F F (êf) (continued 5)

FIGHT Fight, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Fought; p. pr. & vb. n. Fighting.] Etym: [OE. fihten, fehten, AS. feohtan; akin to D. vechten, OHG. fehtan, G. fechten, Sw. fäkta, Dan. fegte, and perh. to E. fist; cf. L. pugnare to fight, pugnus fist.]

1. To strive or contened for victory, with armies or in single combat; to attempt to defeat, subdue, or destroy an enemy, either by blows or weapons; to contend in arms; — followed by with or against. You do fight against your country's foes. Shak. To fight with thee no man of arms will deign. Milton.

2. To act in opposition to anything; to struggle against; to contend; to strive; to make resistance. To fight shy, to avoid meeting fairly or at close quarters; to keep out of reach.

FIGHT Fight, v. t.

1. To carry on, or wage, as a conflict, or battle; to win or gain by struggle, as one's way; to sustain by fighting, as a cause. He had to fight his way through the world. Macaulay. I have fought a good fight. 2 Tim. iv. 7.

2. To contend with in battle; to war against; as, they fought the enemy in two pitched battles; the sloop fought the frigate for three hours.

3. To cause to fight; to manage or maneuver in a fight; as, to fight cocks; to fight one's ship. To fight it out, to fight until a decisive and conclusive result is reached.

FIGHT Fight, n. Etym: [OE. fight, feht, AS. feoht. See Fight, v. i.]

1. A battle; an engagement; a contest in arms; a combat; a violent conflict or struggle for victory, between individuals or between armies, ships, or navies, etc. Who now defies thee thrice to single fight. Milton.

2. A struggle or contest of any kind.

3. Strength or disposition for fighting; pugnacity; as, he has a great deal of fight in him. [Colloq.]

4. A screen for the combatants in ships. [Obs.] Up with your fights, and your nettings prepare. Dryden. Running fight, a fight in which the enemy is continually chased; also, one which continues without definite end or result.

Syn. — Combat; engagement; contest; struggle; encounter; fray; affray; action; conflict. See Battle.

FIGHTER Fight"er, n. Etym: [AS. feohtere.]

Defn: One who fights; a combatant; a warrior. Shak.

FIGHTING Fight"ing, a.

1. Qualified for war; fit for battle. An host of fighting men. 2 Chron. xxvi. 11.

2. Occupied in war; being the scene of a battle; as, a fighting field. Pope. A fighting chance, one dependent upon the issue of a struggle. [Colloq.] — Fighting crab (Zoöl.), the fiddler crab. — Fighting fish (Zoöl.), a remarkably pugnacious East Indian fish (Betta pugnax), reared by the Siamese for spectacular fish fights.

FIGHTINGLY Fight"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: Pugnaciously.

FIGHTWITE Fight"wite`, n. Etym: [Fight + wite.] (O.Eng. Law)

Defn: A mulct or fine imposed on a person for making a fight or quarrel to the disturbance of the peace.

FIGMENT Fig"ment, n. Etym: [L. figmentum, fr. fingere to form, shape, invent, feign. See Feign.]

Defn: An invention; a fiction; something feigned or imagined. Social figments, feints, and formalism. Mrs. Browning. It carried rather an appearance of figment and invention . . . than of truth and reality. Woodward.

FIGPECKER Fig"peck`er, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The European garden warbler (Sylvia, or Currica, hortensis); — called also beccafico and greater pettychaps.

FIG-SHELL Fig"-shell`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A marine univalve shell of the genus Pyrula, or Ficula, resembling a fig in form.

FIGULATE; FIGULATED Fig"u*late, Fig"u*la`ted, a. Etym: [L. figulatus, p.p. of figulare to shape, fr. figulus potter, fr. fingere to shape.]

Defn: Made of potter's clay; molded; shaped. [R.] Johnson.

FIGULINE Fig"u*line ( or ), n. Etym: [F., fr. L. figulina pottery, fr. figulus. See Figulate.]

Defn: A piece of pottery ornamented with representations of natural objects. Whose figulines and rustic wares Scarce find him bread from day to day. Longfellow.

FIGURABILITY Fig`ur*a*bil"i*ty, n. Etym: [Cf. F. figurabilité.]

Defn: The quality of being figurable. Johnson.

FIGURABLE Fig`ur*a*ble, a. Etym: [L. figurare to form, shape, fr. figura figure: cf. F. figurable. See Figure.]

Defn: Capable of being brought to a fixed form or shape. Lead is figurable, but water is not. Johnson.

FIGURAL Fig"ur*al, a. Etym: [From Figure.]

1. Represented by figure or delineation; consisting of figures; as, figural ornaments. Sir T. Browne.

2. (Mus.)

Defn: Figurate. See Figurate. Figural numbers. See Figurate numbers, under Figurate.

FIGURANT Fig"u*rant` ( or ), n. masc. Etym: [F., prop. p.pr. of figurer figure, represent, make a figure.]

Defn: One who dances at the opera, not singly, but in groups or figures; an accessory character on the stage, who figures in its scenes, but has nothing to say; hence, one who figures in any scene, without taking a prominent part.

FIGURANTE Fig"u*rante` ( or ), n. fem. Etym: [F.]

Defn: A female figurant; esp., a ballet girl.

FIGURATE Fig"ur*ate, a. Etym: [L. figuratus, p.p. of figurare. See Figure.]

1. Of a definite form or figure. Plants are all figurate and determinate, which inanimate bodies are not. Bacon.

2. Figurative; metaphorical. [Obs.] Bale.

3. (Mus.)

Defn: Florid; figurative; involving passing discords by the freer melodic movement of one or more parts or voices in the harmony; as, figurate counterpoint or descant. Figurate counterpoint or descant (Mus.), that which is not simple, or in which the parts do not move together tone for tone, but in which freer movement of one or more parts mingles passing discords with the harmony; — called also figural, figurative, and figured counterpoint or descant (although the term figured is more commonly applied to a bass with numerals written above or below to indicate the other notes of the harmony). — Figurate numbers (Math.), numbers, or series of numbers, formed from any arithmetical progression in which the first term is a unit, and the difference a whole number, by taking the first term, and the sums of the first two, first three, first four, etc., as the successive terms of a new series, from which another may be formed in the same manner, and so on, the numbers in the resulting series being such that points representing them are capable of symmetrical arrangement in different geometrical figures, as triangles, squares, pentagons, etc.

Note: In the following example, the two lower lines are composed of figurate numbers, those in the second line being triangular, and represented thus: —. 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. . . . 1, 3, 6, 10, etc. . . . . . . . etc. 1, 4, 10, 20, etc . . . . . . . . . . . .

FIGURATED Fig"ur*a`ted, a.

Defn: Having a determinate form.

FIGURATELY Fig"ur*ate*ly, adv.

Defn: In a figurate manner.

FIGURATION Fig`u*ra"tion, n. Etym: [L. figuratio.]

1. The act of giving figure or determinate form; determination to a certain form. Bacon.

2. (Mus.)

Defn: Mixture of concords and discords.

FIGURATIVE Fig"ur*a*tive, a. Etym: [L. figurativus: cf. F. figuratif. See Figurative.]

1. Representing by a figure, or by resemblance; typical; representative. This, they will say, was figurative, and served, by God's appointment, but for a time, to shadow out the true glory of a more divine sanctity. Hooker.

2. Used in a sense that is tropical, as a metaphor; not literal; — applied to words and expressions.

3. Ambounding in figures of speech; flowery; florid; as, a highly figurative description.

4. Relating to the representation of form or figure by drawing, carving, etc. See Figure, n., 2. They belonged to a nation dedicated to the figurative arts, and they wrote for a public familiar with painted form. J. A. Symonds. Figurative counterpointdescant. See under Figurate. — Fig"ur*a*tive*ly, adv. — Fig"ur*a*tive*ness, n.

FIGURE Fig"ure, n. Etym: [F., figure, L. figura; akin to fingere to form, shape, feign. See Feign.]

1. The form of anything; shape; outline; appearance. Flowers have all exquisite figures. Bacon.

2. The representation of any form, as by drawing, painting, modeling, carving, embroidering, etc.; especially, a representation of the human body; as, a figure in bronze; a figure cut in marble. A coin that bears the figure of an angel. Shak.

3. A pattern in cloth, paper, or other manufactured article; a design wrought out in a fabric; as, the muslin was of a pretty figure.

4. (Geom.)

Defn: A diagram or drawing; made to represent a magnitude or the relation of two or more magnitudes; a surface or space inclosed on all sides; — called superficial when inclosed by lines, and solid when inclosed by surface; any arrangement made up of points, lines, angles, surfaces, etc.

5. The appearance or impression made by the conduct or carrer of a person; as, a sorry figure. I made some figure there. Dryden. Gentlemen of the best figure in the county. Blackstone.

6. Distinguished appearance; magnificence; conspicuous representation; splendor; show. That he may live in figure and indulgence. Law.

7. A character or symbol representing a number; a numeral; a digit; as, 1, 2,3, etc.

8. Value, as expressed in numbers; price; as, the goods are estimated or sold at a low figure. [Colloq.] With nineteen thousand a year at the very lowest figure. Thackeray.

9. A person, thing, or action, conceived of as analogous to another person, thing, or action, of which it thus becomes a type or representative. Who is the figure of Him that was to come. Rom. v. 14.

10. (Rhet.)

Defn: A mode of expressing abstract or immaterial ideas by words which suggest pictures or images from the physical world; pictorial language; a trope; hence, any deviation from the plainest form of statement. To represent the imagination under the figure of a wing. Macaulay.

11. (Logic)

Defn: The form of a syllogism with respect to the relative position of the middle term.

12. (Dancing)

Defn: Any one of the several regular steps or movements made by a dancer.

13. (Astrol.)

Defn: A horoscope; the diagram of the aspects of the astrological houses. Johnson.

14. (Music) (a) Any short succession of notes, either as melody or as a group of chords, which produce a single complete and distinct impression. Grove. (b) A form of melody or accompaniment kept up through a strain or passage; a musical or motive; a florid embellishment.

Note: Figures are often written upon the staff in music to denote the kind of measure. They are usually in the form of a fraction, the upper figure showing how many notes of the kind indicated by the lower are contained in one measure or bar. Thus, 2/4 signifies that the measure contains two quarter notes. The following are the principal figures used for this purpose: —2/22/42/8 4/22/44/8 3/23/43/8 6/46/46/8 Academy figure, Canceled figures, Lay figure, etc. See under Academy, Cancel, Lay, etc. — Figure caster, or Figure flinger, an astrologer. This figure caster." Milton. — Figure flinging, the practice of astrology. — Figure-of-eight knot, a knot shaped like the figure 8. See Illust. under Knot. — Figure painting, a picture of the human figure, or the act or art of depicting the human figure. — Figure stone (Min.), agalmatolite. — Figure weaving, the art or process of weaving figured fabrics. — To cut a figure, to make a display. [Colloq.] Sir W. Scott.

FIGURE Fig"ure, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Figured; p. pr. & vb. n. Figuring.] Etym: [F. figurer, L. figurare, fr. figura. See Figure, n.]

1. To represent by a figure, as to form or mold; to make an image of, either palpable or ideal; also, to fashion into a determinate form; to shape. If love, alas! be pain I bear, No thought can figure, and no tongue declare.Prior.

2. To embellish with design; to adorn with figures. The vaulty top of heaven Figured quite o'er with burning meteors. Shak.

3. To indicate by numerals; also, to compute. As through a crystal glass the figured hours are seen. Dryden.

4. To represent by a metaphor; to signify or symbolize. Whose white vestments figure innocence. Shak.

5. To prefigure; to foreshow. In this the heaven figures some event. Shak.

6. (Mus.) (a) To write over or under the bass, as figures or other characters, in order to indicate the accompanying chords. (b) To embellish. To figure out, to solve; to compute or find the result of. — To figure up, to add; to reckon; to compute the amount of.

FIGURE Fig"ure, v. t.

