Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
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Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Fal-sĕtte' or Fal-sĕt/to, n. p. 494A false or artificial voice; that peculiar species of voice in a man the compass of which lies above his natural voice. The cry, scream, yell, and all shrillness, are various modes of the falsette.…Făl'sī Crī'men p. 494The crime of falsifying. ☞ This term in the civil 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…Fal'si-fī'a-ble, a. p. 494Capable of being falsified, counterfeited, or corrupted. Johnson.Fal'si-fi-cā'tion, n. p. 494The act of making false; a counterfeiting; the giving to a thing an appearance of something which it is not; as, the falsification of words. Hooker. 2. Confutation. Broome. 3. (Equity.) The showing…Fal'si-fi-cā'tor, n. p. 494A falsifier. Bp. Morton.Fal'si-fī'er, n. p. 494One who falsifies, or gives to a thing a deceptive appearance.Fals'i-fȳ, v. t. p. 494To represent falsely; to make false; to counterfeit; to forge; as, to falsify coin. The Irish bards use to forge and falsify every thing as they list, to please or displease any man. Spenser. 2. To…Fals'i-fȳ, v. i. p. 494To tell lies; to violate the truth. It is absolutely and universally unlawful to lie and falsify. South.Fals'ism, n. p. 494That which is evidently false; an assertion or statement the falsity of which is plainly apparent; — opposed to truism.Fals'i-ty, n. p. 494The quality of being false; contrariety or inconformity to truth. Probability does not make any alteration, either in the truth or falsity of things. South. 2. Falsehood; a lie; a false assertion.…Fal'ter, v. i. p. 494To fall short; to fail; to stumble; especially, to hesitate, to stammer; as, his tongue falters. With faltering speech and visage incomposed. Milton. 2. To tremble; to totter. “He found his legs…Fal'ter, v. t. p. 494To thrash in the chaff; to cleanse or sift out, as barley. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.Fal'ter-ing, n. p. 494Feebleness; deficiency.Fāl'ter-ing-ly, adv. p. 494In a faltering manner; with hesitation or feebleness.Făl'tranck, n. p. 494(Med.) A drink prepared from various aromatic plants, and used as a remedy in case of wounds and various accidents.Fä'lun, n. p. 494(Geol.) A series of strata, of the middle tertiary period, abounding in shells, and corresponding to the Norfolk crag. Lyell.Făm'ble, v. i. p. 494To stammer. [Obs.] Nares.Fām'ble, n. p. 494A hand. [Cant.] “We clap our fambles.” Beau. & Fl.Fāme, n. p. 494Public report or rumor. The fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh’s house. Gen. xlv. 16. The certain fame thereof being told by none. Chapman. 2. Report or opinion generally diffused; renown; notoriety…Fame, v. t. p. 494To report. The fields where thou art famed To have wrought such wonders. Milton. 2. To make famous. “Those Hesperian gardens famed of old.” Milton.Fame'less, a. p. 494Without renown. Beau. & Fl.Fāme'less-ly, adv. p. 494In a fameless manner.Fa-mil'iar, a. p. 494Pertaining to a family; domestic. Pope. 2. Closely acquainted or intimate, as a friend or companion; well versed in, as any subject of study; as, familiar with the Scriptures. 3. Characterized by, or…Fa-mil'iar, n. p. 494An intimate; a close companion; one long acquainted; one accustomed to another by free, unreserved converse. All my familiars watched for my halting. Jer. xx. 10. 2. A demon or evil spirit supposed…Fa-mil-iăr'/i-ty, n. p. 494The state of being familiar; intimate and frequent converse, or association; unconstrained intercourse; freedom from ceremony and constraint; intimacy; as, to live in remarkable familiarity. Syn. —…Fa-mĭl'iar-īze, v. t. p. 495To make familiar or intimate; to habituate; to accustom; to make well known by practice or converse; as, to familiarize one's self to scenes of distress. 2. To make easy by practice or study; as, to…Fa-mil'iar-ly, adv. p. 495In a familiar manner; unceremoniously; without constraint; without formality. 