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.
Flĕx'i-ble, a. p. 521Capable of being flexed or bent; admitting of being turned, bowed, or twisted, without breaking; pliable; yielding to pressure. When the splitting wind Makes flexible the knees of knotted oak. Shak.…Flĕx'i-ble-ness, n. p. 521The condition or quality of being flexible; flexibility; pliableness; ductility; manageableness; tractableness; as, the flexibleness of youth.Fléx'i-bly, adv. p. 521In a flexible manner.Flĕx'i-cōs'tate, a. p. 521Having bent or curved ribs.Flĕx'ile, a. p. 521Pliant; pliable; easily bent; yielding to power, impulse, or moral force. Thomson.Flĕx'ion, n. p. 521The act of flexing or bending; a turning. 2. A bending; a part bent; a fold. Bacon. 3. (Gram.) Syntactical change of form of words; inflection. Express the syntactical relations by flexion. W.…Flĕx'or, n. p. 521(Anat.) A muscle whose office is to produce flexion; — opposed to extensor.Flĕx'ū-ōse, a. p. 521Flexuous. Eng. Cyc.Flĕx'ŭ-ous, a. p. 521Having turns, windings, or flexures; winding; bending; changing direction. Bacon.Flĕx'ûre, n. p. 521The act of flexing or bending; a turning or curving; flexion; hence, obsequious bowing or bending. Will it give place to flexure and low bending? Shak. 2. A turn; a bend; a fold. Varying with the…Flĭb'ber-ġĭb, n. p. 521A sycophant. [Obs., and low or humorous.] “These flatterers and flibbergibs.” Latimer.Flĭb'ber-ti-ġĭb'bet, n. p. 521An imp. [Low.] Howitt.Fli-bŭs'tier, n. p. 521See FILIBUSTER.Flick, v. t. p. 521To whip lightly; to flap; as, to flick a horse; to flick the dirt from boots. Thackeray.Flick, n. p. 521A flitch; as, a flick of bacon.Flick'er, v. i. p. 521To flutter; to flap without flying; to keep in motion without removing; to waver or fluctuate, like a flame in a current of air. And flickering on her nest made short essays to sing. Dryden.Flick'er, n. p. 521The act of wavering or of fluttering; fluctuation; sudden and brief increase of brightness; as, it was the last flicker of the dying flame.Flĭck'er-ing-ly, adv. p. 521In a flickering manner.Flick'er-mouse, n. p. 521The bat; flinder-mouse. B. Jonson.Flĭdge, a. p. 521Fledged. [Obs.] Drive their young ones out of the nest when they be once flidge. Holland.Flĕdge, v. i. p. 521To become fledged; to get feathers. [Obs.] They every day build their nests, every hour fledge. R. Greene.Flī'er, n. p. 521One who flies or flees; a runaway; a fugitive. Shak. 2. (Mach.) A fly. See FLY. 3. (pl.) The arms attached to the spindle of a spinning wheel, over which the thread passes to the spool; — so called…Flīght, n. p. 521The act of fleeing; the act of running away, to escape danger or expected evil; hasty departure. Pray ye that your flight be not in the winter. Matt. xxiv. 20. Fain by flight to save themselves.…Flīght'ed, a. p. 521Taking flight; flying.Flīght'i-ly, adv. p. 521In a flighty, wild, or imaginative manner.Flight'i-ness, n. p. 521The state of being flighty; wildness; slight delirium; extreme volatility. Syn.—Levity; giddiness; volatility; lightness; wildness. See LEVITY.Flight'-shŏt, n. p. 521The distance which an arrow flies. Within a flight-shot from it in the valley. Evelyn. There stands the May-pole, half a flight-shot from the king's oak. W. Scott.Flight’y, a. p. 521Fleeting; swift; transient. The flighty purpose never is o’ertook, Unless the deed go with it. Shak. 2. Indulging in flights, or wild and unrestrained sallies, of imagination, humor, caprice, &c.