Seal
[siːl] or [sil]
Definition
(noun.) any of numerous marine mammals that come on shore to breed; chiefly of cold regions.
(noun.) a device incised to make an impression; used to secure a closing or to authenticate documents.
(noun.) fastener that provides a tight and perfect closure.
(noun.) a finishing coat applied to exclude moisture.
(noun.) a stamp affixed to a document (as to attest to its authenticity or to seal it); 'the warrant bore the sheriff's seal'.
(noun.) the pelt or fur (especially the underfur) of a seal; 'a coat of seal'.
(verb.) decide irrevocably; 'sealing dooms'.
(verb.) hunt seals.
(verb.) close with or as if with a seal; 'She sealed the letter with hot wax'.
(verb.) make tight; secure against leakage; 'seal the windows'.
(verb.) affix a seal to; 'seal the letter'.
Checker: Mollie--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) Any aquatic carnivorous mammal of the families Phocidae and Otariidae.
(n.) An engraved or inscribed stamp, used for marking an impression in wax or other soft substance, to be attached to a document, or otherwise used by way of authentication or security.
(n.) Wax, wafer, or other tenacious substance, set to an instrument, and impressed or stamped with a seal; as, to give a deed under hand and seal.
(n.) That which seals or fastens; esp., the wax or wafer placed on a letter or other closed paper, etc., to fasten it.
(n.) That which confirms, ratifies, or makes stable; that which authenticates; that which secures; assurance.
(n.) An arrangement for preventing the entrance or return of gas or air into a pipe, by which the open end of the pipe dips beneath the surface of water or other liquid, or a deep bend or sag in the pipe is filled with the liquid; a draintrap.
(v. t.) To set or affix a seal to; hence, to authenticate; to confirm; to ratify; to establish; as, to seal a deed.
(v. t.) To mark with a stamp, as an evidence of standard exactness, legal size, or merchantable quality; as, to seal weights and measures; to seal silverware.
(v. t.) To fasten with a seal; to attach together with a wafer, wax, or other substance causing adhesion; as, to seal a letter.
(v. t.) Hence, to shut close; to keep close; to make fast; to keep secure or secret.
(v. t.) To fix, as a piece of iron in a wall, with cement, plaster, or the like.
(v. t.) To close by means of a seal; as, to seal a drainpipe with water. See 2d Seal, 5.
(v. t.) Among the Mormons, to confirm or set apart as a second or additional wife.
(v. i.) To affix one's seal, or a seal.
Typed by Belinda
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. [1]. Stamp.[2]. Attestation, authentication, confirmation.
v. a. [1]. Close, fasten, secure.[2]. Confirm, ratify, authenticate, attest.
Inputed by Harvey
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Close, fasten, confirm, sanction, ratify
ANT:Unseal, unclose, open, annul, cancel, abrogate, disratify, disaffirm,contravene
Edited by Kelsey
Definition
n. an engraved stamp for impressing the wax which closes a letter &c.: the wax or other substance so impressed: that which makes fast or secure: that which authenticates or ratifies: assurance: the water left standing in the trap of a drain or sewer preventing the upward flow of gas: the sigil or signature of a plant &c. in medieval medicine: the sign of the cross baptism confirmation the ineffaceable character supposed to be left on the soul by some sacraments.—v.t. to fasten with a seal: to set a seal to: to mark with a stamp: to make fast: to confirm: to keep secure: to close the chinks of: to secure against an escape of air or gas by means of a dip-pipe: to accept: to sign with the cross to baptise or confirm.—adj. Sealed certified by a seal: inaccessible.—ns. Seal′-engrav′ing the art of engraving seals; Seal′er one who seals: an inspector of stamps; Seal′ing confirmation by a seal; Seal′ing-day (Shak.) a day for sealing anything; Seal′ing-wax wax for sealing letters &c.—also Seal′-wax; Seal′-pipe a dip-pipe; Seal′-press a stamp bearing dies for embossing any device upon paper or lead; Seal′-ring (Shak.) a signet-ring; Seal′-wort Solomon's seal.—Seal of the fisherman the papal privy seal impressed on wax representing St Peter fishing.—Great seal the state seal of the United Kingdom; Leaden seal a disc of lead pierced with two holes through which are passed the ends of a twisted wire; Privy Seal the seal appended to grants and in Scotland authenticating royal grants of personal rights; Set one's seal to to give one's authority or assent to; Under seal authenticated.
n. the name commonly applied to all the Pinnipedia except the morse or walrus—carnivorous mammals adapted to a marine existence; the two great families are Phocid (without external ears) and Otariid (having distinct though small external ears): (her.) a bearing representing a creature something like a walrus.—v.t. to hunt seals.—ns. Seal′-bird the slender-billed shear-water; Seal′er a man or a ship engaged in the seal-fishery; Seal′ery a seal-fishing station: seal-fishery; Seal′-flow′er the bleeding heart; Seal′ing Seal′-fish′ing the act of catching seals; Seal′-rock′ery a place where many seals breed; Seal′skin the prepared fur of the fur-seal used for women's jackets a garment made of this.—Sealskin cloth a cloth made of mohair with a nap and dyed to resemble the fur of the seal.
