Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
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.
Fire'-screen, n. p. 514A movable screen to intercept the light or heat of the fire; a fire-guard. Clarke. 2. (Naut.) A screen of baize or flannel placed in the passage way from the powder magazine whenever this is opened.…Fire'-sĕt, n. p. 514A set of fire-irons, including, commonly, tongs, shovel, and poker. Simmonds.Fire'-ship, n. p. 514A vessel filled with combustibles, and furnished with grappling-irons, to hook and set fire to an enemy's ships.Fire'-shōv'el, n. p. 514A shovel or instrument for taking up or removing coals of fire.Fire'-side, n. p. 514A place near the fire or hearth; home; domestic life or retirement.Fire'-steel, n. p. 514A steel used with a flint for striking fire.Fire'-stick, n. p. 514A lighted stick or brand. Digby.Fire'-stōne, n. p. 514Iron pyrites. [Obs.] 2. A kind of sandstone which bears a high degree of heat.Fire'-sûr'face, n. p. 514See HEATING-SURFACE.Fire'-tĕl'e-grāph, n. p. 514A telegraph used to convey intelligence of fire to different parts of a city.Fire'-ward or Fire'-ward'en, n. p. 514An officer who has authority to direct in the extinguishing of fires, or the proper precautions against fires.Fire'-weed, n. p. 514(Bot.) An American plant (Senecio hieracifolius), very troublesome in spots where brushwood has been burned.Fire'-wood, n. p. 514Wood for fuel.Fire'-work, n. p. 514Preparations of gunpowder, sulphur, and other inflammable materials, used for making explosions in the air, on occasions of public rejoicing; pyrotechnical exhibitions; also, various combustible…Fire'-work'er, n. p. 514An officer of artillery subordinate to the fire-master. [Rare.]Fire'-wor/ship, n. p. 514The worship of fire, which prevails chiefly in Persia, among the followers of Zoroaster, called Ghebers, or Guebers, and among the Parsees of India.Fire'-wor'ship-er, n. p. 514One who worships fire.Fīr'ing, n. p. 514The act of discharging fire-arms. 2. The application of fire, or of a cautery. 3. Fuel; fire-wood or coal. Mortimer.Fir'ing-ī'ron, n. p. 514An instrument used in farriery for cauterizing.Fĭrk, v. t. p. 514To beat; to strike; to chastise. [Obs.] Hudibras.Fĭrk, v. i. p. 514To fly out; to turn out; to go off. [Obs.] A wench is a rare bait, with which a man No sooner's taken but he firks mad. B. Jonson.F'irk, n. p. 514A freak; trick; quirk. [Obs.] Ford.Fĭr'kin, n. p. 514A measure of capacity, being the fourth part of a barrel, and equal to nine ale gallons, or seven and a half imperial gallons. 2. A small vessel or cask of indeterminate size; — used chiefly for…Fir'lot, n. p. 514A dry measure used in Scotland. The Linlithgow wheat firlot is to the imperial bushel as 995 to 1000; the Linlithgow barley firlot is to the imperial bushel as 1456 to 1000. McCulloch.Firm, a. p. 515Fixed; hence, closely compressed; compact; hard; solid; — applied to the matter of bodies; as, firm flesh; firm muscles; firm wood; firm cloth. 2. Not easily excited or disturbed; unchanging in…Firm, n. p. 515The name, title, or style, under which a company transacts business; hence, a partnership or house; as, the firm of Hope & Co.Firm, v. t. p. 515To fix; to settle; to confirm; to establish. And love has firmed it with an awful nod. Dryden. 2. To fix or direct with firmness. Upon his card and compass firms his eye. Spenser.Fir'ma-ment, n. p. 515Fixed foundation; well-established basis. [Obs.] Custom is the ... firmament of the law. Bp. Taylor. 2. The region of the air; the sky or heavens. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst…Fir'ma-mĕnt'al, a. p. 515Pertaining to the firmament; celestial; being of the upper regions. Dryden.Fir'man or Fir-mān', n. p. 515A decree of the Turkish or other Oriental government: a royal order or grant; — generally given for special objects, as to a traveler to insure him protection and assistance. [Written also firmam.]Firm'i-tūde, n. p. 515Strength; solidity. