Fetis - Fibrillose

Fetis (?), a. [OF. fetis, faitis. Cf. .] Neat; pretty; well made; graceful. [Obs.]
[ Webster]

Full fetis was her cloak, as I was ware. Chaucer.
[ Webster]

Fetisely (?), adv. Neatly; gracefully; properly. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Fetish (?), n., Fetishism (� or �; 277), n., Fetishistic (�), a. See , n., , n., , a.
[ Webster]

Fetlock (?), n. [OE. fetlak, fitlock, cf. Icel. fet pace, step, fit webbed foot of water birds, akin to E. foot. √ 77. See .] The cushionlike projection, bearing a tuft of long hair, on the back side of the leg above the hoof of the horse and similar animals. Also, the joint of the limb at this point (between the great pastern bone and the metacarpus), or the tuft of hair.
[ Webster]

Their wounded steeds
Fret fetlock deep in gore. Shak.
[ Webster]

Fetor (?), n. [L. fetor, foetor. See .] A strong, offensive smell; stench; fetidness. Arbuthnot.
[ Webster]

Fette (? or ?), v. t. [imp. Fette, p. p. Fet.] [See , v. t.] To fetch. [Obs.] Chaucer.
[ Webster]

Fetter (fĕttẽr), n. [AS. fetor, feter; akin to OS. feterōs, pl., OD. veter, OHG. fezzera, Icel. fjöturr, L. pedica, Gr. pedh, and to E. foot. √ 77. See .] [Chiefly used in the plural, fetters.] 1. A chain or shackle for the feet; a chain by which an animal is confined by the foot, either made fast or disabled from free and rapid motion; a bond; a shackle.
[ Webster]

[They] bound him with fetters of brass. Judg. xvi. 21.
[ Webster]

2. Anything that confines or restrains; a restraint.
[ Webster]

Passion's too fierce to be in fetters bound. Dryden.
[ Webster]

Fetter, v. t. [imp. & p. p. (�); p. pr. & vb. n. .] 1. To put fetters upon; to shackle or confine the feet of with a chain; to bind.
[ Webster]

My heels are fettered, but my fist is free. Milton.
[ Webster]

2. To restrain from motion; to impose restraints on; to confine; to enchain; as, fettered by obligations.
[ Webster]

My conscience! thou art fettered
More than my shanks and wrists. Shak.
[ Webster]

fetterbush n. 1. An ornamental evergreen shrub (Pieris floribunda) of the Southeastern U. S. having small white bell-shaped flowers.
Syn. -- mountain fetterbush, mountain andromeda, Pieris floribunda.
[WordNet 1.5]

2. A showy evergreen shrub (Lyonia lucida) of the Southeastern U. S. with shiny leaves and angled branches and umbel-like clusters of pink to reddish flowers.
Syn. -- fetter bush, shiny lyonia, Lyonia lucida.
[WordNet 1.5]

Fettered (?), a. (Zoöl.) Seeming as if fettered, as the feet of certain animals which bend backward, and appear unfit for walking.
[ Webster]

Fetterer (?), n. One who fetters. Landor.
[ Webster]

Fetterless, a. Free from fetters. Marston.
[ Webster]

Fettle (?), v. t. [OE. & Prov. E., to fettle (in sense 1), fettle, n., order, repair, preparation, dress; prob. akin to E. fit. See , a.] 1. To repair; to prepare; to put in order. [Prov. Eng.] Carlyle.
[ Webster]

2. (Metal.) To cover or line with a mixture of ore, cinders, etc., as the hearth of a puddling furnace.
[ Webster]

Fettle, v. i. To make preparations; to put things in order; to do trifling business. [Prov. Eng.] Bp. Hall.
[ Webster]

Fettle, n. The act of fettling. [Prov. Eng.] Wright.
[ Webster]

Coloq. In fine fettle , in good spirits.
[ Webster]

Fettling (?), n. 1. (Metal.) A mixture of ore, cinders, etc., used to line the hearth of a puddling furnace. [Eng.] [It is commonly called fix in the United States.]
[ Webster]

2. (Pottery) The operation of shaving or smoothing the surface of undried clay ware.
[ Webster]

