sabicu n. Mahogany-like West Indian tree and timber. Lysiloma sabicu; a grey-brown bark used for furniture making, peels off in strips, used chiefly in boatbuilding. Common Names; Horseflesh Mahogany; Wild Tamarind.
salchow n. Ice-skating leap with turns from inner backward edge of one skate to outer backward edge of other.
salep n. Dried root of the orchid species, used as food: a nutritious, starchy polysaccharide called glucomannan, extracted from the tubber of the species Orchis mascula and Orchis militaris. Popular usage is as a warm, milky beverage consumed during the winter in Turkey.
sertule, sertulum n. Umbel; scientific collection of plants. More research can be found on this subject matter in the book Sertulum Papuanum 20: The Boraginaceae of the Alpine Regions of New Guinea, written by van Royen, P., 1975.
shearwater n. Gull-like oceanic bird of the family Procellariidae. Includes the pink-footed shearwater, the wedge-tailed shearwater, the sooty shearwater, the manx shearwater, etc.
sphingid n. Hawk moth of the order Lepidoptera. 1,450 species have thus far been documented. Whether it be the tobacco hornworm, the hummingbird hawk moth, the elephant hawk moth, the white-lined, bedstraw, oleander, pellucid or convolvulus hawk moth -it hovers in front of flowers and uses its long tongue, or proboscis, to sip the nectar.
statice n. A genus of herbaceous or subshrubby plants, natural order Plumbagineae, characterized by the flowers being spiked or panicled, the calyx funnel-shaped, of one piece, flaited, and somewhat scarious, the petals slightly connate, the stamens attached to the base of the petals, and the nut one-seeded, inclosed in the calyx. The are mostly natives of the Old World. Statice latifolia, a Siberian species, bears blue flowers. The root of one species, Statice Caroliniana, a very powerful astringent , is used in North America for all the purposes of kino and catechu. If you belong to a school or library, see The Systematic Relationships of Aegialitis (Plumbaginaceae) as Revealed by Pollen Morphology.
submaxillary adj. Beneath lower jaw. Submaxillary gland; salivary gland discharging beneath tongue.
tritanopia n. The inability to distinguish properly between the colors blue and yellow.
tu quoque (Latin) ; thou also’; act of imputing to one’s accuser the same fault as that with which one is charged.
umbilicus n. Navel; navel-like growth. umbilical, adj. pertaining to navel or umbilical cord; central; related on mother’s side.
uraeus n. Representation of a sacred serpent as emblem of supreme power, especially on the headdresses of Egyptian deities.
vox populi Latin, ‘the voice of the people’; public verdict. vox populi vox Dei ‘the voice of the people is the voice of God’.
weasand n. 1. Anatomy, zoology, previous name for the trachea. The throat; gullet; wind-pipe. The membranous tube with cartilaginous rings that conveys inhaled air from the larynx to the bronchi. 2. Any of the tubes in insects and related animals that convey air from the spiracles to the tissues. 3. Botany, another name for vessel (sense 5), tracheid
weltanschauung n. German, ‘world view’; personal philosophy of life. weltpolitik n. international politics; policy toward the world. weltschmerz n. ‘world sorrow’; sadness at the world’s woes; pessimism.
xebec n. Ancient three-masted Mediterranean pirate ship, used mostly for trading. The xebec was also the favored vessel of the Barbary pirates of the northern coast of Africa. Xebec captains were loath to engage a foe of equal armament in a gun-battle. Instead, they relied upon their speed, maneuverability, and sweeps to pick their battles, and deposit large numbers of boarders on the decks of their enemies.
zarzuela n. 1. A traditional Spanish vaudeville show -unlike the opera, a zarzuela uses spoken dialogue that is unaccompanied and has no musical underscoring. This performative compendium of acts usually features characters which represent the working class. 2. A fish and shellfish stew from the Catalan coastal region of Spain. There are variations of this stew containing the following ingredients: Prosciutto, clams, black sea bass, squid, scallops, mussels, white wine, etcetera.
zelatrix n. An experienced nun whose god given mission is to be in charge of observering and disciplining younger nuns in ordinance of illuminating the ungodly trials of their naive ways; a female nun, generally of the fundamentalist evangelical persuasion; pigheaded, stubborn, self righteous.
zenography n. The study or description of the planet Jupiter. In 1955 two astronomers, Bernard Burke and Kenneth Franklin, set up a radio astronomy array in a field just outside Washington, D.C., to record data on celestial bodies in the sky that produce radio waves; Jupiter transmitted bursts of radio signals which matched patterns in the planet’s rotation, in ordinance of calculating how long it takes Jupiter to revolve around its axis: a single day on Jupiter was calculated to last only about 10 hours.
