Chapter 15

3. An albuminous body, resembling animal fibrin in composition, found in cereal grains and similar seeds; vegetable fibrin.

Fibrin factors (Physiol.), the albuminous bodies, paraglobulin and fibrinigen in the blood, which, by the action of the fibrin ferment, are changed into fibrin, in coagulation. -- Fibrin ferment (Physiol. Chem.), a ferment which makes its appearance in the blood shortly after it is shed, and is supposed to be the active agent in causing coagulation of the blood, with formation of fibrin.

Fi`bri*na"tion (?), n. (Med.) The state of acquiring or having an excess of fibrin.

Fi"brine (?), a. Belonging to the fibers of plants.

Fi*brin"o*gen (?), n. [Fibrin + -gen.] (Physiol. Chem.) An albuminous substance existing in the blood, and in other animal fluids, which either alone or with fibrinoplastin or paraglobulin forms fibrin, and thus causes coagulation.

Fi`bri*nog"e*nous (?), a. (Physiol. Chem.) Possessed of properties similar to fibrinogen; capable of forming fibrin.

Fi`bri*no*plas"tic (?), a. (Physiol.Chem.) Like fibrinoplastin; capable of forming fibrin when brought in contact with fibrinogen.

Fi`bri*no*plas"tin (?), n. [Fibrin + Gr. &?; to form, mold.] (Physiol.Chem.) An albuminous substance, existing in the blood, which in combination with fibrinogen forms fibrin; -- called also paraglobulin.

Fi"bri*nous (? or ?; 277), a. Having, or partaking of the properties of, fibrin; as, fibrious exudation.

Fi`bro*car"ti*lage (?), n. [L. fibra a fiber + E. cartilage.] (Anat.) A kind of cartilage with a fibrous matrix and approaching fibrous connective tissue in structure. -- Fi`bro*car`ti*lag"i*nous (#), a.

Fi`bro*chon*dros"te*al (?), a. [L. fibra a fiber + gr. &?; cartilage + &?; bone.] (Anat.) Partly fibrous, partly cartilaginous, and partly osseous. St. George Mivart.

Fi"broid (?), a. [L. fibra a fiber + -oid.] (Med.) Resembling or forming fibrous tissue; made up of fibers; as, fibroid tumors. - - n. A fibroid tumor; a fibroma.

Fibroid degeneration, a form of degeneration in which organs or tissues are converted into fibroid tissue. -- Fibroid phthists, a form of pulmonary consumption associated with the formation of fibrous tissue in the lungs, and the gradual atrophy of the lungs, from the pressure due to the contraction of this tissue.

Fi"bro*in (? or ?), n. [L. fibra a fiber.] (Chem.) A variety of gelatin; the chief ingredient of raw silk, extracted as a white amorphous mass.

Fi"bro*lite (? or ?), n. [L. fibra a fiber + -lite: cf. F. fibrolithe.] (Min.) A silicate of alumina, of fibrous or columnar structure. It is like andalusite in composition; -- called also sillimanite, and bucholizite.

||Fi*bro"ma (?), n. [NL. See Fiber, and -oma.] (Med.) A tumor ||consisting mainly of fibrous tissue, or of same modification of such ||tissue.

||Fi`bro*spon"gi*Ê (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. L. fibra a fiber + spongia a ||sponge.] (Zoˆl.) An order of sponges having a fibrous skeleton, ||including the commercial sponges.

Fi"brous (?), a. [Cf. F. fibreux.] Containing, or consisting of, fibers; as, the fibrous coat of the cocoanut; the fibrous roots of grasses. -- Fi"brous*ness, n.

Fi`bro*vas"cu*lar (?), a. [L. fibra a fiber + E. vascular.] (Bot.) Containing woody fiber and ducts, as the stems of all flowering plants and ferns; -- opposed to cellular.

Fib"ster (?), n. One who tells fibs. [Jocular]

||Fib"u*la (?), n.; pl. Fibul∆ (#). [L., clasp, buckle.] 1. A brooch, ||clasp, or buckle.

Mere fibulÊ, without a robe to clasp.

Wordsworth.

2. (Anat.) The outer and usually the smaller of the two bones of the leg, or hind limb, below the knee.

3. (Surg.) A needle for sewing up wounds.

