sponsorship

[Eng. sponsor; -ship.] The state of being a sponsor; the office or position of a sponsor. "The loan is to be raised in England, under the auspices of the first financial house in Europe, a sponsorship which would insure its succe ."-London Daily Telegraph. spon-ta-ne-i-ty, s. [Fr. spontanéité .] I. Ord. Lang.: The quality or state of being spontaneous, or of acting from natural feeling, inclination, or impulse, without constraint or external force. "Really a large and charming sketch, it has all the artist's spirit, spontaneity , and wealth of tones."-Athe neum , Dec. 20, 1884. II. Technically : 1. Biol .: The tendency to variation, unrestrained by environment. [VARIATION.] 2. Mental Philos .: The doctrine that muscular activity may, and does, arise from internal causes, apart from, and independent of, the stimulus of sensations. It supposes that the nerve-centers, after repose and nourishment, acquire a fullne of vital energy which discharges itself in the play of movement, without any other occasion or motive. The addition of a feeling or end enhances and directs the activity, but does not wholly create it. Freshne in horses, the gambols of puppies and kittens, and the boisterous play of children, are examples of spontaneity. ( Bain : Senses and Intel lect.) spon-tā-ně-ous, a . [Latin spontaneus , from sponte of one's free will. 1. Proceeding from natural disposition, inclination, or impulse, without constraint or external force; impulsive. 2. Acting by its own impulse, energy, or natural law, without external force. "And rusted bolt and bar Spontaneous took their place once more." Scott: Bridal of Trier main , iii. 17. 3. Produced or growing without being planted, or without human labor. "Thorns spring spontaneous at her feet." Cowper: Guion; Joy of the Cro spontaneous-combustion, s. [COMBUSTION.] spontaneous-fi ion, s. [FISSION, 2.] spontaneous-generation, s. [GENERATION.] spontaneous-rotation, s. [ROTATION.] spon-tā-ně-oŭs-lý, adv. [Eng. spontaneous; -ly.] 1. In a spontaneous manner; of one's own in pulse, inclination, or disposition; impulsively, without external influence. "He never gave spontaneously; but it was painful to him to refuse." - Macaulay : Hist. Eng . , ch. ii. 2. By inherent or natural force or en gy; without external influence, impulse, or force. "The soil of the island is truly luxuriant, producing fruits of many kinds spontaneously ." -Anson: Voyages, bk. i., ch. v. spon-tā-ně-oŭs-ne , subst. [Eng. spontaneous; ne . The quality or state of being spontaneous; spontaneity. "The sagacities and instincts of brutes, the sponta. neousne of many of their animal motions."-Hale: Orig of Mankind, p. 49. spon-toôn', subst. [Fr.esponton, sponton; Ital. spontone, spuntone, from punto; Lat. punctum=a point.] "Says Johnson, in a tone of admiration, How the little fellow brandished his spontoon!" -Murphy: Life of John son. spoôk, s. [Dut. spook; Ger. spuk.] A ghost, a hobgoblin.