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.Firm'i-ty, n. p. 515Strength; firmness; stability. [Obs.] Chillingworth.Firm'less, a. p. 515Detached from substance. [Obs.] Does passion still the firmless mind control? Pope.Firm'li-er, adv. p. 515More firmly. Milton.Firm'ly, adv. p. 515In a firm manner; solidly; compactly; closely; steadily; with constancy or fixedness; steadfastly; as, he firmly believes in the divine origin of the Scriptures; his resolution is firmly fixed.Firm'ness, n. p. 515The state of being firm; fixedness; stability; constancy; certainty; steadfastness; as, firmness of wood; firmness of a union; firmness of soul. Syn.—FIRMNESS, CONSTANCY. Firmness belongs to the…First, a. p. 515Preceding all others of a series or kind; foremost; earliest; — the ordinal of one. 2. Most forward; placed in front of, or in advance of, all others; foremost. 3. Most eminent or exalted; most…First, n. p. 515(Mus.) The upper part of a duet, trio, &c., either vocal or instrumental;— so called because it generally expresses the air, and has a pre-eminence in the combined effect.First'-bōrn, a. p. 515First brought forth; first in the order of nativity; eldest; hence, most excellent; most distinguished or exalted.First'-class, a. p. 515Being of the highest rank or the best quality, &c.; as, a first-class telescope.First'-day, n. p. 515Sunday;—so called by the Society of Friends, as being the first day of the week.First'-floor, n. p. 515The floor or tier of apartments next above the ground-floor. [Eng.] 2. The ground-floor. [U. S.]First'-fruit, n. p. 515The fruits earliest gathered; the earliest results or profits of any action or position. 2. (Feudal Law.) One year's profits of lands which belonged to the king on the death of a tenant who held…First'-hand, a. p. 515Obtained directly from the producer or wholesale dealer; hence, without the intervention of an agent. One sphere there is . . . where the apprehension of him is first-hand and direct: and that is the…First'-hănd, n. p. 515Possession, either original or immediately subsequent to production, and by direct transfer from the producer. At first-hand, immediately; without the intervention of any agent. [Colloq.] I am…First'ling, n. p. 515The first produce or offspring;—said of animals, especially domestic animals; as, the firstlings of his flock. Milton. 2. The thing first thought or done. [Obs.] The very firstlings of my heart shall…First'ly, adv. p. 515In the first place; to commence; before any thing else;—improperly used for first.First'-mov'er, n. p. 515He who, or that which, moves first; the original propelling power.First'-rāte, a. p. 515Of the highest excellence; pre-eminent in quality, size, or estimation.Firth, n. p. 515(Geog.) An arm of the sea; a frith.Fir'-tree, n. p. 515See FIR.Fisc, n. p. 515The treasury of a prince or state.Fis'cal, a. p. 515Pertaining to the public treasury or revenue. “The fiscal arrangements of government.” Hamilton.Fis'cal, n. p. 515The income of a prince or state; revenue; exchequer. [Obs.] Bacon. 2. A treasurer. Swinburne. 3. A public officer in Scotland who prosecutes in petty criminal cases. Simmonds. 4. The king's solicitor…Fish, n. p. 515An animal that lives in water. 2. (Zool.) An oviparous, vertebrate animal having a covering of scales or plates, and breathing by means of gills or branchiæ, and living almost entirely in the water.…Fish, v. i. p. 515To attempt to catch fish; to be employed in taking fish, by any means, as by angling or drawing nets. 2. To seek to obtain by artifice, or indirectly to seek to draw forth; as, to fish for…Fish, v. t. p. 515To catch; to draw out or up; as, to fish up a human body when sunk; to fish an anchor. 2. To search by raking or sweeping. Swift. 3. (Naut.) To strengthen, as a mast or yard, with a piece of timber.…Fish'-bēam, n. p. 515(Mech.) A beam one of whose sides (commonly the under one) swells out like the belly of a fish. Francis.Fish'-bĕl'lied, a. p. 515Swelled out downward; as, a fish-bellied rail.Fish'-cār'ver, n. p. 515A silver knife for carving fish at a dinner-table. Simmons.