Chapter 17

It is upon a file with the duke's other letters.

Shak.

(d) A roll or list. "A file of all the gentry." Shak.

2. Course of thought; thread of narration. [Obs.]

Let me resume the file of my narration.

Sir H. Wotton.

File firing, the act of firing by file, or each file independently of others. -- File leader, the soldier at the front of any file, who covers and leads those in rear of him. -- File marching, the marching of a line two deep, when faced to the right or left, so that the front and rear rank march side by side. Brande & C. --Indian file, or Single file, a line of men marching one behind another; a single row. -- On file, preserved in an orderly collection. -- Rank and file. (a) The body of soldiers constituing the mass of an army, including corporals and privates. Wilhelm. (b) Those who constitute the bulk or working members of a party, society, etc., in distinction from the leaders.

File (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Filed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Filing.] 1. To set in order; to arrange, or lay away, esp. as papers in a methodical manner for preservation and reverence; to place on file; to insert in its proper place in an arranged body of papers.

I would have my several courses and my dishes well filed.

Beau. & Fl.

2. To bring before a court or legislative body by presenting proper papers in a regular way; as, to file a petition or bill. Burrill.

3. (Law) To put upon the files or among the records of a court; to note on (a paper) the fact date of its reception in court.

To file a paper, on the part of a party, is to place it in the official custody of the clerk. To file, on the part of the clerk, is to indorse upon the paper the date of its reception, and retain it in his office, subject to inspection by whomsoever it may concern.

Burrill.

File, v. i. [Cf. F. filer.] (Mil.) To march in a file or line, as soldiers, not abreast, but one after another; -- generally with off.

To file with, to follow closely, as one soldier after another in file; to keep pace.

My endeavors Have ever come too short of my desires, Yet filed with my abilities.

Shak.

File (fl), n. [AS. feÛl; akin to D. viji, OHG. fla, fhala, G. feile, Sw. fil, Dan. fiil, cf. Icel. ˛l, Russ. pila, and Skr. piÁ to cut out, adorn; perh. akin to E. paint.] 1. A steel instrument, having cutting ridges or teeth, made by indentation with a chisel, used for abrading or smoothing other substances, as metals, wood, etc.

A file differs from a rasp in having the furrows made by straight cuts of a chisel, either single or crossed, while the rasp has coarse, single teeth, raised by the pyramidal end of a triangular punch.

2. Anything employed to smooth, polish, or rasp, literally or figuratively.

Mock the nice touches of the critic's file.

Akenside.

3. A shrewd or artful person. [Slang] Fielding.

Will is an old file in spite of his smooth face.

Thackeray.

Bastard file, Cross file, etc. See under Bastard, Cross, etc. -- Cross-cut file, a file having two sets of teeth crossing obliquely. -- File blank, a steel blank shaped and ground ready for cutting to form a file. -- File cutter, a maker of files. -- Second-cut file, a file having teeth of a grade next finer than bastard. -- Single-cut file, a file having only one set of parallel teeth; a float. -- Smooth file, a file having teeth so fine as to make an almost smooth surface.

File, v. t. 1. To rub, smooth, or cut away, with a file; to sharpen with a file; as, to file a saw or a tooth.

2. To smooth or polish as with a file. Shak.

File your tongue to a little more courtesy.

Sir W. Scott.

File, v. t. [OE. fulen, filen, foulen, AS. f&?;lan, fr. f&?;l foul. See Foul, and cf. Defile, v. t.] To make foul; to defile. [Obs.]

All his hairy breast with blood was filed.

Spenser.

For Banquo's issue have I filed my mind.

Shak.

File"fish` (?), n. (Zoˆl.) Any plectognath fish of the genera Monacanthus, Alutera, balistes, and allied genera; -- so called on account of the roughly granulated skin, which is sometimes used in place of sandpaper.

Fil"e*mot (?), n. See Feullemort. Swift.

Fil"er (?), n. One who works with a file.

Fil"ial (?), a. [L. filialis, fr. filius son, filia daughter; akin to e. female, feminine. Cf. Fitz.] 1. Of or pertaining to a son or daughter; becoming to a child in relation to his parents; as, filial obedience.

