Emily Dickinson Lexicon

SPRIT, n.

1. A shoot; a sprout. – Mortimer.
2. [D. spriet.] A small boom, pole or spar which crosses the sail of a boat diagonally from the mast to the upper aftmost corner, which it is used to extend and elevate. – Mar. Dict.

SPRIT, v.i.

To sprout; to bud; to germinate; as barley steeped for malt.

SPRIT, v.t. [Sax. spryttan, to sprout; D. spruiten; G. spriessen; Dan. spruder, sproyter, to spurt; Sw. spritta, to start. It is of the same family as sprout. Class Brd.]

To throw out with force from a narrow orifice; to eject; spirt. [Not in use. See Spurt.]

SPRITE, n. [If from G. spriet, this is the most correct orthography. The Welsh has ysbrid, a spirit.]

A spirit.

SPRITE'FUL, a. [See SPRIGHTFUL.]

SPRITE'FUL-LY, adv. [See SPRIGHTFULLY.]

SPRITE'LI-NESS, n. [See SPRIGHTLINESS.]

SPRITE'LY, adv. [See SPRIGHTLY.]

SPRIT'-SAIL, n. [sprit and sail.]

1. The sail extended by sprit.
2. A sail attached to a yard which hangs under the bowsprit. – Mar. Dict.

SPROD, n.

A salmon in its second year. – Chambers.

SPRONG, v. [old pret. of Spring. Dutch.]

[Not in use.]

SPROUT, n.

1. The shoot of a plant; a shoot from the seed, or from the stump or from the root of a plant or tree. The sprouts of the cane, in Jamaica are called ratoons. – Edward's, W. Indies.
2. A shoot from the end of a branch. The young shoots of shrubs are called sprouts, and in the forest often furnish browse for cattle.

SPROUT, v.i. [D. spruiten; G. sprossen; Sax. spryttan; Sp. brotar, the same word without s. See Sprit.]

1. To shoot, as the seed of a plant; to germinate; to push out new shoots. A grain that sprouts in ordinary temperature in ten days, may by an augmentation of heat be made to sprout in forty eight hours. The stumps of trees often sprout and produce a new forest.
2. To shoot into ramifications. Vitriol is apt to sprout with moisture. – Bacon.
3. To grow, like shoots of plants. And on the ashes sprouting plumes appear. – Tickel.

SPROUT'ING, ppr.

Shooting in vegetation; germinating.

SPROUTS, n. [plur.]

Young coleworts. – Johnson.

SPRUCE, a.

Nice; trim; neat without elegance or dignity; formerly applied to things with a serious meaning; now applied to persons only. He is so spruce, that he never can be genteel. – Tatler.

SPRUCE, n.

The fir-tree; a name applied to all the species of that section of the Linnæan genus Pinus, which are comprehended under Abies, and likewise to some that are comprehended under Peuce. This term however belongs more especially to Pinus Abies or Norway spruce, a native of the north of Europe. In the United States it is applied to Pinus nigra, Pinus alba, and Pinus rubra, which are used in families to give flavor to beer. They are used by way of decoction, or in the form of extract.

SPRUCE, v.i.

To dress one's self with affected neatness.

SPRUCE, v.t.

To trim; to dress with great neatness.

SPRUCE-BEER, n.

A kind of beer which is tinctured with spruce, either by means of the extract or by decoction.

SPRUCE-LY, adv.

With extreme or affected neatness.

SPRUCE-NESS, n.

Neatness without taste or elegance; trimness; fineness; quaintness.

SPRUE, n.

In Scotland, that which is thrown off in casting metals; dross or scoria. [This is sometimes a vicious orthography of Sprew, the name of the disease otherwise called thrush. See Sprew.]

SPRUG, v.t.

To make smart. [Not in use.]

SPRUNG, v. [pret. and pp. of Spring.]

The man sprung over the ditch; the mast is sprung; a hero sprung from a race of kings.