Part 79
Spec"u*la*tive (?), a. [Cf. F. spéculatif, L. speculativus.] 1. Given to speculation; contemplative.
The mind of man being by nature speculative.
Hooker.
2. Involving, or formed by, speculation; ideal; theoretical; not established by demonstration. Cudworth.
3. Of or pertaining to vision; also, prying; inquisitive; curious. [R.] Bacon.
4. Of or pertaining to speculation in land, goods, shares, etc.; as, a speculative dealer or enterprise.
The speculative merchant exercises no one regular, established, or well-known branch of business.
A. Smith.
-- Spec"u*la*tive*ly, adv. -- Spec"u*la*tive*ness, n.
Spec"u*la`tor (?), n. [L., a spy, explorer, investigator: cf. F. spéculateur.] One who speculates. Specifically: (a) An observer; a contemplator; hence, a spy; a watcher. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.
(b) One who forms theories; a theorist.
A speculator who had dared to affirm that the human soul is by nature mortal.
Macaulay.
(c) (Com.) One who engages in speculation; one who buys and sells goods, land, etc., with the expectation of deriving profit from fluctuations in price.
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Spec`u*la*to"ri*al (?), a. Speculatory; speculative. [Obs.]
Spec"u*la*to*ry (?), a. [L. speculatorius belonging to spies or scouts.] 1. Intended or adapted for viewing or espying; having oversight. T. Warton.
2. Exercising speculation; speculative. T. Carew.
Spec"u*list (?), n. One who observes or considers; an observer. [R.] Goldsmith.
Spec"u*lum (?), n.; pl. L. Specula (#), E. Speculum (#). [L., fr. specere to look, behold. See Spy.] 1. A mirror, or looking-glass; especially, a metal mirror, as in Greek and Roman archæology.
2. A reflector of polished metal, especially one used in reflecting telescopes. See Speculum metal, below.
3. (Surg.) An instrument for dilating certain passages of the body, and throwing light within them, thus facilitating examination or surgical operations.
4. (Zoöl.) A bright and lustrous patch of color found on the wings of ducks and some other birds. It is usually situated on the distal portions of the secondary quills, and is much more brilliant in the adult male than in the female.
Speculum metal, a hard, brittle alloy used for making the reflectors of telescopes and other instruments, usually consisting of copper and tin in various proportions, one of the best being that in which there are 126.4 parts of copper to 58.9 parts of tin, with sometimes a small proportion of arsenic, antimony, or zinc added to improve the whiteness.
Sped (?), imp. & p. p. of Speed.
Speece (?), n. Species; sort. [Obs.]
Speech (?), n. [OE. speche, AS. sp&?;c, spr&?;, fr. specan, sprecan, to speak; akin to D. spraak speech, OHG. sprhha, G. sprache, Sw. spr&?;k, Dan. sprog. See Speak.] 1. The faculty of uttering articulate sounds or words; the faculty of expressing thoughts by words or articulate sounds; the power of speaking.
There is none comparable to the variety of instructive expressions by speech, wherewith man alone is endowed for the communication of his thoughts.
Holder.
2. he act of speaking; that which is spoken; words, as expressing ideas; language; conversation.
Speech is voice modulated by the throat, tongue, lips, etc., the modulation being accomplished by changing the form of the cavity of the mouth and nose through the action of muscles which move their walls.
O goode God! how gentle and how kind Ye seemed by your speech and your visage The day that maked was our marriage.
Chaucer.
The acts of God . . . to human ears Can nort without process of speech be told.
Milton.
3. A particular language, as distinct from others; a tongue; a dialect.
People of a strange speech and of an hard language.
Ezek. iii. 6.
4. Talk; mention; common saying.
The duke . . . did of me demand What was the speech among the Londoners Concerning the French journey.
Shak.
5. formal discourse in public; oration; harangue.
The constant design of these orators, in all their speeches, was to drive some one particular point.
Swift.
6. ny declaration of thoughts.
I. with leave of speech implored, . . . replied.
Milton.
Syn. Harangue; language; address; oration. See Harangue, and Language.
Speech, v. i. & t. To make a speech; to harangue. [R.]
Speech"ful (?), a. Full of speech or words; voluble; loquacious. [R.]
