Chapter 10

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.

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

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. (Zoˆl.) 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.

Feath"er-edge` (?), n. 1. (Zoˆl.) The thin, new growth around the edge of a shell, of an oyster.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

Feath"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.

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

Foot featly here and there.

Shak.

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

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.

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.

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

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

Featurely warriors of Christian chivalry.

Coleridge.

Feaze (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Feazed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Feazing.] [Cf. OE. faseln to ravel, fr. AS. fÊs 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, v. t. [See Feese.] To beat; to chastise; also, to humble; to harass; to worry. [Obs.] insworth.

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

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

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

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

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

-- n. That which causes fever. Beddoes.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

Fe"cal (f"kal), a. [Cf. F. fÈcal. See Feces.] relating to, or containing, dregs, feces, or ordure; fÊcal.

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

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

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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.

Fe"ci*fork` (?), n. [Feces + fork.] (Zoˆl.) The anal fork on which the larvÊ of certain insects carry their fÊces.

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

feck"less*ness n. absence of merit. [WordNet 1.5]

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

Fec"u*la (?), n.; pl. Fecul∆ [L. faecula burnt tartar or salt of tartar, dim. of faex, faecis, sediment, dregs: cf. F. fÈcule.] 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.

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

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

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

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

Both his hands most filthy feculent.

Spenser.

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

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.

Fec`un*da"tion (?), n. [Cf. F. fÈcondation.] (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.

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

Fe*cun"di*ty (?), n. [L. fecunditas: cf. F. fÈconditÈ. 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 (?), imp. & p. p. of Feed.

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

Fed"er*al (?), a. [L. foedus league, treaty, compact; akin to fides faith: cf. F. fÈdÈral. 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.

2. Specifically: (a) Composed of states or districts which retain only a subordinate and limited sovereignty, as the Union of the United States, or the Sonderbund of Switzerland. (b) Consisting or pertaining to such a government; as, the Federal Constitution; a Federal officer. (c) Friendly or devoted to such a government; as, the Federal party. see Federalist.

Federal Congress. See under Congress.

Fed"er*al, n. See Federalist.

Fed"er*al*ism (?), n. [Cf. F. fÈdÈralisme.] The principles of Federalists or of federal union.

Fed"er*al*ist, n. [Cf. F. fÈdÈraliste.] An advocate of confederation; specifically (Amer. Hist.), a friend of the Constitution of the United States at its formation and adoption; a member of the political party which favored the administration of president Washington.

Fed"er*al*ize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Federalized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Federalizing (?).] [Cf. F. fÈdÈraliser.] To unite in compact, as different States; to confederate for political purposes; to unite by or under the Federal Constitution. Barlow.

Fed"er*a*ry (?), n. [See Federal.] A partner; a confederate; an accomplice. [Obs.] hak.

Fed"er*ate (?), a. [L. foederatus, p. p. of foederare to establish by treaty or league, fr. foedus. See Federal.] United by compact, as sovereignties, states, or nations; joined in confederacy; leagued; confederate; as, federate nations.

Fed`er*a"tion (?), n. [Cf. F. fÈdÈration.] 1. The act of uniting in a league; confederation.

2. A league; a confederacy; a federal or confederated government. Burke.

Fed"er*a*tive (?), a. [Cf. F. fÈdÈratif.] Uniting in a league; forming a confederacy; federal. "A federative society." Burke.

Fed"i*ty (?), n. [L. foeditas, fr. foedus foul, filthy.] Turpitude; vileness. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.

Fee (f), n. [OE. fe, feh, feoh, cattle, property, money, fief, AS. feoh cattle, property, money; the senses of "property, money," arising from cattle being used in early times as a medium of exchange or payment, property chiefly consisting of cattle; akin to OS. fehu cattle, property, D. vee cattle, OHG. fihu, fehu, G. vieh, Icel. f cattle, property, money, Goth. faÌhu, L. pecus cattle, pecunia property, money, Skr. paÁu cattle, perh. orig., "a fastened or tethered animal," from a root signifying to bind, and perh. akin to E. fang, fair, a.; cf. OF. fie, flu, feu, fleu, fief, F. fief, from German, of the same origin. the sense fief is due to the French. &radic;249. Cf. Feud, Fief, Fellow, Pecuniary.] 1. property; possession; tenure. "Laden with rich fee." Spenser.

Once did she hold the gorgeous East in fee.

Wordsworth.

2. Reward or compensation for services rendered or to be rendered; especially, payment for professional services, of optional amount, or fixed by custom or laws; charge; pay; perquisite; as, the fees of lawyers and physicians; the fees of office; clerk's fees; sheriff's fees; marriage fees, etc.

To plead for love deserves more fee than hate.

Shak.

3. (Feud. Law) A right to the use of a superior's land, as a stipend for services to be performed; also, the land so held; a fief.

4. (Eng. Law) An estate of inheritance supposed to be held either mediately or immediately from the sovereign, and absolutely vested in the owner.

