F F (êf) (continued 7)

FLAYER Flay"er, n.

Defn: One who strips off the skin.

FLEA Flea, v. t. Etym: [See Flay.]

Defn: To flay. [Obs.] He will be fleaced first And horse collars made of's skin. J. Fletcher.

FLEA Flea, n. Etym: [OE. fle, flee, AS. fleá, fleáh; akin to D. fl, G. floh, Icel. fl, Russ. blocha; prob. from the root of E. flee. Flee.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: An insect belonging to the genus Pulex, of the order Aphaniptera. Fleas are destitute of wings, but have the power of leaping energetically. The bite is poisonous to most persons. The human flea (Pulex irritans), abundant in Europe, is rare in America, where the dog flea (P. canis) takes its place. See Aphaniptera, and Dog flea. See Illustration in Appendix. A flea in the ear, an unwelcome hint or unexpected reply, annoying like a flea; an irritating repulse; as, to put a flea in one's ear; to go away with a flea in one's ear. — Beach flea, Black flea, etc. See under Beach, etc.

FLEABANE Flea"bane`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: One of various plants, supposed to have efficacy in driving away fleas. They belong, for the most part, to the genera Conyza, Erigeron, and Pulicaria.

FLEA-BEETLE Flea"-bee`tle, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A small beetle of the family Halticidæ, of many species. They have strong posterior legs and leap like fleas. The turnip flea- beetle (Phyllotreta vittata) and that of the grapevine (Graptodera chalybea) are common injurious species.

FLEA-BITE Flea"-bite`, n.

1. The bite of a flea, or the red spot caused by the bite.

2. A trifling wound or pain, like that of the bite of a flea. Harvey.

FLEA-BITTEN Flea"-bit`ten, a.

1. Bitten by a flea; as, a flea-bitten face.

2. White, flecked with minute dots of bay or sorrel; — said of the color of a horse.

FLEAGH Fleagh, obs.

Defn: imp. of Fly.

FLEAK Fleak, n.

Defn: A flake; a thread or twist. [Obs.] Little long fleaks or threads of hemp. Dr. H. More.

FLEAKING Fleak"ing, n.

Defn: A light covering of reeds, over which the main covering is laid, in thatching houses. [Prov. Eng.] Wright.

FLEA-LOUSE Flea"-louse`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A jumping plant louse of the family Psyllidæ, of many species. That of the pear tree is Psylla pyri.

FLEAM Fleam, n. Etym: [F. flamme, OF. flieme, fr. LL. flevotomum, phlebotomum; cf. D. vlijm. See Phlebotomy.] (Surg. & Far.)

Defn: A sharp instrument used for opening veins, lancing gums, etc.; a kind of lancet. Fleam tooth, a tooth of a saw shaped like an isosceles triangle; a peg tooth. Knight.

FLEAMY Fleam"y, a.

Defn: Bloody; clotted. [Obs. or Prov.] Foamy bubbling of a fleamy brain. Marston.

FLEAR Flear, v. t. & i.

Defn: See Fleer.

FLEAWORT Flea"wort`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: An herb used in medicine (Plantago Psyllium), named from the shape of its seeds. Loudon.

FLECHE Flèche, n. Etym: [F. flèche, prop., an arrow.] (Fort.)

Defn: A simple fieldwork, consisting of two faces forming a salient angle pointing outward and open at the gorge.

FLECK Fleck, n.

Defn: A flake; also, a lock, as of wool. [Obs.] J. Martin.

FLECK Fleck, n. Etym: [Cf. Icel. flekkr; akin to Sw. fläck, D. vlek, G. fleck, and perh. to E. flitch.]

Defn: A spot; a streak; a speckle. "A sunny fleck." Longfellow. Life is dashed with flecks of sin. tennyson.

FLECK Fleck, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Flecked; p. pr. & vb. n. Flecking.] Etym: [Cf. Icel. flekka, Sw. fläcka, D. vlekken, vlakken, G. flecken. See Fleck, n.]

Defn: To spot; to streak or stripe; to variegate; to dapple. Both flecked with white, the true Arcadian strain. Dryden. A bird, a cloud, flecking the sunny air. Trench.

FLECKER Fleck"er, v. t.

Defn: To fleck. Johnson.

FLECKLESS Fleck"less, a.

Defn: Without spot or blame. [R.] My consnience will not count me fleckless. Tennyson.

FLECTION Flec"tion, n. Etym: [See Flexion.]

1. The act of bending, or state of being bent.

2. The variation of words by declension, comparison, or conjugation; inflection.

FLECTIONAL Flec"tion*al, a.

Defn: Capable of, or pertaining to, flection or inflection. A flectional word is a phrase in the bud. Earle.

FLECTOR Flec"tor, n.

Defn: A flexor.

FLED Fled,

Defn: imp. & p. p. of Flee.

FLEDGE Fledge, a. Etym: [OE. flegge, flygge; akin to D. vlug, G. flügge, flücke, OHG. flucchi, Icel. fleygr, and to E. fly. Fly, v. i.]

Defn: Feathered; furnished with feathers or wings; able to fly. Hfledge with wings. Milton.

FLEDGE Fledge, v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Fledged; p. pr. & vb. n. Fledging.]

1. To furnish with feathers; to supply with the feathers necessary for flight. The birds were not as yet fledged enough to shift for themselves. L'Estrange.

2. To furnish or adorn with any soft covering. Your master, whose chin is not yet fledged. Shak.

FLEDGELING Fledge"ling, n.

Defn: A young bird just fledged.

FLEE Flee, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Fled; p. pr. & vb. n. Fleeing.] Etym: [OE. fleon, fleen, AS. fleón (imperf. fleáh); akin to D. vlieden, OHG. & OS. fliohan, G. fliehen, Icel. fl (imperf. fl), Dan. flye, Sw. fly (imperf. flydde), Goth. pliuhan. (Flight.]

Defn: To run away, as from danger or evil; to avoid in an alarmed or cowardly manner; to hasten off; — usually with from. This is sometimes omitted, making the verb transitive. [He] cowardly fled, not having struck one stroke. Shak. Flee fornication. 1 Cor. vi. 18. So fled his enemies my warlike father. Shak.

Note: When great speed is to be indicated, we commonly use fly, not flee; as, fly hence to France with the utmost speed. "Whither shall I fly to 'scape their hands" Shak. See Fly, v. i., 5.

FLEECE Fleece, n. Etym: [OE. flees, AS. fleós; akin to D. flies, vlies .]

1. The entire coat of wood that covers a sheep or other similar animal; also, the quantity shorn from a sheep, or animal, at one time. Who shore me Like a tame wether, all my precious fleece. Milton.

2. Any soft woolly covering resembling a fleece.

3. (Manuf.)

Defn: The fine web of cotton or wool removed by the doffing knife from the cylinder of a carding machine. Fleece wool, wool shorn from the sheep. — Golden fleece. See under Golden.

FLEECE Fleece, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Fleeced; p. pr. & vb. n. Fleecing.]

1. To deprive of a fleece, or natural covering of wool.

2. To strip of money or other property unjustly, especially by trickery or frand; to bring to straits by oppressions and exactions. Whilst pope and prince shared the wool betwixt them, the people were finely fleeced. Fuller.

3. To spread over as with wool. [R.] Thomson.

FLEECED Fleeced, a.

1. Furnished with a fleece; as, a sheep is well fleeced. Spenser.

2. Stripped of a fleece; plundered; robbed.

FLEECELESS Fleece"less, a.

Defn: Without a fleece.

FLEECER Flee"cer, n.

Defn: One who fleeces or strips unjustly, especially by trickery or fraund. Prynne.

FLEECY Flee"cy, a.

Defn: Covered with, made of, or resembling, a fleece. "Fleecy flocks." Prior.

FLEEN Fleen, n. pl.

Defn: Obs. pl. of Flea. Chaucer.

FLEER Fle"er, n.

Defn: One who flees. Ld. Berners.

FLEER Fleer, [imp. & p. p. Fleered (; p. pr. & vb. n. Fleering.] Etym: [OE. flerien; cf. Scot. fleyr, Norw. flira to titter, giggle, laugh at nothing, MHG. vlerre, vlarre, a wide wound.]

1. To make a wry face in contempt, or to grin in scorn; to deride; to sneer; to mock; to gibe; as, to fleer and flout. To fleer and scorn at our solemnity. Shak.

2. To grin with an air of civility; to leer. [Obs.] Grinning and fleering as though they went to a bear baiting. Latimer.

FLEER Fleer, v. t.

Defn: To mock; to flout at. Beau. & Fl.

FLEER Fleer, n.

1. A word or look of derision or mockery. And mark the fleers, the gibes, and notable scorn. Shak.

2. A grin of civility; a leer. [Obs.] A sly, treacherous fleer on the face of deceivers. South.

FLEERER Fleer"er, n.

Defn: One who fleers. Beau. & Fl.

FLEERINGLY Fleer"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: In a fleering manner.

FLEET Fleet, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Fleeted; p. pr. & vb. n. Fleeting.] Etym: [OE. fleten, fleoten, to swim, AS. fleótan to swim, float; akin to D. vlieten to flow, OS. fliotan, OHG. fliozzan, G. fliessen, Icel. fljota to float, flow, Sw. flyta, D. flyde, L. pluere to rain, Gr. plu to swim, sail. sq. root84. Cf. Fleet, n. & a., Float, Pluvial, Flow.]

1. To sail; to float. [Obs.] And in frail wood on Adrian Gulf doth fleet. Spenser.

2. To fly swiftly; to pass over quickly; to hasten; to flit as a light substance. All the unaccomplished works of Nature's hand, . . . Dissolved on earth, fleet hither. Milton.

3. (Naut.)

Defn: To slip on the whelps or the barrel of a capstan or windlass; - - said of a cable or hawser.

FLEET Fleet, v. t.

1. To pass over rapidly; to skin the surface of; as, a ship that fleets the gulf. Spenser.

2. To hasten over; to cause to pass away lighty, or in mirth and joy. Many young gentlemen flock to him, and fleet the time carelessly. Shak.

3. (Naut.) (a) To draw apart the blocks of; — said of a tackle. Totten. (b) To cause to slip down the barrel of a capstan or windlass, as a rope or chain.

FLEET Fleet, a. [Compar. Fleeter; superl. Fleetest.] Etym: [Cf. Icel. flj quick. See Fleet, v. i.]

1. Swift in motion; moving with velocity; light and quick in going from place to place; nimble. In mail their horses clad, yet fleet and strong. Milton.

2. Light; superficially thin; not penetring deep, as soil. [Prov. Eng.] Mortimer.

FLEET Fleet, n. Etym: [OE. flete, fleote, AS. fleót ship, fr. fleótan to float, swim. See Fleet, v. i. and cf. Float.]

Defn: A number of vessels in company, especially war vessels; also, the collective naval force of a country, etc. Fleet captain, the senior aid of the admiral of a fleet, when a captain. Ham. Nav. Encyc.

FLEET Fleet, n. Etym: [AS. fleót a place where vessels float, bay, river; akin to D. vliet rill, brook, G. fliess. See Fleet, v. i.]

1. A flood; a creek or inlet; a bay or estuary; a river; — obsolete, except as a place name, — as Fleet Street in London. Together wove we nets to entrap the fish In floods and sedgy fleets. Matthewes.

2. A former prison in London, which originally stood near a stream, the Fleet (now filled up). Fleet parson, a clergyman of low character, in, or in the vicinity of, the Fleet prison, who was ready to unite persons in marriage (called Fleet marriage) at any hour, without public notice, witnesses, or consent of parents.

FLEET Fleet, v. t. Etym: [AS. flet cream, fr. fleótan to float. See Fleet, v. i.]

Defn: To take the cream from; to skim. [Prov. Eng.] Johnson.

FLEETEN Fleet"en, n.

Defn: Fleeted or skimmed milk. [Obs.] Fleeten face, a face of the color of fleeten, i. e., blanched; hence, a coward. "You know where you are, you fleeten face." Beau. & Fl.

FLEET-FOOT Fleet"-foot`, a.

Defn: Swift of foot. Shak.

FLEETING Fleet"ing, a.

Defn: Passing swiftly away; not durable; transient; transitory; as, the fleeting hours or moments.

Syn. — Evanescent; ephemeral. See Transient.

FLEETINGLY Fleet"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: In a fleeting manner; swiftly.

FLEETINGS Fleet"ings, n. pl.

Defn: A mixture of buttermilk and boiling whey; curds. [prov. Eng.] Wright.

FLEETLY Fleet"ly, adv.

Defn: In a fleet manner; rapidly.

FLEETNESS Fleet"ness, n.

Defn: Swiftness; rapidity; velocity; celerity; speed; as, the fleetness of a horse or of time.

