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.
Flāt'ter, n. p. 519The person or thing by which any thing is flattened. 2. (Blacksmith's Work.) A flat swage.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…Flăt'ter-blīnd, v. t. p. 519To blind with flattery. [Rare.] If I do not grossly flatterblind myself. Coleridge.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.…Flăt'ter-ing-ly, adv. p. 519In a flattering manner; with partiality.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…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…Flāt'tish, a. p. 519Somewhat flat; approaching to flatness. Woodward.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.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…Flāt'ū-lent-ly, adv. p. 519In a windy manner; emptily.Flăt′ū-ōs′ĭ-ty, n. p. 519The state of being flatuous or windy; flatulence. [Obs.] Bacon.Flāt'ū-oŭs, a. p. 519Windy; generating wind. [Obs.] Bacon.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.Flāt'wīse, a. or adv. p. 519With the flat side downward, or next to another object; not edgewise.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.…Fläunt, v. t. p. 519To display ostentatiously; to make an impudent show of.Fläunt, n. p. 519Any thing displayed for show. In these my borrowed flaunts. Shak.Fläunt'ing-ly, adv. p. 519In a flaunting way.Flau'tist, n. p. 519A player on the flute; a flutist.Fla-vĕs'cent, a. p. 519Turning yellow; yellowish. Gray.Fla-vĭe'o-mŏŭs, a. p. 519Having yellow hair.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.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…Flā'vor, v. t. p. 519To give flavor to.Flā'vored, p. a. p. 519Having flavor, or a pleasant taste; as, high-flavored wine.Flā'vor-less, a. p. 519Without flavor; tasteless.Flā'vor-oŭs, a. p. 519Imparting flavor; pleasant to the taste or smell; sapid.Flā'voŭs, a. p. 519Yellow. [Obs.]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.…Flaw, v. t. p. 520To break; to crack; to violate; to interrupt; to make unequal. The brazen caldrons with the frosts are flawed. Dryden.Flaw'less, a. p. 520Free from flaws. Boyle.Flawn, n. p. 520A sort of flat custard or pie. [Obs.] Tusser.Flaw'ter, v. t. p. 520To scrape or pare, as a skin. [Obs.]Flaw'y, a. p. 520Full of flaws or cracks; broken; defective; faulty. 2. Subject to sudden gusts of wind.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…Flāx'-cōmb, n. p. 520A comb or toothed instrument for separating flax from the tow and shives; a hatchel.Flăx'-drĕss'er, n. p. 520One who breaks and swingles flax, or prepares it for the spinner.Flăx'-drĕss'ing, n. p. 520The process of breaking and swingling flax.Flax'en, a. p. 520Made of flax; as, flaxen thread. 2. Resembling flax; of the color of flax; as, flaxen hair.Flax'-plānt, n. p. 520(Bot.) A plant in New Zealand allied to the lilies and aloes; the Phormium tenax.Flāx'seed, n. p. 520The seed of the flax-plant; linseed.Flăx'-weed, n. p. 520(Bot.) A plant of the genus Linaria (L. vulgaris).Flăx'-wĕnch, n. p. 520A female who spins. 2. A prostitute. [Obs.] Shak.Flāx'y, a. p. 520Like flax; of a light color; fair. Sandys.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.Fla'y'er, n. p. 520One who strips off the skin.Flea, v. t. p. 520To flay. [Obs.] He will be fleaed first And horse-collars made of 's skin. Fletcher.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…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.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.Flēa'-bĭt'ten, a. p. 520Bitten or stung by a flea. 2. Mean; worthless; of low birth or station. Cleaveland.Flēak, n. p. 520Same as FLAKE, q. v.Flēak'ing, n. p. 520A gauze-like covering of reeds, over which the main covering is laid, in thatching houses.Flēam, n. p. 520(Surg. & Far.) A sharp instrument used for opening veins for letting blood; a lancet.Fleam'y, a. p. 520Bloody; clotted. [Obs. or Prov.] “Foamy bubbling of a fleamy brain.” Marston.Flēar, v. t. & i. p. 520See FLEER.Flēa'-wort, n. p. 520(Bot.) An herb used in medicine (Plantago psyllium), named from the shape of its seeds. London.Fleche, n. p. 520(Fort.) A field-work usually at the foot of a glacis, consisting of two faces forming a salient angle pointing outward from the position taken.Fleck, n. p. 520A spot; a streak; a speckle; a dapple. “Flecks of sin.” Tennyson.