Chapter 580

&hand; An ordinary feather consists of the quill or hollow basal part of the stem; the shaft or rachis, forming the upper, solid part of the stem; the vanes or webs, implanted on the rachis and consisting of a series of slender lamin\'91 or barbs, which usually bear barbicels and interlocking hooks by which they are fastened together. See Down , Quill , Plumage .

2. Kind; nature; species; -- from the proverbial phrase, "Birds of a feather," that is, of the same species. [R.]

I am not of that feather to shake off My friend when he must need me. Shak.

3. The fringe of long hair on the legs of the setter and some other dogs.

4. A tuft of peculiar, long, frizzly hair on a horse.

5. One of the fins or wings on the shaft of an arrow.

6. (Mach. & Carp.) A longitudinal strip projecting as a fin from an object, to strengthen it, or to enter a channel in another object and thereby prevent displacement sidwise but permit motion lengthwise; a spline.

7. A thin wedge driven between the two semicylindrical parts of a divided plug in a hole bored in a stone, to rend the stone.

Knight.

8. The angular adjustment of an oar or paddle-wheel float, with reference to a horizontal axis, as it leaves or enters the water.

&hand; Feather is used adjectively or in combination, meaning composed of , or resembling , a feather or feathers ; as, feather fan, feather -heeled, feather duster.

Feather alum (Min.) , a hydrous sulphate of alumina, resulting from volcanic action, and from the decomposition of iron pyrites; -- called also halotrichite . Ure. -- Feather bed , a bed filled with feathers. -- Feather driver , one who prepares feathers by beating. -- Feather duster , a dusting brush of feathers. -- Feather flower , an artifical flower made of feathers, for ladies' headdresses, and other ornamental purposes. -- Feather grass (Bot.) , a kind of grass ( Stipa pennata ) which has a long feathery awn rising from one of the chaffy scales which inclose the grain. -- Feather maker , one who makes plumes, etc., of feathers, real or artificial. -- Feather ore (Min.) , a sulphide of antimony and lead, sometimes found in capillary forms and like a cobweb, but also massive. It is a variety of Jamesonite. -- Feather shot , ∨ Feathered shot (Metal.) , copper granulated by pouring into cold water. Raymond. -- Feather spray (Naut.) , the spray thrown up, like pairs of feathers, by the cutwater of a fast-moving vessel. -- Feather star . (Zo\'94l.) See Comatula . -- Feather weight . (Racing) (a) Scrupulously exact weight, so that a feather would turn the scale, when a jockey is weighed or weighted. (b) The lightest weight that can be put on the back of a horse in racing. Youatt. (c) In wrestling, boxing, etc., a term applied to the lightest of the classes into which contestants are divided ; -- in contradistinction to light weight , middle weight , and heavy weight .

A feather in the cap an honour, trophy, or mark of distinction. [Colloq.] -- To be in full feather , to be in full dress or in one's best clothes. [Collog.] -- To be in high feather , to be in high spirits. [Collog.] -- To cut a feather . (a) (Naut.) To make the water foam in moving; in allusion to the ripple which a ship throws off from her bows. (b) To make one's self conspicuous. [Colloq.] -- To show the white feather , to betray cowardice, -- a white feather in the tail of a cock being considered an indication that he is not of the true game breed.

Feather <Xpage=548>

Feath"er (?) , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Feathered (#) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Feathering. ] 1. To furnish with a feather or feathers, as an arrow or a cap.

An eagle had the ill hap to be struck with an arrow feathered from her own wing. L'Estrange.

2. To adorn, as with feathers; to fringe.

A few birches and oaks still feathered the narrow ravines. Sir W. Scott.

3. To render light as a feather; to give wings to . [R.]

The Polonian story perhaps may feather some tedions hours. Loveday.

4. To enrich; to exalt; to benefit.

They stuck not to say that the king cared not to plume his nobility and people to feather himself. Bacon.

Dryden.

5. To tread, as a cock.

Dryden.

To feather one's nest , to provide for one's self especially from property belonging to another, confided to one's care; -- an expression taken from the practice of birds which collect feathers for the lining of their nests. -- To feather an oar (Naut) , to turn it when it leaves the water so that the blade will be horizontal and offer the least resistance to air while reaching for another stroke. -- To tar and feather a person , to smear him with tar and cover him with feathers, as a punishment or an indignity.

Feather <Xpage=548>

Feath"er , v. i. 1. To grow or form feathers; to become feathered; -- often with out ; as, the birds are feathering out .

