Chapter 21

Five (?), a. [OE. fif, five, AS. ff, ffe; akin to D. vijf, OS. ff, OHG. finf, funf, G. f¸nf, Icel. fimm, Sw. & Sw. Dan. fem, Goth. fimf, Lith. penki, W. pump, OIr. cÛic, L. quinque, Gr. &?;, ∆ol. &?;, Skr. pa&?;can. √303. Cf. Fifth, Cinque, Pentagon, Punch the drink, Quinary.] Four and one added; one more than four.

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

2. (Zoˆl.) A starfish with five rays, esp. Asterias rubens.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fix, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Fixed (fkst); 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 definite.

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 as will make it insensible to the action of light. Abney.

5. To put in order; 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; establish; settle; determine.

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, n. 1. A position of difficulty or embarassment; predicament; dilemma. [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.]

Fix"a*ble (-*b'l), a. Capable of being fixed.

Fix*a"tion (fks*"shn), 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.

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

Fixed (fkst), 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.

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

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.

Fix*id"i*ty (fks*d"*t), n. Fixedness. [Obs.] Boyle.

Fix"ing (fks"ng), 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.]

Fix"i*ty (-*t), n. [Cf. F. fixitÈ.] 1. Fixedness; as, fixity of tenure; also, that which is fixed.

2. Coherence of parts. Sir I. Newton.

Fix"ture (fks"tr; 135), n. [Cf. Fixure.] 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.

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

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

Fiz"gig` (fz"gg), n. A fishgig. [Obs.] Sandys.

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

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

Fizz (fz), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Fizzed (fzd); p. pr. & vb. n. Fizzing.] [Cf. Icel. fsa 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, n. A hissing sound; as, the fizz of a fly.

Fiz"zle (fz"z'l), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Fizzled (-z'ld); p. pr. & vb. n. Fizzling (-zlng).] [See Fizz.] 1. To make a hissing sound.

It is the easiest thing, 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 ridiculously; to prove a failure. [Colloq.]

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

||Fjord (fyÙrd), n. See Fiord.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

||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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

Flag (flg), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Flagged (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Flagging (?).] [Cf. Icel. flaka to droop, hang loosely. Cf. Flacker, Flag an ensign.] 1. To hang loose without stiffness; to bend down, as flexible bodies; to be loose, yielding, limp.

As loose it [the sail] flagged around the mast.

T. Moore.

2. To droop; to grow spiritless; to lose vigor; to languish; as, the spirits flag; the streugth flags.

The pleasures of the town begin to flag.

Swift.

Syn. -- To droop; decline; fail; languish; pine.

Flag (flg), v. t. 1. To let droop; to suffer to fall, or let fall, into feebleness; as, to flag the wings. prior.

2. To enervate; to exhaust the vigor or elasticity of.

Nothing so flags the spirits.

Echard.

Flag, n. [Cf. LG. & G. flagge, Sw. flagg, Dan. flag, D. vlag. See Flag to hang loose.] 1. That which flags or hangs down loosely.

2. A cloth usually bearing a device or devices and used to indicate nationality, party, etc., or to give or ask information; -- commonly attached to a staff to be waved by the wind; a standard; a banner; an ensign; the colors; as, the national flag; a military or a naval flag.

3. (Zoˆl.) (a) A group of feathers on the lower part of the legs of certain hawks, owls, etc. (b) A group of elongated wing feathers in certain hawks. (c) The bushy tail of a dog, as of a setter.

