Chapter 40

Frax"in (?), n. [From Fraxinus.] (Chem.) A colorless crystalline substance, regarded as a glucoside, and found in the bark of the ash (Fraxinus) and along with esculin in the bark of the horse-chestnut. It shows a delicate fluorescence in alkaline solutions; -- called also paviin.

||Frax"i*nus (?), n. [L., the ash tree.] (Bot.) A genus of deciduous ||forest trees, found in the north temperate zone, and including the ||true ash trees.

Fraxinus excelsior is the European ash; F. Americana, the white ash; F. sambucifolia, the black ash or water ash.

Fray (fr), n. [Abbreviated from affray.] Affray; broil; contest; combat.

Who began this bloody fray?

Shak.

Fray, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Frayed (frd); p. pr. & vb. n. Fraying.] [See 1st Fray, and cf. Affray.] To frighten; to terrify; to alarm. I. Taylor.

What frays ye, that were wont to comfort me affrayed?

Spenser.

Fray, v. t. [Cf. OF. fraier. See Defray, v. t.] To bear the expense of; to defray. [Obs.]

The charge of my most curious and costly ingredients frayed, I shall acknowledge myself amply satisfied.

Massinger.

Fray, v. t. [OF. freier, fraier, froier, to rub. L. fricare; cf. friare to crumble, E. friable; perh. akin to Gr. chri`ein to anoint, chri^sma an anointing, Skr. ghsh to rub, scratch. Cf. Friction.] To rub; to wear off, or wear into shreds, by rubbing; to fret, as cloth; as, a deer is said to fray her head.

Fray, v. i. 1. To rub.

We can show the marks he made When 'gainst the oak his antlers frayed.

Sir W. Scott.

2. To wear out or into shreads, or to suffer injury by rubbing, as when the threads of the warp or of the woof wear off so that the cross threads are loose; to ravel; as, the cloth frays badly.

A suit of frayed magnificience.

tennyson.

Fray, n. A fret or chafe, as in cloth; a place injured by rubbing.

Fray"ing, n. (Zoˆl.) The skin which a deer frays from his horns. B. Jonson.

Freak (frk), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Freaked (frkt); p. pr. & vb. n. Freaking.] [Akin to OE. frakin, freken, freckle, Icel. freknur, pl., Sw. fr‰kne, Dan. fregne, Gr. perkno`s dark- colored, Skr. pÁni variegated. Cf. Freckle, Freck.] To variegate; to checker; to streak. [R.]

Freaked with many a mingled hue.

Thomson.

Freak, n. [Prob. from OE. frek bold, AS. frec bold, greedly; akin to OHG. freh greedly, G. frech insolent, Icel. frekr greedy, Goth. faÌhufriks avaricious.] A sudden causeless change or turn of the mind; a whim of fancy; a capricious prank; a vagary or caprice.

She is restless and peevish, and sometimes in a freak will instantly change her habitation.

Spectator.

Syn. -- Whim; caprice; folly; sport. See Whim.

Freak"ing, a. Freakish. [Obs.] Pepys.

Freak"ish, a. Apt to change the mind suddenly; whimsical; capricious.

It may be a question whether the wife or the woman was the more freakish of the two.

L'Estrange.

Freakish when well, and fretful when she's sick.

Pope.

-- Freak"ish*ly, adv. -- Freak"ish*ness, n.

Freck (?), v. t. [Cf. Freak, v. t., Freckle.] To checker; to diversify. [R. & Poet.]

The painted windows, frecking gloom with glow.

Lowell.

Freck"le (frk"k'l), n. [Dim., from the same root as freak, v. t.] 1. A small yellowish or brownish spot in the skin, particularly on the face, neck, or hands.

2. Any small spot or discoloration.

Frec"kle, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Freckled (-k'ld); p. pr. & vb. n. Freckling (-klng).] To sprinkle or mark with freckles or small discolored spots; to spot.

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Frec"kle (frk"k'l), v. i. To become covered or marked with freckles; to be spotted.

