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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.

  1. Flāt'ling, adv.p. 519With the flat side; flatlong; in a prostrate position. Spenser.
  2. Flăt'lings, adv.p. 519With the flat side; not edgewise; flatlong. [Rare.] The blade struck me flatlings. W. Scott.
  3. Flăt'lĭng, adv.p. 519With the flat side downward; not edgewise. Shak.
  4. Flāt'ly, adv.p. 519In a flat manner; evenly; horizontally; without spirit; dully; frigidly; peremptorily; positively; plainly. “He flatly refused his aid.” Sidney. He that does the works of religion slowly, flatly, and…
  5. Flăt'ness, n.p. 519The quality or condition of being flat. 2. Evenness of surface; want of relief or prominence; levelness. 3. Want of vitality or spirit; prostration; dejection; depression. 4. Want of variety…
  6. Flāt'ten, v. t.p. 519To reduce to an equal or even surface; to level; to make flat. 2. To throw down; to bring to the ground; to prostrate; hence, to depress; to deject; to dispirit. 3. To make vapid or insipid; to…
  7. Flăt'ten, v. i.p. 519To become flat, even, depressed, dull, vapid, spiritless, or depressed below pitch.
  8. Flāt'ter, n.p. 519The person or thing by which any thing is flattened. 2. (Blacksmith's Work.) A flat swage.
  9. Flăt'ter, v. t.p. 519To win the favoring attention of, by action expressly directed to that end, and especially by artful, insincere, or servile attentions; to gratify; to coax; to wheedle. A place for pleasantness, not…
  10. Flăt'ter-blīnd, v. t.p. 519To blind with flattery. [Rare.] If I do not grossly flatterblind myself. Coleridge.
  11. Flăt'ter-er, n.p. 519One who flatters; a fawner; a wheedler. When I tell him he hates flatterers, He says he does, — being then most flattered. Shak. The most abject flatterers degenerate into the greatest tyrants.…
  12. Flăt'ter-ing-ly, adv.p. 519In a flattering manner; with partiality.
  13. Flăt'ter-y, n.p. 519The act of flattering, or praising in a way to gratify vanity or gain favor; improper commendation; adulation; false praise. Simple pride for flattery makes demands. Pope. Just praise is only a debt…
  14. Flāt'ting, n.p. 519A mode of painting, in which the paint, being mixed with turpentine, leaves the work without gloss. Gwill. 2. A method of preserving gilding unburnished, by touching it with size. Knolles. 3. The…
  15. Flāt'tish, a.p. 519Somewhat flat; approaching to flatness. Woodward.
  16. Flāt'ū-lençe or Flāt'ū-len-cy, n.p. 519The state of being flatulent, or affected with an accumulation of gases in the alimentary canal. 2. Airiness; emptiness; vanity. [Obs.] Glanville.
  17. Flăt'ū-lent, a.p. 519Affected with gases generated in the alimentary canal; windy. 2. Generating, or tending to generate, wind in the stomach. Vegetables abound more with aerial particles than animal substances, and…
  18. Flāt'ū-lent-ly, adv.p. 519In a windy manner; emptily.
  19. Flăt′ū-ōs′ĭ-ty, n.p. 519The state of being flatuous or windy; flatulence. [Obs.] Bacon.
  20. Flāt'ū-oŭs, a.p. 519Windy; generating wind. [Obs.] Bacon.
  21. Flā'tus, n.p. 519A breath; a puff of wind. Clarke. 2. Wind generated in the stomach or other cavities of the body; flatulence. Quincy.
  22. Flāt'wīse, a. or adv.p. 519With the flat side downward, or next to another object; not edgewise.
  23. Fläunt, v. i.p. 519To throw or spread out; to flutter; to move ostentatiously; as, a flaunting show. You flaunt about the streets in your new gilt chariot. Arbuthnot. One flaunts in rags, one flutters in brocade. Pope.…
  24. Fläunt, v. t.p. 519To display ostentatiously; to make an impudent show of.
  25. Fläunt, n.p. 519Any thing displayed for show. In these my borrowed flaunts. Shak.
  26. Fläunt'ing-ly, adv.p. 519In a flaunting way.
  27. Flau'tist, n.p. 519A player on the flute; a flutist.
  28. Fla-vĕs'cent, a.p. 519Turning yellow; yellowish. Gray.
  29. Fla-vĭe'o-mŏŭs, a.p. 519Having yellow hair.
  30. Flā'vine, n.p. 519(Chem.) A vegetable extract, in the form of a light-brown or greenish-yellow powder, and containing a large proportion of tannin and coloring matter. Simmonds.
