seraphot

[Appar. an erroneous form of serif.] Same as serif. Coinage of the early Saxon period, when the serapho of the letters were formed by a triangular punch: thus, an E was formed of a straight line with three such triangles before it, more or le elongated according to the slope of the blow in the die. Fairholt . Serapias (se-rā'pi-as), n. [NL. (Linnæus, 1737), 346 Serapias ing to the Azores. They are terrestrial herbs, growing from undivided tubers, and bearing narrow leaves and a spike of a few handsome flowers. S. Lingua is known as the tongue - flowered and S. cordigera as the heart -flowered orchis, both of which are occasionally cultivated in gar dens. Serapic (se-rā'pik), a. [Cf. LL. Serapicus, Se rapiacus, Sarapiacus, Gr. only as personal name, Σαραπιακός, Σεραπιακός.] Of or pertaining to Serapis or his cult. They include various types of the god Abraxas, Cnuphic and Serapic emblems, Egyptian types. Pop . Sci . Mo. , XXXII. 560. Serapis (se-rā'pis), n . [L. Serapis , Σάρα πις , also Σέραπις , Serapis.] 1. The Roman name of a deity of Egyptian origin whose worship was officially promoted under the Ptolemies, and was introduced into Greece and Rome. Serapis was the dead Apis honored under the attributes of Osiris; he was lord of the under-world, and identified with the Greek Hades. His worship combination of Egyptian Greek cults, and was favored by the Ptolemies for political reasons. 2. In conch., a genus of gastropods.-3. In entom., a genus of hymenopterous insects. =