Chapter CLXX: Epilogue: Ep"i*logue, n. Etym: F. épilogue, L. epilogus, fr. Gr. Legend (17)

Defn: A reformed branch of the Bernardines, founded in 1577 at Feuillans, near Toulouse, in France.

FEUILLEMORT Feuille"mort`, a. Etym: [F. feuille morte a dead leaf.]

Defn: Having the color of a faded leaf. Locke.

FEUILLETON Feu`ille*ton" ( or ), n. Etym: [F., from feulle leaf.]

Defn: A part of a French newspaper (usually the bottom of the page), devoted to light literature, criticism, etc.; also, the article or tale itself, thus printed.

FEUILLTONIST Feuill"ton*ist, n. Etym: [F. feuilletoniste.]

Defn: A writer of feuilletons. F. Harrison.

FEUTER feu"ter (, v. t. Etym: [OE. feutre rest for a lance, OF. feutre, fautre, feltre, felt, cushion, rest for a lance, fr. LL. filtrum, feltrum; of German origin, and akin to E. felt. See Felt, and cf. Filter.]

Defn: To set close; to fix in rest, as a spear. Spenser.

FEUTERER Feu"ter*er, n. Etym: [Either fr. G. fütterer feeder, or corrupted fr. OF. vautrier, vaultrier; fr. vaultre, viautre, a kind of hound, fr. L. vertragus, vertraga, a greyhound. The last is of Celtic origin.]

Defn: A dog keeper. [Obs.] Massinger.

FEVER Fe"ver, n. Etym: [OE. fever, fefer, AS. fefer, fefor, L. febris: cf. F. fièvre. Cf. Febrile.]

1. (Med.)

Defn: A diseased state of the system, marked by increased heat, acceleration of the pulse, and a general derangement of the functions, including usually, thirst and loss of appetite. Many diseases, of which fever is the most prominent symptom, are denominated fevers; as, typhoid fever; yellow fever.

Note: Remitting fevers subside or abate at intervals; intermitting fevers intermit or entirely cease at intervals; continued or continual fevers neither remit nor intermit.

2. Excessive excitement of the passions in consequence of strong emotion; a condition of great excitement; as, this quarrel has set my blood in a fever. An envious fever Of pale and bloodless emulation. Shak. After life's fitful fever he sleeps well. Shak. Brain fever, Continued fever, etc. See under Brain, Continued, etc. -- Fever and ague, a form of fever recurring in paroxysms which are preceded by chills. It is of malarial origin. -- Fever blister (Med.), a blister or vesicle often found about the mouth in febrile states; a variety of herpes. -- Fever bush (Bot.), the wild allspice or spice bush. See Spicewood. -- Fever powder. Same as Jame's powder. -- Fever root (Bot.), an American herb of the genus Triosteum (T. perfoliatum); -- called also feverwort amd horse gentian. -- Fever sore, a carious ulcer or necrosis. Miner.

FEVER Fe"ver, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Fevered; p. pr. & vb. n. Fevering.]

Defn: To put into a fever; to affect with fever; as, a fevered lip. [R.] The white hand of a lady fever thee. Shak.

FEVERET Fe"ver*et, n.

Defn: A slight fever. [Obs.] Ayliffe.

FEVERFEW Fe"ver*few, n. Etym: [AS. feferfuge, fr. L. febrifugia. See fever, Fugitive, and cf. Febrifuge.] (Bot.)

Defn: A perennial plant (Pyrethrum, or Chrysanthemum, Parthenium) allied to camomile, having finely divided leaves and white blossoms; -- so named from its supposed febrifugal qualities.

FEVERISH Fe"ver*ish, a.

1. Having a fever; suffering from, or affected with, a moderate degree of fever; showing increased heat and thirst; as, the patient is feverish.

2. Indicating, or pertaining to, fever; characteristic of a fever; as, feverish symptoms.

3. Hot; sultry. "The feverish north." Dryden.

4. Disordered as by fever; excited; restless; as, the feverish condition of the commercial world. Strive to keep up a frail and feverish bing. Milton. -- Fe"ver*ish*ly, adv. -- Fe"ver*ish*ness, n.

FEVEROUS Fe"ver*ous, a. Etym: [Cf.F. fiévreux.]

1. Affected with fever or ague; feverish. His heart, love's feverous citadel. Keats.

2. Pertaining to, or having the nature of, fever; as, a feverous pulse. All maladies . . . all feverous kinds. Milton.

3. Having the tendency to produce fever; as, a feverous disposition of the year. [R.] Bacon.

FEVEROUSLY Fe"ver*ous*ly, adv.

Defn: Feverishly. [Obs.] Donne.

FEVERWORT Fe"ver*wort`, n.

Defn: See Fever root, under Fever.

FEVERY Fe"ver*y, a.

Defn: Feverish. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

FEW Few, a. [Compar. Fewer; superl. Fewest.] Etym: [OE. fewe, feawe, AS. feá, pl. feáwe; akin to OS. fah, OHG. f*, Icel. far, Sw. få, pl., Dan. faa, pl., Goth. faus, L. paucus, cf. Gr. Paucity.]

Defn: Not many; small, limited, or confined in number; -- indicating a small portion of units or individuals constituing a whole; often, by ellipsis of a noun, a few people. "Are not my days few" Job x. 20. Few know and fewer care. Proverb.

Note: Few is often used partitively; as, few of them. A few, a small number. -- In few, in a few words; briefly. Shak. - No few, not few; more than a few; many. Cowper. - The few, the minority; -- opposed to the many or the majority.

FEWEL Fe"wel, n. Etym: [See Fuel.]

Defn: Fuel. [Obs.] Hooker.

FEWMET Few"met, n.

Defn: See Fumet. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

FEWNESS Few"ness, n.

1. The state of being few; smallness of number; paucity. Shak.

2. Brevity; conciseness. [Obs.] Shak.

FEY Fey, a. Etym: [AS. f, Icel. feigr, OHG. feigi.]

Defn: Fated; doomed. [Old Eng. & Scot.]

FEY Fey, n. Etym: [See Fay faith.]

