Emily Dickinson Lexicon

SI'PHON, n. [L. sipho, sipo; Gr. σιφων; It. sifone; Fr. siphon; Sp. sifon. Qu. from the root of sip.]

1. A bent pipe or tube whose legs are of unequal length, used for drawing liquor out of a vessel by causing it to rise over the rim or top. For this purpose, the shorter leg is inserted in the liquor, and the air is exhausted by being drawn through the longer leg. The liquor then rises by the weight of the atmosphere to supply the vacuum, till it reaches the top of the vessel, and then descends in the longer leg of the siphon.
2. The pipe by which the chambers of a shell communicate. – Ed. Encyc.