fallaciousness - Falter

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fallaciousness n. 1. result of a fallacy or error in reasoning.
[WordNet 1.5]

Fallacy (făllȧs�), n.; pl. Fallacies (făllȧsĭz). [OE. fallace, fallas, deception, F. fallace, fr. L. fallacia, fr. fallax deceitful, deceptive, fr. fallere to deceive. See .] 1. Deceptive or false appearance; deceitfulness; that which misleads the eye or the mind; deception.
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Winning by conquest what the first man lost,
By fallacy surprised. Milton.
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2. (Logic) An argument, or apparent argument, which professes to be decisive of the matter at issue, while in reality it is not; a sophism.

Syn. -- Deception; deceit; mistake. -- , . A fallacy is an argument which professes to be decisive, but in reality is not; sophistry is also false reasoning, but of so specious and subtle a kind as to render it difficult to expose its fallacy. Many fallacies are obvious, but the evil of sophistry lies in its consummate art. “Men are apt to suffer their minds to be misled by fallacies which gratify their passions. Many persons have obscured and confounded the nature of things by their wretched sophistry; though an act be never so sinful, they will strip it of its guilt.” South.
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Fal-lals (?), n. pl. Gay ornaments; frippery; gewgaws. [Colloq.] Thackeray.
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Fallax (?), n. [L. fallax deceptive. See .] Cavillation; a caviling. [Obs.] Cranmer.
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fallback (?), n. 1. The act or process of falling back.
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2. Something or someone to which one resorts as an alternative to a failed resource or method.
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Fallen (?), a. Dropped; prostrate; degraded; ruined; decreased; dead.
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Some ruined temple or fallen monument. Rogers.
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Fallency (?), n. [LL. fallentia, L. fallens p. pr of fallere.] An exception. [Obs.] Jer. Taylor.
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Faller (?), n. 1. One who, or that which, falls.
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2. (Mach.) A part which acts by falling, as a stamp in a fulling mill, or the device in a spinning machine to arrest motion when a thread breaks.
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Fallfish (?), n. (Zoöl.) A fresh-water fish of the United States (Semotilus bullaris); -- called also silver chub, and Shiner. The name is also applied to other allied species.
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Fallibility (?), n. The state of being fallible; liability to deceive or to be deceived; as, the fallibity of an argument or of an adviser.
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Fallible (?), a. [LL. fallibilis, fr. L. fallere to deceive: cf. F. faillible. See .] Liable to fail, mistake, or err; liable to deceive or to be deceived; as, all men are fallible; our opinions and hopes are fallible.
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Fallibly, adv. In a fallible manner.
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Falling (?), a. & n. from , v. i.
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Coloq. Falling away , Coloq. Falling off , etc. See To fall away, To fall off, etc., under , v. i. -- Coloq. Falling band , the plain, broad, linen collar turning down over the doublet, worn in the early part of the 17th century. -- Coloq. Falling sickness (Med.), epilepsy. Shak. -- Coloq. Falling star . (Astron.) See . -- Coloq. Falling stone , a stone falling through the atmosphere; a meteorite; an aërolite. -- Coloq. Falling tide , the ebb tide. -- Coloq. Falling weather , a rainy season. [Colloq.] Bartlett.
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falloff n. a noticeable decline in performance; as, a falloff in automobile sales.
Syn. -- slump, drop-off, falling off.
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Fallopian (?), a. [From Fallopius, or Fallopio, a physician of Modena, who died in 1562.] (Anat.) Pertaining to, or discovered by, Fallopius; as, the Fallopian tubes or oviducts, the ducts or canals which conduct the ova from the ovaries to the uterus.
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fallout n. 1. the radioactive particles that settle to the ground after a nuclear explosion.
Syn. -- radioactive dust, radioactive fallout.
[WordNet 1.5]