2. To curdle when poured into another liquid, and float about in little flakes or "feathers;" as, the cream feathers [Colloq.]

3. To turn to a horizontal plane; -- said of oars.

The feathering oar returns the gleam. Tickell.

Stopping his sculls in the air to feather accurately. Macmillan's Mag.

4. To have the appearance of a feather or of feathers; to be or to appear in feathery form.

A clump of ancient cedars feathering in evergreen beauty down to the ground. Warren.

The ripple feathering from her bows. Tennyson.

Feather-brained/ <Xpage=548>

Feath"er-brained/ (?) , a. Giddy; frivolous; feather-headed. [Colloq.]

Feathered <Xpage=548>

Feath"ered (?) , a. 1. Clothed, covered, or fitted with (or as with) feathers or wings; as, a feathered animal; a feathered arrow.

Rise from the ground like feathered Mercury. Shak.

Nonsense feathered with soft and delicate phrases and pointed with pathetic accent. Dr. J. Scott.

2. Furnished with anything featherlike; ornamented; fringed; as, land feathered with trees .

3. (Zo\'94l.) Having a fringe of feathers, as the legs of certian birds; or of hairs, as the legs of a setter dog.

4. (Her.) Having feathers; -- said of an arrow, when the feathers are of a tincture different from that of the shaft.

Feather-edge/ <Xpage=548>

Feath"er-edge/ (?) , n. 1. (Zo\'94l.) The thin, new growth around the edge of a shell, of an oyster.

2. Any thin, as on a board or a razor.

Feather-edged/ <Xpage=548>

Feath"er-edged/ (?) , a. Having a feather-edge; also, having one edge thinner than the other, as a board; -- in the United States, said only of stuff one edge of which is made as thin as practicable.

Feather-few/ <Xpage=548>

Feath"er-few/ (?) , n. (Bot.) Feverfew.

Feather-foil <Xpage=548>

Feath"er-foil` (?) , n. [ Feather + foil a leaf.] (Bot.) An aquatic plant ( Hottonia palustris ), having finely divided leaves.

Feather-head <Xpage=548>

Feath"er-head` (?) , n. A frivolous or featherbrained person. [Colloq.]

H. James.

Feather-headed <Xpage=548>

Feath"er-head`ed (?) , a. Giddy; frivolous; foolish. [Colloq.]

G. Eliot.

Feather-heeled <Xpage=548>

Feath"er-heeled` (?) , a. Light-heeled; gay; frisky; frolicsome. [Colloq.]

Featherness <Xpage=548>

Feath"er*ness (?) , n. The state or condition of being feathery.

Feathering <Xpage=548>

Feath"er*ing , n. 1. (Arch.) Same as Foliation .

2. The act of turning the blade of the oar, as it rises from the water in rowing, from a vertical to a horizontal position. See To feather an oar , under Feather , v. t.

3. A covering of feathers.

Feathering float (Naut.) , the float or paddle of a feathering wheel. -- Feathering screw (Naut.) , a screw propeller, of which the blades may be turned so as to move edgewise through the water when the vessel is moving under sail alone. -- Feathering wheel (Naut.) , a paddle wheel whose floats turn automatically so as to dip about perpendicularly into the water and leave in it the same way, avoiding beating on the water in the descent and lifting water in the ascent.

Featherless <Xpage=548>

Feath"er*less , a. Destitute of feathers.

Featherly <Xpage=548>

Feath"er*ly , a. Like feathers. [Obs.]

Sir T. Browne.

Feather-pated <Xpage=548>

Feath"er-pat"ed (?) , a. Feather-headed; frivolous. [Colloq.]

Sir W. Scott.

Feather-veined <Xpage=548>

Feath"er-veined` (?) , a. (Bot.) Having the veins (of a leaf) diverging from the two sides of a midrib.

Featery <Xpage=548>

Feat"er*y (?) , a. Pertaining to, or resembling, feathers; covered with, or as with, feathers; as, feathery spray or snow .

Milton.

Ye feathery people of mid air. Barry Cornwall.

Featly <Xpage=548>

Feat"ly (?) , adv. [From Feat , a. ] Neatly; dexterously; nimbly. [Archaic]

Foot featly here and there. Shak.

Featness <Xpage=548>

Feat"ness , n. Skill; adroitness. [Archaic]

Johnson.