2. Bearing the relation of a child.

And thus the filial Godhead answering spoke.

Milton.

Fil"ial*ly (?), adv. In a filial manner.

Fil"i*ate (?), v. t. To adopt as son or daughter; to establish filiation between. [R.] Southey.

Fil`i*a"tion (?), n. [LL. filiatio, fr. L. filius son: cf. F. filiation. See Filial.] 1. The relationship of a son or child to a parent, esp. to a father.

The relation of paternity and filiation.

Sir M. Hale.

2. (Law) The assignment of a bastard child to some one as its father; affiliation. Smart.

Fil"i*beg (?), n. [Gael. feileadhbeag, i. e., little kilt; feileadh kilt + beag little, small; cf. filleadh a plait, fold.] Same as Kilt. [Written also philibeg.]

Fil"i*bus`ter (?), n. [Sp. flibuster, flibustero, corrupted fr. E. freebooter. See Freebooter.] A lawless military adventurer, especially one in quest of plunder; a freebooter; -- originally applied to buccaneers infesting the Spanish American coasts, but introduced into common English to designate the followers of Lopez in his expedition to Cuba in 1851, and those of Walker in his expedition to Nicaragua, in 1855.

Fil"i*bus*ter, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Fillibustered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Filibustering.] 1. To act as a filibuster, or military freebooter. Bartlett.

2. To delay legislation, by dilatory motions or other artifices. [political cant or slang, U.S.] Bartlett.

Fil"i*bus`ter*ism (?), n. The characteristics or practices of a filibuster. Bartlett.

Fil"i*cal (?), a. Belonging to the Filices, r ferns.

Fi*lic"ic (?), a. [L. filix, -icis, a fern.] (Chem.) Pertaining to, or derived from, ferns; as, filicic acid.

Fil"i*cide (?), n. [L. filius son, filia daughter + caedere to kill.] The act of murdering a son or a daughter; also, parent who commits such a murder.

Fi*lic"i*form (?), a. [L. filix, -icis, fern + -form: cf. F. filiciforme] Shaped like a fern or like the parts of a fern leaf. Smart.

Fil"i*coid (?), a. [L. filix, -icis, fern + -oid: cf. F. filicoiÔde.] (Bot.) Fernlike, either in form or in the nature of the method of reproduction.

Fil"i*coid, n. (Bot.) A fernlike plant. Lindley.

Fi*li"e*ty (?), n. [L. filietas.] The relation of a son to a father; sonship; -- the correlative of paternity. J. S. Mill.

Fi*lif"er*ous (?), a. [L. filum a thread + -ferous.] Producing threads. Carpenter.

Fil"i*form (?), a. [L. filum thread + -form: cf. F. filiforme.] Having the shape of a thread or filament; as, the filiform papillÊ of the tongue; a filiform style or peduncle. See Illust. of Antenn∆.

{ Fil"i*grain, Fil"i*grane } (?), n. [Sp. filigrana (cf. It. filigrana, E. filigrane), fr. L. filuma thread + granum grain. See File a row, and Grain, and cf. Filigree.] Filigree. [Archaic]

With her head . . . touches the crown of filigrane.

Longfellow.

Fil"i*graned (?), a. See Filigreed. [Archaic]

Fil"i*gree (?), n. [Corrupted fr. filigrane.] Ornamental work, formerly with grains or breads, but now composed of fine wire and used chiefly in decorating gold and silver to which the wire is soldered, being arranged in designs frequently of a delicate and intricate arabesque pattern.

Fil"i*gree, a. Relating to, composed of, or resembling, work in filigree; as, a filigree basket. Hence: Fanciful; unsubstantial; merely decorative.

You ask for reality, not fiction and filigree work.

J. C. Shairp.

Fil"i*greed (?), a. Adorned with filigree. Tatler.

Fil"ing (?), n. A fragment or particle rubbed off by the act of filing; as, iron filings.