2. the falling to the ground of radioactive particles lifted into the atmosphere by a nuclear explosion.
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3. an incidental or unexpected effect, especially one which is undesirable, consequent to an event or process; ; -- usually used only in the singular; as, the fallout from the disclosure of the Lewinsky tapes made trouble for the President for months after the event; fallout from the stock market crash caused property prices to decline in the New York area.
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4. (Med.) one selected from a group by some criterion. [cant]
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Corrective action was taken in 97 of the 418 fallouts from 3,787 patients at risk. H. Gill Cryer et al. (Journal of Trauma, Injury, Infection, and Critical Care. Vol 41, no. 3, 1996).
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5. one who fails to maintain the same pace as and lags behind a group of which s/he is a member. [cant]
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The executive officer's group noted all fallouts by name and policed them into a group to complete the run at a slower pace. Lt. Col. William C. David (Preparing a Battalion for Combat: Physical Fitness and Mental Toughness. Army University After Next - Virtual Research Library).
[PJC]

Fallow (?), a. [AS. fealu, fealo, pale yellow or red; akin to D. vaal fallow, faded, OHG. falo, G. falb, fahl, Icel. fölr, and prob. to Lith. palvas, OSlav. plavŭ white, L. pallidus pale, pallere to be pale, Gr. polios gray, Skr. palita. Cf. , , a., .] 1. Pale red or pale yellow; as, a fallow deer or greyhound. Shak.
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2. [Cf. , n.] Left untilled or unsowed after plowing; uncultivated; as, fallow ground.
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Coloq. Fallow chat , Coloq. Fallow finch (Zoöl.), a small European bird, the wheatear (Saxicola œnanthe). See .
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Fallow, n. [So called from the fallow, or somewhat yellow, color of naked ground; or perh. akin to E. felly, n., cf. MHG. valgen to plow up, OHG. felga felly, harrow.] 1. Plowed land. [Obs.]
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Who . . . pricketh his blind horse over the fallows. Chaucer.
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2. Land that has lain a year or more untilled or unseeded; land plowed without being sowed for the season.
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The plowing of fallows is a benefit to land. Mortimer.
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3. The plowing or tilling of land, without sowing it for a season; as, summer fallow, properly conducted, has ever been found a sure method of destroying weeds.
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Be a complete summer fallow, land is rendered tender and mellow. The fallow gives it a better tilth than can be given by a fallow crop. Sinclair.
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Coloq. Fallow crop , the crop taken from a green fallow. [Eng.] -- Coloq. Green fallow , fallow whereby land is rendered mellow and clean from weeds, by cultivating some green crop, as turnips, potatoes, etc. [Eng.]
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Fallow (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Fallowed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Fallowing.] [From , n.] To plow, harrow, and break up, as land, without seeding, for the purpose of destroying weeds and insects, and rendering it mellow; as, it is profitable to fallow cold, strong, clayey land.
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Fallow deer (?). [So called from its fallow or pale yellow color.] (Zoöl.) A European species of deer (Cervus dama), much smaller than the red deer. In summer both sexes are spotted with white. It is common in England, where it is often domesticated in the parks.
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Fallowist (?), n. One who favors the practice of fallowing land. [R.] Sinclair.
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Fallowness, n. A well or opening, through the successive floors of a warehouse or manufactory, through which goods are raised or lowered. [U.S.] Bartlett.
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fall webworm, n. (Zoöl.) The larva of any moth of the genus Hyphantria, which spins a web around the foliage on which it feeds.
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Falsary (?), n. [L. falsarius, fr. falsus. See , a.] A falsifier of evidence. [Obs.] Sheldon.
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False (?), a. [Compar. Falser (?); superl. Falsest.] [L. falsus, p. p. of fallere to deceive; cf. OF. faus, fals, F. faux, and AS. fals fraud. See , .] 1. Uttering falsehood; unveracious; given to deceit; dishnest; as, a false witness.
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2. Not faithful or loyal, as to obligations, allegiance, vows, etc.; untrue; treacherous; perfidious; as, a false friend, lover, or subject; false to promises.
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I to myself was false, ere thou to me. Milton.
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3. Not according with truth or reality; not true; fitted or likely to deceive or disappoint; as, a false statement.
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4. Not genuine or real; assumed or designed to deceive; counterfeit; hypocritical; as, false tears; false modesty; false colors; false jewelry.
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False face must hide what the false heart doth know. Shak.
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5. Not well founded; not firm or trustworthy; erroneous; as, a false claim; a false conclusion; a false construction in grammar.
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Whose false foundation waves have swept away. Spenser.
