Lexicon

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V
Sa Sc Se Sh Sm Sp St Sy

Smoot

n.

  1. (Britain) A small opening built into a dry-stone wall to allow sheep (and hares) to pass through
  2. (humorous, chiefly Greater Boston) A unit of length defined as exactly sixty-seven inches (approximately 1.70 meters), based upon the height of Oliver R. Smoot, who lay on the Harvard Bridge to measure it as an MIT fraternity prank

[Wiktionary, while looking up thirl]

Spandrel

the almost triangular space between one side of the outer curve of an arch, a wall, and the ceiling or framework.
  • the space between the shoulders of adjoining arches and the ceiling or molding above.

Spavined

adj.

  1. affected with spavin
  2. old and decrepit

spavin (noun)

  1. swelling, esp. a bony enlargement of the hock of a horse associated with strain

[Attrib. — Eley Williams]

Stertorous

adj.

  1. Of breathing, noisy or labored.

[The Waves — Virginia Woolf]

Sybaritic

a.

  1. Devoted to or marked by pleasure and luxury
  2. Of or relating to the Ancient Greek city of Sybaris or its people

n.

sybarite

[“The Seacoast of Despair” from Slouching Towards Bethlehem — Joan Didion]

Sycorax

Proper noun
  1. A natural satellite of the planet Uranus
OriginNamed after Caliban’s mother in William Shakespeare’s play The Tempest.

Syncretic

a.

(n. syncretism)

  1. the combination of different forms of belief or practice
  2. uniting and blending together different systems, as of philosophy, morals, or religion

[Jacket copy for The Saviors of God by Nikos Kazantzakis]