Thomas Davidson

“ Fire′damp, a gas, carburetted hydrogen, in coal-mines, apt to take fire and explode when mixed with atmospheric air; Fire′-dog (same as Andiron) ; Fire′-drake, a fiery meteor, a kind of firework; Fire′-eat′er, a juggler who pretends to eat fire: one given to needless quarrelling, a professed duellist; Fire′-en′gine, an engine or forcing-pump used to extinguish fires with water; Fire′-escape′, a machine used to enable people to escape from fires.—adj. Fire′-eyed (Shak.) , having fiery eyes.—ns. Fire′-flag (Coleridge) , Fire′flaught (Swinburne) , a flash of lightning ”

“ Fire′man, a man whose business it is to assist in extinguishing fires: a man who tends the fires, as of a steam-engine; Fire′-mas′ter, the chief of a fire-brigade.—adj. Fire′-new, new from the fire: brand new: bright.—ns. Fire′-pan, a pan or metal vessel for holding fire; Fire′place, the place in a house appropriated to the fire: a hearth; Fire′plug, a plug placed in a pipe which supplies water in case of fire; Fire′-pol′icy, a written instrument of insurance against fire up to a certain amount; Fire′-pot, an earthen pot filled with combustibles, used in military operations.—adj. ”

“ Fish, fish, n. a vertebrate that lives in water, and breathes through gills: the flesh of fish: a piece of wood fixed alongside another for strengthening:—pl. Fish, or Fish′es.—v.t. to search for fish: to search by sweeping: to draw out or up: (naut.) to strengthen, as a weak spar: to hoist the flukes of: to seek to obtain by artifice.—ns. Fish′-ball, -cake, a ball of chopped fish and mashed potatoes, fried.—adj. Fish′-bell′ied, swelled out downward like the belly of a fish.—ns. Fish′-carv′er, a large flat implement for carving fish at table—also Fish′-knife, Fish′-slice, and Fish′-trow′el ”

“ Bait′-fish, such fish as are used for bait, fish that may be caught with bait; Bott′om-fish, those that feed on the bottom, as halibut, &c.—Fish for, to seek to gain by cunning or indirect means; Fisherman's luck, getting wet and catching no fish; Fisherman's ring, a signet-ring with the device of St Peter fishing, used in signing papal briefs.—A queer fish, a person of odd habits; Be neither fish nor flesh, or Neither fish, flesh, nor fowl, to be neither one thing nor another, in principle, &c.; Have other fish to fry, to have something else to do, or to take up one's mind ”

“ Fire′-ship, a ship filled with combustibles, to set an enemy's vessels on fire; Fire′side, the side of the fireplace: the hearth: home.—adj. homely, intimate.—ns. Fire′-stick, the implement used by many primitive peoples for obtaining fire by friction; Fire′stone, a kind of sandstone that bears a high degree of heat; Fire′-wa′ter, ardent spirits; Fire′wood, wood for burning.—n.pl. Fire′works, artificial works or preparations of gunpowder, sulphur, &c., to be fired chiefly for display or amusement.—ns. Fire′-wor′ship, the worship of fire, chiefly by the Parsees in Persia and India ”

“ Ferric, fer′ik, adj. pertaining to or obtained from iron: noting an acid compounded of iron and oxygen.—ns. Ferr′ate, a salt formed by the union of ferric acid with a base; Ferrocyanogen (fer-o-sī-an′ō-jen) , a compound radical supposed by chemists to exist in ferrocyanic acid and the ferrocyanides, the chief of which is potassium ferrocyanide, yielding Prussian blue; Ferr′otype, a photographic process in which the negative was developed by a saturated solution of protosulphate of iron. [L. ferrum, iron.]
Ferriferous, fer-rif′ėr-us, adj. bearing or yielding iron. ”

“ Fender, fend′ėr, n. a metal guard before a fire to confine the ashes: a protection for a ship's side against piers, &c., consisting of a bundle of rope, &c.—ns. Fend′er-beam, a fender of wood, protecting a ship's side in dock: a permanent buffer at the end of a railway siding; Fend′er-board, a board protecting the steps of a carriage from the dust thrown up by the wheels. [Fend.]
Fenestella, fen-es-tel′a, n. a niche on the south side of an altar, containing the piscina, and sometimes the credence: a genus of Polyzoa, like the recent 'lace coral,' very common in Palæozoic rocks. ”

“ Fing′er-plate, a thin plate of metal or porcelain laid along the edge of a door at the handle, to prevent soiling by the hand; Fing′er-post, a post with a finger pointing, for directing passengers to the road; Fing′er-stall, a covering of leather for protecting the finger.—Finger-and-toe (see Anbury) .—A finger in the pie, a share in the doing of anything, often of vexatious meddling; Have at one's finger-ends, to be perfect master of a subject; Have one's fingers all thumbs, to have awkward fingers. ”