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6. Not essential or permanent, as parts of a structure which are temporary or supplemental.
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7. (Mus.) Not in tune.
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Coloq. False arch (Arch.), a member having the appearance of an arch, though not of arch construction. -- Coloq. False attic , an architectural erection above the main cornice, concealing a roof, but not having windows or inclosing rooms. -- Coloq. False bearing , any bearing which is not directly upon a vertical support; thus, the weight carried by a corbel has a false bearing. -- Coloq. False cadence , an imperfect or interrupted cadence. -- Coloq. False conception (Med.), an abnormal conception in which a mole, or misshapen fleshy mass, is produced instead of a properly organized fetus. -- Coloq. False croup (Med.), a spasmodic affection of the larynx attended with the symptoms of membranous croup, but unassociated with the deposit of a fibrinous membrane. -- Coloq. False door or Coloq. False window (Arch.), the representation of a door or window, inserted to complete a series of doors or windows or to give symmetry. -- Coloq. False fire , a combustible carried by vessels of war, chiefly for signaling, but sometimes burned for the purpose of deceiving an enemy; also, a light on shore for decoying a vessel to destruction. -- Coloq. False galena . See . -- Coloq. False imprisonment (Law), the arrest and imprisonment of a person without warrant or cause, or contrary to law; or the unlawful detaining of a person in custody. -- Coloq. False keel (Naut.), the timber below the main keel, used to serve both as a protection and to increase the shio's lateral resistance. -- Coloq. False key , a picklock. -- Coloq. False leg . (Zoöl.) See . -- Coloq. False membrane (Med.), the fibrinous deposit formed in croup and diphtheria, and resembling in appearance an animal membrane. -- Coloq. False papers (Naut.), documents carried by a ship giving false representations respecting her cargo, destination, etc., for the purpose of deceiving. -- Coloq. False passage (Surg.), an unnatural passage leading off from a natural canal, such as the urethra, and produced usually by the unskillful introduction of instruments. -- Coloq. False personation (Law), the intentional false assumption of the name and personality of another. -- Coloq. False pretenses (Law), false representations concerning past or present facts and events, for the purpose of defrauding another. -- Coloq. False rail (Naut.), a thin piece of timber placed on top of the head rail to strengthen it. -- Coloq. False relation (Mus.), a progression in harmony, in which a certain note in a chord appears in the next chord prefixed by a flat or sharp. -- Coloq. False return (Law), an untrue return made to a process by the officer to whom it was delivered for execution. -- Coloq. False ribs (Anat.), the asternal rebs, of which there are five pairs in man. -- Coloq. False roof (Arch.), the space between the upper ceiling and the roof. Oxford Gloss. -- Coloq. False token , a false mark or other symbol, used for fraudulent purposes. -- Coloq. False scorpion (Zoöl.), any arachnid of the genus Chelifer. See . -- Coloq. False tack (Naut.), a coming up into the wind and filling away again on the same tack. -- Coloq. False vampire (Zoöl.), the Vampyrus spectrum of South America, formerly erroneously supposed to have blood-sucking habits; -- called also vampire, and ghost vampire. The genuine blood-sucking bats belong to the genera Desmodus and Diphylla. See . -- Coloq. False window . (Arch.) See False door, above. -- Coloq. False wing . (Zoöl.) See , and Bastard wing, under . -- Coloq. False works (Civil Engin.), construction works to facilitate the erection of the main work, as scaffolding, bridge centering, etc.
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False, adv. Not truly; not honestly; falsely. “You play me false.” Shak.
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False, v. t. [L. falsare to falsify, fr. falsus: cf. F. fausser. See , a.] 1. To report falsely; to falsify. [Obs.] Chaucer.
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2. To betray; to falsify. [Obs.]
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[He] hath his truthe falsed in this wise. Chaucer.
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3. To mislead by want of truth; to deceive. [Obs.]
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In his falsed fancy. Spenser.
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4. To feign; to pretend to make. [Obs.] “And falsed oft his blows.” Spenser.
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False-faced (?), a. Hypocritical. Shak.
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False-heart (?), a. False-hearted. Shak.
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False-hearted, a. Hollow or unsound at the core; treacherous; deceitful; perfidious. Bacon. -- False-heartedness, n. Bp. Stillingfleet.
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Falsehood (?), n. [False + -hood] 1. Want of truth or accuracy; an untrue assertion or representation; error; misrepresentation; falsity.
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Though it be a lie in the clock, it is but a falsehood in the hand of the dial when pointing at a wrong hour, if rightly following the direction of the wheel which moveth it. Fuller.
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2. A deliberate intentional assertion of what is known to be untrue; a departure from moral integrity; a lie.
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3. Treachery; deceit; perfidy; unfaithfulness.
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Betrayed by falsehood of his guard. Shak.
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4. A counterfeit; a false appearance; an imposture.
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For his molten image is falsehood. Jer. x. 14.
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No falsehood can endure
Touch of celestial temper. Milton.