Fib"u-lar (?), a. Pertaining to the fibula.

||Fib`u*la"re (?), n.; pl. Fibularia (#). [NL. See Fibula.] (Anat.) The ||bone or cartilage of the tarsus, which articulates with the fibula, ||and corresponds to the calcaneum in man and most mammals.

Fice (?), n. A small dog; -- written also fise, fyce, fiste, etc. [Southern U.S.]

Fi*chÈ (?), a. (Her.) See Fitch….

Fich"tel*ite (?), n. (Min.) A white crystallized mineral resin from the Fichtelgebirge, Bavaria.

Fich"u (?), n. [F., neckerchief.] A light cape, usually of lace, worn by women, to cover the neck and throat, and extending to the shoulders.

Fic"kle (?), a. [OE. fikel untrustworthy, deceitful, AS. ficol, fr. fic, gefic, fraud, deceit; cf. fcen deceit, OS. f&?;kn, OHG. feichan, Icel. feikn portent. Cf. Fidget.] Not fixed or firm; liable to change; unstable; of a changeable mind; not firm in opinion or purpose; inconstant; capricious; as, Fortune's fickle wheel. Shak.

They know how fickle common lovers are.

Dryden.

Syn. -- Wavering; irresolute; unsettled; vacillating; unstable; inconsonant; unsteady; variable; mutable; changeful; capricious; veering; shifting.

Fic"kle*ness (?), n. The quality of being fickle; instability; inconsonancy. Shak.

Fic"kly (?), adv. In a fickle manner. [Obs.] Pepys.

||Fi"co (?), n.; pl. Ficoes (#). [It., a fig, fr. L. ficus. See Fig.] A ||fig; an insignificant trifle, no more than the snap of one's thumb; a ||sign of contempt made by the fingers, expressing. A fig for you.

Steal! foh, a fico for the phrase.

Shak.

Fic"tile (?), a. [L. fictilis. See Fiction.] Molded, or capable of being molded, into form by art; relating to pottery or to molding in any soft material.

Fictile earth is more fragile than crude earth.

Bacon.

The earliest specimens of Italian fictile art.

C. Wordsworth.

Fictile ware, ware made of any material which is molded or shaped while soft; hence, pottery of any sort.

-- Fic"tile*ness, n. -- Fic*til"i*ty (#), n.

Fic"tion (?), n. [F. fiction, L. fictio, fr. fingere, fictum to form, shape, invent, feign. See Feign.] 1. The act of feigning, inventing, or imagining; as, by a mere fiction of the mind. Bp. Stillingfleet.

2. That which is feigned, invented, or imagined; especially, a feigned or invented story, whether oral or written. Hence: A story told in order to deceive; a fabrication; -- opposed to fact, or reality.

The fiction of those golden apples kept by a dragon.

Sir W. Raleigh.

When it could no longer be denied that her flight had been voluntary, numerous fictions were invented to account for it.

Macaulay.

3. Fictitious literature; comprehensively, all works of imagination; specifically, novels and romances.

The office of fiction as a vehicle of instruction and moral elevation has been recognized by most if not all great educators.

Dict. of Education.

4. (Law) An assumption of a possible thing as a fact, irrespective of the question of its truth. Wharton.

5. Any like assumption made for convenience, as for passing more rapidly over what is not disputed, and arriving at points really at issue.

Syn. -- Fabrication; invention; fable; falsehood. -- Fiction, Fabrication. Fiction is opposed to what is real; fabrication to what is true. Fiction is designed commonly to amuse, and sometimes to instruct; a fabrication is always intended to mislead and deceive. In the novels of Sir Walter Scott we have fiction of the highest order. The poems of Ossian, so called, were chiefly fabrications by Macpherson.

Fic"tion*al (?), a. Pertaining to, or characterized by, fiction; fictitious; romantic."Fictional rather than historical." Latham.

Fic"tion*ist, n. A writer of fiction. [R.] Lamb.

Fic"tious (?), a. Fictitious. [R.] Prior.

Fic*ti"tious (?), a. [L. fictitius. See Fiction.] Feigned; imaginary; not real; fabulous; counterfeit; false; not genuine; as, fictitious fame.

The human persons are as fictitious as the airy ones.

Pope.

-- Fic*ti"tious*ly, adv. -- Fic*ti"tious*ness, n.

Fic"tive (?), a. [Cf. F. fictif.] Feigned; counterfeit. "The fount of fictive tears." Tennyson.