Black flag. See under Black. -- Flag captain, Flag leutenant, etc., special officers attached to the flagship, as aids to the flag officer. -- Flag officer, the commander of a fleet or squadron; an admiral, or commodore. -- Flag of truse, a white flag carried or displayed to an enemy, as an invitation to conference, or for the purpose of making some communication not hostile. -- Flag share, the flag officer's share of prize money. -- Flag station (Railroad), a station at which trains do not stop unless signaled to do so, by a flag hung out or waved. -- National flag, a flag of a particular country, on which some national emblem or device, is emblazoned. -- Red flag, a flag of a red color, displayed as a signal of danger or token of defiance; the emblem of anarchists. -- To dip, the flag, to mlower it and quickly restore it to its place; -- done as a mark of respect. -- To hang out the white flag, to ask truce or quarter, or, in some cases, to manifest a friendly design by exhibiting a white flag. -- To hang the flag half-mast high or half- staff, to raise it only half way to the mast or staff, as a token or sign of mourning. -- To strike, or lower, the flag, to haul it down, in token of respect, submission, or, in an engagement, of surrender. -- Yellow flag, the quarantine flag of all nations; also carried at a vessel's fore, to denote that an infectious disease is on board.

Flag, v. t. [From Flag an ensign.] 1. To signal to with a flag; as, to flag a train.

2. To convey, as a message, by means of flag signals; as, to flag an order to troops or vessels at a distance.

Flag, n. [From Flag to hang loose, to bend down.] (Bot.) An aquatic plant, with long, ensiform leaves, belonging to either of the genera Iris and Acorus.

Cooper's flag, the cat-tail (Typha latifolia), the long leaves of which are placed between the staves of barrels to make the latter water-tight. -- Corn flag. See under 2d Corn. -- Flag broom, a coarse of broom, originally made of flags or rushes. -- Flag root, the root of the sweet flag. -- Sweet flag. See Calamus, n., 2.

Flag, v. t. To furnish or deck out with flags.

Flag, n. [Icel. flaga, cf. Icel. flag spot where a turf has been cut out, and E. flake layer, scale. Cf. Floe.] 1. A flat stone used for paving. Woodward.

2. (Geol.) Any hard, evenly stratified sandstone, which splits into layers suitable for flagstones.

Flag, v. t. To lay with flags of flat stones.

The sides and floor are all flagged with . . . marble.

Sandys.

Flag"el*lant (?), n. [L. flagellans, p. p. of flagellare: cf.F. flagellant. See Flagellate.] (Eccl. Hist.) One of a fanatical sect which flourished in Europe in the 13th and 14th centuries, and maintained that flagellation was of equal virtue with baptism and the sacrament; -- called also disciplinant.

||Flag`el*la"ta (?), n. pl. [NL., fr.L. flagellatus, p. p. See ||Flagellate, v. t.] (Zoˆl.) An order of Infusoria, having one or two ||long, whiplike cilia, at the anterior end. It includes monads. See ||Infusoria, and Monad.

Flag"el*late (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Flagellated (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Flagellating (?).] [L. flagellatus, p. p. of flagellare to scoure, fr. flagellum whip, dim. of flagrum whip, scoure; cf. fligere to strike. Cf. Flall.] To whip; to scourge; to flog.

Fla*gel"late (?), a. 1. Flagelliform.

2. (Zoˆl.) Of or pertaining to the Flagellata.

Flag`el*la"tion (?), n. [L. flagellatio: cf. F. flagellation.] A beating or flogging; a whipping; a scourging. Garth.

Flag"el*la`tor (?), n. One who practices flagellation; one who whips or scourges.

Fla*gel"li*form (?), a. [L. flagellum a whip + -form.] Shaped like a whiplash; long, slender, round, flexible, and (comming) tapering.

||Fla*gel"lum (?), n.; pl. E. Flagellums (#), L. Flagella (#). [L., a ||whip. See Flagellate, v. t.] 1. (Bot.) A young, flexible shoot of a ||plant; esp., the long trailing branch of a vine, or a slender branch ||in certain mosses.

2. (Zoˆl.) (a) A long, whiplike cilium. See Flagellata. (b) An appendage of the reproductive apparatus of the snail. (c) A lashlike appendage of a crustacean, esp. the terminal ortion of the antennÊ and the epipodite of the maxilipeds. See Maxilliped.

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Flag"eo*let` (?), n. [F. flageolet, dim. of OF. flaj&?;l (as if fr. a LL. flautio;us), of fla¸te, flahute, F. fl&?;te. See Flute.] (Mus.) A small wooden pipe, having six or more holes, and a mouthpiece inserted at one end. It produces a shrill sound, softer than of the piccolo flute, and is said to have superseded the old recorder.