All the land in England, except the crown land, is of this kind. An absolute fee, or fee simple, is land which a man holds to himself and his heirs forever, who are called tenants in fee simple. In modern writers, by fee is usually meant fee simple. A limited fee may be a qualified or base fee, which ceases with the existence of certain conditions; or a conditional fee, or fee tail, which is limited to particular heirs. Blackstone.

5. (Amer. Law) An estate of inheritance belonging to the owner, and transmissible to his heirs, absolutely and simply, without condition attached to the tenure.

Fee estate (Eng. Law), land or tenements held in fee in consideration or some acknowledgment or service rendered to the lord. -- Fee farm (Law), land held of another in fee, in consideration of an annual rent, without homage, fealty, or any other service than that mentioned in the feoffment; an estate in fee simple, subject to a perpetual rent. Blackstone. -- Fee farm rent (Eng. Law), a perpetual rent reserved upon a conveyance in fee simple. -- Fee fund (Scot. Law), certain court dues out of which the clerks and other court officers are paid. -- Fee simple (Law), an absolute fee; a fee without conditions or limits.

Buy the fee simple of my life for an hour and a quarter.

Shak.

-- Fee tail (Law), an estate of inheritance, limited and restrained to some particular heirs. Burill.

Fee (f), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Feed (fd); p. pr. & vb. n. Feeing.] To reward for services performed, or to be performed; to recompense; to hire or keep in hire; hence, to bribe.

The patient . . . fees the doctor.

Dryden.

There's not a one of them but in his house I keep a servant feed.

Shak.

Fee"ble (f"b'l), a. [Compar. Feebler (-blr); superl. Feeblest (-blst).] [OE. feble, OF. feble, flebe, floibe, floible, foible, F. faible, L. flebilis to be wept over, lamentable, wretched, fr. flere to weep. Cf. Foible.] 1. Deficient in physical strength; weak; infirm; debilitated.

Carried all the feeble of them upon asses.

2 Chron. xxviii. 15.

2. Wanting force, vigor, or efficiency in action or expression; not full, loud, bright, strong, rapid, etc.; faint; as, a feeble color; feeble motion. "A lady's feeble voice." Shak.

Fee"ble, v. t. To make feble; to enfeeble. [Obs.]

Shall that victorious hand be feebled here?

Shak.

Fee"ble-mind"ed (?), a. Weak in intellectual power; wanting firmness or constancy; irresolute; vacillating; imbecile. "comfort the feeble-minded." 1 Thess. v. 14.

-- Fee"ble-mind"ed*ness, n.

Fee"ble*ness, n. The quality or condition of being feeble; debility; infirmity.

That shakes for age and feebleness.

Shak.

Fee"bly (?), adv. In a feeble manner.

The restored church . . . contended feebly, and with half a heart.

Macaulay.

Feed (fd), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Fed (fd); p. pr. & vb. n. Feeding.] [AS. fdan, fr. fda food; akin to OS. fdian, OFries. fda, fda, D. voeden, OHG. fuottan, Icel. fÊa, Sw. fˆda, Dan. fˆde. &radic;75. See Food.] 1. To give food to; to supply with nourishment; to satisfy the physical huger of.

If thine enemy hunger, feed him.

Rom. xii. 20.

Unreasonable creatures feed their young.

Shak.

2. To satisfy; gratify or minister to, as any sense, talent, taste, or desire.

I will feed fat the ancient grudge I bear him.

Shak.

Feeding him with the hope of liberty.

Knolles.

3. To fill the wants of; to supply with that which is used or wasted; as, springs feed ponds; the hopper feeds the mill; to feed a furnace with coal.

4. To nourish, in a general sense; to foster, strengthen, develop, and guard.

Thou shalt feed my people Israel.

2 Sam. v. 2.

Mightiest powers by deepest calms are fed.

B. Cornwall.

5. To graze; to cause to be cropped by feeding, as herbage by cattle; as, if grain is too forward in autumn, feed it with sheep.

Once in three years feed your mowing lands.

Mortimer.

6. To give for food, especially to animals; to furnish for consumption; as, to feed out turnips to the cows; to feed water to a steam boiler.

7. (Mach.) (a) To supply (the material to be operated upon) to a machine; as, to feed paper to a printing press. (b) To produce progressive operation upon or with (as in wood and metal working machines, so that the work moves to the cutting tool, or the tool to the work).

Feed, v. i. 1. To take food; to eat.

Her kid . . . which I afterwards killed because it would not feed.

De Foe.

2. To subject by eating; to satisfy the appetite; to feed one's self (upon something); to prey; -- with on or upon.

Leaving thy trunk for crows to feed upon.

Shak.

3. To be nourished, strengthened, or satisfied, as if by food. "He feeds upon the cooling shade." Spenser.

4. To place cattle to feed; to pasture; to graze.

If a man . . . shall put in his beast, and shall feed in another man's field.

Ex. xxii. 5.

Feed (?), n. 1. That which is eaten; esp., food for beasts; fodder; pasture; hay; grain, ground or whole; as, the best feed for sheep.

2. A grazing or pasture ground. Shak.

3. An allowance of provender given to a horse, cow, etc.; a meal; as, a feed of corn or oats.

4. A meal, or the act of eating. [R.]

For such pleasure till that hour At feed or fountain never had I found.

