Seal (sēl), n. [OE. sele, AS. seolh; akin to OHG. selah, Dan. sæl, Sw. själ, Icel. selr.] (Zoöl.) Any aquatic carnivorous mammal of the families Phocidæ and Otariidæ.
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&hand_; Seals inhabit seacoasts, and are found principally in the higher latitudes of both hemispheres. There are numerous species, bearing such popular names as sea lion, sea leopard, sea bear, or ursine seal, fur seal, and sea elephant. The bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus), the hooded seal (Cystophora cristata), and the ringed seal (Phoca fœtida), are northern species. See also Eared seal, Harp seal, Monk seal, and Fur seal, under Eared, Harp, Monk, and Fur. Seals are much hunted for their skins and fur, and also for their oil, which in some species is very abundant.
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Harbor seal (Zoöl.), the common seal (Phoca vitulina). It inhabits both the North Atlantic and the North Pacific Ocean, and often ascends rivers; -- called also marbled seal, native seal, river seal, bay seal, land seal, sea calf, sea cat, sea dog, dotard, ranger, selchie, tangfish.
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Seal, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Sealed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Sealing.] [OE. selen; cf. OF. seeler, seieler, F. sceller, LL. sigillare. See Seal a stamp.] 1. To set or affix a seal to; hence, to authenticate; to confirm; to ratify; to establish; as, to seal a deed.
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And with my hand I seal my true heart's love. Shak.
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2. To mark with a stamp, as an evidence of standard exactness, legal size, or merchantable quality; as, to seal weights and measures; to seal silverware.
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3. To fasten with a seal; to attach together with a wafer, wax, or other substance causing adhesion; as, to seal a letter.
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4. Hence, to shut close; to keep close; to make fast; to keep secure or secret.
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Seal up your lips, and give no words but “mum”. Shak.
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5. To fix, as a piece of iron in a wall, with cement, plaster, or the like. Gwilt.
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6. To close by means of a seal; as, to seal a drainpipe with water. See 2d Seal, 5.
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7. Among the Mormons, to confirm or set apart as a second or additional wife. [Utah, U.S.]
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If a man once married desires a second helpmate . . . she is sealed to him under the solemn sanction of the church. H. Stansbury.
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