FLEIGH Fleigh, obs.

Defn: imp. of Fly. Chaucer.

FLEME Fleme, v. t. Etym: [AS. fleman, flyman.]

Defn: To banish; to drive out; to expel. [Obs.] "Appetite flemeth discretion." Chaucer.

FLEMER Flem"er, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, banishes or expels. [Obs.] Chaucer.

FLEMING Flem"ing, n.

Defn: A native or inhabitant of Flanders.

FLEMISH Flem"ish, a.

Defn: Pertaining to Flanders, or the Flemings. — n.

Defn: The language or dialect spoken by the Flemings; also, collectively, the people of Flanders. Flemish accounts (Naut.), short or deficient accounts. [Humorous]Ham. Nav. Encyc. — Flemish beauty (Bot.), a well known pear. It is one of few kinds which have a red color on one side. — Flemish bond. (Arch.) See Bond, n., 8. — Flemish brick, a hard yellow paving brick. — Flemish coil, a flat coil of rope with the end in the center and the turns lying against, without riding over, each other. — Flemish eye (Naut.), an eye formed at the end of a rope by dividing the strands and lying them over each other. — Flemish horse (Naut.), an additional footrope at the end of a yard.

FLENCH Flench, v. t.

Defn: Same as Flence.

FLENSE Flense, v. t. Etym: [Cf. Dan. flense, D. vlensen, vlenzen, Scot. flinch.]

Defn: To strip the blubber or skin from, as from a whale, seal, etc. the flensed carcass of a fur seal. U. S. Census (1880).

FLESH Flesh, n. Etym: [OE. flesch, flesc, AS. fl; akin to OFries. flask, D. vleesch, OS. fl, OHG. fleisc, G. fleisch, Icel. & Dan. flesk lard, bacon, pork, Sw. fläsk.]

1. The aggregate of the muscles, fat, and other tissues which cover the framework of bones in man and other animals; especially, the muscles.

Note: In composition it is mainly albuminous, but contains in adition a large number of crystalline bodies, such as creatin, xanthin, hypoxanthin, carnin, etc. It is also rich in phosphate of potash.

2. Animal food, in distinction from vegetable; meat; especially, the body of beasts and birds used as food, as distinguished from fish. With roasted flesh, or milk, and wastel bread. Chaucer.

3. The human body, as distinguished from the soul; the corporeal person. As if this flesh, which walls about our life, Were brass impregnable. Shak.

4. The human eace; mankind; humanity. All flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. Gen. vi. 12.

5. Human nature: (a) In a good sense, tenderness of feeling; gentleness. There is no flesh in man's obdurate heart. Cowper.

(b) In a bad sense, tendency to transient or physical pleasure; desire for sensual gratification; carnality. (c) (Theol.) The character under the influence of animal propensities or selfish passions; the soul unmoved by spiritual influences.

6. Kindred; stock; race. He is our brother and our flesh. Gen. xxxvii. 27.

7. The soft, pulpy substance of fruit; also, that part of a root, fruit, and the like, which is fit to be eaten.

Note: Flesh is often used adjectively or self-explaining compounds; as, flesh broth or flesh-broth; flesh brush or fleshbrush; flesh tint or flesh-tint; flesh wound. After the flesh, after the manner of man; in a gross or earthly manner. "Ye judge after the flesh." John viii. 15. — An arm of flesh, human strength or aid. — Flesh and blood. See under Blood. — Flesh broth, broth made by boiling flesh in water. — Flesh fly (Zoöl.), one of several species of flies whose larvæ or maggots feed upon flesh, as the bluebottle fly; — called also meat fly, carrion fly, and blowfly. See Blowly. — Flesh meat, animal food. Swift. — Flesh side, the side of a skin or hide which was next to the flesh; — opposed to grain side. — Flesh tint (Painting), a color used in painting to imitate the hue of the living body. — Flesh worm (Zoöl.), any insect larva of a flesh fly. See Flesh fly (above). — Proud flesh. See under Proud. — To be one flesh, to be closely united as in marriage; to become as one person. Gen. ii. 24.

FLESH Flesh, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Fleshed; p. pr. & vb. n. Fleshing.]

1. To feed with flesh, as an incitement to further exertion; to initiate; — from the practice of training hawks and dogs by feeding them with the first game they take, or other flesh. Hence, to use upon flesh (as a murderous weapon) so as to draw blood, especially for the first time. Full bravely hast thou fleshed Thy maiden sword. Shak. The wild dog Shall flesh his tooth on every innocent. Shak.

2. To glut; to satiate; hence, to harden, to accustom. "Fleshed in triumphs." Glanvill. Old soldiers Fleshed in the spoils of Germany and France. Beau. & Fl.

3. (Leather Manufacture)

Defn: To remove flesh, membrance, etc., from, as from hides.

FLESHED Fleshed, a.

1. Corpulent; fat; having flesh.

2. Glutted; satiated; initiated. Fleshed with slaughter. Dryden.

FLESHER Flesh"er, n.

1. A butcher. A flesher on a block had laid his whittle down. Macaulay.

2. A two-handled, convex, blunt-edged knife, for scraping hides; a fleshing knife.

FLESHHOOD Flesh"hood, n.

Defn: The state or condition of having a form of flesh; incarnation. [R.] Thou, who hast thyself Endured this fleshhood. Mrs. Browning.

FLESHINESS Flesh"i*ness, n.

Defn: The state of being fleshy; plumpness; corpulence; grossness. Milton.

FLESHINGS Flesh"ings, n. pl.

Defn: Flesh-colored tights, worn by actors dancers. D. Jerrold.

FLESHLESS Flesh"less, a.

Defn: Destitute of flesh; lean. Carlyle.

FLESHLINESS Flesh"li*ness, n.

Defn: The state of being fleshly; carnal passions and appetites. Spenser.

FLESHLING Flesh"ling, n.

Defn: A person devoted to fleshly things. [Obs.] Spenser.

FLESHLY Flesh"ly, a. Etym: [AS.

1. Of or pertaining to the flesh; corporeal. "Fleshly bondage." Denham.

2. Animal; not Dryden.

3. Human; not celestial; not spiritual or divine. "Fleshly wisdom." 2 Cor. i. 12. Much ostentation vain of fleshly arm And fragile arms. Milton.

4. Carnal; wordly; lascivious. Abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul. 1 Pet. ii. 11.

FLESHLY Flesh"ly, adv.

Defn: In a fleshly manner; carnally; lasciviously. [Obs.] Chaucer.

FLESHMENT Flesh"ment, n.

Defn: The act of fleshing, or the excitement attending a successful beginning. [R.] Shak.

FLESHMONGER Flesh"mon`ger, n. Etym: [AS. .]

Defn: One who deals in flesh; hence, a pimp; a procurer; a pander. [R.] Shak.

FLESHPOT Flesh"pot`, n.

Defn: A pot or vessel in which flesh is cooked; hence (pl.),

Defn: plenty; high living. In the land of Egypt . . . we sat by the fleshpots, and . . . did eat bread to the full. Ex. xvi. 3.

FLESHQUAKE Flesh"quake`, n.

Defn: A quaking or trembling of the flesh; a quiver. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

FLESHY Flesh"y, a. [Compar. Fleshier; superl. Fleshiest.]

1. Full of, or composed of, flesh; plump; corpulent; fat; gross. The sole of his foot is fleshy. Ray.

2. Human. [Obs.] "Fleshy tabernacle." Milton.

3. (Bot.)

Defn: Composed of firm pulp; succulent; as, the houseleek, cactus, and agave are fleshy plants.

FLET Flet, p. p. of Fleet.

Defn: Skimmed. [Obs.]

FLETCH Fletch, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Fletched; p. pr. & vb. n. Fletching.] Etym: [F. flèche arrow.]

Defn: To feather, as an arrow. Bp. Warburton. [Congress] fletched their complaint, by adding: "America loved his brother." Bancroft.

FLETCHER Fletch"er, n. Etym: [OF. flechier.]

Defn: One who fletches of feathers arrows; a manufacturer of bows and arrows. [Obs.] Mortimer.

FLETE Flete, v. i. Etym: [See Fleet, v. i.]

Defn: To float; to swim. [Obs.] "Whether I sink or flete." Chaucer.

FLETIFEROUS Fle*tif"er*ous, a. Etym: [L. fletifer; fletus a weeping (from flere, fletum, to weep) + ferre to bear.]

Defn: Producing tears. [Obs.] Blount.

FLEUR-DE-LIS Fleur`-de-lis`, n.; pl. Fleurs-de-lis. Etym: [F., flower of the lily. Cf. Flower-de-luce, Lily.]

1. (Bot.)

Defn: The iris. See Flower-de-luce.

2. A conventional flower suggested by the iris, and having a form which fits it for the terminal decoration of a scepter, the ornaments of a crown, etc. It is also a heraldic bearing, and is identified with the royal arms and adornments of France.

FLEURON Fleu`ron", n. [F., fr. OF. floron. Cf. Floroon.]

Defn: A flower-shaped ornament, esp. one terminating an object or forming one of a series, as a knob of a cover to a dish, or a flower- shaped part in a necklace.

FLEURY Fleur"y, a. Etym: [F. fleuri covered with flowers, p.p. of fleurir. See Flourish.] (Her.)

Defn: Finished at the ends with fleurs-de-lis; — said esp. a cross so decorated.

FLEW Flew,

Defn: imp. of Fly.

FLEWED Flewed, a.

Defn: Having large flews. Shak.

FLEWS Flews, n. pl.

Defn: The pendulous or overhanging lateral parts of the upper lip of dogs, especially prominent in hounds; — called also chaps. See Illust. of Bloodhound.

FLEX Flex, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Flexed; p. pr. & vb. n. Flexing.] Etym: [L. flexus, p.p. of flectere to bend, perh. flectere and akin to falx sickle, E. falchion. Cf. Flinch.]

Defn: To bend; as, to flex the arm.

FLEX Flex, n.

Defn: Flax. [Obs.] Chaucer.

FLEXANIMOUS Flex*an"i*mous, a. Etym: [L. flexanimus; flectere, flexum, to bend + animus mind.]

Defn: Having power to change the mind. [Obs.] Howell.

FLEXIBILITY Flex`i*bil"i*ty, n. Etym: [L. flexibilitas: cf. F. flexibilite.]

Defn: The state or quality of being flexible; flexibleness; pliancy; pliability; as, the flexibility of strips of hemlock, hickory, whalebone or metal, or of rays of light. Sir I. Newton. All the flexibility of a veteran courtier. Macaulay.

FLEXIBLE Flex"i*ble, a. Etym: [L. flexibilis: cf. F. flexible.]

1. Capable of being flexed or bent; admitting of being turned, bowed, or twisted, without breaking; pliable; yielding to pressure; not stiff or brittle. When the splitting wind Makes flexible the knees of knotted oaks. Shak.

2. Willing or ready to yield to the influence of others; not invincibly rigid or obstinate; tractable; manageable; ductile; easy and compliant; wavering. Phocion was a man of great severity, and no ways flexible to the will of the people. Bacon. Women are soft, mild, pitiful, and flexible. Shak.

3. Capable or being adapted or molded; plastic,; as, a flexible language. This was a principle more flexible to their purpose. Rogers.

Syn. — Pliant; pliable; supple; tractable; manageable; ductile; obsequious; inconstant; wavering. — Flex"i*ble*ness, n. — Flex"i*bly, adv.

FLEXICOSTATE Flex`i*cos"tate, a. Etym: [L. flexus bent + E. costate.] (Anat.)

Defn: Having bent or curved ribs.

FLEXILE Flex"ile, a. Etym: [L. flexilis.]

Defn: Flexible; pliant; pliable; easily bent; plastic; tractable. Wordsworth.

FLEXION Flex"ion, n. Etym: [L. flexio: cf. F. flexion.]

1. The act of flexing or bending; a turning.

2. A bending; a part bent; a fold. Bacon.

3. (Gram.)

Defn: Syntactical change of form of words, as by declension or conjugation; inflection. Express the syntactical relations by flexion. Sir W. Hamilton.

4. (Physiol.)

Defn: The bending of a limb or joint; that motion of a joint which gives the distal member a continually decreasing angle with the axis of the proximal part; — distinguished from extension.

FLEXOR Flex"or, n. Etym: [NL.] (Anat.)

Defn: A muscle which bends or flexes any part; as, the flexors of the arm or the hand; — opposed to extensor.

FLEXUOSE Flex"u*ose`, a.

Defn: Flexuous.

FLEXUOUS Flex"u*ous, a. Etym: [L. flexuosus, fr. flexus a bending, turning.]

1. Having turns, windings, or flexures.

2. (Bot.)