Milton.

5. The water supplied to steam boilers.

6. (Mach.) (a) The motion, or act, of carrying forward the stuff to be operated upon, as cloth to the needle in a sewing machine; or of producing progressive operation upon any material or object in a machine, as, in a turning lathe, by moving the cutting tool along or in the work. (b) The supply of material to a machine, as water to a steam boiler, coal to a furnace, or grain to a run of stones. (c) The mechanism by which the action of feeding is produced; a feed motion.

Feed bag, a nose bag containing feed for a horse or mule. -- Feed cloth, an apron for leading cotton, wool, or other fiber, into a machine, as for carding, etc. -- Feed door, a door to a furnace, by which to supply coal. -- Feed head. (a) A cistern for feeding water by gravity to a steam boiler. (b) (Founding) An excess of metal above a mold, which serves to render the casting more compact by its pressure; -- also called a riser, deadhead, or simply feed or head Knight. -- Feed heater. (a) (Steam Engine) A vessel in which the feed water for the boiler is heated, usually by exhaust steam. (b) A boiler or kettle in which is heated food for stock. -- Feed motion, or Feed gear (Mach.), the train of mechanism that gives motion to the part that directly produces the feed in a machine. -- Feed pipe, a pipe for supplying the boiler of a steam engine, etc., with water. -- Feed pump, a force pump for supplying water to a steam boiler, etc. -- Feed regulator, a device for graduating the operation of a feeder. Knight. -- Feed screw, in lathes, a long screw employed to impart a regular motion to a tool rest or tool, or to the work. -- Feed water, water supplied to a steam boiler, etc. -- Feed wheel (Mach.), a kind of feeder. See Feeder, n., 8.

Feed"er (?), n. 1. One who, or that which, gives food or supplies nourishment; steward.

A couple of friends, his chaplain and feeder.

Goldsmith.

2. One who furnishes incentives; an encourager. "The feeder of my riots." Shak.

3. One who eats or feeds; specifically, an animal to be fed or fattened.

With eager feeding, food doth choke the feeder.

Shak.

4. One who fattens cattle for slaughter.

5. A stream that flows into another body of water; a tributary; specifically (Hydraulic Engin.), a water course which supplies a canal or reservoir by gravitation or natural flow.

6. A branch railroad, stage line, or the like; a side line which increases the business of the main line.

7. (Mining) (a) A small lateral lode falling into the main lode or mineral vein. Ure. (b) A strong discharge of gas from a fissure; a blower. Raymond.

8. (Mach.) An auxiliary part of a machine which supplies or leads along the material operated upon.

9. (Steam Engine) A device for supplying steam boilers with water as needed.

Feed"ing, n. 1. the act of eating, or of supplying with food; the process of fattening.

2. That which is eaten; food.

3. That which furnishes or affords food, especially for animals; pasture land.

Feeding bottle. See under Bottle.

Fee`-faw`-fum" (?), n. A nonsensical exclamation attributed to giants and ogres; hence, any expression calculated to impose upon the timid and ignorant. "Impudent fee-faw-fums." J. H. Newman.

Fee"jee (?), a. & n. (Ethnol.) See Fijian.

Feel (fl), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Felt (flt); p. pr. & vb. n. Feeling.] [AS. flan; akin to OS. giflian to perceive, D. voelen to feel, OHG. fuolen, G. f¸hlen, Icel. flma to grope, and prob. to AS. folm palm of the hand, L. palma. Cf. Fumble, Palm.] 1. To perceive by the touch; to take cognizance of by means of the nerves of sensation distributed all over the body, especially by those of the skin; to have sensation excited by contact of (a thing) with the body or limbs.

Who feel Those rods of scorpions and those whips of steel.

Creecn.

2. To touch; to handle; to examine by touching; as, feel this piece of silk; hence, to make trial of; to test; often with out.

Come near, . . . that I may feel thee, my son.

Gen. xxvii. 21.

He hath this to feel my affection to your honor.

Shak.

3. To perceive by the mind; to have a sense of; to experience; to be affected by; to be sensible of, or sensitive to; as, to feel pleasure; to feel pain.

Teach me to feel another's woe.

Pope.

Whoso keepeth the commandment shall feel no evil thing.

Eccl. viii. 5.

He best can paint them who shall feel them most.

Pope.

Mankind have felt their strength and made it felt.

Byron.

4. To take internal cognizance of; to be conscious of; to have an inward persuasion of.

For then, and not till then, he felt himself.

Shak.

5. To perceive; to observe. [Obs.] Chaucer.

To feel the helm (Naut.), to obey it.

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Feel (?), v. i. 1. To have perception by the touch, or by contact of anything with the nerves of sensation, especially those upon the surface of the body.

2. To have the sensibilities moved or affected.

[She] feels with the dignity of a Roman matron

. Burke.

And mine as man, who feel for all mankind.

Pope.

3. To be conscious of an inward impression, state of mind, persuasion, physical condition, etc.; to perceive one's self to be; -- followed by an adjective describing the state, etc.; as, to feel assured, grieved, persuaded.

I then did feel full sick.

Shak.