Speech`i*fi*ca"tion (?), n.[See Spechify.] The act of speechifying. [Used humorously or in contempt.]
Speech"i*fi`er (?), n. One who makes a speech or speeches; an orator; a declaimer. [Used humorously or in contempt.] G. Eliot.
Speech"i*fy (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Speechified (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Speechifying (?).] [Speech + -fy.] To make a speech; to harangue. [Used derisively or humorously.]
Speech"i*fy`ing, n. The act of making a speech or speeches. [Used derisively or humorously.]
The dinner and speechifying . . . at the opening of the annual season for the buckhounds.
M. Arnold.
Speech"ing, n. The act of making a speech. [R.]
Speech"less, a. 1. Destitute or deprived of the faculty of speech.
2. Not speaking for a time; dumb; mute; silent.
Speechless with wonder, and half dead with fear.
Addison.
-- Speech"less*ly, adv. -- Speech"less*ness, n.
Speech"mak`er (?), n. One who makes speeches; one accustomed to speak in a public assembly.
Speed (?), n. [AS. sp&?;d success, swiftness, from sp&?;wan to succeed; akin to D. spoedd, OHG. spuot success, spuot to succees, Skr. sph to increase, grow fat. √170b.] 1. Prosperity in an undertaking; favorable issue; success. "For common speed." Chaucer.
O Lord God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day.
Gen. xxiv. 12.
2. The act or state of moving swiftly; swiftness; velocity; rapidly; rate of motion; dispatch; as, the speed a horse or a vessel.
Speed, to describe whose swiftness number fails.
Milton.
In kinematics, speedis sometimes used to denote the amount of velocity without regard to direction of motion, while velocity is not regarded as known unless both the direction and the amount are known.
3. One who, or that which, causes or promotes speed or success. [Obs.] "Hercules be thy speed!" Shak.
God speed, Good speed; prosperity. See Godspeed. -- Speed gauge, Speed indicator, ∧ Speed recorder (Mach.), devices for indicating or recording the rate of a body's motion, as the number of revolutions of a shaft in a given time. -- Speed lathe (Mach.), a power lathe with a rapidly revolving spindle, for turning small objects, for polishing, etc.; a hand lathe. -- Speed pulley, a cone pulley with steps.
Syn. -- Haste; swiftness; celerity; quickness; dispatch; expedition; hurry; acceleration. See Haste.
Speed (spd), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Sped (spd), Speeded; p. pr. & vb. n. Speeding.] [AS. spdan, fr. spd, n.; akin to D. spoeden, G. sich sputen. See Speed, n.] 1. To go; to fare. [Obs.]
To warn him now he is too farre sped.
Remedy of Love.
2. To experience in going; to have any condition, good or ill; to fare. Shak.
Ships heretofore in seas like fishes sped; The mightiest still upon the smallest fed.
Waller.
3. To fare well; to have success; to prosper.
Save London, and send true lawyers their meed! For whoso wants money with them shall not speed!
Lydgate.
I told ye then he should prevail, and speed On his bad errand.
Milton.
4. To make haste; to move with celerity.
I have speeded hither with the very extremest inch of possibility.
Shak.
5. To be expedient. [Obs.] Wyclif (2 Cor. xii. 1.)
Speed, v. t. 1. To cause to be successful, or to prosper; hence, to aid; to favor. "Fortune speed us!" Shak.
With rising gales that speed their happy flight.
Dryden.
2. To cause to make haste; to dispatch with celerity; to drive at full speed; hence, to hasten; to hurry.
He sped him thence home to his habitation.
Fairfax.
3. To hasten to a conclusion; to expedite.
Judicial acts . . . are sped in open court at the instance of one or both of the parties.
Ayliffe.
4. To hurry to destruction; to put an end to; to ruin; to undo. "Sped with spavins." Shak.
A dire dilemma! either way I 'm sped. If foes, they write, if friends, they read, me dead.
Pope.
5. To wish success or god fortune to, in any undertaking, especially in setting out upon a journey.
Welcome the coming, speed the parting guest.
Pope.
God speed you, them, etc., may God speed you; or, may you have good speed.
