More than one of these 7 encyclopedias carries each of the following subjects — but every one of them treats it in a sentence or two and then moves on. They are gathered here so the different accounts can sit side by side.
Saber
Aiton's Encyclopedia: a heavy one-edged sword with a thickened back. It usually curves and tapers slightly at the point, but it may be perfectly straight. It is probably an evolution or modification of the Arabian scimitar. The saber is a regular part of the cavalryman's equipment. When not in the hand it is carried in a scabbard. See Sword Flashed all the sabers bare, Flashed as they turned in air, Sab'ring the gunners there. --Tennyson, Charge of the Light Brigade.
Collier's New Encyclopedia: or SABRE, a sword having a curved blade, specially adapted for cutting.
Covered by Aiton's Encyclopedia and Collier's New Encyclopedia
Sabot
Aiton's Encyclopedia: sa-bo', the French name of a shoe made from a single piece of wood. It is much worn by the peasantry of France and Belgium. It does not differ essentially from the wooden shoe of Scandinavia. When worn with woolen hose, the sabot is far from uncomfortable. It is considered especially desirable in damp or muddy weather. The sabot is frequently softened to the foot by stuffing it with straw.
Collier's New Encyclopedia: a wooden shoe made of one piece hollowed out by boring tools and scrapers. The kinds of woods used are willow, poplar (Lombardy), beech, birch, aspen, ash, hornbeam, walnut. Sabots are worn by the peasants of France , Belgium, etc.
Covered by Aiton's Encyclopedia and Collier's New Encyclopedia
Sal Ammoniac
Collier's New Encyclopedia: known also as chloride of ammonium, and sometimes as hydrochlorate of ammonia, is used in medicine and in chemistry to a considerable extent. It is obtained from the ammoni acal liquor of the gas works. It is used as an expectorant in chronic bronchitis and pneumonia, as a diuretic, diaphoretic, and alterative in rheumatism, and as an alterative in neuralgia; it is also given in catarrhal conditions of the gastro-intestinal tract and in various hepatic diseases. In chemistry it is largely used as a test. See AMMONIA.
Aiton's Encyclopedia: . See Ammonia
Covered by Collier's New Encyclopedia and Aiton's Encyclopedia
Salsify
Aiton's Encyclopedia: a plant of the composite family. It has grass-like leaves and a single showy head of purple florets. It is related to the dandelion and is cultivated extensively as a vegetable. It has a long parsnip-shaped root, much used for the table. Its flavor has given it the name of oyster plant, or vegetable oyster. The salsify is a native of southern Europe. See Vegetables
Collier's New Encyclopedia: or SALSAFY, the Tragopogon Porrifolius, commonly called oyster plant, cultivated to a small extent in England, but much more largely on the continent of Europe and in the United States. The root is excellent when cooked. SAL-SODA the commercial term for impure carbonate of soda.
Covered by Aiton's Encyclopedia and Collier's New Encyclopedia
Saltpeter
Aiton's Encyclopedia: a compound of nitric acid and potassium, known as potassium or potassic nitrate. It is obtained for sale in considerable quantities in the caverns of Kentucky and Tennessee, where it occurs as an incrustation. Saltpeter is found also in India, Persia, Egypt, and Spain. Of late it is obtained in commercial quantities from so-called saltpeter deposits in Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Nevada, and California. The saltpeter deposits of Chile yield $27,000,-000 worth annually. Saltpeter is used in dyeing clothing, in melting metals, in medicines, in curing meats, and especially in the manufacture of gunpowder. See Gunpowder
Collier's New Encyclopedia: chemistry KNO3, potassium nitrate or niter; found in dry and hot countries as a natural product, but prepared artificially by exposing a mixture of calcareous soil and animal matter to the atmosphere, or by decomposing native sodium nitrate with potassium carbonate. It is chiefly used in the manufacture of gunpowder, fireworks, and nitric acid. When fused and poured into molds, it forms the sal prunella of commerce.
Covered by Aiton's Encyclopedia and Collier's New Encyclopedia
Salus
1000 Classical Characters: A Roman goddess, the personification of health, prosperity, and the public welfare. Samos or Samus (Greek Samo, Turkish Susam Adassi). One of the principal islands of the Aegean Sea . Samosata (Someisat). The capital of the province, and afterwards kingdom, of Commagene. It is celebrated in literary history as the birthplace of Lucian. Nothing remains of it but a heap of ruins. Sancus, Sangus, or Semo Sancus. A Roman divinity, said to have been originally a Sabine god. The name, which is etymologically the same as Sanctus, and connected with Sancire, seems to justify this belief, and characterizes Sancus as a divinity presiding over oaths. 2026 Editor's Note: Salus was one of the oldest Roman goddesses, with her temple as Salus Publica Populi Romani voted in 304 BC during the Samnite Wars and dedicated on August 5, 302 BC. The Augurium Salutis ceremony was held annually on August 5 for the preservation of the Roman state, underscoring her importance beyond individual welfare. Over time, Salus became increasingly associated with personal health; around 180 BCE sacrificial rites honored her alongside Apollo and Aesculapius, and she was first depicted with Aesculapius's serpent on a coin from 55 BC. (Ed: BR 2026-06-21)
Collier's New Encyclopedia: the Roman goddess of health, public prosperity, etc.
Covered by 1000 Classical Characters and Collier's New Encyclopedia
Sandstone
Aiton's Encyclopedia: a rock composed of grains of sand held together by some cement. When grains of silica are bound and stained by iron oxide a brown sandstone is formed. Such sandstones are found at intervals from the Atlantic to Minnesota, and are used for the famous brown sandstone fronts of New York and other cities. Sometimes the binding material is lime or clay, forming lime and clay sandstones. The materials are usually sorted by the action of water. Sandstones frequently show the ripple marks of old shores, and have preserved the tracks of wading birds and other animals long since extinct. Grindstones are made usually of a fine grained sandstone. See Sand ; Grindstone
Collier's New Encyclopedia: any stone which is an agglutination of grains of sand, whether calcareous, siliceous, or of any other mineral nature. Siliceous sandstones are the most common. They vary in compactness from scarcely cemented sand to a hardness approaching that of quartz rock. When very fine in grain, they are called freestones; when coarse and composed of angular or subangular grains of sand, they become grits; when pebbly, pudding stones. Sandstones occur in nearly every geological formation from the Cambrian to the Tertiary. Many furnish building and paving stones. 1
Covered by Aiton's Encyclopedia and Collier's New Encyclopedia
Santos
Collier's New Encyclopedia: a seaport of Brazil, on the N. of the island of Engua Guacu, 34 miles S. S. E. of São Paulo. Its harbor is large and commodious, and it has an active trade in sugar and coffee. Pop. about 90,000.
Aiton's Encyclopedia: . See Brazil
Covered by Collier's New Encyclopedia and Aiton's Encyclopedia