“ Fire′brand, a brand or piece of wood on fire: one who inflames the passions of others; Fire′brick, a brick so made as to resist the action of fire, used for lining furnaces, &c.; Fire′-brigade′, a brigade or company of men for extinguishing fires or conflagrations; Fire′-buck′et, a bucket for carrying water to extinguish a fire; Fire′clay, a kind of clay, capable of resisting fire, used in making firebricks; Fire′cock, a cock or spout to let out water for extinguishing fires ”

“ File with, to rank with, to be equal to.—Single file, Indian file, of men marching one behind another. [Fr. file—L. filum, a thread.]
File, fīl, n. a steel instrument with sharp-edged furrows for smoothing or rasping metals, &c.: any means adopted to polish a thing, as a literary style: a shrewd, cunning person, a deep fellow: a pickpocket.—v.t. to cut or smooth with, or as with, a file: to polish, improve.—n. File′-cut′ter, a maker of files.—adj. Filed, polished, smooth.—ns. File′-fish, a fish of genus Balistes, the skin granulated like a file ”

“ Fistula, fist′ū-la, n. a narrow passage or duct: the tube through which the wine of the eucharist was once sucked from the chalice—also Calamus.—adjs. Fist′ular, hollow like a pipe; Fist′ulate, -d, hollowed like a fistula.—v.i. Fist′ulate, to assume such a form.—adjs. Fist′uliform; Fist′ulose, Fist′ulous, of the form of a fistula. [L. fistula, a pipe.]
Fit, fit, adj. adapted to any particular end or standard, prepared for: qualified: convenient: proper: properly trained and ready, as for a race.—v.t. to make fit or suitable: to suit one thing to another: to be adapted to: to qualify.—v.i. ”

“ Fing′er-breadth, the breadth of a finger, the fourth part of a palm, forming 1⁄16 of a foot.—adj. Fing′ered, having fingers, or anything like fingers.—ns. Fing′er-grass, grass of genus Digitaria; Fing′er-hole, a hole in the side of the tube of a flute, &c., capable of being closed by the player's finger to modify the pitch of tone; Fing′ering, act or manner of touching with the fingers, esp. a musical instrument: a thick woollen yarn for stockings; Fing′erling, a very diminutive being: the parr; Fing′er-mark, a mark, esp. a soil made by the finger ”

“ Ferment, fėr′ment, n. what excites fermentation, as yeast, leaven: internal motion amongst the parts of a fluid: agitation: tumult.—v.t. Ferment′, to excite fermentation: to inflame.—v.i. to rise and swell by the action of fermentation: to work, used of wine, &c.: to be in excited action: to be stirred with anger.—n. Fermentabil′ity.—adj. Ferment′able, capable of fermentation.—n. Fermentā′tion, the act or process of fermenting: the change which takes place in liquids exposed to air: the kind of spontaneous decomposition which produces alcohol: restless action of the mind or feelings.—adj. ”

“ Find′-fault (Shak.) , one who finds fault with another; Find′ing, act of one who finds: that which is found: a judicial verdict: (pl.) the appliances which some workmen have to supply, esp. of shoemakers—everything save leather.—Find one in (something) , to supply one with something; Find one's account (in anything) , to find satisfactory profit or advantage in it; Find one's legs, to rise, or to recover the use of one's legs, as after being drunk, &c.; Find one's self, to feel, as regards health, happiness, &c. ”

“ Fiducial, fi-dū′shi-al, adj. showing confidence or reliance: of the nature of a trust.—adv. Fidū′cially.—adj. Fidū′ciary, confident: unwavering: held in trust.—n. one who holds anything in trust: (theol.) one who depends for salvation on faith without works, an Antinomian. [L. fiducia, confidence, from fidĕre, to trust.]
Fie, fī, interj. denoting disapprobation or disgust. [Scand., Ice. fý, fei, fie! cf. Ger. pfui.]
Fief, fēf, n. land held of a superior in fee or on condition of military service: a feud. ”

“ Fig′ure-dance, a dance consisting of elaborate figures; Fig′urehead, the figure or bust under the bowsprit of a ship; Fig′ure-weav′ing, the weaving of figured fancy fabrics; Fig′urine, a small carved or sculptured figure, often specially such as are adorned with painting and gilding; Fig′urist, one who uses or interprets figures.—Figurate numbers, any series of numbers beginning with unity, and so formed that if each be subtracted from the following, and the series so formed be treated in the same way, by a continuation of the process, equal differences will be obtained. ”

“ Fifth′-mon′archist.—Fifth-monarchy men, an extreme sect of the time of the Puritan revolution, who looked for the establishment of a new reign of Christ on earth, in succession to Daniel's four great monarchies of Antichrist. ”

“ Fimetarious, fim-ē-tā′ri-us, adj. growing on dung.
Fin, fin, n. the organ by which a fish balances itself and swims.—n. Fin′-back, a finner or fin-whale.—adjs. Fin′-foot′ed, having feet with toes connected by a membrane; Finned, having fins; Fin′ny, furnished with fins.—n. Fin′-ray, one of the rods or rays supporting a fish's fin.—adj. Fin′-toed, having feet with membranes connecting the toes, as aquatic birds. [A.S. finn; L. pinna, a fin.] ”

