The Gutenberg Webster's Unabridged Dictionary
Chapter 605
Flint"y (?) , a. [ Compar. Flintier (?) ; superl. Flintiest .] Consisting of, composed of, abounding in, or resembling, flint; as, a flinty rock; flinty ground; a flinty heart.
Flinty rock <???/, ∨ Flinty state , a siliceous slate; -- basanite is here included. See Basanite .
Flip <Xpage=571>
Flip (?) , n. [Cf. Prov. E. flip nimble, flippant, also, a slight blow. Cf. Flippant .] A mixture of beer, spirit, etc., stirred and heated by a hot iron.
Flip dog , an iron used, when heated, to warm flip.
Flip <Xpage=571>
Flip , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Flipped (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Flipping .] To toss or fillip; as, to flip up a cent .
As when your little ones Do 'twixt their fingers flip their cherry stones. W. Browne.
Flipe <Xpage=571>
Flipe (?) , v. t. To turn inside out, or with the leg part back over the foot, as a stocking in pulling off or for putting on. [Scot.]
Flip-flap <Xpage=571>
Flip"-flap` (?) , n. [See Flip , and Flap .] The repeated stroke of something long and loose.
Johnson.
Flip-flap <Xpage=571>
Flip"-flap` , adv. With repeated strokes and noise, as of something long and loose.
Ash.
Flippancy <Xpage=571>
Flip"pan*cy (?) , n. [See Flippant .] The state or quality of being flippant.
This flippancy of language. Bp. Hurd.
Flippant <Xpage=571>
Flip"pant (?) , a. [Prov. E. flip to move nimbly; cf. W. llipa soft, limber, pliant, or Icel. fleipa to babble, prattle. Cf. Flip , Fillip , Flap , Flipper .] 1. Of smooth, fluent, and rapid speech; speaking with ease and rapidity; having a voluble tongue; talkative.
It becometh good men, in such cases, to be flippant and free in their speech. Barrow.
2. Speaking fluently and confidently, without knowledge or consideration; empty; trifling; inconsederate; pert; petulant. " Flippant epilogous."
Thomson.
To put flippant scorn to the blush. I. Taylor.
A sort of flippant , vain discourse. Burke.
Flippant <Xpage=571>
Flip"pant , n. A flippant person. [R.]
Tennyson.
Flippantly <Xpage=571>
Flip"pant*ly , adv. In a flippant manner.
Flippantness <Xpage=571>
Flip"pant*ness , n. State or quality of being flippant.
Flipper <Xpage=571>
Flip"per (?) , n. [Cf. Flip , Flippant .] 1. (Zo\'94l.) A broad flat limb used for swimming, as those of seals, sea turtles, whales, etc.
2. (Naut.) The hand. [Slang]
Flirt <Xpage=571>
Flirt (?) , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Flirted ; p. pr. & vb. n. Flirting .] [Cf. AS. fleard trifle, folly, fleardian to trifle.] 1. To throw with a jerk or quick effort; to fling suddenly; as, they flirt water in each other's faces; he flirted a glove, or a handkerchief.
2. To toss or throw about; to move playfully to and fro; as, to flirt a fan .
3. To jeer at; to treat with contempt; to mock. [Obs.]
I am ashamed; I am scorned; I am flirted . Beau. & Fl.
Flirt <Xpage=571>
Flirt , v. i. 1. To run and dart about; to act with giddiness, or from a desire to attract notice; especially, to play the coquette; to play at courtship; to coquet; as, they flirt with the young men .
2. To utter contemptious language, with an air of disdain; to jeer or gibe. [Obs.]
Beau. & Fl.
Flirt <Xpage=571>
Flirt , n. 1. A sudden jerk; a quick throw or cast; a darting motion; hence, a jeer.
Several little flirts and vibrations. Addison.
With many a flirt and flutter. E. A. Poe.
2. [Cf. LG. flirtje , G. flirtchen . See Flirt , v. t. ] One who flirts; esp., a woman who acts with giddiness, or plays at courtship; a coquette; a pert girl.
Several young flirts about town had a design to cast us out of the fashionable world. Addison.
Flirt <Xpage=571>
Flirt , a. Pert; wanton. [Obs.]
Flirtation <Xpage=571>
Flir*ta"tion (?) , n. 1. Playing at courtship; coquerty.
The flirtations and jealousies of our ball rooms. Macaulay.
