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.
Fos-sō'rēs, n. pl. p. 538(Entom.) A group of insects which excavate cells in earth or wood, where they deposit their eggs, with the bodies of other insects for the support of the young when hatched.Fos-sō'ri-al, a. p. 538Fitted for digging, or accustomed to dig; as, a fossorial limb or instrument; a fossorial animal.Fos-sō'ri-al, n. p. 538(Zoöl.) An animal which digs into the earth for a retreat or lodge, and whose locomotive extremities are adapted for that purpose.Fōss'-rōad, n. p. 538A Roman military way in England, from Totnes to Barton;—so called from the ditches on each side. [Written also foss-way.]Fōs'su-late, a. p. 538Having trenches, or depressions like trenches. Brande.Fôss'-wày, n. p. 538See FOSS-ROAD.Fōs'ter, v. t. p. 538To feed; to nourish; to support; to bring up. Some say that ravens foster forlorn children. Shak. 2. To cherish; to forward; to promote the growth of; to encourage; to sustain and promote; as, to…Fōs'ter, v. i. p. 538To be nourished or trained up together. [Obs.] Spenser.Fōs'ter, n. p. 538A forester. [Obs.] Spenser.Fōs'ter-age, n. p. 538The charge of nursing. Raleigh.Fōs'ter-brōth'er, n. p. 538A male nursed at the same breast, or fed by the same nurse, but not the offspring of the same parents.Fŏs'ter-chīld, n. p. 538A child nursed by a woman not the mother, or bred by a man not the father. Addison.Fōs'ter-dām, n. p. 538One who performs the office of a mother by giving food to a child; a nurse. Dryden.Fōs'ter-ēarth, n. p. 538Earth by which a plant is nourished, though not its native soil. Philips.Fōs'ter-er, n. p. 538One who feeds and nourishes in the place of parents; a nurse. Davies.Fōs'ter-fä'ther, n. p. 538One who takes the place of a father in feeding and educating a child. Bacon.Fōs'ter-ling, n. p. 538A foster-child. B. Jonson.Fōs'ter-ment, n. p. 538Food; nourishment. [Obs.]Fōs'ter-mōth'er, n. p. 538One who takes the place of a mother in the care of a child; a nurse.Fōs'ter-nurse, n. p. 538A nurse. [Rare.] Shak.Fōs'ter-pār'ent, n. p. 538One who rears up a child in place of its own parent.Fōs'ter-sis'ter, n. p. 538One not a sister, but brought up as such by the same parent or parents.Fōs'ter-sōn, n. p. 538One fed and educated like a son, though not a son by birth. Dryden.Fōs'tress, n. p. 538A female who feeds and cherishes; a nurse. B. Johnson.Fōth'er, n. p. 538A fodder.Fōth'er, v. t. p. 538To endeavor to stop, as a leak in the bottom of a ship, while afloat, by letting down a sail under her bottom, by its corners, and putting between it and the ship’s sides oakum to be sucked into the…Fōt'ive, a. p. 538Nourishing. [Obs.] T. Carew, 1633.Fōt'māl, n. p. 538The weight of seventy pounds of lead. Simmonds.Fōu-gāde′ or Fōu-gāsse′, n. p. 538(Mil.) A small mine, formed by sinking a pit from the surface, charged with powder, or powder and shells, and covered with stones or earth.Fought, imp. & p. p. p. 538of fight.Fought'en, p. p. p. 538of fight. [Obs.]Foul, a. p. 538Covered with or containing extraneous matter which is injurious, noxious, or offensive; filthy; dirty; not clean; polluted; nasty; defiled; as, a foul cloth; foul hands; a foul chimney. My face is…Foul, v. t. p. 538To make filthy; to defile; to daub; to dirty; to bemire; to soil; as, to foul the clothes; to foul the face or hands. Shak. 2. To entangle or bring into collision with something that impedes motion.Foul, v. i. p. 538To become entangled or clogged; to come into collision with something; as, the two boats fouled; one of the blocks fouled.Fou-lärd', n. p. 538A thin fabric of silk or silk-cotton, originally brought from India, used for handkerchiefs and ladies' dresses.Foul'der, v. i. p. 538To flame, as lightning; to lighten; to gleam. [Obs.] Seemed that loud thunder, with amazement great, Did rend the rattling skies with flames of fouldering heat. Spenser.Foul'ly, adv. p. 538In a foul manner; filthily; nastily; hatefully; shamefully; unfairly; dishonorably. Thou play'dst most foully for it. Shak. I foully wronged him; do forgive me, do. Gay.Foul'-mouthed, a. p. 538Using language scurrilous, opprobrious, obscene, or profane; abusive. So foul-mouthed a witness never appeared in any cause. Addison.Foul'ness, n. p. 538The quality of being foul; filthiness; defilement; pollution; hatefulness; ugliness; unfairness; dishonesty. There is not so chaste a nation as this, nor so free from all pollution or foulness.…Foul'-spōk'en, a. p. 538Using profane, scurrilous, slanderous, or obscene language. Shak.Fou'märt, n. p. 538The polecat; the fitchew.Found, imp. & pp. p. 538of find.Found, v. t. p. 538To lay the basis of; to set, or place, as on something solid, for support; to ground; to establish; to fix upon a basis, literal or figurative; to fix or establish firmly. I had else been perfect…Found, v. i. p. 538To rest or rely. [Rare.] H. Miller.Found, v. t. p. 538To form by melting a metal, and pouring it into a mold; to cast. Milton.Foun-dā'tion, n. p. 538The act of founding, fixing, establishing, or beginning to erect. 2. That upon which any thing is founded; that on which any thing stands, and by which it is supported; the lowest and supporting…Foun-dā'tion-er, n. p. 538One who derives support from the funds or foundation of a college or great school. [England.]Foun-dā'tion-less, a. p. 538Having no foundation. Hammond.Foun-dā'tion-mŭs'lin, n. p. 538An open-worked, gummed fabric, used for stiffening dresses, bonnets, and the like.Found'er, n. p. 538One who founds, establishes, and erects; one who lays a foundation; an author; one from whom any thing originates; one who endows.Found'er, n. p. 538One who founds; one who casts metals in various forms; a caster; as, a founder of cannon, bells, hardware, or printing-types.Found'er, v. i. p. 538(Naut.) To fill or be filled with water, and sink, as a ship; hence, to fail; to miscarry. Shak. 2. To trip; to fall; to stumble and go lame, as a horse. For which his horse for fear 'gan to turn…Found'er, v. t. p. 539To cause internal inflammation and soreness in the feet or limbs of, so as to disable or lame;—said of a horse. I have foundered nine score and odd posts. Shak.Found'er, n. p. 539(Far.) (a.) A lameness occasioned by inflammation in the foot of a horse. (b.) An inflammatory fever of the body, or acute rheumatism; as, chest-founder. White.Found'er-oūs, a. p. 539Failing; liable to sink from beneath; ruinous; as, a founderous road. Burke.Found'er-y, n. p. 539The art or process of forming articles in metal by melting the metal and pouring it into molds; the art of founding, or casting metals. 2. The house and works occupied for casting metals; a foundry.…Found'ling, n. p. 539A deserted or exposed infant; a child found without a parent or owner. Foundling hospital, a hospital for foundlings.Found'ress, n. p. 539A female founder; a woman who founds or establishes, or who endows with a fund.Found'ry, n. p. 539A building arranged and fitted for casting metals; a foundery.Fount, n. p. 539(Print.) A complete set or assortment of types of a certain kind; a font.