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An American Dictionary of the English Language

by Noah Webster

Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)

Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865

Entries
95,912
Pages
1,538
Illustrations
2,133

Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.

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  1. Fīn'-fish, n.p. 513A species of slender whale.
  2. Fin'-fōōt'ed, a.p. 513Having palmated feet, or feet with toes connected by a membrane. [Obs.] Browne.
  3. Fĭn'ger, n.p. 513One of the five terminating members of the hand; a digit; also, one of the extremities of the hand, not including the thumb. 2. The breadth of a finger, sometimes employed as a measure. 3. Skill in…
  4. Fin'ger, v. t.p. 513To touch with the fingers; to handle. 2. To perform on, or to perform, with the fingers. 3. To touch lightly; to toy with. 4. To pilfer; to purloin.
  5. Fin'ger, v. i.p. 513(Mus.) To use the fingers in playing on an instrument. Busby.
  6. Fin’ger-āl’pha-bet, n.p. 513See DACTYLOLOGY.
  7. Fin'ger-board, n.p. 513(Mus.) The part of a stringed instrument on which the fingers are pressed to vary the tone; key-board; manual.
  8. Fin'gered, a.p. 513Having fingers. 2. (Bot.) Having leaflets like fingers; digitate. 3. (Mus.) Marked with figures designating which finger should be used for each note.
  9. Fīn'ger-er, n.p. 513One who fingers; a pilferer.
  10. Fin'ger-fern, n.p. 513(Bot.) A genus of ferns; Asplenium;—called also spleen-wort. Johnson.
  11. Fin'ger-glāss, n.p. 513A glass to hold water for the use of the fingers at the dinner-table.
  12. Fīn'ger-grāss, n.p. 513(Bot.) A kind of wild grass of the genus Digitaria.
  13. Fin'ger-ing, n.p. 513The act or method of handling or touching lightly with the fingers. 2. The manner of using or managing the fingers in playing or striking the keys of an instrument of music; the apt or dexterous…
  14. Fin'ger-plāte, n.p. 513A strip of metal or porcelain on the edge of a door to prevent finger-marks from soiling the paint. Simmonds.
  15. Fĭn'ger-pōst, n.p. 513A post with a finger pointing, for directing passengers to the road; a sign-post.
  16. Fin'ger-shell, n.p. 513(Conch.) A marine shell resembling a finger.
  17. Fĭn’ger-stall, n.p. 513A cot of leather, &c., worn by workmen as a protection for the finger. Simmonds.
  18. Fin'gle-făng'gle, n.p. 513A trifle. [Low.] Hudibras.
  19. Fin'ger-go, n.p. 513(Bot.) A plant of the genus Pisonia. The fruit is a kind of berry or plum.
  20. Fin'i-al, n.p. 513The knot or bunch of foliage, or flower, that forms the upper extremities of pinnacles in Gothic architecture; sometimes, the pinnacle itself.
  21. Fin'ical, a.p. 513Affectedly fine; nice over-much; unduly particular; fastidious. “Finical taste.” Wordsworth. The gross style consists in giving no detail, the finical in giving nothing else. Hazlitt. Syn.—FINICAL…
  22. Fĭn'i-căl'i-ty, n.p. 513State of being finical; a finical thing. Ogilvie.
  23. Fĭn'i-cal-ly, adv.p. 513In a finical manner; foppishly.
  24. Fĭn'i-cal-ness, n.p. 513Extreme nicety in dress or manners; foppishness; finicality. Warburton.
  25. Fĭ-nĭf'ic, n.p. 513A limiting element or quality. [Rare.] The essential finific in the form of the finite. Coleridge.
  26. Fin'i-fy, v. t.p. 513To make fine. [Obs.] Hath so pared and finified them [his feet]. B. Jonson.
  27. Fĭn′i-kĭn, a.p. 513Precise in trifles; idly busy. [Colloq.] Smart.
  28. Fin'i-kin, n.p. 513Same as FINNIKIN, q. v.
  29. Fin'ing, n.p. 513The act of imposing a fine. 2. The process of fining or refining; clarification. 3. That which is used to refine, especially a solution of gelatine.
  30. Fin'ing-pôt, n.p. 513A vessel for refining.
  31. Fĭ'nis, n.p. 513An end; conclusion.