Defn: Having alternate curvatures in opposite directions; bent in a zigzag manner.

3. Wavering; not steady; flickering. Bacon.

FLEXURAL Flex"u*ral, a. Etym: [From Flexure.]

Defn: Of, pertaining to, or resulting from, flexure; of the nature of, or characterized by, flexure; as, flexural elasticity.

FLEXURE Flex"ure, n. Etym: [L. flexura.]

1. The act of flexing or bending; a turning or curving; flexion; hence, obsequious bowing or bending. Will it give place to flexure and low bending Shak.

2. A turn; a bend; a fold; a curve. Varying with the flexures of the valley through which it meandered. British Quart. Rev.

3. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The last joint, or bend, of the wing of a bird.

4. (Astron.)

Defn: The small distortion of an astronomical instrument caused by the weight of its parts; the amount to be added or substracted from the observed readings of the instrument to correct them for this distortion. The flexure of a curve (Math.), the bending of a curve towards or from a straight line.

FLIBBERGIB Flib"ber*gib, n.

Defn: A sycophant. [Obs. & Humorous.] "Flatterers and flibbergibs." Latimer.

FLIBBERTIGIBBET Flib"ber*ti*gib`bet, n.

Defn: An imp. Shak.

FLIBUSTIER Fli`bus`tier", n. Etym: [F.]

Defn: A buccaneer; an American pirate. See Flibuster. [Obs.]

FLICK Flick, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Flicked; p. pr. & vb. n. Flicking.] Etym: [Cf. Flicker.]

Defn: To whip lightly or with a quick jerk; to flap; as, to flick a horse; to flick the dirt from boots. Thackeray.

FLICK Flick, n.

Defn: A flitch; as, a flick of bacon.

FLICKER Flick"er, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Flickered; p. pr. & vb. n. Flickering.] Etym: [OE. flikeren, flekeren, to flutter, AS. flicerian, flicorian, cf. D. flikkeren to sparkle. Flacker.]

1. To flutter; to flap the wings without flying. And flickering on her nest made short essays to sing. Dryden.

2. To waver unsteadily, like a flame in a current of air, or when about to expire; as, the flickering light. The shadows flicker to fro. Tennyson.

FLICKER Flick"er, n.

1. The act of wavering or of fluttering; flucuation; sudden and brief increase of brightness; as, the last flicker of the dying flame.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The golden-winged woodpecker (Colaptes aurutus); — so called from its spring note. Called also yellow-hammer, high-holder, pigeon woodpecker, and yucca. The cackle of the flicker among the oaks. Thoureau.

FLICKERINGLY Flick"ering*ly, adv.

Defn: In a flickering manner.

FLICKERMOUSE Flick"er*mouse`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: See Flittermouse.

FLIDGE Flidge, a.

Defn: Fledged; fledge. [Obs.] Holland.

FLIDGE Flidge, v. i.

Defn: To become fledged; to fledge. [Obs.] Every day build their nests, every hour flidge. R. Greene.

FLIER Fli"er, n. Etym: [Form Fly, v.; cf. Flyer]

1. One who flies or flees; a runaway; a fugitive. Shak.

2. (Mach.)

Defn: A fly. See Fly, n., 9, and 13 (b).

3. (Spinning)

Defn: See Flyer, n., 5.

4. (Arch.)

Defn: See Flyer, n., 4.

FLIGHT Flight, n. Etym: [AS. fliht, flyht, a flying, fr. fleógan to fly; cf. flyht a fleeing, fr. fleón to flee, G. flucht a fleeing, Sw. flykt, G. flug a flying, Sw. flygt, D. vlugt a fleeing or flying, Dan. flugt. sq. root84. See Flee, Fly.]

1. The act or flying; a passing through the air by the help of wings; volitation; mode or style of flying. Like the night owl's lazy flight. Shak.

2. The act of fleeing; the act of running away, to escape or expected evil; hasty departure. Pray ye that your flight be not in the winter. Matt. xxiv. 20. Fain by flight to save themselves. Shak.

3. Lofty elevation and excursion;a mounting; a soaas, a flight of imagination, ambition, folly. Could he have kept his spirit to that flight, He had been happy. Byron. His highest flights were indeed far below those of Taylor. Macaulay.

4. A number of beings or things passing through the air together; especially, a flock of birds flying in company; the birds that fly or migrate together; the birds produced in one season; as, a flight of arrows. Swift. Swift flights of angels ministrant. Milton. Like a flight of fowl Scattered winds and tempestuous gusts. Shak.

5. A series of steps or stairs from one landing to another. Parker.

6. A kind of arrow for the longbow; also, the sport of shooting with it. See Shaft. [Obs.] Challenged Cupid at the flight. Shak. Not a flight drawn home E'er made that haste that they have. Beau. & Fl.

7. The husk or glume of oats. [Prov. Eng.] Wright. to take a flight{9}. Flight feathers (Zoöl.), the wing feathers of a bird, including the quills, coverts, and bastard wing. See Bird. — To put to flight, To turn to flight, to compel to run away; to force to flee; to rout.

Syn. — Pair; set. See Pair.

FLIGHTED Flight"ed, a.

1. Taking flight; flying; — used in composition. "Drowsy-flighted steeds." Milton.

2. (Her.)

Defn: Feathered; — said of arrows.

FLIGHTER Flight"er, n. (Brewing)

Defn: A horizontal vane revolving over the surface of wort in a cooler, to produce a circular current in the liquor. Knight.

FLIGHTILY Flight"i*ly, adv.

Defn: In a flighty manner.

FLIGHTINESS Flight"i*ness, n.

Defn: The state or quality of being flighty. The flightness of her temper. Hawthorne.

Syn. — Levity; giddiness; volatility; lightness; wildness; eccentricity. See Levity.

FLIGHT-SHOT Flight"-shot`, n.

Defn: The distance to which an arrow or flight may be shot; bowshot, — about the fifth of a mile. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.] Within a flight-shot it inthe valley. Evelyn. Half a flight-shot from the king's oak. Sir W. Scott.

FLIGHTY Flight"y, a.

1. Fleeting; swift; transient. The flighty purpose never is o'ertook, Unless the deed go with it. Shak.

2. Indulging in flights, or wild and unrestrained sallies, of imagination, humor, caprice, etc.; given to disorder Proofs of my flighty and paradoxical turn of mind. Coleridge. A harsh disciplinarian and a flighty enthusiast. J. S. Har

FLIMFLAM Flim"flam, n. Etym: [Cf. Flam.]

Defn: A freak; a trick; a lie. Beau. & Fl.

FLIMSILY Flim"si*ly, adv.

Defn: In a flimsy manner.

FLIMSINESS Flim"si*ness, n.

Defn: The state or quality of being flimsy.

FLIMSY Flim"sy, a. [Compar. Flimsier; superl. Flimsiest.] Etym: [Cf. W. llumsi naked, bare, empty, slouggish, spiritless. Cf. Limsy.]

Defn: Weak; feeble; limp; slight; vain; without strength or solidity; of loose and unsubstantial structure; without reason or plausibility; as, a flimsy argument, excuse, objection. Proud of a vast extent of flimsy lines. Pope. All the flimsy furniture of a country miss's brain. Sheridan.

Syn. — Weak; feeble; superficial; shallow; vain.

FLIMSY Flim"sy, n.

1. Thin or transfer paper.

2. A bank note. [Slang, Eng.]

FLINCH Flinch, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Flinched; p. pr. & vb. n. Flinching.] Etym: [Prob. fr. OE. flecchen to waver, give way, F. fléchir, fr. L. flectere to bend; but prob. influenced by E. blench. Cf. Flex.]

1. To withdraw from any suffering or undertaking, from pain or danger; to fail in doing or perserving; to show signs of yielding or of suffering; to shrink; to wince; as, one of the parties flinched from the combat. A child, by a constant course of kindness, may be accustomed to bear very rough usage without flinching or complaining. Locke.

2. (Croquet)

Defn: To let the foot slip from a ball, when attempting to give a tight croquet.

FLINCH Flinch, n.

Defn: The act of flinching.

FLINCHER Flinch"er, n.

Defn: One who flinches or fails.

FLINCHINGLY Flinch"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: In a flinching manner.

FLINDERMOUSE Flin"der*mouse`, n.Etym: [OE. vlindre moth (cf. D. vlinder butterfly) + E. mouse. Cf. Flittermouse, Flinders.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A bat; a flittermouse.

FLINDERS Flin"ders, n. pl. Etym: [Scot. flenders, flendris; perh. akin to E. flutter; cf. D. flenters rags, broken pieces.]

Defn: Small pieces or splinters; fragments. The tough ash spear, so stout and true, Into a thousand flinders flew. Sir W. Scott.

FLING Fling, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Flung; p. pr. & vb. n. Flinging.] Etym: [OE. flingen, flengen, to rush, hurl; cf. Icel. flengia to whip, ride furiously, OSw. flenga to strike, Sw. flänga to romp, Dan. flenge to slash.]

1. To cast, send, to throw from the hand; to hurl; to dart; to emit with violence as if thrown from the hand; as, to fing a stone into the pond. 'T is Fate that flings the dice: and, as she flings, Of kings makes peasants, and of peasants kings. Dryden. He . . . like Jove, his lighting flung. Dryden. I know thy generous temper well. Fling but the appearance of dishonor on it, It straight takes fire. Addison.

2. To shed forth; to emit; to scatter. The sun begins to fling His flaring beams. Milton. Every beam new transient colors flings. Pope.

3. To throw; to hurl; to throw off or down; to prostrate; hence, to baffle; to defeat; as, to fling a party in litigation. His horse started, flung him, and fell upon him. Walpole.

To fling about, to throw on all sides; to scatter. — To fling away, to reject; to discard. Cromwell, I charge thee, fling away ambition. Shak. —To fling down. (a) To throw to the ground; esp., to throw in defiance, as formerly knights cast a glove into the arena as a challenge. This question so flung down before the guests, . . . Was handed over by consent of all To me who had not spoken. Tennyson. (b) To overturn; to demolish; to ruin. — To fling in, to throw in; not to charge in an account; as, in settling accounts, one party flings in a small sum, or a few days' work. — To fling off, to baffle in the chase; to defeat of prey; also, to get rid of. Addison. — To fling open, to throw open; to open suddenly or with violence; as, to fling open a door. — To fling out, to utter; to speak in an abrupt or harsh manner; as, to fling out hard words against another. — To fling up, to relinquish; to abandon; as, to fling up a design.

FLING Fling, v. i.

1. To throw; to wince; to flounce; as, the horse began to kick and fling.

2. To cast in the teeth; to utter abusive language; to sneer; as, the scold began to flout and fling.

3. To throw one's self in a violent or hasty manner; to rush or spring with violence or haste. And crop-full, out of doors he flings. Milton. I flung closer to his breast, As sword that, after battle, flings to sheath. Mrs. Browning. To fling out, to become ugly and intractable; to utter sneers and insinuations.

FLING Fling, n.

1. A cast from the hand; a throw; also, a flounce; a kick; as, the fling of a horse.

2. A severe or contemptuous remark; an expression of sarcastic scorn; a gibe; a sarcasm. I, who love to have a fling, Both at senate house and king. Swift.

3. A kind of dance; as, the Highland fling.

4. A trifing matter; an object of contempt. [Obs.] England were but a fling Save for the crooked stick and the gray goose wing. Old Proverb. To have one's fling, to enjoy one's self to the full; to have a season of dissipation. J. H. Newman. "When I was as young as you, I had my fling. I led a life of pleasure." D. Jerrold.

FLINGDUST Fling"dust`, n.

Defn: One who kicks up the dust; a streetwalker; a low manner. [Obs.] Beau. & Fl.

FLINGER Fling"er, n.

Defn: One who flings; one who jeers.

FLINT Flint, n. Etym: [AS. flint, akin to Sw. flinta, Dan. flint; cf. OHG. flins flint, G. flinte gun (cf. E. flintlock), perh. akin to Gr. Plinth.]

1. (Min.)

Defn: A massive, somewhat impure variety of quartz, in color usually of a gray to brown or nearly black, breaking with a conchoidal fracture and sharp edge. It is very hard, and strikes fire with steel.