Fetuous (?), a. Neat; feat. [Obs.] Herrick.
[ Webster]

Fetus (fētŭs), n.; pl. Fetuses (fētŭsĕz). [L. fetus, foetus, a bringing forth, brood, offspring, young ones, cf. fetus fruitful, fructified, that is or was filled with young; akin to E. fawn a deer, fecundity, felicity, feminine, female, and prob. to do, or according to others, to be.] The young or embryo of a vertebrate animal in the womb, or in the egg; often restricted to the later stages in the development of viviparous and oviparous animals. showing the main recognizable features of the mature animal, embryo being applied to the earlier stages. [Written also fœtus.]
[ Webster]

Fetwah (?), n. [Ar.] A written decision of a Turkish mufti some point of law; also applied to opinions by certain other Islamic religious authorities on points of Islamic law, such as in Iran. [Also spelled fatwah and fatwa.] Whitworth.
[ Webster +PJC]

Feu (fū), n. [See 2d , and .] (Scots Law) A free and gratuitous right to lands made to one for service to be performed by him; a tenure where the vassal, in place of military services, makes a return in grain or in money. Burrill.
[ Webster]

Feuar (fūẽr), n. [From Feu.] (Scots Law) One who holds a feu. Sir W. Scott.
[ Webster]

Feud (fūd), n. [OE. feide, AS. fǣhð, fr. fāh hostile; akin to OHG. fēhida, G. fehde, Sw. fejd, D. feide; prob. akin to E. fiend. See Foe.] 1. A combination of kindred to avenge injuries or affronts, done or offered to any of their blood, on the offender and all his race.
[ Webster]

2. A contention or quarrel; especially, an inveterate strife between families, clans, or parties; deadly hatred; contention satisfied only by bloodshed.
[ Webster]

Mutual feuds and battles betwixt their several tribes and kindreds. Purchas.

Syn. -- Affray; fray; broil; contest; dispute; strife.
[ Webster]

Feud, n. [LL. feudum, feodum prob. of same origin as E. fief. See , .] (Law) A stipendiary estate in land, held of a superior, by service; the right which a vassal or tenant had to the lands or other immovable thing of his lord, to use the same and take the profits thereof hereditarily, rendering to his superior such duties and services as belong to military tenure, etc., the property of the soil always remaining in the lord or superior; a fief; a fee.
[ Webster]

feudal (fūd�l), a. [F. féodal, or LL. feudalis.] 1. Of or pertaining to feuds, fiefs, or fees; as, feudal rights or services; feudal tenures.
[ Webster]

2. Consisting of, or founded upon, feuds or fiefs; embracing tenures by military services; as, the feudal system.
[ Webster]

Feudalism (fūd�lĭz'm), n. [Cf. F. féodalisme.] The feudal system; a system by which the holding of estates in land is made dependent upon an obligation to render military service to the king or feudal superior; feudal principles and usages.
[ Webster]

feudalist, n. An upholder of feudalism.
[ Webster]

Feudality (?), n. [Cf. F. féodalité.] The state or quality of being feudal; feudal form or constitution. Burke.
[ Webster]

Feudalization (?), n. The act of reducing to feudal tenure.
[ Webster]

Feudalize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Feudalized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Feudalizing (?).] To reduce to a feudal tenure; to conform to feudalism.
[ Webster]

Feudally, adv. In a feudal manner.
[ Webster]

Feudary (?), a. [LL. feudarius, fr. feudum. See 2d .] Held by, or pertaining to, feudal tenure.
[ Webster]

Feudary, n. 1. A tenant who holds his lands by feudal service; a feudatory. Foxe.
[ Webster]

2. A feodary. See .
[ Webster]

Feudatary (?), a. & n. [LL. feudatarius: cf. F. feudataire.] See .
[ Webster]

Feudatory (?), n.; pl. Feudatories (�). A tenant or vassal who held his lands of a superior on condition of feudal service; the tenant of a feud or fief.
[ Webster]

The grantee . . . was styled the feudatory or vassal. Blackstone.
[ Webster]

[He] had for feudatories great princes. J. H. Newman.
[ Webster]

Feudatory, a. Held from another on some conditional tenure; as, a feudatory title. Bacon.