Fic"tor (?), n. [L.] An artist who models or forms statues and reliefs in any plastic material. [R.] Elmes.

||Fi"cus (?), n. [L., a fig.] A genus of trees or shrubs, one species ||of which (F. Carica) produces the figs of commerce; the fig tree.

Ficus Indica is the banyan tree; F. religiosa, the peepul tree; F. elastica, the India-rubber tree.

Fid (?), n. [Prov. E. fid a small, thick lump.] 1. (Naut.) A square bar of wood or iron, used to support the topmast, being passed through a hole or mortise at its heel, and resting on the trestle trees.

2. A wooden or metal bar or pin, used to support or steady anything.

3. A pin of hard wood, tapering to a point, used to open the strands of a rope in splicing.

There are hand fids and standing fids (which are larger than the others, and stand upon a flat base). An iron implement for this purpose is called a marline spike.

4. (Mil.) A block of wood used in mounting and dismounting heavy guns.

Fi*dal"go (?), n. [Pg. See Hidalgo.] The lowest title of nobility in Portugal, corresponding to that of Hidalgo in Spain.

Fid"dle (fd"d'l), n. [OE. fidele, fithele, AS. fiele; akin to D. vedel, OHG. fidula, G. fiedel, Icel. fila, and perh. to E. viol. Cf. Viol.] 1. (Mus.) A stringed instrument of music played with a bow; a violin; a kit.

2. (Bot.) A kind of dock (Rumex pulcher) with fiddle-shaped leaves; -- called also fiddle dock.

3. (Naut.) A rack or frame of bars connected by strings, to keep table furniture in place on the cabin table in bad weather. Ham. Nav. Encyc.

Fiddle beetle (Zoˆl.), a Japanese carabid beetle (Damaster blaptoides); -- so called from the form of the body. -- Fiddle block (Naut.), a long tackle block having two sheaves of different diameters in the same plane, instead of side by side as in a common double block. Knight. -- Fiddle bow, fiddlestick. -- Fiddle fish (Zoˆl.), the angel fish. -- Fiddle head, an ornament on a ship's bow, curved like the volute or scroll at the head of a violin. -- Fiddle pattern, a form of the handles of spoons, forks, etc., somewhat like a violin. -- Scotch fiddle, the itch. (Low) -- To play first, or second, fiddle, to take a leading or a subordinate part. [Colloq.]

Fid"dle, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Fiddled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Fiddling (?).] 1. To play on a fiddle.

Themistocles . . . said he could not fiddle, but he could make a small town a great city.

Bacon.

2. To keep the hands and fingers actively moving as a fiddler does; to move the hands and fingers restlessy or in busy idleness; to trifle.

Talking, and fiddling with their hats and feathers.

Pepys.

Fid"dle (?), v. t. To play (a tune) on a fiddle.

Fid"dle*dee*dee` (?), interj. An exclamatory word or phrase, equivalent to nonsense! [Colloq.]

Fid"dle-fad`dle (?), n. A trifle; trifling talk; nonsense. [Colloq.] Spectator.

Fid"dle-fad`dle, v. i. To talk nonsense. [Colloq.] Ford.

Fid"dler (?), n. [AS. fielere.] 1. One who plays on a fiddle or violin.

2. (Zoˆl.) A burrowing crab of the genus Gelasimus, of many species. The male has one claw very much enlarged, and often holds it in a position similar to that in which a musician holds a fiddle, hence the name; -- called also calling crab, soldier crab, and fighting crab.

3. (Zoˆl.) The common European sandpiper (Tringoides hypoleucus); -- so called because it continually oscillates its body.

Fiddler crab. (Zoˆl.) See Fiddler, n., 2.

Fid"dle-shaped` (?), a. (Bot.) Inversely ovate, with a deep hollow on each side. Gray.

Fid"dle*stick` (?), n. The bow, strung with horsehair, used in playing the fiddle; a fiddle bow.

Fid"dle*string` (?), n. One of the catgut strings of a fiddle.

Fid"dle*wood` (?), n. [Corrupted fr. F. bois-fidËle, lit., faithful wood; -- so called from its durability.] The wood of several West Indian trees, mostly of the genus Citharexylum.

Fi`de*jus"sion (?), n. [L. fidejussio, from fidejubere to be surety or bail; fides faith + jubere to order: cf. F. fidÈjussion.] (Civil Law) The act or state of being bound as surety for another; suretyship.

