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.
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.Fish'-dāy, n. p. 515A day on which fish is eaten; a fast-day.Fish'er, n. p. 515One who is employed in catching fish. 2. (Zoöl.) A carnivorous quadruped of the weasel family (Mustela Canadensis); the pekan.Fish'er-man, n. p. 515One whose occupation is to catch fish. 2. (Naut.) A ship or vessel employed in the business of taking fish, as in the cod and whale fishery.Fish'er-town, n. p. 515A town inhabited by fishermen. Carew.Fish'er-y, n. p. 515The business or practice of catching fish. Addison. 2. A place for catching fish with nets or hooks.Fish'-fāg, n. p. 515A woman who sells fish. Simmonds.Fish'-flāke, n. p. 515A flake. See FLAKE.Fish'ful, a. p. 515Abounding with fish. “My fishful pond.” Cowper.Fish'-gārth, n. p. 515A dam or inclosure on the sides of rivers for preserving fishes or taking them easily. Craig.Fish'gig, n. p. 515An instrument used for striking fish at sea, consisting of a staff with barbed prongs, and a line fastened just above the prongs.Fish'-glūe, n. p. 515Isinglass.Fish'-hōōk, n. p. 515A hook for catching fish. 2. A hook with a pendant to the end of which the fish-tackle is hooked. Dana.Fish'i-fy, v. t. p. 515To change to fish. [Low.] Shak.Fish'i-ness, n. p. 515The state of being fishy.Fish'ing, p. a. p. 515Used or employed in fishery, or by fishermen; as, fishing boat; fishing tackle; fishing village.Fish'ing, n. p. 515The art or practice of catching fish. 2. A fishery. [Obs.] Spenser.Fish'ing-flȳ, n. p. 515An artificial fly for fishing.Fish'ing-frōg, n. p. 515(Ichth.) A voracious, spinous finned sea-fish of the genus Lophius; the angler.Fish'-joint, n. p. 515(Railways.) A splice consisting of one or more pieces of iron or wood bolted to the side or sides of two adjacent rails, where the head of one meets the foot of the other.Fish'-kēt'tle, n. p. 515A kettle made long for boiling fish whole.Fish'maw, n. p. 515The sound or air-bladder of a fish.Fish'-mēal, n. p. 515A meal of fish; diet on fish; abstentious diet.Fish'-mŏng'ger, n. p. 515A seller of fish; a dealer in fish.Fish'-pŏt, n. p. 515A wicker basket, sunk, with a cork float attached, for catching crabs, lobsters, &c.