, v.] 1. A loud, 
harsh squeak or squall. 
Gerard gave a little squawk, and put his fingers in his 
ears. C. Reade, Cloister and Hearth, xxvi. (Dairies.) 
2. The American night-heron : same as quawk. 
squawk-duck (skwak'duk), re. The bimacu- 
lated duck. See bimaculate. [Prov. Eng.] 
squawker (skwa'ker), . [< squawk + -er*-.] 
One who or that which squawks. Specifically (a) 
A duck-call. Sportsman's Gazetteer, (b) A toy consisting 
of a rubber bag tied to one end of a tube which contains 
a tongue-piece or reed. 
squawking-thrush (skwa'kiug-thrush), re. The 
mistlethrush. [Prov. Eng.] 
squawlt, v. An obsolete spelling of squall^. 
Squaw-man (skwa'man), n. A white man who 
has married a squaw, and has become more or 
less identified with the Indians and their mode 
of life : so called in contempt. [Western U. S.] 
Nowadays those who live among and intermarry with 
the Indians are looked down upon by the other frontiers- 
men, who contemptuously term them squaw-men. 
T. Jtoosevelt, The Century, XXXVI. 832. 
squaw-mint (skwa'mint), n. The American 
pennyroyal, Hedeoma putegioides. [Bare.] 
squawroot (skwa'rot), n. 1. A leafless fleshy 
plant, Conopholis Americana, of the Orobancha- 
cese, found in the eastern United 
States. It grows from 3 to 6 inches 
high, with the thickness of a man's 
thumb, and is covered with fleshy 
scales having the flowers in their 
axils, at length becoming hard. It is 
more or less root-parasitic, and occurs 
in clusters among fallen leaves in oak- 
woods. Also cancer-root. 
2. Rarely, the blue cohosh, 
< 'inilfiphyllum thalictroides. 
squaw-vine ( skwa ' vin ) , n . The 
partridge-berry, Mitchella re- 
pens. [Bare.] 
squaw-weed (skwa'wed), n. 
Same as golden ragwort (which 
see, under ragwort). 
squeak (skwek), v. [E. dial, also 
sweak; < Sw. sqvaka, croak, 
= Norw. skvaka, cackle, 
= Icel. skvakka, sound like 
water shaken 
in a bottle ; an 
imitative word, 
parallel to simi- 
lar forms with- 
out initial s 
namely, Sw. qvaka = Dan. qvakka, croak, quack, 
= Icel. kvaka, twitter, chatter, etc. : see quack 1 . 
Cf. squawk.] I. in trans. 1. To utter a short, 
sharp, shrill cry, as a pig or a rat ; make a sharp 
noise, as a pipe or fife, a wheel or hinge that 
needs oiling, or the sole of a boot. 
The sheeted dead 
Did squeak and gibber in the Roman streets. 
Shak., Hamlet, i. 1. 118. 
Beside, 'tis known he could speak Greek 
As naturally as pigs squeak. 
S. Butler, Hudibras, I. i. 52. 
Squawroot {Conopholis Americana), 
parasitic on the root of oak. 
5879 
2. To break silence or secrecy; speak out; turn 
informer; "squeal"; peach. [Slang.] 
If he be obstinate, put a civil question to him upon the 
rack, and in/ sv/umfa, I warrant him. 
Dryden, Doll Sebastian, iv. 3. 
" She was at the Kaini of Derncleugh, at Vanbeest Brown's 
last wake, as they call it." . . . "That's another breaker 
ahead, Captain ! Will she not squeak, think ye 1 " 
Scott, Guy Mannering, xxxiv. 
3. To shirk an obligation, as the payment of a 
debt. [Slant,'.] 
II. trans. To utter with a squeak, or in a 
squeaking tone. 
And that, for any thing in Nature, 
Pigs might squeak Love-Odes, Dogs bark Satyr. 
Prior, To Fleetwood Shepherd. 
Squeak (skwek), n. [< squi-ak, r.] A short, 
sharp, shrill cry, such as that uttered by pigs or 
mice, or made by a wheel or the hinge of a door 
when dry. 
With many a deadly grunt and doleful squeak. 
Dryden, Cock and Fox, 1. 732. 
There chanced to be a coquette in the consort, . . . with 
a great many skittish notes [and] affected squeaks. 
Addition, Tatler, No. 157. 
A squeak, or a narrow squeak, an escape by the mer- 
est chance. [Colloq. or slang. ] Bubble and squeak. 
See liuUi/,-1 . 
squeaker (skwe'ker), n. [< squeak + -er*.] 1. 