Frec"kled (frk"k'ld), a. Marked with freckles; spotted. "The freckled trout." Dryden.

The freckled cowslip, burnet, and green clover.

Shak.

Frec"kled*ness (-k'ld*ns), n. The state of being freckled.

Frec"kly (-kl), a. Full of or marked with freckles; sprinkled with spots; freckled.

Fred (frd), n. [AS. fri peace. See Frith inclosure.] Peace; -- a word used in composition, especially in proper names; as, Alfred; Frederic.

Fred"stole` (-stl`), n. [Obs.] See Fridstol. Fuller.

Free (fr), a. [Compar. Freer (-r); superl. Freest (-st).] [OE. fre, freo, AS. freÛ, fr; akin to D. vrij, OS. & OHG. fr, G. frei, Icel. fr, Sw. & Dan. fri, Goth. freis, and also to Skr. prija beloved, dear, fr. pr to love, Goth. frijn. Cf. Affray, Belfry, Friday, Friend, Frith inclosure.] 1. Exempt from subjection to the will of others; not under restraint, control, or compulsion; able to follow one's own impulses, desires, or inclinations; determining one's own course of action; not dependent; at liberty.

That which has the power, or not the power, to operate, is that alone which is or is not free.

Locke.

2. Not under an arbitrary or despotic government; subject only to fixed laws regularly and fairly administered, and defended by them from encroachments upon natural or acquired rights; enjoying political liberty.

3. Liberated, by arriving at a certain age, from the control of parents, guardian, or master.

4. Not confined or imprisoned; released from arrest; liberated; at liberty to go.

Set an unhappy prisoner free.

Prior.

5. Not subjected to the laws of physical necessity; capable of voluntary activity; endowed with moral liberty; -- said of the will.

Not free, what proof could they have given sincere Of true allegiance, constant faith, or love.

Milton.

6. Clear of offense or crime; guiltless; innocent.

My hands are guilty, but my heart is free.

Dryden.

7. Unconstrained by timidity or distrust; unreserved; ingenuous; frank; familiar; communicative.

He was free only with a few.

Milward.

8. Unrestrained; immoderate; lavish; licentious; -- used in a bad sense.

The critics have been very free in their censures.

Felton.

A man may live a free life as to wine or women.

Shelley.

9. Not close or parsimonious; liberal; open- handed; lavish; as, free with his money.

10. Exempt; clear; released; liberated; not encumbered or troubled with; as, free from pain; free from a burden; -- followed by from, or, rarely, by of.

Princes declaring themselves free from the obligations of their treaties.

Bp. Burnet.

11. Characteristic of one acting without restraint; charming; easy.

12. Ready; eager; acting without spurring or whipping; spirited; as, a free horse.

13. Invested with a particular freedom or franchise; enjoying certain immunities or privileges; admitted to special rights; -- followed by of.

He therefore makes all birds, of every sect, Free of his farm.

Dryden.

14. Thrown open, or made accessible, to all; to be enjoyed without limitations; unrestricted; not obstructed, engrossed, or appropriated; open; -- said of a thing to be possessed or enjoyed; as, a free school.

Why, sir, I pray, are not the streets as free For me as for you?

Shak.

15. Not gained by importunity or purchase; gratuitous; spontaneous; as, free admission; a free gift.

16. Not arbitrary or despotic; assuring liberty; defending individual rights against encroachment by any person or class; instituted by a free people; -- said of a government, institutions, etc.

17. (O. Eng. Law) Certain or honorable; the opposite of base; as, free service; free socage. Burrill.

18. (Law) Privileged or individual; the opposite of common; as, a free fishery; a free warren. Burrill.

19. Not united or combined with anything else; separated; dissevered; unattached; at liberty to escape; as, free carbonic acid gas; free cells.