2. A piece of flint for striking fire; — formerly much used, esp. in the hammers of gun locks.

3. Anything extremely hard, unimpressible, and unyielding, like flint. "A heart of flint." Spenser. Flint age. (Geol.) Same as Stone age, under Stone. — Flint brick, a fire made principially of powdered silex. — Flint glass. See in the Vocabulary. — Flint implements (Archæol.), tools, etc., employed by men before the use of metals, such as axes, arrows, spears, knives, wedges, etc., which were commonly made of flint, but also of granite, jade, jasper, and other hard stones. — Flint mill. (a) (Pottery) A mill in which flints are ground. (b) (Mining) An obsolete appliance for lighting the miner at his work, in which flints on a revolving wheel were made to produce a shower of sparks, which gave light, but did not inflame the fire damp. Knight. — Flint stone, a hard, siliceous stone; a flint. — Flint wall, a kind of wall, common in England, on the face of which are exposed the black surfaces of broken flints set in the mortar, with quions of masonry. — Liquor of flints, a solution of silica, or flints, in potash. — To skin a flint, to be capable of, or guilty of, any expedient or any meanness for making money. [Colloq.]

FLINT GLASS Flint" glass`. (Chem.)

Defn: A soft, heavy, brilliant glass, consisting essentially of a silicate of lead and potassium. It is used for tableware, and for optical instruments, as prisms, its density giving a high degree of dispersive power; — so called, because formerly the silica was obtained from pulverized flints. Called also crystal glass. Cf. Glass.

Note: The concave or diverging half on an achromatic lens is usually made of flint glass.

FLINT-HEARTED Flint"-heart`ed, a.

Defn: Hard-hearted. Shak.

FLINTINESS Flint"i*ness, n.

Defn: The state or quality of being flinty; hardness; cruelty. Beau. & Fl.

FLINTLOCK Flint"lock`, n.

1. A lock for a gun or pistol, having a flint fixed in the hammer, which on stricking the steel ignites the priming.

2. A hand firearm fitted with a flintlock; esp., the old-fashioned musket of European and other armies.

FLINTWARE Flint"ware`, n.

Defn: A superior kind of earthenware into whose composition flint enters largely. Knight.

FLINTWOOD Flint"wood`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: An Australian name for the very hard wood of the Eucalyptus piluralis.

FLINTY Flint"y, a. [Compar. Flintier; superl. Flintiest.]

Defn: Consisting of, composed of, abounding in, or resembling, flint; as, a flinty rock; flinty ground; a flinty heart. Flinty rockFlinty state, a siliceous slate; — basanite is here included. See Basanite.

FLIP Flip, n. Etym: [Cf. Prov. E. flip nimble, flippant, also, a slight blow. Cf. Flippant.]

Defn: A mixture of beer, spirit, etc., stirred and heated by a hot iron. Flip dog, an iron used, when heated, to warm flip.

FLIP Flip, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Flipped; p. pr. & vb. n. Flipping.]

Defn: To toss or fillip; as, to flip up a cent. As when your little ones Do 'twixt their fingers flip their cherry stones. W. Browne.

FLIPE Flipe, v. t.

Defn: To turn inside out, or with the leg part back over the foot, as a stocking in pulling off or for putting on. [Scot.]

FLIP-FLAP Flip"-flap`, n. Etym: [See Flip, and Flap.]

Defn: The repeated stroke of something long and loose. Johnson.

FLIP-FLAP Flip"-flap`, adv.

Defn: With repeated strokes and noise, as of something long and loose. Ash.

FLIPPANCY Flip"pan*cy, n.Etym: [See Flippant.]

Defn: The state or quality of being flippant. This flippancy of language. Bp. Hurd.

FLIPPANT Flip"pant, a. Etym: [Prov. E. flip to move nimbly; cf. W. llipa soft, limber, pliant, or Icel. fleipa to babble, prattle. Cf. Flip, Fillip, Flap, Flipper.]

1. Of smooth, fluent, and rapid speech; speaking with ease and rapidity; having a voluble tongue; talkative. It becometh good men, in such cases, to be flippant and free in their speech. Barrow.

2. Speaking fluently and confidently, without knowledge or consideration; empty; trifling; inconsederate; pert; petulant. "Flippant epilogous." Thomson. To put flippant scorn to the blush. I. Taylor. A sort of flippant, vain discourse. Burke.

FLIPPANT Flip"pant, n.

Defn: A flippant person. [R.] Tennyson.

FLIPPANTLY Flip"pant*ly, adv.

Defn: In a flippant manner.

FLIPPANTNESS Flip"pant*ness, n.

Defn: State or quality of being flippant.

FLIPPER Flip"per, n. Etym: [Cf. Flip, Flippant.]

1. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A broad flat limb used for swimming, as those of seals, sea turtles, whales, etc.

2. (Naut.)

Defn: The hand. [Slang]

FLIRT Flirt, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Flirted; p. pr. & vb. n. Flirting.] Etym: [Cf. AS. fleard trifle, folly, fleardian to trifle.]

1. To throw with a jerk or quick effort; to fling suddenly; as, they flirt water in each other's faces; he flirted a glove, or a handkerchief.

2. To toss or throw about; to move playfully to and fro; as, to flirt a fan.

3. To jeer at; to treat with contempt; to mock. [Obs.] I am ashamed; I am scorned; I am flirted. Beau. & Fl.

FLIRT Flirt, v. i.

1. To run and dart about; to act with giddiness, or from a desire to attract notice; especially, to play the coquette; to play at courtship; to coquet; as, they flirt with the young men.

2. To utter contemptious language, with an air of disdain; to jeer or gibe. [Obs.] Beau. & Fl.

FLIRT Flirt, n.

1. A sudden jerk; a quick throw or cast; a darting motion; hence, a jeer. Several little flirts and vibrations. Addison. With many a flirt and flutter. E. A. Poe.

2. Etym: [Cf. LG. flirtje, G. flirtchen. See Flirt, v. t.]

Defn: One who flirts; esp., a woman who acts with giddiness, or plays at courtship; a coquette; a pert girl. Several young flirts about town had a design to cast us out of the fashionable world. Addison.

FLIRT Flirt, a.

Defn: Pert; wanton. [Obs.]

FLIRTATION Flir*ta"tion, n.

1. Playing at courtship; coquerty. The flirtations and jealousies of our ball rooms. Macaulay.

FLIRT-GILL Flirt"-gill`, n.

Defn: A woman of light behavior; a gill-flirt. [Obs.] Shak. You heard him take me up like a flirt-gill. Beau. & Fl.

FLIRTIGIG Flirt"i*gig, n.

Defn: A wanton, pert girl. [Obs.]

FLIRTINGLY Flirt"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: In a flirting manner.

FLISK Flisk, v. i.

Defn: To frisk; to skip; to caper. [Obs. Scot.] "The flisking flies." Gosson.

FLISK Flisk, n.

Defn: A caper; a spring; a whim. [Scot.]

FLIT Flit, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Flitted; p. pr. & vb. n. Flitting.] Etym: [OE. flitten, flutten, to carry away; cf. Icel. flytja, Sw. flytta, Dan. flytte. Fleet, v. i.]

1. To move with celerity through the air; to fly away with a rapid motion; to dart along; to fleet; as, a bird flits away; a cloud flits along. A shadow flits before me. Tennyson.

2. To flutter; to rove on the wing. Dryden.

3. To pass rapidly, as a light substance, from one place to another; to remove; to migrate. It became a received opinion, that the souls of men, departing this life, did flit out of one body into some other. Hooker.

4. To remove from one place or habitation to another. [Scot. & Prov. Eng.] Wright. Jamieson.

5. To be unstable; to be easily or often moved. And the free soul to flitting air resigned. Dryden.

FLIT Flit, a.

Defn: Nimble; quick; swift. [Obs.] See Fleet.

FLITCH Flitch, n.; pl. Flitches. Etym: [OE. flicche, flikke, AS. flicce, akin to Icel. flikki; cf. Icel. flik flap, tatter; perh. akin to E. fleck. Cf. Flick, n.]

1. The side of a hog salted and cured; a side of bacon. Swift.

2. One of several planks, smaller timbers, or iron plates, which are secured together, side by side, to make a large girder or built beam.

3. The outside piece of a sawed log; a slab. [Eng.]

FLITE Flite, v. i. Etym: [AS. flitan to strive, contend, quarrel; akin to G. fleiss industry.]

Defn: To scold; to quarrel. [Prov. Eng.] Grose.

FLITE; FLYTE Flite, Flyte, n. [AS. flit. See Flite.]

Defn: Strife; dispute; abusive or upbraiding talk, as in fliting; wrangling. [Obs. or Scot. & Prov. Eng.]

The bird of Pallas has also a good "flyte" on the moral side . . . in his suggestion that the principal effect of the nightingale's song is to make women false to their husbands. Saintsbury.

FLITTER Flit"ter, v. i.

Defn: To flutter. [Obs.] Chaucer.

FLITTER Flit"ter, v. t.

Defn: To flutter; to move quickly; as, to flitter the cards. [R.] Lowell.

FLITTER Flit"ter, n. Etym: [Cf. G. flitter spangle, tinsel, flittern to make a tremulous motion, to glitter. Cf. Flitter, v. i.]

Defn: A rag; a tatter; a small piece or fragment.

FLITTERMOUSE Flit"ter*mouse`, n. Etym: [Flitter, v.i. + mouse; cf. G. fledermaus, OHG. fledarm. Cf. Flickermouse, Flindermouse.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A bat; — called also flickermouse, flindermouse, and flintymouse.

FLITTERN Flit"tern, a.

Defn: A term applied to the bark obtained from young oak trees. McElrath.

FLITTINESS Flit"ti*ness, n. Etym: [From Flitty.]

Defn: Unsteadiness; levity; lightness. [Obs.] Bp. Hopkins.

FLITTING Flit"ting, n.

1. A flying with lightness and celerity; a fluttering.

2. A removal from one habitation to another. [Scot. & Prov. Eng.] A neighbor had lent his cart for the flitting, and it was now standing loaded at the door, ready to move away. Jeffrey.

FLITTING; FLYTTING Flitt"ing, Flytt"ing, n.

Defn: Contention; strife; scolding; specif., a kind of metrical contest between two persons, popular in Scotland in the 16th century. [Obs. or Scot.]

These "flytings" consisted of alternate torrents of sheer Billingsgate poured upon each other by the combatants. Saintsbury.

FLITTINGLY Flit"ting*ly, adv.

Defn: In a flitting manner.

FLITTY Flit"ty, a. Etym: [From Flit.]

Defn: Unstable; fluttering. [Obs.] Dr. H. More.

FLIX Flix, n. Etym: [Cf. Flax.]

Defn: Down; fur. [Obs. or Eng.] J. Dyer.

FLIX Flix, n.

Defn: The flux; dysentery. [Obs.] Udall. Flix weed (Bot.), the Sisymbrium Sophia, a kind of hedge mustard, formerly used as a remedy for dysentery.

FLO Flo, n.; pl. Flon. Etym: [AS. fla, flan.]

Defn: An arrow. [Obs.] Chaucer.

FLOAT Float, n.Etym: [OE. flote ship, boat, fleet, AS. flota ship, fr. fleótan to float; akin to D. vloot fleet, G. floss raft, Icel. floti float, raft, fleet, Sw. flotta. sq. root 84. See Fleet, v. i., and cf. Flotilla, Flotsam, Plover.]

1. Anything which floats or rests on the surface of a fluid, as to sustain weight, or to indicate the height of the surface, or mark the place of, something. Specifically: (a) A mass of timber or boards fastened together, and conveyed down a stream by the current; a raft. (b) The hollow, metallic ball of a self-acting faucet, which floats upon the water in a cistern or boiler. (c) The cork or quill used in angling, to support the bait line, and indicate the bite of a fish. (d) Anything used to buoy up whatever is liable to sink; an inflated bag or pillow used by persons learning to swim; a life preserver. This reform bill . . . had been used as a float by the conservative ministry. J. P. Peters.

2. A float board. See Float board (below).

3. (Tempering)

Defn: A contrivance for affording a copious stream of water to the heated surface of an object of large bulk, as an anvil or die. Knight.

4. The act of flowing; flux; flow. [Obs.] Bacon.

5. A quantity of earth, eighteen feet square and one foot deep. [Obs.] Mortimer.

6. (Plastering)

Defn: The trowel or tool with which the floated coat of plastering is leveled and smoothed.

7. A polishing block used in marble working; a runner. Knight.

8. A single-cut file for smoothing; a tool used by shoemakers for rasping off pegs inside a shoe.

9. A coal cart. [Eng.] Simmonds.

10. The sea; a wave. See Flote, n. Float board, one of the boards fixed radially to the rim of an undershot water wheel or of a steamer's paddle wheel; — a vane. — Float case (Naut.), a caisson used for lifting a ship. — Float copper or gold (Mining), fine particles of metallic copper or of gold suspended in water, and thus liable to be lost. — Float ore, water-worn particles of ore; fragments of vein material found on the surface, away from the vein outcrop. Raymond. — Float stone (Arch.), a siliceous stone used to rub stonework or brickwork to a smooth surface. — Float valve, a valve or cock acted upon by a float. See Float, 1 (b).