Fil`i*pen"du*lous (?; 135), a. [L. filum a thread + pendulus hanging, fr. pend&?;re to hang.] (Bot.) Suspended by, or strung upon, a thread; -- said of tuberous swellings in the middle or at the extremities of slender, threadlike rootlets.

Fill (?), n. [See Thill.] One of the thills or shafts of a carriage. Mortimer.

Fill horse, a thill horse. Shak.

Fill, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Filled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Filling.] [OE. fillen, fullen, AS. fyllan, fr. full full; akin to D. vullen, G. f¸llen, Icel. fylla, Sw. fylla, Dan. fylde, Goth. fulljan. See Full, a.] 1. To make full; to supply with as much as can be held or contained; to put or pour into, till no more can be received; to occupy the whole capacity of.

The rain also filleth the pools.

Ps. lxxxiv. 6.

Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. Anf they filled them up to the brim.

John ii. 7.

2. To furnish an abudant supply to; to furnish with as mush as is desired or desirable; to occupy the whole of; to swarm in or overrun.

And God blessed them, saying. Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas.

Gen. i. 22.

The Syrians filled the country.

1 Kings xx. 27.

3. To fill or supply fully with food; to feed; to satisfy.

Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fillso great a multitude?

Matt. xv. 33.

Things that are sweet and fat are more filling.

Bacon.

4. To possess and perform the duties of; to officiate in, as an incumbent; to occupy; to hold; as, a king fills a throne; the president fills the office of chief magistrate; the speaker of the House fills the chair.

5. To supply with an incumbent; as, to fill an office or a vacancy. A. Hamilton.

6. (Naut.) (a) To press and dilate, as a sail; as, the wind filled the sails. (b) To trim (a yard) so that the wind shall blow on the after side of the sails.

7. (Civil Engineering) To make an embankment in, or raise the level of (a low place), with earth or gravel.

To fill in, to insert; as, he filled in the figures. -- To fill out, to extend or enlarge to the desired limit; to make complete; as, to fill out a bill. -- To fill up, to make quite full; to fill to the brim or entirely; to occupy completely; to complete. "The bliss that fills up all the mind." Pope. "And fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ." Col. i. 24.

Fill (?), v. i. 1. To become full; to have the whole capacity occupied; to have an abundant supply; to be satiated; as, corn fills well in a warm season; the sail fills with the wind.

2. To fill a cup or glass for drinking.

Give me some wine; fill full.

Shak.

To back and fill. See under Back, v. i. -- To fill up, to grow or become quite full; as, the channel of the river fills up with sand.

Fill, n. [AS. fyllo. See Fill, v. t.] A full supply, as much as supplies want; as much as gives complete satisfaction. "Ye shall eat your fill." Lev. xxv. 19.

I'll bear thee hence, where I may weep my fill.

Shak.

Fill"er (?), n. One who, or that which, fills; something used for filling.

'T is mere filler, to stop a vacancy in the hexameter.

Dryden.

They have six diggers to four fillers, so as to keep the fillers always at work.

Mortimer.

Fill"er, n. [From 1st Fill.] A thill horse. [Prov. Eng.]

Fil"let (?), n. [OE. filet, felet, fr. OF. filet thread, fillet of meat, dim. of fil a thread, fr. L. filum. See Fille a row.] 1. A little band, especially one intended to encircle the hair of the head.

A belt her waist, a fillet binds her hair.

Pope.

2. (Cooking) A piece of lean meat without bone; sometimes, a long strip rolled together and tied.

A fillet of beef is the under side of the sirlom; also called tenderloin. A fillet of veal or mutton is the fleshy part of the thigh. A fillet of fish is a slice of flat fish without bone. "Fillet of a fenny snake." Shak.

3. A thin strip or ribbon; esp.: (a) A strip of metal from which coins are punched. (b) A strip of card clothing. (c) A thin projecting band or strip.

4. (Mach.) A concave filling in of a reÎntrant angle where two surfaces meet, forming a rounded corner.

5. (Arch.) A narrow flat member; especially, a flat molding separating other moldings; a reglet; also, the space between two flutings in a shaft. See Illust. of Base, and Column.

6. (Her.) An ordinary equaling in breadth one fourth of the chief, to the lowest portion of which it corresponds in position.