Free agency, the capacity or power of choosing or acting freely, or without necessity or constraint upon the will. -- Free bench (Eng. Law), a widow's right in the copyhold lands of her husband, corresponding to dower in freeholds. -- Free board (Naut.), a vessel's side between water line and gunwale. -- Free bond (Chem.), an unsaturated or unemployed unit, or bond, of affinity or valence, of an atom or radical. -- Free-borough men (O.Eng. Law). See Friborg. -- Free chapel (Eccles.), a chapel not subject to the jurisdiction of the ordinary, having been founded by the king or by a subject specially authorized. [Eng.] Bouvier. -- Free charge (Elec.), a charge of electricity in the free or statical condition; free electricity. -- Free church. (a) A church whose sittings are for all and without charge. (b) An ecclesiastical body that left the Church of Scotland, in 1843, to be free from control by the government in spiritual matters. -- Free city, or Free town, a city or town independent in its government and franchises, as formerly those of the Hanseatic league. -- Free cost, freedom from charges or expenses. South. -- Free and easy, unconventional; unrestrained; regardless of formalities. [Colloq.] "Sal and her free and easy ways." W. Black. -- Free goods, goods admitted into a country free of duty. -- Free labor, the labor of freemen, as distinguished from that of slaves. -- Free port. (Com.) (a) A port where goods may be received and shipped free of custom duty. (b) A port where goods of all kinds are received from ships of all nations at equal rates of duty. -- Free public house, in England, a tavern not belonging to a brewer, so that the landlord is free to brew his own beer or purchase where he chooses. Simmonds. -- Free school. (a) A school to which pupils are admitted without discrimination and on an equal footing. (b) A school supported by general taxation, by endowmants, etc., where pupils pay nothing for tuition; a public school. -- Free services (O.Eng. Law), such feudal services as were not unbecoming the character of a soldier or a freemen to perform; as, to serve under his lord in war, to pay a sum of money, etc. Burrill. -- Free ships, ships of neutral nations, which in time of war are free from capture even though carrying enemy's goods. -- Free socage (O.Eng. Law), a feudal tenure held by certain services which, though honorable, were not military. Abbott. -- Free States, those of the United States before the Civil War, in which slavery had ceased to exist, or had never existed. -- Free stuff (Carp.), timber free from knots; clear stuff. -- Free thought, that which is thought independently of the authority of others. -- Free trade, commerce unrestricted by duties or tariff regulations. -- Free trader, one who believes in free trade. -- To make free with, to take liberties with; to help one's self to. [Colloq.] -- To sail free (Naut.), to sail with the yards not braced in as sharp as when sailing closehauled, or close to the wind.

Free (?), adv. 1. Freely; willingly. [Obs.]

I as free forgive you As I would be forgiven.

Shak.

2. Without charge; as, children admitted free.

Free, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Freed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Freeing.] [OE. freen, freoien, AS. freÛgan. See Free, a.] 1. To make free; to set at liberty; to rid of that which confines, limits, embarrasses, oppresses, etc.; to release; to disengage; to clear; -- followed by from, and sometimes by off; as, to free a captive or a slave; to be freed of these inconveniences. Clarendon.

Our land is from the rage of tigers freed.

Dryden.

Arise, . . . free thy people from their yoke.

Milton.

2. To remove, as something that confines or bars; to relieve from the constraint of.

This master key Frees every lock, and leads us to his person.

Dryden.

3. To frank. [Obs.] Johnson.

Free"boot`er (?), n. [D. vrijbuiter, fr. vrijbuiten to plunder; vrij free + buit booty, akin to E. booty. See Free, and Booty, and cf. Filibuster.] One who plunders or pillages without the authority of national warfare; a member of a predatory band; a pillager; a buccaneer; a sea robber. Bacon.

Free"boot`er*y (?), n. The act, practice, or gains of a freebooter; freebooting. Booth.

Free"boot`ing, n. Robbery; plunder; a pillaging.

Free"boot`ing, a. Acting the freebooter; practicing freebootery; robbing.

Your freebooting acquaintance.

Sir W. Scott.

Free"boot`y (?), n. Freebootery. [Obs.]

Free"born` (?), a. Born free; not born in vassalage; inheriting freedom.

Free"-den`i*zen (?), v. t. To make free. [R.]

