Fight - Filchingly

Prev Next

Fight, n. [OE. fight, feht, AS. feoht. See , 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.
[ Webster]

Who now defies thee thrice to single fight. Milton.
[ Webster]

2. A struggle or contest of any kind.
[ Webster]

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

4. A screen for the combatants in ships. [Obs.]
[ Webster]

Up with your fights, and your nettings prepare. Dryden.
[ Webster]

Coloq. 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 .
[ Webster]

Fighter (fītẽr), n. [AS. feohtere.] 1. One who fights; a combatant; a warrior. Shak.
[ Webster]

2. A boxer; a pugilist.
[PJC]

3. A person with the determination and will to persist through great difficulty to achieve a goal; one with the courage to fight and resist an opponent, and to struggle with all one's powers.
[PJC]

4. (Mil.) A military aircraft designed to seek out and destroy enemy aircraft; it is usually smaller and more maneuvarable than aircraft designed specifically for bombing. However, hybrid fighter-bomber aircraft that perform both functions also are used.
[PJC]

Fighting, a. 1. Qualified for war; fit for battle.
[ Webster]

An host of fighting men. 2 Chron. xxvi. 11.
[ Webster]

2. Occupied in war; being the scene of a battle; as, a fighting field. Pope.
[ Webster]

Coloq. A fighting chance , one dependent upon the issue of a struggle. [Colloq.] -- Coloq. Fighting crab (Zoöl.), the fiddler crab. -- Coloq. Fighting fish (Zoöl.), a remarkably pugnacious East Indian fish (Betta pugnax), reared by the Siamese for spectacular fish fights.
[ Webster]

Fightingly, adv. Pugnaciously.
[ Webster]

Fightwite (?), n. [Fight + wite.] (O.Eng. Law) A mulct or fine imposed on a person for making a fight or quarrel to the disturbance of the peace.
[ Webster]

Figment (?), n. [L. figmentum, fr. fingere to form, shape, invent, feign. See .] An invention; a fiction; something feigned or imagined.
[ Webster]

Social figments, feints, and formalism. Mrs. Browning.
[ Webster]

It carried rather an appearance of figment and invention . . . than of truth and reality. Woodward.
[ Webster]

Figpecker (fĭgpĕkẽr), n. (Zoöl.) The European garden warbler (Sylvia hortensis or Currica, hortensis); -- called also beccafico and greater pettychaps.
[ Webster]

Fig-shell (?), n. (Zoöl.) A marine univalve shell of the genus Pyrula, or Ficula, resembling a fig in form.

{ Figulate (?), Figulated (?) }, a. [L. figulatus, p. p. of figulare to shape, fr. figulus potter, fr. fingere to shape.] Made of potter's clay; molded; shaped. [R.] Johnson.
[ Webster]

Figuline (? or ?), n. [F., fr. L. figulina pottery, fr. figulus. See .] A piece of pottery ornamented with representations of natural objects.
[ Webster]

Whose figulines and rustic wares
Scarce find him bread from day to day. Longfellow.
[ Webster]

Figuline (?), a. [L. figulinus. See .] 1. Suitable for the making of pottery; fictile; -- said of clay.
[Webster Suppl.]

2. Made of clay, as by the potter; -- said of vessels, ornamental figures, or the like; as, figuline ware.
[Webster Suppl.]

Figurability (?), n. [Cf. F. figurabilité.] The quality of being figurable. Johnson.
[ Webster]

Figurable (?), a. [L. figurare to form, shape, fr. figura figure: cf. F. figurable. See .] Capable of being brought to a fixed form or shape.
[ Webster]

Lead is figurable, but water is not. Johnson.
[ Webster]

Figural (?), a. [From .] 1. Represented by figure or delineation; consisting of figures; as, figural ornaments. Sir T. Browne.
[ Webster]

2. (Mus.) Figurate. See .
[ Webster]

Coloq. Figural numbers . See Figurate numbers, under .
[ Webster]

Figurant (? or ?), n. masc. [F., prop. p. pr. of figurer figure, represent, make a figure.] 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.
[ Webster]

Figurante (? or ?), n. fem. [F.] A female figurant; esp., a ballet girl.
[ Webster]

Figurate (?), a. [L. figuratus, p. p. of figurare. See .] 1. Of a definite form or figure.
[ Webster]

Plants are all figurate and determinate, which inanimate bodies are not. Bacon.
[ Webster]

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

3. (Mus.) 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.
[ Webster]

Coloq. Figurate counterpoint or Coloq. Figurate 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). -- Coloq. 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. 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 . . . . . . . . . . . .

