Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
- Entries
- 95,912
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Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Fĭn'an-ciēr', n. p. 512One who is charged with the administration of finance; an officer who administers the public revenue; a treasurer. Burke. 2. One who is skilled in financial operations; one who is acquainted with…Fin-an-ciēr', v. i. p. 512To conduct financial operations.Fin'a-ry, n. p. 512Finery. See FINERY.Fĭ'na-tīve, a. p. 512Conclusive; decisive; definitive; final. [Obs.] Greene, 1593.Fin′back, n. p. 512(Zoöl.) A whale of the genera Balænoptera or Physalus, characterized by a prominent fin on the back.Finch, n. p. 512(Ornith.) A small singing bird, belonging to the genus Fringilla. The word is often used in composition, as in chaff-finch, goldfinch.Finch'-bäcked, a. p. 512Having a white streak, or white spots, upon the back; — said of cattle.Finched, a. p. 512Having a spot or streak of white; — applied to cattle.Find, v. t. p. 512To meet with, or light upon, accidentally; to gain the first sight or knowledge of, as of something new, or unknown, or unexpected; hence, to fall in with, as a person. I found this paper, thus…Find, v. i. p. 512(Law.) To determine an issue of fact, and to declare such a determination to a court; as, the jury find for the plaintiff. Burrill.Find'er, n. p. 512One who, or that which, finds; specifically (Astron.), a small telescope, attached to a larger telescope, for the purpose of finding an object more readily.Find'-fault, n. p. 512A censurer or caviler. [Obs.] Shak.Find'-fault'ing, a. p. 512Apt to censure or cavil; captious. [Obs.] Whitlock.Find'ing, n. p. 512That which is found, come upon, or provided; discovery; especially, in the plural, that which a journeyman finds or provides for himself, as a shoemaker his tools, thread, and wax. When a man hath…Find'ing-stōre, n. p. 512A store or shop where the tools, &c., used by shoemakers, are kept for sale; — called in England grindery-warehouse. [U.S.] Simmonds.Fin'dy, a. p. 512Full; heavy; or firm, solid, substantial. [Obs.] A cold May and a windy Makes the barn fat and findy. Old Proverb.Fine, a. p. 512Finished; brought to perfection; refined; — hence, excellent; superior; elegant; worthy of admiration; beautiful; showy. The grief is fine, full, perfect, that I taste. Shak. Not only the finest…Fine, v. t. p. 513To make fine; to refine; to purify; to clarify. “The fining of wines.” Evelyn. “The furnaces where gold is fined.” Holland. It hath been fined and refined by ... grave and learned men. Hobbes. 2. To…Fīne, n. p. 513End; termination; extinction. [Obs.] “To see their fatal fine.” Spenser. 2. A sum of money paid as the settlement of a claim, or by way of terminating a matter in dispute; especially, a payment of…Fīne, v. t. p. 513To impose a pecuniary penalty upon for an offense or breach of law; to set a fine on by judgment of a court; to punish by fine; to mulct; as, the trespassers were fined ten dollars, and imprisoned a…Fīne, v. i. p. 513To pay a fine. [Rare.] Men fined for the king's good-will; or that he would remit his anger. Hallam.Fīne'-draw, v. t. p. 513To sew up, as a rent, without doubling the edges, so that the seam is not perceived; to renter. Johnson.Fine'-draw'er, n. p. 513One who fine-draws.Fine'-drawn, p. a. p. 513Drawn out with too much subtilty; as, fine-drawn speculations.Fī-neer′, v. i. p. 513To run in debt by getting goods made up in a way unsuitable for the use of others, and then threatening not to take them except on credit. [Rare.] Goldsmith.Fine'-fing'gered, a. p. 513Nice in workmanship; dexterous at fine work. Johnson.Fīne'less, a. p. 513Endless; boundless. [Obs.] Shak.Fine'ly, adv. p. 513In a fine or finished manner; admirably; beautifully; as, he was finely attired. Plutarch says, very finely, that a man should not allow himself to hate even his enemies. Addison. 2. Delicately; with…Fine'ness, n. p. 513The quality or condition of being fine. 2. Freedom from foreign matter; clearness; purity; as, the fineness of liquor. The fineness of the gold, and chargeful fashion. Shak. 3. Perfectedness…Fīn'er, n. p. 513One who fines or purifies.Fin'er-y, n. p. 513Fineness; beauty. [Obs.] Don't choose your place of study by the finery of the prospects. Watts. 2. Ornament; decoration; especially, showy or excessive decoration. “Her mistress' cast-off finery.”…Fine'-spŭn, a. p. 513Drawn to a fine thread; minute; hence, subtile.Finesse, n. p. 513Subtility of contrivance to gain a point; artifice; stratagem. This is the artificialest piece of finesse to persuade men into slavery. Milton.Fī-nèsse′, v. i. p. 513To use artifice or stratagem. Goldsmith.Fine'-still, v. t. p. 513To distill, as spirit from molasses, treacle, or some preparation of saccharine matter.Fine'-still'er, n. p. 513One who distills spirit from treacle or molasses.Fine'-stûff, n. p. 513The second coat of plaster for the walls of a room, made of finely sifted lime with sand and hair. Gwilt.Fīn'ew, n. p. 513The state of being fenowed or moldy; moldiness. See FENOWED. Scott.Fīn'-fish, n. p. 513A species of slender whale.Fin'-fōōt'ed, a. p. 513Having palmated feet, or feet with toes connected by a membrane. [Obs.] Browne.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…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.Fin'ger, v. i. p. 513(Mus.) To use the fingers in playing on an instrument. Busby.Fin’ger-āl’pha-bet, n. p. 513See DACTYLOLOGY.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.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.Fīn'ger-er, n. p. 513One who fingers; a pilferer.Fin'ger-fern, n. p. 513(Bot.) A genus of ferns; Asplenium;—called also spleen-wort. Johnson.Fin'ger-glāss, n. p. 513A glass to hold water for the use of the fingers at the dinner-table.Fīn'ger-grāss, n. p. 513(Bot.) A kind of wild grass of the genus Digitaria.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…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.Fĭn'ger-pōst, n. p. 513A post with a finger pointing, for directing passengers to the road; a sign-post.Fin'ger-shell, n. p. 513(Conch.) A marine shell resembling a finger.Fĭn’ger-stall, n. p. 513A cot of leather, &c., worn by workmen as a protection for the finger. Simmonds.Fin'gle-făng'gle, n. p. 513A trifle. [Low.] Hudibras.Fin'ger-go, n. p. 513(Bot.) A plant of the genus Pisonia. The fruit is a kind of berry or plum.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.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…Fĭn'i-căl'i-ty, n. p. 513State of being finical; a finical thing. Ogilvie.