Defn: Faith. [Obs.] Chaucer.

FEY Fey, v. t. Etym: [Cf. Feague.]

Defn: To cleanse; to clean out. [Obs.] Tusser.

FEYNE Feyne, v. t.

Defn: To feign. [Obs.] Chaucer.

FEYRE Feyre, n.

Defn: A fair or market. [Obs.] Chaucer.

FEZ Fez, n. Etym: [F., fr. the town of Fez in Morocco.]

Defn: A felt or cloth cap, usually red and having a tassel, -- a variety of the tarboosh. See Tarboosh. B. Taylor.

FIACRE Fia"cre, n. Etym: [F.]

Defn: A kind of French hackney coach.

FIANCE Fi"ance, v. t. Etym: [F. fiancer. See Affiance.]

Defn: To betroth; to affiance. [Obs.] Harmar.

FIANCE Fi`an`cé", n. Etym: [F.]

Defn: A betrothed man.

FIANCEE Fi`an`cée", n. Etym: [F.]

Defn: A betrothed woman.

FIANTS Fi"ants, n. Etym: [F. fiente dung.]

Defn: The dung of the fox, wolf, boar, or badger.

FIAR Fi"ar ( or ), n. Etym: [See Feuar.]

1. (Scots Law)

Defn: One in whom the property of an estate is vested, subject to the estate of a life renter. I am fiar of the lands; she a life renter. Sir W. Scott.

2. pl.

Defn: The price of grain, as legally fixed, in the counties of Scotland, for the current year.

FIASCO Fi*as"co, n.; pl. Fiascoes. Etym: [It.]

Defn: A complete or ridiculous failure, esp. of a musical performance, or of any pretentious undertaking.

FIAT Fi"at, n. Etym: [L., let it be done, 3d pers. sing., subj. pres., fr. fieri, used as pass. of facere to make. Cf. Be.]

1. An authoritative command or order to do something; an effectual decree. His fiat laid the corner stone. Willis.

2. (Eng. Law) (a) A warrant of a judge for certain processes. (b) An authority for certain proceedings given by the Lord Chancellor's signature. Fiat money, irredeemable paper currency, not resting on a specie basis, but deriving its purchasing power from the declaratory fiat of the government issuing it.

FIAUNT Fi*aunt", n.

Defn: Commission; fiat; order; decree. [Obs.] Spenser.

FIB Fib, n. Etym: [Prob. fr. fable; cf. Prov. E. fibble-fabble nonsense.]

Defn: A falsehood; a lie; -- used euphemistically. They are very serious; they don't tell fibs. H. James.

FIB Fib, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Fibbed; p. pr. & vb. n. Fibbing.]

Defn: To speak falsely. [Colloq.]

FIB Fib, v. t.

Defn: To tell a fib to. [R.] De Quincey.

FIBBER Fib"ber, n.

Defn: One who tells fibs.

FIBER; FIBRE Fi"ber, Fi"bre, (, n. Etym: [F. fibre, L. fibra.]

1. One of the delicate, threadlike portions of which the tissues of plants and animals are in part constituted; as, the fiber of flax or of muscle.

2. Any fine, slender thread, or threadlike substance; as, a fiber of spun glass; especially, one of the slender rootlets of a plant.

3. Sinew; strength; toughness; as, a man of real fiber. Yet had no fibers in him, nor no force. Chapman.

4. A general name for the raw material, such as cotton, flax, hemp, etc., used in textile manufactures. Fiber gun, a kind of steam gun for converting, wood, straw, etc., into fiber. The material is shut up in the gun with steam, air, or gas at a very high pressure which is afterward relieved suddenly by letting a lid at the muzzle fly open, when the rapid expansion separates the fibers. -- Fiber plants (Bot.), plants capable of yielding fiber useful in the arts, as hemp, flax, ramie, agave, etc.

FIBERED; FIBRED Fi"bered, Fi"bred, a.

Defn: Having fibers; made up of fibers.

FIBER-FACED; FIBRE-FACED Fi"ber-faced`, Fi"bre-faced`, a.

Defn: Having a visible fiber embodied in the surface of; -- applied esp. to a kind of paper for checks, drafts, etc.

FIBERLESS; FIBRELESS Fi"ber*less, Fi"bre*less, a.

Defn: Having no fibers; destitute of fibers or fiber.

FIBRIFORM Fi"bri*form ( or ), a. Etym: [L. fibra a fiber + -form.] (Biol.)

Defn: Having the form of a fiber or fibers; resembling a fiber.

FIBRIL Fi"bril, n. Etym: [F. fibrille, dim. of fibre, L. fibra.]

Defn: A small fiber; the branch of a fiber; a very slender thread; a fibrilla. Cheyne.

FIBRILLA Fi*bril"la, n.; pl. FibrillÆ. Etym: [NL. See Fibril.]

Defn: A minute thread of fiber, as one of the fibrous elements of a muscular fiber; a fibril.

FIBRILLAR Fi"bril*lar, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to fibrils or fibers; as, fibrillar twitchings.

FIBRILLARY Fi"bril*la*ry ( or ), a.

Defn: Of of pertaining to fibrils.

FIBRILLATED Fi"bril*la`ted ( or ), a.

Defn: Furnished with fibrils; fringed.

FIBRILLATION Fi`bril*la"tion, n.

Defn: The state of being reduced to fibers. Carpenter.

FIBRILLOSE Fi*bril"lose ( or ), a.

Defn: Covered with hairlike appendages, as the under surface of some lichens; also, composed of little strings or fibers; as, fibrillose appendages.

FIBRILLOUS Fi*bril"lous ( or ), a. Etym: [Cf. F. fibraleux.]

Defn: Pertaining to, or composed of, fibers.

FIBRIN Fi"brin, n. Etym: [Cf. F. fibrine. See Fiber.] (Physiol. Chem.)

1. A white, albuminous, fibrous substance, formed in the coagulation of the blood either by decomposition of fibrinogen, or from the union of fibrinogen and paraglobulin which exist separately in the blood. It is insoluble in water, but is readily digestible in gastric and pancreatic juice.

