Featness Feat"ness noun Skill; adroitness. [ Archaic] Johnson.

Feature Fea"ture noun [ Middle English feture form, shape, feature, Old French faiture fashion, make, from Latin factura a making, formation, from facere , factum , to make. See Feat , Fact , and confer Facture .] 1. The make, form, or outward appearance of a person; the whole turn or style of the body; esp., good appearance.

What needeth it his feature to descrive?

Chaucer.

Cheated of feature by dissembling nature.

Shak.

2. The make, cast, or appearance of the human face, and especially of any single part of the face; a lineament. ( plural ) The face, the countenance.

It is for homely features to keep home.

Milton.

3. The cast or structure of anything, or of any part of a thing, as of a landscape, a picture, a treaty, or an essay; any marked peculiarity or characteristic; as, one of the features of the landscape.

And to her service bind each living creature
Through secret understanding of their feature .

Spenser.

4. A form; a shape. [ R.]

So scented the grim feature , and upturned
His nostril wide into the murky air.

Milton.

Featured Fea"tured adjective 1. Shaped; fashioned.

How noble, young, how rarely featured !

Shak.

2. Having features; formed into features.

The well-stained canvas or the featured stone.

Young.

Featureless Fea"ture·less adjective Having no distinct or distinctive features.

Featurely Fea"ture·ly adjective Having features; showing marked peculiarities; handsome. [ R.]

Featurely warriors of Christian chivalry.

Coleridge.

Feaze Feaze transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Feazed ; present participle & verbal noun Feazing .] [ Confer Middle English faseln to ravel, from Anglo-Saxon fæs fringe; akin to German fasen to separate fibers or threads, fasen , faser , thread, filament, Old High German faso .] To untwist; to unravel, as the end of a rope. Johnson.

Feaze Feaze transitive verb [ See Feese .] To beat; to chastise; also, to humble; to harass; to worry. [ Obsolete] insworth.

Feaze Feaze noun A state of anxious or fretful excitement; worry; vexation. [ Obsolete]

Feazings Feaz"ings noun plural [ See Feaze , transitive verb ] (Nautical) The unlaid or ragged end of a rope. Ham. Nav. Encyc.

Febricitate Fe·bric"i·tate intransitive verb [ Latin febricitare , from febris . See Febrile .] To have a fever. [ Obsolete] Bailey.

Febriculose Fe·bric"u·lose` adjective [ Latin febriculosus .] Somewhat feverish. [ Obsolete] Johnson.

Febrifacient Feb`ri·fa"cient adjective [ Latin febris fever + faciens , present participle of facere to make.] Febrific. Dunglison.

-- noun That which causes fever. Beddoes.

Febriferous Fe·brif"er·ous adjective [ Latin febris fever + -ferous .] Causing fever; as, a febriferous locality.

Febrific Fe·brif"ic adjective [ Latin febris fever + ficare (in comp.) to make. See fy -.] Producing fever. Dunglison.

Febrifugal Fe·brif"u·gal adjective [ See Febrifuge .] Having the quality of mitigating or curing fever. Boyle.

Febrifuge Feb"ri·fuge noun [ Latin febris fever + fugare to put to flight, from fugere to flee: confer French fébrifuge . see Febrile , Feverfew .] (Medicine) A medicine serving to mitigate or remove fever. -- adjective Antifebrile.

Febrile Fe"brile adjective [ French fébrile , from Latin febris fever. See Fever .] Pertaining to fever; indicating fever, or derived from it; as, febrile symptoms; febrile action. Dunglison.

February Feb"ru·a·ry noun [ Latin Februarius , orig., the month of expiation, because on the fifteenth of this month the great feast of expiation and purification was held, from februa , plural, the Roman festival or purification; akin to februare to purify, expiate.] The second month in the year, said to have been introduced into the Roman calendar by Numa. In common years this month contains twenty-eight days; in the bissextile, or leap year, it has twenty-nine days.

Februation Feb`ru·a"tion noun [ Latin februatio . See february .] Purification; a sacrifice. [ Obsolete] Spenser.

Fecal Fe"cal (fē"k a l) adjective [ Confer French fécal . See Feces .] relating to, or containing, dregs, feces, or ordure; fæcal.

Fecche Fec"che transitive verb To fetch. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Feces Fe"ces noun plural dregs; sediment; excrement. See FÆces .

Fecial Fe"cial adjective [ Latin fetialis belonging to the fetiales , the Roman priests who sanctioned treaties and demanded satisfaction from the enemy before a formal declaration of war.] Pertaining to heralds, declarations of war, and treaties of peace; as, fecial law. Kent.

Fecifork Fe"ci·fork` noun [ Feces + fork .] (Zoology) The anal fork on which the larvæ of certain insects carry their fæces.

Feck Feck noun [ Abbrev. from effect .] 1. Effect. [ Obsolete]

2. Efficacy; force; value. [ Scot. & Prov. Eng.]

3. Amount; quantity. [ Scot. & Prov. Eng.]

He had a feck o' books wi' him.

R. Latin Stevenson.

The most feck , or The feck , the greater or larger part. "The feck o' my life." Burns.

Feckless Feck"less adjective [ Perh. a corruption of effectless .] Spiritless; weak; worthless. [ Scot]

fecklessness feck"less·ness noun absence of merit.
[ WordNet 1.5]

Fecks Fecks noun A corruption of the word faith . Shak.

