1. A colloquial abbreviation of Sister.
2. Six. See Sise.
Word of the Day: Catachrestical
Sisal grass
Webster's Dictionary 1913
Alt. of Sisal hemp
Sisal hemp
Webster's Dictionary 1913
A hard blow.
1. A small green and yellow European finch (Spinus spinus, or Carduelis spinus); -- called also aberdevine.
Siskin
Encyclopedia Britannica
SISKIN (Dan. Sidsken ; Germ. Zeisig and Zeising), long known in England as a cage-bird, since, in 1544, Turner mentioned it in that character under this name, and said that he had only once met with it at large—the Fringilla spinus of Linnaeus, and Carduelis or Chrysomitris spinus of modern writers. In some of its structural characters it is most nearly allied to the Goldfinch (vol. X. p. 758), and both are often placed in the same genus by systematists; but in its style of coloration, and still more in its habits, it resembles the Redpolls (cf . Linnet, vol. xiv. p. 675), though without their slender figure, being indeed rather short and stout of build. Yet it hardly yields to them in activity or in the grace of its actions, as it seeks its food from the catkins of the alder or birch, regardless of the attitude it assumes while so doing. Of an olive-green above, deeply tinted in some parts with black and in others lightened by yellow, and beneath of a yellowish-white again marked with black, the male of this species has at least a becoming if not a brilliant garb, and possesses a song that is not unmelodious, though the resemblance of some of its notes to the running-down of a piece of clockwork is more remarkable than pleasing. The hen is still more soberly attired; but it is perhaps the Siskin’s disposition to familiarity that makes it so favourite a captive, and, though as a cage-bird it is not ordinarily long-lived, it readily adapts itself to the loss of liberty. Moreover, if anything like the needful accommodation be afforded, it will build a nest and therein lay its eggs, but it rarely succeeds in bringing up its young in confinement. As a wild bird it breeds constantly, though locally, throughout the greater part of Scotland, and has frequently done so in ...England, but more rarely in Ireland. The greater portion, however, of the numerous bands which visit the British Islands in autumn and winter doubtless come from the Continent— perhaps even from far to the eastward, since its range stretches across Asia to Japan, in which country it is as favourite a cage-bird as with us. The nest of the Siskin is very like that of the Goldfinch, but seldom so neatly built; the eggs, except in their smaller size, much resemble those of the Greenfinch (vol. xi. p. 165).
A larger and more brightly coloured species, C. spinoides, inhabits the Himalayas, but the Siskin has many other relatives belonging to the New World, and in them serious modifications of structure, especially in the form of the bill, occur. Some of these relatives lead almost insensibly to the Greenfinch (ut supra) and its allies, others to the Goldfinch (ut supra), the Redpolls, and so on. Thus the Siskin perhaps may be regarded as one of the less modified descendants of a stock whence such forms as those just mentioned have sprung. Its striated plumage also favours this view, as an evidence of permanent immaturity or generalization of form, since striped feathers are so often the earliest clothing of many of these birds, which only get rid of them at their first moult. On this theory the Yellowbird or North-American “Goldfinch,” C. tristis, would seem, with its immediate allies, to rank among the highest forms of the group, and the Pine-Goldfinch, C. pinus, of the same country, to be one of the lowest,—the cock of the former being generally of a bright jonquil hue, with black crown, tail, and wings—the last conspicuously barred with white, while neither hens nor young exhibit any striations. On the other hand, neither sex of the latter at any age puts off its striped garb—the mark, it may be pretty safely asserted, of an inferior stage of development. The remaining species of the group, mostly South-American, do not seem here to need particular notice. (A. N. )
9th ed. Encyclopædia Britannica, vol. 22, p. 99
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See Seismograph.
See Seismometer.