Feu de joie (?). [F., lit., fire of joy.] A fire kindled in a public place in token of joy; a bonfire; a firing of guns in token of joy.
[ Webster]

Feudist (?), n. [Cf. F. feudiste.] A writer on feuds; a person versed in feudal law. Spelman.
[ Webster]

Feuillants (?), n. pl. A reformed branch of the Bernardines, founded in 1577 at Feuillans, near Toulouse, in France.
[ Webster]

Feuillemort (?), a. [F. feuille morte a dead leaf.] Having the color of a faded leaf. Locke.
[ Webster]

Feuilleton (? or ?), n. [F., from feulle leaf.] 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.
[ Webster]

Feuilltonist (?), n. [F. feuilletoniste.] A writer of feuilletons. F. Harrison.
[ Webster]

feuter (�), v. t. [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 , and cf. .] To set close; to fix in rest, as a spear. Spenser.
[ Webster]

Feuterer (?), n. [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.] A dog keeper. [Obs.] Massinger.
[ Webster]

Fever (fēvẽr), n. [OE. fever, fefer, AS. fefer, fefor, L. febris: cf. F. fièvre. Cf. .] 1. (Med.) 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.
[ Webster]

☞ Remitting fevers subside or abate at intervals; intermitting fevers intermit or entirely cease at intervals; continued or continual fevers neither remit nor intermit.
[ Webster]

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.
[ Webster]

An envious fever
Of pale and bloodless emulation. Shak.
[ Webster]

After life's fitful fever he sleeps well. Shak.
[ Webster]

Coloq. Brain fever , Coloq. Continued fever , etc. See under , , etc. -- Coloq. Fever and ague , a form of fever recurring in paroxysms which are preceded by chills. It is of malarial origin. -- Coloq. Fever blister (Med.), a blister or vesicle often found about the mouth in febrile states; a variety of herpes. -- Coloq. Fever bush (Bot.), the wild allspice or spice bush. See . -- Coloq. Fever powder . Same as . -- Coloq. Fever root (Bot.), an American herb of the genus Triosteum (Triosteum perfoliatum); -- called also feverwort and horse gentian. -- Coloq. Fever sore , a carious ulcer or necrosis. Miner.
[ Webster]

Fever, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Fevered (fēvẽrd); p. pr. & vb. n. Fevering.] To put into a fever; to affect with fever; as, a fevered lip. [R.]
[ Webster]

The white hand of a lady fever thee. Shak.
[ Webster]

fevered adj. Highly excited; as, a fevered imagination.
Syn. -- feverish.
[WordNet 1.5]

Feveret (fēvẽrĕt), n. A slight fever. [Obs.] Ayliffe.
[ Webster]

Feverfew (fēvẽrfū), n. [AS. feferfuge, fr. L. febrifugia. See , , and cf. .] (Bot.) A perennial plant (Pyrethrum Parthenium, or Chrysanthemum Parthenium) allied to camomile, having finely divided leaves and white blossoms; -- so named from its supposed febrifugal qualities.
[ Webster]

Feverish, 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.
[ Webster]

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

3. Hot; sultry. “The feverish north.” Dryden.
[ Webster]

4. Disordered as by fever; excited; restless; as, the feverish condition of the commercial world.
Syn. -- fevered.
[ Webster]

Strive to keep up a frail and feverish being. Milton.

-- Feverishly, adv. -- Feverishness, n.
[ Webster]

Feverous (?), a. [Cf.F. fiévreux.] 1. Affected with fever or ague; feverish.
[ Webster]

His heart, love's feverous citadel. Keats.
[ Webster]

2. Pertaining to, or having the nature of, fever; as, a feverous pulse.
[ Webster]

All maladies . . . all feverous kinds. Milton.
[ Webster]

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

Feverously, adv. Feverishly. [Obs.] Donne.
[ Webster]

Feverwort (?), n. See Fever root, under .
[ Webster]

Fevery (fēvẽr�), a. Feverish. [Obs.] B. Jonson.
[ Webster]

