Sax (?), n. [AS. seax a knife.] A kind of chopping instrument for
trimming the edges of roofing slates.
Sax"a*tile (?), a. [L. saxatilis, fr. saxum a rock: cf. F. saxatile.]
Of or pertaining to rocks; living among rocks; as, a saxatile plant.
Sax"horn` (?), n. (Mus.) A name given to a numerous family of brass
wind instruments with valves, invented by Antoine Joseph Adolphe Sax
(known as Adolphe Sax), of Belgium and Paris, and much used in military
bands and in orchestras.
Sax`i*ca"va (?), n.; pl. E. saxicavas (#), L. Saxicavæ (#). [NL. See
Saxicavous.] (Zoöl.) Any species of marine bivalve shells of the genus
Saxicava. Some of the species are noted for their power of boring holes
in limestone and similar rocks.
Sax`i*ca"vid (?), a. (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to the saxicavas. -- n. A
saxicava.
Sax`i*ca"vous (?), a. [L. saxum rock + cavare to make hollow, fr. cavus
hollow: cf. F. saxicave.] (Zoöl.) Boring, or hollowing out, rocks; --
said of certain mollusks which live in holes which they burrow in
rocks. See Illust. of Lithodomus.
Sax*ic"o*line (?), a. [L. saxum a rock + colere to inhabit.] (Zoöl.)
Stone- inhabiting; pertaining to, or having the characteristics of, the
stonechats.
Sax*ic"o*lous (?), a. [See Saxicoline.] (Bot.) Growing on rocks.
||Sax*if"ra*ga (?), n. [L., saxifrage. See Saxifrage.] (Bot.) A genus
||of exogenous polypetalous plants, embracing about one hundred and
||eighty species. See Saxifrage.
Sax`i*fra*ga"ceous (?), a. (Bot.) Of or pertaining to a natural order
of plants (Saxifragaceæ) of which saxifrage is the type. The order
includes also the alum root, the hydrangeas, the mock orange, currants
and gooseberries, and many other plants.
Sax*if"ra*gant (?), a. [See Saxifrage.] Breaking or destroying stones;
saxifragous. [R.] -- n. That which breaks or destroys stones. [R.]
Sax"i*frage (?; 48), n. [L. saxifraga, from saxifragus stone-breaking;
saxum rock + frangere to break: cf. F. saxifrage. See Fracture, and cf.
Sassafras, Saxon.] (Bot.) Any plant of the genus Saxifraga, mostly
perennial herbs growing in crevices of rocks in mountainous regions.
Burnet saxifrage, a European umbelliferous plant (Pimpinella
Saxifraga). -- Golden saxifrage, a low half-succulent herb
(Chrysosplenium oppositifolium) growing in rivulets in Europe; also, C.
Americanum, common in the United States. See also under Golden. --
Meadow saxifrage, or Pepper saxifrage. See under Meadow.
Sax*if"ra*gous (?), a. [L. saxifragus: cf. F. saxifrage. See
Saxifrage.] Dissolving stone, especially dissolving stone in the
bladder.
Sax"on (sks"n or -'n), n. [L. Saxo, pl. Saxones, from the Saxon
national name; cf. AS. pl. Seaxe, Seaxan, fr. seax a knife, a short
sword, a dagger (akin to OHG. sahs, and perhaps to L. saxum rock,
stone, knives being originally made of stone); and cf. G. Sachse, pl.
Sachsen. Cf. Saxifrage.] 1. (a) One of a nation or people who formerly
dwelt in the northern part of Germany, and who, with other Teutonic
tribes, invaded and conquered England in the fifth and sixth centuries.
(b) Also used in the sense of Anglo- Saxon. (c) A native or inhabitant
of modern Saxony.