Spo"li*a*tive (?), a. [Cf. F. spoliatif.] Serving to take away,
diminish, or rob; esp. (Med.), serving to diminish sensibily the amount
of blood in the body; as, spoliative bloodletting.
Spo"li*a`tor (?), n. One who spoliates; a spoiler.
Spo"li*a*to*ry (?), a. Tending to spoil; destructive; spoliative.
{ Spon*da"ic (?), Spon*da"ic*al (?) }, a. [L. spondaicus, spondiacus,
Gr. &?;: cf. F. spondaïque.] 1. Or of pertaining to a spondee;
consisting of spondees.
2. Containing spondees in excess; marked by spondees; as, a spondaic
hexameter, i. e., one which has a spondee instead of a dactyl in the
fifth foot.
Spon"dee (?), n. [L. spondeus, Gr. &?; (sc. &?;), fr. &?; a drink
offering, libation, fr. &?; to pour out, make a libation: cf. F.
spondée. So called because at libations slow, solemn melodies were
used, chiefly in this meter.] (pros.) A poetic foot of two long
syllables, as in the Latin word lgs.
Spon*du"lics (?), n. Money. [Slang, U.S.] Bartlett.
{ Spon"dyl, Spon"dyle } (?), n. [L. spondylus, Gr. &?;, &?;: cf. F.
spondyle.] (Anat.) A joint of the backbone; a vertebra.
Spong (?), n. [Etymol. uncertain.] An irregular, narrow, projecting
part of a field. [Prov. Eng.]
Sponge (?), n. [OF. esponge, F. éponge, L. spongia, Gr. &?;, &?;. Cf.
Fungus, Spunk.] [Formerly written also spunge.] 1. (Zoöl.) Any one of
numerous species of Spongiæ, or Porifera. See Illust. and Note under
Spongiæ.
2. The elastic fibrous skeleton of many species of horny Spongiæ
(keratosa), used for many purposes, especially the varieties of the
genus Spongia. The most valuable sponges are found in the Mediterranean
and the Red Sea, and on the coasts of Florida and the West Indies.
3. Fig.: One who lives upon others; a pertinaceous and indolent
dependent; a parasite; a sponger.
4. Any spongelike substance. Specifically: (a) Dough before it is
kneaded and formed into loaves, and after it is converted into a light,
spongy mass by the agency of the yeast or leaven. (b) Iron from the
puddling furnace, in a pasty condition. (c) Iron ore, in masses,
reduced but not melted or worked.
5. (Gun.) A mop for cleaning the bore of a cannon after a discharge. It
consists of a cylinder of wood, covered with sheepskin with the wool
on, or cloth with a heavy looped nap, and having a handle, or staff.
6. (Far.) The extremity, or point, of a horseshoe, answering to the
heel.
Bath sponge, any one of several varieties of coarse commercial sponges,
especially Spongia equina. -- Cup sponge, a toilet sponge growing in a
cup- shaped form. -- Glass sponge. See Glass- sponge, in the
Vocabulary. -- Glove sponge, a variety of commercial sponge (Spongia
officinalis, variety tubulufera), having very fine fibers, native of
Florida, and the West Indies. -- Grass sponge, any one of several
varieties of coarse commercial sponges having the surface irregularly
tufted, as Spongia graminea, and S. equina, variety cerebriformis, of
Florida and the West Indies. -- Horse sponge, a coarse commercial
sponge, especially Spongia equina. -- Platinum sponge. (Chem.) See
under Platinum. -- Pyrotechnical sponge, a substance made of mushrooms
or fungi, which are boiled in water, dried, and beaten, then put in a
strong lye prepared with saltpeter, and again dried in an oven. This
makes the black match, or tinder, brought from Germany. -- Sheep's-wool
sponge, a fine and durable commercial sponge (Spongia equina, variety
gossypina) found in Florida and the West Indies. The surface is covered
with larger and smaller tufts, having the oscula between them. --
Sponge cake, a kind of sweet cake which is light and spongy. -- Sponge
lead, or Spongy lead (Chem.), metallic lead brought to a spongy form by
reduction of lead salts, or by compressing finely divided lead; -- used
in secondary batteries and otherwise. -- Sponge tree (Bot.), a tropical
leguminous tree (Acacia Farnesiana), with deliciously fragrant flowers,
which are used in perfumery. -- Toilet sponge, a very fine and superior
variety of Mediterranean sponge (Spongia officinalis, variety
Mediterranea); -- called also turkish sponge. -- To set a sponge
(Cookery), to leaven a small mass of flour, to be used in leavening a
larger quantity. - - To throw up the sponge, to give up a contest; to
acknowledge defeat; -- from a custom of the prize ring, the person
employed to sponge a pugilist between rounds throwing his sponge in the
air in token of defeat. [Cant or Slang] "He was too brave a man to
throw up the sponge to fate." Lowell. -- Vegetable sponge. (Bot.) See
Loof. -- Velvet sponge, a fine, soft commercial sponge (Spongia equina,
variety meandriniformis) found in Florida and the West Indies. --
Vitreous sponge. See Glass-sponge. - - Yellow sponge, a common and
valuable commercial sponge (Spongia agaricina, variety corlosia) found
in Florida and the West Indies.
Sponge, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Sponged (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Sponging (?).]
1. To cleanse or wipe with a sponge; as, to sponge a slate or a cannon;
to wet with a sponge; as, to sponge cloth.
2. To wipe out with a sponge, as letters or writing; to efface; to
destroy all trace of. Hooker.
3. Fig.: To deprive of something by imposition. "How came such
multitudes of our nation . . . to be sponged of their plate and their
money?" South.
4. Fig.: To get by imposition or mean arts without cost; as, to sponge
a breakfast. Swift.
Sponge, v. i. 1. To suck in, or imbile, as a sponge.
2. Fig.: To gain by mean arts, by intrusion, or hanging on; as, an
idler sponges on his neighbor. E. Eggleston.
The fly is an intruder, and a common smell-feast, that sponges upon
other people's trenchers.
L'Estrange.
3. To be converted, as dough, into a light, spongy mass by the agency
of yeast, or leaven.
Sponge"let (?), n. See Spongiole.
Spon"geous (?), a. [See Spongious.] Resembling sponge; having the
nature or qualities of sponge.
Spon"ger (?), n. 1. One who sponges, or uses a sponge.