Sabbath Day of the week set aside for worship and observance of reli¬ gious duties in Judaism and Christianity. The Jewish Sabbath begins at sunset on Friday and lasts until sunset the next day, during which time no ordinary work or act of labor is performed. For most Christian denomi¬ nations, the Sabbath is on Sunday; prescribed conduct varies consider¬ ably, but attendance at worship services is a feature common to all. In Islam, Friday is the day of worship.
Sabi River See Save River
Sabin \'sa-bin\, Albert B(ruce) (b. Aug. 26, 1906, Bialystok, Poland, Russian Empire—d. March 3, 1993, Washington, D.C., U.S.) Polish-born
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1660 I Sabine ► Sachs
U.S. physician and microbiologist. He immigrated to the U.S. with his parents in 1921 and received an M.D. from New York University. He grew poliovirus in human nerve tissue outside the body, showed that it does not enter the body through the respiratory system, and proved that poliomy¬ elitis is primarily an infection of the digestive tract. He postulated that an oral vaccine would work longer than Jonas Salk’s injections of killed virus, and he isolated weakened strains of each of the three types of poliovirus that would stimulate antibody production but not produce dis¬ ease. The Sabin oral polio vaccine, approved for use in the U.S. in 1960, became the main defense against polio throughout the world.
Sabine Ysa-,bmz\ Any member of an ancient Italic tribe located east of the Tiber River. According to legend, Romulus invited them to a festival and then carried off (“raped”) their women to provide wives for his men. The second king of Rome, Numa Pompilius, probably a Sabine, is cred¬ ited with creating a great number of the early Roman religious institu¬ tions and practices. Later groups displaced the Sabines from Rome. The Romans conquered them and granted them partial citizenship in 290 bc; they became full citizens in 268.
Sabine Vsab-in\, Sir Edward (b. Oct. 14, 1788, Dublin, Ire.—d. June 26, 1883, East Sheen, Surrey, Eng.) British astronomer and geodesist. He accompanied the expeditions of John Ross (1818) and William Parry (1819) in search of the Northwest Passage. In 1821 he began experiments to determine the Earth’s shape more precisely by observing the motion of a pendulum. He thereafter devoted most of his efforts to researches on terrestrial magnetism, overseeing the establishment of magnetic observa¬ tories throughout the world. In 1852 he discovered that the periodic varia¬ tion of sunspots is correlated with certain changes in magnetic disturbances. He was president of London’s Royal Society (1861-71). Knighted in 1869, he was promoted to the rank of general in 1870.
Sabine \so-'ben\ River River, eastern Texas and western Louisiana, U.S. Rising in northeastern Texas, it flows southeast and south, broadens near its mouth to form Sabine Lake, and continues from Port Arthur, Texas, through Sabine Pass to enter the Gulf of Mexico after a course of 578 mi (930 km). The river forms the southern section of the Texas- Louisiana boundary and is a link in the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.
sable Carnivore (Martes zibellina, family Mustelidae) that inhabits for¬ ests of northern Asia and is highly valued for its fur. The name is some¬ times applied to related European and Asian species and to the American marten. The sable is 13-20 in. (32-51 cm) long, excluding the 5-7-in. (13-18-cm) tail, and weighs 2^4 lbs (0.9-1.8 kg). The coat varies from brown to almost black. The solitary, arboreal sable eats small animals and eggs.
Sabra and Shatila Vsab-r9...sha-'te-l3\ massacres (1982) Massa¬ cre of Palestinian civilians by Christian militiamen in two Beirut refugee camps during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. The goal of Israel’s action was to expel Palestinian guerrillas from Lebanon. To achieve this objec¬ tive, Israel allied itself with several Lebanese Christian groups, including the Phalange party, who fought the Palestinians during the protracted Lebanese civil war (1975-90). Following the U.S.-brokered evacuation of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) fighters from Beirut, Israeli forces under Defense Minister Ariel Sharon allowed Phalange militiamen into the camps, ostensibly to root out further PLO fighters. Estimates of the number of women, children, and elderly who were killed over the next several days ranged from 800 to several thousand. Although no militia¬ men were ever prosecuted for their participation, Sharon—who an Israeli commission of inquiry later found indirectly responsible through negligence—was condemned in Arab popular opinion as the culprit of the massacre.
Sabratha Vsa-bro-thoV or Sabrata Ancient city, Roman Africa. Founded by the Carthaginians as a trading post, it was first permanently settled in the 4th century bc. It was the westernmost of the three cities of Tripolitania; the site is located near the modem town of Sabratah, north¬ western Libya. Archaeological excavations have uncovered more than half the area of the city, including Roman and Byzantine fortifications, temples, fountains, the forum, theatre, basilica, and several churches. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1982.
Sabre See F-86
sabre-toothed tiger or sabre-toothed cat Any of the extinct cat species forming the subfamily Machairodontinae. They had two long, bladelike canine teeth in the upper jaw. They lived from 36.6 million years
ago to about 10,000 years ago, arising in North America and Europe and spreading to Asia, Africa, and South America. The best-known, the short- limbed Smilodon of the Americas, was bigger than the modern lion. Its “sabres,” which grew to 8 in. (20 cm) long, were used to stab and slash prey, including the mastodon, whose pattern of extinction paralleled their own.
Sabzevdn Vsab-zo-.va-reX, HajjT Had! (b. 1797/98, Sabzevar, Iran—d. 1878, Sabzevar) Iranian philosopher and religious scholar. In his native city he founded a school that attracted students of philosophy from all over the Muslim world. His two main philosophical works. The Secrets of Wisdom and A Treatise on Logic in Verse, in which he advanced the hikmah (wisdom) school of thought, are still studied in Iran. He lived a devoutly religious and ascetic life and is said to have performed miracles.
Sac See Sauk
Sacagawea V.sa-ko-jo-'we-oX Shoshone Indian guide who led the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804-06). Having been captured by Hidatsa Indians, she had been separated from her people for nearly 10 years when the expedition began. Carrying her infant son on her back, she traveled thou¬ sands of wilderness miles with the expedition. At one point in the jour¬ ney, Sacagawea was instrumental in obtaining horses and guides from a band of Shoshone (led by her brother Cameahwait); without them the expedition might well have ended. Her fortitude in the face of hazards and deprivations became legendary.
saccharin Vsa-ko-ronV Synthetic organic compound, C 7 H 5 NS0 3 , that is 200-700 times as sweet as cane sugar. The sodium or calcium salt of sac¬ charin is widely used as a diet sweetener. Though approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and other regulatory bodies around the world, its safety is controversial because it appears to be a weak carcino¬ gen. See also aspartame.
Sacchi \'sak-ke\, Andrea (b. 1599, Nettuno, Papal States—d. June 21, 1661, Rome) Italian painter. He studied with Francesco Albani in Bolo¬ gna and in Rome, where he would work all his life. He was employed, with Pietro da Cortona, to decorate the Sacchetti family villa (1628) and the Barberini Palace, for which he produced the ceiling fresco Allegory of Divine Wisdom (1629-31). His two altarpieces in the church of Santa Maria della Concezione (1631-38) are distinguished by their Classicism. Other notable works include eight canvases in the cupola of the Baptis¬ tery of St. John in Rome (1639^-5). He was a skilled draftsman and the leading exponent of the Classical tradition in 17th-century Roman paint¬ ing.