Syn. -- Falsity; lie; untruth; fiction; fabrication. See .
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Falsely (?), adv. In a false manner; erroneously; not truly; perfidiously or treacherously. “O falsely, falsely murdered.” Shak.
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Oppositions of science, falsely so called. 1 Tim. vi. 20.
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Will ye steal, murder . . . and swear falsely ? Jer. vii. 9.
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Falseness, n. The state of being false; contrariety to the fact; inaccuracy; want of integrity or uprightness; double dealing; unfaithfulness; treachery; perfidy; as, the falseness of a report, a drawing, or a singer's notes; the falseness of a man, or of his word.
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Falser (?), n. A deceiver. [Obs.] Spenser.
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Falsetto (?), n.; pl. Falsettos (#). [It. falsetto, dim. fr. L. falsus. See .] A false or artificial voice; that voice in a man which lies above his natural voice; the male counter tenor or alto voice. See Head voice, under .
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Falsicrimen (?). [L.] (Civ. Law) The crime of falsifying.
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☞ This term in the Roman law included not only forgery, but every species of fraud and deceit. It never has been used in so extensive a sense in modern common law, in which its predominant significance is forgery, though it also includes perjury and offenses of a like character. Burrill. Greenleaf.
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Falsifiable (?), a. [Cf. OF. falsifiable.] 1. Capable of being falsified, counterfeited, or corrupted. Johnson.
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2. able to be proven false, and therefore testable; as, most religious beliefs are not falsifiable, and are therefor outside the scope of experimental science.
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Falsification (?), n. [Cf. F. falsification.] 1. The act of falsifying, or making false; a counterfeiting; the giving to a thing an appearance of something which it is not.
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To counterfeit the living image of king in his person exceedeth all falsifications. Bacon.
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2. Willful misstatement or misrepresentation.
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Extreme necessity . . . forced him upon this bold and violent falsification of the doctrine of the alliance. Bp. Warburton.
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3. (Equity) The showing an item of charge in an account to be wrong. Story.
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Falsificator (?), n. [Cf. F. falsificateur.] A falsifier. Bp. Morton.
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Falsifier (?), n. One who falsifies, or gives to a thing a deceptive appearance; a liar.
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Falsify (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Falsified (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Falsifying.] [L. falsus false + -ly: cf. F. falsifier. See , a.] 1. To make false; to represent falsely.
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The Irish bards use to forge and falsify everything as they list, to please or displease any man. Spenser.
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2. To counterfeit; to forge; as, to falsify coin.
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3. To prove to be false, or untrustworthy; to confute; to disprove; to nullify; to make to appear false.
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By how much better than my word I am,
By so much shall I falsify men's hope. Shak.
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Jews and Pagans united all their endeavors, under Julian the apostate, to baffle and falsify the prediction. Addison.
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4. To violate; to break by falsehood; as, to falsify one's faith or word. Sir P. Sidney.
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5. To baffle or escape; as, to falsify a blow. Butler.
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6. (Law) To avoid or defeat; to prove false, as a judgment. Blackstone.
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7. (Equity) To show, in accounting, (an inem of charge inserted in an account) to be wrong. Story. Daniell.
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8. To make false by multilation or addition; to tamper with; as, to falsify a record or document.
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Falsify, v. i. To tell lies; to violate the truth.
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It is absolutely and universally unlawful to lie and falsify.
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South.
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Falsism (?), n. That which is evidently false; an assertion or statement the falsity of which is plainly apparent; -- opposed to truism.
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Falsity (?), n.;pl. Falsities (#). [L. falsitas: cf. F. fausseté, OF. also, falsité. See , a.] 1. The quality of being false; coutrariety or want of conformity to truth.
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Probability does not make any alteration, either in the truth or falsity of things. South.
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2. That which is false; falsehood; a lie; a false assertion.
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Men often swallow falsities for truths. Sir T. Brown.