Freed"man (?), n.; pl. Freedmen (&?;). A man who has been a slave, and has been set free.

Free"dom (fr"dm), n. [AS. freÛdm; freÛfree + - dom. See Free, and -dom.] 1. The state of being free; exemption from the power and control of another; liberty; independence.

Made captive, yet deserving freedom more.

Milton.

2. Privileges; franchises; immunities.

Your charter and your caty's freedom.

Shak.

3. Exemption from necessity, in choise and action; as, the freedom of the will.

4. Ease; facility; as, he speaks or acts with freedom.

5. Frankness; openness; unreservedness.

I emboldened spake and freedom used.

Milton.

6. Improper familiarity; violation of the rules of decorum; license.

7. Generosity; liberality. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Freedom fine, a sum paid on entry to incorporations of trades. -- Freedom of the city, the possession of the rights and privileges of a freeman of the city; formerly often, and now occasionally, conferred on one not a resident, as a mark of honorary distinction for public services.

Syn. -- See Liberty.

Freed"stool` (?), n. [Obs.] See Fridstol.

Free"-hand` (?), a. Done by the hand, without support, or the guidance of instruments; as, free- hand drawing. See under Drawing.

Free"-hand`ed, a. Open-handed; liberal.

Free"-heart`ed (?), a. Open; frank; unreserved; liberal; generous; as, free-hearted mirth. -- Free"-heart`ed*ly, adv. -- Free"-heart`ed*ness, n.

Free"hold` (?), n. (LAw) An estate in real property, of inheritance (in fee simple or fee tail) or for life; or the tenure by which such estate is held. Kent. Burrill.

To abate into a freehold. See under Abate.

Free"hold`er (?), n. (Law) The possessor of a freehold.

Free"-liv`er (?), n. One who gratifies his appetites without stint; one given to indulgence in eating and drinking.

Free"-liv`ing, n. Unrestrained indulgence of the appetites.

Free"-love` (?), n. The doctrine or practice of consorting with the opposite sex, at pleasure, without marriage.

Free"-lov`er, n. One who believes in or practices free-love.

Freel"te (?), n. Frailty. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Free"ly, adv. [AS. freÛlice.] In a free manner; without restraint or compulsion; abundantly; gratuitously.

Of every tree of the garden thou mayst freely eat.

Gen. ii. 16.

Freely ye have received, freely give.

Matt. x. 8.

Freely they stood who stood, and fell who fell.

Milton.

Freely we serve Because we freely love.

Milton.

Syn. -- Independently; voluntarily; spontaneously; unconditionally; unobstructedly; willingly; readily; liberally; generously; bounteously; munificently; bountifully; abundantly; largely; copiously; plentifully; plenteously.

Free"man (?), n.; pl. Freemen (#). [AS. freÛman; freÛfree + mann man.] 1. One who enjoys liberty, or who is not subject to the will of another; one not a slave or vassal.

2. A member of a corporation, company, or city, possessing certain privileges; a member of a borough, town, or State, who has the right to vote at elections. See Liveryman. Burrill.

Both having been made freemen on the same day.

Addison.

Free"-mar`tin (?), n. (Zoˆl.) An imperfect female calf, twinborn with a male.

Free"ma`son (?), n. One of an ancient and secret association or fraternity, said to have been at first composed of masons or builders in stone, but now consisting of persons who are united for social enjoyment and mutual assistance.

Free`ma*son"ic (?), a. Pertaining to, or resembling, the institutions or the practices of freemasons; as, a freemasonic signal.

Free"ma`son*ry (?), n. The institutions or the practices of freemasons.

Free"-mill`ing (?), a. Yielding free gold or silver; -- said of certain ores which can be reduced by crushing and amalgamation, without roasting or other chemical treatment. Raymond.

Free"-mind`ed (?), a. Not perplexed; having a mind free from care. Bacon.

Free"ness, n. The state or quality of being free; freedom; liberty; openness; liberality; gratuitousness.

Fre"er (?), n. One who frees, or sets free.

