a mountain chain, having a serrated appearance, from the Lat. serra, a saw; or perhaps from the Ar. sehrah, an uncultivated tract of land, being the root of the desert of Sahara, in Africa; e.g. Sierra-de-fuentes (the mountain chain of the fountains); Sierra-de-los-vertientes (of the cascades); Sierra Leone (of the lion); Sierra-Calderona (the mountain chain with the cauldrons or craters); Sierra-de-las-Monas (of the apes); Sierra Morena (the dark mountain range); Sierra Nevada (the snowy); Sierra Estrella (the starry mountain range); Sierra-de-Culebra (of the snake); Sierra-de-gata (of agates); Esmeraldas-Serradas (the emerald mountains), in Brazil; Cerro-da-vigia (the mountain of observation); Cerro-de-la-Giganta (of the giantess); Cerro-largo (broad mountain); Cerro-gordo (fruitful mountain); Cerro-del-cobre (of the snake); but serra, in Italian, means a narrow place—as in Serra-capriola (the narrow place of the goats); and Serra-Monascesca (of the monks).
SKAER (Scand.),
SGOR and SGEIR (Gadhelic),
a sharp rock-allied to the Welsh skerid, cleft asunder, ysgariad; e.g. Skerid-fawn and Skerid-fach (the great and little skerid or division). Esgair is another word from the same root, applied to a long ridge; e.g. Esgair-hir (the long ridge); Esgair-graig (the rock ridge)—e.g. Scarcliff (the cliff of the sharp rock); Nashscaur (the promontory of the steep rock); Scarborough (the town on the rock or cliff); Scorton, with the same meaning, in Yorkshire; Scarnose and Scarness (the sharp cape); Skerryford, Skeerpoint, on the coast of Wales; Sheerness (the sharp headland), on the Thames; Scaranos, with the same meaning, on the coast of Sicily; Scarabines (the sharp points), in Caithness; Scuir (a sharp rock), on the island of Egg; Scordale, in Westmoreland, and Scordal, in Iceland (the valley of the steep rock); Scarsach (abounding in steep rocks), in Perth; Scarba (the island of the sharp rock), and Scarp, in the Hebrides; the Skerry and the Skerries, in the Shetlands, and on the coast of Ireland and Wales; Skerry-vore (the great rock), in the Hebrides.
SKAW, SKAGI (Scand.),
an isthmus or promontory; e.g. the Skaw or Skagen Cape, on the coast of Denmark; Skagerack or Skagen-rack (the strait near the promontory).
SKI, SK, SKIA,
an affix in Sclav. topography, signifying a town, often annexed to the name of the river near the town, or to the name of its founder; e.g. Tobolsk, Tomsk, Pinsk, Vitepsk, Volsk, Omsk, on the Rivers Tobol, Tom, Pina, Viteba, Volga, Om; Irkutsk, Berdiansk, Bielorietzk, Bobroninsk, Illginsk, Miask, Olekminsk, Okhotsk, Olensk, on the Rivers Irkut, Berda, Biela, Bobronia, Ilga, Miass, Olekma, Okhota, and Olenek; Bielozersk (the town on the white island); Jarensk (the town on the Jarenga or strong river); Kesilskaia (on the red river); Krasno-Ufimsk (the beautiful town of the R. Ufa); Petsk (silk town), in Turkey, where the mulberry-tree is extensively cultivated; Yakutsk (the town of the Yakuts, a Tartar tribe); Salskaia, on the R. Sal; Sviajsk (the town on the Sviga, holy river); Sviatskaia (the town of Sviatovid, a Sclav. deity); Dmitrovisk (the town of Demetrius, a Russian saint); Kupiansk and Kupiszki (the town on the promontory, kupa).
SKIP (Scand.),
SCHAEF (A.S.),
a sheep; e.g. Skipton, Skipwich, Schaefheim (sheep town); Shapfells (sheep hills); Sheppey (sheep island); Skipsia (sheep’s stream); Schaefmatt (sheep meadow); Shefford (sheep’s ford); Scaefstadt (sheep town).
SLIABH, SLIEVE, or SLIEU (Gadhelic),