Syn. -- Falsehood; lie; deceit. -- , , . Falsity denotes the state or quality of being false. A falsehood is a false declaration designedly made. A lie is a gross, unblushing falsehood. The falsity of a person's assertion may be proved by the evidence of others and thus the charge of falsehood be fastened upon him.
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Falstaff prop. n. Sir John Falstaff, a celebrated character in Shakespeare's historical play Henry IV. (1st and 2d parts), and also in The Merry Wives of Windsor. He is a very fat, sensual, and witty old knight; a swindler, drunkard, and good-tempered liar; and something of a coward. Falstaff was originally called Sir John Oldcastle. The first actor of the part was John Heminge.
[Century Dict. 1906]

☞ Shakespeare found the name of John Oldcastle in the ... older play of Henry V.; in the Chronicle he found a John Oldcastle, who was page to the Duke of Norfolk who plays a part in Richard II.; and this, according to Shakespeare, his Falstaff (Oldcastle) had been in his youth. When the poet wrote his Henry IV. he knew not who this Oldcastle was, whom he had rendered so distinct with the designation as Norfolk's page; he was a Lord Cobham [Sir John Oldcastle, known as the good lord Cobham], who had perished as a Lollard and Wickliffite in the persecution of the church under Henry V. The Protestants regarded him as a holy martyr, the Catholics as a heretic; the latter seized with eagerness this description of the fat poltroon, and gave it out as a portrait of Lord Cobham, who was indeed physically and mentally his contrast. The family complained of this misuse of a name dear to them, and Shakespeare declared in the epilogue to Henry IV. that Cobham was in his sight also a martyr, and that this was not the man. At the same time, he changed the name to Falstaff, but this was of little use; in spite of the express retraction, subsequent Catholic writers on church history still declared Falstaff to be a portrait of the heretic Cobham. But it is a strange circumstance that even now under the name of Falstaff another historical character is again sought for, just as if it were impossible for such a vigorous form not to be a being of reality. It was referred to John Fastolfe, whose cowardice is more stigmatised in Henry VI. than history justifies; and this too met with public blame, although Shakespeare could have again asserted that he intended Fastolfe as little as Cobham. Gervinus, Shakespeare Commentaries (tr. by K E. Bunnett, [ed. 1880), p. 800.
[Century Dict. 1906]

Falstaffian adj. of or pertaining to , a character in Shakespeare's plays.
[WordNet 1.5]

Falter (?), v. t. To thrash in the chaff; also, to cleanse or sift, as barley. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.
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Falter, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Faltered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Faltering.] [OE. falteren, faltren, prob. from fault. See , v. & n.] 1. To hesitate; to speak brokenly or weakly; to stammer; as, his tongue falters.
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With faltering speech and visage incomposed. Milton.
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2. To tremble; to totter; to be unsteady. “He found his legs falter.” Wiseman.
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3. To hesitate in purpose or action.
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Ere her native king
Shall falter under foul rebellion's arms. Shak.
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4. To fail in distinctness or regularity of exercise; -- said of the mind or of thought.
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Here indeed the power of disinct conception of space and distance falters. I. Taylor.
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Falter, v. t. To utter with hesitation, or in a broken, trembling, or weak manner.
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And here he faltered forth his last farewell. Byron.
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Mde me most happy, faltering “I am thine.” Tennyson.
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