Free"-soil` (?), a. Pertaining to, or advocating, the non-extension of slavery; -- esp. applied to a party which was active during the period 1846-1856. [U.S.] -- Free"soil`er (#), n. [U.S.] -- Free"- soil`ism (#), n. [U.S.]

Free"-spo`ken (?), a. Accustomed to speak without reserve. Bacon.

-- Free"-spo`ken-ness, n.

Free"stone` (?), n. A stone composed of sand or grit; -- so called because it is easily cut or wrought.

Free"stone`, a. Having the flesh readily separating from the stone, as in certain kinds of peaches.

Free"-swim`ming (?), a. (Zoˆl.) Swimming in the open sea; -- said of certain marine animals.

Free"think`er (?), n. One who speculates or forms opinions independently of the authority of others; esp., in the sphere or religion, one who forms opinions independently of the authority of revelation or of the church; an unbeliever; -- a term assumed by deists and skeptics in the eighteenth century.

Atheist is an old-fashioned word: I'm a freethinker, child.

Addison.

Syn. -- Infidel; skeptic; unbeliever. See Infidel.

Free"think`ing, n. Undue boldness of speculation; unbelief. Berkeley. -- a. Exhibiting undue boldness of speculation; skeptical.

Free"-tongued` (?), a. Speaking without reserve. Bp. Hall.

Free will (?). 1. A will free from improper coercion or restraint.

To come thus was I not constrained, but did On my free will.

Shak.

2. The power asserted of moral beings of willing or choosing without the restraints of physical or absolute necessity.

Free"will` (?), a. Of or pertaining to free will; voluntary; spontaneous; as, a freewill offering.

Freewill Baptists. See under Baptist.

Freez"a*ble (?), a. Capable of being frozen.

Freeze (?), n. (Arch.) A frieze. [Obs.]

Freeze, v. i. [imp. Froze (?); p. p. Frozen (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Freezing.] [OE. fresen, freosen, AS. freÛsan; akin to D. vriezen, OHG. iosan, G. frieren, Icel. frjsa, Sw. frysa, Dan. fryse, Goth. frius cold, frost, and prob. to L. prurire to itch, E. prurient, cf. L. prna a burning coal, pruina hoarfrost, Skr. prushv ice, prush to spirt. &?; 18. Cf. Frost.] 1. To become congealed by cold; to be changed from a liquid to a solid state by the abstraction of heat; to be hardened into ice or a like solid body.

Water freezes at 32∞ above zero by Fahrenheit's thermometer; mercury freezes at 40∞ below zero.

2. To become chilled with cold, or as with cold; to suffer loss of animation or life by lack of heat; as, the blood freezes in the veins.

To freeze up (Fig.), to become formal and cold in demeanor. [Colloq.]

Freeze, v. t. 1. To congeal; to harden into ice; to convert from a fluid to a solid form by cold, or abstraction of heat.

2. To cause loss of animation or life in, from lack of heat; to give the sensation of cold to; to chill.

A faint, cold fear runs through my veins, That almost freezes up the heat of life.

Shak.

Freeze, n. The act of congealing, or the state of being congealed. [Colloq.]

Freez"er (?), n. One who, or that which, cools or freezes, as a refrigerator, or the tub and can used in the process of freezing ice cream.

Freez"ing, a. Tending to freeze; for freezing; hence, cold or distant in manner. -- Frrez"ing*ly, adv.

Freezing machine. See Ice machine, under Ice. -- Freezing mixture, a mixture (of salt and snow or of chemical salts) for producing intense cold. -- Freezing point, that degree of a thermometer at which a fluid begins to freeze; -- applied particularly to water, whose freezing point is at 32∞ Fahr., and at 0∞ Centigrade.

Frei"es*le`ben*ite (?), n. [Named after the German chemist Freiesleben.] A sulphide of antimony, lead, and silver, occuring in monoclinic crystals.

Freight (frt), n. [F. fret, OHG. frht merit, reward. See Fraught, n.] 1. That with which anything is fraught or laden for transportation; lading; cargo, especially of a ship, or a car on a railroad, etc.; as, a freight of cotton; a full freight.