7. (Mech.) The thread of a screw.

8. A border of broad or narrow lines of color or gilt.

9. The raised molding about the muzzle of a gun.

10. Any scantling smaller than a batten.

11. (Anat.) A fascia; a band of fibers; applied esp. to certain bands of white matter in the brain.

12. (Man.) The loins of a horse, beginning at the place where the hinder part of the saddle rests.

Arris fillet. See under Arris.

Fil"let, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Filleted; p. pr. & vb. n. Filleting.] To bind, furnish, or adorn with a fillet.

Fil"let*ing, n. 1. (Arch.) The protecting of a joint, as between roof and parapet wall, with mortar, or cement, where flashing is employed in better work.

2. The material of which fillets are made; also, fillets, collectively.

Fil"li*beg (?), n. A kilt. See Filibeg.

Fil"li*bus`ter (?), n. See Filibuster.

Fill"ing (?), n. 1. That which is used to fill a cavity or any empty space, or to supply a deficiency; as, filling for a cavity in a tooth, a depression in a roadbed, the space between exterior and interior walls of masonry, the pores of open-grained wood, the space between the outer and inner planks of a vessel, etc.

2. The woof in woven fabrics.

3. (Brewing) Prepared wort added to ale to cleanse it.

Back filling. (Arch.) See under Back, a.

Fil"lip (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Filliped (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Filliping.] [For filp, flip. Cf. Flippant.] 1. To strike with the nail of the finger, first placed against the ball of the thumb, and forced from that position with a sudden spring; to snap with the finger. "You filip me o' the head." Shak.

2. To snap; to project quickly.

The use of the elastic switch to fillip small missiles with.

Tylor.

Fil"lip, n. 1. A jerk of the finger forced suddenly from the thumb; a smart blow.

2. Something serving to rouse or excite.

I take a glass of grog for a filip.

Dickens.

Fil"li*peen` (?), n. See Philopena.

Fil"lis*ter (?), n. 1. The rabbet on the outer edge of a sash bar to hold the glass and the putty. Knight.

2. A plane for making a rabbet.

Fillister screw had, a short cylindrical screw head, having a convex top.

Fil"ly (?), n.; pl. Fillies (#). [Cf. Icel. fylia, fr. foli foal. See Foal.] 1. (Zoˆl.) A female foal or colt; a young mare. Cf. Colt, Foal.

Neighing in likeness of a filly foal.

Shak.

2. A lively, spirited young girl. [Colloq.] Addison.

Film (?), n. [AS. film skin, fr. fell skin; akin to fylmen membrane, OFries. filmene skin. See Fell skin.] 1. A thin skin; a pellicle; a membranous covering, causing opacity; hence, any thin, slight covering.

He from thick films shall purge the visual ray.

Pope.

2. A slender thread, as that of a cobweb.

Her whip of cricket's bone, the lash of film.

Shak.

Film, v. t. To cover with a thin skin or pellicle.

It will but skin and film the ulcerous place.

Shak.

Film"i*ness (?), n. State of being filmy.

Film"y (?), a. Composed of film or films.

Whose filmy cord should bind the struggling fly.

Dryden.

Fil`o*plu*ma"ceous (?), a. (Zoˆl.) Having the structure of a filoplume.

Fil"o*plume (?), n. [L. filum a thread &?; pluma a soft feather.] (Zoˆl.) A hairlike feather; a father with a slender scape and without a web in most or all of its length.

<! p. 560 !>

Fi"lose` (?), a. [L. filum a thread.] Terminating in a threadlike process.

Fil"ter (?), n. [F. filtre, the same word as feutre felt, LL. filtrum, feltrum, felt, fulled wool, this being used for straining liquors. See Feuter.] Any porous substance, as cloth, paper, sand, or charcoal, through which water or other liquid may passed to cleanse it from the solid or impure matter held in suspension; a chamber or device containing such substance; a strainer; also, a similar device for purifying air.

Filter bed, a pond, the bottom of which is a filter composed of sand gravel. -- Filter gallery, an underground gallery or tunnel, alongside of a stream, to collect the water that filters through the intervening sand and gravel; -- called also infiltration gallery.