Syn. -- To dispatch; hasten; expedite; accelerate; hurry.
Speed"er (?), n. 1. One who, or that which, speeds.
2. (Spinning) A machine for drawing and twisting slivers to form rovings.
Speed"ful (?), a. Full of speed (in any sense). [Obs.]
Speed"ful*ly, adv. In a speedful manner. [Obs.]
Speed"i*ly (?), adv. In a speedy manner.
Speed"i*ness, n. The quality or state of being speedy.
Speed"less, a. Being without speed.
Speed"well (?), n. (Bot.) Any plant of the genus Veronica, mostly low herbs with pale blue corollas, which quickly fall off.
Speed"y (-), a. [Compar. Speedier (?); superl. Speediest.] [AS. spdyg.] Not dilatory or slow; quick; swift; nimble; hasty; rapid in motion or performance; as, a speedy flight; on speedy foot.
I will wish her speedy strength.
Shak.
Darts, which not the good could shun, The speedy ould outfly.
Dryden.
Speer (?), n. A sphere. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Speer, v. t. To ask. [Scot.] See Spere.
Speet (?), v. t. [Cf. D. speten. See Spit an iron prong.] To stab. [Obs.] Gammer Gurton's Needle.
Speight (?), n. [G. specht, probably akin to L. picus: cf. D. specht. √169. See Pie a magpie.] (Zoöl.) A woodpecker; -- called also specht, spekt, spight. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]
Speir (?), v. i. To ask. See Spere. Sir W. Scott.
Speis`ko"balt (?), n. [G.] Smaltite.
Speiss (?), n. [Cf. G. speise food, mixed metal for bells, etc.] (Metal.) A regulus consisting essentially of nickel, obtained as a residue in fusing cobalt and nickel ores with silica and sodium carbonate to make smalt.
Spek"boom (?), n. [D., lit. fat tree.] (Bot.) The purslane tree of South Africa, -- said to be the favorite food of elephants. Balfour (Cyc. of India).
Speke (?), v. i. & t. To speak. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Speke"house` (?), n. The parlor or reception room of a convent. [Obs.]
Spel"ding (?), n. [Scot. speld to spread out, spelder to split. spread open; cf. G. spalten split.] A haddock or other small fish split open and dried in the sun; -- called also speldron. [Scot.]
Spel"i*cans (?), n. pl. See Spilikin.
Spelk (?), n. [AS. spelc, spilc, a little rod by which a thing is kept straight, a splint for binding up broken bones, akin to Icel. spelkur, pl., a splint. Cf. Spell a splinter.] A small stick or rod used as a spike in thatching; a splinter. [Prov. Eng.] Grose.
Spell (?), n. [OE. speld, AS. speld a spill to light a candle with; akin to D. speld a pin, OD. spelle, G. spalten to split, OHG. spaltan, MHG. spelte a splinter, Icel. spjald a square tablet, Goth. spilda a writing tablet. Cf. Spillsplinter, roll of paper, Spell to tell the letters of.] A spelk, or splinter. [Obs.] Holland.
Spell, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spelled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Spelling.] [AS. spelian to supply another's place.] To supply the place of for a time; to take the turn of, at work; to relieve; as, to spell the helmsman.
Spell, n. 1. The relief of one person by another in any piece of work or watching; also, a turn at work which is carried on by one person or gang relieving another; as, a spell at the pumps; a spell at the masthead.
A spell at the wheel is called a trick.
Ham. Nav. Encyc.
2. The time during which one person or gang works until relieved; hence, any relatively short period of time, whether a few hours, days, or weeks.
Nothing new has happened in this quarter, except the setting in of a severe spell of cold weather.
Washington.
3. One of two or more persons or gangs who work by spells. [R.]
Their toil is so extreme that they can not endure it above four hours in a day, but are succeeded by spells.
Garew.
4. A gratuitous helping forward of another's work; as, a logging spell. [Local, U.S.]
Spell (?), n.[AS. spell a saying, tale, speech; akin to OS. & OHG. spel, Icel. spjall,Goth. spill. Cf. Gospel, Spell to tell the letters of.] 1. A story; a tale. [Obs.] "Hearken to my spell." Chaucer.
