seal

Etymology 1

From Middle English sele, from an inflectional form of Old English seolh, from Proto-West Germanic *selh, from Proto-Germanic *selhaz (compare Scots selch,selkie,North Frisian selich, Middle Dutch seel, zēle, Old High German selah, Danish sæl, Middle Low German sale), either from Proto-Indo-European *selk- (“to pull”) (compare dialectal English sullow (“plough”)) or from early Proto-Finnic *šülkeš (later *hülgeh, compare dialectal Finnish hylki, standard hylje, Estonian hüljes).

noun

1. A pinniped (Pinnipedia), particularly an earless seal (true seal) or eared seal.
   The seals in the harbor looked better than they smelled.
2. (heraldry) A bearing representing a creature something like a walrus.

verb

1. (intransitive) To hunt seals.
   They're organizing a protest against sealing.

Etymology 2

From Middle English sele, from Anglo-Norman sëel, from Latin sigillum, a diminutive of signum (“sign”). Doublet of sigil and sigillum.

noun

1. A stamp used to impress a design on a soft substance such as wax.
2. An impression of such stamp on wax, paper or other material used for sealing.
3. A design or insignia usually associated with an organization or an official role.
   The front of the podium bore the presidential seal.
   So the matter rested until the Cranbrook & Paddock Wood Company was incorporated on August 8, 1877, appropriately displaying a bunch of hops on its seal, for these had become the principal cash crop in the area. 1960 March, H. P. White, “The Hawkhurst branch of the Southern Region”, in Trains Illustrated, page 170
4. Anything that secures or authenticates.
5. Something which will be visibly damaged if a covering or container is opened, and which may or may not bear an official design.
   The result was declared invalid, as the seal on the meter had been broken.
6. (figurative) Confirmation or approval, or an indication of this.
   Her clothes always had her mom's seal of approval.
7. Something designed to prevent liquids or gases from leaking through a joint.
   The canister is leaking. I think the main seal needs to be replaced.
8. A tight closure, secure against leakage.
   Close the lid tightly to get a good seal.
9. A chakra.

verb

1. (transitive) To place a seal on (a document).
2. To mark with a stamp, as an evidence of standard exactness, legal size, or merchantable quality.
   to seal weights and measures
   to seal silverware
3. (transitive) To fasten (something) so that it cannot be opened without visible damage.
   The cover is sealed. If anyone tries to open it, we'll know about it.
4. (transitive) To prevent people or vehicles from crossing (something).
   The border has been sealed until the fugitives are found.
5. (transitive) To close securely to prevent leakage.
   I've sealed the bottle to keep the contents fresh.
6. (transitive) To place in a sealed container.
   I've sealed the documents in this envelope.
7. (transitive, chess) To place a notation of one's next move in a sealed envelope to be opened after an adjournment.
   After thinking for half an hour, the champion sealed his move.
8. (transitive) To guarantee.
   The last-minute goal sealed United’s win.
   England's first-half display contained much to admire but it was a sign of their wastefulness in front of goal that it took the injury-time intervention from Kane to seal victory. 18 June 2018, Phil McNulty, “Tunisia 1 – 2 England”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 2019-04-21
9. To fix, as a piece of iron in a wall, with cement or plaster, etc.
   Sealed to this wall by their rims were cazuelas ( earthenware bowls). 1898, The American Archaeologist, page 267
   After testing is concluded and it has been determined that the drilled well is to be completed as a producing or fluid-injection well, or that operations are to be suspended, the final string of casing is placed in the well and sealed to the penetrated formation with cement. 1971, Environmental Conservation, the Oil and Gas Industries, page 127
   The PVC was then sealed to the plastered foundation with a 3-inch-wide band of PVC-to-concrete adhesive applied above the Thiokol. 1974, Ruins Stabilization in the Southwestern United States, page 40
   The blowing device consists of a glass vessel with a hollow perforated cylinder sealed to its base, and two side tubes sealed at opposite ends of the vessel. 1974, Egyptian Journal of Physics - Volumes 5-6, page 2
10. To close by means of a seal.
    to seal a drainpipe with water
    When the silicone rubber has set the plaster pieces are replaced, followed by the lid, which is sealed to the mother-mould with plaster and bandage as previously described. 2008, Sandra Davison, R.G. Newton, Conservation and Restoration of Glass, page 301
11. (Mormonism) To confirm or set apart as a second or additional wife.
    If a man once married desires a second helpmate […] she is sealed to him under the solemn sanction of the church. 1852, Howard Stansbury, An Expedition to the Valley of the Great Salt Lake of Utah
    She can be sealed to this other man and still remain with her first husband; and the Mormons believe that all her children will belong to the man to whom she is sealed. 1870, Aaron Harrison Cragin, Execution of Laws in Utah, page 9
    Next, I was sealed to my fourteenth wife, Emeline Vaughn. In 1851, I was sealed to my fifteenth wife, Mary Lear Groves. In 1856, I was sealed to my sixteenth wife, Mary Ann Williams. 2001, Richard W. Slatta, The Mythical West, page 197
12. (Christianity) To form a sacred commitment.
    What was that office, or work, to which his Father sealed him? I answer, more generally, he was sealed to the whole work of mediation for us, thereby to recover and save all the elect, whom the Father had given him: 1836, John Flavel, The Fountain of Life Opened; Or, A Display of Christ in His Essential and Mediatorial Glory. 1671, page 44
    Perfectly so, I tell thee, of the sealed people who have come in through unbelief, pretending themselves to be children of the kingdom, that they are sealed to be heirs of the promise, but have come in as thieves and robbers. 1861, Joanna Southcott, Lavinia Elizabeth C. Jones, The scriptures of the holy Trinity, page 88
    Let us all strive to get ourselves sealed to redemption, seeing God doth seal those whom he will deliver in that great day; if we be not in this number, we shall not escape damnation. 1866, Paul Baynes, An Entire Commentary Upon the Whole Epistle of St. Paul to the Ephesians, page 81
    Thus these representatives of humanity are first sealed to help with the final work of salvation. 2015, Uchenna Mezue, Hidden In Plain Sight: A Study of the Revelation to John
13. (cooking, transitive) To fry (meat) at a high temperature to retain the juices.
    Seal the meat and continue frying until nicely browned. 1993, Daran Little, Life and Times at the Rovers Return, page 113

Etymology 3

From Middle English *selen (suggested by Middle English sele (“harness; hame”)), perhaps from Old English sǣlan (“to bind”).

verb

1. (dialectal) To tie up animals (especially cattle) in their stalls.