steatornithine 
Steatornithine (ste-a-tor'ni-thin), a. [< stru- 
liirnix (-oniilh-) + -iiii-.] Sfoatornithic ; of or 
pertaining to the Steatornithidse. 
steatorrhea, steatorrhoea (ste"a-to-re'ii), . 
[NL., < Gr. nrcap (nrtar-), (at, suet,' tallow, + 
pom, a flow, < pt'iv, flow.] 1. Seborrhea. 2. 
The passage of fatty stools. 
Steatosis (ste-a-to'sis), . [NL., < Gr. ariap (are- 
riT-), fat, tallow, suet, + -*(.] 1. Fatty de- 
generation or infiltration. 2. Any disease of 
the sebaceous glands. Also called fttoatopatUa. 
Steatozoon (ste"a-to-zo'on), n. Same as De- 
modes. 
stedt, n. An obsolete form of stead. 
stedfast, stedfastly, etc. See stnuifn.it, etc. 
Steed (sted), . [< ME. stcde, < AS. steda, a stud- 
horse, stallion, war-horse (cf. f/ested-liors, stud- 
horse ; Icel. stedda for "steedda, a mare ; Sw. stn, 
a mare), < stod, a stud: see stud 1 . Cf. stot 1 , 
state, stoat*.] Ahorse: now chiefly poetical. 
The kyng alijte of his stede. 
Kiiuj Horn (E. E. T. S.), p. 2. 
Theflend, . . . like a proud steed rein'd, went haughty on 
Champing his iron curb. Milton, P. L., iv. 858.' 
steedless (sted'les), a. [< steed + -less."] Hav- 
ing no steeds or horses. Whittier, The Norse- 
men, 
steedyokest, n. pi. Keius; thongs. [Rare.] 
Sorrowful Hector . . . 
Harryed in steedyocks as of caret. 
Stanihurst, neid, ii. 
Steek (stek), v. [Also steik; obs. or dial. (Sc.) 
form of stick 1 .'] I. traits. 1. To pierce with a 
sharp-pointed instrument ; stitch or sew with 
a needle. 2. To close or shut: as, to steek 
one's eyes. Burns. [Obsolete or Scotch in 
both uses.] 
But doore were steek'il, and windows bar'd, 
And nane wad let him in. 
Willie and May Margaret (Child's Ballads, II. 172). 
II. intraiis. To close; shut. 
It es callede cloyster for it closys and iteskys, and warely 
sail be lokked. IMigimus Pieces (E. E. T. S.), p. 60. 
Steek (stek), n. [Also steik; a dial. (Sc.) form 
of stitch.'] The act of stitching with a needle ; 
a stitch. [Scotch.] 
Steel 1 (stel), n. and a. [< ME. steel, stel, stiel, 
stil, < AS. "stele, style, earliest forms steli, stseli 
= MD. stael, D. staal = MLG. stdl, LG. staal = 
OHG. stalial, stdl, MHG. statiel, stachel, stdl, G. 
staid = Icel. stdl = Sw. stdl=Dtm. staal = Goth. 
"stalila = OPi-uss. stakla, steel ; root unknown. 
The words gold and silver also have no L. or 
Gr. or other cognate terms outside of Teut. 
and Slavic.] I. n. 1. A modified form of iron, 
not occurring in nature, but known and manu- 
factured from very early times, and at the 
present time of the highest importance in its 
various applications to the wants of man. For 
certain purposes, and especially for the manufacture of 
tools and weapons, there is no metal or metallic alloy 
which could take the place of steel. The most essential 
features of steel as compared with iron are elasticity and 
hardness, and these qualities can be varied in amount to 
a very extraordinary degree, in the same piece of steel, by 
slight changes in the manipulation. Steel can be hardened 
so as to cut glass, by rapid cooling after being strongly 
heated, and it can be tempered, by reheating after harden- 
ing, so as permanently to take the precise degree of hard- 
ness best adapted to the use to which it is to be applied. 
(See temper.) Steel has been known from very early times, 
but where and how first manufactured is not known. That 
it has long been in use in India, and that it is still manu- 
factured in that country by methods precisely similar to 
those in use long ago are well-known facts. (See wootz.) 