1. To make a figure; to be distinguished or conspicious; as, the envoy figured at court. Sociable, hospitable, eloquent, admired, figuring away brilliantly. M. Arnold.

2. To calculate; to contrive; to scheme; as, he is figuring to secure the nomination. [Colloq.]

FIGURED Fig"ured, a.

1. Adorned with figures; marked with figures; as, figured muslin.

2. Not literal; figurative. [Obs.] Locke.

3. (Mus.) (a) Free and florid; as, a figured descant. See Figurate, 3. (b) Indicated or noted by figures. Figured bass. See Continued bass, under Continued.

FIGUREHEAD Fig"ure*head`, n.

1. (Naut.)

Defn: The figure, statue, or bust, on the prow of a ship.

2. A person who allows his name to be used to give standing to enterprises in which he has no responsible interest or duties; a nominal, but not real, head or chief.

FIGURIAL Fi*gu"ri*al, a.

Defn: Represented by figure or delineation. [R.] Craig.

FIGURINE Fi`gu`rine" ( or ), n. Etym: [F., dim. of figure.]

Defn: A very small figure, whether human or of an animal; especially, one in terra cotta or the like; — distinguished from statuette, which is applied to small figures in bronze, marble, etc.

FIGURIST Fig"ur*ist, n.

Defn: One who uses or interprets figurative expressions. Waterland.

FIGWORT Fig"wort`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A genus of herbaceous plants (Scrophularia), mostly found in the north temperate zones. See Brownwort.

FIJIAN Fi"ji*an, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to the Fiji islands or their inhabitants. — n.

Defn: A native of the Fiji islands. [Written also Feejeean, Feejee.]

FIKE Fike, n.

Defn: See Fyke.

FIL Fil, obs.

Defn: imp. of Fall, v. i. Fell. Chaucer.

FILACEOUS Fi*la"ceous ( or ), a. Etym: [L. filum thread.]

Defn: Composed of threads. Bacon.

FILACER Fil"a*cer, n. Etym: [OE. filace a file, or thread, on which the records of the courts of justice were strung, F. filasse tow of flax or hemp, fr. L. filum thread.] (Eng. Law)

Defn: A former officer in the English Court of Common Pleas; — so called because he filed the writs on which he made out process. [Obs.] Burrill.

FILAMENT Fil"a*ment, n. Etym: [F. filament, fr. L. filum thread. See File a row.]

Defn: A thread or threadlike object or appendage; a fiber; esp. (Bot.), the threadlike part of the stamen supporting the anther.

FILAMENTARY Fil`a*men"ta*ry, a.

Defn: Having the character of, or formed by, a filament.

FILAMENTOID Fil"a*men*toid`, a. Etym: [Filament + -oid.]

Defn: Like a filament.

FILAMENTOUS Fil`a*men"tous, a. Etym: [Cf. F. filamenteux.]

Defn: Like a thread; consisting of threads or filaments. Gray.

FILANDER Fil"an*der, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A species of kangaroo (Macropus Brunii), inhabiting New Guinea.

FILANDERS Fil"an*ders, n. pl. Etym: [F. filandres, fr. L. filum thread.] (Falconry)

Defn: A disease in hawks, characterized by the presence of small threadlike worms, also of filaments of coagulated blood, from the rupture of a vein; — called also backworm. Sir T. Browne.

FILAR Fi"lar, a. Etym: [L. filum a thread.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to a thread or line; characterized by threads stretched across the field of view; as, a filar microscope; a filar micrometer.

FILARIA Fi*la"ri*a, n. Etym: [NL., fr. L. filum a thread.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A genus of slender, nematode worms of many species, parasitic in various animals. See Guinea worm.

FILARIAL Fi*la"ri*al, a.

1. (Zoöl. & Med.)

Defn: Of, pertaining to, or caused by, filariæ and allied parasitic worms.

2. Straight, as if in a line; as, the filarial flight of birds.

FILARIASIS Fil`a*ri"a*sis, n. [NL.] (Med.)

Defn: The presence of filariæ in the blood; infection with filariæ.

FILASSE Fi*lasse", n. [F., fr. fil thread, L. filum.]

Defn: Vegetable fiber, as jute or ramie, prepared for manufacture.

FILATORY Fil"a*to*ry, n. Etym: [LL. filatorium place for spinning, fr. filare to spin, fr. L. filum a thread.]

Defn: A machine for forming threads. [Obs.] W. Tooke.

FILATURE Fil"a*ture, n. Etym: [LL. filatura, fr. filare to spin: cf. F. filature. See Filatory.]

1. A drawing out into threads; hence, the reeling of silk from cocoons. Ure.

2. A reel for drawing off silk from cocoons; also, an establishment for reeling silk.

FILBERT Fil"bert, n. Etym: [Perh. fr. fill + bread, as filling the bread or husk; cf. G. bartnuss (lit., bread nut) filbert; or perh. named from a St.Philibert, whose day, Aug. 22, fell in the nutting season.] (Bot.)

Defn: The fruit of the Corylus Avellana or hazel. It is an oval nut, containing a kernel that has a mild, farinaceous, oily taste, agreeable to the palate.

Note: In England filberts are usually large hazelnuts, especially the nuts from selected and cultivated trees. The American hazelnuts are of two other species. Filbert gall (Zoöl.), a gall resembling a filbert in form, growing in clusters on grapevines. It is produced by the larva of a gallfly (Cecidomyia).

FILCH Filch, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Filched; p. pr. & vb. n. Filching.] Etym: [Cf. AS. feol to stick to, OHG. felhan, felahan, to hide, Icel. fela, Goth. filhan to hide, bury, Prov. E. feal to hide slyly, OE. felen.]

Defn: To steal or take privily (commonly, that which is of little value); to pilfer. Fain would they filch that little food away. Dryden. But he that filches from me my good name, Robs me of that which not enriches him, And makes me poor indeed. Shak.

FILCHER Filch"er, n.

Defn: One who filches; a thief.

FILCHINGLY Filch"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: By pilfering or petty stealing.

FILE File, n. Etym: [F. file row (cf. Pr., Sp., Pg., & It. fila), LL. fila, fr. L. filum a thread. Cf. Enfilade, Filament, Fillet.]

1. An orderly succession; a line; a row; as: (a) (Mil) A row of soldiers ranged one behind another; — in contradistinction to rank, which designates a row of soldiers standing abreast; a number consisting the depth of a body of troops, which, in the ordinary modern formation, consists of two men, the battalion standing two deep, or in two ranks.

Note: The number of files in a company describes its width, as the number of ranks does its depth; thus, 100 men in "fours deep" would be spoken of as 25 files in 4 ranks. Farrow. (b) An orderly collection of papers, arranged in sequence or classified for preservation and reference; as, files of letters or of newspapers; this mail brings English files to the 15th instant. (c) The line, wire, or other contrivance, by which papers are put and kept in order. It is upon a file with the duke's other letters. Shak.

(d) A roll or list. "A file of all the gentry." Shak.

2. Course of thought; thread of narration. [Obs.] Let me resume the file of my narration. Sir H. Wotton. File firing, the act of firing by file, or each file independently of others. — File leader, the soldier at the front of any file, who covers and leads those in rear of him. — File marching, the marching of a line two deep, when faced to the right or left, so that the front and rear rank march side by side. Brande & C. —Indian file, or Single file, a line of men marching one behind another; a single row. — On file, preserved in an orderly collection. — Rank and file. (a) The body of soldiers constituing the mass of an army, including corporals and privates. Wilhelm. (b) Those who constitute the bulk or working members of a party, society, etc., in distinction from the leaders.

FILE File, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Filed; p. pr. & vb. n. Filing.]

1. To set in order; to arrange, or lay away, esp. as papers in a methodical manner for preservation and reverence; to place on file; to insert in its proper place in an arranged body of papers. I would have my several courses and my dishes well filed. Beau. & Fl.

2. To bring before a court or legislative body by presenting proper papers in a regular way; as, to file a petition or bill. Burrill.

3. (Law)

Defn: To put upon the files or among the records of a court; to note on (a paper) the fact date of its reception in court. To file a paper, on the part of a party, is to place it in the official custody of the clerk. To file, on the part of the clerk, is to indorse upon the paper the date of its reception, and retain it in his office, subject to inspection by whomsoever it may concern. Burrill.

FILE File, v. i. Etym: [Cf. F. filer.] (Mil.)

Defn: To march in a file or line, as soldiers, not abreast, but one after another; — generally with off. To file with, to follow closely, as one soldier after another in file; to keep pace. My endeavors Have ever come too short of my desires, Yet filed with my abilities. Shak.

FILE File, n. Etym: [AS. feól; akin to D. viji, OHG. fila, fihala, G. feile, Sw. fil, Dan. fiil, cf. Icel. , Russ. pila, and Skr. pi to cut out, adorn; perh. akin to E. paint.]

1. A steel instrument, having cutting ridges or teeth, made by indentation with a chisel, used for abrading or smoothing other substances, as metals, wood, etc.

Note: A file differs from a rasp in having the furrows made by straight cuts of a chisel, either single or crossed, while the rasp has coarse, single teeth, raised by the pyramidal end of a triangular punch.

2. Anything employed to smooth, polish, or rasp, literally or figuratively. Mock the nice touches of the critic's file. Akenside.

3. A shrewd or artful person. [Slang] Fielding. Will is an old file spite of his smooth face. Thackeray. Bastard file, Cross file, etc. See under Bastard, Cross, etc. — Cross-cut file, a file having two sets of teeth crossing obliquely. — File blank, a steel blank shaped and ground ready for cutting to form a file. — File cutter, a maker of files. — Second-cut file, a file having teeth of a grade next finer than bastard. — Single-cut file, a file having only one set of parallel teeth; a float. — Smooth file, a file having teeth so fine as to make an almost smooth surface.

FILE File, v. t.

1. To rub, smooth, or cut away, with a file; to sharpen with a file; as, to file a saw or a tooth.

2. To smooth or polish as with a file. Shak. File your tongue to a little more courtesy.Sir W.Scott.

FILE File, v. t. Etym: [OE. fulen, filen, foulen, AS. f, fr. fFoul, and cf. Defile, v.t.]

Defn: To make f [Obs.] All his hairy breast with blood was filed.Spenser. For Banquo's issue have I filed mind.Shak.

FILE CLOSER File" clos`er. (Mil.)

Defn: A commissioned or noncommissioned officer posted in the rear of a line, or on the flank of a column, of soldiers, to rectify mistakes and insure steadiness and promptness in the ranks.

FILEFISH File"fish`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any plectognath fish of the genera Monacanthus, Alutera, balistes, and allied genera; — so called on account of the roughly granulated skin, which is sometimes used in place of sandpaper.

FILEMOT Fil"e*mot, n.

Defn: See Feullemort. Swift.

FILER Fil"er, n.

Defn: One who works with a file.

FILIAL Fil"ial, a. Etym: [L. filialis, fr. filius son, filia daughter; akin to e. female, feminine. Cf. Fitz.]

1. Of or pertaining to a son or daughter; becoming to a child in relation to his parents; as, filial obedience.

2. Bearing the relation of a child. And thus the filial Godhead answering spoke. Milton.

FILIALLY Fil"ial*ly, adv.

Defn: In a filial manner.

FILIATE Fil"i*ate, v. t.

Defn: To adopt as son or daughter; to establish filiation between. [R.] Southey.

FILIATION Fil`i*a"tion, n. Etym: [LL. filiatio, fr. L. filius son: cf. F. filiation. See Filial.]

1. The relationship of a son or child to a parent, esp. to a father. The relation of paternity and filiation. Sir M. Hale.

2. (Law)

Defn: The assignment of a bastard child to some one as its ather; affiliation. Smart.

FILIBEG Fil"i*beg, n. Etym: [Gael. feileadhbeag, i.e., little kilt; feileadh kilt + beag little, small; cf. filleadh a plait, fold.]

Defn: Same as Kilt. [Written also philibeg.]

