syphon

Multiple Entries:
  syphon    siphon  

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
syphon

▶noun & verb variant spelling of siphon.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
siphon /ˈsʌɪf(ə)n/ (also syphon)

▶noun

• 1 a tube used to convey liquid upwards from a container and then down to a lower level, the flow being forced initially by suction or immersion and maintained by the different fluid pressures at the tube openings.

• 2 Zoology a tubular organ in an aquatic animal through which water is drawn in or expelled.

▶verb

• 1 draw off or convey (liquid) by means of a siphon.

• 2 draw off (small amounts of money) over a period of time, especially illicitly: he's been siphoning money off the firm.

– derivatives
siphonage noun,
siphonal adjective (Zoology),
siphonic /-ˈfɒnɪk/ adjective.

– origin ME: from Fr., or via L. from Gk siphōn ‘pipe’.