{ Swas"ti*ka, Swas"ti*ca } (?), n. [Also suastica, svastika, etc.] [Skr. svastika, fr. svasti walfare; su well + asti being.] A symbol or ornament in the form of a Greek cross with the ends of the arms at right angles all in the same direction, and each prolonged to the height of the parallel arm of the cross. A great many modified forms exist, ogee and volute as well as rectilinear, while various decorative designs, as Greek fret or meander, are derived from or closely associated with it. The swastika is found in remains from the Bronze Age in various parts of Europe, esp. at Hissarlik (Troy), and was in frequent use as late as the 10th century. It is found in ancient Persia, in India, where both Jains and Buddhists used (or still use) it as religious symbol, in China and Japan, and among Indian tribes of North, Central, and South America. It is usually thought to be a charm, talisman, or religious token, esp. a sign of good luck or benediction. Max MüLler distinguished from the swastika, with arms prolonged to the right, the suavastika, with arms prolonged to the left, but this distinction is not commonly recognized. Other names for the swastika are fylfot and gammadion.
Sway bar. (Vehicles) (a) A bar attached to the hounds, in the rear of the front axle, so as to slide on the reach as the axle is swung in turning the vehicle. (b) Either of the two bars used in coupling the front and rear sleds of a logging sled; also, the bar used to couple two logging cars.
Switch (?), n. (Elec.) A device for shifting an electric current to another circuit, or for making and breaking a circuit.
Syl"la*bus (?), n. (Law) The headnote of a reported case; the brief statement of the points of law determined prefixed to a reported case. The opinion controls the syllabus, the latter being merely explanatory of the former.
Syl"van*ite (?), n. [Fr. Transylvania, where first found.] (Min.) A telluride of gold and silver, (Au, Ag)Te2, of a steel gray, silver white, or brass yellow. It often occurs in implanted crystals resembling written characters, and hence is called graphic tellurium. H., 1.5-2. Sp.gr., 7.9-8.3.
||Sym`bi*o"sis (?), n. [NL., fr. Gr. &?; a living together, &?; to live together; &?; with + &?; to live.] (Biol.) The living together in more or less imitative association or even close union of two dissimilar organisms. In a broad sense the term includes parasitism, or antagonistic, or antipathetic, symbiosis, in which the association is disadvantageous or destructive to one of the organisms, but ordinarily it is used of cases where the association is advantageous, or often necessary, to one or both, and not harmful to either. When there is bodily union (in extreme cases so close that the two form practically a single body, as in the union of algæ and fungi to form lichens, and in the inclusion of algæ in radiolarians) it is called conjunctive symbiosis; if there is no actual union of the organisms (as in the association of ants with myrmecophytes), disjunctive symbiosis.
Sym`bi*ot"ic (?), a. [Gr. &?;.] (Biol.) Pertaining to, or characterized by, or living in, a state of symbiosis. -- Sym`bi*ot"ic*al (#), a. -- Sym`bi*ot"ic*al*ly (#), adv.
Sym"pa*thy, n. (Physiol. & Med.) (a) The reciprocal influence exercised by organs or parts on one another, as shown in the effects of a diseased condition of one part on another part or organ, as in the vomiting produced by a tumor of the brain. (b) The influence of a certain psychological state in one person in producing a like state in another.
Syn"cre*tism (?), n. (Philol.) The union or fusion into one of two or more originally different inflectional forms, as of two cases.
{ Syn*dac"tyl, Syn*dac"tyle } (?), a. [Syn- + Gr. &?; finger, toe.] (Zoöl. & Med.) Having two or more digits wholly or partly united. See Syndactylism.
Syn"dic (?), n. (Civil Law) One appointed to manage an estate, essentially as a trustee, under English law.
Syn"dic*al (?), a. 1. Consisting of, or pert. to, a syndic.