Feature <Xpage=548>

Fea"ture (?; 135) , n. [OE. feture form, shape, feature, OF. faiture fashion, make, fr. L. factura a making, formation, fr. facere , factum , to make. See Feat , Fact , and cf. Facture .] 1. The make, form, or outward appearance of a person; the whole turn or style of the body; esp., good appearance.

What needeth it his feature to descrive? Chaucer.

Cheated of feature by dissembling nature. Shak.

2. The make, cast, or appearance of the human face, and especially of any single part of the face; a lineament. ( pl. ) The face, the countenance.

It is for homely features to keep home. Milton.

3. The cast or structure of anything, or of any part of a thing, as of a landscape, a picture, a treaty, or an essay; any marked peculiarity or characteristic; as, one of the features of the landscape .

And to her service bind each living creature Through secret understanding of their feature . Spenser.

4. A form; a shape. [R.]

So scented the grim feature , and upturned His nostril wide into the murky air. Milton.

Featured <Xpage=548>

Fea"tured (?; 135) , a. 1. Shaped; fashioned.

How noble, young, how rarely featured ! Shak.

2. Having features; formed into features.

The well-stained canvas or the featured stone. Young.

Featureless <Xpage=548>

Fea"ture*less (?; 135) , a. Having no distinct or distinctive features.

Featurely <Xpage=548>

Fea"ture*ly , a. Having features; showing marked peculiarities; handsome. [R.]

Featurely warriors of Christian chivalry. Coleridge.

Feaze <Xpage=548>

Feaze (?) , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Feazed (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Feazing .] [Cf. OE. faseln to ravel, fr. AS. f\'91s fringe; akin to G. fasen to separate fibers or threads, fasen , faser , thread, filament, OHG. faso .] To untwist; to unravel, as the end of a rope.

Johnson.

Feaze <Xpage=548>

Feaze , v. t. [See Feese .<-- now faze -->] To beat; to chastise; also, to humble; to harass; to worry. [Obs.]

insworth.

Feaze <Xpage=548>

Feaze , n. A state of anxious or fretful excitement; worry; vexation. [Obs.]

Feazings <Xpage=548>

Feaz"ings (?) , n. pl. [See Feaze , v. t. ] (Naut.) The unlaid or ragged end of a rope.

Ham. Nav. Encyc.

Febricitate <Xpage=548>

Fe*bric"i*tate (?) , v. i. [L. febricitare , fr. febris . See Febrile .] To have a fever. [Obs.]

Bailey.

Febriculose <Xpage=548>

Fe*bric"u*lose` (?) , a. [L. febriculosus .] Somewhat feverish. [Obs.]

Johnson.

Febrifacient <Xpage=548>

Feb`ri*fa"cient (?) , a. [L. febris fever + faciens , p.pr. of facere to make.] Febrific.

Dunglison.

-- n. That which causes fever . Beddoes.

Febriferous <Xpage=548>

Fe*brif"er*ous (?) , a. [L. febris fever + -ferous .] Causing fever; as, a febriferous locality .

Febrific <Xpage=548>

Fe*brif"ic (?) , a. [L. febris fever + ficare (in comp.) to make. See fy -.] Producing fever.

Dunglison.

Febrifugal <Xpage=548>

Fe*brif"u*gal (? &or; ?) , a. [See Febrifuge .] Having the quality of mitigating or curing fever.

Boyle.

Febrifuge <Xpage=548>

Feb"ri*fuge (?) , n. [L. febris fever + fugare to put to flight, from fugere to flee: cf. F. f\'82brifuge . see Febrile , Feverfew .] (Med.) A medicine serving to mitigate or remove fever. -- a. Antifebrile.

Febrile <Xpage=548>

Fe"brile (?; 277) , a. [F. f\'82brile , from L. febris fever. See Fever .] Pertaining to fever; indicating fever, or derived from it; as, febrile symptoms; febrile action.

Dunglison.

February <Xpage=548>

Feb"ru*a*ry (?) , n. [L. Februarius , orig., the month of expiation, because on the fifteenth of this month the great feast of expiation and purification was held, fr. februa , pl., the Roman festival or purification; akin to februare to purify, expiate.] The second month in the year, said to have been introduced into the Roman calendar by Numa. In common years this month contains twenty-eight days; in the bissextile, or leap year, it has twenty-nine days.

Februation <Xpage=548>

Feb`ru*a"tion (?) , n. [L. februatio . See february .] Purification; a sacrifice. [Obs.]