[ Webster]

Figurated (?), a. Having a determinate form.
[ Webster]

Figurately (?), adv. In a figurate manner.
[ Webster]

Figuration (?), n. [L. figuratio.] 1. The act of giving figure or determinate form; determination to a certain form. Bacon.
[ Webster]

2. (Mus.) Mixture of concords and discords.
[ Webster]

Figurative (?), a. [L. figurativus: cf. F. figuratif. See .] 1. Representing by a figure, or by resemblance; typical; representative.
[ Webster]

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.
[ Webster]

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

3. Abounding in figures of speech; flowery; florid; as, a highly figurative description.
[ Webster]

4. Relating to the representation of form or figure by drawing, carving, etc. See , n., 2.
[ Webster]

They belonged to a nation dedicated to the figurative arts, and they wrote for a public familiar with painted form. J. A. Symonds.
[ Webster]

Coloq. Figurative counterpoint or Coloq. Figurative descant . See under .

-- Figuratively, adv. -- Figurativeness, n.
[ Webster]

Figure (fĭg�r; 135), n. [F., figure, L. figura; akin to fingere to form, shape, feign. See .] 1. The form of anything; shape; outline; appearance.
[ Webster]

Flowers have all exquisite figures. Bacon.
[ Webster]

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.
[ Webster]

A coin that bears the figure of an angel. Shak.
[ Webster]

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.
[ Webster]

4. (Geom.) 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 surfaces; any arrangement made up of points, lines, angles, surfaces, etc.
[ Webster]

5. The appearance or impression made by the conduct or career of a person; as, a sorry figure.
[ Webster]

I made some figure there. Dryden.
[ Webster]

Gentlemen of the best figure in the county. Blackstone.
[ Webster]

6. Distinguished appearance; magnificence; conspicuous representation; splendor; show.
[ Webster]

That he may live in figure and indulgence. Law.
[ Webster]

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

8. Value, as expressed in numbers; price; as, the goods are estimated or sold at a low figure. [Colloq.]
[ Webster]

With nineteen thousand a year at the very lowest figure. Thackeray.
[ Webster]

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.
[ Webster]

Who is the figure of Him that was to come. Rom. v. 14.
[ Webster]

10. (Rhet.) 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. Also called a figure of speech.
[ Webster]

To represent the imagination under the figure of a wing. Macaulay.
[ Webster]

11. (Logic) The form of a syllogism with respect to the relative position of the middle term.
[ Webster]

12. (Dancing) Any one of the several regular steps or movements made by a dancer.
[ Webster]

13. (Astrol.) A horoscope; the diagram of the aspects of the astrological houses. Johnson.
[ Webster]

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 phrase or motive; a florid embellishment.
[ Webster]

☞ 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
[ Webster]

Coloq. Academy figure , Coloq. Canceled figures , Coloq. Lay figure , etc. See under , , , etc. -- Coloq. Figure caster , or Coloq. Figure flinger , an astrologer. “This figure caster.” Milton. -- Coloq. Figure flinging , the practice of astrology. -- Coloq. Figure-of-eight knot , a knot shaped like the figure 8. See Illust. under . -- Coloq. Figure painting , a picture of the human figure, or the act or art of depicting the human figure. -- Coloq. Figure stone (Min.), agalmatolite. -- Coloq. Figure weaving , the art or process of weaving figured fabrics. -- Coloq. To cut a figure , to make a display. [Colloq.] Sir W. Scott.
[ Webster]