FLOAT Float, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Floated; p. pr. & vb. n. Floating.] Etym: [OE. flotien, flotten, AS. flotian to float, swim, fr. fleótan. See Float, n.]

1. To rest on the surface of any fluid; to swim; to be buoyed up. The ark no more now floats, but seems on ground. Milton. Three blustering nights, borne by the southern blast, I floated. Dryden.

2. To move quietly or gently on the water, as a raft; to drift along; to move or glide without effort or impulse on the surface of a fluid, or through the air. They stretch their broad plumes and float upon the wind. Pope. There seems a floating whisper on the hills. Byron.

FLOAT Float, v. t.

1. To cause to float; to cause to rest or move on the surface of a fluid; as, the tide floated the ship into the harbor. Had floated that bell on the Inchcape rock. Southey.

2. To flood; to overflow; to cover with water. Proud Pactolus floats the fruitful lands. Dryden.

3. (Plastering)

Defn: To pass over and level the surface of with a float while the plastering is kept wet.

4. To support and sustain the credit of, as a commercial scheme or a joint-stock company, so as to enable

FLOATABLE Float"a*ble, a.

Defn: That may be floated.

FLOATAGE Float"age (; 48), n.

Defn: Same as Flotage.

FLOATATION Float*a"tion, n.

Defn: See Flotation.

FLOATER Float"er, n.

1. One who floats or swims.

2. A float for indicating the height of a liquid surface.

FLOATING Float"ing, a.

1. Buoyed upon or in a fluid; a, the floating timbers of a wreck; floating motes in the air.

2. Free or lose from the usual attachment; as, the floating ribs in man and some other animals.

3. Not funded; not fixed, invested, or determined; as, floating capital; a floating debt. Trade was at an end. Floating capital had been withdrawn in great masses from the island. Macaulay. Floating anchor (Naut.), a drag or sea anchor; drag sail. — Floating battery (Mil.), a battery erected on rafts or the hulls of ships, chiefly for the defense of a coast or the bombardment of a place. — Floating bridge. (a) A bridge consisting of rafts or timber, with a floor of plank, supported wholly by the water; a bateau bridge. See Bateau. (b) (Mil.) A kind of double bridge, the upper one projecting beyond the lower one, and capable of being moved forward by pulleys; — used for carrying troops over narrow moats in attacking the outworks of a fort. (c) A kind of ferryboat which is guided and impelled by means of chains which are anchored on each side of a stream, and pass over wheels on the vessel, the wheels being driven by stream power. (d) The landing platform of a ferry dock. — Floating cartilage (Med.), a cartilage which moves freely in the cavity of a joint, and often interferes with the functions of the latter. — Floating dam. (a) An anchored dam. (b) A caisson used as a gate for a dry dock. — Floating derrick, a derrick on a float for river and harbor use, in raising vessels, moving stone for harbor improvements, etc. — Floating dock. (Naut.) See under Dock. — Floating harbor, a breakwater of cages or booms, anchored and fastened together, and used as a protection to ships riding at anchor to leeward. Knight. — Floating heart (Bot.), a small aquatic plant (Limnanthemum lacunosum) whose heart-shaped leaves float on the water of American ponds. — Floating island, a dish for dessert, consisting of custard with floating masses of whipped cream or white of eggs. — Floating kidney. (Med.) See Wandering kidney, under Wandering. — Floating light, a light shown at the masthead of a vessel moored over sunken rocks, shoals, etc., to warn mariners of danger; a light- ship; also, a light erected on a buoy or floating stage. — Floating liver. (Med.) See Wandering liver, under Wandering. — Floating pier, a landing stage or pier which rises and falls with the tide. — Floating ribs (Anat.), the lower or posterior ribs which are not connected with the others in front; in man they are the last two pairs. — Floating screed (Plastering), a strip of plastering first laid on, to serve as a guide for the thickness of the coat. — Floating threads (Weaving), threads which span several other threads without being interwoven with them, in a woven fabric.

FLOATING Float"ing, n.

1. (Weaving)

Defn: Floating threads. See Floating threads, above.

2. The second coat of three-coat plastering. Knight.

FLOATING CHARGE; FLOATING LIEN Floating charge, lien, etc. (Law)

Defn: A charge, lien, etc., that successively attaches to such assets as a person may have from time to time, leaving him more or less free to dispose of or encumber them as if no such charge or lien existed.

FLOATINGLY Float"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: In a floating manner.

FLOATY Float"y, a.

Defn: Swimming on the surface; buoyant; light. Sir W. Raleigh.

FLOBERT Flo"bert, n. (Gun.)

Defn: A small cartridge designed for target shooting; — sometimes called ball cap. Flobert rifle, a rifle adapted to the use of floberts.

FLOCCILLATION Floc`cil*la"tion, n. Etym: [L. floccus a flock of wool. Cf. Flock of wool.] (Med.)

Defn: A delirious picking of bedclothes by a sick person, as if to pick off flocks of wool; carphology; — an alarming symptom in acute diseases. Dunglison.

FLOCCOSE Floccose", a. Etym: [L. floccosus. Cf. 2d Flock, n.]

1. Spotted with small tufts like wool. Wright.

2. (Bot.)

Defn: Having tufts of soft hairs, which are often deciduous.

FLOCCULAR Floc"cu*lar, a. (Anat.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to the flocculus.

FLOCCULATE Floc"cu*late, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Flocculated; p. pr. & vb. n. Flocculating.] (Geol.)

Defn: To aggregate into small lumps.

FLOCCULATE Floc"cu*late, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Furnished with tufts of curly hairs, as some insects.

FLOCCULATION Floc`cu*la"tion, n. (Geol.)

Defn: The process by which small particles of fine soils and sediments aggregate into larger lumps.

FLOCCULE Floc"cule, n. [See Flocculus.]

1. A detached mass of loosely fibrous structure like a shredded tuft of wool.

2. (Chem.) Specif.: A small particle of an insoluble substance formed in a liquid by the union of smaller particles.

FLOCCULENCE Floc"cu*lence, n.

Defn: The state of being flocculent.

FLOCCULENT Floc"cu*lent, a. Etym: [See Flock of wool.]

1. Clothed with small flocks or flakes; woolly. Gray.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Applied to the down of newly hatched or unfledged birds.

FLOCCULUS Floc"cu*lus, n.; pl. Flocculi. Etym: [NL., dim. of L. floccus a lock or flock of wool.] (Anat.)

Defn: A small lobe in the under surface of the cerebellum, near the middle peduncle; the subpeduncular lobe.

FLOCCUS Floc"cus, n.; pl. Flocci. Etym: [L., a flock of wool.]

1. (Zoöl.) (a) The tuft of hair terminating the tail of mammals. (b) A tuft of feathers on the head of young birds.

2. (Bot.)

Defn: A woolly filament sometimes occuring with the sporules of certain fungi.

FLOCK Flock, n. Etym: [AS. flocc flock, company; akin to Icel. flokkr crowd, Sw. flock, Dan. flok; prob. orig. used of flows, and akin to E. fly. See Fly.]

1. A company or collection of living creatures; — especially applied to sheep and birds, rarely to persons or (except in the plural) to cattle and other large animals; as, a flock of ravenous fowl. Milton. The heathen . . . came to Nicanor by flocks. 2 Macc. xiv. 14.

2. A Christian church or congregation; considered in their relation to the pastor, or minister in charge. As half amazed, half frighted all his flock. Tennyson.

FLOCK Flock, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Flocked; p. pr. & vb. n. Flocking.]

Defn: To gather in companies or crowds. Friends daily flock. Dryden. Flocking fowl (Zoöl.), the greater scaup duck.

FLOCK Flock, v. t.

Defn: To flock to; to crowd. [Obs.] Good fellows, trooping, flocked me so. Taylor (1609).

FLOCK Flock, n. Etym: [OE. flokke; cf. D. vlok, G. flocke, OHG. floccho, Icel. fl, perh. akin to E. flicker, flacker, or cf. L. floccus, F. floc.]

1. A lock of wool or hair. I prythee, Tom, beat Cut's saddle, put a few flocks in the point [pommel]. Shak.

2. Woolen or cotton refuse (sing. or pl.), old rags, etc., reduced to a degree of fineness by machinery, and used for stuffing unpholstered furniture.

3. Very fine, sifted, woolen refuse, especially that from shearing the nap of cloths, used as a coating for wall paper to give it a velvety or clothlike appearance; also, the dust of vegetable fiber used for a similar purpose. Flock bed, a bed filled with flocks or locks of coarse wool, or pieces of cloth cut up fine. "Once a flock bed, but repaired with straw." Pope. — Flock paper, paper coated with flock fixed with glue or size.

FLOCK Flock, v. t.

Defn: To coat with flock, as wall paper; to roughen the surface of (as glass) so as to give an appearance of being covered with fine flock.

FLOCKLING Flock"ling, n.

Defn: A lamb. [Obs.] Brome (1659).

FLOCKLY Flock"ly, adv.

Defn: In flocks; in crowds. [Obs.]

FLOCKMEL Flock"mel, adv. Etym: [AS. flocm. See Meal part.]

Defn: In a flock; in a body. [Obs.] That flockmel on a day they to him went. Chaucer.

FLOCKY Flock"y, a.

Defn: Abounding with flocks; floccose.

FLOE Floe, n. Etym: [Cf. Dan. flag af iis, iisflage, Sw. flaga, flake, isflaga, isflake. See Flag a flat stone.]

Defn: A low, flat mass of floating ice. Floe rat (Zoöl.), a seal (Phoca foetida).

FLOG Flog, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Flogged; p. pr. & vb. n. Flogging.] Etym: [Cf. Scot. fleg blow, stroke, kick, AS. flocan to strike, or perh. fr. L. flagellare to whip. Cf. Flagellate.]

Defn: To beat or strike with a rod or whip; to whip; to lash; to chastise with repeated blows.

FLOGGER Flog"ger, n.

1. One who flogs.

2. A kind of mallet for beating the bung stave of a cask to start the bung. Knight.

FLOGGING Flog"ging, a. & n.

Defn: from Flog, v. t. Flogging chisel (Mach.), a large cold chisel, used in chipping castings. — Flogging hammer, a small sledge hammer used for striking a flogging chisel.

FLON Flon, n. pl.

Defn: See Flo. [Obs.] Chaucer.

FLONG Flong ( or ), obs.

Defn: imp. & p. p. of Fling.

FLOOD Flood, n. Etym: [OE. flod a flowing, stream, flood, AS. flod; akin to D. vloed, OS. flod, OHG. fluot, G. flut, Icel. floedh, Sw. & Dan. flod, Goth. flodus; from the root of E. flow. sq. root80. See Flow, v. i.]

1. A great flow of water; a body of moving water; the flowing stream, as of a river; especially, a body of water, rising, swelling, and overflowing land not usually thus covered; a deluge; a freshet; an inundation. A covenant never to destroy The earth again by flood. Milton.

2. The flowing in of the tide; the semidiurnal swell or rise of water in the ocean; — opposed to ebb; as, young flood; high flood. There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. Shak.

3. A great flow or stream of any fluid substance; as, a flood of light; a flood of lava; hence, a great quantity widely diffused; an overflowing; a superabundance; as, a flood of bank notes; a flood of paper currency.

4. Menstrual disharge; menses. Harvey. Flood anchor (Naut.) , the anchor by which a ship is held while the tide is rising. — Flood fence, a fence so secured that it will not be swept away by a flood. — Flood gate, a gate for shutting out, admitting, or releasing, a body of water; a tide gate. — Flood mark, the mark or line to which the tide, or a flood, rises; high-water mark. — Flood tide, the rising tide; — opposed to ebb tide. — The Flood, the deluge in the days of Noah.

FLOOD Flood, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Flooded; p. pr. & vb. n. Flooding.]

1. To overflow; to inundate; to deluge; as, the swollen river flooded the valley.

2. To cause or permit to be inundated; to fill or cover with water or other fluid; as, to flood arable land for irrigation; to fill to excess or to its full capacity; as, to flood a country with a depreciated currency.

FLOODAGE Flood"age (; 48), n.

Defn: Inundation. [R.] Carlyle.

FLOODER Flood"er, n.

Defn: One who floods anything.

FLOODING Flood"ing, n.

Defn: The filling or covering with water or other fluid; overflow; inundation; the filling anything to excess.

2. (Med.)

Defn: An abnormal or excessive discharge of blood from the uterus. Dunglison.

FLOOK Flook, n.

Defn: A fluke of an anchor.

FLOOKAN; FLUKAN Flook"an, Flu"kan, n. (Mining)

Defn: See Flucan.

FLOOKY Flook"y, a.

Defn: Fluky.