Fi`de*jus"sor (?), n. [L.: cf. F. fidÈjusseur.] (Civil Law) A surety; one bound for another, conjointly with him; a guarantor. Blackstone.

Fi*del"i*ty (?), n. [L. fidelitas: cf. F. fidÈlitÈ. See Fealty.] Faithfulness; adherence to right; careful and exact observance of duty, or discharge of obligations. Especially: (a) Adherence to a person or party to which one is bound; loyalty.

Whose courageous fidelity was proof to all danger.

Macaulay.

The best security for the fidelity of men is to make interest coincide with duty.

A. Hamilton.

(b) Adherence to the marriage contract. (c) Adherence to truth; veracity; honesty.

The principal thing required in a witness is fidelity.

Hooker.

Syn. -- Faithfulness; honesty; integrity; faith; loyalty; fealty.

||Fi"des (?), n. [L., faith.] (Roman Muth.) Faith personified as a ||goddess; the goddess of faith.

Fidge (fj), n. & v. i. See Fidget. [R.] Swift.

Fidg"et (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Fidgeted; p. pr. & vb. n. Fodgeting.] [From Fidge; cf. OE. fiken to fidget, to flatter, Icel. fika to hasten, Sw. fika to hunt after, AS. befician to deceive. Cf. Fickle.] To move uneasily one way and the other; to move irregularly, or by fits and starts. Moore.

Fidg"et, n. 1. Uneasiness; restlessness. Cowper.

2. pl. A general nervous restlessness, manifested by incessant changes of position; dysphoria. Dunglison.

Fidg"et*i*ness (?), n. Quality of being fidgety.

Fidg"et*y (?), a. Restless; uneasy. Lowell.

||Fid"i*a (?), n. [NL., prob. fr. L. fidus trusty.] (Zoˆl.) A genus of ||small beetles, of which one species (the grapevine Fidia, F. ||longipes) is very injurious to vines in America.

Fi*dic"i*nal (?), a. [L. fidicinus, fr. fidicen, -inis, a lute player.] (Mus.) Of or pertaining to a stringed instrument.

Fi*du"cial (?), a. [L. fiducia trust, confidence; akin to fides faith. See Faith.] 1. Having faith or trust; confident; undoubting; firm. "Fiducial reliance on the promises of God." Hammond.

2. Having the nature of a trust; fiduciary; as, fiducial power. Spelman.

Fiducial edge (Astron. & Surv.), the straight edge of the alidade or ruler along which a straight line is to be drawn. -- Fiducial line or point (Math. & Physics.), a line or point of reference, as for setting a graduated circle or scale used for measurments.

Fi*du"cial*ly, adv. With confidence. South.

Fi*du"ci*a*ry (? or ?), a. [L. fiduciarus, fr. fiducia: cf. F. fiduciaire. See Fiducial.] 1. Involving confidence or trust; confident; undoubting; faithful; firm; as, in a fiduciary capacity. "Fiduciary obedience." Howell.

2. Holding, held, or founded, in trust. Spelman.

Fi*du"ci*a*ry, n. 1. One who holds a thing in trust for another; a trustee.

Instrumental to the conveying God's blessing upon those whose fiduciaries they are.

Jer. Taylor.

2. (Theol.) One who depends for salvation on faith, without works; an Antinomian. Hammond.

Fie (?), interj. [OE. fi; cf. D. fif. G. pfui, Icel. f&?;, Sw. & Dan. fy, F. fi, L. fi, phy.] An exclamation denoting contempt or dislike. See Fy. Fuller.

Fief (?), n. [F. fief; of German origin, and the same word as E. fee. See Fee, and cf. Feud, a tief.] (Law) An estate held of a superior on condition of military service; a fee; a feud. See under Benefice, n., 2.

<! p. 557 !>

Field (fld), n. [OE. feld, fild, AS. feld; akin to D. veld, G. feld, Sw. f‰lt, Dan. felt, Icel. fold field of grass, AS. folde earth, land, ground, OS. folda.] 1. Cleared land; land suitable for tillage or pasture; cultivated ground; the open country.

2. A piece of land of considerable size; esp., a piece inclosed for tillage or pasture.

Fields which promise corn and wine.

Byron.

