Silene, sī-lē′nē, n. a genus of plants of the natural order Caryophyllaceæ—the Bladder Campion, whose young shoots eat like asparagus—the Catchfly, a general name for many British species.
Silenus, sī-lē′nus, n. the foster-father of Bacchus, a little pot-bellied old man, bald-headed and snub-nosed, generally astride of an ass, drunk, and attended by a troop of satyrs.
Silesia, si-lē′shi-a, n. a thin brown holland for window-blinds, &c.: a thin twilled cotton.—adj. Silē′sian, pertaining to Silesia.
Silex, sī′leks, n. silica, as found in nature, occurring as flint, quartz, rock-crystal, &c. [L. silex, silicis, flint.]
Silhouette, sil-ōō-et′, n. a shadow-outline of the human figure or profile filled in of a dark colour.—v.t. to represent in silhouette: to bring out a shaded profile or outline view of. [Étienne de Silhouette (1709-67), French minister of finance for four months in 1759, after whom everything cheap was named, from his excessive economy. According to Littré, the making of such shadow-portraits was a favourite pastime of his; hence the name.]
Silica, sil′i-ka, n. silicon dioxide, or silicic anhydride, a white or colourless substance, the most abundant solid constituent of our globe, existing both in the crystalline and in the amorphous form, the best examples of the former being rock-crystal, quartz, chalcedony, flint, sandstone, and quartzose sand; of the latter, opal.—n. Sil′icate, a salt of silicic acid.—adjs. Sil′icāted, combined or impregnated with silica; Silic′ic, pertaining to, or obtained from, silica; Silicif′erous, producing or containing silica.—n. Silicificā′tion, conversion into silica.—v.t. Silic′ify, to convert into silica: to render silicious.—v.i. to become silicious or flinty:—pr.p. silic′ifying; pa.p. silic′ifīed.—adjs. Silic′ious, Silic′eous, pertaining to, containing, or resembling silica.—n. Sil′icon, or Silic′ium, the base of silica, a non-metallic elementary substance, obtainable in three different forms, the amorphous, the graphitoid, and the crystalline. [L. silex, silicis, flint.]
Silicle, sil′i-kl, n. (bot.) a seed-vessel shorter and containing fewer seeds than a silique—also Sil′icule, Silic′ula.—adj. Silic′ulōse (bot.), having, pertaining to, or resembling silicles: husky.—ns. (bot.) Silique (si-lēk′), Sil′iqua, the two-valved elongated seed-vessel of the Cruciferæ.—adjs. Sil′iquiform, Sil′iquose, Sil′iquous (bot.), pertaining to, resembling, or bearing siliques. [L. silicula, dim. of siliqua, a pod.]
Silk, silk, n. the delicate, soft thread produced by the larvæ of certain bombycid moths which feed on the leaves of the mulberry, &c.: thread or cloth woven from it: anything resembling silk, the styles of maize, the silky lustre in the ruby, &c.—adj. pertaining to, or consisting of, silk.—n. Silk′-cott′on, the silky seed-covering of various species of Bombax.—adjs. Silk′en, made of silk: dressed in silk: resembling silk: soft: delicate; Silk′-fig′ured, having the ornamental pattern in silk.—ns. Silk′-gown, or The silk, the robe of a queen's or king's counsel, instead of the stuff-gown of the ordinary barrister—hence 'to take silk'=to be appointed Q.C.; Silk′-grass, Adam's needle, or bear-grass; Silk′iness; Silk′-man (Shak.), a dealer in silks; Silk′-mer′cer, a mercer or dealer in silks; Silk′-mill, a mill for the manufacture of silks; Silk′-pa′per, tissue-paper; Silk′-reel, a machine in which raw silk is unwound from the cocoons, and wound into a thread; Silk′-throw′er, -throw′ster, one who manufactures thrown-silk or organzine, silk thread formed by twisting together two or more threads or singles; Silk′-weav′er, a weaver of silk stuffs; Silk′worm, the bombycid moth whose larva produces silk; Silk′worm-gut, a material used by anglers for dressing the hook-end of the fishing-line, consisting of the drawn-out glands of the silkworm when these are fully distended.—adj. Silk′y, like silk in texture: soft: smooth: glossy. [A.S. seolc—L. sericum—Gr. sērikon, neut. of adj. Sērikos, pertaining to the Sēres—Sēr, a native of China.]