2. Commonly; frequently; with the ease and unconcern that arise from long custom or acquaintance.Fa·mil'ia-ry, a. p. 495Pertaining to a family or household; domestic. [Obs.] Milton.Fâm'i-lĭsm, n. p. 495The tenets of the Familists. “Familism, Antinomianism, and other fantastic dreams.” Milton.Fām'i-list, n. p. 495(Eccl. Hist.) One of a fanatical sect founded by a David George, in Holland, and existing in England about 1580, called the Family of Love, from the affection its members professed to bear to all…Fâm'i-lĭst'ic, a. p. 495Pertaining to Familists.Fâm'i-ly, n. p. 495The collective body of persons who live in one house, and under one head or manager; a household, including parents, children, and servants, and, as the case may be; lodgers or boarders. 2. Those who…Fām′ine, n. p. 495General scarcity of food; dearth; a general want of provisions; destitution. “Worn with famine.” Milton. There was a famine in the land. Gen. xxvi. 1.Fâm'ish, v. t. p. 495To starve, kill, or destroy with hunger. Shak. 2. To exhaust the strength of by hunger; to distress with hunger. The pains of famished Tantalus he'll feel. Dryden. 3. To kill by deprivation or denial…Fām'ish, v. i. p. 495To die of hunger; to starve. 2. To suffer extreme hunger or thirst; to be exhausted in strength, or to come near to perish for want of food or drink. You are all resolved rather to die than to…Făm'ish-ment, n. p. 495The pain of extreme hunger or thirst; extreme want of sustenance. Hakewill.Fa-mōs'i-ty, n. p. 495The state of being famous; renown; celebrity. [Obs.]Fā'moūs, a. p. 495Celebrated in fame or public report; renowned; much talked of; distinguished in story;—used in either a good or bad sense, chiefly the former; and followed by for; as, famous for erudition, for…Fā'moŭsed, a. p. 495Renowned. [Obs.] Shak.Fā'mous-ly, adv. p. 495With great renown or celebration; with fame. Then this land was famously enriched With politic grave counsel. Sirak.Fā'moŭs-ness, n. p. 495The state of being famous; renown; celebrity. Boyle.Fām’ū-lāte, v. i. p. 495To serve. [Obs.] Cock’eram.Făm'ū-līst, n. p. 495A collegian of inferior rank or position. [Oxford University, Eng.]Fān, n. p. 495An instrument used for producing artificial currents of air, by the wafting or revolving motion of a broad surface; as, (a.) An instrument for cooling the person, made of feathers, paper, silk, &c.…Fān, v. t. p. 495To move as with a fan. “The air . . . fanned with unnumbered plumes.” Milton. 2. To cool and refresh, by moving the air with a fan; to blow the air on the face of with a fan. 3. To ventilate; to blow…Fā-näl', n. p. 495A light-house, or the apparatus placed in it for giving light.Fa-năt'ic or Fa-năt'ic-al, a. p. 495Pertaining to, or indicating, fanaticism; extravagant in opinions; excessively enthusiastic, especially on religious subjects; as, fanatic zeal; fanatic notions or opinions. I abhor such fanatical…Fa-nāt'ic, n. p. 495A person affected by excessive enthusiasm, particularly on religious subjects; one who indulges wild and extravagant notions of religion. There is a new word, coined within few months, called…Fa-nät′ic-al-ly, adv. p. 495In a fanatical manner; with wild enthusiasm.Fa-nāt′ic-al-ness, n. p. 495Fanaticism.Fa-năt'i-ciĭsm, n. p. 495Excessive enthusiasm; wild and extravagant notions of religion; religious frenzy. Rogers. Syn.—Enthusiasm; superstition; frenzy. See ENTHUSIASM and SUPERSTITION.Fa-nāt'i-cīze, v. t. p. 495To make fanatic.Fān'a-tĭsm, n. p. 495Fanaticism. [Very rare.] Gibbon.Fān'-blōw'er, n. p. 495A wheel with vanes revolving rapidly, to impel a current of air for any purpose, especially to blow air into a furnace; a fan; a fanner.Fān'cied, p. a. p. 495Formed or conceived by the fancy; imagined; liked. Stephens.Fān'ci-er, n. p. 495One who is governed by fancy. “Not reasoners, but fanciers.” Macaulay. 2. One who fancies or has a special liking for or interest in; hence, one who keeps for sale; as, bird-fancier, dog-fancier, and…Fān'ci-ful, a. p. 495Full of fancy; guided by fancy, rather than by reason and experience; whimsical; as, a fanciful man forms visionary projects. 2. Dictated by fancy; abounding in wild images; as, a fanciful scheme; a…Făn'ci-ful-ly, adv. p. 495In a fanciful manner; wildly; whimsically.Făn'ci-ful-ness, n. p. 495The quality of being fanciful; dictated or influenced by the imagination.Făn'ci-less, a. p. 495Having no fancy; without ideas or imagination. A pert or bluff important wight, Whose brain is fanciless, whose blood is white. Armstrong.