2. The white, albuminous mass remaining after washing lean beef or other meat with water until all coloring matter is removed; the fibrous portion of the muscle tissue; flesh fibrin.

3. An albuminous body, resembling animal fibrin in composition, found in cereal grains and similar seeds; vegetable fibrin. Fibrin factors (Physiol.), the albuminous bodies, paraglobulin and fibrinigen in the blood, which, by the action of the fibrin ferment, are changed into fibrin, in coagulation. -- Fibrin ferment (Physiol. Chem.), a ferment which makes its appearance in the blood shortly after it is shed, and is supposed to be the active agent in causing coagulation of the blood, with formation of fibrin.

FIBRINATION Fi`bri*na"tion, n. (Med.)

Defn: The state of acquiring or having an excess of fibrin.

FIBRINE Fi"brine, a.

Defn: Belonging to the fibers of plants.

FIBRINOGEN Fi*brin"o*gen, n. Etym: [Fibrin + -gen.] (Physiol. Chem.)

Defn: An albuminous substance existing in the blood, and in other animal fluids, which either alone or with fibrinoplastin or paraglobulin forms fibrin, and thus causes coagulation.

FIBRINOGENOUS Fi`bri*nog"e*nous, a. (Physiol. Chem.)

Defn: Possessed of properties similar to fibrinogen; capable of forming fibrin.

FIBRINOPLASTIC Fi`bri*no*plas"tic, a. (Physiol.Chem.)

Defn: Like fibrinoplastin; capable of forming fibrin when brought in contact with fibrinogen.

FIBRINOPLASTIN Fi`bri*no*plas"tin, n. Etym: [Fibrin + Gr. (Physiol.Chem.)

Defn: An albuminous substance, existing in the blood, which in combination with fibrinogen forms fibrin; -- called also paraglobulin.

FIBRINOUS Fi"bri*nous ( or ; 277), a.

Defn: Having, or partaking of the properties of, fibrin; as, fibrious exudation.

FIBROCARTILAGE Fi`bro*car"ti*lage, n. Etym: [L. fibra a fiber + E. cartilage.] (Anat.)

Defn: A kind of cartilage with a fibrous matrix and approaching fibrous connective tissue in structure. -- Fi`bro*car`ti*lag"i*nous, a.

FIBROCHONDROSTEAL Fi`bro*chon*dros"te*al, a. Etym: [L. fibra a fiber + gr. (Anat.)

Defn: Partly fibrous, partly cartilaginous, and partly osseous. St. George Mivart.

FIBROID Fi"broid, a. Etym: [L. fibra a fiber + -oid.] (Med.)

Defn: Resembling or forming fibrous tissue; made up of fibers; as, fibroid tumors. -- n.

Defn: A fibroid tumor; a fibroma. Fibroid degeneration, a form of degeneration in which organs or tissues are converted into fibroid tissue. -- Fibroid phthists, a form of pulmonary consumption associated with the formation of fibrous tissue in the lungs, and the gradual atrophy of the lungs, from the pressure due to the contraction of this tissue.

FIBROIN Fi"bro*in ( or ), n. Etym: [L. fibra a fiber.] (Chem.)

Defn: A variety of gelatin; the chief ingredient of raw silk, extracted as a white amorphous mass.

FIBROLITE Fi"bro*lite ( or ), n. Etym: [L. fibra a fiber + -lite: cf. F. fibrolithe.] (Min.)

Defn: A silicate of alumina, of fibrous or columnar structure. It is like andalusite in composition; -- called also sillimanite, and bucholizite.

FIBROMA Fi*bro"ma, n. Etym: [NL. See Fiber, and -oma.] (Med.)

Defn: A tumor consisting mainly of fibrous tissue, or of same modification of such tissue.

FIBROSPONGIAE Fi`bro*spon"gi*æ, n. pl. Etym: [NL., fr. L. fibra a fiber + spongia a sponge.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: An order of sponges having a fibrous skeleton, including the commercial sponges.

FIBROUS Fi"brous, a. Etym: [Cf. F. fibreux.]

Defn: Containing, or consisting of, fibers; as, the fibrous coat of the cocoanut; the fibrous roots of grasses. -- Fi"brous*ness, n.

FIBROVASCULAR Fi`bro*vas"cu*lar, a. Etym: [L. fibra a fiber + E. vascular.] (Bot.)

Defn: Containing woody fiber and ducts, as the stems of all flowering plants and ferns; -- opposed to cellular.

FIBSTER Fib"ster, n.

Defn: One who tells fibs. [Jocular]

FIBULA Fib"u*la, n.; pl. FibulÆ. Etym: [L., clasp, buckle.]

1. A brooch, clasp, or buckle. Mere fibulæ, without a robe to clasp. Wordsworth.

2. (Anat.)

Defn: The outer and usually the smaller of the two bones of the leg, or hind limb, below the knee.

3. (Surg.)

Defn: A needle for sewing up wounds.

FIBU-LAR Fib"u-lar, a.

Defn: Pertaining to the fibula.

FIBULARE Fib`u*la"re, n.; pl. Fibularia. Etym: [NL. See Fibula.] (Anat.)

Defn: The bone or cartilage of the tarsus, which articulates with the fibula, and corresponds to the calcaneum in man and most mammals.

FICE Fice, n.

Defn: A small dog; -- written also fise, fyce, fiste, etc. [Southern U.S.]

FICHE Fi*ché, a. (Her.)

Defn: See FitchÉ.

FICHTELITE Fich"tel*ite, n. (Min.)

Defn: A white crystallized mineral resin from the Fichtelgebirge, Bavaria.

FICHU Fich"u, n. Etym: [F., neckerchief.]

Defn: A light cape, usually of lace, worn by women, to cover the neck and throat, and extending to the shoulders.

FICKLE Fic"kle, a. Etym: [OE. fikel untrustworthy, deceitful, AS. ficol, fr. fic, gefic, fraud, deceit; cf. facen deceit, OS. f, OHG. feichan, Icel. feikn portent. Cf. Fidget.]

