To search out, to seek till found; to find by seeking; as, to search
out truth.
Syn. -- To explore; examine; scrutinize; seek; investigate; pry into;
inquire.
Search, v. i. To seek; to look for something; to make inquiry,
exploration, or examination; to hunt.
Once more search with me.
Shak.
It sufficeth that they have once with care sifted the matter, and
searched into all the particulars.
Locke.
Search, n. [Cf. OF. cerche. See Search, v. t.] The act of seeking or
looking for something; quest; inquiry; pursuit for finding something;
examination.
Thus the orb he roamed With narrow search, and with inspection deep
Considered every creature.
Milton.
Nor did my search of liberty begin Till my black hairs were changed
upon my chin.
Dryden.
Right of search (Mar. Law), the right of the lawfully commissioned
cruisers of belligerent nations to examine and search private merchant
vessels on the high seas, for the enemy's property or for articles
contraband of war. -- Search warrant (Law), a warrant legally issued,
authorizing an examination or search of a house, or other place, for
goods stolen, secreted, or concealed.
Syn. -- Scrutiny; examination; exploration; investigation; research;
inquiry; quest; pursuit.
Search"a*ble (?), a. Capable of being searched.
Search"a*ble*ness, n. Quality of being searchable.
Search"er (?), n. [Cf. OF. cercheor inspector.] One who, or that which,
searches or examines; a seeker; an inquirer; an examiner; a trier.
Specifically: (a) Formerly, an officer in London appointed to examine
the bodies of the dead, and report the cause of death. Graunt. (b) An
officer of the customs whose business it is to search ships,
merchandise, luggage, etc. (c) An inspector of leather. [Prov. Eng.]
(d) (Gun.) An instrument for examining the bore of a cannon, to detect
cavities. (e) An implement for sampling butter; a butter trier. (j)
(Med.) An instrument for feeling after calculi in the bladder, etc.
Search"ing, a. Exploring thoroughly; scrutinizing; penetrating; trying;
as, a searching discourse; a searching eye. "Piercing, searching,
biting, cold." Dickens.
-- Search"ing*ly, adv. -- Search"ing*ness, n.
Search"less, a. Impossible to be searched; inscrutable; impenetrable.
Sear"cloth` (?; 115), n. Cerecloth. Mortimer.
Sear"cloth, v. t. To cover, as a sore, with cerecloth.
Seared (?), a. Scorched; cauterized; hence, figuratively, insensible;
not susceptible to moral influences.
A seared conscience and a remorseless heart.
Macaulay.
Sear"ed*ness (?), n. The state of being seared or callous;
insensibility. Bp. Hall.
Sea" reed` (?). (Bot.) The sea-sand reed. See under Reed.
Sea" risk (?). Risk of injury, destruction, or loss by the sea, or
while at sea.
Sea" rob"ber (?). A pirate; a sea rover.
Sea" rob"in (?). See under Robin, and Illustration in Appendix.
Sea" rock"et (?).(Bot.) See under Rocket.
Sea" room` (?). (Naut.) Room or space at sea for a vessel to maneuver,
drive, or scud, without peril of running ashore or aground. Totten.
Sea" rov"er (?). One that cruises or roves the sea for plunder; a sea
robber; a pirate; also, a piratical vessel.
Sea"-rov"ing, a. Cruising at random on the ocean.
Sea" salm"on (?). (Zoöl.) (a) A young pollock. (b) The spotted
squeteague. (c) See Sea bass (b).
Sea" salt` (?). Common salt, obtained from sea water by evaporation.
Sea" sand"pi`per (?). (Zoöl.) The purple sandpiper.
Sea" sand"wort` (?). (Bot.) See Sea chickweed.
Sea" sau"ri*an (?), n. (Zoöl.) Any marine saurian; esp. (Paleon.), the
large extinct species of Mosasaurus, Ichthyosaurus, Plesiosaurus, and
related genera.
Sea"scape (?), n. [Cf. Landscape.] A picture representing a scene at
sea. [Jocose] Thackeray.
Sea" scor"pi*on (?). (Zoöl.) (a) A European sculpin (Cottus scorpius)
having the head armed with short spines. (b) The scorpene.
Sea" scurf` (?). (Zoöl.) Any bryozoan which forms rounded or irregular
patches of coral on stones, seaweeds, etc.
Sea" ser"pent (?). 1. (Zoöl.) Any marine snake. See Sea snake.
2. (Zoöl.) A large marine animal of unknown nature, often reported to
have been seen at sea, but never yet captured.
Many accounts of sea serpents are imaginary or fictitious; others are
greatly exaggerated and distorted by incompetent observers; but a
number have been given by competent and trustworthy persons, which
indicate that several diverse animals have been called sea serpents.
Among these are, apparently, several large snakelike fishes, as the oar
fish, or ribbon fish (Regalecus), and huge conger eels. Other accounts
probably refer to the giant squids (Architeuthis). Some of the best
accounts seem to describe a marine saurian, like the fossil Mosasauri,
which were large serpentlike creatures with paddles.
Sea"shell` (?), n. (Zoöl.) The shell of any marine mollusk.
Sea"shore` (?), n. 1. The coast of the sea; the land that lies adjacent
to the sea or ocean.
2. (Law) All the ground between the ordinary high-water and low-water
marks.
Sea"sick` (?), a. Affected with seasickness.
Sea"sick`ness, n. The peculiar sickness, characterized by nausea and
prostration, which is caused by the pitching or rolling of a vessel.
Sea"side` (?), n. The land bordering on, or adjacent to, the sea; the
seashore. Also used adjectively.
Sea" slat"er (?). (Zoöl.) Any isopod crustacean of the genus Ligia.
Sea" slug` (?). (Zoöl.) (a) A holothurian. (b) A nudibranch mollusk.
Sea" snail` (?). (Zoöl.) (a) A small fish of the genus Liparis, having
a ventral sucker. It lives among stones and seaweeds. (b) Any small
creeping marine gastropod, as the species of Littorina, Natica, etc.
Sea" snake` (?). (Zoöl.) Any one of many species of venomous aquatic
snakes of the family Hydrophidæ, having a flattened tail and living
entirely in the sea, especially in the warmer parts of the Indian and
Pacific Oceans. They feed upon fishes, and are mostly of moderate size,
but some species become eight or ten feet long and four inches broad.
Sea" snipe` (?). (Zoöl.) (a) A sandpiper, as the knot and dunlin. (b)
The bellows fish.
Sea"son (?), n. [OE. sesoun, F. saison, properly, the sowing time, fr.
L. satio a sowing, a planting, fr. serere, satum, to sow, plant; akin
to E. sow, v., to scatter, as seed.] 1. One of the divisions of the
year, marked by alterations in the length of day and night, or by
distinct conditions of temperature, moisture, etc., caused mainly by
the relative position of the earth with respect to the sun. In the
north temperate zone, four seasons, namely, spring, summer, autumn, and
winter, are generally recognized. Some parts of the world have three
seasons, -- the dry, the rainy, and the cold; other parts have but two,
-- the dry and the rainy.
The several seasons of the year in their beauty.
Addison.
2. Hence, a period of time, especially as regards its fitness for
anything contemplated or done; a suitable or convenient time; proper
conjuncture; as, the season for planting; the season for rest.
The season, prime for sweetest scents and airs.
Milton.