Flageolet tones (Mus.), the naturel harmonics or overtones of stringed instruments.

Flag"gi*ness (?), n. The condition of being flaggy; laxity; limberness. Johnson.

Flag"ging (?), n. A pavement or sidewalk of flagstones; flagstones, collectively.

Flag"ging, a. Growing languid, weak, or spiritless; weakening; delaying. -- Flag"ging*ly, adv.

Flag"gy (?), a. 1. Weak; flexible; limber. "Flaggy wings." Spenser.

2. Tasteless; insipid; as, a flaggy apple. [Obs.] Bacon.

Flag"gy, a. [From 5th Flag.] Abounding with the plant called flag; as, a flaggy marsh.

Flag"i*tate (?), v. t. [L. flagitatus, p. p. of flagitare to demand. See Flagitious.] To importune; to demand fiercely or with passion. [Archaic] Carcyle.

Flag`i*ta"tion (?), n. [L. flagitatio.] Importunity; urgent demand. [Archaic] Carlyle.

Fla*gi"tious (?), a. [L. flagitiosus, fr. flagitium a shameful or disgraceful act, orig., a burning desire, heat of passion, from flagitare to demand hotly, fiercely; cf. flagrare to burn, E. flagrant.] 1. Disgracefully or shamefully criminal; grossly wicked; scandalous; shameful; -- said of acts, crimes, etc.

Debauched principles and flagitious practices.

I. Taylor.

2. Guilty of enormous crimes; corrupt; profligate; -- said of persons. Pope.

3. Characterized by scandalous crimes or vices; as, flagitious times. Pope.

Syn. -- Atrocious; villainous; flagrant; heinous; corrupt; profligate; abandoned. See Atrocious.

-- Fla*gi"tious*ly, adv. -- Fla*gi"tious*ness, n.

A sentence so flagitiously unjust.

Macaulay.

Flag"man (?), n.; pl. Flagmen (&?;). One who makes signals with a flag.

Flag"on (?), n. [F. flacon, for flascon, fr. OF. flasche, from LL. flasco. See Flask.] A vessel with a narrow mouth, used for holding and conveying liquors. It is generally larger than a bottle, and of leather or stoneware rather than of glass.

A trencher of mutton chops, and a flagon of ale.

Macaulay.

Fla"grance (?), n. Flagrancy. Bp. Hall.

Fla"gran*cy (?), n.; pl. Flagrancies (#). [L. flagrantia a burning. See Flagrant.] 1. A burning; great heat; inflammation. [Obs.]

Lust causeth a flagrancy in the eyes.

Bacon.

2. The condition or quality of being flagrant; atrocity; heiniousness; enormity; excess. Steele.

Fla"grant (?), a. [L. flagrans, -antis, p. pr. of flagrate to burn, akin to Gr. &?;: cf. F. flagrant. Cf. Flame, Phlox.] 1. Flaming; inflamed; glowing; burning; ardent.

The beadle's lash still flagrant on their back.

Prior.

A young man yet flagrant from the lash of the executioner or the beadle.

De Quincey.

Flagrant desires and affections.

Hooker.

2. Actually in preparation, execution, or performance; carried on hotly; raging.

A war the most powerful of the native tribes was flagrant.

Palfrey.

3. Flaming into notice; notorious; enormous; heinous; glaringly wicked.

Syn. -- Atrocious; flagitious; glaring. See Atrocious.

Fla"grant*ly, adv. In a flagrant manner.

Fla"grate (?), v. t. [L. flagrare, flagratum, v.i. & t., to burn.] To burn. [Obs.] Greenhill.

Fla*gra"tion (?), n. A conflagration. [Obs.]

Flag"ship` (?), n. (Naut.) The vessel which carries the commanding officer of a fleet or squadron and flies his distinctive flag or pennant.

Flag"staff` (?), n.; pl. -staves (&?;) or -staffs (&?;). A staff on which a flag is hoisted.

Flag"stone` (?), n. A flat stone used in paving, or any rock which will split into such stones. See Flag, a stone.