It is thought by some to have been known to the pyramid- 
builders ; but this has not yet been demonstrated, and the 
same is true of the ancient Semites. The words translated 
'steel ' in the authorized version of the Old Testament sig- 
nify 'copper ' or ' bronze,' and are usually rendered 'brass,' 
'brazen. 1 That steel was clearly recognized as something 
distinct from iron by the author or authors of the Homeric 
poems cannot be proved. The earliest known and sim- 
plest method of reducing iron from its ore the so-called 
"direct process" is capable also of furnishing steel, 
although a sufficiently homogeneous product cannot be 
easily obtained by this method. This would explain how 
steel became known at an early period, and why it was so 
long before it became an article of general use, with well- 
established methods of manufacture. Steel is a form of 
iron in which the amount of carbon is intermediate be- 
tween that in wrought- and that in cast-iron, and this 
carbon does not exist in the steel in the form of graphite, 
but is either combined with or dissolved in it ; hut the sub- 
ject of the relation of carbon to iron is one of difficulty, and 
is now undergoing investigation at the hands of various 
skilled metallurgical chemists. Other ingredients besides 
carbon are also present in steel namely, silicon, manga- 
nese, sulphur, and phosphorus. Of these the two first men- 
tiont'd are probably never entirely wanting, and they are 
not especially undesirable or injurious, as is the case with 
the two others, of which only traces can be permitted in 
the best quality of steel. They are all, however, different 
from carbon, which latter is regarded as an essential ele- 
ment of steel, while the others may be looked upon as 
being more or less of the nature of impurities. The qual- 
ity of steel varies with the amount of carbon present, and 
5939 
the effect of this latter element varies with the amount 
of impurity (silicon, etc.) present in the steel. The larger 
the amount of impurity, the larger is the quantity of car- 
bon required to give to the iron the character of steel. In 
the case of the best bar-iron, a little over 0.3 per cent, of 
carbon is sufficient to give it a steely character ; from O.ft 
to 0.65 per cent, of carbon, according to the purity of the 
iron, gives a steel which can be hardened so as to strike 
fire with flint. Iron containing from 1 to 1.5 per cent, of 
carbon gives steel which, after tempering, combines tin 
maximum hardness with the maximum tenacity. One 
per cent, of carbon gives, on the whole, the most generally 
useful steel. With more than 1.5 per cent, of carbon the 
tenacity and weldability of the steel are diminished, al- 
though the hardness may be increased. With more than 
1.74 per cent, of carbon the steel ceases to be weldable, and 
is with difficulty drawn out under the hammer ; and from 
1.8 to 2.0 per cent, is usually considered as the limit be- 
tween steel and cast-iron, the steel with that amount 
breaking when hammered after softening by heat. Since 
steel is intermediate between wrought- and cast-iron in the 
amount of carbon which it contains, it is evident that it 
might be made either by carburizing the former or decar- 
burizing the latter. The method of carburization, or cemen- 
tation as it is generally called, is one of the oldest, perhaps 
the most ancient, as, although differing greatly in the de- 
tails, in the essentials it is the same as the process by which 
the Indian wootz is manufactured. The cementation pro- 
cess was described in detail by Reaumur in a work published 
in 1722. By this method blister-steel is obtained^ an.l this 
is further worked up into spring-, shear-, and double-shear 
steel by one or more processes of fagoting, welding, and 
hammering or rolling, the object of this being to give 
the metal greater homogeneity. A great addition to the 
value of this process was the invention by Huntsman, in 
1740, of cast-steel, the product of the fusion in crucibles, 
under suitable manipulation, of blister steel, which process 
is still in use as first arranged almost without change. 
By this method, when iron of a sufficiently high grade is 
used, the finest quality of steel is produced, and it is only 
steel manufactured in this way which can be used for the 
best tools, weapons, and cutting instruments of all kinds. 
The methods of producing steel by the decarburization of 
pig-iron are numerous and varied. The Styrian method 
of decarburization in the open-hearth finery, whereby a 
material called raw steel is produced, was once of very 
considerable importance, but is now little used. The 
method of decarburizing pig-iron by puddling, which is 
similar in principle to the ordinary puddling process used 
for converting pig- into wrought-iron, is also somewhat 
extensively employed, especially on the continent of Eu- 
rope, the product being called puddled steel, this being 
drawn into bars, which are cut up and remelted, as is 
done with blister-steel in manufacturing cast-steel. There 
are various methods for producing steel by fusing pig-iron 
with iron ores, or with wrought-iron, or with both together. 
