| sile | <zoology> A young or small herring. Origin: Icel. Sild herring; akin to Sw. Sill, Dan. Sild. Cf. Sill the young of a herring. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| silence | 1. To compel to silence; to cause to be still; to still; to hush. "Silence that dreadful bell; it frights the isle." (Shak) 2. To put to rest; to quiet. "This would silence all further opposition." (Clarendon) "These would have silenced their scruples." (Rogers) 3. To restrain from the exercise of any function, privilege of instruction, or the like, especially from the act of preaching; as, to silence a minister of the gospel. "The Rev. Thomas Hooker of Chelmsford, in Essex, was silenced for nonconformity." (B. Trumbull) 4. To cause to cease firing, as by a vigorous cannonade; as, to silence the batteries of an enemy. Origin: Silenced; Silencing. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| silene | <botany> A genus of caryophyllaceous plants, usually covered with a viscid secretion by which insects are caught; catchfly. Bon Silene. See Silene, in the Vocabulary. Origin: NL, fr. L. Silenus, the attendant of Bacchus. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| silent | Producing no detectable signs or symptoms, said of certain diseases or morbid processes. (05 Mar 2000) |
| silent allele | 1. <genetics> A gene which is inactive. Thus, an amorphic gene. 2. <cell biology> Something that lacks a discernible shape and thus can be describes as amorphous. (05 Feb 1998) |
| silent area | Any area of the cerebrum or cerebellum in which lesions cause no definite sensory or motor symptoms. (05 Mar 2000) |
| silent electrode | In unipolar electrocardiography, a remote electrode placed either upon a single limb or connected with the central terminal and paired with an exploring electrode; the indifferent electrode is supposed to contribute little or nothing to the resulting record. Synonym: dispersing electrode, silent electrode. (05 Mar 2000) |
| silent gap | The period during which Korotkoff sounds indicating true systolic pressure fade away and reappear at a lower pressure point; responsible for errors made in recording falsely low systolic blood pressure, especially in hypertensive patients, of up to 25 mm Hg, and avoided by pumping the cuff 30 mm Hg beyond palpable systolic pressure. Synonym: silent gap. (05 Mar 2000) |
| silent ischemia | Myocardial ischemia without accompanying signs or symptoms of angina pectoris; can be detected by EKG and other lab techniques. See: silent myocardial infarction. (05 Mar 2000) |
| silent mutant | A mutant that is not phenotypically manifest. Synonym: silent mutant. (05 Mar 2000) |
| silent mutation | Mutations that have no effect on phenotype because they do not affect the activity of the product of the gene, usually because of codon ambiguity. (18 Nov 1997) |
| silent myocardial infarction | Infarction that produces none of the characteristic symptoms and signs of myocardial infarction. (05 Mar 2000) |
| silent period | The time during which there is no electrical activity in a muscle following its rapid unloading, any pause in an otherwise continuous series of electrophysiologic events. (05 Mar 2000) |
| silenus | <zoology> See Wanderoo. Origin: L. Silenus the tutor and attendant of Bacchus. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| silex | <chemical> Silica, SiO2 as found in nature, constituting quarz, and most sands and sandstones. See Silica, and Silicic. Origin: L, a finit, a pebblestone. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |