Seven

Seven, sev′n, adj. and n. six and one.—adj. Sev′en-fold, folded seven times: multiplied seven times.—n. Sev′en-night, seven days and nights: a week, the time from one day of the week to the same again—also contr. Sennight (sen′nīt).—adj. Sev′enth, last of seven, next after the sixth.—n. one of seven equal parts.—adv. Sev′enthly.—Seven cardinal, chief, or principal virtues (see Cardinal); Seven champions of Christendom, St George for England, St Andrew for Scotland, St Patrick for Ireland, St David for Wales, St Denis for France, St James for Spain, St Anthony for Italy; Seven deadly sins, pride, covetousness, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, and sloth; Seven dolours of the Blessed Virgin Mary (see Dolour); Seven free arts (see Arts); Seven gifts of the Holy Ghost, wisdom, understanding, counsel, ghostly strength or fortitude, knowledge, godliness, and the fear of the Lord; Seven sages, or wise men, Solon of Athens, Thales of Miletus, Pittacus of Mitylene, Bias of Priene in Caria, Chilon of Sparta, Cleobulus tyrant of Lindus in Rhodes, and Periander tyrant of Corinth; Seven Sleepers, seven Christian youths at Ephesus who took refuge in a cave about 250 A.D. in the persecution of Decius, were walled up by their pursuers, fell into a deep sleep, and only awoke in 447 under Theodosius II.; Seven stars, the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn: the constellation Ursa Major: the Pleiades; Seven wise masters, the most common title given to a famous medieval collection of stories grouped round a central story of the birth, education, and trials of a young prince. Accused like Joseph, he is sentenced to death, but each one of the seven viziers gains a day, out of the fated seven during which the prince may not open his mouth, by two tales against women. At the end of the seventh day the prince is free to speak, and quickly clears his character; Seven wonders of the world, the Pyramids of Egypt, the Hanging (i.e. terraced) Gardens of Babylon, the Temple of Diana at Ephesus, the Statue of Jupiter at Athens by Phidias, the Mausoleum, erected by Artemisia at Halicarnassus, the Colossus at Rhodes, and the Pharos of Alexandria; Seven years' war (1756-63), the third and severest struggle for the possession of Silesia between Frederick the Great and the Empress Maria Theresa, together with the allies on both sides; it gave Silesia to Frederick, and to England the mastery of North America and India. [A.S. seofon; Dut. zeven, Ger. sieben, Goth. sibun, Gr. hepta, L. septem.]