3. A place where a battle is fought; also, the battle itself.

In this glorious and well-foughten field.

Shak.

What though the field be lost?

Milton.

4. An open space; an extent; an expanse. Esp.: (a) Any blank space or ground on which figures are drawn or projected. (b) The space covered by an optical instrument at one view.

Without covering, save yon field of stars.

Shak.

Ask of yonder argent fields above.

Pope.

5. (Her.) The whole surface of an escutcheon; also, so much of it is shown unconcealed by the different bearings upon it. See Illust. of Fess, where the field is represented as gules (red), while the fess is argent (silver).

6. An unresticted or favorable opportunity for action, operation, or achievement; province; room.

Afforded a clear field for moral experiments.

Macaulay.

7. A collective term for all the competitors in any outdoor contest or trial, or for all except the favorites in the betting.

8. (Baseball) That part of the grounds reserved for the players which is outside of the diamond; -- called also outfield.

Field is often used adjectively in the sense of belonging to, or used in, the fields; especially with reference to the operations and equipments of an army during a campaign away from permanent camps and fortifications. In most cases such use of the word is sufficiently clear; as, field battery; field fortification; field gun; field hospital, etc. A field geologist, naturalist, etc., is one who makes investigations or collections out of doors. A survey uses a field book for recording field notes, i.e., measurment, observations, etc., made in field work (outdoor operations). A farmer or planter employs field hands, and may use a field roller or a field derrick. Field sports are hunting, fishing, athletic games, etc.

Coal field (Geol.) See under Coal. -- Field artillery, light ordnance mounted on wheels, for the use of a marching army. -- Field basil (Bot.), a plant of the Mint family (Calamintha Acinos); -- called also basil thyme. -- Field colors (Mil.), small flags for marking out the positions for squadrons and battalions; camp colors. -- Field cricket (Zoˆl.), a large European cricket (Gryllus campestric), remarkable for its loud notes. -- Field day. (a) A day in the fields. (b) (Mil.) A day when troops are taken into the field for instruction in evolutions. Farrow. (c) A day of unusual exertion or display; a gala day. -- Field driver, in New England, an officer charged with the driving of stray cattle to the pound. - - Field duck (Zoˆl.), the little bustard (Otis tetrax), found in Southern Europe. -- Field glass. (Optics) (a) A binocular telescope of compact form; a lorgnette; a race glass. (b) A small achromatic telescope, from 20 to 24 inches long, and having 3 to 6 draws. (c) See Field lens. -- Field lark. (Zoˆl.) (a) The skylark. (b) The tree pipit. -- Field lens (Optics), that one of the two lenses forming the eyepiece of an astronomical telescope or compound microscope which is nearer the object glass; -- called also field glass. -- Field madder (Bot.), a plant (Sherardia arvensis) used in dyeing. -- Field marshal (Mil.), the highest military rank conferred in the British and other European armies. -- Field mouse (Zoˆl.), a mouse inhabiting fields, as the campagnol and the deer mouse. See Campagnol, and Deer mouse. -- Field officer (Mil.), an officer above the rank of captain and below that of general. -- Field officer's court (U.S.Army), a court-martial consisting of one field officer empowered to try all cases, in time of war, subject to jurisdiction of garrison and regimental courts. Farrow. -- Field plover (Zoˆl.), the black-bellied plover (Charadrius squatarola); also sometimes applied to the Bartramian sandpiper (Bartramia longicauda). -- Field spaniel (Zoˆl.), a small spaniel used in hunting small game. -- Field sparrow. (Zoˆl.) (a) A small American sparrow (Spizella pusilla). (b) The hedge sparrow. [Eng.] -- Field staff> (Mil.), a staff formerly used by gunners to hold a lighted match for discharging a gun. -- Field vole (Zoˆl.), the European meadow mouse. -- Field of ice, a large body of floating ice; a pack. -- Field, or Field of view, in a telescope or microscope, the entire space within which objects are seen. -- Field magnet. see under Magnet. -- Magnetic field. See Magnetic. -- To back the field, or To bet on the field. See under Back, v. t. -- To keep the field. (a) (Mil.) To continue a campaign. (b) To maintain one's ground against all comers. -- To lay, or back, against the field, to bet on (a horse, etc.) against all comers. -- To take the field (Mil.), to enter upon a campaign.

Field (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Fielded; p. pr. & vb. n. Fielding.] 1. To take the field. [Obs.] Spenser.