…Flĭm'flăm, n. p. 521A freak; a trick. [Obs.] Beau. & Fl.Flĭm'si-ly, adv. p. 521In a flimsy manner.Flĭm'si-ness, n. p. 521State or quality of being flimsy; thin, weak texture; weakness; want of substance or solidity.Flĭm'sy, a. p. 521Weak; feeble; slight; vain; without strength or solid substance; of loose and unsubstantial structure; without reason or plausibility; as, a flimsy pretext; a flimsy excuse; flimsy objections.…Flĭm'sy, n. p. 521Thin or transfer paper. 2. A bank-note. [Cant. Eng.]Flĭnch, v. i. p. 521To withdraw from any suffering or undertaking, from pain or danger; to fail in doing or persevering; to show signs of yielding or of suffering; to shrink; to wince; as, one of the parties flinched…Flinch'er, n. p. 521One who flinches or fails.Flinch'ing-ly, adv. p. 521In a flinching manner.Flin'der-mouse, n. p. 521A bat; a flitter-mouse.Flin'ders, n. pl. p. 521Small pieces or splinters; fragments. The tough ash spear, so stout and true, Into a thousand flinders flew. W. Scott.Flīng, v. t. p. 521To cast, send, or throw from the hand; to hurl; to dart; to emit with violence, as though thrown from the hand; as, to fling a stone at a bird. 'Tis Fate that flings the dice; and, as she flings, Of…Fling, v. i. p. 522To throw; to wince; to flounce; as, the horse began to kick and fling. 2. To cast in the teeth; to utter harsh language; to sneer; as, the scold began to flout and fling. 3. To throw one's self in a…Fling, n. p. 522A cast from the hand; a throw; a flounce. 2. A severe or contemptuous remark; a gibe; a sneer; a sarcasm. I, who love to have a fling, Both at senate house and king. Swift. 3. A kind of dance.Fling'-düst, n. p. 522One who kicks up the dust; a street-walker; a low woman. [Obs.] Beau. & Fl.Fling'er, n. p. 522One who flings; one who jeers.Flint, n. p. 522(Min.) A variety of quartz, of a yellowish, bluish-gray, or grayish-black color, composed of silica, with traces of iron, and supposed to be collections of animalcular shells, aggregations around…Flint'-gläss, n. p. 522A very pure and beautiful kind of glass, of great density and high refractive power, in which oxide of lead is a distinguishing ingredient. It is much used for table glass-ware and for optical…Flint'i-ness, n. p. 522State or quality of being flinty; hardness; cruelty. Beau. & Fl.Flint'-lŏck, n. p. 522A musket lock with a flint fixed in the hammer for striking on the cap of the pan; — now superseded by the percussion lock.Flĭnt'-stōne, n. p. 522A hard, silicious stone; a flint.Flint'y, a. p. 522Consisting of, composed of, abounding in, or resembling, flint; as, a flinty rock; flinty ground; a flinty heart.Flint'y-slāte, n. p. 522(Min.) A hard mineral of a somewhat slaty structure, containing about 75 per cent. of silica, with lime, magnesia, and oxide of iron. A variety of it, the basanite or Lydian stone, is used for trying…Flĭp, n. p. 522A mixture of beer and spirit sweetened and heated by a hot iron.Flip'-dŏg, n. p. 522An iron used, when heated, to warm flip.Flĭp'-flăp, n. p. 522The repeated stroke of something long and loose. Johnson.Flĭp'-fläp, adv. p. 522With repeated strokes and noise, as of something long and loose. Ash.Flip'pan-cy, n. p. 522The state or quality of being flippant; smoothness and rapidity of speech; volubility of tongue; fluency of speech.Flip'fant, a. p. 522Of smooth, fluent, and rapid speech; speaking with ease and rapidity; having a voluble tongue; talkative. 2. Speaking fluently and confidently, without knowledge or consideration; empty…Flĭp'pant, n. p. 522A flippant person. [Rare.]Flĭp'pant-ly, adv. p. 522In a flippant manner; fluently; with ease and volubility of speech.Flĭp’pant-ness, n. p. 522The state or quality of being flippant; fluency of speech; volubility of tongue; flippancy.Flĭp'per, n. p. 522The paddle of a sea-turtle; the broad fin of a fish.