Defn: Not fixed or firm; liable to change; unstable; of a changeable mind; not firm in opinion or purpose; inconstant; capricious; as, Fortune's fickle wheel. Shak. They know how fickle common lovers are. Dryden.

Syn. -- Wavering; irresolute; unsettled; vacillating; unstable; inconsonant; unsteady; variable; mutable; changeful; capricious; veering; shifting.

FICKLENESS Fic"kle*ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being fickle; instability; inconsonancy. Shak.

FICKLY Fic"kly, adv.

Defn: In a fickle manner. [Obs.] Pepys.

FICO Fi"co, n.; pl. Ficoes. Etym: [It., a fig, fr. L.ficus. See Fig.]

Defn: A fig; an insignificant trifle, no more than the snap of one's thumb; a sign of contempt made by the fingers, expressing. A fig for you. Steal! foh, a fico for the phrase. Shak.

FICTILE Fic"tile, a. Etym: [L. fictilis. See Fiction.]

Defn: Molded, or capable of being molded, into form by art; relating to pottery or to molding in any soft material. Fictile earth is more fragile than crude earth. Bacon. The earliest specimens of Italian fictile art. C. Wordsworth. Fictile ware, ware made of any material which is molded or shaped while soft; hence, pottery of any sort. -- Fic"tile*ness, n. -- Fic*til"i*ty, n.

FICTION Fic"tion, n. Etym: [F. fiction, L. fictio, fr. fingere, fictum to form, shape, invent, feign. See Feign.]

1. The act of feigning, inventing, or imagining; as, by a mere fiction of the mind. Bp. Stillingfleet.

2. That which is feigned, invented, or imagined; especially, a feigned or invented story, whether oral or written. Hence: A story told in order to deceive; a fabrication; -- opposed to fact, or reality. The fiction of those golden apples kept by a dragon. Sir W. Raleigh. When it could no longer be denied that her flight had been voluntary, numerous fictions were invented to account for it. Macaulay.

3. Fictitious literature; comprehensively, all works of imagination; specifically, novels and romances. The office of fiction as a vehicle of instruction and moral elevation has been recognized by most if not all great educators. Dict. of Education.

4. (Law)

Defn: An assumption of a possible thing as a fact, irrespective of the question of its truth. Wharton.

5. Any like assumption made for convenience, as for passing more rapidly over what is not disputed, and arriving at points really at issue.

Syn. -- Fabrication; invention; fable; falsehood. -- Fiction, Fabrication. Fiction is opposed to what is real; fabrication to what is true. Fiction is designed commonly to amuse, and sometimes to instruct; a fabrication is always intended to mislead and deceive. In the novels of Sir Walter Scott we have fiction of the highest order. The poems of Ossian, so called, were chiefly fabrications by Macpherson.

FICTIONAL Fic"tion*al, a.

Defn: Pertaining to, or characterized by, fiction; fictitious; romantic."Fictional rather than historical." Latham.

FICTIONIST Fic"tion*ist, n.

Defn: A writer of fiction. [R.] Lamb.

FICTIOUS Fic"tious, a.

Defn: Fictitious. [R.] Prior.

FICTITIOUS Fic*ti"tious, a. Etym: [L. fictitius. See Fiction.]

Defn: Feigned; imaginary; not real; fabulous; counterfeit; false; not genuine; as, fictitious fame. The human persons are as fictitious as the airy ones. Pope. -- Fic*ti"tious*ly, adv. -- Fic*ti"tious*ness, n.

FICTIVE Fic"tive, a. Etym: [Cf. F. fictif.]

Defn: Feigned; counterfeit. "The fount of fictive tears." Tennyson.

FICTOR Fic"tor, n. Etym: [L.]

Defn: An artist who models or forms statues and reliefs in any plastic material. [R.] Elmes.

FICUS Fi"cus, n. Etym: [L., a fig.]

Defn: A genus of trees or shrubs, one species of which (F. Carica) produces the figs of commerce; the fig tree.

Note: Ficus Indica is the banyan tree; F. religiosa, the peepul tree; F. elastica, the India-rubber tree.

FID Fid, n. Etym: [Prov. E. fid a small, thick lump.]

1. (Naut.)

Defn: A square bar of wood or iron, used to support the topmast, being passed through a hole or mortise at its heel, and resting on the trestle trees.

2. A wooden or metal bar or pin, used to support or steady anything.

3. A pin of hard wood, tapering to a point, used to open the strands of a rope in splicing.

Note: There are hand fids and standing fids (which are larger than the others, and stand upon a flat base). An iron implement for this purpose is called a marline spike.

4. (Mil.)

Defn: A block of wood used in mounting and dismounting heavy guns.

FIDALGO Fi*dal"go, n. Etym: [Pg. See Hidalgo.]

Defn: The lowest title of nobility in Portugal, corresponding to that of Hidalgo in Spain.

FIDDLE Fid"dle, n. Etym: [OE. fidele, fithele, AS. fi; akin to D. vedel, OHG. fidula, G. fiedel, Icel. fi, and perh. to E. viol. Cf. Viol.]

1. (Mus.)

Defn: A stringed instrument of music played with a bow; a violin; a kit.

2. (Bot.)

Defn: A kind of dock (Rumex pulcher) with fiddle-shaped leaves; -- called also fiddle dock.

3. (Naut.)

Defn: A rack or frame of bars connected by strings, to keep table furniture in place on the cabin table in bad weather. Ham. Nav. Encyc. Fiddle beetle (Zoöl.), a Japanese carabid beetle (Damaster blaptoides); -- so called from the form of the body. -- Fiddle block (Naut.), a long tackle block having two sheaves of different diameters in the same plane, instead of side by side as in a common double block. Knight. -- Fiddle bow, fiddlestick. -- Fiddle fish (Zoöl.), the angel fish. -- Fiddle head, an ornament on a ship's bow, curved like the volute or scroll at the head of a violin. -- Fiddle pattern, a form of the handles of spoons, forks, etc., somewhat like a violin. -- Scotch fiddle, the itch. (Low) -- To play first, or second, fiddle, to take a leading or a subordinate part. [Colloq.]

FIDDLE Fid"dle, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Fiddled; p. pr. & vb. n. Fiddling.]