FILIBUSTER Fil"i*bus`ter, n. Etym: [Sp. flibuster, flibustero, corrupted fr. E. freebooter. See Freebooter.]

Defn: A lawless military adventurer, especially one in quest of plunder; a freebooter; — originally applied to buccaneers infesting the Spanish American coasts, but introduced into common English to designate the followers of Lopez in his expedition to Cuba in 1851, and those of Walker in his expedition to Nicaragua, in 1855.

FILIBUSTER Fil"i*bus*ter, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Fillibustered; p. pr. & vb. n. Filibustering.]

1. To act as a filibuster, or military freebooter. Bartlett.

2. To delay legislation, by dilatory motions or other artifices. [political cant or slang, U.S.] Bartlett.

FILIBUSTERISM Fil"i*bus`ter*ism, n.

Defn: The characteristics or practices of a filibuster. Bartlett.

FILICAL Fil"i*cal, a.

Defn: Belonging to the Filices, r ferns.

FILICIC Fi*lic"ic, a. Etym: [L. filix, -icis, a fern.] (Chem.)

Defn: Pertaining to, or derived from, ferns; as, filicic acid.

FILICIDE Fil"i*cide, n. Etym: [L. filius son, filia daughter + caedere to kill.]

Defn: The act of murdering a son or a daughter; also, parent who commits such a murder.

FILICIFORM Fi*lic"i*form, a. Etym: [L. filix, -icis, fern + -form: cf. F. filiciforme]

Defn: Shaped like a fern or like the parts of a fern leaf. Smart.

FILICOID Fil"i*coid, a. Etym: [L. filix, -icis, fern + -oid: cf. F. filicoiïde.] (Bot.)

Defn: Fernlike, either in form or in the nature of the method of reproduction.

FILICOID Fil"i*coid, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A fernlike plant. Lindley.

FILIETY Fi*li"e*ty, n. Etym: [L. filietas.]

Defn: The relation of a son to a father; sonship; — the correlative of paternity. J. S. Mill.

FILIFEROUS Fi*lif"er*ous, a. Etym: [L. filum a thread + -ferous.]

Defn: Producing threads. Carpenter.

FILIFORM Fil"i*form, a. Etym: [L. filum thread + -form: cf. F. filiforme.]

Defn: Having the shape of a thread or filament; as, the filiform papillæ of the tongue; a filiform style or peduncle. See Illust. of AntennÆ.

FILIGRAIN; FILIGRANE Fil"i*grain, Fil"i*grane, n. Etym: [Sp. filigrana (cf. It. filigrana, E. filigrane), fr. L. filuma thread + granum grain. See File a row, and Grain, and cf. Filigree.]

Defn: Filigree. [Archaic] With her head . . . touches the crown of filigrane. Longfellow.

FILIGRANED Fil"i*graned, a.

Defn: See Filigreed. [Archaic]

FILIGREE Fil"i*gree, n. Etym: [Corrupted fr. filigrane.]

Defn: Ornamental work, formerly with grains or breads, but now composed of fine wire and used chiefly in decorating gold and silver to which the wire is soldered, being arranged in designs frequently of a delicate and intricate arabesque pattern.

FILIGREE Fil"i*gree, a.

Defn: Relating to, composed of, or resembling, work in filigree; as, a filigree basket. Hence: Fanciful; unsubstantial; merely decorative. You ask for reality, not fiction and filigree work. J. C. Shairp.

FILIGREED Fil"i*greed, a.

Defn: Adorned with filigree. Tatler.

FILING Fil"ing, n.

Defn: A fragment or particle rubbed off by the act of filing; as, iron filings.

FILIOQUE Fil`i*o"que, n. (Eccl. Hist.)

Defn: The Latin for, "and from the Son," equivalent to et filio, inserted by the third council of Toledo (a. d. 589) in the clause qui ex Patre procedit (who proceedeth from the Father) of the Niceno- Constantinopolitan Creed (a. d. 381), which makes a creed state that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Son as well as from the Father. Hence, the doctrine itself (not admitted by the Eastern Church).

FILIPENDULOUS Fil`i*pen"du*lous, a. Etym: [L. filum a thread + pendulus hanging, fr. pend to hang.] (Bot.)

Defn: Suspended by, or strung upon, a thread; — said of tuberous swellings in the middle or at the extremities of slender, threadlike rootlets.

FILIPINO Fil`i*pi"no, n.; pl. Filipinos (#). [Sp.]

Defn: A native of the Philippine Islands, specif. one of Spanish descent or of mixed blood.

Then there are Filipinos, — "children of the country," they are called, — who are supposed to be pure-blooded descendants of Spanish settlers. But there are few of them without some touch of Chinese or native blood. The Century.

FILL Fill, n. Etym: [See Thill.]

Defn: One of the thills or shafts of a carriage. Mortimer. Fill horse, a thill horse. Shak.

FILL Fill, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Filled; p. pr. & vb. n. Filling.] Etym: [OE. fillen, fullen, AS. fyllan, fr. full full; akin to D. vullen, G. füllen, Icel. fylla, Sw. fylla, Dan. fylde, Goth. fulljan. See Full, a.]

1. To make full; to supply with as much as can be held or contained; to put or pour into, till no more can be received; to occupy the whole capacity of. The rain also filleth the pools. Ps. lxxxiv. 6. Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. Anf they filled them up to the brim. John ii. 7.

2. To furnish an abudant supply to; to furnish with as mush as is desired or desirable; to occupy the whole of; to swarm in or overrun. And God blessed them, saying. Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas. Gen. i. 22. The Syrians filled the country. 1 Kings xx. 27.

3. To fill or supply fully with food; to feed; to satisfy. Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fillso great a multitude Matt. xv. 33. Things that are sweet and fat are more filling. Bacon.

4. To possess and perform the duties of; to officiate in, as an incumbent; to occupy; to hold; as, a king fills a throne; the president fills the office of chief magistrate; the speaker of the House fills the chair.

5. To supply with an incumbent; as, to fill an office or a vacancy. A. Hamilton.

6. (Naut.) (a) To press and dilate, as a sail; as, the wind filled the sails. (b) To trim (a yard) so that the wind shall blow on the after side of the sails.

7. (Civil Engineering)

Defn: To make an embankment in, or raise the level of (a low place), with earth or gravel. To fill in, to insert; as, he filled in the figures. — To fill out, to extend or enlarge to the desired limit; to make complete; as, to fill out a bill. — To fill up, to make quite full; to fill to the brim or entirely; to occupy completely; to complete. "The bliss that fills up all the mind." Pope. "And fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ." Col. i. 24.

FILL Fill, v. i.

1. To become full; to have the whole capacity occupied; to have an abundant supply; to be satiated; as, corn fills well in a warm season; the sail fills with the wind.

2. To fill a cup or glass for drinking. Give me some wine; fill full. Shak. To back and fill. See under Back, v. i. — To fill up, to grow or become quite full; as, the channel of the river fills up with sand.

FILL Fill, n. Etym: [AS. fyllo. See Fill, v. t.]

Defn: A full supply, as much as supplies want; as much as gives complete satisfaction. "Ye shall eat your fill." Lev. xxv. 19. I'll bear thee hence, where I may weep my fill. Shak.

FILLED CHEESE Filled cheese.

Defn: An inferior kind of cheese made from skim milk with a fatty "filling," such as oleomargarine or lard, to replace the fat removed in the cream.

FILLER Fill"er, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, fills; something used for filling. 'T is mere filer, to stop a vacancy in the hexameter. Dryden. They have six diggers to four fillers, so as to keep the fillers always at work. Mortimer.

FILLER Fill"er, n. Etym: [From 1st Fill.]

Defn: A thill horse. [Prov. Eng.]

FILLET Fil"let, n. Etym: [OE. filet, felet, fr. OF. filet thread, fillet of meat, dim. of fil a thread, fr. L. filum. See Fille a row.]

1. A little band, especially one intended to encircle the hair of the head. A belt her waist, a fillet binds her hair. Pope.

2. (Cooking)

Defn: A piece of lean meat without bone; sometimes, a long strip rolled together and tied.

Note: A fillet of beef is the under side of the sirlom; also called tenderloin. A fillet of veal or mutton is the fleshy part of the thigh. A fillet of fish is a slice of flat fish without bone. "Fillet of a fenny snake." Shak.

3. A thin strip or ribbon; esp.: (a) A strip of metal from which coins are punched. (b) A strip of card clothing. (c) A thin projecting band or strip.

4. (Mach.)

Defn: A concave filling in of a reëntrant angle where two surfaces meet, forming a rounded corner.

5. (Arch.)

Defn: A narrow flat member; especially, a flat molding separating other moldings; a reglet; also, the space between two flutings in a shaft. See Illust. of Base, and Column.

6. (Her.)

Defn: An ordinary equaling in breadth one fourth of the chief, to the lowest portion of which it corresponds in position.

7. (Mech.)

Defn: The thread of a screw.

8. A border of broad or narrow lines of color or gilt.

9. The raised molding about the muzzle of a gun.

10. Any scantling smaller than a batten.

11. (Anat.)

Defn: A fascia; a band of fibers; applied esp. to certain bands of white matter in the brain.

12. (Man.)

Defn: The loins of a horse, beginning at the place where the hinder part of the saddle rests. Arris fillet. See under Arris.

FILLET Fil"let, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Filleted; p. pr. & vb. n. Filleting.]

Defn: To bind, furnish, or adorn with a fillet.

FILLETING Fil"let*ing, n.

1. (Arch.)

Defn: The protecting of a joint, as between roof and parapet wall, with mortar, or cement, where flashing is employed in better work.

2. The material of which fillets are made; also, fillets, collectively.

FILLIBEG Fil"li*beg, n.

Defn: A kilt. See Filibeg.

FILLIBUSTER Fil"li*bus`ter, n.

Defn: See Filibuster.

FILLING Fill"ing, n.

1. That which is used to fill a cavity or any empty space, or to supply a deficiency; as, filling for a cavity in a tooth, a depression in a roadbed, the space between exterior and interior walls of masonry, the pores of open-grained wood, the space between the outer and inner planks of a vessel, etc.

2. The woof in woven fabrics.

3. (Brewing)

Defn: Prepared wort added to ale to cleanse it. Back filling. (Arch.) See under Back, a.

FILLIP Fil"lip, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Filliped; p. pr. & vb. n. Filliping.] Etym: [For filp, flip. Cf. Flippant.]

1. To strike with the nail of the finger, first placed against the ball of the thumb, and forced from that position with a sudden spring; to snap with the finger. "You filip me o' the head." Shak.

2. To snap; to project quickly. The use of the elastic switch to fillip small missiles with. Tylor.

FILLIP Fil"lip, n.

1. A jerk of the finger forced suddenly from the thumb; a smart blow.

2. Something serving to rouse or excite. I take a glass of grog for a filip. Dickens.

FILLIPEEN Fil"li*peen`, n.

Defn: See Philopena.

FILLISTER Fil"lis*ter, n.

1. The rabbet on the outer edge of a sash bar to hold the glass and the putty. Knight.

2. A plane for making a rabbet. Fillister screw had, a short cylindrical screw head, having a convex top.

FILLY Fil"ly, n.; pl. Fillies. Etym: [Cf. Icel. fylia, fr. foli foal. See Foal.]

1. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A female foal or colt; a young mare. Cf. Colt, Foal. Neighing in likeness of a filly foal. Shak.

2. A lively, spirited young girl. [Colloq.] Addison.

FILM Film, n. Etym: [AS. film skin, fr. fell skin; akin to fylmen membrane, OFries. filmene skin. See Fell skin.]

1. A thin skin; a pellicle; a membranous covering, causing opacity; hence, any thin, slight covering. He from thick films shall purge the visual ray. Pope.

2. A slender thread, as that of a cobweb. Her whip of cricket's bone, the lash of film. Shak.

FILM Film, v. t.

Defn: To cover with a thin skin or pellicle. It will but skin and film the ulcerous place. Shak.

FILMINESS Film"i*ness, n.

Defn: State of being filmy.

FILMY Film"y, a.