  32. Fin’ish, v. t.p. 513To arrive at the end of; to bring to an end; to put an end to; to make an end of; to terminate. “And finish all foul thoughts.” Shak. And heroically hath finished a life heroic. Milton. 2. To bestow…
  33. Fĭn'ish, n.p. 513That which finishes, puts an end to, or perfects; especially, the last hard, smooth coat of plaster on a wall.
  34. Fin'ished, p. a.p. 513Polished to the highest degree of excellence; complete; perfect; as, a finished poem; a finished education. Finished work (Mach.), work that is made smooth or polished, though not necessarily…
  35. Fĭn'ish-er, n.p. 513One who finishes, puts an end to, completes, or perfects. A prophet of glad tidings, finisher Of utmost hope. Milton. 2. A machinist. See BENCH-HAND.
  36. Fĭ'nīte, a.p. 513Having a limit; limited in quantity, degree, or capacity; bounded; — opposed to infinite; as, finite number; finite existence; a finite being; finite duration.
  37. Fĭ'nīte-less, a.p. 513Having no limit; infinite. [Obs.] Browne.
  38. Fĭ'nite-ly, adv.p. 513Within limits; to a certain degree only. Stillingfleet.
  39. Fĭ'nite-ness, n.p. 513The state of being finite; as, the finiteness of our natural powers.
  40. Fin'i-tūde, n.p. 513Limitation. [Obs.] Cheyne.
  41. Fin'less, a.p. 513Destitute of fins; as, finless fish. Shak.
  42. Fĭnn, n.p. 513(Geog.) A native or inhabitant of Finland.
  43. Finned, a.p. 513Having a broad edge on either side; — said of a plow. Mortimer.
  44. Fīn'ner, n.p. 513A kind of whale; a finback.
  45. Fĭn’-ni-kĭn, n.p. 513A sort of pigeon, with a crest somewhat resembling the mane of a horse.
  46. Fin'nish, a.p. 513(Geog.) Pertaining to Finland, or to the language of its inhabitants.
  47. Fin'ny, a.p. 513Furnished with fins; pertaining to fins or fish; as, finny fish; finny tribes. With patient angle trolls the finny deep. Goldsmith.
  48. FĪ-nō’chi-o, n.p. 513(Bot.) A variety of fennel; Anethum fæniculum dulce. London.
  49. Fī'nōs, n. pl.p. 514Second best wool from Merino sheep. Gardner.
  50. Fin'-seāle, n.p. 514(Ichth.) A kind of river fish, the rudd. [Eng.]
  51. Fin'-tōed, a.p. 514Having toes connected by a membrane, as aquatic fowls; palmiped; palmated.
  52. Fiôrd, n.p. 514(Geog.) A long, narrow inlet, bounded by high banks or rocks, often opening again into the sea, such as are common on the coast of Norway.
  53. Fī'o-rīn, n.p. 514(Bot.) A species of creeping bent-grass; the Agrostis stolonifera;—called also fiorin-grass and black couch-grass. London.
  54. Fī'o-rīte, n.p. 514(Min.) A variety of opal occurring in the cavities of volcanic tufa, in smooth and shining globular and botryoidal masses, having a pearly luster;—so called from Fiora, in Ischia.
  55. Fip'pen-ny-bīt, n.p. 514Five pence, or a piece of money of that value;—often contracted to fip. [U. S.] Bartlett.
  56. Fĭp’ple, n.p. 514A stopper, as in a wind-instrument of music. [Obs.] Bacon.
  57. Fir (18), n.p. 514(Bot.) A tree of several species of the genus Abies, allied to the pines, and valued for its timber. These species are distinguished as the balsam fir, the silver fir, &c. The Scotch fir is a Pinus.…
  58. Fire, n.p. 514The evolution of light and heat in the combustion of bodies, or that active natural process by which burning bodies are decomposed with the evolution of heat and light; combustion; state of ignition.…
  59. Fire, v. t.p. 514To set on fire; to kindle; as, to fire a house or chimney; to fire a pile. 2. To inflame; to irritate, as the passions; as, to fire with anger or revenge. “Then soonest fired with zeal.” Milton. 3.…
  60. Fire, v. i.p. 514To take fire; to be kindled; to kindle. 2. To be irritated or inflamed with passion. 3. To discharge artillery or fire-arms; as, they fired on the town. To fire up, to grow irritated or angry. “He .…