Chapter 598

4. A passing humor; a caprice; a sudden and unusual effort, activity, or motion, followed by relaxation or insction; an impulse and irregular action.

The fits of the season. Shak.

5. A darting point; a sudden emission. [R.]

A tongue of light, a fit of flame. Coleridge.

By fits , By fits and starts , by intervals of action and re<?/pose; impulsively and irregularly; intermittently.

Fitch <Xpage=564>

Fitch (?; 224) , n. ; pl. Fitches (#) . [See Vetch .] 1. (Bot.) A vetch. [Obs.]

2. pl. (Bot.) A word found in the Authorized Version of the Bible, representing different Hebrew originals. In Isaiah xxviii. 25, 27, it means the black aromatic seeds of Nigella sativa , still used as a flavoring in the East. In Ezekiel iv. 9, the Revised Version now reads spelt .

Fitch <Xpage=564>

Fitch , n. [Contr. of fitched.] (Zo\'94l.) The European polecat; also, its fur.

Fitch\'82 <Xpage=564>

Fitch"\'82 (?) , a. [Cf. F. fich\'82 , lit. p.p. of ficher to fasten, OF. fichier to pierce. Cf. 1st Fish .] (Her.) Sharpened to a point; pointed.

Cross fitch\'82 , a cross having the lower arm pointed.

Fitched <Xpage=564>

Fitched (?) , a. (her.) Fitch\'82. [Also fiched .]

Fitchet, Fitchew <Xpage=564>

Fitch"et (?) , Fitch"ew (?) , n. [Cf. OF. fisseau , fissel , OD. fisse , visse , vitsche , D. vies nasty, loathsome, E. fizz .] (Zo\'94l.) The European polecat ( Putorius f\'d2tidus ). See Polecat .

Fitchy <Xpage=564>

Fitch"y (?) , a. Having fitches or vetches.

Fitchy <Xpage=564>

Fitch"y , a. [See Fitch\'82 .] (Her.) Fitch\'82.

Fitful <Xpage=564>

Fit"ful (?) , a. [From 7th Fit .] Full of fits; irregularly variable; impulsive and unstable.

After life's fitful fever, he sleeps well. Shak.

-- Fit"ful*ly , adv. -- Fit"ful*ness , n.

The victorius trumpet peal Dies fitfully away . Macaulay.

Fithel, Fithul <Xpage=564>

Fith"el (?) , Fith"ul (?) , n. [OE. See Fiddle .] A fiddle [Obs.]

Chaucer.

Fitly <Xpage=564>

Fit"ly (?) , adv. In a fit manner; suitably; properly; conveniently; as, a maxim fitly applied .

Fitment <Xpage=564>

Fit"ment (?) , n. The act of fitting; that which is proper or becoming; equipment. [Obs.]

Shak.

Fitness <Xpage=564>

Fit"ness , n. The state or quality of being fit; as, the fitness of measures or laws; a person's fitness for office.

Fitt <Xpage=564>

Fitt (?) , n. See 2d Fit .

Fittable <Xpage=564>

Fit"ta*ble (?) , a. Suitable; fit. [Obs.]

Sherwood.

Fittedness <Xpage=564>

Fit"ted*ness (?) , n. The state or quality of being fitted; adaptation. [Obs.]

Dr. H. More.

Fitter <Xpage=564>

Fit"ter (?) , n. 1. One who fits or makes to fit; esp.: (a) One who tries on, and adjusts, articles of dress. (b) One who fits or adjusts the different parts of machinery to each other.

2. A coal broker who conducts the sales between the owner of a coal pit and the shipper. [Eng.]

Simmonds.

Fitter <Xpage=564>

Fit"ter , n. A little piece; a flitter; a flinder. [Obs.]

Where's the Frenchman? Alas, he's all fitters . Beau. & Fl.

Fitting <Xpage=564>

Fit"ting (?) , n. Anything used in fitting up ; especially ( pl. ), necessary fixtures or apparatus; as, the fittings of a church or study; gas fittings .

Fitting <Xpage=564>

Fit"ting , a. Fit; appropriate; suitable; proper. -- Fit"ting*ly , adv. -- Fit"ting*ness , n.

Jer. Taylor.

Fitweed <Xpage=564>

Fit"weed` (?) , n. (Bot.) A plant ( Eryngium f\'d2tidum ) supposed to be a remedy for fits.

Fitz <Xpage=564>

Fitz (?) , n. [OF. fils , filz , fiz , son, F. fils , L. filius . See Filial .] A son; -- used in compound names, to indicate paternity, esp. of the illegitimate sons of kings and princes of the blood; as, Fitz roy, the son of the king; Fitz clarence, the son of the duke of Clarence.