The Uchatius process belongs to this class of processes, 
but is of comparatively small importance ; but the pro- 
cesses known as the "Siemens," the "Martin," and 
the "Siemens-Martin " are extensively employed. The 
steel made by any of these processes is generally called 
open-hearth steel, as the work of decarburiziug the pig is 
done in the open-hearth regenerative furnace. The dif- 
ference between these processes is simply that in the first 
named the pig-iron is treated with certain iron ores with- 
out the addition of wrought-iron (scrap-iron) ; in the sec- 
ond the pig is melted with scrap-iron ; and in the third 
both scrap and ore are used together : hence the names by 
which the first .two of these modifications of what is es- 
sentially the same process are known pig-and-ore, pig- 
and-scrap the third, or the "Siemens-Martin," being the 
most commonly employed. By far the most important of 
all steel-producing processes, if only the amount of the 
metal produced is considered, is the "pneumatic" or 
"Bessemer" process, invented by Sir Henry Bessemer 
about 1856, which consists in blowing air through molten 
pig-iron in a "converter," or vessel of iron lined with 
a refractory material the oxidation of the carbon and 
silicon which the pig contains, together with a small 
part of the iron itself, furnishing sufficient heat to keep 
the material in a fluid state while the operation of decar- 
burization goes on. After complete decarburizatiou of 
the iron, a certain amount of carbon is restored to the 
metal by the introduction of spiegeleisen or ferromanga- 
nese ; this extremely important addition to the Bessemer 
process, without which it would hardly have been a suc- 
cess, was contributed by R. F. Mnshet. The Bessemer 
process, as conducted in a converter lined with the ordi- 
nary silicious or "acid " material, is suited only for work- 
ing iron which is practically free from phosphorus and 
sulphur, or such as is made from ore like that of Lake 
Superior, from which all, or nearly all, the Bessemer steel 
made in the United States is manufactured. By the so- 
called "basic" or "Thomas-Gilchrist" process, the con- 
verter having a basic (calcined dolomite) lining, iron con- 
taining a considerable amount of phosphorus is treated, 
and a fair quality of steel produced, the phosphorus pass- 
ing into the slag during the operation, as is the case in 
puddling. The metal produced by the Bessemer process 
is generally called Bessemer steel, but some consider it 
more correct to call it ingot-iron. It can be produced 
of various grades by varying the amount of carbon which 
it contains, and is a material of the highest value for 
structural purposes as being cheaper, and having more 
durability, than wrought-iron made by puddling al- 
though of no value for the purposes for which the oldei 
higher-class steels are employed. Its principal use is for 
rails, and during the past few years from seventy to eighty 
per cent, of the Bessemer steel made in the United States 
has been used for that purpose. 
Gold, ne seolver, ne iren, ne stel. Ancren Riwle, p. 160. 
The day, 
Descending, struck athwart the hall, and shot 
A flying splendour out of brass and steel. 
Tennyson, Princess, vi. 
A single span of the Forth Bridge is nearly as long as two 
Eiffel Towers turned horizontally and tied together in the 
middle, and the whole forms a complicated steel structure 
weighing 15,000 tons, erected without the possibility of 
any intermediate support, the lace-like fabric of the bridge 
soaring as high as the top of St. Paul's. The steel of which 
steel 
the cornpressi iiemliera of the strm ' i[K>scd 
OontaJnl "t ( arbnn ami .': ', of manganese. The parts 
-ubj< eted to extension do not contain more than J& of 
carbon. W. C. Jluberte-Aitsten, Nature, A > 
2. Something made of ctci-1. specifically (a) A 
cutting or piercing weapon; especially, a ivora. cm 
pare cvld steel, below. 
Shall I Sir 1'amlaius of Trov ln-cotm'. 
And by mv side wear -' 
Shot, M. \v. of \v., i. :;. n, 
(b) A piece of steel for striking sparks from flint to ignite 
tinder or match, (ct) A mirror. 
We spake of armour, 
she straight replies, Send in your steel combs, with 
The gtfd you see. your faees in. 
Cartimyht's Lady Errant (1651). (Xares.) 
((/) A cylindrical or slightly tapering rod of steel, some- 
times having fine parallel longitudinal lines, used for 
sharpening carving-knives, etc. (e) A strip of steel used 
to stiffen a corset, or to expand a woman's skirt. Berard 
steel, steel made by adding hydrogen gas to the air-blast in 
the Bessemer process, to remove arsenic, sulphur, and phos- 
phorus. Bessemer steel, steel made by the Bessemer 
process. See def. 1. Blistered Steel. Same as blister- 
steel. Carbon steel, ordinary steel ; not " special steel," 
but steel in which carbon is clearly the element which gives 
the iron those peculiar properties which justify its designa- 
tion by the term steel. Chrome Steel, steel alloyed with a 
small amount of chromium. Various alloys called by the 
name of chrome or chromium steel have been introduced, 
but none have come into general use. They are said to be 
hard and malleable, and to possess great strength, but to 
oxidize on exposure more readily than ordinary steel. 