Spenser.

Fecal <Xpage=548>

Fe"cal (?) , a. [Cf. F. f\'82cal . See Feces .] relating to, or containing, dregs, feces, or ordeure; f\'91cal.

Fecche <Xpage=548>

Fec"che (?) , v. t. To fetch. [Obs.]

Chaucer.

Feces <Xpage=548>

Fe"ces (?) , n. pl. dregs; sediment; excrement. See F\'92ces .

<page="549"> Page 549

Fecial <Xpage=549>

Fe"cial (?) , a. [L. fetialis belonging to the fetiales , the Roman priests who sanctioned treaties and demanded satisfaction from the enemy before a formal declaration of war.] Pertaining to heralds, declarations of war, and treaties of peace; as, fecial law .

Kent.

Fecifork <Xpage=549>

Fe"ci*fork` (?) , n. [ Feces + fork .] (Zo\'94l.) The anal fork on which the larv\'91 of certain insects carry their f\'91ces.

Feckless <Xpage=549>

Feck"less (?) , a. [Perh. a corruption of effectless .] Spiritless; weak; worthless. [Scot]

Fecks <Xpage=549>

Fecks (?) , n. A corruption of the word faith .

Shak.

Fecula <Xpage=549>

Fec"u*la (?) , n. ; pl. Fecul\'92 [L. fae<?/ula burnt tartar or salt of tartar, dim. of faex , faecis , sediment, dregs: cf. F. f\'82cule .] Any pulverulent matter obtained from plants by simply breaking down the texture, washing with water, and subsidence. Especially: (a) The nutritious part of wheat; starch or farina; -- called also amylaceous fecula . (b) The green matter of plants; chlorophyll.

Feculence <Xpage=549>

Fec"u*lence (?) , n. [L. faeculentia dregs, filth: cf. F. f\'82culence .] 1. The state or quality of being feculent; muddiness; foulness.

2. That which is feculent; sediment; lees; dregs.

Feculency <Xpage=549>

Fec"u*len*cy (?) , n. Feculence.

Feculent <Xpage=549>

Fec"u*lent (?) , a. [L. faeculentus , fr. faecula : cf. F. f\'82culent . See Fecula .] Foul with extraneous or impure substances; abounding with sediment or excrementitious matter; muddy; thick; turbid.

Both his hands most filthy feculent . Spenser.

Fecund <Xpage=549>

Fec"und (?) , a. [L. fecundus , from the root of fetus : cf. F. f\'82cond . see Fetus .] Fruitful in children; prolific.

Graunt.

Fecundate <Xpage=549>

Fec"un*date (?) , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Fecundated (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Fecundating (?) .] [L. fecundare , fr. fecundus . See Fecund .] 1. To make fruitful or prolific.

W. Montagu.

2. (Biol.) To render fruitful or prolific; to impregnate; as, in flowers the pollen fecundates the ovum through the stigma .

Fecundation <Xpage=549>

Fec`un*da"tion (?) , n. [Cf. F. f\'82condation .] (Biol.) The act by which, either in animals or plants, material prepared by the generative organs the female organism is brought in contact with matter from the organs of the male, so that a new organism results; impregnation; fertilization.

Fecundify <Xpage=549>

Fe*cun"di*fy (?) , v. t. [ Fecund + -fy .] To make fruitful; to fecundate.

Johnson.

Fecundity <Xpage=549>

Fe*cun"di*ty (?) , n. [L. fecunditas : cf. F. f\'82condit\'82 . See Fecund .] 1. The quality or power of producing fruit; fruitfulness; especially (Biol.) , the quality in female organisms of reproducing rapidly and in great numbers.

2. The power of germinating; as in seeds.

3. The power of bringing forth in abundance; fertility; richness of invention; as, the fecundity of God's creative power .

Bentley.

Fed <Xpage=549>

Fed (?) , imp. & p. p. of Feed .

Fedary <Xpage=549>

Fed"a*ry (?) , n. A feodary. [Obs.]

Shak.

Federal <Xpage=549>

Fed"er*al (?) , a. [L. foedus league, treaty, compact; akin to fides faith: cf. F. f\'82d\'82ral . see Faith .] 1. Pertaining to a league or treaty; derived from an agreement or covenant between parties, especially between nations; constituted by a compact between parties, usually governments or their representatives.

The Romans compelled them, contrary to all federal right, . . . to part with Sardinia. Grew.