Sismondi
Encyclopedia Britannica
SISMONDI, Jean Charles Leonard de (1773- 1842), whose real name was Simonde, was born at Geneva on May 9, 1773. His father and all his ancestors seem to have borne the name Simonde, at least from the time when they migrated from Dauphiné to Switzerland at the revocation of the edict of Nantes. It was not till after Sismondi had become an author that, observing the identity of his family arms with those of the once flourishing Italian house of the Sismondi, and finding that some members of that house had migrated to France, he assumed the connexion without further proof and called himself De Sismondi. The Simondes, however, were themselves citizens of Geneva of the upper class, and possessed both rank and property, though the father was also a village pastor. The future historian was well educated, but his family wished him to devote himself to commerce rather than literature, and he became a banker’s clerk at Lyons. Then the Revolution broke out, and as it affected Geneva the Simonde family took refuge in England, where they stayed for eighteen months. Disliking, it is said, the climate, they returned to Geneva, but found the state of affairs still unfavourable; there is even a legend that the head of the family was reduced to sell milk himself in the town. The greater part of the family property was sold, and with the proceeds they emigrated to Italy, bought a small farm at Pescia near Lucca, and set to work to cultivate it themselves. Sismondi worked hard here, both with his hands and his mind, and his experiences gave him the material of his first book, Tableau de l'Agriculture Toscane, which, after returning to Geneva, he published there in 1801. Two years later he published his Traité de la Richesse Commerciale, his first work on the subject of political ...economy, which, with some differences of view, continued to interest him to the end of his life (for his position and work in this respect the reader is referred to the article Political Economy, vol. xix. p. 383). Meanwhile he began his great History of the Italian Republics, and was introduced to Madame de Stael. With her he became very intimate, and after being regularly enrolled in the society of Coppet he was invited or commanded (for Madame de Stael's invitations had something of command) to form one of the suite with which the future Corinne made the journey into Italy, resulting in Corinne itself during the years 1804-5. Sismondi was not altogether at his ease here, and he particularly disliked Schlegel, who was also of the company. But during this journey he made the acquaintance of the countess of Albany, Louisa of Stolberg, widow of Charles Edward, and all her life long gifted with a singular faculty of attracting the affection (Platonic and other) of men of letters. She was now an old woman, and Sismondi’s relations with her were of the strictly friendly character, but they were close and lasted long, and they produced much valuable and interesting correspondence. In 1807 appeared the first volumes of the above mentioned book on the Italian republics, which (though his essay in political economy had brought him some reputation and the offer of a Russian professorship) first made Sismondi prominent among European men of letters. The completion of this book, which extended to sixteen volumes, occupied him, though by no means entirely, for the next eleven years. He lived at first at Geneva, and delivered there some interesting lectures on the literature of the south of Europe, which were continued from time to time and finally published; and he held an official post,—that of secretary of the chamber of commerce for the then department of the Leman. In 1813 he visited Paris for the first time and abode there for some years, mixing much in literary society. Although a Liberal and in his earlier days almost an Anglomaniac, he did not welcome the fall of the empire. During the Hundred Days he defended Napoleon’s constitutional schemes or promises, and had an interview with the emperor himself which is one of the chief events of a not very eventful life. After the Restoration he left Paris. On completing his great book on the Italian republics he undertook a still greater, the Histoire des Français, which he planned on a vast scale, and of which during the remaining twenty-three years of his life he published twenty-nine volumes. His untiring industry enabled him to compile many other books, but it is on these two that his fame chiefly rests. The earlier displays his qualities in the most favourable light, and has been least injuriously affected by subsequent writings and investigations. The Histoire des Français, as a careful and accurate sketch on the great scale, has been entirely superseded by that of M. Henri Martin, while it is not to be mentioned, as a work of historical or literary genius, in the same category with that of Michelet. Sainte-Beuve has with benevolent sarcasm surnamed the author “the Rollin of French History,” and the praise and the blame implied in the comparison are both perfectly well deserved. In April 1819 Sismondi married an English lady, Miss Allen, whose sister was the wife of Sir James Mackintosh, and the marriage appears to have been a very happy one. His later years were chiefly spent at Geneva, in the politics of which city he took a great, though as time and changes went on a more and more chagrined, interest. Indeed, in his later days he became a kind of reactionary. He died at Geneva on June 25, 1842. Besides the works above mentioned he had executed many others, his custom for a long period of years being never to work less than eight hours a day. The chief of these are Nouveaux Principes d'Économie Politique (1819), an historical novel entitled J ulia Severa ou l'An 492 (1822), Histoire de la Renaissance de la Liberté en Italie (1832), Histoire de la Chute de l'Empire Romain (1835), Précis de l'Histoire des Français, an abridgment of his own book (1839), with several others, chiefly political pamphlets.
Sismondi’s literary character has been hinted at in the above remarks on his French history. He was exceedingly laborious, for the most part (though not entirely) free from prejudice, and never violent even when he was prejudiced. He had (with much “sensibility ”) plenty of common sense, though not perhaps any extraordinary amount of acuteness in estimating things uncommon, and he was a little deficient in historical grasp and in the power of taking large views of complicated series of events. His style corresponded to his thought, and (putting aside certain solecisms which French critics usually affect to discover in Swiss writers) lacks point, picturesqueness, and vigour. Of his moral character no one has ever spoken except in terms of praise, and it appears (which is not invariably the case) to have been as attractive as it was estimable. His chief weakness seems to have been a tendency, frequently observable in writers of very great industry, to rank his own productions somewhat too much on a level with those of writers who, if less industrious, were infinitely more gifted. Thus he has somewhere naively observed that “he should not object to signing” a certain proportion of a certain book of Chateaubriand’s. But this overvaluation of self appears to have been merely naïf, and not in the least arrogant.
