Fiddlewood noun [ Corrupted from F. bois- fidèle , lit., faithful wood; -- so called from its durability.] The wood of several West Indian trees, mostly of the genus Citharexylum .

Fidejussion noun [ Latin fidejussio , from fidejubere to be surety or bail; fides faith + jubere to order: confer French fidéjussion .] (Civil Law) The act or state of being bound as surety for another; suretyship.

Fidejussor noun [ Latin : confer French fidéjusseur .] (Civil Law) A surety; one bound for another, conjointly with him; a guarantor. Blackstone.

Fidelity noun [ Latin fidelitas : confer French fidélité . 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.

Fides noun [ Latin , faith.] (Roman Muth.) Faith personified as a goddess; the goddess of faith.

Fidge (fĭj) noun & intransitive verb See Fidget . [ R.] Swift.

Fidget intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Fidgeted ; present participle & verbal noun Fodgeting .] [ From Fidge ; confer Middle English fiken to fidget, to flatter, Icelandic fika to hasten, Swedish fika to hunt after, Anglo-Saxon befician to deceive. Confer Fickle .] To move uneasily one way and the other; to move irregularly, or by fits and starts. Moore.

Fidget noun
1. Uneasiness; restlessness. Cowper.

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

Fidgetiness noun Quality of being fidgety.

Fidgety adjective Restless; uneasy. Lowell.

Fidia noun [ New Latin , probably from Latin fidus trusty.] (Zoology) A genus of small beetles, of which one species (the grapevine Fidia, F. longipes ) is very injurious to vines in America.

Fidicinal adjective [ Latin fidicinus , from fidicen , -inis , a lute player.] (Mus.) Of or pertaining to a stringed instrument.

Fiducial adjective [ Latin 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.

Fiducially adverb With confidence. South.

Fi*du"ci*a*ry (? or ?) adjective [ Latin fiduciarus , from fiducia : confer French 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.

Fiduciary noun
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. [ Middle English fi ; confer Dutch fif . German pfui , Icelandic f... , Swedish & Danish fy , French fi , Latin fi , phy .] An exclamation denoting contempt or dislike. See Fy . Fuller.

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

Field (fēld) noun [ Middle English feld , fild , Anglo-Saxon feld ; akin to Dutch veld , German feld , Swedish fält , Danish felt , Icelandic fold field of grass, Anglo-Saxon folde earth, land, ground, Old Saxon 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 (Botany) , 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 (Zoology) , 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 (Zoology) , 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 . (Zoology) (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 (Botany) , a plant ( Sherardia arvensis ) used in dyeing. -- Field marshal (Mil.) , the highest military rank conferred in the British and other European armies. -- Field mouse (Zoology) , 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 (Zoology) , the black-bellied plover ( Charadrius squatarola ); also sometimes applied to the Bartramian sandpiper ( Bartramia longicauda ). -- Field spaniel (Zoology) , a small spaniel used in hunting small game. -- Field sparrow . (Zoology) (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 (Zoology) , 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 , transitive verb -- 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 intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Fielded ; present participle & verbal noun Fielding .]
1. To take the field. [ Obsolete] Spenser.

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

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

Fielded adjective Engaged in the field; encamped. [ Obsolete]

To help fielded friends.

Shak.

Fielden adjective Consisting of fields. [ Obsolete]

The fielden country also and plains.

Holland.

Fielder noun (Ball Playing) A ball payer who stands out in the field to catch or stop balls.

Fieldfare noun [ Middle English feldfare , Anglo-Saxon feldfare ; field + faran to travel.] (Zoology) 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 .

Fielding noun (Ball Playing) The act of playing as a fielder.

Fieldpiece noun A cannon mounted on wheels, for the use of a marching army; a piece of field artillery; -- called also field gun .

Fieldwork noun (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.

Fieldy adjective Open, like a field. [ Obsolete] Wyclif.

Fiend noun [ Middle English fend , find , fiend , feond , fiend, foe, Anglo-Saxon feónd ; akin to Old Saxon fīond , Dutch vijand enemy, Old High German fīant , German feind , Icelandic fjānd , Swedish & Danish fiende , Goth. fijands ; orig. present participle of a verb meaning to hate , Anglo-Saxon feón , feógan , Old High German fī...n , Goth. fijan , Sanskrit pīy to scorn; probably akin to English feud a quarrel. √81. Confer 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.

Fiendful adjective Full of fiendish spirit or arts. Marlowe.