Cold Steel, a cutting- and thrusting-weapon ; a weapon or 
weapons for close quarters, as distinguished from firearms. 
Compressed steel, steel which is made more dense, 
tenacious, and free from blow-holes by being condensed by 
pressure while in a fluid state. This pressure is produced 
in various ways, as by hydraulic machinery, by steam, by 
centrifugal force, by the use of liquefied carbonic acid, etc. 
Crinoline-steels. See crinoline. Crucible steel. 
Same as cast-steel. Damask steel. See damask. Garb 
Of steel. See yarb'i. German steel, steel from Ger- 
many. The phrase has now no definite meaning other 
than geographical. It formerly meant steel made in the 
finery from spathic ore. Homogeneous steel. Same as 
cast-steel. Indian steel. Same as woote Manganese 
steel, a variety of special steel made by the addition of 
manganese, which element is present in various manga- 
nese steels which have been analyzed in quantity ranging 
from less than 1 per cent, to over 21 per cent. The qual- 
ities vary greatly with its composition. Mask of steel 
See masks. Mild steel, steel containing a small amount 
of carbon (Bessemer steel is frequently so designated); a 
metal which has some of the qualities of steel, but does 
not admit of being tempered, or only imperfectly so. See 
def. 1. Native steel, the name sometimes given to small 
masses or buttons of steel, steely iron, or iron which has 
occasionally been formed by the ignition of coal-seams 
adjacent to deposits of iron ore. Nickel Steel, a va- 
riety of special steel recently introduced, and thought by 
some to surpass the best carbon steel in certain important 
respects. It has not yet been sufficiently tried to justify 
a decided statement as to its value. The high price of 
nickel, and the small likelihood of any considerable reduc- 
tion in the price of this metal, would seem to bear heavily 
against the chances of the general introduction of an alloy 
of which it should form any considerable part. Run 
steel, a trade-mark name (in England) of various small 
articles, such as bridle-bits and stirrups, made of cast-iron 
which has been to a certain extent rendered malleable by 
partial decarburization by cementation. The method is 
one which has been long known, but which has not come 
into extensive use till comparatively modern times. Also 
called malleable cast-iron.- Silicon steel, a variety of 
special steel which has been experimented with to some 
extent, but which has not yet become of importance. 
Special steel, steel in which the element which gives 
the iron its peculiar qualities, or what distinguishes it 
from iron, is not carbon, but some other substance. The 
principal special steels are chrome, manganese, nickel, 
silicon, titanium, and tungsten steels, all of which have 
been much experimented with in recent years. While 
some authorities appear to maintain that the carbon in 
special steels is so overpowered by the special element 
used that its effects are entirely neutralized, others be- 
lieve that some carbon is absolutely necessary that iron 
may become converted Into what can properly be called 
steel. Styrian special steel, steel from Styria; steel 
made by the Styrian process, which closely resembles the 
Styrian process of making malleable iron in the finery. 
Tungsten steel, a variety of special steel, now largely 
employed in the manufacture of the harder grades of cru- 
cible steel. "Mushet's," "special," "imperial, 'and "cres- 
cent-hardened" are brands of tungsten steel now sold in 
the American markets. Steel may contain a much larger 
proportion of tungsten than it can of carbon without losing 
its power of being forged. In a table of thirteen analyses 
of tungsten steel given by H. M. Howe in his " Metallurgy 
of Steel " (1891), the tungsten ranges from 1.94 to 11.03 per 
cent. ; the carbon, from 0.38 to 2.15 ; the manganese, from 
a trace to 2.68; the silicon, from .05 to .82. Tungsten 
steel is exceedingly hard and very brittle; it is used 
chiefly for the tools of lathes and planers designed for 
heavy work. 
II. a. 1. Made of steel: as, a steel plate or 
buckle. 
The average strength [of the Bessemer steel used in 
building the Forth Bridge] is one-half greater than that 
of the best wrought iron, and the ductility of the gteel 
plates is fully three times that of corresponding iron 
plates. Sir John Fowler and Itenjamin Baker, Nine- 
teenth Century, July, 1889, p. 39. 
2. Hard as steel ; inflexible ; unyielding. 
Prison my heart in thy steel bosom's ward. 
Shale., Sonnets, cxxxiii. 
Smart as a steel trap. See mwirti . steel bonnet, a 
head-piece made of a Scotch bonnet lined with steel, as 
with a skeleton cap. Compare secret, 9. Steel bronze. 