Defn: Composed of film or films. Whose filmy cord should bind the struggling fly. Dryden.

FILOPLUMACEOUS Fil`o*plu*ma"ceous, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Having the structure of a filoplume.

FILOPLUME Fil"o*plume, n. Etym: [L. filum a thread pluma a soft feather.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A hairlike feather; a father with a slender scape and without a web in most or all of its length.

FILOSE Fi"lose`, a. Etym: [L. filum a thread.]

Defn: Terminating in a threadlike process.

FILOSELLE Fil`o*selle", n. [F., floss silk.]

Defn: A kind of silk thread less glossy than floss, and spun from coarser material. It is much used in embroidery instead of floss.

FILS Fils, n. [F., fr. L. filius. See Filial.]

Defn: Son; — sometimes used after a French proper name to distinguish a son from his father, as, Alexandre Dumas, fils.

FILTER Fil"ter, n. Etym: [F. filtre, the same word as feutre felt, LL. filtrum, feltrum, felt, fulled wool, this being used for straining liquors. See Feuter.]

Defn: Any porous substance, as cloth, paper, sand, or charcoal, through which water or other liquid may passed to cleanse it from the solid or impure matter held in suspension; a chamber or device containing such substance; a strainer; also, a similar device for purifying air. Filter bed, a pond, the bottom of which is a filter composed of sand gravel. — Filter gallery, an underground gallery or tunnel, alongside of a stream, to collect the water that filters through the intervening sand and gravel; — called also infiltration gallery.

FILTER Fil"ter, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Filtered; p. pr. & vb. n. Filtering] Etym: [Cf. F. filter. See Filter, n., and cf. Filtrate.]

Defn: To purify or defecate, as water or other liquid, by causing it to pass through a filter. Filtering paper, or Filter paper, a porous unsized paper, for filtering.

FILTER Fil"ter, v. i.

Defn: To pass through a filter; to percolate.

FILTER Fil"ter, n.

Defn: Same as Philter.

FILTH Filth, n. Etym: [OE. filthe, fulthe, AS. f, fr. ful foul; akin to OHG. fulida. See Foul, and cf. File.]

1. Foul matter; anything that soils or defiles; dirt; nastiness.

2. Anything that sullies or defiles the moral character; corruption; pollution. To purify the soul from the dross and filth of sensual delights. Tillotson. Filth disease (Med.), a disease supposed to be due to pollution of the soil or water.

FILTHILY Filth"i*ly, adv.

Defn: In a filthy manner; foully.

FILTHINESS Filth"i*ness, n.

1. The state of being filthy. Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. 2 Cor. vii. 1.

2. That which is filthy, or makes filthy; foulness; nastiness; corruption; pollution; impurity. Carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place. 2 Chron. xxix. 5.

FILTHY Filth"y, a. [Compar. Filthier; superl. Filthiest.]

Defn: Defiled with filth, whether material or moral; nasty; dirty; polluted; foul; impure; obscene. "In the filthy-mantled pool." Shak. He which is filthy let him be filthy still. Rev. xxii. 11.

Syn. — Nasty; foul; dirty; squalid; unclean; sluttish; gross; vulgar; licentious. See Nasty.

FILTRATE Fil"trate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Filtrated; p. pr. & vb. n. Filtrating. (] Etym: [Cf. LL. filtrare. See Filter.]

Defn: To filter; to defecate; as liquid, by straining or percolation. Arbuthnot.

FILTRATE Fil"trate, n.

Defn: That which has been filtered; the liquid which has passed through the filter in the process of filtration.

FILTRATION Fil*tra"tion, n. Etym: [Cf. F. filtration.]

Defn: The act or process of filtering; the mechanical separation of a liquid from the undissolved particles floating in it.

FIMBLE; FIMBLE HEMP Fim"ble, n., or Fim"ble hemp`.Etym: [Corrupted from female hemp.]

Defn: Light summer hemp, that bears no seed.

FIMBRIA Fim"bri*a, n.; pl. Fimbriæ. Etym: [L., fringe. See Fringle.] (Anat.) (a) pl.

Defn: A fringe, or fringed border. (b) A band of white matter bordering the hippocampus in the brain. — Fim"bri*al, a.

FIMBRIATE Fim*bri*ate, a. Etym: [L. fimbriatus fibrous, fringed, fr. fimbria fiber, fringe. See Fringe.]

Defn: Having the edge or extremity bordered by filiform processes thicker than hairs; fringed; as, the fimbriate petals of the pink; the fimbriate end of the Fallopian tube.

FIMBRIATE Fim"bri*ate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Fimbriated; p. pr. & vb. n. Fimbriating.]

Defn: To hem; to fringe. Fuller.

FIMBRIATED Fim"bri*a`ted, a.

1. Having a fringed border; fimbriate.

2. (Her.)

Defn: Having a very narrow border of another tincture; — said esp. of an ordinary or subordinary.

FIMBRICATE Fim"bri*cate, a.

1. Fringed; jagged; fimbriate.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: fringed, on one side only, by long, straight hairs, as the antennæ of certain insects.

FIN Fin, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Finned; p. pr. & vb. n. Finning.] Etym: [Cf. Fin of a fish.]

Defn: To carve or cut up, as a chub.

FIN Fin, n. Etym: [See Fine, n.]

Defn: End; conclusion; object. [Obs.] "She knew eke the fin of his intent." Chaucer.

FIN Fin, n.Etym: [OE. finne, fin, AS. finn; akin to D. vin, G. & Dan. finne, Sw. fena, L. pinna, penna, a wing, feather. cf. pen a feather.]

1. (Zoöl.)

Defn: An organ of a fish, consisting of a membrane supported by rays, or little bony or cartilaginous ossicles, and serving to balance and propel it in the water.

Note: Fishes move through the water chiefly by means of the caudal fin or tail, the principal office of the other fins being to balance or direct the body, though they are also, to a certain extent, employed in producing motion.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A membranous, finlike, swimming organ, as in pteropod and heteropod mollusks.

3. A finlike organ or attachment; a part of an object or product which protrudes like a fin, as: (a) The hand. [Slang] (b) (Com.) A blade of whalebone. [Eng.] McElrath. (c) (Mech.) A mark or ridge left on a casting at the junction of the parts of a mold. (d) (Mech.) The thin sheet of metal squeezed out between the collars of the rolls in the process of rolling. Raymond. (e) (Mech.) A feather; a spline.

4. A finlike appendage, as to submarine boats. Apidose fin. (Zoöl.) See under Adipose, a. — Fin ray (Anat.), one of the hornlike, cartilaginous, or bony, dermal rods which form the skeleton of the fins of fishes. — Fin whale (Zoöl.), a finback. — Paired fins (Zoöl.), the pectoral and ventral fins, corresponding to the fore and hind legs of the higher animals. — Unpaired, or Median, fins (Zoöl.), the dorsal, caudal, and anal fins.

FINABLE Fin"a*ble, a. Etym: [From Fine.]

Defn: Liable or subject to a fine; as, a finable person or offense. Bacon.

FINAL Fi"nal, a. Etym: [F., fr. L. finalis, fr. finis boundary, limit, end. See Finish.]

1. Pertaining to the end or conclusion; last; terminating; ultimate; as, the final day of a school term. Yet despair not of his final pardon. Milton.

2. Conclusive; decisive; as, a final judgment; the battle of Waterloo brought the contest to a final issue.

3. Respecting an end or object to be gained; respecting the purpose or ultimate end in view. Final cause. See under Cause.

Syn. — Final, Conclusive, Ultimate. Final is now appropriated to that which brings with it an end; as, a final adjustment; the final judgment, etc. Conclusive implies the closing of all discussion, negotiation, etc.; as, a conclusive argument or fact; a conclusive arrangement. In using ultimate, we have always reference to something earlier or proceeding; as when we say, a temporary reverse may lead to an ultimate triumph. The statements which a man finally makes at the close of a negotiation are usually conclusive as to his ultimate intentions and designs.

FINALE Fi*na"le, n. Etym: [It. See Final.]

Defn: Close; termination; as: (a) (Mus.) The last movement of a symphony, sonata, concerto, or any instrumental composition. (b) The last composition performed in any act of an opera. (c) The closing part, piece, or scene in any public performance or exhibition.

FINALIST Fi"nal*ist, n. (Sports)

Defn: Any of the players who meet in the final round of a tournament in which the losers in any round do not play again.

FINALITY Fi*nal"i*ty, n.; pl. Finalities. Etym: [L. finalitas the being last.]

1. The state of being final, finished, or complete; a final or conclusive arrangement; a settlement. Baxter.

2. The relation of end or purpose to its means. Janet.

FINALLY Fi"nal*ly, adv.

1. At the end or conclusion; ultimately; lastly; as, the contest was long, but the Romans finally conquered. Whom patience finally must crown. Milton.

2. Completely; beyond recovery. Not any house of noble English in Ireland was utterly destroyed or finally rooted out. Sir J. Davies.

FINANCE Fi*nance", n. Etym: [F., fr. LL. financia payment of money, money, fr. finare to pay a fine or subsidy (cf. OF. finer to finish, pay), fr. L. finis end. See Fine, n., Finish.]

1. The income of a ruler or of a state; revennue; public money; sometimes, the income of an individual; often used in the plural for funds; available money; resources. All the finances or revenues of the imperial crown. Bacon.

2. The science of raising and expending the public revenue. "Versed in the details of finance." Macaulay.

FINANCIAL Fi*nan"cial, a.

Defn: Pertaining to finance. "Our financial and commercial system." Macaulay.

FINANCIALIST Fi*nan"cial*ist, n.

Defn: A financier.

FINANCIALLY Fi*nan"cial*ly, adv.

Defn: In a dfinancial manner. Burke.

FINANCIER Fin`an*cier", n. Etym: [Cf. F. financier.]

1. One charged with the administration of finance; an officer who administers the public revenue; a treasurer. Burke.

2. One skilled in financial operations; one acquainted with money matters.

FINANCIER Fin`an*cier", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Financiered; p. pr. & vb. n. Financiering.]

Defn: To conduct financial operations.

FINARY Fin"a*ry, n. (Iron Works)

Defn: See Finery.

FINATIVE Fi"na*tive, a.

Defn: Conclusive; decisive; definitive; final. [Obs.] Greene (1593).

FINBACK Fin"back`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any whale of the genera Sibbaldius, Balænoptera, and allied genera, of the family Balænopteridæ, characterized by a prominent fin on the back. The common finbacks of the New England coast are Sibbaldius tectirostris and S. tuberosus.

FINBAT KITE Fin"bat kite.

Defn: = Eddy kite. [Eng.]

FINCH Finch, n.; pl. Fishes. Etym: [AS. finc; akin to D. vink, OHG. fincho, G. fink; cf. W. pinc a finch; also E. spink.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A small singing bird of many genera and species, belonging to the family Fringillidæ.

Note: The word is often used in composition, as in chaffinch, goldfinch, grassfinch, pinefinch, etc. Bramble finch. See Brambling. — Canary finch, the canary bird. — Copper finch. See Chaffinch. — Diamond finch. See under Diamond. — Finch falcon (Zoöl.), one of several very small East Indian falcons of the genus Hierax. — To pull a finch, to swindle an ignorant or unsuspecting person. [Obs.] "Privily a finch eke could he pull." Chaucer.

FINCHBACKED Finch"backed`, a.

Defn: Streaked or spotted on the back; — said of cattle.

FINCHED Finched, a.

Defn: Same as Finchbacked.

FIND Find, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Found; p. pr. & vb. n. Finding.] Etym: [AS. findan; akin to D. vinden, OS. & OHG. findan, G. finden, Dan. finde, icel. & Sw. finna, Goth. fin; and perh. to L. petere to seek, Gr. pat to fall, fly, E. petition.]

1. To meet with, or light upon, accidentally; to gain the first sight or knowledge of, as of something new, or unknown; hence, to fall in with, as a person. Searching the window for a flint, I found This paper, thus sealed up. Shak. In woods and forests thou art found. Cowley.