“ Fidd′le-fadd′ler.—adj. Fidd′le-fadd′ling.—ns. Fidd′le-head, an ornament at a ship's bow, over the cut-water, consisting of a scroll turning aft or inward; Fidd′ler, one who fiddles: a small crab of genus Gelasimus; Fidd′le-string, a string for a fiddle; Fidd′le-wood, a tropical American tree yielding valuable hard wood.—adj. Fidd′ling, trifling, busy about trifles.—Fiddler's green, a sailor's name for a place of frolic on shore.—Play first, or second, fiddle, to take the part of the first, or second, violin-player in an orchestra: to take a leading, or a subordinate, part in anything ”

“ Fissure, fish′ūr, n. a narrow opening or chasm: a cleft, slit, or furrow: any groove or sulcus, esp. one of the furrows on the surface of the brain, as the longitudinal fissure separating the hemispheres.—adj. Fiss′ūred, cleft, divided. [Fr.,—L. fissūra, from findĕre, fissum, to cleave.]
Fist, fist, n. the closed or clenched hand.—v.t. to strike or grip with the fist.—n. Fistiā′na, anecdotes about boxing and boxers.—adj. Fist′ic (Dickens) , pugilistic.—ns. Fist′icuff, a blow with the fist: (pl.) boxing, blows; Fist′-law, the law of brute force.—adj. Fist′y. [A.S. fýst; Ger. faust.] ”

“ Make fish of one and flesh (or fowl) of another, to make invidious distinctions, show undue partiality. [A.S. fisc; Ger. fisch; Ice. fiskr; L. piscis; Gr. ichthys; Gael. iasg.]
Fiskery, fisk′er-i, n. (Carlyle) friskiness.—v.i. Fisk (obs.) , to jump about. ”

“ Fill′ing, anything used to fill up, stop a hole, to complete, &c., as the woof, in weaving: supply. [A.S. fyllan, fullian—ful, full.]
Fill, fil, n. (Shak.) the thill or shaft of a cart or carriage. [See Thill.]
Fillet, fil′et, n. a little string or band, esp. to tie round the head: meat or fish boned and rolled, roasted or baked: a piece of meat composed of muscle, esp. the fleshy part of the thigh: (archit.) a small space or band used along with mouldings.—v.t. to bind or adorn with a fillet:—pr.p. fill′eting ”

“ Fibrocar′tilage, a firm elastic material like fibrous tissue and cartilage.—adj. Fī′broid, of a fibrous character.—ns. Fī′broin, the chief chemical constituent of silk, cobwebs, and the horny skeleton of sponges; Fibrō′ma, a tumour or growth consisting largely of fibrous matter; Fibrō′sis, a morbid growth of fibrous matter.—adj. Fī′brous, composed of fibres.—n. Fī′brousness. [Fr.,—L. fibra, a thread.]
Fibroline, fib′rō-lēn, n. a yarn manufactured from the waste in hemp, flax, and jute spinning works, for backs of carpets, &c. ”

“ Fett′ered, bound by fetters: (zool.) of feet bent backward and apparently unfit for walking; Fett′erless, without fetters, unrestrained.—n. Fett′erlock (her.) a shackle or lock. [A.S. feter—fét, feet, pl. of fót, foot.]
Fettle, fet′l, v.t. (prov.) to arrange, mend.—v.i. to potter fussily about.—n. preparedness, ready condition. [Prob. A.S. fetel, a belt.]
Fetus. See Fœtus.
Feu, fū, n. (Scot.) a tenure where the vassal, in place of military services, makes a return in grain or in money: a right to the use of land, houses, &c., in perpetuity, for a stipulated annual payment (Feu′-dū′ty) .—v.t. ”

“ Flagon, flag′un, n. a vessel with a narrow neck for holding liquids. [Fr. flacon for flascon—Low L. flasco. See Flask.]
Flagrant, flā′grant, adj. glaring: notorious: enormous.—ns. Flā′grance, Flā′grancy.—adv. Flā′grantly. [L. flagrans, pr.p. of flagrāre, to burn.]
Flail, flāl, n. an implement for threshing corn, consisting of a wooden bar (the swingle) hinged or tied to a handle: a medieval weapon with spiked iron swingle.—v.t. to strike with, or as if with, a flail. [A.S. fligel, prob. from L. flagellum, a scourge.]
Flair, flār, n. perceptiveness, discernment. [Fr.] ”

“ Fil′ter-pā′per, porous paper for use in filtering; Fil′ter-pump, a contrivance devised by the chemist Bunsen for accelerating the filtering process. [O. Fr. filtre—Low L. filtrum, felt.]
Filth, filth, n. foul matter: anything that defiles, physically or morally.—adv. Filth′ily.—n. Filth′iness.—adj. Filth′y, foul: unclean: impure. [A.S. fýldh—fúl, foul.]
Filtrate, fil′trāt, v.t. to filter or percolate.—n. Filtrā′tion, act or process of filtering.
Fimble, fim′bl, n. the male plant of hemp, yielding a weaker and shorter fibre than the Carl hemp or female plant. [Dut. femel.] ”