Flirt-gill <Xpage=571>
Flirt"-gill` (?) , n. A woman of light behavior; a gill-flirt. [Obs.]
Shak.
You heard him take me up like a flirt-gill . Beau. & Fl.
Flirtigig <Xpage=571>
Flirt"i*gig (?) , n. A wanton, pert girl. [Obs.]
Flirtingly <Xpage=571>
Flirt"ing*ly , adv. In a flirting manner.
Flisk <Xpage=571>
Flisk (?) , v. i. To frisk; to skip; to caper. [Obs. Scot.] "The flisking flies."
Gosson.
Flisk <Xpage=571>
Flisk , n. A caper; a spring; a whim. [Scot.]
Flit <Xpage=571>
Flit (?) , v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Flitted (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Flitting (?) .] [OE. flitten , flutten , to carry away; cf. Icel. flytja , Sw. flytta , Dan. flytte . <?/ 84. Cf. Fleet , v. i. ] 1. To move with celerity through the air; to fly away with a rapid motion; to dart along; to fleet; as, a bird flits away; a cloud flits along.
A shadow flits before me. Tennyson.
2. To flutter; to rove on the wing.
Dryden.
3. To pass rapidly, as a light substance, from one place to another; to remove; to migrate.
It became a received opinion, that the souls of men, departing this life, did flit out of one body into some other. Hooker.
4. To remove from one place or habitation to another. [Scot. & Prov. Eng.]
Wright. Jamieson.
5. To be unstable; to be easily or often moved.
And the free soul to flitting air resigned. Dryden.
Flit <Xpage=571>
Flit , a. Nimble; quick; swift. [Obs.] See Fleet .
Flitch <Xpage=571>
Flitch (?) , n. ; pl. Flitches (#) . [OE. flicche , flikke , AS. flicce , akin to Icel. flikki ; cf. Icel. fl\'c6k flap, tatter; perh. akin to E. fleck . Cf. Flick , n. ] 1. The side of a hog salted and cured; a side of bacon.
Swift.
2. One of several planks, smaller timbers, or iron plates, which are secured together, side by side, to make a large girder or built beam.
3. The outside piece of a sawed log; a slab. [Eng.]
Flite <Xpage=571>
Flite (?) , v. i. [AS. fl\'c6tan to strive, contend, quarrel; akin to G. fleiss industry.] To scold; to quarrel. [Prov. Eng.]
Grose.
Flitter <Xpage=571>
Flit"ter (?) , v. i. To flutter. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
Flitter <Xpage=571>
Flit"ter , v. t. To flutter; to move quickly; as, to flitter the cards . [R.]
Lowell.
Flitter <Xpage=571>
Flit"ter , n. [Cf. G. flitter spangle, tinsel, flittern to make a tremulous motion, to glitter. Cf. Flitter , v. i. ] A rag; a tatter; a small piece or fragment.
Flittermouse <Xpage=571>
Flit"ter*mouse` (?) , n. [ Flitter , v.i. + mouse ; cf. G. fledermaus , OHG. fledarm<?/s . Cf. Flickermouse , Flindermouse .] (Zo\'94l.) A bat; -- called also flickermouse , flindermouse , and flintymouse .
Flittern <Xpage=571>
Flit"tern (?) , a. A term applied to the bark obtained from young oak trees.
McElrath.
Flittiness <Xpage=571>
Flit"ti*ness (?) , n. [From Flitty .] Unsteadiness; levity; lightness. [Obs.]
Bp. Hopkins.
Flitting <Xpage=571>
Flit"ting (?) , n. 1. A flying with lightness and celerity; a fluttering.
2. A removal from one habitation to another. [Scot. & Prov. Eng.]
A neighbor had lent his cart for the flitting , and it was now standing loaded at the door, ready to move away. Jeffrey.
Flittingly <Xpage=571>
Flit"ting*ly , adv. In a flitting manner.
Flitty <Xpage=571>
Flit"ty (?) , a. [From Flit .] Unstable; fluttering. [Obs.]
Dr. H. More.
Flix <Xpage=571>
Flix (?) , n. [Cf. Flax .] Down; fur. [Obs. or Eng.]
J. Dyer.
Flix <Xpage=571>
Flix , n. The flux; dysentery. [Obs.]
Udall.
Flix weed (Bot.) , the Sisymbrium Sophia , a kind of hedge mustard, formerly used as a remedy for dysentery.