2. To learn by experience or trial; to perceive; to experience; to discover by the intellect or the feelings; to detect; to feel. "I find you passing gentle." Shak. The torrid zone is now found habitable. Cowley.

3. To come upon by seeking; as, to find something lost. (a) To discover by sounding; as, to find bottom. (b) To discover by study or experiment direct to an object or end; as, water is found to be a compound substance. (c) To gain, as the object of desire or effort; as, to find leisure; to find means. (d) To attain to; to arrive at; to acquire. Seek, and ye shall find. Matt. vii. 7. Every mountain now hath found a tongue. Byron.

4. To provide for; to supply; to furnish; as, to find food for workemen; he finds his nephew in money. Wages £14 and all found. London Times. Nothing a day and find yourself. Dickens.

5. To arrive at, as a conclusion; to determine as true; to establish; as, to find a verdict; to find a true bill (of indictment) against an accused person. To find his title with some shows of truth. Shak. To find out, to detect (a thief); to discover (a secret) — to solve or unriddle (a parable or enigma); to understand. "Canst thou by searching find out God" Job. xi. 7. "We do hope to find out all your tricks." Milton. — To find fault with, to blame; to censure. — To find one's self, to be; to fare; — often used in speaking of health; as, how do you find yourself this morning

FIND Find, v. i. (Law)

Defn: To determine an issue of fact, and to declare such a determination to a court; as, the jury find for the plaintiff. Burrill.

FIND Find, n.

Defn: Anything found; a discovery of anything valuable; especially, a deposit, discovered by archæologists, of objects of prehistoric or unknown origin.

FINDABLE Find"a*ble, a.

Defn: Capable of being found; discoverable. Fuller.

FINDER Find"er, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, finds; specifically (Astron.), a small telescope of low power and large field of view, attached to a larger telescope, for the purpose of finding an object more readily.

FIN DE SIECLE Fin` de siè"cle. [F.]

Defn: Lit., end of the century; — mostly used adjectively in English to signify: belonging to, or characteristic of, the close of the 19th century; modern; "up-to-date;" as, fin-de-siècle ideas.

FINDFAULT Find"fault`, n.

Defn: A censurer or caviler. [Obs.]

FINDFAULTING Find"fault`ing, a.

Defn: Apt to censure or cavil; faultfinding; captious. [Obs.] Whitlock.

FINDING Find"ing, n.

1. That which is found, come upon, or provided; esp. (pl.), that which a journeyman artisan finds or provides for himself; as tools, trimmings, etc. When a man hath been laboring . . . in the deep mines of knowledge, hath furnished out his findings in all their equipage. Milton.

2. Support; maintenance; that which is provided for one; expence; provision.

3. (Law)

Defn: The result of a judicial examination or inquiry, especially into some matter of fact; a verdict; as, the finding of a jury. Burrill. After his friends finding and his rent. Chaucer.

FINDY Fin"dy, a. Etym: [AS. finding heavy; cf. Dan. fyndig strong, energetical, fynd strength, energy, emphasis.]

Defn: Full; heavy; firm; solid; substemtial. [Obs.] A cold May and a windy Makes the barn fat amd findy. Old Prover

FINE Fine, a. [Compar. Finer; superl. Finest.] Etym: [F. fin, LL. finus fine, pure, fr. L. finire to finish; cf. finitus, p.p., finished, completed (hence the sense accomplished, perfect.) See Finish, and cf. Finite.]

1. Finished; brought to perfection; refined; hence, free from impurity; excellent; superior; elegant; worthy of admiration; accomplished; beautiful. The gain thereof [is better] than fine gold. Prov. iii. 14. A cup of wine that's brisk and fine. Shak. Not only the finest gentleman of his time, but one of the finest scholars. Felton. To soothe the sick bed of so fine a being [Keats]. Leigh Hunt.

2. Aiming at show or effect; loaded with ornament; overdressed or overdecorated; showy. He gratified them with occasional . . . fine writing. M. Arnold.

3. Nice; delicate; subtle; exquisite; artful; skillful; dexterous. The spider's touch, how exquisitely fine! Pope. The nicest and most delicate touches of satire consist in fine raillery. Dryden. He has as fine a hand at picking a pocket as a woman. T. Gray.

4. Not coarse, gross, or heavy; as: (a) Not gross; subtile; thin; tenous. The eye standeth in the finer medium and the object in the grosser. Bacon.

(b) Not coarse; comminuted; in small particles; as, fine sand or flour. (c) Not thick or heavy; slender; filmy; as, a fine thread. (d) Thin; attenuate; keen; as, a fine edge. (e) Made of fine materials; light; delicate; as, fine linen or silk.

5. Having (such) a proportion of pure metal in its composition; as, coins nine tenths fine.

6. (Used ironically.) Ye have made a fine hand, fellows. Shak.

Note: Fine is often compounded with participles and adjectives, modifying them adverbially; a, fine-drawn, fine-featured, fine- grained, fine-spoken, fine-spun, etc. Fine arch (Glass Making), the smaller fritting furnace of a glasshouse. Knight. — Fine arts. See the Note under Art. — Fine cut, fine cut tobacco; a kind of chewing tobacco cut up into shreds. — Fine goods, woven fabrics of fine texture and quality. McElrath. — Fine stuff, lime, or a mixture of lime, plaster, etc., used as material for the finishing coat in plastering. — To sail fine (Naut.), to sail as close to the wind as possible.

Syn. — Fine, Beautiful. When used as a word of praise, fine (being opposed to coarse) denotes no "ordinary thing of its kind." It is not as strong as beautiful, in reference to the single attribute implied in the latter term; but when we speak of a fine woman, we include a greater variety of particulars, viz., all the qualities which become a woman, — breeding, sentiment, tact, etc. The term is equally comprehensive when we speak of a fine garden, landscape, horse, poem, etc.; and, though applied to a great variety of objects, the word has still a very definite sense, denoting a high degree of characteristic excellence.

FINE Fine, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Fined; p. pr. & vb. n. Fining.] Etym: [From Fine, a.]

1. To make fine; to refine; to purify, to clarify; as, to fine gold. It hath been fined and refined by . . . learned men. Hobbes.

2. To make finer, or less coarse, as in bulk, texture, etc.; as. to fine the soil. L. H. Bailey.

3. To change by fine gradations; as (Naut.), to fine down a ship's lines, to diminish her lines gradually. I often sate at home On evenings, watching how they fined themselves With gradual conscience to a perfect night. Browning.

FINE Fine, n. Etym: [OE. fin, L. finis end, also in LL., a final agreement or concord between the lord and his vassal; a sum of money paid at the end, so as to make an end of a transaction, suit, or prosecution; mulct; penalty; cf. OF. fin end, settlement, F. fin end. See Finish, and cf. Finance.]

1. End; conclusion; termination; extinction. [Obs.] "To see their fatal fine." Spenser. Is this the fine of his fines Shak.

2. A sum of money paid as the settlement of a claim, or by way of terminating a matter in dispute; especially, a payment of money imposed upon a party as a punishment for an offense; a mulct.

3. (Law) (a) (Feudal Law) A final agreement concerning lands or rents between persons, as the lord and his vassal. Spelman. (b) (Eng. Law) A sum of money or price paid for obtaining a benefit, favor, or privilege, as for admission to a copyhold, or for obtaining or renewing a lease. Fine for alienation (Feudal Law), a sum of money paid to the lord by a tenant whenever he had occasion to make over his land to another. Burrill. — Fine of lands, a species of conveyance in the form of a fictitious suit compromised or terminated by the acknowledgment of the previous owner that such land was the right of the other party. Burrill. See Concord, n., 4. — In fine, in conclusion; by way of termination or summing up.

FINE Fine, v. t. Etym: [From Fine, n.]

Defn: To impose a pecuniary penalty upon for an offense or breach of law; to set a fine on by judgment of a court; to punish by fine; to mulct; as, the trespassers were fined ten dollars.

FINE Fine, v. i.

Defn: To pay a fine. See Fine, n., 3 (b). [R.] Men fined for the king's good will; or that he would remit his anger; women fined for leave to marry. Hallam.

FINE Fine, v. t. & i. Etym: [OF. finer, F. finir. See Finish, v. t.]

Defn: To finish; to cease; or to cause to cease. [Obs.]

FINEDRAW Fine"draw`, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Finedrawn; p. pr. & vb. n. Finedrawing.]

Defn: To sew up, so nicely that the seam is not perceived; to renter. Marryat.

FINEDRAWER Fine"draw`er, n.

Defn: One who finedraws.

FINEDRAWN Fine"drawn`, a.

Defn: Drawn out with too much subtilty; overnice; as, finedrawn speculations.

FINEER Fi*neer", v. i.

Defn: To run in dept by getting goods made up in a way unsuitable for the use of others, and then threatening not to take them except on credit. [R.] Goldsmith.

FINEER Fi*neer", v. t.

Defn: To veneer.

FINELESS Fine"less, a. Etym: [Fine end + -less.]

Defn: Endless; boundless. [Obs.] Shak.

FINELY Fine"ly, adv.

Defn: In a fine or finished manner.

FINENESS Fine"ness, n. Etym: [From Fine, a.]

1. The quality or condition of being fine.

2. Freedom from foreign matter or alloy; clearness; purity; as, the fineness of liquor. The fineness of the gold, and chargeful fashion. Shak.

3. The proportion of pure silver or gold in jewelry, bullion, or coins.

Note: The fineness of United States coin is nine tenths, that of English gold coin is eleven twelfths, and that of English silver coin is

4. Keenness or sharpness; as, the fineness of a needle's point, or of the edge of a blade.

FINER Fin"er, n.

Defn: One who fines or purifies.

FINERY Fin"er*y, n.

1. Fineness; beauty. [Obs.] Don't choose your place of study by the finery of the prospects. I. Watts.

2. Ornament; decoration; especially, excecially decoration; showy clothes; jewels. Her mistress' cast-off finery. F. W. Robertson.

3. Etym: [Cf. Refinery.] (Iron Works)

Defn: A charcoal hearth or furnace for the conversion of cast iron into wrought iron, or into iron suitable for puddling.

FINESPUN Fine"spun`, a.

Defn: Spun so as to be fine; drawn to a fine thread; attenuated; hence, unsubstantial; visionary; as, finespun theories.

FINESSE Fi`nesse" ( or ), n. Etym: [F., fr. fin fine. See Fine, a.]

1. Subtilty of contrivance to gain a point; artifice; stratagem. This is the artificialest piece of finesse to persuade men into slavery. Milton.

2. (Whist Playing)

Defn: The act of finessing. See Finesse, v. i., 2.

FINESSE Fi*nesse", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Finessed; p. pr. & vb. n. Finessing.]

1. To use artifice or stratagem. Goldsmith.

2. (Whist Playing)

Defn: To attempt, when second or third player, to make a lower card answer the purpose of a higher, when an intermediate card is out, risking the chance of its being held by the opponent yet to play.

FINESTILL Fine"still`, v. t.

Defn: To distill, as spirit from molasses or some saccharine preparation.

FINESTILLER Fine"still`er, n.

Defn: One who finestills.

FINEW Fin"ew, n. Etym: [See Fenowed.]

Defn: Moldiness. [R.]

FINFISH Fin"fish`, n. (Zoöl.) (a) A finback whale. (b) (pl.) True fish, as distinguished from shellfish.

FINFOOT Fin"foot`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A South American bird (heliornis fulica) allied to the grebes. The name is also applied to several related species of the genus Podica.

FIN-FOOTED Fin"-foot`ed, a. (Zoöl.) (a) Having palmate feet. (b) Having lobate toes, as the coot and grebe.

FINGER Fin"ger, n. Etym: [AS. finger; akin to D. vinger, OS. & OHG. fingar, G. finger, Icel. fingr, Sw. & Dan. finger, Goth. figgrs; of unknown origin; perh. akin to E. fang.]

1. One of the five terminating members of the hand; a digit; esp., one of the four extermities of the hand, other than the thumb.