Fil"ter, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Filtered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Filtering] [Cf. F. filter. See Filter, n., and cf. Filtrate.] To purify or defecate, as water or other liquid, by causing it to pass through a filter.

Filtering paper, or Filter paper, a porous unsized paper, for filtering.

Fil"ter, v. i. To pass through a filter; to percolate.

Fil"ter, n. Same as Philter.

Filth (?), n. [OE. filthe, fule, AS. f&?;l, fr. fl foul; akin to OHG. flida. See Foul, and cf. File.] 1. Foul matter; anything that soils or defiles; dirt; nastiness.

2. Anything that sullies or defiles the moral character; corruption; pollution.

To purify the soul from the dross and filth of sensual delights.

Tillotson.

Filth disease (Med.), a disease supposed to be due to pollution of the soil or water.

Filth"i*ly (?), adv. In a filthy manner; foully.

Filth"i*ness, n. 1. The state of being filthy.

Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit.

2 Cor. vii. 1.

2. That which is filthy, or makes filthy; foulness; nastiness; corruption; pollution; impurity.

Carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place.

2 Chron. xxix. 5.

Filth"y (?), a. [Compar. Filthier (?); superl. Filthiest.] Defiled with filth, whether material or moral; nasty; dirty; polluted; foul; impure; obscene. "In the filthy-mantled pool." Shak.

He which is filthy let him be filthy still.

Rev. xxii. 11.

Syn. -- Nasty; foul; dirty; squalid; unclean; sluttish; gross; vulgar; licentious. See Nasty.

Fil"trate (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Filtrated (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Filtrating. (&?;)] [Cf. LL. filtrare. See Filter.] To filter; to defecate; as liquid, by straining or percolation. Arbuthnot.

Fil"trate (?), n. That which has been filtered; the liquid which has passed through the filter in the process of filtration.

Fil*tra"tion (?), n. [Cf. F. filtration.] The act or process of filtering; the mechanical separation of a liquid from the undissolved particles floating in it.

{ Fim"ble, n., or Fim"ble hemp` (fm"b'l hmp`). }[Corrupted from female hemp.] Light summer hemp, that bears no seed.

||Fim"bri*a (?), n.; pl. FimbriÊ (#). [L., fringe. See Fringle.] ||(Anat.) (a) pl. A fringe, or fringed border. (b) A band of white ||matter bordering the hippocampus in the brain. -- Fim"bri*al (#), a.

Fim*bri*ate (?), a. [L. fimbriatus fibrous, fringed, fr. fimbria fiber, fringe. See Fringe.] Having the edge or extremity bordered by filiform processes thicker than hairs; fringed; as, the fimbriate petals of the pink; the fimbriate end of the Fallopian tube.

Fim"bri*ate (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Fimbriated; p. pr. & vb. n. Fimbriating.] To hem; to fringe. Fuller.

Fim"bri*a`ted (?), a. 1. Having a fringed border; fimbriate.

2. (Her.) Having a very narrow border of another tincture; -- said esp. of an ordinary or subordinary.

Fim"bri*cate (?), a. 1. Fringed; jagged; fimbriate.

2. (Zoˆl.) fringed, on one side only, by long, straight hairs, as the antennÊ of certain insects.

Fin (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Finned (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Finning.] [Cf. Fin of a fish.] To carve or cut up, as a chub.

Fin, n. [See Fine, n.] End; conclusion; object. [Obs.] "She knew eke the fin of his intent." Chaucer.

Fin, n.[OE. finne, fin, AS. finn; akin to D. vin, G. & Dan. finne, Sw. fena, L. pinna, penna, a wing, feather. Cf. pen a feather.] 1. (Zoˆl.) An organ of a fish, consisting of a membrane supported by rays, or little bony or cartilaginous ossicles, and serving to balance and propel it in the water.

Fishes move through the water chiefly by means of the caudal fin or tail, the principal office of the other fins being to balance or direct the body, though they are also, to a certain extent, employed in producing motion.