FLOOR Floor, n. Etym: [AS. fl; akin to D. vloer, G. flur field, floor, entrance hall, Icel. fl floor of a cow stall, cf. Ir. & Gael. lar floor, ground, earth, W. llawr, perh. akin to L. planus level. Cf. Plain smooth.]

1. The bottom or lower part of any room; the part upon which we stand and upon which the movables in the room are supported.

2. The structure formed of beams, girders, etc., with proper covering, which divides a building horizontally into stories. Floor in sense 1 is, then, the upper surface of floor in sense 2.

3. The surface, or the platform, of a structure on which we walk or travel; as, the floor of a bridge.

4. A story of a building. See Story.

5. (Legislative Assemblies) (a) The part of the house assigned to the members. (b) The right to speak. [U.S.]

Note: Instead of he has the floor, the English say, he is in possession of the house.

6. (Naut.)

Defn: That part of the bottom of a vessel on each side of the keelson which is most nearly horizontal.

7. (Mining) (a) The rock underlying a stratified or nearly horizontal deposit. (b) A horizontal, flat ore body. Raymond. Floor cloth, a heavy fabric, painted, varnished, or saturated, with waterproof material, for covering floors; oilcloth. — Floor cramp, an implement for tightening the seams of floor boards before nailing them in position. — Floor light, a frame with glass panes in a floor. — Floor plan. (a) (Shipbuilding) A longitudinal section, showing a ship as divided at the water line. (b) (Arch.) A horizontal section, showing the thickness of the walls and partitions, arrangement of passages, apartments, and openings at the level of any floor of a house.

FLOOR Floor, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Floored; p. pr. & vb. n. Flooring.]

1. To cover with a floor; to furnish with a floor; as, to floor a house with pine boards.

2. To strike down or lay level with the floor; to knock down; hence, to silence by a conclusive answer or retort; as, to floor an opponent. Floored or crushed by him. Coleridge.

3. To finish or make an end of; as, to floor a college examination. [Colloq.] I've floored my little-go work. T. Hughes.

FLOORAGE Floor"age (; 48), n.

Defn: Floor space.

FLOORER Floor"er, n.

Defn: Anything that floors or upsets a person, as a blow that knocks him down; a conclusive answer or retort; a task that exceeds one's abilities. [Colloq.]

FLOORHEADS Floor"heads`, n. pl. (Naut.)

Defn: The upper extermities of the floor of a vessel.

FLOORING Floor"ing, n.

Defn: A platform; the bottom of a room; a floor; pavement. See Floor, n. Addison.

2. Material for the construction of a floor or floors.

FLOORLESS Floor"less, a.

Defn: Having no floor.

FLOORWALKER Floor"walk`er, n.

Defn: One who walks about in a large retail store as an overseer and director. [U.S.]

FLOP Flop, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Flopped; p. pr. & vb. n. Flopping.] Etym: [A variant of flap.]

1. To clap or strike, as a bird its wings, a fish its tail, etc.; to flap.

2. To turn suddenly, as something broad and flat. [Colloq.] Fielding.

FLOP Flop, v. i.

1. To strike about with something broad abd flat, as a fish with its tail, or a bird with its wings; to rise and fall; as, the brim of a hat flops.

2. To fall, sink, or throw one's self, heavily, clumsily, and unexpectedly on the ground. [Colloq.] Dickens.

FLOP Flop, n.

Defn: Act of flopping. [Colloq.] W. H. Russell.

FLOPPY Flop"py, n.

Defn: Having a tendency to flop or flap; as, a floppy hat brim. G. Eliot.

FLOPWING Flop"wing`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The lapwing.

FLORA Flo"ra, n. Etym: [L., the goddess of flowers, from flos, floris, flower. See Flower.]

1. (Rom. Myth.)

Defn: The goddess of flowers and spring.

2. (Bot.)

Defn: The complete system of vegetable species growing without cultivation in a given locality, region, or period; a list or description of, or treatise on, such plants.

FLORAL Flo"ral, a. Etym: [L. Floralis belonging to Flora: cf. F. floral. See Flora.]

1. Pertaining to Flora, or to flowers; made of flowers; as, floral games, wreaths.

2. (Bot.)

Defn: Containing, or belonging to, a flower; as, a floral bud; a floral leaf; floral characters. Martyn. Floral envelope (Bot.), the calyx and corolla, one or the other of which (mostly the corolla) may be wanting.

FLORALLY Flo"ral*ly, adv.

Defn: In a floral manner.

FLORAMOUR Flo"ra*mour, n.Etym: [L. flos, floris, flower + amorlove.]

Defn: The plant love-lies-bleeding. [Obs.] Prior.

FLORAN Flo"ran, n. (Mining)

Defn: Tin ore scarcely perceptible in the stone; tin ore stamped very fine. Pryce.

FLOREAL Flo`réal", n. Etym: [F. floréal, fr. L. flos, floris, flower.]

Defn: The eight month of the French republican calendar. It began April 20, and ended May 19. See Vendémiare.

FLOREN Flor"en, n. Etym: [LL. florenus. See Florin.]

Defn: A cerain gold coin; a Florence. [Obs.] Chaucer.

FLORENCE Flor"ence, n. Etym: [From the city of Florence: cf. F. florence a kind of cloth, OF. florin.]

1. An ancient gold coin of the time of Edward III., of six shillings sterling value. Camden.

2. A kind of cloth. Johnson. Florence flask. See under Flask. — Florence oil, olive oil prepared in Florence.

FLORENTINE Flor"en*tine ( or ; 277), a. Etym: [L. Florentinus, fr. Florentia Florence: cf. F. florentin.]

Defn: Belonging or relating to Florence, in Italy. Florentine mosaic, a mosaic of hard or semiprecious stones, often so chosen and arranged that their natural colors represent leaves, flowers, and the like, inlaid in a background, usually of black or white marble.

FLORENTINE Flor"en*tine, n.

1. A native or inhabitant of Florence, a city in Italy.

2. A kind of silk. Knight.

3. A kind of pudding or tart; a kind of meat pie. [Obs.] Stealing custards, tarts, and florentines. Beau. & Fl.

FLORESCENCE Flo*res"cence, n. Etym: [See Florescent.] (Bot.)

Defn: A bursting into flower; a blossoming. Martyn.

FLORESCENT Flo*res"cent, a. Etym: [L. florescens, p.pr. of florescere begin to blossom, incho. fr. florere to blossom, fr. flos, floris, flower. See Flower.]

Defn: Expanding into flowers; blossoming.

FLORET Flo"ret, n. Etym: [OF. florete, F. fleurette, dim. of OF. lor, F. fleur. See Flower, and cf. Floweret, 3d Ferret.]

1. (Bot.)

Defn: A little flower; one of the numerous little flowers which compose the head or anthodium in such flowers as the daisy, thistle, and dandelion. Gray.

2. Etym: [F. fleuret.]

Defn: A foil; a blunt sword used in fencing. [Obs.] Cotgrave.

FLORIAGE Flo"ri*age, n. Etym: [L. flos, flori, flower.]

Defn: Bloom; blossom. [Obs.] J. Scott.

FLORIATED Flo"ri*a`ted, a. (Arch.)

Defn: Having floral ornaments; as, floriated capitals of Gothic pillars.

FLORIATION Flo`ri*a"tion, n.

1. Ornamentation by means of flower forms, whether closely imitated or conventionalized.

2. Any floral ornament or decoration. Rock.

FLORICOMOUS Flo*ric"o*mous, a. Etym: [L. flos, floris, flower + coma hair.]

Defn: Having the head adorned with flowers. [R.]

FLORICULTURAL Flo`ri*cul"tur*al ( or ; 135), a.

Defn: Pertaining to the cultivation of flowering plants.

FLORICULTURE Flo"ri*cul`ture ( or ; 135, 277), n. Etym: [L. flos, floris, flower + cultura culture.]

Defn: The cultivation of flowering plants.

FLORICULTURIST Flo`ri*cul"tur*ist, n.

Defn: One skilled in the cultivation of flowers; a florist.

FLORID Flor"id, a. Etym: [L. floridus, fr. flos, floris, flower. See Flower.]

1. Covered with flowers; abounding in flowers; flowery. [R.] Fruit from a pleasant and florid tree. Jer. Taylor.

2. Bright in color; flushed with red; of a lively reddish color; as, a florid countenance.

3. Embellished with flowers of rhetoric; enriched to excess with figures; excessively ornate; as, a florid style; florid eloquence.

4. (Mus.)

Defn: Flowery; ornamental; running in rapid melodic figures, divisions, or passages, as in variations; full of fioriture or little ornamentations.

FLORIDA BEAN Flor"i*da bean". (Bot.) (a) The large, roundish, flattened seed of Mucuna urens. See under Bean. (b) One of the very large seeds of the Entada scandens.

FLORIDEAE Flo*rid"e*æ, n. pl. Etym: [NL., from L. flos, floris, a flower.] (Bot.)

Defn: A subclass of algæ including all the red or purplish seaweeds; the Rhodospermeæ of many authors; — so called from the rosy or florid color of most of the species.

FLORIDITY Flo*rid"i*ty, n.

Defn: The quality of being florid; floridness. Floyer.

FLORIDLY Flor"id*ly, adv.

Defn: In a florid manner.

FLORIDNESS Flor"id*ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being florid. Boyle.

FLORIFEROUS Flo*rif"er*ous, a. Etym: [L. florifer; flos, floris, flower + ferre to bear; cf. F. florifère.]

Defn: Producing flowers. Blount.

FLORIFICATION Flo`ri*fi*ca"tion, n. Etym: [L. flos, floris, flower + facere to make.]

Defn: The act, process, or time of flowering; florescence.

FLORIFORM Flo"ri*form ( or ), a. Etym: [L. flos, floris, flower + -form: cf. F. floriforme.]

Defn: Having the form of a flower; flower-shaped.

FLORIKEN Flo"ri*ken, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: An Indian bustard (Otis aurita). The Bengal floriken is Sypheotides Bengalensis. [Written also florikan, floriken, florican.]

FLORILEGE Flo"ri*lege, n. Etym: [L. florilegus flower-culling; flos, floris, flower + legere to gather: cf. F. florilège.]

Defn: The act of gathering flowers.

FLORIMER Flo"ri*mer, n. (Bot.)

Defn: See Floramour. [Obs.]

FLORIN Flor"in, n. Etym: [F. florin, It. florino, orig., a Florentine coin, with a lily on it, fr. flore a flower, fr. L. flos. See Flower, and cf. Floren.]

Defn: A silver coin of Florence, first struck in the twelfth century, and noted for its beauty. The name is given to different coins in different countries. The florin of England, first minted in 1849, is worth two shillings, or about 48 cents; the florin of the Netherlands, about 40 cents; of Austria, about 36 cents.

FLORIST Flo"rist ( or ; 277), n. Etym: [Cf. F. fleuriste, floriste, fr. F. fleur flower. See Flower.]

1. A cultivator of, or dealer in, flowers.

2. One who writes a flora, or an account of plants.

FLOROON Flo*roon", n. Etym: [F. fleuron. See Flower.]

Defn: A border worked with flowers. Wright.

FLORULENT Flor"u*lent, a. Etym: [L. florulentus, fr. flos, floris, flower.]

Defn: Flowery; blossoming. [Obs.] Blount.

FLOSCULAR Flos"cu*lar, a. (Bot.)

Defn: Flosculous.

FLOSCULARIAN Flos`cu*la"ri*an, n. Etym: [From L. flosculus a floweret.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of a group of stalked rotifers, having ciliated tentacles around the lobed disk.

FLOSCULE Flos*cule, n. Etym: [L. flosculus, dim. of flos flower: cf. F. floscule.] (Bot.)

Defn: A floret.

FLOSCULOUS Flos"cu*lous, a. (Bot.)

Defn: Consisting of many gamopetalous florets.

FLOS-FERRI Flos`-fer"ri, n.Etym: [L., flower of iron.] (Min.)

Defn: A variety of aragonite, occuring in delicate white coralloidal forms; — common in beds of iron ore.

FLOSH Flosh, n. Etym: [Cf. G. flösse a trough in which tin ore is washed.] (Metallurgy)

Defn: A hopper-shaped box or Knight.

FLOSS Floss (; 195), n. Etym: [It. floscio flabby, soft, fr. L. fluxus flowing, loose, slack. See Flux, n.]

1. (Bot.)

Defn: The slender styles of the pistillate flowers of maize; also called silk.

2. Untwisted filaments of silk, used in embroidering. Floss silk, silk that has been twisted, and which retains its loose and downy character. It is much used in embroidery. Called also floxed silk. — Floss thread, a kind of soft flaxen yarn or thread, used for embroidery; — called also linen floss, and floss yarn. McElrath.