1. To play on a fiddle. Themistocles . . . said he could not fiddle, but he could make a small town a great city. Bacon.

2. To keep the hands and fingers actively moving as a fiddler does; to move the hands and fingers restlessy or in busy idleness; to trifle. Talking, and fiddling with their hats and feathers. Pepys.

FIDDLE Fid"dle, v. t.

Defn: To play (a tune) on a fiddle.

FIDDLEDEEDEE Fid"dle*dee*dee`, interj.

Defn: An exclamatory word or phrase, equivalent to nonsense! [Colloq.]

FIDDLE-FADDLE Fid"dle-fad`dle, n.

Defn: A trifle; trifling talk; nonsense. [Colloq.] Spectator.

FIDDLE-FADDLE Fid"dle-fad`dle, v. i.

Defn: To talk nonsense. [Colloq.] Ford.

FIDDLER Fid"dler, n. Etym: [AS. fi.]

1. One who plays on a fiddle or violin.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A burrowing crab of the genus Gelasimus, of many species. The male has one claw very much enlarged, and often holds it in a position similar to that in which a musician holds a fiddle, hence the name; -- called also calling crab, soldier crab, and fighting crab.

3. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The common European sandpiper (Tringoides hypoleucus); -- so called because it continually oscillates its body. Fiddler crab. (Zoöl.) See Fiddler, n., 2.

FIDDLE-SHAPED Fid"dle-shaped`, a. (Bot.)

Defn: Inversely ovate, with a deep hollow on each side. Gray.

FIDDLESTICK Fid"dle*stick`, n.

Defn: The bow, strung with horsehair, used in playing the fiddle; a fiddle bow.

FIDDLESTRING Fid"dle*string`, n.

Defn: One of the catgut strings of a fiddle.

FIDDLEWOOD Fid"dle*wood`, n. Etym: [Corrupted fr. F. bois-fidèle, lit., faithful wood; -- so called from its durability.]

Defn: The wood of several West Indian trees, mostly of the genus Citharexylum.

FIDEJUSSION Fi`de*jus"sion, n. Etym: [L. fidejussio, from fidejubere to be surety or bail; fides faith + jubere to order: cf. F. fidéjussion.] (Civil Law)

Defn: The act or state of being bound as surety for another; suretyship.

FIDEJUSSOR Fi`de*jus"sor, n. Etym: [L.: cf. F. fidéjusseur.] (Civil Law)

Defn: A surety; one bound for another, conjointly with him; a guarantor. Blackstone.

FIDELITY Fi*del"i*ty, n. Etym: [L. fidelitas: cf. F. fidélité. See Fealty.]

Defn: Faithfulness; adherence to right; careful and exact observance of duty, or discharge of obligations. Especially: (a) Adherence to a person or party to which one is bound; loyalty. Whose courageous fidelity was proof to all danger. Macaulay. The best security for the fidelity of men is to make interest coincide with duty. A. Hamilton.

(b) Adherence to the marriage contract. (c) Adherence to truth; veracity; honesty. The principal thing required in a witness is fidelity. Hooker.

Syn. -- Faithfulness; honesty; integrity; faith; loyalty; fealty.

FIDES Fi"des, n. Etym: [L., faith.] (Roman Muth.)

Defn: Faith personified as a goddess; the goddess of faith.

FIDGE Fidge, n. & i.

Defn: See Fidget. [R.] Swift.

FIDGET Fidg"et, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Fidgeted; p. pr. & vb. n. Fodgeting.] Etym: [From Fidge; cf. OE. fiken to fidget, to flatter, Icel. fika to hasten, Sw. fika to hunt after, AS. befician to deceive. Cf. Fickle.]

Defn: To move uneasily one way and the other; to move irregularly, or by fits and starts. Moore.

FIDGET Fidg"et, n.

1. Uneasiness; restlessness. Cowper.

2. pl.

Defn: A general nervous restlessness, manifested by incessant changes of position; dysphoria. Dunglison.

FIDGETINESS Fidg"et*i*ness, n.

Defn: Quality of being fidgety.

FIDGETY Fidg"et*y, a.

Defn: Restless; uneasy. Lowell.

FIDIA Fid"i*a, n. Etym: [NL., prob. fr. L. fidus trusty.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A genus of small beetles, of which one species (the grapevine Fidia, F. longipes) is very injurious to vines in America.

FIDICINAL Fi*dic"i*nal, a. Etym: [L. fidicinus, fr. fidicen, -inis, a lute player.] (Mus.)

Defn: Of or pertaining to a stringed instrument.

FIDUCIAL Fi*du"cial, a. Etym: [L. fiducia trust, confidence; akin to fides faith. See Faith.]

1. Having faith or trust; confident; undoubting; firm. "Fiducial reliance on the promises of God." Hammond.

2. Having the nature of a trust; fiduciary; as, fiducial power. Spelman. Fiducial edge (Astron. & Surv.), the straight edge of the alidade or ruler along which a straight line is to be drawn. -- Fiducial line or point (Math. & Physics.), a line or point of reference, as for setting a graduated circle or scale used for measurments.

FIDUCIALLY Fi*du"cial*ly, adv.

Defn: With confidence. South.

FIDUCIARY Fi*du"ci*a*ry ( or ), a. Etym: [L. fiduciarus, fr. fiducia: cf. F. fiduciaire. See Fiducial.]

1. Involving confidence or trust; confident; undoubting; faithful; firm; as, in a fiduciary capacity. "Fiduciary obedience." Howell.

2. Holding, held, or founded, in trust. Spelman.

FIDUCIARY Fi*du"ci*a*ry, n.

1. One who holds a thing in trust for another; a trustee. Instrumental to the conveying God's blessing upon those whose fiduciaries they are. Jer. Taylor.

2. (Theol.)

Defn: One who depends for salvation on faith, without works; an Antinomian. Hammond.

FIE Fie, interj. Etym: [OE. fi; cf. D. fif. G. pfui, Icel. f, Sw. & Dan. fy, F. fi, L. fi, phy.]