2. (Ball Playing) To stand out in the field, ready to catch, stop, or throw the ball.

Field, v. t. (Ball Playing) To catch, stop, throw, etc. (the ball), as a fielder.

Field"ed, a. Engaged in the field; encamped. [Obs.]

To help fielded friends.

Shak.

Field"en (?), a. Consisting of fields. [Obs.]

The fielden country also and plains.

Holland.

Field"er (?), n. (Ball Playing) A ball payer who stands out in the field to catch or stop balls.

Field"fare` (?; 277), n. [OE. feldfare, AS. feldfare; field + faran to travel.] (Zoˆl.) a small thrush (Turdus pilaris) which breeds in northern Europe and winters in Great Britain. The head, nape, and lower part of the back are ash-colored; the upper part of the back and wing coverts, chestnut; -- called also fellfare.

Field"ing, n. (Ball Playing) The act of playing as a fielder.

Field"piece` (?), n. A cannon mounted on wheels, for the use of a marching army; a piece of field artillery; -- called also field gun.

Field"work` (?), n. (Mil.) Any temporary fortification thrown up by an army in the field; - - commonly in the plural.

All works which do not come under the head of permanent fortification are called fieldworks.

Wilhelm.

Field"y (?), a. Open, like a field. [Obs.] Wyclif.

Fiend (?), n. [OE. fend, find, fiend, feond, fiend, foe, AS. feÛnd; akin to OS. fond, D. vijand enemy, OHG. fant, G. feind, Icel. fjnd, Sw. & Dan. fiende, Goth. fijands; orig. p. pr. of a verb meaning to hate, AS. feÛn, feÛgan, OHG. f&?;n, Goth. fijan, Skr. py to scorn; prob. akin to E. feud a quarrel. &radic;81. Cf. Foe, Friend.] An implacable or malicious foe; one who is diabolically wicked or cruel; an infernal being; -- applied specifically to the devil or a demon.

Into this wild abyss the wary fiend Stood on the brink of Hell and looked a while.

Milton.

O woman! woman! when to ill thy mind Is bent, all hell contains no fouler fiend.

Pope.

Fiend"ful (?), a. Full of fiendish spirit or arts. Marlowe.

-- Fiend"ful*ly, adv.

Fiend"ish (?), a. Like a fiend; diabolically wicked or cruel; infernal; malignant; devilish; hellish. -- Fiend"ish*ly, adv. -- Fiend"ish*ness, n.

Fiend"like` (?), a. Fiendish; diabolical. Longfellow.

Fiend"ly, a. [AS. feÛndlic.] Fiendlike; monstrous; devilish. [Obs.] Chaucer.

||Fi`e*ras"fer (?), n. [NL.] (Zoˆl.) A genus of small, slender fishes, ||remarkable for their habit of living as commensals in other animals. ||One species inhabits the gill cavity of the pearl oyster near Panama; ||another lives within an East Indian holothurian.

Fierce (?), a. [Compar. Fiercer (?); superl. Fiercest (?).] [OE. fers, fiers, OF. fier, nom. fiers, fierce, savage, cruel, F. fier proud, from L. ferus wild, savage, cruel; perh. akin to E. bear the animal. Cf. Feral, Ferocity.] 1. Furious; violent; unrestrained; impetuous; as, a fierce wind.

His fierce thunder drove us to the deep.

Milton.

2. Vehement in anger or cruelty; ready or eager to kill or injure; of a nature to inspire terror; ferocious. "A fierce whisper." Dickens. "A fierce tyrant." Pope.

The fierce foe hung upon our broken rear.

Milton.

Thou huntest me as a fierce lion.

Job. x. 16.

3. Excessively earnest, eager, or ardent.

Syn. -- Ferocious; savage; cruel; vehement; impetuous; barbarous; fell. See Ferocious.

-- Fierce"ly, adv. -- Fierce"ness, n.

||Fi"e*ri fa"ci*as (?). [L., cause it to be done.] (Law) A judicial ||writ that lies for one who has recovered in debt or damages, ||commanding the sheriff that he cause to be made of the goods, ||chattels, or real estate of the defendant, the sum claimed. ||Blackstone. Cowell.

Fi"er*i*ness (?), n. The quality of being fiery; heat; acrimony; irritability; as, a fieriness of temper. Addison.