Flo <Xpage=571>
Flo (?) , n. ; pl. Flon (#) . [AS. fl\'be , fl\'ben .] An arrow. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
Float <Xpage=571>
Float (?) , n. [OE. flote ship, boat, fleet, AS. flota ship, fr. fle\'a2tan to float; akin to D. vloot fleet, G. floss raft, Icel. floti float, raft, fleet, Sw. flotta . &root; 84. See Fleet , v. i. , and cf. Flotilla , Flotsam , Plover .] 1. Anything which floats or rests on the surface of a fluid, as to sustain weight, or to indicate the height of the surface, or mark the place of, something . Specifically: (a) A mass of timber or boards fastened together, and conveyed down a stream by the current; a raft . (b) The hollow, metallic ball of a self-acting faucet, which floats upon the water in a cistern or boiler . (c) The cork or quill used in angling, to support the bait line, and indicate the bite of a fish . (d) Anything used to buoy up whatever is liable to sink; an inflated bag or pillow used by persons learning to swim; a life preserver.
This reform bill . . . had been used as a float by the conservative ministry. J. P. Peters.
2. A float board. See Float board (below).
3. (Tempering) A contrivance for affording a copious stream of water to the heated surface of an object of large bulk, as an anvil or die.
Knight.
4. The act of flowing; flux; flow. [Obs.]
Bacon.
5. A quantity of earth, eighteen feet square and one foot deep. [Obs.]
Mortimer.
6. (Plastering) The trowel or tool with which the floated coat of plastering is leveled and smoothed.
7. A polishing block used in marble working; a runner.
Knight.
8. A single-cut file for smoothing; a tool used by shoemakers for rasping off pegs inside a shoe.
9. A coal cart. [Eng.]
Simmonds.
10. The sea; a wave. See Flote , n.
Float board , one of the boards fixed radially to the rim of an undershot water wheel or of a steamer's paddle wheel; -- a vane. -- Float case (Naut.) , a caisson used for lifting a ship. -- Float copper ∨ gold (Mining) , fine particles of metallic copper or of gold suspended in water, and thus liable to be lost. -- Float ore , water-worn particles of ore; fragments of vein material found on the surface, away from the vein outcrop. Raymond. -- Float stone (Arch.) , a siliceous stone used to rub stonework or brickwork to a smooth surface. -- Float valve , a valve or cock acted upon by a float. See Float , 1 ( b ).
Float <Xpage=571>
Float , v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Floated ; p. pr. & vb. n. Floating .] [OE. flotien , flotten , AS. flotian to float, swim, fr. fle\'a2tan . See Float , n. ] 1. To rest on the surface of any fluid; to swim; to be buoyed up.
The ark no more now floats , but seems on ground. Milton.
Three blustering nights, borne by the southern blast, I floated . Dryden.
2. To move quietly or gently on the water, as a raft; to drift along; to move or glide without effort or impulse on the surface of a fluid, or through the air.
They stretch their broad plumes and float upon the wind. Pope.
There seems a floating whisper on the hills. Byron.
Float <Xpage=571>
Float , v. t. 1. To cause to float; to cause to rest or move on the surface of a fluid; as, the tide floated the ship into the harbor .
Had floated that bell on the Inchcape rock. Southey.
2. To flood; to overflow; to cover with water.
Proud Pactolus floats the fruitful lands. Dryden.
3. (Plastering) To pass over and level the surface of with a float while the plastering is kept wet.
4. To support and sustain the credit of, as a commercial scheme or a joint-stock company, so as to enable <?/ it to go into, or continue in, operation.
Floatable <Xpage=571>
Float"a*ble (?) , a. That may be floated.
Floatage <Xpage=571>
Float"age (?; 48) , n. Same as Flotage .
Floatation <Xpage=571>
Float*a"tion (?) , n. See Flotation .
Floater <Xpage=571>
Float"er (?) , n. 1. One who floats or swims.
2. A float for indicating the height of a liquid surface.
Floating <Xpage=571>
Float"ing , a. 1. Buoyed upon or in a fluid; a, the floating timbers of a wreck; floating motes in the air.
2. Free or lose from the usual attachment; as, the floating ribs in man and some other animals .
3. Not funded; not fixed, invested, or determined; as, floating capital; a floating debt.
Trade was at an end. Floating capital had been withdrawn in great masses from the island. Macaulay.