Five <Xpage=564>

Five (?) , a. [OE. fif , five , AS. f\'c6f , f\'c6fe ; akin to D. vijf , OS. f\'c6f , OHG. finf , funf , G. f\'81nf , Icel. fimm , Sw. & Sw. Dan. fem , Goth. fimf , Lith. penki , W . pump , OIr. c\'a2ic , L. quinque , Gr. <?/, \'92ol. <?/, Skr. pa<?/can . <?/ 303. Cf. Fifth , Cinque , Pentagon , Punch the drink, Quinary .] Four and one added; one more than four.

<page="565"> Page 565

Five nations (Ethnol.) , a confederacy of the Huron-Iroquois Indians, consisting of five tribes: Mohawks, Onondagas, Cayugas, Oneidas, and Senecas. They inhabited the region which is now the State of new York.

Five <Xpage=565>

Five (?) , n. 1. The number next greater than four, and less than six; five units or objects.

Five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Matt. xxv. 2.

2. A symbol representing this number, as 5, or V.

Five-finger <Xpage=565>

Five"-fin`ger (?) , n. 1. (Bot.) See Cinquefoil .

2. (Zo\'94l.) A starfish with five rays, esp. Asterias rubens .

Fivefold <Xpage=565>

Five"fold` (?) , a. & adv. In fives; consisting of five in one; five repeated; quintuple.

Five-leaf <Xpage=565>

Five"-leaf` (?) , n. Cinquefoil; five-finger.

Five-leafed, Five-leaved <Xpage=565>

Five"-leafed` (?) , Five"-leaved` (?) , a. (Bot.) Having five leaflets, as the Virginia creeper.

Fiveling <Xpage=565>

Five"ling (?) , n. (Min.) A compound or twin crystal consisting of five individuals.

Fives <Xpage=565>

Fives (?) , n. pl. A kind of play with a ball against a wall, resembling tennis; -- so named because three fives , or fifteen , are counted to the game.

Smart.

Fives court , a place for playing fives.

Fives <Xpage=565>

Fives , n. [See Vives .] A disease of the glands under the ear in horses; the vives.

Shak.

Five-twenties <Xpage=565>

Five`-twen"ties (?) , n. pl. Five-twenty bonds of the United States (bearing six per cent interest), issued in 1862, '64, and '65, redeemable after five and payable in twenty years.

Fix <Xpage=565>

Fix (?) , a. [OE., fr. L. fixus , p.p. of figere to fix; cf. F. fixe .] Fixed; solidified. [Obs.]

Chaucer.

Fix <Xpage=565>

Fix , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Fixed (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Fixing .] [Cf. F. fixer .] 1. To make firm, stable, or fast; to set or place permanently; to fasten immovably; to establish; to implant; to secure; to make efinite.

An ass's nole I fixed on his head. Shak.

O, fix thy chair of grace, that all my powers May also fix their reverence. Herbert.

His heart is fixed , trusting in the Lord. Ps. cxii. 7.

And fix far deeper in his head their stings. Milton.

2. To hold steadily; to direct unwaveringly; to fasten, as the eye on an object, the attention on a speaker.

Sat fixed in thought the mighty Stagirite. Pope.

One eye on death, and one full fix'd on heaven. Young.

3. To transfix; to pierce. [Obs.]

Sandys.

4. (Photog.) To render (an impression) permanent by treating with such applications a will make it insensible to the action of light.

Abney.

5. To put in prder; to arrange; to dispose of; to adjust; to set to rights; to set or place in the manner desired or most suitable; hence, to repair; as, to fix the clothes; to fix the furniture of a room. [Colloq. U.S.]

6. (Iron Manuf.) To line the hearth of (a puddling furnace) with fettling.

Syn. -- To arrange; prepare; adjust; place; establis; settle; determine.

Fix <Xpage=565>

Fix , v. i. 1. To become fixed; to settle or remain permanently; to cease from wandering; to rest.

Your kindness banishes your fear, Resolved to fix forever here. Waller.

2. To become firm, so as to resist volatilization; to cease to flow or be fluid; to congeal; to become hard and malleable, as a metallic substance.

Bacon.

To fix on , to settle the opinion or resolution about; to determine regarding; as, the contracting parties have fixed on certain leading points.

Fix <Xpage=565>

Fix , n. 1. A position of difficulty or embarassment; predicament; dillema. [Colloq.]

Is he not living, then? No. is he dead, then? No, nor dead either. Poor Aroar can not live, and can not die, -- so that he is in an almighty fix . De Quincey.