Defn: An exclamation denoting contempt or dislike. See Fy. Fuller.

FIEF Fief, n. Etym: [F. fief; of German origin, and the same word as E. fee. See Fee, and cf. Feud, a tief.] (Law)

Defn: An estate held of a superior on condition of military service; a fee; a feud. See under Benefice, n., 2.

FIELD Field, n. Etym: [OE. feld, fild, AS. feld; akin to D. veld, G. feld, Sw. fält, Dan. felt, Icel. fold field of grass, AS. folde earth, land, ground, OS. folda.]

1. Cleared land; land suitable for tillage or pasture; cultivated ground; the open country.

2. A piece of land of considerable size; esp., a piece inclosed for tillage or pasture. Fields which promise corn and wine. Byron.

3. A place where a battle is fought; also, the battle itself. In this glorious and well-foughten field. Shak. What though the field be lost Milton.

4. An open space; an extent; an expanse. Esp.: (a) Any blank space or ground on which figures are drawn or projected. (b) The space covered by an optical instrument at one view. Without covering, save yon field of stars. Shak. Ask of yonder argent fields above. Pope.

5. (Her.)

Defn: The whole surface of an escutcheon; also, so much of it is shown unconcealed by the different bearings upon it. See Illust. of Fess, where the field is represented as gules (red), while the fess is argent (silver).

6. An unresticted or favorable opportunity for action, operation, or achievement; province; room. Afforded a clear field for moral experiments. Macaulay.

7. A collective term for all the competitors in any outdoor contest or trial, or for all except the favorites in the betting.

8. (Baseball)

Defn: That part of the grounds reserved for the players which is outside of the diamond; -- called also outfield.

Note: Field is often used adjectively in the sense of belonging to, or used in, the fields; especially with reference to the operations and equipments of an army during a campaign away from permanent camps and fortifications. In most cases such use of the word is sufficiently clear; as, field battery; field fortification; field gun; field hospital, etc. A field geologist, naturalist, etc., is one who makes investigations or collections out of doors. A survey uses a field book for recording field notes, i.e., measurment, observations, etc., made in field work (outdoor operations). A farmer or planter employs field hands, and may use a field roller or a field derrick. Field sports are hunting, fishing, athletic games, etc. Coal field (Geol.) See under Coal. -- Field artillery, light ordnance mounted on wheels, for the use of a marching army. -- Field basil (Bot.), a plant of the Mint family (Calamintha Acinos); -- called also basil thyme. -- Field colors (Mil.), small flags for marking out the positions for squadrons and battalions; camp colors. -- Field cricket (Zoöl.), a large European cricket (Gryllus campestric), remarkable for its loud notes. -- Field day. (a) A day in the fields. (b) (Mil.) A day when troops are taken into the field for instruction in evolutions. Farrow. (c) A day of unusual exertion or display; a gala day. -- Field driver, in New England, an officer charged with the driving of stray cattle to the pound. -- Field duck (Zoöl.), the little bustard (Otis tetrax), found in Southern Europe. -- Field glass. (Optics) (a) A binocular telescope of compact form; a lorgnette; a race glass. (b) A small achromatic telescope, from 20 to 24 inches long, and having 3 to 6 draws. (c) See Field lens. -- Field lark. (Zoöl.) (a) The skylark. (b) The tree pipit. -- Field lens (Optics), that one of the two lenses forming the eyepiece of an astronomical telescope or compound microscope which is nearer the object glass; -- called also field glass. -- Field madder (Bot.), a plant (Sherardia arvensis) used in dyeing. -- Field marshal (Mil.), the highest military rank conferred in the British and other European armies. -- Field mouse (Zoöl.), a mouse inhabiting fields, as the campagnol and the deer mouse. See Campagnol, and Deer mouse. -- Field officer (Mil.), an officer above the rank of captain and below that of general. -- Field officer's court (U.S.Army), a court-martial consisting of one field officer empowered to try all cases, in time of war, subject to jurisdiction of garrison and regimental courts. Farrow. -- Field plover (Zoöl.), the black-bellied plover (Charadrius squatarola); also sometimes applied to the Bartramian sandpiper (Bartramia longicauda). -- Field spaniel (Zoöl.), a small spaniel used in hunting small game. -- Field sparrow. (Zoöl.) (a) A small American sparrow (Spizella pusilla). (b) The hedge sparrow. [Eng.] -- Field staff (Mil.), a staff formerly used by gunners to hold a lighted match for discharging a gun. -- Field vole (Zoöl.), the European meadow mouse. -- Field of ice, a large body of floating ice; a pack. -- Field, or Field of view, in a telescope or microscope, the entire space within which objects are seen. -- Field magnet. see under Magnet. -- Magnetic field. See Magnetic. -- To back the field, or To bet on the field. See under Back, v. t. -- To keep the field. (a) (Mil.) To continue a campaign. (b) To maintain one's ground against all comers. -- To lay, or back, against the field, to bet on (a horse, etc.) against all comers. -- To take the field (Mil.), to enter upon a campaign.

FIELD Field, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Fielded; p. pr. & vb. n. Fielding.]

1. To take the field. [Obs.] Spenser.

2. (Ball Playing)

Defn: To stand out in the field, ready to catch, stop, or throw the ball.

FIELD Field, v. t. (Ball Playing)

Defn: To catch, stop, throw, etc. (the ball), as a fielder.

FIELDED Field"ed, a.

Defn: Engaged in the field; encamped. [Obs.] To help fielded friends. Shak.

FIELDEN Field"en, a.

Defn: Consisting of fields. [Obs.] The fielden country also and plains. Holland.

FIELDER Field"er, n. (Ball Playing)

Defn: A ball payer who stands out in the field to catch or stop balls.

FIELDFARE Field"fare`, n. Etym: [OE. feldfare, AS. feldfare; field + faran to travel.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: a small thrush (Turdus pilaris) which breeds in northern Europe and winters in Great Britain. The head, nape, and lower part of the back are ash-colored; the upper part of the back and wing coverts, chestnut; -- called also fellfare.

FIELDING Field"ing, n. (Ball Playing)

Defn: The act of playing as a fielder.

