An Egyptian deity, at first a symbol of the Nile, and so of fertility; later, one of the divinities of the lower world. His worship was introduced into Greece and Rome.

A general or commander of land forces in the Turkish empire; especially, the commander-in-chief of minister of war.

The office or authority of a seraskier.

Relating to the lake of Serbonis in Egypt, which by reason of the sand blowing into it had a deceptive appearance of being solid land, but was a bog.

Claw; talon.

Dry; withered; no longer green; -- applied to leaves.

A mist, or very fine rain, which sometimes falls from a clear sky a few moments after sunset.

To perform a serenade.

One who serenades.

A piece of vocal music, especially one on an amoreus subject; a serenade.

To make serene.

In a serene manner; clearly.

Serenity.

Serenity.

The quality or state of being serene; clearness and calmness; quietness; stillness; peace.

A servant or slave employed in husbandry, and in some countries attached to the soil and transferred with it, as formerly in Russia.

The state or condition of a serf.

Serfage.

A large wax candle used in the ceremonies of various churches.

The office of a sergeant; sergeantship.

Formerly, in England, an officer nearly answering to the more modern bailiff of the hundred; also, an officer whose duty was to attend on the king, and on the lord high steward in court, to arrest traitors and other offenders. He is now called sergeant-at-arms, and two of these officers, by allowance of the sovereign, attend on the houses of Parliament (one for each house) to execute their commands, and another attends the Court Chancery.

Same as Sergeancy.

See Sergeanty.

The office of sergeant.

Tenure of lands of the crown by an honorary kind of service not due to any lord, but to the king only.

A publication appearing in a series or succession of part; a tale, or other writing, published in successive numbers of a periodical.

The quality or state of succession in a series; sequence.

In a series, or regular order; in a serial manner; as, arranged serially; published serially.

Arranged in a series or succession; pertaining to a series.

In regular order; one after the other; severally.

Arrangement or position in a series.

Of or pertaining to silk; consisting of silk; silky.

A gelatinous nitrogenous material extracted from crude silk and other similar fiber by boiling water; -- called also silk gelatin.

A kind of muscovite occuring in silky scales having a fibrous structure. It is characteristic of sericite schist.

A silk gland, as in the silkworms.

The raising of silkworms.

Series.

either of two large South American birds related to the cranes, the cariama of Southern Brazil (Cariama cristata, formerly Dicholophus cristata) or the Chunga burmeisteri of Argentina. They have an erectile crest and a short, broad bill. They are often domesticated.

A number of things or events standing or succeeding in order, and connected by a like relation; sequence; order; course; a succession of things; as, a continuous series of calamitous events.

A winding in which the armature coil and the field-magnet coil are in series with the external circuits; -- opposed to shunt winding.

An autographic device to test the strength of raw silk.

A European finch (Serinus hortulanus) closely related to the canary.

one of the natural L-amino acids, obtainable as a white crystalline nitrogenous substance by the action of dilute sulphuric acid on silk gelatin. It is found in many proteins, and, having a free primary hydroxyl group on the side chain, is involved in the catalytic action at the active site of some enzymes, such as proteases. The IUPAC abbreviation for serine in protein sequences is Ser. Chemically it is 2-amino-3-hydroxy-propanoic acid (C3H7NO3), HO.CH2.CH(NH2).COOH.

Having a mixture of seriousness and sport; serious and comical.

Grave in manner or disposition; earnest; thoughtful; solemn; not light, gay, or volatile.

See Ceriph.

The making of speeches or sermons; sermonizing.

One who makes sermons or speeches.

To discourse to or of, as in a sermon.

A sermonizer.

A preacher; a sermonizer.

A short sermon.

Like, or appropriate to, a sermon; grave and didactic.

The act of discoursing; discourse; instruction; preaching.

Resembling a sermon.

See Sermonizer.

To preach or discourse to; to affect or influence by means of a sermon or of sermons.

One who sermonizes.

A peculiar fatty substance found in the blood, probably a mixture of fats, cholesterin, etc. A body found in fecal matter and thought to be formed in the intestines from the cholesterin of the bile; -- called also stercorin, and stercolin.