2. Anything that does work of a finger; as, the pointer of a clock, watch, or other registering machine; especially (Mech.) a small projecting rod, wire, or piece, which is brought into contact with an object to effect, direct, or restrain a motion.

3. The breadth of a finger, or the fourth part of the hand; a measure of nearly an inch; also, the length of finger, a measure in domestic use in the United States, of about four and a half inches or one eighth of a yard. A piece of steel three fingers thick. Bp. Wilkins.

4. Skill in the use of the fingers, as in playing upon a musical instrument. [R.] She has a good finger. Busby. Ear finger, the little finger. — Finger alphabet. See Dactylology. — Finger bar, the horizontal bar, carrying slotted spikes, or fingers, through which the vibratory knives of mowing and reaping machines play. — Finger board (Mus.), the part of a stringed instrument against which the fingers press the strings to vary the tone; the keyboard of a piano, organ, etc.; manual. — Finger bowl or glass, a bowl or glass to hold water for rinsing the fingers at table. — Finger flower (Bot.), the foxglove. — Finger grass (Bot.), a kind of grass (Panicum sanguinale) with slender radiating spikes; common crab grass. See Crab grass, under Crab. — Finger nut, a fly nut or thumb nut. — Finger plate, a strip of metal, glass, etc., to protect a painted or polished door from finger marks. — Finger post, a guide post bearing an index finger. — Finger reading, reading printed in relief so as to be sensible to the touch; — so made for the blind. — Finger shell (Zoöl.), a marine shell (Pholas dactylus) resembling a finger in form. — Finger sponge (Zoöl.), a sponge having finger-shaped lobes, or branches. — Finger stall, a cover or shield for a finger. — Finger steel, a steel instrument for whetting a currier's knife. To burn one's fingers. See under Burn. — To have a finger in, to be concerned in. [Colloq.] — To have at one's fingers' ends, to be thoroughly familiar with. [Colloq.]

FINGER Fin"ger, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Fingered; p. pr. & vb. n. Fingering.]

1. To touch with the fingers; to handle; to meddle with. Let the papers lie; You would be fingering them to anger me. Shak.

2. To touch lightly; to toy with.

3. (Mus.) (a) To perform on an instrument of music. (b) To mark the notes of (a piece of music) so as to guide the fingers in playing.

4. To take thievishly; to pilfer; to purloin. Shak.

5. To execute, as any delicate work.

FINGER Fin"ger, v. i. (Mus.)

Defn: To use the fingers in playing on an instrument. Busby.

FINGERED Fin"gered, a.

1. Having fingers.

2. (Bot.)

Defn: Having leaflets like fingers; digitate.

3. (Mus.)

Defn: Marked with figures designating which finger should be used for each note.

FINGERER Fin"ger*er, n.

Defn: One who fingers; a pilferer.

FINGERING Fin"ger*ing, n.

1. The act or process of handling or touching with the fingers. The mere sight and fingering of money. Grew.

2. The manner of using the fingers in playing or striking the keys of an instrument of music; movement or management of the fingers in playing on a musical instrument, in typewriting, etc.

3. The marking of the notes of a piece of music to guide or regulate the action or use of the fingers.

4. Delicate work made with the fingers. Spenser.

FINGERLING Fin"ger*ling, n. Etym: [Finger + -ling.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A young salmon. See Parr.

FINGLE-FANGLE Fin"gle-fan`gle, n. Etym: [From fangle.]

Defn: A trifle. [Low] Hudibras.

FINGRIGO Fin"gri*go, n.; pl. Fingrigos. Etym: [So called in Jamaica.] (Bot.)

Defn: A prickly, climbing shrub of the genus Pisonia. The fruit is a kind of berry.

FINIAL Fin"*i*al, n. Etym: [L. finire to finish, end. See Finish.] (Arch.)

Defn: The knot or bunch of foliage, or foliated ornament, that forms the upper extremity of a pinnacle in Gothic architecture; sometimes, the pinnacle itself.

FINICAL Fin"i*cal, a. Etym: [From Fine, a.]

Defn: Affectedly fine; overnice; unduly particular; fastidious. "Finical taste." Wordsworth. The gross style consists in giving no detail, the finical in giving nothing else. Hazlitt.

Syn. — Finical, Spruce, Foppish. These words are applied to persons who are studiously desirous to cultivate finery of appearance. One who is spruce is elaborately nice in dress; one who is finical shows his affectation in language and manner as well as in dress; one who is foppish distinguishes himself by going to the extreme of the fashion in the cut of his clothes, by the tawdriness of his ornaments, and by the ostentation of his manner. "A finical gentleman clips his words and screws his body into as small a compass as possible, to give himself the air of a delicate person; a spruce gentleman strives not to have a fold wrong in his frill or cravat, nor a hair of his head to lie amiss; a foppish gentleman seeks . . . to render himself distinguished for finery." Crabb. — Fin"i*cal*ly, adv. — Fin"i*cal*ness, n.

FINICALITY Fin`i*cal"i*ty, n.

Defn: The quality of being finical; finicalness.

FINICKING; FINICKY Fin"ick*ing, Fin"ick*y, a.

Defn: Finical; unduly particular. [Colloq.]

FINIFIC Fi*nif"ic ( or ), n. Etym: [L. finis end + facere to make.]

Defn: A limiting element or quality. [R.] The essential finific in the form of the finite. Coleridge.

FINIFY Fin"i*fy ( or ), v. t. Etym: [Fine, a. + -fy.]

Defn: To make fine; to dress finically. [Obs.] Hath so pared and finified them [his feet.] B. Jonson.

FINIKIN Fin"i*kin, a. Etym: [Fine, a. + -kin.]

Defn: Precise in trifles; idly busy. [Colloq.] Smart.

FINING Fin"ing, n.

1. The act of imposing a fin

2. The process of fining or refining; clarification; also (Metal.), the conversion of cast iron into suitable for puddling, in a hearth or charcoal fire.

3. That which is used to refine; especially, a preparation of isinglass, gelatin, etc., for clarifying beer. Fining pot, a vessel in which metals are refined. Prov. xvii. 3.

FINIS Fi"nis, n. Etym: [L.]

Defn: An end; conclusion. It is often placed at the end of a book.

FINISH Fin"ish, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Finished; p. pr. & vb. n. Finishing.] Etym: [F. finir (with a stem finiss- in several forms, whence E. - ish: see -ish.),fr. L. finire to limit, finish, end, fr. finis boundary, limit, end; perh. for fidnis, and akin findere to cleave, E. fissure.]

1. To arrive at the end of; to bring to an end; to put an end to; to make an end of; to terminate. And heroically hath finished A life heroic. Milton.

2. To bestow the last required labor upon; to complete; to bestow the utmost possible labor upon; to perfect; to accomplish; to polish.

Syn. — To end; terminate; close; conclude; complete; accomplish; perfect.

FINISH Fin"ish, v. i.

1. To come to an end; to terminate. His days may finish ere that hapless time. Shak.

2. To end; to die. [R.] Shak.

FINISH Fin"ish, n.

1. That which finishes, puts an end to

2. (Arch.)

Defn: The joiner work and other finer work required for the completion of a building, especially of the interior. See Inside finish, and Outside finish.

3. (Fine Arts) (a) The labor required to give final completion to any work; hence, minute detail, careful elaboration, or the like. (b) See Finishing coat, under Finishing.

4. The result of completed labor, as on the surface of an object; manner or style of finishing; as, a rough, dead, or glossy finish given to cloth, stone, metal, etc.

5. Completion; — opposed to Ant: start, or Ant: beginning.

FINISHED Fin"ished, a.

Defn: Polished to the highest degree of excellence; complete; perfect; as, a finished poem; a finished education. Finished work (Mach.), work that is made smooth or polished, though not necessarily completed.

FINISHER Fin"ish*er, n.

1. One who finishes, puts an end to, completes, or perfects; esp. used in the trades, as in hatting, weaving, etc., for the workman who gives a finishing touch to the work, or any part of it, and brings it to perfection. O prophet of glad tidings, finisher Of utmost hope! Milton.

2. Something that gives the finishing touch to, or settles, anything. [Colloq.]

FINISHING Fin"ish*ing, n.

Defn: The act or process of completing or perfecting; the final work upon or ornamentation of a thing.

FINISHING Fin"ish*ing, a.

Defn: Tending to complete or to render fit for the market or for use. Finishing coat. (a) (Plastering) the final coat of plastering applied to walls and ceilings, usually white and rubbed smooth. (b) (Painting) The final coat of paint, usually differently mixed applied from the others. — Finishing press, a machine for pressing fabrics. — Finishing rolls (Iron Working), the rolls of a train which receive the bar from roughing rolls, and reduce it to its finished shape. Raymond.

FINITE Fi"nite, a. Etym: [L. finitus, p.p. of finire. See Finish, and cf. Fine, a.]

Defn: Having a limit; limited in quantity, degree, or capacity; bounded; — opposed to infinite; as, finite number; finite existence; a finite being; a finite mind; finite duration.

FINITELESS Fi"nite*less, a

Defn: Infinite. [Obs.] Sir T. browne.

FINITELY Fi"nite*ly, adv.

Defn: In a finite manner or degree.

FINITENESS Fi"nite*ness, n.

Defn: The state of being finite.

FINITUDE Fin"i*tude, n. Etym: [L. finire. See Finish.]

Defn: Limitation. Cheyne.

FINJAN Fin*jan", n. [Also fingan, findjan, fingian, etc.] [Ar. finjan.]

Defn: In the Levant, a small coffee cup without a handle, such as is held in a cup or stand called a zarf.

FIN KEEL Fin keel. (Naut.)

Defn: A projection downward from the keel of a yacht, resembling in shape the fin of a fish, though often with a cigar-shaped bulb of lead at the bottom, and generally made of metal. Its use is to ballast the boat and also to enable her to sail close to the wind and to make the least possible leeway by offering great resistance to lateral motion through the water.

FINLANDER Fin"land*er, n.

Defn: A native or inhabitant of Finland.

FINLESS Fin"less, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: destitute of fins.

FINLET Fin"let, n. Etym: [Fin + -let.]

Defn: A little fin; one of the parts of a divided fin.

FINLIKE Fin"like`, a.

Defn: Resembling a fin.

FINN Finn, a.

Defn: A native of Finland; one of the FinnFinns.

FINNAN HADDIE Fin"nan had"die. Etym: [See Haddock.]

Defn: Haddock cured in peat smoke, originally at Findon (pron. fìn"an), Scotland. the name is also applied to other kinds of smoked haddock. [Written also finnan haddock.]

FINNED Finned, a.

Defn: Having a fin, or fins, or anything resembling a fin. Mortimer.

FINNER Fin"ner, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A finback whale.

FINNIC Finn"ic, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to the Finns.

FINNIKIN Fin"ni*kin, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A variety of pigeon, with a crest somewhat resembling the mane of a horse. [Written also finikin.]

FINNISH Finn"ish, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to Finland, to the Finns, or to their language. — n.

Defn: A Northern Turanian group of languages; the language of the Finns.

FINNS Finns, n. pl.; sing. Finn. (Ethnol.) (a) Natives of Finland; Finlanders. (b) A branch of the Mongolian race, inhabiting Northern and Eastern Europe, including the Magyars, Bulgarians, Permians, Lapps, and Finlanders. [Written also Fins.]

FINNY Fin"ny, a.

1. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Having, or abounding in, fins, as fishes; pertaining to fishes.

2. Abounding in fishes. With patient angle trolls the finny deep. Goldsmoth.

FINOCHIO Fi*no"chi*o, n. Etym: [It. finocchio fennel, LL. fenuclum. See Fennel.] (Bot.)

Defn: An umbelliferous plant (Foeniculum dulce) having a somewhat tuberous stem; sweet fennel. The blanched stems are used in France and Italy as a culinary vegetable.

FINOS Fi"nos, n. pl. Etym: [Sp., pl., fr. fino fine.]

Defn: Second best wool from Merino sheep. Gardner.