2. (Zoˆl.) A membranous, finlike, swimming organ, as in pteropod and heteropod mollusks.

3. A finlike organ or attachment; a part of an object or product which protrudes like a fin, as: (a) The hand. [Slang] (b) (Com.) A blade of whalebone. [Eng.] McElrath.

(c) (Mech.) A mark or ridge left on a casting at the junction of the parts of a mold. (d) (Mech.) The thin sheet of metal squeezed out between the collars of the rolls in the process of rolling. Raymond.

(e) (Mech.) A feather; a spline.

4. A finlike appendage, as to submarine boats.

Apidose fin. (Zoˆl.) See under Adipose, a. -- Fin ray (Anat.), one of the hornlike, cartilaginous, or bony, dermal rods which form the skeleton of the fins of fishes. -- Fin whale (Zoˆl.), a finback. -- Paired fins (Zoˆl.), the pectoral and ventral fins, corresponding to the fore and hind legs of the higher animals. -- Unpaired, or Median, fins (Zoˆl.), the dorsal, caudal, and anal fins.

Fin"a*ble (?), a. [From Fine.] Liable or subject to a fine; as, a finable person or offense. Bacon.

Fi"nal (f"nal), a. [F., fr. L. finalis, fr. finis boundary, limit, end. See Finish.] 1. Pertaining to the end or conclusion; last; terminating; ultimate; as, the final day of a school term.

Yet despair not of his final pardon.

Milton.

2. Conclusive; decisive; as, a final judgment; the battle of Waterloo brought the contest to a final issue.

3. Respecting an end or object to be gained; respecting the purpose or ultimate end in view.

Final cause. See under Cause.

Syn. -- Final, Conclusive, Ultimate. Final is now appropriated to that which brings with it an end; as, a final adjustment; the final judgment, etc. Conclusive implies the closing of all discussion, negotiation, etc.; as, a conclusive argument or fact; a conclusive arrangement. In using ultimate, we have always reference to something earlier or proceeding; as when we say, a temporary reverse may lead to an ultimate triumph. The statements which a man finally makes at the close of a negotiation are usually conclusive as to his ultimate intentions and designs.

||Fi*na"le (f*n‰"l), n. [It. See Final.] Close; termination; as: (a) ||(Mus.) The last movement of a symphony, sonata, concerto, or any ||instrumental composition. (b) The last composition performed in any ||act of an opera. (c) The closing part, piece, or scene in any public ||performance or exhibition.

Fi*nal"i*ty (?), n.; pl. Finalities (#). [L. finalitas the being last.] 1. The state of being final, finished, or complete; a final or conclusive arrangement; a settlement. Baxter.

2. The relation of end or purpose to its means. Janet.

Fi"nal*ly (?), adv. 1. At the end or conclusion; ultimately; lastly; as, the contest was long, but the Romans finally conquered.

Whom patience finally must crown.

Milton.

2. Completely; beyond recovery.

Not any house of noble English in Ireland was utterly destroyed or finally rooted out.

Sir J. Davies.

Fi*nance" (?), n. [F., fr. LL. financia payment of money, money, fr. finare to pay a fine or subsidy (cf. OF. finer to finish, pay), fr. L. finis end. See Fine, n., Finish.] 1. The income of a ruler or of a state; revenue; public money; sometimes, the income of an individual; often used in the plural for funds; available money; resources.

All the finances or revenues of the imperial crown.

Bacon.

2. The science of raising and expending the public revenue. "Versed in the details of finance." Macaulay.

Fi*nan"cial (?), a. Pertaining to finance. "Our financial and commercial system." Macaulay.

Fi*nan"cial*ist, n. A financier.

Fi*nan"cial*ly, adv. In a financial manner. Burke.

Fin`an*cier" (?; 277), n. [Cf. F. financier.] 1. One charged with the administration of finance; an officer who administers the public revenue; a treasurer. Burke.

2. One skilled in financial operations; one acquainted with money matters.

Fin`an*cier", v. i. [imp. & p. p. Financiered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Financiering.] To conduct financial operations.

Fin"a*ry (?), n. (Iron Works) See Finery.