2. A stanza, verse, or phrase supposed to be endowed with magical power; an incantation; hence, any charm.
Start not; her actions shall be holy as You hear my spell is lawful.
Shak.
Spell, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spelled (&?;) or Spelt (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Spelling.] [OE. spellen, spellien, tell, relate, AS. spellian, fr. spell a saying, tale; akin to MHG. spellen to relate, Goth. spill&?;n.e Spell a tale. In sense 4 and those following, OE. spellen, perhaps originally a different word, and from or influenced by spell a splinter, from the use of a piece of wood to point to the letters in schools: cf. D. spellen to spell. Cf. Spell splinter.] 1. To tell; to relate; to teach. [Obs.]
Might I that legend find, By fairies spelt in mystic rhymes.
T. Warton.
2. To put under the influence of a spell; to affect by a spell; to bewitch; to fascinate; to charm. "Spelled with words of power." Dryden.
He was much spelled with Eleanor Talbot.
Sir G. Buck.
3. To constitute; to measure. [Obs.]
The Saxon heptarchy, when seven kings put together did spell but one in effect.
Fuller.
4. To tell or name in their proper order letters of, as a word; to write or print in order the letters of, esp. the proper letters; to form, as words, by correct orthography.
The word "satire" ought to be spelled with i, and not with y.
Dryden.
5. To discover by characters or marks; to read with difficulty; -- usually with out; as, to spell out the sense of an author; to spell out a verse in the Bible.
To spell out a God in the works of creation.
South.
To sit spelling and observing divine justice upon every accident.
Milton.
Spell, v. i. 1. To form words with letters, esp. with the proper letters, either orally or in writing.
When what small knowledge was, in them did dwell, And he a god, who could but read or spell.
Dryden.
2. To study by noting characters; to gain knowledge or learn the meaning of anything, by study. [Obs.]
Where I may sit and rightly spell Of every star that heaven doth shew, And every herb that sips the dew.
Milton.
Spell"a*ble (?), a. Capable of being spelt. Carlyle.
Spell"bound` (?), a. Bound by, or as by, a spell.
Spell"er (?), n. 1. One who spells.
2. A spelling book. [U. S.]
Spell"ful (?), a. Abounding in spells, or charms.
Here, while his eyes the learned leaves peruse, Each spellful mystery explained he views.
Hoole.
Spell"ing, n. The act of one who spells; formation of words by letters; orthography.
Spell"ing, a. Of or pertaining to spelling.
Spelling bee, a spelling match. [U.S.] - - Spelling book, a book with exercises for teaching children to spell; a speller. -- Spelling match, a contest of skill in spelling words, between two or more persons.
Spell"ken (?), n. A theater. [Slang] Byron.
Spell"work` (?), n. Power or effect of magic; that which is wrought by magic; enchantment.
Like those Peri isles of light That hang by spellwork in the air.
Moore.
Spelt (?), imp. & p. p. of Spell. Spelled.
Spelt, n. [AS. spelt, fr. L. spelta.] (Bot.) A species of grain (Triticum Spelta) much cultivated for food in Germany and Switzerland; -- called also German wheat.
Spelt, n. [See Spalt.] (Metal.) Spelter. [Colloq.]
Spelt, v. t. & i. [See Spell a splinter.] To split; to break; to spalt. [Obs.] Mortimer.
Spel"ter (?), n. [Cf. LG. spialter, G. & D. spiauter. Cf. Pewter.] (Metal.) Zinc; -- especially so called in commerce and arts.
Spe*lunc" (?), n. [L. spelunca cave.] A cavern; a cave. [Obs.] Piers Plowman.
Spence (?), n. [OF. despense, F. dépense, buffet, buttery, fr. OF. despendre to spend, distribute, L. dispendere, dispensum. See Dispense, Spend.] 1. A place where provisions are kept; a buttery; a larder; a pantry.
In . . . his spence, or "pantry" were hung the carcasses of a sheep or ewe, and two cows lately slaughtered.
Sir W. Scott.
Bluff Harry broke into the spence, And turned the cowls adrift.
Tennyson.
2. The inner apartment of a country house; also, the place where the family sit and eat. [Scot.] Jamieson.
Spen"cer (?), n. [OF. despensier. See Spence, and cf. Dispenser.] One who has the care of the spence, or buttery. [Obs.] Promptorium Parvulorum.
