Seal

Seal (sēl) , noun

[Old English sele, Anglo-Saxon seolh; akin to Old High German selah, Danish sael, Swedish sjal, Icelandic selr.]

(Zoology) Any aquatic carnivorous mammal of the families Phocidae and Otariidae.

Seals inhabit seacoasts, and are found principally in the higher latitudes of both hemispheres. There are numerous species, bearing such popular names as sea lion, sea leopard, sea bear, or ursine seal, fur seal, and sea elephant. The bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus), the hooded seal (Cystophora cristata), and the ringed seal (Phoca foetida), are northern species. See also Eared seal, Harp seal, Monk seal, and Fur seal, under Eared, Harp, Monk, and Fur. Seals are much hunted for their skins and fur, and also for their oil, which in some species is very abundant.

Collocations (1)

Harbor seal (Zoology) , the common seal (Phoca vitulina). It inhabits both the North Atlantic and the North Pacific Ocean, and often ascends rivers; -- called also marbled seal, native seal, river seal, bay seal, land seal, sea calf, sea cat, sea dog, dotard, ranger, selchie, tangfish.

Seal , noun

[Old English seel, Old French seel, French sceau, from Latin sigillum a little figure or image, a seal, dim. of signum a mark, sign, figure, or image. See Sign, n., and compare Sigil.]

An engraved or inscribed stamp, used for marking an impression in wax or other soft substance, to be attached to a document, or otherwise used by way of authentication or security.

Wax, wafer, or other tenacious substance, set to an instrument, and impressed or stamped with a seal; as, to give a deed under hand and seal.

Till thou canst rail the seal from off my bond Thou but offend'st thy lungs to speak so loud. — Shakespeare

That which seals or fastens; esp., the wax or wafer placed on a letter or other closed paper, etc., to fasten it.

That which confirms, ratifies, or makes stable; that which authenticates; that which secures; assurance.

Under the seal of silence. — Milton

Like a red seal is the setting sun On the good and the evil men have done. — Longfellow

An arrangement for preventing the entrance or return of gas or air into a pipe, by which the open end of the pipe dips beneath the surface of water or other liquid, or a deep bend or sag in the pipe is filled with the liquid; a draintrap.

Collocations (5)

Great seal , See under Great.

Privy seal , See under Privy, a.

Seal lock , a lock in which the keyhole is covered by a seal in such a way that the lock can not be opened without rupturing the seal.

Seal manual , See under Manual, a.

Seal ring , a ring having a seal engraved on it, or ornamented with a device resembling a seal; a signet ring. — Shakespeare

Seal , transitive verb

[Old English selen; compare Old French seeler, seieler, French sceller, Late Latin sigillare. See Seal a stamp.]

To set or affix a seal to; hence, to authenticate; to confirm; to ratify; to establish; as, to seal a deed.

And with my hand I seal my true heart's love. — Shakespeare

To mark with a stamp, as an evidence of standard exactness, legal size, or merchantable quality; as, to seal weights and measures; to seal silverware.

To fasten with a seal; to attach together with a wafer, wax, or other substance causing adhesion; as, to seal a letter.

Hence, to shut close; to keep close; to make fast; to keep secure or secret.

Seal up your lips, and give no words but “mum”. — Shakespeare

To fix, as a piece of iron in a wall, with cement, plaster, or the like. — Gwilt

To close by means of a seal; as, to seal a drainpipe with water. See 2d Seal, 5.

Among the Mormons, to confirm or set apart as a second or additional wife. [Utah, United States]

If a man once married desires a second helpmate... she is sealed to him under the solemn sanction of the church. — H. Stansbury

Seal , intransitive verb

To affix one's seal, or a seal. [Obsolete]

I will seal unto this bond. — Shakespeare