dew(1) (iou) and sister(1) (iou)

dew(1) (iou)

dew noun. ['dju:]

The moisture deposited in minute drops on any cool surface by the condensation of atmospheric vapour between evening and morning. OE.
Wordsworth The dew was falling fast, the stars began to blink. Lytton Arch and blooming faces bowed down to bathe in the May dew. M. Shadbolt The paddocks glittered with dew under the cool early sun.
fig. Something likened to dew as coming with refreshing power or with gentleness, or as characteristic of the morning. ME.
Shelley Sleep, that healing dew of heaven. Longfellow Having the dew of his youth, and the Beauty thereof.
Moisture, a liquid, esp. when formed in minute drops or glistening; esp. (a) tears; (b) sweat. ME.
mountain dew: see MOUNTAIN.
Southey The dews of death Stood on his livid cheek. Sir W. Scott Those poor eyes that stream'd with dew.
An exudation or surface deposit on a plant etc. (Earlier in MILDEW.) Now rare exc. in HONEYDEW, MILDEW. M16.
Comb.: dew-beater (a) an early pioneer; (b) in pl. (slang), feet; dewberry (a) (the fruit of) a trailing European bramble, Rubus caesius, the berries of which are covered with a bluish bloom; any of several low-growing N. American brambles, esp. Rubus flagellaris; (b) obsolete exc. dial. a gooseberry; dewbow an arch resembling a rainbow, occurring on a dew-covered surface; dew-cup Scot. the plant lady's mantle; dewdrop a drop of dew; something resembling a drop of dew; dewdropped adjective covered or glistening with dew; dewfall the deposition of dew; the time when this begins; dew point Meteorology the atmospheric temperature (dependent on pressure and humidity) below which dew is deposited, i.e., at which the pressure of atmospheric water vapour becomes equal to saturation vapour pressure; dew-pond a shallow (usu. artificial) pond (maintained largely by precipitation) situated on downs where there is no adequate groundwater supply; dew-rake a rake for removing grass or stubble; dew-ret verb trans. ret or macerate (flax, hemp, etc.) by prolonged exposure to atmospheric moisture instead of by steeping in water (opp. water-ret); dew-snail (now dial.) a slug; dew-worm (a) ringworm; (b) an earthworm.
dewless adjective E17.

sister(1) (iou)

sister noun & adjective.
[Old English sweoster, swuster, swyster, suster = Old Frisian swester, suster, sister, Old Saxon swestar, Middle Low German, Middle Dutch suster (Dutch zuster), Old High German swester (German Schwester), Gothic swistar, from Germanic from Indo-European, repr. in Latin soror.]
A. noun.
A female related to one or more others (male or female) by having the same parents or by having one parent in common. OE.
adoptive sister, foster sister, full sister, half-sister, stepsister, etc.
J. Cheever We are four children; there is my sister Diana and the three men.
Also used preceding a name and as a form of address or Reference.
a. A woman who is a close friend; a female fellow citizen or creature; a female of the same race, colour, class, profession, etc., a fellow female member of a trade union; a female associate or equal, a fellow feminist. OE.
Ramparts Our sisters in Vietnam have taught us many lessons.
b. A female member of a religious order, society, or sect; spec. a nun. Also (gen.), a female fellow Christian. LME.
Sir W. Scott Sister Clare.., As yet a novice unprofess'd. Catholic Herald The Hospice..is..under the Management of the Irish Sisters of Mercy. Evangelical Times Countless missionary sisters..who faithfully serve the church.
c. A usu. senior female nurse, esp. one in charge of a hospital ward. M19.
C. Aird Sister Casualty..would ring down to the police station. Nursing Sister accompanying the consultant on the ward round.
d. A (male) fellow homosexual. slang (orig. US). M20.
Used as a form of address to a woman. Now colloq. ME.
An identical, similar, or related thing; a counterpart. ME.
F. O'Connor 'Give me one..,' she said, holding out the money...'A buck fifty, sister,' he said.
b. Either of the cheeks of a cider-press. E19.
Phrases: full sister: see FULL adjective. lay sister: see LAY adjective. Seven Sisters: see SEVEN adjective. sister German: having the same parents. Sister of Mercy: see MERCY noun. sisters under the skin: see SKIN noun. sister uterine: having the same mother only. the three sisters, the sisters Mythology the three goddesses of destiny, the fates. uterine sister = sister uterine above. weak sister: see WEAK adjective. weird sisters: see WEIRD adjective.
b. adjective. That is a sister; belonging to the same group, of the same type or origin, fellow. M17.
Special collocations & comb.: sister-block Nautical: with two sheaves, one below the Other. sister cell Biology either of two cells produced by the division of an existing cell. sister chromatid Biology either of a pair of identical chromatids held together at the centromere. Sister Dora [from Dorothy ('Dora') Pattison (1832-78), a famous nurse] Hist. a nurse's cap tied under the chin. sister-hook Nautical either of two hooks fitting together to make a ring. sister-in-law, pl. sisters-in-law, (a) the sister of one's husband or wife; (b) the wife of one's brother(-in-law). sister keelson Nautical either of two additional strengthening keelsons along the bottom of a ship. sister nucleus Biology (a) either of two nuclei produced by the division of an existing nucleus; (b) either of two nuclei which fuse together in an autogamous unicellular organism. sister ship: built to the same design as another. sisters thread Hist. bleached thread. sister tutor a nursing sister who teaches trainee nurses. sister-wife: who is the sister of her husband.
sisterless adjective M19.
sisterlike adverb & adjective like or resembling (that of) a sister L16.
sistership noun (a) sisterhood M19.

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