FLOSS Floss, n. Etym: [Cf. G. floss a float.]

1. A small stream of water. [Eng.]

2. Fluid glass floating on iron in the puddling furnace, produced by the vitrification of oxides and earths which are present. Floss hole. (a) A hole at the back of a puddling furnace, at which the slags pass out. (b) The tap hole of a melting furnace. Knight.

FLOSSIFICATION Flos`si*fi*ca"tion, n. Etym: [Cf. Florification.]

Defn: A flowering; florification. [R.] Craig.

FLOSSY Floss"y, a.

Defn: Pertaining to, made of, or resembling, floss; hence, light; downy.

FLOTA Flo"ta, n. Etym: [Sp. See Flotilla.]

Defn: A fleet; especially, a

FLOTAGE Flo"tage, n. Etym: [OF. flotage, F. flottage, fr. flotter to float.]

1. The state of floating.

2. That which floats on the sea or in rivers. [Written also floatage.]

FLOTANT Flo"tant, a. Etym: [OF. flotant, F. flottant, p.pr. of flotter to float.] (Her.)

Defn: Represented as flying or streaming in the air; as, a banner flotant.

FLOTATION Flo*ta"tion, n. Etym: [Cf. F. flottation a floating, flottaison water line, fr. flotter to float. See Flotilla.]

1. The act, process, or state of floating.

2. The science of floating bodies. Center of flotation. (Shipbuilding) (a) The center of any given plane of flotation. (b) More commonly, the middle of the length of the load water line. Rankine. — Plane, or Line, of flotation, the plane or line in which the horizontal surface of a fluid cuts a body floating in it. See Bearing, n., 9 (c). — Surface of flotation (Shipbuilding), the imaginary surface which all the planes of flotation touch when a vessel rolls or pitches; the envelope of all such planes.

FLOTATION PROCESS Flotation process.

Defn: A process of separating the substances contained in pulverized ore or the like by depositing the mixture on the surface of a flowing liquid, the substances that are quickly wet readily overcoming the surface tension of the liquid and sinking, the others flowing off in a film or slime on the surface, though, perhaps, having a greater specific gravity than those that sink.

FLOTE Flote, v. t.

Defn: To fleet; to skim. [Obs.] Tusser.

FLOTE Flote, n. Etym: [Cf. F. flot, L. fluctus; also cf. Float, n.]

Defn: A wave. [Obs.] "The Mediterranean flote." Shak.

FLOTERY Flot"er*y, a.

Defn: Wavy; flowing. [Obs.] With flotery beard. Chaucer.

FLOTILLA Flo*til"la, n. Etym: [Sp. flotilla, dim. of flota fleet; akin to F. flotte, It. flotta, and F. flot wave, fr. L. fluctus, but prob. influenced by words akin to E. float. See Fluctuate, and cf. Float, n.]

Defn: A little fleet, or a fleet of small vessels.

FLOTSAM; FLOTSON Flot"sam, Flot"son, n. Etym: [F. flotter to float. See FFlotilla, and cf. Jetsam.] (Law)

Defn: Goods lost by shipwreck, and floating on the sea; — in distinction from jetsam or jetson. Blackstone.

FLOTTEN Flot"ten, p. p. of Flote, v. t.

Defn: Skimmed. [Obs.]

FLOUNCE Flounce, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Flounced (flounst); p. pr. & vb. n. Flouncing.] Etym: [Cf. OSw. flunsa to immerge.]

Defn: To throw the limbs and body one way and the other; to spring, turn, or twist with sudden effort or violence; to struggle, as a horse in mire; to flounder; to throw one's self with a jerk or spasm, often as in displeasure. To flutter and flounce will do nothing but batter and bruise us. Barrow. With his broad fins and forky tail he laves The rising sirge, and flounces in the waves. Addison.

FLOUNCE Flounce, n.

Defn: The act of floucing; a sudden, jerking motion of the body.

FLOUNCE Flounce, n. Etym: [Cf. G. flaus, flausch, a tuft of wool or hair; akin to vliess, E. fleece; or perh. corrupted fr. rounce.]

Defn: An ornamental appendage to the skirt of a woman's dress, consisting of a strip gathered and sewed on by its upper edge around the skirt, and left hanging.

FLOUNCE Flounce, v. t.

Defn: To deck with a flounce or flounces; as, to flounce a petticoat or a frock.

FLOUNDER Floun"der, n. Etym: [Cf. Sw. flundra; akin to Dan. flynder, Icel. fly, G. flunder, and perh. to E. flounder, v.i.]

1. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A flatfish of the family Pleuronectidæ, of many species.

Note: The common English flounder is Pleuronectes flesus. There are several common American species used as food; as the smooth flounder (P. glabra); the rough or winter flounder (P. Americanus); the summer flounder, or plaice (Paralichthys dentatus), Atlantic coast; and the starry flounder (Pleuronectes stellatus).

2. (Bootmaking)

Defn: A tool used in crimping boot fronts.

FLOUNDER Floun"der, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Floundered; p. pr. & vb. n. Floundering.] Etym: [Cf. D. flodderen to flap, splash through mire, E. flounce, v.i., and flounder the fish.]

Defn: To fling the limbs and body, as in making efforts to move; to struggle, as a horse in the mire, or as a fish on land; to roll, toss, and tumble; to flounce. They have floundered on from blunder to blunder. Sir W. Hamilton.

FLOUNDER Floun"der, n.

Defn: The act of floundering.

FLOUR Flour, n. Etym: [F. fleur de farine the flower (i.e., the best) of meal, cf. Sp. flor de la harina superfine flour, Icel. flür flower, flour. See Flower.]

Defn: The finely ground meal of wheat, or of any other grain; especially, the finer part of meal separated by bolting; hence, the fine and soft powder of any substance; as, flour of emery; flour of mustard. Flour bolt, in milling, a gauze-covered, revolving, cylindrical frame or reel, for sifting the flour from the refuse contained in the meal yielded by the stones. — Flour box a tin box for scattering flour; a dredging box. — Flour dredge or dredger, a flour box. — Flour dresser, a mashine for sorting and distributing flour according to grades of fineness. — Flour mill, a mill for grinding and sifting flour.

FLOUR Flour, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Floured; p. pr. & vb. n. Flouring.]

1. To grind and bolt; to convert into flour; as, to flour wheat.

2. To sprinkle with flour.

FLOURED Floured, p. a.

Defn: Finely granulated; — said of quicksilver which has been granulated by agitation during the amalgamation process. Raymond.

FLOURISH Flour"ish, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Flourished; p. pr. & vb. n. Flourishing.] Etym: [OE. florisshen, flurisshen, OF. flurir, F. fleurir, fr. L. florere to bloom, fr. flos, floris, flower. See Flower, and -ish.]

1. To grow luxuriantly; to increase and enlarge, as a healthy growing plant; a thrive. A tree thrives and flourishes in a kindly . . . soil. Bp. Horne.

2. To be prosperous; to increase in wealth, honor, comfort, happiness, or whatever is desirable; to thrive; to be prominent and influental; specifically, of authors, painters, etc., to be in a state of activity or production. When all the workers of iniquity do flourish. Ps. xcii 7 Bad men as frequently prosper and flourish, and that by the means of their wickedness. Nelson. We say Of those that held their heads above the crowd, They flourished then or then. Tennyson.

3. To use florid language; to indulge in rhetorical figures and lofty expressions; to be flowery. They dilate . . . and flourish long on little incidents. J. Watts.

4. To make bold and sweeping, fanciful, or wanton movements, by way of ornament, parade, bravado, etc.; to play with fantastic and irregular motion. Impetuous spread The stream, and smoking flourished o'er his head. Pope.

5. To make ornamental strokes with the pen; to write graceful, decorative figures.

6. To execute an irregular or fanciful strain of music, by way of ornament or prelude. Why do the emperor's trumpets flourish thus Shak.

7. To boast; to vaunt; to brag. Pope.

FLOURISH Flour"ish, v. t.

1. To adorn with flowers orbeautiful figures, either natural or artificial; to ornament with anything showy; to embellish. [Obs.] Fenton.

2. To embellish with the flowers of diction; to adorn with rhetorical figures; to grace with ostentatious eloquence; to set off with a parade of words. [Obs.] Sith that the justice of your title to him Doth flourish the deceit. Shak.

3. To move in bold or irregular figures; to swing about in circles or vibrations by way of show or triumph; to brandish. And flourishes his blade in spite of me. Shak.

4. To develop; to make thrive; to expand. [Obs.] Bottoms of thread . . . which with a good needle, perhaps flourished into large works. Bacon.

FLOURISH Flour"ish, n.; pl. Flourishes (.

1. A flourishing condition; prosperity; vigor. [Archaic] The Roman monarchy, in her highest flourish, never had the like. Howell.

2. Decoration; ornament; beauty. The flourish of his sober youth Was the pride of naked truth. Crashaw.

3. Something made or performed in a fanciful, wanton, or vaunting manner, by way of ostentation, to excite admiration, etc.; ostentatious embellishment; ambitious copiousness or amplification; parade of wordas, a flourish of rhetoric or of wit. He lards with flourishes his long harangue. Dryden.

4. A fanciful stroke of the pen or graver; a merely decorative figure. The neat characters and flourishes of a Bible curiously printed. Boyle.

5. A fantastic or decorative musical passage; a strain of triumph or bravado, not forming part of a regular musical composition; a cal; a fanfare. A flourish, trumpets! strike alarum, drums! Shak.

6. The waving of a weapon or other thing; a brandishing; as, the fluorish of a sword.

FLOURISHER Flour"ish*er, n.

Defn: One who flourishes.

FLOURISHINGLY Flour"ish*ing*ly

Defn: , adv. In a flourishing manner; ostentatiously.

FLOURY Flour"y, a.

Defn: Of or resembling flour; mealy; covered with flour. Dickens.

FLOUT Flout, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Flouted; p. pr. & vb. n. Flouting.] Etym: [OD. fluyten to play the flute, to jeer, D. fluiten, fr. fluit, fr. French. See Flute.]

Defn: To mock or insult; to treat with contempt. Phillida flouts me. Walton. Three gaudy standarts lout the pale blue sky. Byron.

FLOUT Flout, v. i.

Defn: To practice mocking; to behave with contempt; to sneer; to fleer; — often with at. Fleer and gibe, and laugh and flout. Swift.

FLOUT Flout, n.

Defn: A mock; an insult. Who put your beauty to this flout and scorn. Tennyson.

FLOUTER Flout"er, n.

Defn: One who flouts; a mocker.

FLOUTINGLY Flout"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: With flouting; insultingly; as, to treat a lover floutingly.

FLOW Flow, obs.

Defn: imp. sing. of Fly, v. i. Chaucer.

FLOW Flow, v. i. [imp. & p. p. FFlowed; p. pr. & vb. n. Flowing.] Etym: [AS. flowan; akin to D. vloeijen, OHG. flawen to wash, Icel. floa to deluge, Gr. float, fleet. *80. Cf. Flood.]

1. To move with a continual change of place among the particles or parts, as a fluid; to change place or circulate, as a liquid; as, rivers flow from springs and lakes; tears flow from the eyes.

2. To become liquid; to melt. The mountains flowed down at thy presence. Is. lxiv. 3.

3. To pproceed; to issue forth; as, wealth flows from industry and economy. Those thousand decencies that daily flow From all her words and actions. Milton.

4. To glide along smoothly, without harshness or asperties; as, a flowing period; flowing numbers; to sound smoothly to the ear; to be uttered easily. Virgil is sweet and flowingin his hexameters. Dryden.

5. To have or be in abundance; to abound; to full, so as to run or flow over; to be copious. In that day . . . the hills shall flow with milk. Joel iii. 18. The exhilaration of a night that needed not the influence of the flowing bowl. Prof. Wilson.

6. To hang loose and waving; as, a flowing mantle; flowing locks. The imperial purple flowing in his train. A. Hamilton.

7. To rise, as the tide; — opposed to ebb; as, the tide flows twice in twenty-four hours. The river hath thrice flowed, no ebb between. Shak.

8. To discharge blood in excess from the uterus.

FLOW Flow, v. t.

1. To cover with water or other liquid; to overflow; to inundate; to flood.

2. To cover with varnish.

FLOW Flow, n.

1. A stream of water or other fluid; a current; as, a flow of water; a flow of blood.

2. A continuous movement of something abundant; as, a flow of words.

3. Any gentle, gradual movement or procedure of thought, diction, music, or the like, resembling the quiet, steady movement of a river; a stream. The feast of reason and the flow of soul. Pope.

4. The tidal setting in of the water from the ocean to the shore. See Ebb and flow, under Ebb.

5. A low-lying piece of watery land; — called also flow moss and flow bog. [Scot.] Jamieson.

FLOWAGE Flow"age (; 48), n.