Few (fū), a. [Compar. Fewer (fūẽr); superl. Fewest.] [OE. fewe, feawe, AS. feá, pl. feáwe; akin to OS. fāh, OHG. fō fao, Icel. fār, Sw. få, pl., Dan. faa, pl., Goth. faus, L. paucus, cf. Gr. pay^ros. Cf. .] Not many; small, limited, or confined in number; -- indicating a small portion of units or individuals constituting a whole; often, by ellipsis of a noun, a few people. “Are not my days few?” Job x. 20.
[ Webster]

Few know and fewer care. Proverb.
[ Webster]

☞ Few is often used partitively; as, few of them.
[ Webster]

Coloq. A few , a small number. -- Coloq. In few , in a few words; briefly. Shak.
-- Coloq. No few , not few; more than a few; many. Cowper.
-- Coloq. The few , the minority; -- opposed to the many or the majority.
[ Webster]

Fewel (?), n. [See .] Fuel. [Obs.] Hooker.
[ Webster]

Fewmet (?), n. See . [Obs.] B. Jonson.
[ Webster]

Fewness, n. 1. The state of being few; smallness of number; paucity. Shak.
[ Webster]

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

Fey (fā), a. [AS. fǣga, Icel. feigr, OHG. feigi.] Fated; doomed. [Old Eng. & Scot.]
[ Webster]

Fey (fā), n. [See faith.] Faith. [Obs.] Chaucer.
[ Webster]

Fey (?), v. t. [Cf. .] To cleanse; to clean out. [Obs.] Tusser.
[ Webster]

Feyne (?), v. t. To feign. [Obs.] Chaucer.
[ Webster]

Feyre (?), n. A fair or market. [Obs.] Chaucer.
[ Webster]

Fez (fĕz), n. [F., fr. the town of Fez in Morocco.] A felt or cloth cap, usually red and having a tassel, -- a variety of the tarboosh. See . B. Taylor.
[ Webster]

FHLMC n. [acronym from Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation.] a corporation authorized by Congress to provide a secondary market for residential mortgages. It is called Freddie Mac in the jargon of the finance industry. [acronym]
Syn. -- Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, Freddie Mac.
[WordNet 1.5]

Fiacre (?), n. [F.] A kind of French hackney coach.
[ Webster]

Fiance (?), v. t. [F. fiancer. See .] To betroth; to affiance. [Obs.] Harmar.
[ Webster]

Fiancé (?), n. [F.] A betrothed man.
[ Webster]

Fiancée (?), n. [F.] A betrothed woman.
[ Webster]

Fiants (?), n. [F. fiente dung.] The dung of the fox, wolf, boar, or badger.
[ Webster]

Fiar (? or ?), n. [See .] 1. (Scots Law) One in whom the property of an estate is vested, subject to the estate of a life renter.
[ Webster]

I am fiar of the lands; she a life renter. Sir W. Scott.
[ Webster]

2. pl. The price of grain, as legally fixed, in the counties of Scotland, for the current year.
[ Webster]

Fiasco (?), n.; pl. Fiascoes (#). [It.] A complete or ridiculous failure, esp. of a musical performance, or of any pretentious undertaking.
[ Webster]

Fiat (?), n. [L., let it be done, 3d pers. sing., subj. pres., fr. fieri, used as pass. of facere to make. Cf. .] 1. An authoritative command or order to do something; an effectual decree.
[ Webster]

His fiat laid the corner stone. Willis.
[ Webster]

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.
[ Webster]

Coloq. 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.
[ Webster]

Fiaunt (?), n. Commission; fiat; order; decree. [Obs.] Spenser.
[ Webster]

Fib (?), n. [Prob. fr. fable; cf. Prov. E. fibble-fabble nonsense.] A falsehood; a lie; -- used euphemistically.
[ Webster]

They are very serious; they don't tell fibs. H. James.
[ Webster]

Fib, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Fibbed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Fibbing (?).] To speak falsely. [Colloq.]
[ Webster]

Fib, v. t. To tell a fib to. [R.] De Quincey.
[ Webster]

Fibber (?), n. One who tells fibs.