Floating anchor (Naut.) , a drag or sea anchor; drag sail. -- Floating battery (Mil.) , a battery erected on rafts or the hulls of ships, chiefly for the defense of a coast or the bombardment of a place. -- Floating bridge . (a) A bridge consisting of rafts or timber, with a floor of plank, supported wholly by the water; a bateau bridge. See Bateau . (b) (Mil.) A kind of double bridge, the upper one projecting beyond the lower one, and capable of being moved forward by pulleys; -- used for carrying troops over narrow moats in attacking the outworks of a fort. (c) A kind of ferryboat which is guided and impelled by means of chains which are anchored on each side of a stream, and pass over wheels on the vessel, the wheels being driven by stream power. (d) The landing platform of a ferry dock. -- Floating cartilage (Med.) , a cartilage which moves freely in the cavity of a joint, and often interferes with the functions of the latter. -- Floating dam . (a) An anchored dam. (b) A caisson used as a gate for a dry dock. -- Floating derrick , a derrick on a float for river and harbor use, in raising vessels, moving stone for harbor improvements, etc. -- Floating dock . (Naut.) See under Dock . -- Floating harbor , a breakwater of cages or booms, anchored and fastened together, and used as a protection to ships riding at anchor to leeward. Knight. -- Floating heart (Bot.) , a small aquatic plant ( Limnanthemum lacunosum ) whose heart-shaped leaves float on the water of American ponds. -- Floating island , a dish for dessert, consisting of custard with floating masses of whipped cream or white of eggs. -- Floating kidney . (Med.) See Wandering kidney , under Wandering . -- Floating light , a light shown at the masthead of a vessel moored over sunken rocks, shoals, etc., to warn mariners of danger; a light-ship; also, a light erected on a buoy or floating stage. -- Floating liver . (Med.) See Wandering liver , under Wandering . -- Floating pier , a landing stage or pier which rises and falls with the tide. -- Floating ribs (Anat.) , the lower or posterior ribs which are not connected with the others in front; in man they are the last two pairs. -- Floating screed (Plastering) , a strip of plastering first laid on, to serve as a guide for the thickness of the coat. -- Floating threads (Weaving) , threads which span several other threads without being interwoven with them, in a woven fabric.
<page="572"> Page 572
Floating <Xpage=572>
Float"ing (?) , n. 1. (Weaving) Floating threads. See Floating threads , above.
2. The second coat of three-coat plastering.
Knight.
Floatingly <Xpage=572>
Float"ing*ly , adv. In a floating manner.
Floaty <Xpage=572>
Float"y (?) , a. Swimming on the surface; buoyant; light.
Sir W. Raleigh.
Flobert <Xpage=572>
Flo"bert (?) , n. (Gun.) A small cartridge designed for target shooting; -- sometimes called ball cap .
Flobert rifle , a rifle adapted to the use of floberts.
Floccillation <Xpage=572>
Floc`cil*la"tion (?) , n. [L. floccus a flock of wool. Cf. Flock of wool.] (Med.) A delirious picking of bedclothes by a sick person, as if to pick off flocks of wool; carphology; -- an alarming symptom in acute diseases.
Dunglison.
Floc/cose <Xpage=572>
Floc/cose" (?) , a. [L. floccosus . Cf. 2d Flock , n. ] 1. Spotted with small tufts like wool.
Wright.
2. (Bot.) Having tufts of soft hairs, which are often deciduous.
Floccular <Xpage=572>
Floc"cu*lar (?) , a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the flocculus.
Flocculate <Xpage=572>
Floc"cu*late (?) , v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Flocculated ; p. pr. & vb. n. Flocculating .] (Geol.) To aggregate into small lumps.
Flocculate <Xpage=572>
Floc"cu*late (?) , a. (Zo\'94l.) Furnished with tufts of curly hairs, as some insects.
Flocculation <Xpage=572>
Floc`cu*la"tion (?) , n. (Geol.) The process by which small particles of fine soils and sediments aggregate into larger lumps.
Flocculence <Xpage=572>
Floc"cu*lence (?) , n. The state of being flocculent.
Flocculent <Xpage=572>
Floc"cu*lent (?) , a. [See Flock of wool.] 1. Clothed with small flocks or flakes; woolly.
Gray.
2. (Zo\'94l.) Applied to the down of newly hatched or unfledged birds.
Flocculus <Xpage=572>
Floc"cu*lus (?) , n. ; pl. Flocculi (#) . [NL., dim. of L. floccus a lock or flock of wool.] (Anat.) A small lobe in the under surface of the cerebellum, near the middle peduncle; the subpeduncular lobe.
Floccus <Xpage=572>