Spen"cer, n. [From the third Earl Spencer, who first wore it, or brought it into fashion.] A short jacket worn by men and by women. Ld. Lutton.
Spen"cer, n. (Naut.) A fore- and-aft sail, abaft the foremast or the mainmast, hoisted upon a small supplementary mast and set with a gaff and no boom; a trysail carried at the foremast or mainmast; -- named after its inventor, Knight Spencer, of England [1802].
Spencer mast, a small mast just abaft the foremast or mainmast, for hoisting the spencer. R. H. Dana, Jr.
Spend (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Spent (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Spending.] [AS. spendan (in comp.), fr. L. expendere or dispendere to weigh out, to expend, dispense. See Pendant, and cf. Dispend, Expend, Spence, Spencer.] 1. To weigh or lay out; to dispose of; to part with; as, to spend money for clothing.
Spend thou that in the town.
Shak.
Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread?
Isa. lv. 2.
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2. To bestow; to employ; -- often with on or upon.
I . . . am never loath To spend my judgment.
Herbert.
3. To consume; to waste; to squander; to exhaust; as, to spend an estate in gaming or other vices.
4. To pass, as time; to suffer to pass away; as, to spend a day idly; to spend winter abroad.
We spend our years as a tale that is told.
Ps. xc. 9.
5. To exhaust of force or strength; to waste; to wear away; as, the violence of the waves was spent.
Their bodies spent with long labor and thirst.
Knolles.
Spend (?), v. i. 1. To expend money or any other possession; to consume, use, waste, or part with, anything; as, he who gets easily spends freely.
He spends as a person who knows that he must come to a reckoning.
South.
2. To waste or wear away; to be consumed; to lose force or strength; to vanish; as, energy spends in the using of it.
The sound spendeth and is dissipated in the open air.
Bacon.
3. To be diffused; to spread.
The vines that they use for wine are so often cut, that their sap spendeth into the grapes.
Bacon.
4. (Mining) To break ground; to continue working.
Spen"der (?), n. One who spends; esp., one who spends lavishly; a prodigal; a spendthrift.
Spend"ing, n. The act of expending; expenditure.
Spending money, money set apart for extra (not necessary) personal expenses; pocket money. [Colloq.]
Spend"thrift` (?), n. One who spends money profusely or improvidently; a prodigal; one who lavishes or wastes his estate. Also used figuratively.
A woman who was a generous spendthrift of life.
Mrs. R. H. Davis.
Spend"thrift, a. Prodigal; extravagant; wasteful.
Spend"thrift`y (?), a. Spendthrift; prodigal. [R.]
Spen*se"ri*an (?), a. Of or pertaining to the English poet Spenser; -- specifically applied to the stanza used in his poem "The Faërie Queene."
Spent (spnt), a. 1. Exhausted; worn out; having lost energy or motive force.
Now thou seest me Spent, overpowered, despairing of success.
Addison.
Heaps of spent arrows fall and strew the ground.
Dryden.
2. (Zoöl.) Exhausted of spawn or sperm; -- said especially of fishes.
Spent ball, a ball shot from a firearm, which reaches an object without having sufficient force to penetrate it.
{ Sper (?), Sperre }, v. t. [See Spar bar.] To shut in; to support; to inclose; to fasten. [Obs.] "To sperre the gate." Spenser.
Spe"ra*ble (?), a. [L. spearabilis, fr. sperare to hope.] Within the range of hpe; proper to be hoped for. [Obs.] Bacon.
Sper"a*ble (?), n. See Sperable.
Sper"age (?), n. Asperagus. [Obs.] Sylvester.
Spe"rate (?), a. [L. speratus, p. p. of sperare to hope.] Hoped for, or to be hoped for. [R.] Bouvier.
Spere (?), v. i. [AS. spyrian to inquire, properly, to follow the track; akin to D. speuren, G. spüren, Icel. spyrja. √171. See Spoor.] To search; to pry; to ask; to inquire. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.] [Written also speer, speir.] Jamieson.
Spere, n. [See Sphere.] A sphere. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Sperge (?), n. (Distilling) A charge of wash for the still. Knight.