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2. (Law) (a) The sum paid by a party hiring a ship or part of a ship for the use of what is thus hired. (b) The price paid a common carrier for the carriage of goods. Wharton.

3. Freight transportation, or freight line.

Freight (frt), a. Employed in the transportation of freight; having to do with freight; as, a freight car.

Freight agent, a person employed by a transportation company to receive, forward, or deliver goods. -- Freight car. See under Car. -- Freight train, a railroad train made up of freight cars; -- called in England goods train.

Freight, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Freighted; p. pr. & vb. n. Freighting.] [Cf. F. freter.] To load with goods, as a ship, or vehicle of any kind, for transporting them from one place to another; to furnish with freight; as, to freight a ship; to freight a car.

Freight"age (-j; 48), n. 1. Charge for transportation; expense of carriage.

2. The transportation of freight.

3. Freight; cargo; lading. Milton.

Freight"er (?), n. 1. One who loads a ship, or one who charters and loads a ship.

2. One employed in receiving and forwarding freight.

3. One for whom freight is transported.

4. A vessel used mainly to carry freight.

Freight"less, a. Destitute of freight.

Frel"te (?), n. Frailty. [Obs.] Chaucer.

{ Fremd (?), Frem"ed (?) } a. [OE., from AS. fremede, fremde; akin to G. fremd.] Strange; foreign. [Old Eng. & Scot.] Chaucer.

Fren (frn), n. [OE. frenne, contr. fr. forrene foreign. See Foreign, a.] A stranger. [Obs.] Spenser.

French (frnch), a. [AS. frencisc, LL. franciscus, from L. Francus a Frank: cf. OF. franceis, franchois, franÁois, F. franÁais. See Frank, a., and cf. Frankish.] Of or pertaining to France or its inhabitants.

French bean (Bot.), the common kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris). -- French berry (Bot.), the berry of a species of buckthorn (Rhamnus catharticus), which affords a saffron, green or purple pigment. -- French casement (Arch.) See French window, under Window. -- French chalk (Min.), a variety of granular talc; -- used for drawing lines on cloth, etc. See under Chalk. -- French cowslip (Bot.) The Primula Auricula. See Bear's- ear. -- French fake (Naut.), a mode of coiling a rope by running it backward and forward in parallel bends, so that it may run freely. -- French honeysuckle (Bot.) a plant of the genus Hedysarum (H. coronarium); -- called also garland honeysuckle. -- French horn, a metallic wind instrument, consisting of a long tube twisted into circular folds and gradually expanding from the mouthpiece to the end at which the sound issues; -- called in France cor de chasse. -- French leave, an informal, hasty, or secret departure; esp., the leaving a place without paying one's debts. -- French pie [French (here used in sense of "foreign") + pie a magpie (in allusion to its black and white color)] (Zoˆl.), the European great spotted woodpecker (Dryobstes major); -- called also wood pie. -- French polish. (a) A preparation for the surface of woodwork, consisting of gums dissolved in alcohol, either shellac alone, or shellac with other gums added. (b) The glossy surface produced by the application of the above. -- French purple, a dyestuff obtained from lichens and used for coloring woolen and silken fabrics, without the aid of mordants. Ure. -- French red rouge. -- French rice, amelcorn. -- French roof (Arch.), a modified form of mansard roof having a nearly flat deck for the upper slope. - - French tub, a dyer's mixture of protochloride of tin and logwood; -- called also plum tub. Ure. -- French window. See under Window.

French, n. 1. The language spoken in France.

2. Collectively, the people of France.

French"i*fy (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Frenchified (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Frenchifying.] [French + -fy.] To make French; to infect or imbue with the manners or tastes of the French; to Gallicize. Burke.

French"ism (?), n. A French mode or characteristic; an idiom peculiar to the French language. Earle.

French"man (?), n.; pl. Frenchmen (&?;). A native or one of the people of France.

Fre*net"ic (?), a. [See Frantic, a.] Distracted; mad; frantic; phrenetic. Milton.