seal
1 RC Church the obligation never to reveal anything said by a penitent in confession
seal
21. any pinniped mammal of the families
Otariidae (see
eared seal) and
Phocidae (see
earless seal) that are aquatic but come on shore to breed
2. any earless seal (family Phocidae), esp the common or harbour seal or the grey seal (Halichoerus grypus)
3. sealskin
Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
seal
[sēl] (engineering)
Any device or system that creates a nonleaking union between two mechanical or process-system elements; for example, gaskets for pipe connection seals, mechanical seals for rotating members such as pump shafts, and liquid seals to prevent gas entry to or loss from a gas-liquid processing sequence.
A tight, perfect closure or joint.
(vertebrate zoology)
Any of various carnivorous mammals of the suborder Pinnipedia, especially the families Phoridae, containing true seals, and Otariidae, containing the eared and fur seals.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
seal
1. A device usually consisting of an impression upon wax or paper, or a wafer, or the inscription of the letters
L.S. (locus sigilli), sometimes used in the execution of a formal legal document such as a deed or contract. In some states, the statute of limitations applicable to a contract under seal is longer than that for a contract not under seal; in most states, the seal has been deprived by statute of some or all of its legal effect.
2. An embossing device or stamp used by a design professional on his
drawings and
specifications as evidence of his registration in the state where the
work, 1 is to be performed.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Seal
(also gland), a device to provide hermetic sealing in machine connections between rotating and stationary parts. This is accomplished using sealing rings, flanges, or other parts placed on the shaft or by means of various packings, such as asbestos, asbestos-wire, or fabric-reinforced rubber, embedded in the recesses or cavities of covers, housings, and similar parts.
Seal
any one mammal of the order Pinnipedia, which comprises the families Phocidae (true seals) and Otariidae (eared seals). The true seals probably descended from primitive Mustelidae, whereas the eared seals apparently are descendants of primitive bearlike creatures. True seals lack external ears, and both pairs of limbs are modified into clawed flippers. The hind limbs of seals are directed backward and serve for locomotion in water; they do not bend forward on dry land and cannot support the heavy body. There are about 20 species, belonging to 12 genera. Seals are widely distributed but are particularly numerous in polar latitudes. Most species form rookeries on the ice during the mating and molting period. The waters of the USSR are inhabited by nine species (in six genera), of which the harp seal, Caspian seal, ringed seal, Pacific harbor seal, and bearded seal are of commercial significance.
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