FIELDPIECE Field"piece`, n.

Defn: A cannon mounted on wheels, for the use of a marching army; a piece of field artillery; -- called also field gun.

FIELDWORK Field"work`, n. (Mil.)

Defn: Any temporary fortification thrown up by an army in the field; -- commonly in the plural. All works which do not come under the head of permanent fortification are called fieldworks. Wilhelm.

FIELDY Field"y, a.

Defn: Open, like a field. [Obs.] Wyclif.

FIEND Fiend, n. Etym: [OE. fend, find, fiend, feond, fiend, foe, AS. feónd; akin to OS. fiond, D. vijand enemy, OHG. fiant, G. feind, Icel. fjand, Sw. & Dan. fiende, Goth. fijands; orig. p.pr. of a verb meaning to hate, AS. feón, feógan, OHG. fi, Goth. fijan, Skr. piy to scorn; prob. akin to E. feud a quarrel. *81. Cf. Foe, Friend.]

Defn: An implacable or malicious foe; one who is diabolically wicked or cruel; an infernal being; -- applied specifically to the devil or a demon. Into this wild abyss the wary fiend Stood on the brink of Hell and looked a while. Milton. O woman! woman! when to ill thy mind Is bent, all hell contains no fouler fiend. Pope.

FIENDFUL Fiend"ful, a.

Defn: Full of fiendish spirit or arts. Marlowe. -- Fiend"ful*ly, adv.

FIENDISH Fiend"ish, a.

Defn: Like a fiend; diabolically wicked or cruel; infernal; malignant; devilish; hellish. -- Fiend"ish*ly, adv. -- Fiend"ish*ness, n.

FIENDLIKE Fiend"like`, a.

Defn: Fiendish; diabolical. Longfellow.

FIENDLY Fiend"ly, a. Etym: [AS. feóndlic.]

Defn: Fiendlike; monstrous; devilish. [Obs.] Chaucer.

FIERASFER Fi`e*ras"fer, n. Etym: [NL.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A genus of small, slender fishes, remarkable for their habit of living as commensals in other animals. One species inhabits the gill cavity of the pearl oyster near Panama; another lives within an East Indian holothurian.

FIERCE Fierce, a. [Compar. Fiercer; superl. Fiercest.] Etym: [OE. fers, fiers, OF. fier, nom. fiers, fierce, savage, cruel, F. fier proud, from L. ferus wild, savage, cruel; perh. akin to E. bear the animal. Cf. Feral, Ferocity.]

1. Furious; violent; unrestrained; impetuous; as, a fierce wind. His fierce thunder drove us to the deep. Milton.

2. Vehement in anger or cruelty; ready or eager to kill or injure; of a nature to inspire terror; ferocious. "A fierce whisper." Dickens. "A fierce tyrant." Pope. The fierce foe hung upon our broken rear. Milton. Thou huntest me as a fierce lion. Job. x. 16.

3. Excessively earnest, eager, or ardent.

Syn. -- Ferocious; savage; cruel; vehement; impetuous; barbarous; fell. See Ferocious. -- Fierce"ly, adv. -- Fierce"ness, n.

FIERI FACIAS Fi"e*ri fa"ci*as. Etym: [L., cause it to be done.] (Law)

Defn: A judicial writ that lies for one who has recovered in debt or damages, commanding the sheriff that he cause to be made of the goods, chattels, or real estate of the defendant, the sum claimed. Blackstone. Cowell.

FIERINESS Fi"er*i*ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being fiery; heat; acrimony; irritability; as, a fieriness of temper. Addison.

FIERY Fi"er*y ( or ), a. Etym: [Formerly written firy, fr. fire.]

1. Consisting of, containing, or resembling, fire; as, the fiery gulf of Etna; a fiery appearance. And fiery billows roll below. I. Watts.

2. Vehement; ardent; very active; impetuous. Hath thy fiery heart so parched thine entrails Shak. The fiery spirit of his forefathers. W. Irwing.

3. Passionate; easily provoked; irritable. You kniw the fiery quality of the duke. Shak.

4. Unrestrained; fierce; mettlesome; spirited. One curbed the fiery steed. Dryden.

5. heated by fire, or as if by fire; burning hot; parched; feverish. Pope. The sword which is made fiery. Hooker. Fiery cross, a cross constructed of two firebrands, and pitched upon the point of a spear; formerly in Scotland borne by a runner as a signal for the clan to take up arms. Sir W. Scott.

FIESTA Fies"ta, n. [Sp. See Feast, n.]

Defn: Among Spanish, a religious festival; a saint's day or holiday; also, a holiday or festivity.

Even . . . a bullfight is a fiesta. Am. Dialect Notes.

Some fiesta, when all the surrounding population were expected to turn out in holiday dress for merriment. The Century.

FIFE Fife, n. Etym: [F. fifre, OHG. pfifa, LL. pipa pipe, pipare to play on the pipe, fr. L. pipire, pipare, to peep, pip, chirp, as a chiken. See Pipe.] (Mus.)

Defn: A small shrill pipe, resembling the piccolo flute, used chiefly to accompany the drum in military music. Fife major (Mil.), a noncommissioned officer who superintends the fifers of a regiment. -- Fife rail. (Naut.) (a) A rail about the mast, at the deck, to hold belaying pins, etc. (b) A railing around the break of a poop deck.

FIFE Fife, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Fifed; p. pr. & vb. n. fifing.]

Defn: To play on a fife.

FIFER Fif"er, n.

Defn: One who plays on a fife.

FIFTEEN Fif"teen`, a. Etym: [OE. fiftene, AS. fift, fift. See Five, and Ten, and cf. Fifty.]

Defn: Five and ten; one more than fourteen.

FIFTEEN Fif"teen`, n.

1. The sum of five and ten; fifteen units or objects.

2. A symbol representing fifteen units, as 15, or xv.

FIFTEENTH Fif"teenth`, a. Etym: [OE. fiftenthe; cf. fiftethe, AS. fifte. See Fifteen.]