Sper"ling (?), n. [See Sparling.] (Zoöl.) (a) A smelt; a sparling. [Prov. Eng.] (b) A young herring. [Local, U.S.]
Sperm (?), n.[F. sperme, L. sperma, Gr. &?;&?;&?;, &?;&?;&?;, from &?;&?;&?;&?; to sow. Cf. Spore.] (Physiol.) The male fecundating fluid; semen. See Semen.
Sperm cell (Physiol.), one of the cells from which the spermatozoids are developed. -- Sperm morula. (Biol.) Same as Spermosphere.
Sperm, n.[Contr. fr. spermaceti.] Spermaceti.
Sperm oil, a fatty oil found as a liquid, with spermaceti, in the head cavities of the sperm whale. -- Sperm whale. (Zoöl.) See in the Vocabulary.
Sper`ma*ce"ti (?), n. [L. sperma sperm + cetus,gen. ceti, any large sea animal, a whale, Gr. &?;&?;&?;. See Sperm, Cetaceous.] A white waxy substance obtained from cavities in the head of the sperm whale, and used making candles, oilments, cosmetics, etc. It consists essentially of ethereal salts of palmitic acid with ethal and other hydrocarbon bases. The substance of spermaceti after the removal of certain impurities is sometimes called cetin.
Spermaceti whale (Zoöl.), the sperm whale.
Sper"mal*ist (?), n. (Biol.) See Spermist.
Sper"ma*phore (?), n. [Gr. &?;&?;&?;&?; sperm + &?;&?;&?;&?; to bear.] (Bot.) That part of the ovary from which the ovules arise; the placenta.
Sper"ma*ry (?), n. (Anat.) An organ in which spermatozoa are developed; a sperm gland; a testicle.
||Sper`ma*the"ca (?), n.; pl. Spermathecæ (#). [NL., from Gr. ||&?;&?;&?;&?; seed + &?;&?;&?;&?; case, or receptacle.] (Zoöl.) A ||small sac connected with the female reproductive organs of insects ||and many other invertebrates, serving to receive and retain the ||spermatozoa.
Sper*mat"ic (?), a. [L. spermaticus, Gr. &?;&?;&?;&?;: cf. F. spermatique. See Sperm.] (Physiol.) Of or pertaining to semen; as, the spermatic fluid, the spermatic vessels, etc.
Spermatic cord (Anat.), the cord which suspends the testicle within the scrotum. It is made up of a connective tissue sheath inclosing the spermatic duct and accompanying vessels and nerves.
Sper"mat"ic*al (?), a. Spermatic.
Sper"ma*tin (?), n. (Physiol. Chem.) A substance allied to alkali albumin and to mucin, present in semen, to which it is said to impart the mucilaginous character.
Sper"ma*tism (?), n. (Physiol.) The emission of sperm, or semen.
||Sper*ma"ti*um (?), n.; pl. Spermatia (#). [NL.] (Bot.) One of the ||motionless spermatozoids in the conceptacles of certain fungi. J. H. ||Balfour.
Sper"ma*tize (?), v. i. [Gr. &?;&?;&?;. See Sperm.] To yield seed; to emit seed, or sperm. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.
{ Sper"ma*to- (?), Sper"mo- (?) }. Combining forms from Gr. spe`rma, -atos, seed, sperm, semen (of plants or animals); as, spermatoblast, spermoblast.
Sper"ma*to*blast (?), n. Same as Spermoblast.
Sper"ma*to*cyte (?), n. [Spermato- + Gr. &?;&?;&?;&?; a hollow vessel.] (Physiol.) Same as Spermoblast.
Sper`ma*to*gem"ma (?), n. [NL. See Spermato-, and Gemma.] (Physiol.) Same as Spermosphere.
Sper`ma*to*gen"e*sis (?), n. [Spermato- + genesis.] (Biol.) The development of the spermatozoids.
Sper`ma*to*ge*net"ic (?), a. (Physiol.) Relating to, or connected with, spermatogenesis; as, spermatogenetic function.
Sper`ma*tog"e*nous (?), a. [Spermato- + -genous.] (Physiol.) Sperm- producing.