Emily Dickinson Lexicon

SOPH'IC-AL, a. [Gr. σοφος, wise; σοφια, wisdom.]

Teaching wisdom. [Not in use.] – Harris.

SOPH'ISM, n. [Fr. sophisme; L. sophisma; Gr. σοφισμα.]

A specious but fallacious argument; a subtilty in reasoning; an argument that is not supported by sound reasoning, or in which the inference is not justly deduced from the premises. When a false argument puts on the appearance of a true one, then it is properly called a sophism or fallacy. – Watts.

SOPH'IST, n. [L. sophista; Fr. sophiste; It. sofista.]

1. A professor of philosophy; as, the sophists of Greece. – Temple.
2. A captious or fallacious reasoner.

SOPH'IS-TER, n. [supra.]

1. A disputant fallaciously subtil; an artful but insidious logician; as, an atheistical sophister. Not all the subtil objections of sophisters and rabbies against the Gospel, so much prejudiced the reception of it, as the reproach of those crimes with which they aspersed the assemblies of Christians. – Rogers.
2. A professor of philosophy; a sophist. [Obs.] – Hooker.

SOPH'IS-TER, v.t.

To maintain by a fallacious argument. [Not in use.] – Cobham.

SO-PHIST'IC, or SO-PHIST'IC-AL, a. [Fr. sophistique; It. sofistico.]

Fallaciously subtil; not sound; as, sophistical reasoning or argument.

SO-PHIST'IC-AL-LY, adv.

With fallacious subtilty. – Swift.

SO-PHIST'IC-ATE, or SO-PHIST'IC-A-TED, a.

Adulterated; not pure; not genuine. So truth, when only one supplied the state, / Grew scarce and dear, and yet sophisticate. – Dryden.

SO-PHIST'IC-ATE, v.t. [Fr. sophistiquer; Sp. sofisticar.]

1. To adulterate; to corrupt by something spurious or foreign; to pervert; as, to sophisticate nature, philosophy or the understanding. – Hooker. South.
2. To adulterate; to render spurious; as merchandise; as, to sophisticate wares or liquors. They purchase but sophisticated ware. – Dryden.

SO-PHIST'IC-A-TED, pp.

Adulterated; corrupted by something spurious or foreign.

SO-PHIST'IC-A-TING, ppr.

Corrupting; adulterating.

SO-PHIST-I-CA'TION, n.

The act of adulterating; a counterfeiting or debasing the purity of something by a foreign mixture; adulteration. – Boyle. Quincy.

SO-PHIST'IC-A-TOR, n.

One that adulterates; one who injures the purity and genuineness of any thing by foreign admixture. – Whitaker.

SOPH'IST-RY, n.

Fallacious reasoning; reasoning sound in appearance only. These men have obscured and confounded the nature of things by their false principles and wretched sophistry. – South.

SOPH'O-MORE, n. [See Soph.]

A student in a college or university, in his second year.

SO'PITE, v.t.

To lay asleep. [Not in use.] – Cheyne.

SO-PI'TION, n. [L. sopio, to lay asleep.]

Sleep. [Not in use.] – Brown.

SOP'O-RATE, v.t. [L. soporo.]

To lay asleep. [Not in use.]

SOP-O-RIF'ER-OUS, a. [L. soporifer; sopor, sleep, and fero, to bring; from sopio, to lull to sleep; Sans. swapa, sleep. Sopio agrees in elements with sober.]

Causing sleep, or tending to produce it; somniferous. The poppy possesses soporiferous qualities.

SOP-O-RIF'ER-OUS-LY, adv.

So as to produce sleep.

SOP-O-RIF'ER-OUS-NESS, n.

The quality of causing sleep.

SOP-O-RIF'IC, a. [L. sopor, sleep, and facio, to make.]

Causing sleep; tending to cause sleep; as, the soporific virtues of opium. – Locke.

SOP-O-RIF'IC, n.

A medicine, drug, plant or other thing, that has the quality of inducing sleep.

SO'PO-ROUS, a. [L. soporus, from sopor, sleep.]

Causing sleep; sleepy. – Greenhill.

SOP'PED, pp. [from sop.]

Dipped in liquid food.