1. Next in order after the fourteenth; -- the ordinal of fifteen.

2. Consisting of one of fifteen equal parts or divisions of a thing.

FIFTEENTH Fif"teenth`, n.

1. One of fifteen equal parts or divisions; the quotient of a unit divided by fifteen.

2. A species of tax upon personal property formerly laid on towns, boroughs, etc., in England, being one fifteenth part of what the personal property in each town, etc., had been valued at. Burrill.

3. (Mus.) (a) A stop in an organ tuned two octaves above the diaposon. (b) An interval consisting of two octaves.

FIFTH Fifth, a. Etym: [OE. fifte, fifthe, AS. fifta. See Five.]

1. Next in order after the fourth; -- the ordinal of five.

2. Consisting of one of five equal divisions of a thing. Fifth monarchy men (Hist.), a fanatical sect in England, of the time of the commonwealth, who maintained that there would be a fifth universal monarchy, during which Christ would reign on earth a thousand years. -- Fifth wheel, a horizontal wheel or segment above the fore axle of a carriage and beneath the body, forming an extended support to prevent careening.

FIFTH Fifth, n.

1. The quotient of a unit divided by five; one of five equal parts; a fifth part.

2. (Mus.)

Defn: The interval of three tones and a semitone, embracing five diatonic degrees of the scale; the dominant of any key.

FIFTHLY Fifth"ly, adv.

Defn: In the fifth place; as the fifth in order.

FIFTIETH Fif"ti*eth, a. Etym: [AS. fiftigo. See Fifty.]

1. Next in order after the forty-ninth; -- the ordinal of fifty.

2. Consisting of one of fifty equal parts or divisions.

FIFTIETH Fif"ti*eth, n.

Defn: One of fifty equal parts; the quotient of a unit divided by fifty.

FIFTY Fif"ty, a. Etym: [AS. fiftig; akin to OHG. finfzug, fimfzug, G. fünfzig, funfzig, Goth. fimftigjus. See Five, and Ten, and cf. Fifteen.]

Defn: Five times ten; as, fifty men.

FIFTY Fif"ty, n.; pl. Fifties (.

1. The sum of five tens; fifty units or objects.

2. A symbol representing fifty units, as 50, or l.

FIG Fig, n. Etym: [F. figue the fruit of the tree, Pr. figa, fr. L. ficus fig tree, fig. Cf. Fico.]

1. (Bot.)

Defn: A small fruit tree (Ficus Carica) with large leaves, known from the remotest antiquity. It was probably native from Syria westward to the Canary Islands.

2. The fruit of a fig tree, which is of round or oblong shape, and of various colors.

Note: The fruit of a fig tree is really the hollow end of a stem, and bears numerous achenia inside the cavity. Many species have little, hard, inedible figs, and in only a few does the fruit become soft and pulpy. The fruit of the cultivated varieties is much prized in its fresh state, and also when dried or preserved. See Caprification.

3. A small piece of tobacco. [U.S.]

4. The value of a fig, practically nothing; a fico; -- used in scorn or contempt. "A fig for Peter." Shak. Cochineal fig. See Conchineal fig. -- Fig dust, a preparation of fine oatmeal for feeding caged birds. -- Fig faun, one of a class of rural deities or monsters supposed to live on figs. "Therefore shall dragons dwell there with the fig fauns." Jer. i. 39. (Douay version). -- Fig gnat (Zoöl.), a small fly said to be injurious to figs. -- Fig leaf, the leaf tree; hence, in allusion to the first clothing of Adam and Eve (Genesis iii.7), a covering for a thing that ought to be concealed; esp., an inadequate covering; a symbol for affected modesty. -- Fig marigold (Bot.), the name of several plants of the genus Mesembryanthemum, some of which are prized for the brilliancy and beauty of their flowers. -- Fig tree (Bot.), any tree of the genus Ficus, but especially F. Carica which produces the fig of commerce.

FIG Fig, v. t. Etym: [See Fico, Fig, n.]

1. To insult with a fico, or contemptuous motion. See Fico. [Obs.] When Pistol lies, do this, and fig me like The bragging Spaniard. Shak.

2. To put into the head of, as something useless o [Obs.] L'Estrange.

FIG Fig, n.

Defn: Figure; dress; array. [Colloq.] Were they all in full fig, the females with feathers on their heads, the males with chapeaux bras Prof. Wilson.

FIGARO Fi`ga`ro", n. Etym: [From the name of the barber in Beaumarchais' "Barber of Seville."]

Defn: An adroi

FIGARY Fig"a*ry, n. Etym: [Corrupted fr. vagary.]

Defn: A frolic; a vagary; a whim. [Obs.] Beau. & Fl.

FIGEATER Fig"eat`er, n. (Zoöl.) (a) A large beetle (Allorhina nitida) which in the Southern United States destroys figs. The elytra are velvety green with pale borders. (b) A bird. See Figpecker.

FIGENT Fig"ent, a.

Defn: Fidgety; restless. [Obs.] Such a little figent thing. Beau. & Fl.

FIGGUM Fig"gum, n. Etym: [Etymol. uncertain.]

Defn: A juggler's trick; conjuring. [Obs.] The devil is the author of wicked figgum. B. Jonson.

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

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

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

FIGHT Fight, v. t.

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

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

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

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

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

2. A struggle or contest of any kind.

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

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

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

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

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

FIGHTING Fight"ing, a.

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

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

FIGHTINGLY Fight"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: Pugnaciously.

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

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

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

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

FIGPECKER Fig"peck`er, n. (Zoöl.)

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

FIG-SHELL Fig"-shell`, n. (Zoöl.)

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

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

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

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

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

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

Defn: The quality of being figurable. Johnson.

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

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

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

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

2. (Mus.)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

3. (Mus.)

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

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

FIGURATED Fig"ur*a`ted, a.

Defn: Having a determinate form.

FIGURATELY Fig"ur*ate*ly, adv.

Defn: In a figurate manner.

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

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

2. (Mus.)

Defn: Mixture of concords and discords.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

4. (Geom.)

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

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

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

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

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

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

10. (Rhet.)

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

11. (Logic)

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

12. (Dancing)

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

13. (Astrol.)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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