Typed by Corinne
Unserious Contents or Definition
To dream that you see seals, denotes that you are striving for a place above your power to maintain. Dreams of seals usually show that the dreamer has high aspirations and discontent will harass him into struggles to advance his position.
Inputed by Inez
Unserious Contents or Definition
n. A mark impressed upon certain kinds of documents to attest their authenticity and authority. Sometimes it is stamped upon wax and attached to the paper sometimes into the paper itself. Sealing in this sense is a survival of an ancient custom of inscribing important papers with cabalistic words or signs to give them a magical efficacy independent of the authority that they represent. In the British museum are preserved many ancient papers mostly of a sacerdotal character validated by necromantic pentagrams and other devices frequently initial letters of words to conjure with; and in many instances these are attached in the same way that seals are appended now. As nearly every reasonless and apparently meaningless custom rite or observance of modern times had origin in some remote utility it is pleasing to note an example of ancient nonsense evolving in the process of ages into something really useful. Our word 'sincere ' is derived from sine cero without wax but the learned are not in agreement as to whether this refers to the absence of the cabalistic signs or to that of the wax with which letters were formerly closed from public scrutiny. Either view of the matter will serve one in immediate need of an hypothesis. The initials L.S. commonly appended to signatures of legal documents mean locum sigillis the place of the seal although the seal is no longer used —an admirable example of conservatism distinguishing Man from the beasts that perish. The words locum sigillis are humbly suggested as a suitable motto for the Pribyloff Islands whenever they shall take their place as a sovereign State of the American Union.
Inputed by Jeff
Examples
- It was a beautiful letter, highly scented, on a pink paper, and with a light green seal. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- The last name was written in pencil, and Amy explained that he was to rewrite it in ink and seal it up for her properly. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- If I don't hear from you before the time you mention, I will break the seal when the clock strikes. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- It was incorporated, in pursuance of an act of parliament, by a charter under the great seal, dated the 27th of July 1694. Adam Smith. An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.
- The die is the same as the porochial seal--the Good Samaritan healing the sick and bruised man. Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist.
- The only circumstance in connection with them that at all struck me was that the seal lay tidily in the tray with the pencils and the wax. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- I hastily broke open the plain wafer seal, and found a two hundred pound bank-note, merely enclosed in a blank cover. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- Books with their wealth of entertainment and information would be sealed to a large part of mankind, if glasses did not assist weak eyes. Bertha M. Clark. General Science.
- She knew them, they were finished, sealed and stamped and finished with, for her. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- He was willing to be sealed thus in the underworld, like a soul damned but living forever in damnation. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- Reliant on Night, confiding in Solitude, I kept my tears sealed, my sobs chained, no longer; they heaved my heart; they tore their way. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- That hiss, faint as it was, irritated the irascible gentleman, and sealed the culprit's fate. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- But as he sat gloating over me, I was supported by a scornful detestation of him that sealed my lips. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- Then he sealed it and addressed it to Captain James Calhoun, Barque 'Lone Star,' Savannah, Georgia. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- He is sad; silence seals his mind. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- At last, he said, There was an old gentleman, with thick eyebrows, and a broad hat, and large chain and seals. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- Signed with our hands and seals. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- At this minute the father of the family walked in, rattling his seals like a true British merchant. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- When those packets were sealed up, Jonas Oldacre got McFarlane to secure one of the seals by putting his thumb upon the soft wax. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- We will see seals in Suderoe, and, doubtless, mermaids in Stromoe. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- But seals would not find on oceanic islands the conditions favourable to their gradual reconversion into a terrestrial form. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- Thus the pass will be closed up, sealing the pirates up in the crater, so if the volcano does burst out, they will be blown to pieces. Fergus Hume. The Island of Fantasy.
- A device for sealing together the inside part and bulb of an incandescent lamp mechanically. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- They have sealing-wax on it, he said. Ernest Hemingway. A Farewell To Arms.
- A hopeful family yours, Mr. Trotter,' said Perker, sealing a letter which he had just finished writing. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- Before 1641 a true thermometer was constructed by sealing the top of the tube after driving out the air b y heat. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- My love has sworn, with sealing kiss, With me to live--to die; I have at last my nameless bliss. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- It was one of those small sealing-wax knives to be found on old-fashioned writing-tables, with an ivory handle and a stiff blade. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
Checker: Rhonda