| surface water | <ecology> Water present above the substrate or soil surface. (09 Oct 1997) |
|---|---|
| surface-active | Indicating the property of certain agents of altering the physicochemical nature of surfaces and interfaces, bringing about lowering of interfacial tension; they usually possess both lipophilic and hydrophilic groups. See: surfactant. (05 Mar 2000) |
| surface-active agent | Agents that modify interfacial tension of water; usually substances that have one lipophilic and one hydrophilic group in the molecule; includes soaps, detergents, emulsifiers, dispersing and wetting agents, and several groups of antiseptics. (12 Dec 1998) |
| surfacer | A form of machine for dressing the surface of wood, metal, stone, etc. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| surfactant | <physiology> A surface active agent, the best known example of which is the lung surfactant that renders the alveolar surfaces hydrophobic and prevents the lung filling with water by capillary action. The lung surfactant is produced just at parturition and it has often been speculated that deficiencies in surfactant metabolism might cause cot death. (18 Nov 1997) |
| surfactant subtype convertase | <enzyme> Converts surfactant heavy subtype to light subtype; inhibited by many serine proteinase inhibitors Registry number: EC 3.4.21.- Synonym: pst-convertase (26 Jun 1999) |
| surfactin synthetase | <enzyme> Bacillus subtilis enzyme forms cyclic lipopeptide antibiotic from aspartate, glutamate leucine valine; composed of three srfa gene products, srfaa (e1a),srfab (e1b), and srfac (e2) Registry number: EC 6.3.2.- Synonym: srfa gene product (26 Jun 1999) |
| surfeit | 1. Excess in eating and drinking. "Let not Sir Surfeit sit at thy board." (Piers Plowman) "Now comes the sick hour that his surfeit made." (Shak) 2. Fullness and oppression of the system, occasioned often by excessive eating and drinking. "To prevent surfeit and other diseases that are incident to those that heat their blood by travels." (Bunyan) 3. Disgust caused by excess; satiety. "Matter and argument have been supplied abundantly, and even to surfeit." (Burke) Origin: OE. Surfet, OF. Surfait, sorfait, excess, arrogance, crime, fr. Surfaire, sorfaire, to augment, exaggerate, F. Surfaire to overcharge; sur over + faire to make, do, L. Facere. See Sur-, and Fact. 1. To load the stomach with food, so that sickness or uneasiness ensues; to eat to excess. "They are as sick that surfeit with too much as they that starve with nothing." (Shak) 2. To indulge to satiety in any gratification. 1. To feed so as to oppress the stomach and derange the function of the system; to overfeed, and produce satiety, sickness, or uneasiness; often reflexive; as, to surfeit one's self with sweets. 2. To fill to satiety and disgust; to cloy; as, he surfeits us with compliments. Origin: Surfeited; Surfeiting. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| surfer | <zoology> The surf duck. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| surfle | To wash, as the face, with a cosmetic water, said by some to be prepared from the sulphur. "She shall no oftener powder her hair, [or] surfel her cheeks, . . . But she shall as often gaze on my picture." (Ford) Origin: Cf. Sulphur. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| surgeful | Abounding in surges; surgy. "Tossing the surgeful tides." Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| surgeon | <specialist> A medically qualified doctor who has specialised in the removal of organs, masses, tumours, the repair of ruptures, the diversion of channels etc using the knife. Traditionally in old England this was left to unqualified barbers and presumably because of inverted snobbery, the modern day medically qualified surgeons may prefer to be addressed as Mr or Miss instead of Dr. Surgeons are generally highly thought of and even worshipped because the results of their work are generally easily visible (tangible). (16 Dec 1997) |
| surgeon general | The chief medical officer in the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, or Public Health Service. In some foreign military services any member of the medical corps who has the rank of general, not necessarily the chief medical officer. (05 Mar 2000) |
| surgeon's knot | The first loop of the knot has two throws rather than a single throw. The second loop has only one throw and that is placed in a square knot fashion leaving the free ends in the same plane as the first loop. (05 Mar 2000) |
| surgery | An operation. (16 Dec 1997) |