Same as Ceroon.

The quality or state of being serous.

Serum-therapy. The whey cure.

The European long-eared bat (Vesperugo serotinus).

Appearing or blossoming later in the season than is customary with allied species.

Thin; watery; like serum; as, the serous fluids. Of or pertaining to serum; as, the serous glands, membranes, layers. See Serum.

A constellation represented as a serpent held by Serpentarius.

To wind; to encircle.

Having a forked tongue, like a serpent.

The fibrous aromatic root of the Virginia snakeroot (Aristolochia Serpentaria).

A constellation on the equator, lying between Scorpio and Hercules; -- called also Ophiuchus.

Having the form of a serpent.

Bred of a serpent.

To serpentize.

In a serpentine manner.

See 2d Ophite.

To convert (a magnesian silicate) into serpentine.

Relating to, or like, serpentine; as, a rock serpentinous in character.

To turn or bend like a serpent, first in one direction and then in the opposite; to meander; to wind; to serpentine.

A winding like a serpent's.

A basket.

A pruning knife with a curved blade.

Creeping; -- said of lesions which heal over one portion while continuing to advance at another.

A dry, scaly eruption on the skin; especially, a ringworm.

Wild thyme.

Any one of numerous species of tubicolous annelids of the genus Serpula and allied genera of the family Serpulidae. They secrete a calcareous tube, which is usually irregularly contorted, but is sometimes spirally coiled. The worm has a wreath of plumelike and often bright-colored gills around its head, and usually an operculum to close the aperture of its tube when it retracts.

A serpula.

A fossil serpula shell.

To crowd, press, or drive together.

Any fish of the family Serranidae, which includes the striped bass, the black sea bass, and many other food fishes. Of or pertaining to the Serranidae.

Notched on the edge, like a saw.

Condition of being serrate; formation in the shape of a saw.

Having a toothed bill, like that of a toucan.

The ivory gull (Larus eburneus).

A notching, like that between the teeth of a saw, in the edge of anything.

Covered with fine silky down.

Any one of a numerous tribe of beetles (Serricornia). The joints of the antennae are prominent, thus producing a serrate appearance. See Illust. under Antenna.

Crowded; compact; dense; pressed together.

A division of Hymenoptera comprising the sawflies.

Same as Lamellirostres.

Like the teeth off a saw; jagged.

The red-breasted merganser.

Finely serrate; having very minute teeth.

The state of being notched minutely, like a fine saw.

To crowd; to press together.

A genus of delicate branching hydroids having small sessile hydrothecae along the sides of the branches.

Any species of Sertularia, or of Sertularidae, a family of hydroids having branched chitinous stems and simple sessile hydrothecae. Also used adjectively.

The watery portion of certain animal fluids, as blood, milk, etc. A thin watery fluid, containing more or less albumin, secreted by the serous membranes of the body, such as the pericardium and peritoneum.

The treatment of disease by the injection of blood serum from immune animals.

Capable of being served.

Serfage; slavery; servitude.

An African wild cat (Felis serval) of moderate size; -- called also serval cat. It has rather long legs and a tail of moderate length. Its color is tawny, with black spots on the body and rings of black on the tail.

Related to, or resembling, the serval.

To subject.

A maidservant.

A body of servants; servants, collectively.

To be a servant or a slave; to be employed in labor or other business for another; to be in subjection or bondage; to render menial service.

One who serves.

Of or pertaining to Servia, a kingdom of Southern Europe. A native or inhabitant of Servia.

The act of serving; the occupation of a servant; the performance of labor for the benefit of another, or at another's command; attendance of an inferior, hired helper, slave, etc., on a superior, employer, master, or the like; also, spiritual obedience and love.

A name given to several trees and shrubs of the genus Pyrus, as Pyrus domestica and Pyrus torminalis of Europe, the various species of mountain ash or rowan tree, and the American shad bush (see Shad bush, under Shad). They have clusters of small, edible, applelike berries.