2. (Iron Manuf.) fettling. [U.S.]

Fixable <Xpage=565>

Fix"a*ble (?) , a. Capable of being fixed.

Fixation <Xpage=565>

Fix*a"tion (?) , n. [Cf. F. fixation .] 1. The act of fixing, or the state of being fixed.

An unalterable fixation of resolution. Killingbeck.

To light, created in the first day, God gave no proper place or fixation . Sir W. Raleigh.

Marked stiffness or absolute fixation of a joint. Quain.

A fixation and confinement of thought to a few objects. Watts.

2. The act of uniting chemically with a solid substance or in a solid form; reduction to a non-volatile condition; -- said of gaseous elements.

3. The act or process of ceasing to be fluid and becoming firm.

Glanvill.

4. A state of resistance to evaporation or volatilization by heat; -- said of metals.

Bacon.

Fixative <Xpage=565>

Fix"a*tive (?) , n. That which serves to set or fix colors or drawings, as a mordant.

Fixed <Xpage=565>

Fixed (?) , a. 1. Securely placed or fastened; settled; established; firm; imovable; unalterable.

2. (Chem.) Stable; non-volatile.

Fixed air (Old Chem.) , carbonic acid or carbon dioxide; -- so called by Dr. Black because it can be absorbed or fixed by strong bases. See Carbonic acid , under Carbonic . -- Fixed alkali (Old Chem.) , a non-volatile base, as soda, or potash, in distinction from the volatile alkali ammonia. -- Fixed ammunition (Mil.) , a projectile and powder inclosed together in a case ready for loading. -- Fixed battery (Mil.) , a battery which contains heavy guns and mortars intended to remain stationary; -- distinguished from movable battery. -- Fixed bodies , those which can not be volatilized or separated by a common menstruum, without great difficulty, as gold, platinum, lime, etc. -- Fixed capital . See the Note under Capital , n. , 4. -- Fixed fact , a well established fact. [Colloq.] -- Fixed light , one which emits constant beams; -- distinguished from a flashing, revolving, or intermittent light. -- Fixed oils (Chem.) , non-volatile, oily substances, as stearine and olein, which leave a permanent greasy stain, and which can not be distilled unchanged; -- distinguished from volatile or essential oils . -- Fixed pivot (Mil.) , the fixed point about which any line of troops wheels. -- Fixed stars (Astron.) , such stars as always retain nearly the same apparent position and distance with respect to each other, thus distinguished from planets and comets.

Fixedly <Xpage=565>

Fix"ed*ly (?) , adv. In a fixed, stable, or constant manner.

Fixedness <Xpage=565>

Fix"ed*ness , n. 1. The state or quality of being fixed; stability; steadfastness.

2. The quality of a body which resists evaporation or volatilization by heat; solidity; cohesion of parts; as, the fixedness of gold .

Fixidity <Xpage=565>

Fix*id"i*ty (?) , n. Fixedness. [Obs.]

Boyle.

Fixing <Xpage=565>

Fix"ing (?) , n. 1. The act or process of making fixed.

2. That which is fixed; a fixture.

3. pl. Arrangements; embellishments; trimmings; accompaniments. [Colloq. U.S.]

Fixity <Xpage=565>

Fix"i*ty (?) , n. [Cf. F. fixit\'82 .] 1. Fixedness; as, fixity of tenure ; also, that which is fixed.

2. Coherence of parts.

Sir I. Newton.

Fixture <Xpage=565>

Fix"ture (?; 135) , n. [Cf. Fixture .] 1. That which is fixed or attached to something as a permanent appendage; as, the fixtures of a pump; the fixtures of a farm or of a dwelling, that is, the articles which a tenant may not take away.

2. State of being fixed; fixedness.

The firm fixture of thy foot. Shak.

3. (Law) Anything of an accessory character annexed to houses and lands, so as to constitute a part of them. This term is, however, quite frequently used in the peculiar sense of personal chattels annexed to lands and tenements, but removable by the person annexing them, or his personal representatives. In this latter sense, the same things may be fixtures under some circumstances, and not fixtures under others.

Wharton (Law Dict. ). Bouvier.

&hand; This word is frequently substituted for fixure (formerly the word in common use) in new editions of old works.

Fixure <Xpage=565>

Fix"ure (?) , n. [L. fixura a fastening, fr. figere to fix. See Fix , and cf. Fixture .] Fixed position; stable condition; firmness. [Obs.]

Shak.

Fixgig <Xpage=565>

Fix"gig` (?) , n. A fishing. [Obs.]