One who or that which squeaks. 
Mimical squeakers and bellowers. 
Eehard, On Aus. to Contempt of Clergy, p. 137. (Latham.) 
2. A young bird, as a pigeon, partridge, or 
quail ; a chirper ; a peeper ; a squealer. 
Mr. Campbell succeeded in bagging 220 grouse by even- 
ing ; every squeaker was, however, counted. 
W. W. Greener, The Gun, p. 535. 
3. An Australian crow-shrike of the genus 
Strepera, as S. cuneicauda (oftener called ana- 
pJionensis, after Temminck, 1824, a specific name 
antedated by the one given by Vieillot in 1816), 
mostly of a grayish color, 19 inches long: so 
called from its cries. 4. One who confesses, 
or turns informer. [Slang.] 
squeakily (skwe'ki-li), adv. [< squeaky + -ly 2 .] 
With a thin, squeaky voice : as, to sing squeak- 
ily. 
squeakingly (skwe'king-li), adv. In a squeak- 
ing manner; with a squeaky voice ; squeakily. 
squeaklet (skwek'let), n. [< squeak + -let.] 
A little squeak. [Affected.] 
Vehement shrew-mouse squeaklets. 
Carlyle. Misc., III. 49. (Dames.) 
squeaky (skwe'ki), a. [< squeak + -y 1 .] Squeak- 
ing ; inclined to squeak. 
squeal 1 (skwel), r. i. [< ME. squelen, < Sw. dial. 
sqvala = Norw. skvella, squall, squeal ; a var. of 
squall'^, < Icel. skvala, squall: see squall^.] 1. 
To utter a sharp, shrill cry, or a succession of 
such cries, as expressive of pain, fear, anger, 
impatience, eagerness, or the like. 
She pinched me, and called me a squealing chit. Steele. 
This child began to squeal about his mother, having 
been petted hitherto ana wont to get all he wanted by 
raising his voice but a little. 
R. D. Blackmore, Lorna Doone, Ixix. 
2. To turn informer; peach; "squeak." [Slang.] 
The first step of a prosecuting attorney, in attacking a 
criminal conspiracy, is to spread abroad the rumor that 
this, that, or the other confederate is about to squeal; he 
knows that it will be but a few days before one or more 
of the rogues will hurry to his office to anticipate the 
traitors by turning State's evidence. 
The Century, XXXV. 649. 
squeal 1 (skwel), re. [< squeal*, v.] A shrill, 
sharp cry, more or less prolonged. 
His lengthen'd chin, his turn'd-up snout, 
His eldritch squeal and gestures. 
Burns, Holy Fair. 
squeal 2 (skwel), a. [Origin obscure.] Infirm; 
weak. [Prov. Eng.] 
That he was weak, and ould, and squeal, 
And zeldom made a hearty meal. 
Wolcot (Peter Pindar), Works (ed. 1794), I. 286. (Halliwell.) 
squealer (skwe'ler), . [< squeak + -er*.] 1. 
One who or that which squeals. 2. One of sev- 
eral birds, (a) A young pigeon ; a squab ; a squeaker. 
See cut under squab. 
When ready to leave the nest and face the world for it- 
self, it [a young pigeon] is a squealer, or, in market par- 
lance, a squab. The Century, XXXII. 100. 
(b) The European swift, Cypselus apus. Also jack-squealer, 
screecher. (e) The American golden plover, Charadrius 
dominicus. F. C. Browne. [Plymouth, Mass.) (d) The 
harlequin duck. 0. TrumbuU, 1888. [Maine.] 
squeamt (skwem), v. i. [A back-formation, < 
squeamish.] To be squeamish. [Rare.] 
This threat is to the fools that squeam 
At every thing of good esteem. 
C. Smart, tr. of Phiedrus (1765), p. 145. 
squeamish (skwe'mish), n. [Also dial, gweamixh, 
waimish ; early mod. E. squeimish, squemish; 
squeeze 
a later form (with suffix -w/i 1 substituted for 
orig. -mix) of xi/itiiiiiinx : see XI/IH-HIIHIIIX. The 
sense 'apt to be nauseated' may be due in part 
to association with qiiahiiixh.] 1. Hasily dis- 
gusted or nauseated; hence, fastidious; scru- 
pulous; particular; nice to excess in questions 
of propriety or taste; finical: as, a xi/iifimiisli 
stomach; squeamish notions. 
Let none other meaner person despise learning, nor . . . 
be any whit squeimixh to let it be pnblisht vnder their 
names. 1'uttenham, Arte of Eng. Poesie, p. 17. 
The modern civilized man is squeamish about pain to a 
degree which would have seemed effeminate or worse to 
his great-grandfather. The Century, XXXVI. 633. 
2. (Qualmish; slightly nauseated; sickish : as, 
a squnniiisli feeling. 
The wind grew high, and we. being among the sands, 
lay at anchor; I began to be dizzy and squeamish. 
Pepyf, Diary, I. 48. 
=Syn. 1. Dainty, Fastidious, etc. (see nice), overnicc, strait- 
laced. 
Squeamishly (skwe'mish-li), adr. In a squeam- 
ish or fastidious manner; with too much nice- 
ness or daintiness. 
squeamishness (skwe'mish-nes), . The state 
or quality of being squeamish ; excessive nice- 
ness or daintiness; fastidiousness; excessive 
scrupulousness. 
squeamoust (skwe'mus), a. [E. dial, also sicai- 
mous ; early mod. E. squemous, skoyntose, < ME. 
sqttaimous, squaymous, sqnaymose, skeymous, 
skoymus, sweymous, disdainful, fastidious, < 
sweme, stceeni, E. dial, sweam, dizziness, an at- 
tack of sickness: see sweam. The word has 
now taken the form squeamish. The dial, change 
of sw- to squ- (which in ME. further changes to 
sk-) occurs in many words : cf. squander.] Same 
as squeamish. 
Thou wert not skoymus of the maidens wombe. 
Te Deum (14th century), quoted in N. and Q., 4th ser., 
[III. 181. 
But soth to say he was somdel squaimous. 
Chaucer, Miller's Tale. 
Thow art not skoyntose thy fantasy for to tell. 
Bale's Kynge Johan, p. 11. (Halliwell.) 
squeanH, *> [A var. of squin.] To squint. 
squean 2 (skwen), ?>. i. [Prob. imitative; cf. 
squeal 1 .] To fret, as the hog. Hallmell; Wright. 
[Prov. Eng.] 
squeasinesst (skwe'zi-nes), n. Queasiness; 
qualmishness; nausea. 
A squeasiness and rising up of the heart against any mean, 
vulgar, or mechanical condition of men. 
Hammond, Works, IV. 614. 
squeasyt (skwe'zi), a. [Also squeezy; formerly 
squeazy ; a var. of queasy (with intensive *-, as 
in splash for plash'-, squench for quench): see 
queasy.] Queasy; qualmish; squeamish; scru- 
pulous. 
His own nice and squeasy stomach, still weary of his last 
meal, puts him into a study whether he should eat of his 
best dish or nothing. Rev. T. Adams, Works, I. 425. 
The women are few here, squeezy and forma], and little 
skilled in amusing themselves or other people. 
Gray, Letters, I. 202. 
Squeege (skwej), v. and re. A dialectal form of 
squeeze. Mayhew, London Labour and London 
Poor, II. 530. 
squeegee (skwe'je), n. [A form of squilgee, sim- 
ulating squeege for squeeze.] 1. Jfaut., same 
as squilgee. 2. In photog., a stout strip of soft 
rubber set longitudinally in a wooden back 
which serves as a handle, and beyond which 
the rubber projects. It is used for expressing moist- 
ure from paper prints, for bringing a film into close con- 
tact with a glass or mount, etc., and is also made in the 
form of a roller of soft rubber, much resembling a printers' 
inking-roller. 
squeegee (skwe'je), v. t. [< squeegee, .] To 
treat with a squeegee or squilgee. 
A glace finish may easily be obtained by squeegeeing the 
washed print on a polished plate of hard rubber. 
Sci. Amer., N. S., LX. 53. 
squeezability (skwe-za-bil'i-ti), . [< squeeza- 
ble + -ity (see -bility)"] T/he quality or state 
of being squeezable. Imp. Diet. 
squeezable (skwe'za-bl), a. [< squeeze + -able.] 
1. Capable or admitting of being squeezed ; 
compressible. 2. Figuratively, capable of be- 
ing constrained or coerced : as, a squeezable gov- 
ernment. [Colloq.] 
You are too versatile and too squeezable; . . . you take 
impressions too readily. 
Savaffe, Reuben Medlicott, i. 9. (Davits.) 
The peace-of mind-at any-price disposition of that (Glad- 
stone] Cabinet had rendered it squeezable to any extent. 
Lowe, Bismarck, II. 230. 
squeeze (skwez), v. ; pret. and pp. squeezed, 
ppr. squeezing. [Early mod. E. also sqni;e, 
squise, E. dial, also squi::en (also perversely 
squeege); with intensive s-, < ME. queisen, 
