Chapter Sanity to Sapphire of S by Webster's Dictionary (1913 Edition)

Sapotaceous
(Sap`o*ta"ceous) a. (Bot.) Of or pertaining to a natural order (Sapotaceæ) of (mostly tropical) trees and shrubs, including the star apple, the Lucuma, or natural marmalade tree, the gutta-percha tree and the India mahwa, as well as the sapodilla, or sapota, after which the order is named.

Sappan wood
(Sap*pan" wood") Sapan wood.

Sappare
(Sap"pare) n. [F. sappare; — so called by Saussure.] (Min.) Kyanite. [Written also sappar.]

Sapper
(Sap"per) n. [Cf. F. sapeur.] One who saps; specifically (Mil.), one who is employed in working at saps, building and repairing fortifications, and the like.

Sapphic
(Sap"phic) a. [L. Sapphicus, Gr. fr. Sappho.]

1. Of or pertaining to Sappho, the Grecian poetess; as, Sapphic odes; Sapphic verse.

2. (Pros.) Belonging to, or in the manner of, Sappho; — said of a certain kind of verse reputed to have been invented by Sappho, consisting of five feet, of which the first, fourth, and fifth are trochees, the second is a spondee, and the third a dactyl.

Sapphic
(Sap"phic), n. (Pros.) A Sapphic verse.

Sapphire
(Sap"phire) n. [OE. saphir, F. saphir, L. sapphirus, Gr. of Oriental origin; cf. Heb. sappir.]

1. (Min.) Native alumina or aluminium sesquioxide, Al₂O₃; corundum; esp., the blue transparent variety of corundum, highly prized as a gem.

Of rubies, sapphires, and of pearlés white.

Chaucer.

Sapphire occurs in hexagonal crystals and also in granular and massive forms. The name sapphire is usually restricted to the blue crystals, while the bright red crystals are called Oriental rubies the amethystine variety Oriental amethyst and the dull massive varieties corundum (a name which is also used as a general term to include all varieties). See Corundum.

2. The color of the gem; bright blue.

3. (Zoöl.) Any humming bird of the genus Hylocharis, native of South America. The throat and breast are usually bright blue.

Star sapphire, or Asteriated sapphire (Min.), a kind of sapphire which exhibits asterism.

Sapphire
(Sap"phire), a. Of or resembling sapphire; sapphirine; blue. "The sapphire blaze." Gray.