Sandys.

Fizgig <Xpage=565>

Fiz"gig` , n. [ Fizz + gig whirling thing.] A firework, made of damp powder, which makes a fizzing or hissing noise when it explodes.

Fizgig <Xpage=565>

Fiz"gig` , n. [See Gig a flirt.] A gadding, flirting girl.

Gosson.

Fizz <Xpage=565>

Fizz (?) , v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Fizzed (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Fizzing .] [Cf. Icel. f\'c6sa to break wind, Dan. fise to foist, fizzle, OSw. fisa , G. fisten , feisten . Cf. Foist .] To make a hissing sound, as a burning fuse.

Fizz <Xpage=565>

Fizz , n. A hising sound; as, the fizz of a fly .

Fizzle <Xpage=565>

Fiz"zle (?) , v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Fizzled (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Fizzling (?) .] [See Fizz .] 1. To make a hissing sound.

It is the eas<?/est thinng, sir, to be done, As plain as fizzling . B. Jonson.

2. To make a ridiculous failure in an undertaking. [Colloq. or Low]

To fizzle out , to burn with a hissing noise and then go out, like wet gunpowder; hence, to fail completely and ridicuously; to prove a failure. [Colloq.]

Fizzle <Xpage=565>

Fiz"zle , n. A failure or abortive effort. [Colloq.]

Fjord <Xpage=565>

Fjord (?) , n. See Fiord .

Flabbergast <Xpage=565>

Flab"ber*gast (?) , v. t. [Cf. Flap , and Aghast .] To astonish; to strike with wonder, esp. by extraordinary statements. [Jocular]

Beaconsfield.

Flabbergastation <Xpage=565>

Flab`ber*gas*ta"tion (?) , n. The state of being flabbergasted. [Jocular]

London Punch.

Flabbily <Xpage=565>

Flab"bi*ly (?) , adv. In a flabby manner.

Flabbiness <Xpage=565>

Flab"bi*ness , n. Quality or state of being flabby.

Flabby <Xpage=565>

Flab"by (?) , a. [See Flap .] Yielding to the touch, and easily moved or shaken; hanging loose by its own weight; wanting firmness; flaccid; as, flabby flesh .

Flabel <Xpage=565>

Fla"bel (?) , n. [L. flabellum a fan, dim. of flabrum a breeze, fr. flare to blow.] A fan. [Obs.]

Huloet.

Flabellate <Xpage=565>

Fla*bel"late (?) , a. [L. flabellatus , p.p. of flabellare to fan, fr. flabellum . See Flabbel .] (Bot.) Flabelliform.

Flabellation <Xpage=565>

Flab`el*la"tion (?) , n. The act of keeping fractured limbs cool by the use of a fan or some other contrivance.

Dunglison.

Flabelliform <Xpage=565>

Fla*bel"li*form (?) , a. [L. flabellum a fan + -fform : cf. F. flabeliforme .] Having the form of a fan; fan-shaped; flabellate.

Flabellinerved <Xpage=565>

Fla*bel"li*nerved` (?) , a. [L. flabellum a fan + E. nerve .] (Bot.) Having many nerves diverging radiately from the base; -- said of a leaf.

Flabellum <Xpage=565>

Fla*bel"lum (?) , n. [L. See Flabel .] (Eccl.) A fan; especially, the fan carried before the pope on state occasions, made in ostrich and peacock feathers.

Shipley.

Flabile <Xpage=565>

Flab"ile (?) , a. [L. flabilis .] Liable to be blown about.

Bailey.

Flaccid <Xpage=565>

Flac"cid (?) , a. [L. flaccidus , fr. flaccus flabby: cf. OF. flaccide .] Yielding to pressure for want of firmness and stiffness; soft and weak; limber; lax; drooping; flabby; as, a flaccid muscle; flaccid flesh.

Religious profession . . . has become flacced . I. Taylor.

-- Flac"cid*ly (#) , adv. -- Flac"cid*ness , n.

Flaccidity <Xpage=565>

Flac*cid"i*ty (?) , n. [Cf. F. flaccidit\'82 .] The state of being flaccid.

Flacker <Xpage=565>

Flack"er (?) , v. i. [OE. flakeren , fr. flacken to move quickly to and fro; cf. icel. flakka to rove about, AS. flacor fluttering, flying, G. flackern to flare, flicker.] To flutter, as a bird. [Prov. Eng.]

Grose.

Flacket <Xpage=565>

Flack"et (?) , n. [OF. flasquet little flask, dim. of flasque a flask.] A barrel-shaped bottle; a flagon.

Flag <Xpage=565>