Flag"worm` (?), n. (Zoˆl.) A worm or grub found among flags and sedge.

Flail (?), n. [L. flagellum whip, scourge, in LL., a threshing flail: cf. OF. flael, flaiel, F. flÈau. See Flagellum.] 1. An instrument for threshing or beating grain from the ear by hand, consisting of a wooden staff or handle, at the end of which a stouter and shorter pole or club, called a swipe, is so hung as to swing freely.

His shadowy flail hath threshed the corn.

Milton.

2. An ancient military weapon, like the common flail, often having the striking part armed with rows of spikes, or loaded. Fairholt.

No citizen thought himself safe unless he carried under his coat a small flail, loaded with lead, to brain the Popish assassins.

Macaulay.

Flail"y (?), a. Acting like a flail. [Obs.] Vicars.

Flain (?), obs. p. p. of Flay. Chaucer.

Flake (flk), n. [Cf. Icel. flaki, fleki, Dan. flage, D. vlaak.] 1. A paling; a hurdle. [prov. Eng.]

2. A platform of hurdles, or small sticks made fast or interwoven, supported by stanchions, for drying codfish and other things.

You shall also, after they be ripe, neither suffer them to have straw nor fern under them, but lay them either upon some smooth table, boards, or flakes of wands, and they will last the longer.

English Husbandman.

3. (Naut.) A small stage hung over a vessel's side, for workmen to stand on in calking, etc.

Flake (flk), n. [Cf. Icel. flakna to flake off, split, flagna to flake off, Sw. flaga flaw, flake, flake plate, Dan. flage snowflake. Cf. Flag a flat stone.] 1. A loose filmy mass or a thin chiplike layer of anything; a film; flock; lamina; layer; scale; as, a flake of snow, tallow, or fish. "Lottle flakes of scurf." Addison.

Great flakes of ice encompassing our boat.

Evelyn.

2. A little particle of lighted or incandescent matter, darted from a fire; a flash.

With flakes of ruddy fire.

Somerville.

3. (Bot.) A sort of carnation with only two colors in the flower, the petals having large stripes.

Flake knife (ArchÊol.), a cutting instrument used by savage tribes, made of a flake or chip of hard stone. Tylor. -- Flake stand, the cooling tub or vessel of a still worm. Knight. -- Flake white. (Paint.) (a) The purest white lead, in the form of flakes or scales. (b) The trisnitrate of bismuth. Ure.

Flake, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Flaked (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Flaking.] To form into flakes. Pope.

Flake, v. i. To separate in flakes; to peel or scale off.

Flak"i*ness (?), n. The state of being flaky.

Flak"y (?), a. Consisting of flakes or of small, loose masses; lying, or cleaving off, in flakes or layers; flakelike.

What showers of mortal hail, what flaky fires!

Watts.

A flaky weight of winter's purest snows.

Wordsworth.

Flam (flm), n. [Cf. AS. fle·m, flm, flight. &radic; 84 . Cf. Flimflam.] A freak or whim; also, a falsehood; a lie; an illusory pretext; deception; delusion. [Obs.]

A perpetual abuse and flam upon posterity.

South.

Flam, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Flammed ; p. pr. & vb. n. Flamming.] To deceive with a falsehood. [Obs.]

God is not to be flammed off with lies.

South.

Flam"beau (?); n.; pl. Flambeaux (#) or Flambeaus (#). [F., fr. OF. flambe flame, for flamble, from L. flammula a little flame, dim. of flamma flame. See Flame.] A flaming torch, esp. one made by combining together a number of thick wicks invested with a quick-burning substance (anciently, perhaps, wax; in modern times, pitch or the like); hence, any torch.

Flam*boy"ant (?), a. [F.] (Arch.) Characterized by waving or flamelike curves, as in the tracery of windows, etc.; -- said of the later (15th century) French Gothic style.

Flam*boy"er (?), n. [F. flamboyer to be bright.] (Bot.) A name given in the East and West Indies to certain trees with brilliant blossoms, probably species of CÊsalpinia.