Figure, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Figured (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Figuring.] [F. figurer, L. figurare, fr. figura. See , 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.
[ Webster]

If love, alas! be pain I bear,
[ Webster]

No thought can figure, and no tongue declare.Prior.
[ Webster]

2. To embellish with design; to adorn with figures.
[ Webster]

The vaulty top of heaven
Figured quite o'er with burning meteors. Shak.
[ Webster]

3. To indicate by numerals; also, to compute.
[ Webster]

As through a crystal glass the figured hours are seen. Dryden.
[ Webster]

4. To represent by a metaphor; to signify or symbolize.
[ Webster]

Whose white vestments figure innocence. Shak.
[ Webster]

5. To prefigure; to foreshow.
[ Webster]

In this the heaven figures some event. Shak.
[ Webster]

6. (Mus.) (a) To write over or under the bass, as figures or other characters, in order to indicate the accompanying chords. (b) To embellish.
[ Webster]

Coloq. To figure out , to solve; to compute or find the result of. -- Coloq. To figure up , to add; to reckon; to compute the amount of.
[ Webster]

Figure, v. i. 1. To make a figure; to be distinguished or conspicious; as, the envoy figured at court.
[ Webster]

Sociable, hospitable, eloquent, admired, figuring away brilliantly. M. Arnold.
[ Webster]

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

Coloq. go figure a phrase used by itself as an interjection to mean “How can one explain that?”, or to express puzzlement over some seeming contradiction. [Colloq.]
[PJC]

Figured (?), a. 1. Adorned with figures; marked with figures; as, figured muslin.
[ Webster]

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

3. (Mus.) (a) Free and florid; as, a figured descant. See , 3. (b) Indicated or noted by figures.
[ Webster]

Coloq. Figured bass . See Continued bass, under .
[ Webster]

Figurehead (?), n. 1. (Naut.) The figure, statue, or bust, on the prow of a ship.
[ Webster]

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

Figurial (?), a. Represented by figure or delineation. [R.] Craig.
[ Webster]

Figurine (? or ?), n. [F., dim. of figure.] A very small figure, whether human or of an animal; especially, one in terra cotta or the like; -- distinguished from statuette, which is applied to small figures in bronze, marble, etc.
[ Webster]

Figurist (?), n. One who uses or interprets figurative expressions. Waterland.
[ Webster]

Figwort (?), n. (Bot.) A genus of herbaceous plants (Scrophularia), mostly found in the north temperate zones. See .
[ Webster]

Fijian (?), a. Of or pertaining to the Fiji islands or their inhabitants. -- n. A native of the Fiji islands. [Written also Feejeean, Feejee.]
[ Webster]

Fike (?), n. See .
[ Webster]

Fil (?), obs. imp. of , v. i. Fell. Chaucer.
[ Webster]

Filaceous (? or ?), a. [L. filum thread.] Composed of threads. Bacon.
[ Webster]

Filacer (?), n. [OE. filace a file, or thread, on which the records of the courts of justice were strung, F. filasse tow of flax or hemp, fr. L. filum thread.] (Eng. Law) A former officer in the English Court of Common Pleas; -- so called because he filed the writs on which he made out process. [Obs.] Burrill.
[ Webster]

Filament (?), n. [F. filament, fr. L. filum thread. See a row.] A thread or threadlike object or appendage; a fiber; esp. (Bot.), the threadlike part of the stamen supporting the anther.
[ Webster]

Filamentary (?), a. Having the character of, or formed by, a filament.
[ Webster]

Filamentoid (?), a. [Filament + -oid.] Like a filament.
[ Webster]

Filamentous (?), a. [Cf. F. filamenteux.] Like a thread; consisting of threads or filaments. Gray.
[ Webster]

Filander (?), n. (Zoöl.) A species of kangaroo (Macropus Brunii), inhabiting New Guinea.
[ Webster]

Filanders (?), n. pl. [F. filandres, fr. L. filum thread.] (Falconry) A disease in hawks, characterized by the presence of small threadlike worms, also of filaments of coagulated blood, from the rupture of a vein; -- called also backworm. Sir T. Browne.
[ Webster]