Sismondi’s journals and his correspondence with Channing, with the countess of Albany, and others have been published chiefly by Mlle. Mongolfier (Paris, 1863) and M. de Saint-René Taillandier. The latter work serves as the chief text of two admirable Lundis of Sainte-Beuve (September 1863), republished in the Nouveaux Lundis, vol. vi.
9th ed. Encyclopædia Britannica, vol. 22, p. 99
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To hiss; a legitimate word in universal popular use in New England.
A leguminous tree (Dalbergia Sissoo) of the northern parts of India; also, the dark brown compact and durable timber obtained from it. It is used in shipbuilding and for gun carriages, railway ties, etc.
A stay or suspension of proceedings; an order for a stay of proceedings.
1. To stay, as judicial proceedings; to delay or suspend; to stop.
1. A female born of the same patents; correlative to brother.
2. A woman of the same faith; a female fellow christian. If a brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily food. James 2:15 .
3. A female of the same kind.
4. One of the same kind, or of the same condition; as sister-fruits.
5. A female of the same society; as the nuns of a convent.
To resemble closely.
1. A female who has the same parents with another person, or who has one of them only. In the latter case, she is more definitely called a half sister. The correlative of brother.
2. A woman who is closely allied to, or assocciated with, another person, as in the sdame faith, society, order, or community.
3. One of the same kind, or of the same condition; -- generally used adjectively; as, sister fruits.
To be sister to; to resemble closely.
Sister
Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary
in the style of the Hebrews, has equal latitude as brother. It is used not only for a sister by natural relation from the same father and mother, but also for a sister only by the same father or by the same mother, or a near relation only. Sarah is called sister to Abraham, Gen. xii, 13; xx, 12, though only his niece according to some, or sister by the father’s side according to others. In the law, Lev. xviii, 18, it is forbidden to take to wife the sister of a wife; to marry two sisters; or, according to some interpreters, to marry a second wife, having one already. Literally, “Thou shalt not take a wife over her sister to afflict her;” as if meaning to forbid polygamy. In the Gospels, the brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ are his cousins, children of the sisters of the holy virgin, Matt. xiii, 56; Mark vi, 3.
Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary
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A husband's or wife's sister.
The sister of one's husband or wife; also, the wife of one's brother; sometimes, the wife of one's husband's or wife's brother.
1. Sisters collectively, or a society of sisters; or a society of females united in one faith or order.
2. The officer of duty of a sister. [Little used.]
1. The state or relation of being a sister; the office or duty of a sister.
2. A society of sisters; a society of women united in one faith or order; sisters, collectively.
No thesaurus entries found for "Sis".
King James Bible KJV Bible
Berean Standard Bible BSB Bible
152 KJV and 147 BSB verses contain “Sis” — showing the first 20. Show all 159 verses (searchable)
Say, I pray thee, thou art my sister: that it may be well with me for thy sake; and my soul shall live because of thee.
Please say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake, and on account of you my life will be spared.”
Why saidst thou, She is my sister? so I might have taken her to me to wife: now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go thy way.
Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her as my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!”
And yet indeed she is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.
Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father—though not the daughter of my mother—and she became my wife.
And it came to pass, when he saw the earring and bracelets upon his sister’s hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus spake the man unto me; that he came unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the well.
As soon as he saw the ring, and the bracelets on his sister’s wrists, and heard Rebekah’s words, “The man said this to me,” he went and found the man standing by the camels near the spring.
And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.
And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, “Our sister, may you become the mother of thousands upon thousands. May your offspring possess the gates of their enemies.”
And the men of the place asked him of his wife; and he said, She is my sister: for he feared to say, She is my wife; lest, said he, the men of the place should kill me for Rebekah; because she was fair to look upon.
But when the men of that place asked about his wife, he said, “She is my sister.” For he was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” since he thought to himself, “The men of this place will kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is so beautiful.”
And Abimelech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy wife: and how saidst thou, She is my sister? And Isaac said unto him, Because I said, Lest I die for her.
Abimelech sent for Isaac and said, “So she is really your wife! How could you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac replied, “Because I thought I might die on account of her.”
And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, and said, because he had defiled Dinah their sister:
But because Shechem had defiled their sister Dinah, Jacob’s sons answered him and his father Hamor deceitfully.
And they said unto them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; for that were a reproach unto us:
“We cannot do such a thing,” they said. “To give our sister to an uncircumcised man would be a disgrace to us.
But if ye will not hearken unto us, to be circumcised; then will we take our daughter, and we will be gone.
But if you will not agree to be circumcised, then we will take our sister and go.”