Defn: An overflowing with water; also, the water which thus overflows.

FLOWEN Flow"en, obs.

Defn: imp. pl. of Fly, v. i. Chaucer.

FLOWER Flow"er, n. Etym: [OE. flour, OF. flour, flur, flor, F. fleur, fr. L. flos, floris. Cf. Blossom, Effloresce, Floret, Florid, Florin, Flour, Flourish.]

1. In the popular sense, the bloom or blossom of a plant; the showy portion, usually of a different color, shape, and texture from the foliage.

2. (Bot.)

Defn: That part of a plant destined to produce seed, and hence including one or both of the sexual organs; an organ or combination of the organs of reproduction, whether inclosed by a circle of foliar parts or not. A complete flower consists of two essential parts, the stamens and the pistil, and two floral envelopes, the corolla and callyx. In mosses the flowers consist of a few special leaves surrounding or subtending organs called archegonia. See Blossom, and Corolla.

Note: If we examine a common flower, such for instance as a geranium, we shall find that it consists of: First, an outer envelope or calyx, sometimes tubular, sometimes consisting of separate leaves called sepals; secondly, an inner envelope or corolla, which is generally more or less colored, and which, like the calyx, is sometimes tubular, sometimes composed of separate leaves called petals; thirdly, one or more stamens, consisting of a stalk or filament and a head or anther, in which the pollen is produced; and fourthly, a pistil, which is situated in the center of the flower, and consists generally of three principal parts; one or more compartments at the base, each containing one or more seeds; the stalk or style; and the stigma, which in many familiar instances forms a small head, at the top of the style or ovary, and to which the pollen must find its way in order to fertilize the flower. Sir J. Lubbock.

3. The fairest, freshest, and choicest part of anything; as, the flower of an army, or of a family; the state or time of freshness and bloom; as, the flower of life, that is, youth. The choice and flower of all things profitable the Psalms do more briefly contain. Hooker. The flower of the chivalry of all Spain. Southey. A simple maiden in her flower Is worth a hundred coats of arms. Tennyson.

4. Grain pulverized; meal; flour. [Obs.] The flowers of grains, mixed with water, will make a sort of glue. Arbuthnot.

5. pl. (Old. Chem.)

Defn: A substance in the form of a powder, especially when condensed from sublimation; as, the flowers of sulphur.

6. A figure of speech; an ornament of style.

7. pl. (Print.)

Defn: Ornamental type used chiefly for borders around pages, cards, etc. W. Savage.

8. pl.

Defn: Menstrual discharges. Lev. xv. 24. Animal flower (Zoöl.) See under Animal. — Cut flowers, flowers cut from the stalk, as for making a bouquet. — Flower bed, a plat in a garden for the cultivation of flowers. — Flower beetle (Zoöl.), any beetle which feeds upon flowers, esp. any one of numerous small species of the genus Meligethes, family Nitidulidæ, some of which are injurious to crops. — Flower bird (Zoöl.), an Australian bird of the genus Anthornis, allied to the honey eaters. — Flower bud, an unopened flower. — Flower clock, an assemblage of flowers which open and close at different hours of the day, thus indicating the time. — Flower head (Bot.), a compound flower in which all the florets are sessile on their receptacle, as in the case of the daisy. — Flower pecker (Zoöl.), one of a family (Dicæidæ) of small Indian and Australian birds. They resemble humming birds in habits. — Flower piece. (a) A table ornament made of cut flowers. (b) (Fine Arts) A picture of flowers. — Flower stalk (Bot.), the peduncle of a plant, or the stem that supports the flower or fructification.

FLOWER Flow"er, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Flowered; p. pr. & vb. n. Flowering.] Etym: [From the noun. Cf. Flourish.]

1. To blossom; to bloom; to expand the petals, as a plant; to produce flowers; as, this plant flowers in June.

2. To come into the finest or fairest condition. Their lusty and flowering age. Robynson (More's Utopia). When flowered my youthful spring. Spenser.

3. To froth; to ferment gently, as new beer. That beer did flower a little. Bacon.

4. To come off as flowers by sublimation. [Obs.] Observations which have flowered off. Milton.

FLOWER Flow"er, v. t.

Defn: To embellish with flowers; to adorn with imitated flowers; as, flowered silk.

FLOWERAGE Flow"er*age (; 48), n.

Defn: State of flowers; flowers, collectively or in general. Tennyson.

FLOWER-DE-LUCE Flow"er-de-luce", n. Etym: [Corrupted fr. fleur-de-lis.] (Bot.)

Defn: A genus of perennial herbs (Iris) with swordlike leaves and large three-petaled flowers often of very gay colors, but probably white in the plant first chosen for the royal French emblem.

Note: There are nearly one hundred species, natives of the north temperate zone. Some of the best known are Iris Germanica, I. Florentina, I. Persica, I. sambucina, and the American I. versicolor, I. prismatica, etc.

FLOWERER Flow"erer, n.

Defn: A plant which flowers or blossoms. Many hybrids are profuse and persistent flowerers. Darwin.

FLOWERET Flow"er*et, n.

Defn: A small flower; a floret. Shak.

FLOWER-FENCE Flow"er-fence`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A tropical leguminous bush (Poinciana, or Cæsalpinia, pulcherrima) with prickly branches, and showy yellow or red flowers; — so named from its having been sometimes used for hedges in the West Indies. Baird.

FLOWERFUL Flow"er*ful, a.

Defn: Abounding with flowers. Craig.

FLOWER-GENTLE Flow"er-gen`tle, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A species of amaranth (Amarantus melancholicus).

FLOWERINESS Flow"er*i*ness, n.

Defn: The state of being flowery.

FLOWERING Flow"er*ing, a. (Bot.)

Defn: Having conspicuous flowers; — used as an epithet with many names of plants; as, flowering ash; flowering dogwood; flowering almond, etc. Flowering fern, a genus of showy ferns (Osmunda), with conspicuous bivalvular sporangia. They usually grow in wet places. — Flowering plants, plants which have stamens and pistils, and produce true seeds; phenogamous plants; — distinguished from flowerless plants. — Flowering rush, a European rushlike plant (Butomus umbellatus), with an umbel of rosy blossoms.

FLOWERING Flow"er*ing, n.

1. The act of blossoming, or the season when plants blossom; florification.

2. The act of adorning with flowers.

FLOWERLESS Flow"er*less, a.

Defn: Having no flowers. Flowerless plants, plants which have no true flowers, and produce no seeds; cryptigamous plants.

FLOWERLESSNESS Flow"er*less*ness, n.

Defn: State of being without flowers.

FLOWERPOT Flow"er*pot`, n.

Defn: A vessel, commonly or earthenware, for earth in which plants are grown.

FLOWER STATE Flow"er State.

Defn: Florida; — a nickname, alluding to sense of L. floridus, from florida flowery. See Florid.

FLOWERY Flow"er*y, a.

1. Full of flowers; abounding with blossoms.

2. Highly embellished with figurative language; florid; as, a flowery style. Milton. The flowery kingdom, China.

FLOWERY-KIRTLED Flow"er*y-kir`tled, a.

Defn: Dressed with garlands of flowers. [Poetic & Rare] Milton.

FLOWING Flow"ing, a.

Defn: That flows or for flowing (in various sense of the verb); gliding along smoothly; copious. Flowing battery (Elec.), a battery which is kept constant by the flowing of the exciting liquid through the cell or cells. Knight. — Flowing furnace, a furnace from which molten metal, can be drawn, as through a tap hole; a foundry cupola. — Flowing sheet (Naut.), a sheet when eased off, or loosened to the wind, as when the wind is abaft the beam. Totten.

FLOWING Flow"ing,

Defn: a. & n. from Flow, v. i. & t.

FLOWINGLY Flow"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: In a flowing manner.

FLOWINGNESS Flow"ing*ness, n.

Defn: Flowing tendency or quality; fluency. [R.] W. Nichols.

FLOWK Flowk ( or ), n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: See 1st Fluke.

FLOWN Flown,

Defn: p. p. of Fly; — often used with the auxiliary verb to be; as, the birds are flown.

FLOWN Flown, a.

Defn: Flushed, inflated.

Note: [Supposed by some to be a mistake for blown or swoln.] Pope. Then wander forth the sons Of Belial, flown with insolence and wine. Milton.

FLOXED SILK Floxed" silk`.

Defn: See Floss silk, under Floss.

FLOYTE Floyte, n. & v.

Defn: A variant of Flute. [Obs.]

FLUATE Flu"ate, n. Etym: [Cf. F. fluate. See Fluor.] (Chem.)

Defn: A fluoride. [Obs.]

FLUAVIL Flu"a*vil, n. Etym: [Etymol. uncertain.] (Chem.)

Defn: A hydrocarbon extracted from gutta-percha, as a yellow, resinous substance; — called also fluanil.

FLUCAN Flu"can, n. (Mining)

Defn: Soft clayey matter in the vein, or surrounding it. [Written also flookan, flukan, and fluccan.]

FLUCTIFEROUS Fluc*tif"er*ous, a. Etym: [L. fluctus wave + -ferous.]

Defn: Tending to produce waves. Blount.

FLUCTISONOUS Fluc*tis"o*nous, a. Etym: [L. fluctisonus; fluctus wave + sonus sound.]

Defn: Sounding like waves.

FLUCTUABILITY Fluc`tu*a*bil"i*ty, n.

Defn: The capacity or ability to fluctuate. [R.] H. Walpole.

FLUCTUANT Fluc"tu*ant, a. Etym: [L. fluctuans, p.pr. of fluctuare. See Fluctuate.]

1. Moving like a wave; wavering; (Med.)

Defn: showing undulation or fluctuation; as, a fluctuant tumor.

2. Floating on the waves. [Obs.] Bacon.

FLUCTUATE Fluc"tu*ate, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Fluctuated; p. pr. & vb. n. Fluctuating.] Etym: [L. fluctuatus, p.p. of fluctuare, to wave, fr. fluctus wave, fr. fluere, fluctum, to flow. See Fluent, and cf. Flotilla.]

1. To move as a wave; to roll hither and thither; to wave; to float backward and forward, as on waves; as, a fluctuating field of air. Blackmore.

2. To move now in one direction and now in another; to be wavering or unsteady; to be irresolute or undetermined; to vacillate.

Syn. — To waver; vacillate; hesitate; scruple. — To Fluctuate, Vacillate, Waver. — Fluctuate is applied both to things and persons and denotes that they move as they are acted upon. The stocks fluctuate; a man fluctuates. between conflicting influences. Vacillate and waver are applied to persons to represent them as acting themselves. A man vacillates when he goes backward and forward in his opinions and purposes, without any fixity of mind or principles. A man wavers when he shrinks back or hesitates at the approach of difficulty or danger. One who is fluctuating in his feelings is usually vacillating in resolve, and wavering in execution.

FLUCTUATE Fluc"tu*ate, v. t.

Defn: To cause to move as a wave; to put in motion. [R.] And fluctuate all the still perfume. Tennyson.

FLUCTUATION Fluc`tu*a"tion, n. Etym: [L. fluctuatio; cf. F. fluctuation.]

1. A motion like that of waves; a moving in this and that direction; as, the fluctuations of the sea.

2. A wavering; unsteadiness; as, fluctuations of opinion; fluctuations of prices.

3. (Med.)

Defn: The motion or undulation of a fluid collected in a natural or artifical cavity, which is felt when it is subjected to pressure or percussion. Dunglison.

FLUE Flue, n. Etym: [Cf. OF. flue a flowing, fr. fluer to flow, fr. L. fluere (cf. Fluent); a perh. a corruption of E. flute.]

Defn: An inclosed passage way for establishing and directing a current of air, gases, etc.; an air passage; esp.: (a) A compartment or division of a chimney for conveying flame and smoke to the outer air. (b) A passage way for conducting a current of fresh, foul, or heated air from one place to another. (c) (Steam Boiler) A pipe or passage for conveying flame and hot gases through surrounding water in a boiler; — distinguished from a tube which holds water and is surrounded by fire. Small flues are called fire tubes or simply tubes. Flue boiler. See under Boiler. — Flue bridge, the separating low wall between the flues and the laboratory of a reverberatory furnace. — Flue plate (Steam Boiler), a plate to which the ends of the flues are fastened; — called also flue sheet, tube sheet, and tube plate. — Flue surface (Steam Boiler), the aggregate surface of flues exposed to flame or the hot gases.

FLUE Flue, n. Etym: [Cf. F. flou light, tender, G. flau weak, W. llwch dust. sq. root84.]

Defn: Light down, such as rises from cotton, fur, etc.; very fine lint or hair. Dickens.