Filar (?), a. [L. filum a thread.] Of or pertaining to a thread or line; characterized by threads stretched across the field of view; as, a filar microscope; a filar micrometer.
[ Webster]

Filaria (?), n.; pl. filariae. [NL., fr. L. filum a thread.] (Zoöl.) a small, slender nematode worm of the family Onchocercidae (Filariidae) of many species, parasitic when adult in various animals, including man. They may live within the blood, or in other bodily fluids, or within tissues or cavities of the body. Infection with such organisms may be transmitted by blood-sucking arthropods.
[ Webster +PJC]

Filaria (?), n. [NL., fr. L. filum a thread.] (Zoöl.) a former genus comprised of certain nematodes, now classed as belonging to several genera within the family Onchocercidae. See and .
[ Webster +PJC]

Filarial (?), a. 1. (Zoöl. & Med.) Of, pertaining to, or caused by, filariæ and allied parasitic worms.
[Webster Suppl.]

2. Straight, as if in a line; as, the filarial flight of birds.
[Webster Suppl.]

Filariasis (?), n. [NL.] 1. (Zoöl., Med.) the presence of filariae within the body of an organism; infection with filariae. It is mostly found in tropical and subtropical regions.
[Webster Suppl. PJC]

2. (Med.) a disease caused by nematodes in the blood or tissues of the body causing blockage of lymphatic vessels. Death of the adult worms may lead to inflammation and permanent fibrosis; the condition may lead to serious symptoms, such as elephantiasis or blindness. See
[WordNet 1.5 +PJC]

filariid adj. of or pertaining to family Filariidae.
[WordNet 1.5]

Filariidae n. a natural family consisting of threadlike roundworms, called .
Syn. -- family Filariidae.
[WordNet 1.5]

Filasse (?), n. [F., fr. fil thread, L. filum.] Vegetable fiber, as jute or ramie, prepared for manufacture.
[Webster Suppl.]

Filatory (?), n. [LL. filatorium place for spinning, fr. filare to spin, fr. L. filum a thread.] A machine for forming threads. [Obs.] W. Tooke.
[ Webster]

Filature (?; 135), n. [LL. filatura, fr. filare to spin: cf. F. filature. See .] 1. A drawing out into threads; hence, the reeling of silk from cocoons. Ure.
[ Webster]

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

filbert (?), n. [Perh. fr. fill + bread, as filling the bread or husk; cf. G. bartnuss (lit., bread nut) filbert; or perh. named from a St.Philibert, whose day, Aug. 22, fell in the nutting season.] 1. (Bot.) The fruit of the Corylus Avellana or Corylus maxima, also called the hazel; the hazelnut. It is an oval nut, containing a kernel that has a mild, farinaceous, oily taste, agreeable to the palate.
[ Webster]

☞ In England filberts are usually large hazelnuts, especially the nuts from selected and cultivated trees. The American hazelnuts are of two other species, Corylus Americana and Corylus cornuta, and are also sometimes called filberts.
[ Webster +PJC]

2. (Bot.) The tree bearing the filbert; the hazelnut tree.
[PJC]

Coloq. Filbert gall (Zoöl.), a gall resembling a filbert in form, growing in clusters on grapevines. It is produced by the larva of a gallfly (Cecidomyia).
[ Webster]

Filch (fĭlch), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Filched (fĭlcht); p. pr. & vb. n. Filching.] [Cf. AS. feolan to stick to, OHG. felhan, felahan, to hide, Icel. fela, Goth. filhan to hide, bury, Prov. E. feal to hide slyly, OE. felen.] To steal or take privily (commonly, that which is of little value); to pilfer.
[ Webster]

Fain would they filch that little food away. Dryden.
[ Webster]

But he that filches from me my good name,
Robs me of that which not enriches him,
And makes me poor indeed. Shak.
[ Webster]

Filcher (fĭlchẽr), n. One who filches; a thief.
[ Webster]

Filchingly, adv. By pilfering or petty stealing.
[ 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