-- Fiend"ful*ly , adverb

Fiendish adjective Like a fiend; diabolically wicked or cruel; infernal; malignant; devilish; hellish. -- Fiend"ish*ly , adverb -- Fiend"ish*ness , noun

Fiendlike adjective Fiendish; diabolical. Longfellow.

Fiendly adjective [ Anglo-Saxon feóndlic .] Fiendlike; monstrous; devilish. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Fierasfer noun [ New Latin ] (Zoology) 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 adjective [ Compar. Fiercer ; superl. Fiercest .] [ Middle English fers , fiers , Old French fier , nom. fiers , fierce, savage, cruel, French fier proud, from Latin ferus wild, savage, cruel; perhaps akin to English bear the animal. Confer 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 , adverb -- Fierce"ness , noun

Fieri facias [ Latin , 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.

Fieriness noun The quality of being fiery; heat; acrimony; irritability; as, a fieriness of temper. Addison.

Fiery adjective [ Formerly written firy , from fire .]
1. Consisting of, containing, or resembling, fire; as, the fiery gulf of Etna; a fiery appearance.

And fiery billows roll below.

I. Watts.

2. Vehement; ardent; very active; impetuous.

Hath thy fiery heart so parched thine entrails?

Shak.

The fiery spirit of his forefathers.

W. Irwing.

3. Passionate; easily provoked; irritable.

You know the fiery quality of the duke.

Shak.

4. Unrestrained; fierce; mettlesome; spirited.

One curbed the fiery steed.

Dryden.

5. heated by fire, or as if by fire; burning hot; parched; feverish. Pope.

The sword which is made fiery .

Hooker.

Fiery cross , a cross constructed of two firebrands, and pitched upon the point of a spear; formerly in Scotland borne by a runner as a signal for the clan to take up arms. Sir W. Scott.

Fiesta noun [ Spanish See Feast , noun ] Among Spanish, a religious festival; a saint's day or holiday; also, a holiday or festivity.

Even . . . a bullfight is a fiesta .

Am. Dialect Notes.

Some fiesta , when all the surrounding population were expected to turn out in holiday dress for merriment.

The Century.

Fife noun [ French fifre , Old High German pfīfa , Late Latin pipa pipe, pipare to play on the pipe, from Latin pipire , pipare , to peep, pip, chirp, as a chiken. See Pipe .] (Mus.) A small shrill pipe, resembling the piccolo flute, used chiefly to accompany the drum in military music.

Fife major (Mil.) , a noncommissioned officer who superintends the fifers of a regiment. -- Fife rail . (Nautical) (a) A rail about the mast, at the deck, to hold belaying pins, etc. (b) A railing around the break of a poop deck.

Fife intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Fifed ; present participle & verbal noun fifing .] To play on a fife.

Fifer noun One who plays on a fife.

Fifteen adjective [ Middle English fiftene , Anglo-Saxon fīftȳne , fīftēne . See Five , and Ten , and confer Fifty .] Five and ten; one more than fourteen.

Fifteen noun
1. The sum of five and ten; fifteen units or objects.

2. A symbol representing fifteen units, as 15, or xv.

Fifteenth adjective [ Middle English fiftenthe ; confer fiftethe , Anglo-Saxon fīfteōða . See Fifteen .]
1. Next in order after the fourteenth; -- the ordinal of fifteen.

2. Consisting of one of fifteen equal parts or divisions of a thing.

Fifteenth noun
1. One of fifteen equal parts or divisions; the quotient of a unit divided by fifteen.

2. A species of tax upon personal property formerly laid on towns, boroughs, etc., in England, being one fifteenth part of what the personal property in each town, etc., had been valued at. Burrill.

3. (Mus.) (a) A stop in an organ tuned two octaves above the diaposon. (b) An interval consisting of two octaves.

Fifth adjective [ Middle English fifte , fifthe , Anglo-Saxon fīfta . See Five .]
1. Next in order after the fourth; -- the ordinal of five.

2. Consisting of one of five equal divisions of a thing.

Fifth monarchy men (Hist.) , a fanatical sect in England, of the time of the commonwealth, who maintained that there would be a fifth universal monarchy, during which Christ would reign on earth a thousand years. -- Fifth wheel , a horizontal wheel or segment above the fore axle of a carriage and beneath the body, forming an extended support to prevent careening.

Fifth noun
1. The quotient of a unit divided by five; one of five equal parts; a fifth part.

2. (Mus.) The interval of three tones and a semitone, embracing five diatonic degrees of the scale; the dominant of any key.

Fifthly adverb In the fifth place; as the fifth in order.