  31. Flā'vor, n.p. 519That quality of any thing which affects the smell; odor; fragrance; as, the flavor of a rose. 2. That quality of any thing which affects the taste; that quality which gratifies the palate; relish…
  32. Flā'vor, v. t.p. 519To give flavor to.
  33. Flā'vored, p. a.p. 519Having flavor, or a pleasant taste; as, high-flavored wine.
  34. Flā'vor-less, a.p. 519Without flavor; tasteless.
  35. Flā'vor-oŭs, a.p. 519Imparting flavor; pleasant to the taste or smell; sapid.
  36. Flā'voŭs, a.p. 519Yellow. [Obs.]
  37. Flaw, n.p. 519A bursting or cracking; a breach; a gap or fissure; a defect of continuity or cohesion; as, a flaw in a knife, a vase, or a wall. This heart Shall break into a hundred thousand flaws. Shak. 2.…
  38. Flaw, v. t.p. 520To break; to crack; to violate; to interrupt; to make unequal. The brazen caldrons with the frosts are flawed. Dryden.
  39. Flaw'less, a.p. 520Free from flaws. Boyle.
  40. Flawn, n.p. 520A sort of flat custard or pie. [Obs.] Tusser.
  41. Flaw'ter, v. t.p. 520To scrape or pare, as a skin. [Obs.]
  42. Flaw'y, a.p. 520Full of flaws or cracks; broken; defective; faulty. 2. Subject to sudden gusts of wind.
  43. Flăx, n.p. 520(Bot.) A plant of the genus Linum (L. usitatissimum), having a single, slender stalk, about a foot and a half high, with blue flowers. The fiber of the bark is used for making thread and cloth…
  44. Flāx'-cōmb, n.p. 520A comb or toothed instrument for separating flax from the tow and shives; a hatchel.
  45. Flăx'-drĕss'er, n.p. 520One who breaks and swingles flax, or prepares it for the spinner.
  46. Flăx'-drĕss'ing, n.p. 520The process of breaking and swingling flax.
  47. Flax'en, a.p. 520Made of flax; as, flaxen thread. 2. Resembling flax; of the color of flax; as, flaxen hair.
  48. Flax'-plānt, n.p. 520(Bot.) A plant in New Zealand allied to the lilies and aloes; the Phormium tenax.
  49. Flāx'seed, n.p. 520The seed of the flax-plant; linseed.
  50. Flăx'-weed, n.p. 520(Bot.) A plant of the genus Linaria (L. vulgaris).
  51. Flăx'-wĕnch, n.p. 520A female who spins. 2. A prostitute. [Obs.] Shak.
  52. Flāx'y, a.p. 520Like flax; of a light color; fair. Sandys.
  53. Flāy, v. t.p. 520To skin; to strip off the skin of; as, to flay an ox. With her nails She'll flay thy wolfish visage. Shak.
  54. Fla'y'er, n.p. 520One who strips off the skin.
  55. Flea, v. t.p. 520To flay. [Obs.] He will be fleaed first And horse-collars made of 's skin. Fletcher.
  56. Flea, n.p. 520(Entom.) An insect of the genus Pulex, remarkable for its agility and troublesome bite. The common flea is the Pulex irritans; the chigoe, or chique, of the West Indies and South America is the Pulex…
  57. Flēa'-bāne, n.p. 520(Bot.) One of various plants, supposed to have efficacy in driving away fleas. They belong to the genera Conyza, Erigeron, and Pulicaria. London.
  58. Flea'-bīte or Flea'-bīt'ing, n.p. 520The bite of a flea, or the red spot caused by the bite. 2. A trifling wound or pain, like that of the bite of a flea. Harvey.
  59. Flēa'-bĭt'ten, a.p. 520Bitten or stung by a flea. 2. Mean; worthless; of low birth or station. Cleaveland.
  60. Flēak, n.p. 520Same as FLAKE, q. v.