{ Fiber, Fibre }, (�), n. [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.
[ Webster]

2. Any fine, slender thread, or threadlike substance; as, a fiber of spun glass; especially, one of the slender rootlets of a plant. [wns=1]
[ Webster]

3. the inherent complex of attributes that determine a person's moral and ethical actions and reactions; sinew; strength; toughness; as, a man of real fiber. [wns=2]
Syn. -- character, fibre.
[ Webster + WordNet 1.5]

Yet had no fibers in him, nor no force. Chapman.
[ Webster]

4. A general name for the raw material, such as cotton, flax, hemp, etc., used in textile manufactures.
[ Webster]

5. (Nutrition) that portion of food composed of carbohydrates which are completely or partly indigestible, such as cellulose or pectin; it may be in an insoluble or a soluble form. It provides bulk to the solid waste and stimulates peristalsis in the intestine. It is found especially in grains, fruits, and vegetables. There is some medical evidence which indicates that diets high in fiber reduce the risk of colon cancer and reduce cholesterol levels in the blood. It is also called dietary fiber, roughage, or bulk.
[PJC]

6. a leatherlike material made by compressing layers of paper or cloth. [wns=3]
Syn. -- fibre, vulcanized fiber.
[WordNet 1.5]

Coloq. 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. -- Coloq. Fiber plants (Bot.), plants capable of yielding fiber useful in the arts, as hemp, flax, ramie, agave, etc.

fiberboard n. a type of wallboard composed of wood chips or shavings bonded together with resin and compressed into rigid sheets, calle also particle board.
Syn. -- fibreboard, particle board.
[WordNet 1.5]

{ Fibered, Fibred } (?), a. Having fibers; made up of fibers.

{ Fiber-faced, Fibre-faced } (?), a. Having a visible fiber embodied in the surface of; -- applied esp. to a kind of paper for checks, drafts, etc.

fiberglass n. a material made of fine glass fibers woven into a fabric-like form, and used in applications requiring heat resistance; it is also embedded in resins to make a pliable but strong composite material used as the main component of fishing rods and boat hulls, and replacing the sheet metal in some automobile bodies. [Also spelled fibreglass, mostly British in usage.]
[WordNet 1.5]

{ Fiberless, Fibreless }, a. Having no fibers; destitute of fibers or fiber.
[ Webster]

Fiber optics, (�), n. that branch of optics which studies the transmission of light through thin transparent fibers. Light transmission through optical fibers has become an important means of data and telephone signal transmission, in some areas superseding the carrying of vioce and data signals through electrical pulses over copper wire. It is also used for directly carrying images from otherwise inaccessible locations, as from inside the body, for medical procedures. Light transmission via fiber optics for data transmission uses an made of specially purified glass with low light absorption characteristics.
[PJC]

fiberscope n. (Med.) an instrument used to examine internal organs.
[WordNet 1.5]

fibre n. Same as . [Mostly British usage]
[WordNet 1.5]

fibreboard n. Same as . [mostly British usage]
[WordNet 1.5]

fibreglass n. Same as . [mostly British usage]
[WordNet 1.5]

Fibriform (? or ?), a. [L. fibra a fiber + -form.] (Biol.) Having the form of a fiber or fibers; resembling a fiber.
[ Webster]

Fibril (?), n. [F. fibrille, dim. of fibre, L. fibra.] A small fiber; the branch of a fiber; a very slender thread; a fibrilla. Cheyne.
[ Webster]

Fibrilla (?), n.; pl. FibrillÆ (#). [NL. See .] A minute thread or fiber, as one of the fibrous elements of a muscular fiber; a fibril.
[ Webster]

Fibrillar (?), a. Of or pertaining to fibrils or fibers; as, fibrillar twitchings.
[ Webster]

Fibrillary (? or ?), a. Of of pertaining to fibrils.
[ Webster]

Fibrillated (? or ?), a. Furnished with fibrils; fringed.
[ Webster]

Fibrillation (?), n. The state of being reduced to fibers. Carpenter.
[ Webster]

Fibrillose (? or ?), a. Covered with hairlike appendages, as the under surface of some lichens; also, composed of little strings or fibers; as, fibrillose appendages.
[ Webster]

Prev Next

Concept Explore Home

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z