Fecula Fec"u·la noun ; plural FeculÆ [ Latin faecula burnt tartar or salt of tartar, dim. of faex , faecis , sediment, dregs: confer French fécule .] Any pulverulent matter obtained from plants by simply breaking down the texture, washing with water, and subsidence. Especially: (a) The nutritious part of wheat; starch or farina; -- called also amylaceous fecula . (b) The green matter of plants; chlorophyll.

Feculence Fec"u·lence noun [ Latin faeculentia dregs, filth: confer French féculence .] 1. The state or quality of being feculent; muddiness; foulness.

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

Feculency Fec"u·len·cy noun Feculence.

Feculent Fec"u·lent adjective [ Latin faeculentus , from faecula : confer French féculent . See Fecula .] Foul with extraneous or impure substances; abounding with sediment or excrementitious matter; muddy; thick; turbid.

Both his hands most filthy feculent .

Spenser.

Fecund Fec"und adjective [ Latin fecundus , from the root of fetus : confer French fécond . see Fetus .] Fruitful in children; prolific. Graunt.

Fecundate Fec"un·date transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Fecundated ; present participle & verbal noun Fecundating .] [ Latin fecundare , from fecundus . See Fecund .] 1. To make fruitful or prolific. W. Montagu.

2. (Biol.) To render fruitful or prolific; to impregnate; as, in flowers the pollen fecundates the ovum through the stigma.

Fecundation Fec`un·da"tion noun [ Confer French fécondation .] (Biol.) The act by which, either in animals or plants, material prepared by the generative organs the female organism is brought in contact with matter from the organs of the male, so that a new organism results; impregnation; fertilization.

Fecundify Fe·cun"di·fy transitive verb [ Fecund + -fy .] To make fruitful; to fecundate. Johnson.

Fecundity Fe·cun"di·ty noun [ Latin fecunditas : confer French fécondité . See Fecund .] 1. The quality or power of producing fruit; fruitfulness; especially (Biol.) , the quality in female organisms of reproducing rapidly and in great numbers.

2. The power of germinating; as in seeds.

3. The power of bringing forth in abundance; fertility; richness of invention; as, the fecundity of God's creative power. Bentley.

Fed Fed imperfect & past participle of Feed .

Fedary Fed"a·ry noun A feodary. [ Obsolete] Shak.

Federal Fed"er·al adjective [ Latin foedus league, treaty, compact; akin to fides faith: confer French fédéral . see Faith .] 1. Pertaining to a league or treaty; derived from an agreement or covenant between parties, especially between nations; constituted by a compact between parties, usually governments or their representatives.

The Romans compelled them, contrary to all federal right, . . . to part with Sardinia.

Grew.

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

Federal Congress . See under Congress .

Federal Fed"er·al noun See Federalist .

Federalism Fed"er·al·ism noun [ Confer French fédéralisme .] The principles of Federalists or of federal union.

Federalist Fed"er·al·ist noun [ Confer French fédéraliste .] An advocate of confederation; specifically (Amer. Hist.) , a friend of the Constitution of the United States at its formation and adoption; a member of the political party which favored the administration of president Washington.

Federalize Fed"er·al·ize transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Federalized ; present participle & verbal noun Federalizing .] [ Confer French fédéraliser .] To unite in compact, as different States; to confederate for political purposes; to unite by or under the Federal Constitution. Barlow.

Federary Fed"er·a·ry noun [ See Federal .] A partner; a confederate; an accomplice. [ Obsolete] hak.

Federate Fed"er·ate adjective [ Latin foederatus , past participle of foederare to establish by treaty or league, from foedus . See Federal .] United by compact, as sovereignties, states, or nations; joined in confederacy; leagued; confederate; as, federate nations.

Federation Fed`er·a"tion noun [ Confer French fédération .] 1. The act of uniting in a league; confederation.

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

Federative Fed"er·a·tive adjective [ Confer French fédératif .] Uniting in a league; forming a confederacy; federal. "A federative society." Burke.

Fedity Fed"i·ty noun [ Latin foeditas , from foedus foul, filthy.] Turpitude; vileness. [ Obsolete] Bp. Hall.

Fee Fee (fē) noun [ Middle English fe , feh , feoh , cattle, property, money, fief, Anglo-Saxon feoh cattle, property, money; the senses of "property, money," arising from cattle being used in early times as a medium of exchange or payment, property chiefly consisting of cattle; akin to Old Saxon fehu cattle, property, Dutch vee cattle, Old High German fihu , fehu , German vieh , Icelandic fē cattle, property, money, Goth. faíhu , Latin pecus cattle, pecunia property, money, Sanskrit paçu cattle, perhaps orig., "a fastened or tethered animal," from a root signifying to bind , and perhaps akin to English fang , fair , adjective ; confer Old French fie , flu , feu , fleu , fief , French fief , from German, of the same origin. the sense fief is due to the French. √249. Confer Feud , Fief , Fellow , Pecuniary .] 1. property; possession; tenure. "Laden with rich fee ." Spenser.

Once did she hold the gorgeous East in fee .

Wordsworth.

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

To plead for love deserves more fee than hate.

Shak.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Shak.

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

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