FINPIKE Fin"pike`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The bichir. See Crossopterygii.

FINSEN LIGHT Fin"sen light. [After Prof. Niels R. Finsen (b. 1860), Danish physician.] (Med.)

Defn: Highly actinic light, derived from sunlight or from some form of electric lamp, used in the treatment of lupus and other cutaneous affections.

FINT Fint,

Defn: 3d pers. sing. pr. of Find, for findeth. [Obs.] Chaucer.

FIN-TOED Fin"-toed`, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Having toes connected by a membrane; palmiped; palmated; also, lobate.

FIORD Fiord (fyi or y consonant, § 272), n. Etym: [Dan. & Norw. fiord. See Frith.]

Defn: A narrow inlet of the sea, penetrating between high banks or rocks, as on the coasts of Norway and Alaska. [Written also fjord.]

FIORIN Fi"o*rin, n. Etym: [Cf. Ir. fiothran a sort of grass.] (Bot.)

Defn: A species of creeping bent grass (Agrostis alba); — called also fiorin grass.

FIORITE Fi"o*rite, n. (Min.)

Defn: A variety of opal occuring in the cavities of volcanic tufa, in smooth and shining globular and botryoidal masses, having a pearly luster; — so called from Fiora, in Ischia.

FIORITURE Fio`ri*tu"re, n. pl. Etym: [It., pl. of fioritura a flowering.] (Mus.)

Defn: Little flowers of ornament introduced into a melody by a singer or player.

FIPPENNY BIT Fip"pen*ny bit` ( or ). Etym: [Corruption of five penny bit.]

Defn: The Spanish half real, or one sixteenth of a dollar, — so called in Pennsylvania and the adjacent States. [Obs.]

Note: Before the act of Congress, Feb. 21, 1857, caused the adoption of decimal coins and the withdrawal of foreign coinage from circulation, this coin passed currently for 6fourpence ha'penny or fourpence; in New York a sixpence; in Pennsylvania, Virginia, etc., a fip; and in Louisiana, a picayune.

FIPPLE Fip"ple (fer), n. Etym: [perh. fr. L. fibula a clasp, a pin; cf. Prov. E. fible a stick used to stir pottage.]

Defn: A stopper, as in a wind instrument of music. [Obs.] Bacon.

FIR Fir, n. Etym: [Dan. fyr, fyrr; akin to Sw. furu, Icel. fura, AS. furh in furhwudu fir wood, G. föhre, OHG. forha pine, vereheih a sort of oak, L. quercus (Bot.)

Defn: A genus (Abies) of coniferous trees, often of large size and elegant shape, some of them valued for their timber and others for their resin. The species are distinguished as the balsam fir, the silver fir, the red fir, etc. The Scoth fir is a Pinus.

Note: Fir in the Bible means any one of several coniferous trees, including, cedar, cypress, and probably three species of pine. J. D. Hooker.

FIRE Fire, n. Etym: [OE. fir, fyr, fur AS. fr; akin to D. vuur, OS. & OHG. fiur, G. feuer, Icel. f, f, Gr. purus pure, E. pure Cf. Empyrean, Pyre.]

1. The evolution of light and heat in the combustion of bodies; combustion; state of ignition.

Note: The form of fire exhibited in the combustion of gases in an ascending stream or current is called flame. Anciently, fire, air, earth, and water were regarded as the four elements of which all things are composed.

2. Fuel in a state of combustion, as on a hearth, or in

3. The burning of a house or town; a conflagration.

4. Anything which destroys or affects like fire.

5. Ardor of passion, whether love or hate; excessive warmth; consumingviolence of temper. he had fire in his temper.Atterbury.

6. Liveliness of imagination or fancy; intellectual and moral enthusiasm; capacity for ardor and zeal. And bless their critic with a poet's fire.Pope.

7. Splendor; brilliancy; luster; hence, a star. Stars, hide your fires.Shak. As in a zodiac representing the heavenly fires.Milton.

8. Torture by burning; severe trial or affliction.

9. The discharge of firearms; firing; as, the troops were exposed to a heavy fire. Blue fire, Red fire, Green fire (Pyrotech.), compositions of various combustible substances, as sulphur, niter, lampblack, etc., the flames of which are colored by various metallic salts, as those of antimony, strontium, barium, etc. — Fire alarm (a) A signal given on the breaking out of a fire. (b) An apparatus for giving such an alarm. — Fire annihilator, a machine, device, or preparation to be kept at hand for extinguishing fire by smothering it with some incombustible vapor or gas, as carbonic acid. — Fire balloon. (a) A balloon raised in the air by the buoyancy of air heated by a fire placed in the lower part. (b) A balloon sent up at night with fireworks which ignite at a regulated height. Simmonds. — Fire bar, a grate bar. — Fire basket, a portable grate; a cresset. Knight. — Fire beetle. (Zoöl.) See in the Vocabulary. — Fire blast, a disease of plants which causes them to appear as if burnt by fire. — Fire box, the chamber of a furnace, steam boiler, etc., for the fire. — Fire brick, a refractory brick, capable of sustaining intense heat without fusion, usually made of fire clay or of siliceous material, with some cementing substance, and used for lining fire boxes, etc. — Fire brigade, an organized body of men for extinguished fires. — Fire bucket. See under Bucket. — Fire bug, an incendiary; one who, from malice or through mania, persistently sets fire to property; a pyromaniac. [U.S.] — Fire clay. See under Clay. — Fire company, a company of men managing an engine in extinguishing fires. — Fire cross. See Fiery cross. [Obs.] Milton. — Fire damp. See under Damp. — Fire dog. See Firedog, in the Vocabulary. — Fire drill. (a) A series of evolutions performed by fireman for practice. (b) An apparatus for producing fire by friction, by rapidly twirling a wooden pin in a wooden socket; — used by the Hindoos during all historic time, and by many savage peoples. — Fire eater. (a) A juggler who pretends to eat fire. (b) A quarrelsome person who seeks affrays; a hotspur. [Colloq.] — Fire engine, a portable forcing pump, usually on wheels, for throwing water to extinguish fire. — Fire escape, a contrivance for facilitating escape from burning buildings. — Fire gilding (Fine Arts), a mode of gilding with an amalgam of gold and quicksilver, the latter metal being driven off afterward by heat. — Fire gilt (Fine Arts), gold laid on by the process of fire gilding. — Fire insurance, the act or system of insuring against fire; also, a contract by which an insurance company undertakes, in consideration of the payment of a premium or small percentage — usually made periodically — to indemnify an owner of property from loss by fire during a specified period. — Fire irons, utensils for a fireplace or grate, as tongs, poker, and shovel. — Fire main, a pipe for water, to be used in putting out fire. — Fire master (Mil), an artillery officer who formerly supervised the composition of fireworks. — Fire office, an office at which to effect insurance against fire. — Fire opal, a variety of opal giving firelike reflections. — Fire ordeal, an ancient mode of trial, in which the test was the ability of the accused to handle or tread upon red-hot irons. Abbot. — Fire pan, a pan for holding or conveying fire, especially the receptacle for the priming of a gun. — Fire plug, a plug or hydrant for drawing water from the main pipes in a street, building, etc., for extinguishing fires. — Fire policy, the writing or instrument expressing the contract of insurance against loss by fire. — Fire pot. (a) (Mil.) A small earthen pot filled with combustibles, formerly used as a missile in war. (b) The cast iron vessel which holds the fuel or fire in a furnace. (c) A crucible. (d) A solderer's furnace. — Fire raft, a raft laden with combustibles, used for setting fire to an enemy's ships. — Fire roll, a peculiar beat of the drum to summon men to their quarters in case of fire. — Fire setting (Mining), the process of softening or cracking the working face of a lode, to facilitate excavation, by exposing it to the action of fire; — now generally superseded by the use of explosives. Raymond. — Fire ship, a vessel filled with combustibles, for setting fire to an enemy's ships. — Fire shovel, a shovel for taking up coals of fire. — Fire stink, the stench from decomposing iron pyrites, caused by the formation of sulphureted hydrogen. Raymond. — Fire surface, the surfaces of a steam boiler which are exposed to the direct heat of the fuel and the products of combustion; heating surface. — Fire swab, a swab saturated with water, for cooling a gun in action and clearing away particles of powder, etc. Farrow. — Fire teaser, in England, the fireman of a steam emgine. — Fire water, ardent spirits; — so called by the American Indians. — Fire worship, the worship of fire, which prevails chiefly in Persia, among the followers of Zoroaster, called Chebers, or Guebers, and among the Parsees of India. — Greek fire. See under Greek. — On fire, burning; hence, ardent; passionate; eager; zealous. — Running fire, the rapid discharge of firearms in succession by a line of troops. — St. Anthony's fire, erysipelas; — an eruptive fever which St. Anthony was supposed to cure miraculously. Hoblyn. — St. Elmo's fire. See under Saint Elmo. — To set on fire, to inflame; to kindle. — To take fire, to begin to burn; to fly into a passion.

FIRE Fire, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Fired; p. pr. & vb. n. Fring.]

1. To set on fire; to kindle; as, to fire a house or chimney; to fire a pile.

2. To subject to intense heat; to bake; to burn in a kiln; as, to fire pottery.

3. To inflame; to irritate, as the passions; as, to fire the soul with anger, pride, or revenge. Love had fired my mind. Dryden.

4. To animate; to give life or spirit to; as, to fire the genius of a young man.

5. To feed or serve the fire of; as, to fire a boiler.

6. To light up as if by fire; to illuminate. [The sun] fires the proud tops of the eastern pines. Shak.

7. To cause to explode; as, to fire a torpedo; to disharge; as, to fire a musket or cannon; to fire cannon balls, rockets, etc.

8. To drive by fire. [Obs.] Till my bad angel fire my good one out. Shak.

9. (Far.)

Defn: To cauterize. To fire up, to light up the fires of, as of an engine.

FIRE Fire, v. i.

1. To take fire; to be kindled; to kindle.

2. To be irritated or inflamed with passion.

3. To discharge artillery or firearms; as, they fired on the town. To fire up, to grow irritated or angry. "He . . . fired up, and stood vigorously on his defense." Macaulay.

FIREARM Fire"arm`, n.

Defn: A gun, pistol, or any weapon from a shot is discharged by the force of an explosive substance, as gunpowder.

FIREBACK Fire"back`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of several species of pheasants of the genus Euplocamus, having the lower back a bright, fiery red. They inhabit Southern Asia and the East Indies.

FIREBALL Fire"ball`, n. (a) (Mil.) A ball filled with powder or other combustibles, intended to be thrown among enemies, and to injure by explosion; also, to set fire to their works and light them up, so that movements may be seen. (b) A luminous meteor, resembling a ball of fire passing rapidly through the air, and sometimes exploding.

FIREBARE Fire"bare`, n.

Defn: A beacon. [Obs.] Burrill.

FIRE BEETLE Fire" bee`tle. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A very brilliantly luminous beetle (Pyrophorus noctilucus), one of the elaters, found in Central and South America; — called also cucujo. The name is also applied to other species. See Firefly.

FIREBIRD Fire"bird`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The Baltimore oriole.

FIREBOARD Fire"board`, n.

Defn: A chimney board or screen to close a fireplace when not in use.

FIREBOTE Fire"bote`, n. (O.Eng.Law)

Defn: An allowance of fuel. See Bote.

FIREBRAND Fire"brand`, n.

1. A piece of burning wood. L'Estrange.

2. One who inflames factions, or causes contention and mischief; an incendiary. Bacon.

FIRECRACKER Fire"crack`er, n.

Defn: See Cracker., n., 3.

FIRECREST Fire"crest`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A small European kinglet (Regulus ignicapillus), having a bright red crest; — called also fire-crested wren.

FIREDOG Fire"dog`, n.

Defn: A support for wood in a fireplace; an andiron.

FIREDRAKE Fire"drake`, n. Etym: [AS. f; f fire + draca a dragon. See Fire, and Drake a dragon.] [Obs.]

