DICT.TW Dictionary Taiwan

 May, n.
 1. The fifth month of the year, containing thirty-one days.
 2. The early part or springtime of life.
    His May of youth, and bloom of lustihood.   --Shak.
 3. Bot. The flowers of the hawthorn; -- so called from their time of blossoming; also, the hawthorn.
    The palm and may make country houses gay.   --Nash.
    Plumes that mocked the may.   --Tennyson.
 4. The merrymaking of May Day.
 Italian may Bot., a shrubby species of Spiraea (Spiraea hypericifolia) with many clusters of small white flowers along the slender branches.
 May apple Bot., the fruit of an American plant (Podophyllum peltatum). Also, the plant itself (popularly called mandrake), which has two lobed leaves, and bears a single egg-shaped fruit at the forking. The root and leaves, used in medicine, are powerfully drastic.
 May beetle, May bug Zool., any one of numerous species of large lamellicorn beetles that appear in the winged state in May.  They belong to Melolontha, and allied genera.  Called also June beetle.
 May Day, the first day of May; -- celebrated in the rustic parts of England by the crowning of a May queen with a garland, and by dancing about a May pole.
 May dew, the morning dew of the first day of May, to which magical properties were attributed.
 May flower Bot., a plant that flowers in May; also, its blossom. See Mayflower, in the vocabulary.
 May fly Zool., any species of Ephemera, and allied genera; -- so called because the mature flies of many species appear in May. See Ephemeral fly, under Ephemeral.
 May game, any May-day sport.
 May lady, the queen or lady of May, in old May games.
 May lily Bot., the lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis).
 May pole. See Maypole in the Vocabulary.
 May queen, a girl or young woman crowned queen in the sports of May Day.
 May thorn, the hawthorn.
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 Saint n.
 1. A person sanctified; a holy or godly person; one eminent for piety and virtue; any true Christian, as being redeemed and consecrated to God.
    Them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints.   --1 Cor. i. 2.
 2. One of the blessed in heaven.
 Then shall thy saints, unmixed, and from the impure
 Far separate, circling thy holy mount,
 Unfeigned hallelujahs to thee sing.   --Milton.
 3. Eccl. One canonized by the church. [Abbrev. St.]
 Saint Andrew's cross. (a) A cross shaped like the letter X. See Illust. 4, under Cross. (b) Bot. A low North American shrub (Ascyrum Crux-Andreae, the petals of which have the form of a Saint Andrew's cross. --Gray.
 Saint Anthony's cross, a T-shaped cross. See Illust. 6, under Cross.
 Saint Anthony's fire, the erysipelas; -- popularly so called because it was supposed to have been cured by the intercession of Saint Anthony.
 Saint Anthony's nut Bot., the groundnut (Bunium flexuosum); -- so called because swine feed on it, and St. Anthony was once a swineherd. --Dr. Prior.
 Saint Anthony's turnip Bot., the bulbous crowfoot, a favorite food of swine. --Dr. Prior.
 Saint Barnaby's thistle Bot., a kind of knapweed (Centaurea solstitialis) flowering on St. Barnabas's Day, June 11th. --Dr. Prior.
 Saint Bernard Zool., a breed of large, handsome dogs celebrated for strength and sagacity, formerly bred chiefly at the Hospice of St. Bernard in Switzerland, but now common in Europe and America. There are two races, the smooth-haired and the rough-haired. See Illust. under Dog.
 Saint Catharine's flower Bot., the plant love-in-a-mist. See under Love.
 Saint Cuthbert's beads Paleon., the fossil joints of crinoid stems.
 Saint Dabeoc's heath Bot., a heatherlike plant (Daboecia polifolia), named from an Irish saint.
 Saint Distaff's Day. See under Distaff.
 Saint Elmo's fire, a luminous, flamelike appearance, sometimes seen in dark, tempestuous nights, at some prominent point on a ship, particularly at the masthead and the yardarms. It has also been observed on land, and is due to the discharge of electricity from elevated or pointed objects. A single flame is called a Helena, or a Corposant; a double, or twin, flame is called a Castor and Pollux, or a double Corposant. It takes its name from St. Elmo, the patron saint of sailors.
 Saint George's cross Her., a Greek cross gules upon a field argent, the field being represented by a narrow fimbriation in the ensign, or union jack, of Great Britain.
 Saint George's ensign, a red cross on a white field with a union jack in the upper corner next the mast. It is the distinguishing badge of ships of the royal navy of England; -- called also the white ensign. --Brande & C.
 Saint George's flag, a smaller flag resembling the ensign, but without the union jack; used as the sign of the presence and command of an admiral. [Eng.] --Brande & C.
 Saint Gobain glass Chem., a fine variety of soda-lime plate glass, so called from St. Gobain in France, where it was manufactured.
 Saint Ignatius's bean Bot., the seed of a tree of the Philippines (Strychnos Ignatia), of properties similar to the nux vomica.
 Saint James's shell Zool., a pecten (Vola Jacobaeus) worn by pilgrims to the Holy Land. See Illust. under Scallop.
 Saint James's-wort Bot., a kind of ragwort (Senecio Jacobaea).
 Saint John's bread. Bot. See Carob.
 Saint John's-wort Bot., any plant of the genus Hypericum, most species of which have yellow flowers; -- called also John's-wort.
 Saint Leger, the name of a race for three-year-old horses run annually in September at Doncaster, England; -- instituted in 1776 by Col. St. Leger.
 Saint Martin's herb Bot., a small tropical American violaceous plant (Sauvagesia erecta). It is very mucilaginous and is used in medicine.
 Saint Martin's summer, a season of mild, damp weather frequently prevailing during late autumn in England and the Mediterranean countries; -- so called from St. Martin's Festival, occurring on November 11. It corresponds to the Indian summer in America. --Shak. --Whittier.
 Saint Patrick's cross. See Illust. 4, under Cross.
 Saint Patrick's Day, the 17th of March, anniversary of the death (about 466) of St. Patrick, the apostle and patron saint of Ireland.
 Saint Peter's fish. Zool. See John Dory, under John.
 Saint Peter's-wort Bot., a name of several plants, as Hypericum Ascyron, Hypericum quadrangulum, Ascyrum stans, etc.
 Saint Peter's wreath Bot., a shrubby kind of Spiraea (Spiraea hypericifolia), having long slender branches covered with clusters of small white blossoms in spring.
 Saint's bell. See Sanctus bell, under Sanctus.
 Saint Vitus's dance Med., chorea; -- so called from the supposed cures wrought on intercession to this saint.