1. A fiery dragon. Beau. & Fl.

2. A fiery meteor; an ignis fatuus; a rocket.

3. A worker at a furnace or fire. B. Jonson.

FIRE-FANGED Fire"-fanged`, a. Etym: [Fire + fanged seized.]

Defn: Injured as by fire; burned; — said of manure which has lost its goodness and acquired an ashy hue in consequence of heat generated by decomposition.

FIREFISH Fire"fish`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A singular marine fish of the genus Pterois, family Scorpænidæ, of several species, inhabiting the Indo-Pacific region. They are usually red, and have very large spinose pectoral and dorsal fins.

FIREFLAIRE Fire"flaire`, n. Etym: [Fire + Prov. E. flaire a ray.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A European sting ray of the genus Trygon (T. pastinaca); — called also fireflare and fiery flaw.

FIREFLAME Fire"flame`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The European band fish (Cepola rubescens).

FIREFLY Fire"fly`, n.; pl. Fireflies (. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any luminous winged insect, esp. luminous beetles of the family Lampyridæ.

Note: The common American species belong to the genera Photinus and Photuris, in which both sexes are winged. The name is also applied to luminous species of Elateridæ. See Fire beetle.

FIRELESS Fire"less, a.

Defn: Destitute of fire.

FIRELOCK Fire"lock`, n.

Defn: An old form of gunlock, as the flintlock, which ignites the priming by a spark; perhaps originally, a matchlock. Hence, a gun having such a lock.

FIREMAN Fire"man, n.; pl. Firemen (-men).

1. A man whose business is to extinguish fires in towns; a member of a fire company.

2. A man who tends the fires, as of a steam engine; a stocker.

FIRE-NEW Fire"-new`, a.

Defn: Fresh from the forge; bright; quite new; brand-new. Charles reade. Your fire-new stamp of honor is scarce current. Shak.

FIREPLACE Fire"place`, n.

Defn: The part a chimney appropriated to the fire; a hearth; — usually an open recess in a wall, in which a fire may be built.

FIREPROOF Fire"proof`, a.

Defn: Proof against fire; incombustible.

FIREPROOFING Fire"proof`ing, n.

Defn: The act or process of rendering anything incombustible; also, the materials used in the process.

FIRER Fir"er, n.

Defn: One who fires or sets fire to anything; an incendiary. [R.] R. Carew.

FIREROOM Fire"room`, n.

Defn: Same as Stokehold, below.

FIRE-SET Fire"-set`, n.

Defn: A set of fire irons, including, commonly, tongs, shovel, and poker.

FIRESIDE Fire"side`, n.

Defn: A place near the fire or hearth; home; domestic life or retirement.

FIRESTONE Fire"stone` (; 110), n. Etym: [AS. f flint; f fire + stan stone.]

1. Iron pyrites, formerly used for striking fire; also, a flint.

2. A stone which will bear the heat of a furnace without injury; — especially applied to the sandstone at the top of the upper greensand in the south of England, used for lining kilns and furnaces. Ure.

FIRETAIL Fire"tail`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The European redstart; — called also fireflirt. [prov. Eng.]

FIREWARDEN Fire"ward`en, n.

Defn: An officer who has authority to direct in the extinguishing of fires, or to order what precautions shall be taken against fires; — called also fireward.

FIREWEED Fire"weed`, n. (Bot.) (a) An American plant (Erechthites hiercifolia), very troublesome in spots where brushwood has been burned. (b) The great willow-herb (Epilobium spicatum).

FIREWOOD Fire"wood`, n.

Defn: Wood for fuel.

FIREWORK Fire"work`, n.

1. A device for producing a striking display of light, or a figure or figures in plain or colored fire, by the combustion of materials that burn in some peculiar manner, as gunpowder, sulphur, metallic filings, and various salts. The most common feature of fireworks is a paper or pasteboard tube filled with the combustible material. A number of these tubes or cases are often combined so as to make, when kindled, a great variety of figures in fire, often variously colored. The skyrocket is a common form of firework. The name is also given to various combustible preparations used in war.

2. pl.

Defn: A pyrotechnic exhibition. [Obs. in the sing.] Night before last, the Duke of Richmond gave a firework. Walpole.

FIREWORM Fire"worm`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The larva of a small tortricid moth which eats the leaves of the cranberry, so that the vines look as if burned; — called also cranberry worm.

FIRING Fir"ing, n.

1. The act of disharging firearms.

2. The mode of introducing fuel into the furnace and working it. Knight.

3. The application of fire, or of a cautery. Dunglison.

4. The process of partly vitrifying pottery by exposing it to intense heat in a kiln.

5. Fuel; firewood or coal. [Obs.] Mortimer. Firing iron, an instrument used in cauterizing.

FIRING PIN Fir"ing pin`.

Defn: In the breech mechanism of a firearm, the pin which strikes the head of the cartridge and explodes it.

FIRK Firk, v. t. Etym: [Cf. OE. ferken to proceed, hasten, AS. fercian to bring, assist; perh. akin to faran to go, E. fare.]

Defn: To beat; to strike; to chastise. [Obs.] I'll fer him, and firk him, and ferret him. Shak.

FIRK Firk, v. i.

Defn: To fly out; to turn out; to go off. [Obs.] A wench is a rare bait, with which a man No sooner's taken but he straight firks mad.B.Jonson.

FIRK Firk, n.

Defn: A freak; trick; quirk. [Obs.] Ford.

FIRKIN Fir"kin, n. Etym: [From AS. feówer four (or an allied word, perh. Dutch or Danish) + -kin. See Four.]

1. A varying measure of capacity, usually being the fourth part of a barrel; specifically, a measure equal to nine imperial gallons. [Eng.]

2. A small wooden vessel or cask of indeterminate size, — used for butter, lard, etc. [U.S.]

FIRLOT Fir"lot, n. Etym: [Scot., the fourth part of a boll of grain, from a word equiv. to E. four + lot part, portion. See Firkin.]

Defn: A dry measure formerly used in Scotland; the fourth part of a boll of grain or meal. The Linlithgow wheat firlot was to the imperial bushel as 998 to 1000; the barley firlot as 1456 to 1000. Brande & C.

FIRM Firm, a. [Compar. Firmer; superl. Firmest.] Etym: [OE. ferme, F. ferme, fr.L. firmus; cf. Skr. dharman support, law, order, dh to hold fast, carry. Cf. Farm, Throne.]

1. Fixed; hence, closely compressed; compact; substantial; hard; solid; — applied to the matter of bodies; as, firm flesh; firm muscles, firm wood.

2. Not easily excited or disturbed; unchanging in purpose; fixed; steady; constant; stable; unshaken; not easily changed in feelings or will; strong; as, a firm believer; a firm friend; a firm adherent. Under spread ensigns, moving nigh, in slow But firm battalion. Milton. By one man's firm obediency fully tried. Milton.

3. Solid; — opposed to fluid; as, firm land.

4. Indicating firmness; as, a firm tread; a firm countenance.

Syn. — Compact; dense; hard; solid; stanch; robust; strong; sturdly; fixed; steady; resolute; constant.

FIRM Firm, n. Etym: [It. firma the (firm, sure, or confirming) signature or subscription, or Pg. firma signature, firm, cf. Sp. firma signature; all fr. L. firmus, adj., firm. See Firm, a]

Defn: The name, title, or style, under which a company transacts business; a partnership of two or more persons; a commercial house; as, the firm of Hope & Co.

FIRM Firm, v. t. Etym: [OE. fermen to make firm, F. fermer, fr. L. firmare to make firm. See Firm, a.]

1. To fix; to settle; to confirm; to establish. [Obs.] And Jove has firmed it with an awful nod. Dryden.

2. To fix or direct with firmness. [Obs.] He on his card and compass firms his eye. Spenser.

FIRMAMENT Fir"ma*ment, n. Etym: [L. firmamentum, fr. firmare to make firm: cf. F. firmament. See Firm, v. & a.]

1. Fixed foundation; established basis. [Obs.] Custom is the . . . firmament of the law. Jer. Taylor.

2. The region of the air; the sky or heavens. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the miGen. i. 6. And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament. Gen. i. 14.

Note: In Scripture, the word denotes an expanse, a wide extent; the great arch or expanse over out heads, in which are placed the atmosphere and the clouds, and in which the stars appear to be placed, and are really seen.

3. (Old Astron.)

Defn: The orb of the fixed stars; the most rmote of the celestial spheres.

FIRMAMENTAL Fir`ma*men"tal, a.

Defn: Pertaining to the firmament; celestial; being of the upper regions. Dryden.

FIRMAN Fir"man ( or ), n.; pl. Firmans or. Etym: [Pers. ferman.]

Defn: In Turkey and some other Oriental countries, a decree or mandate issued by the sovereign; a royal order or grant; — generally given for special objects, as to a traveler to insure him protection and assistance. [Written also firmaun.]

FIRMER-CHISEL Firm"er-chis"el, n.

Defn: A chisel, thin in proportion to its width. It has a tang to enter the handle instead of a socket for receiving it. Knight.

FIRMITUDE Firm"i*tude, n. Etym: [L. firmitudo. See Firm.]

Defn: Strength; stability. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.

FIRMITY Firm"i*ty, n. Etym: [L. firmitas.]

Defn: Strength; firmness; stability. [Obs.] Chillingworth.

FIRMLESS Firm"less, a.

1. Detached from substance. [Obs.] Does passion still the firmless mind control Pope.

2. Infirm; unstable. "Firmless sands." Sylvester.

FIRMLY Firm"ly, adv.

Defn: In a firm manner.

FIRMNESS Firm"ness, n.

Defn: The state or quality of being firm.

Syn. — Firmness, Constancy. Firmness belongs to the will, and constancy to the affections and principles; the former prevents us from yielding, and the latter from fluctuating. Without firmness a man has no character; "without constancy," says Addison, "there is neither love, friendship, nor virtue in the world."

FIRMS Firms, n. pl. Etym: [From Firm, a.] (Arch.)

Defn: The principal rafters of a roof, especially a pair of rafters taken together. [Obs.]

FIRRING Fir"ring, n. (Arch.)

Defn: See Furring.

FIRRY Fir"ry, a.

Defn: Made of fir; abounding in firs. In firry woodlands making moan. Tennyson.

FIRST First, a. Etym: [OE. first, furst, AS. fyrst; akin to Icel. fyrstr, Sw. & Dan. förste, OHG. furist, G. fürst prince; a superlatiye form of E. for, fore. See For, Fore, and cf. Formeer, Foremost.]

1. Preceding all others of a series or kind; the ordinal of one; earliest; as, the first day of a month; the first year of a reign.

2. Foremost; in front of, or in advance of, all others.

3. Most eminent or exalted; most excellent; chief; highest; as, Demosthenes was the first orator of Greece. At first blush. See under Blush. — At first hand, from the first or original source; without the intervention of any agent. It is the intention of the person to reveal it at first hand, by way of mouth, to yourself. Dickens. — First coat (Plastering), the solid foundation of coarse stuff, on which the rest is placed; it is thick, and crossed with lines, so as to give a bond for the next coat. — First day, Sunday; — so called by the Friends. — First floor. (a) The ground floor. [U.S.] (b) The floor next above the ground floor. [Eng.] — First fruit or fruits. (a) The fruits of the season earliest gathered. (b) (Feudal Law) One year's profits of lands belonging to the king on the death of a tenant who held directly from him. (c) (Eng. Eccl. Law) The first year's whole profits of a benefice or spiritual living. (d) The earliest effects or results. See, Father, what first fruits on earth are sprung From thy implanted grace in man! Milton. — First mate, an officer in a merchant vessel next in rank to the captain. — First name, same as Christian name. See under Name, n. — First officer (Naut.), in the merchant service, same as First mate (above). — First sergeant (Mil.), the ranking non-commissioned officer in a company; the orderly sergeant. Farrow. — First watch (Naut.), the watch from eight to twelve at midnight; also, the men on duty during that time. — First water, the highest quality or purest luster; — said of gems, especially of diamond and pearls.