Webster's Dictionary, 1913
Fin-toed adjective (Zoology) Having toes connected by a membrane; palmiped; palmated; also, lobate.
Finner noun (Zoology) A finback whale.
Finnic adjective Of or pertaining to the Finns.
Finnikin noun (Zoology) A variety of pigeon, with a crest somewhat resembling the mane of a horse. [ Written also finikin .]
Finnish adjective Of or pertaining to Finland, to the Finns, or to their language. -- noun A Northern Turanian group of languages; the language of the Finns.
Finns noun plural ; sing. Finn . (Ethnol.) (a) Natives of Finland; Finlanders. (b) A branch of the Mongolian race, inhabiting Northern and Eastern Europe, including the Magyars, Bulgarians, Permians, Lapps, and Finlanders. [ Written also Fins .]
Finny adjective 1. (Zoology) Having, or abounding in, fins, as fishes; pertaining to fishes. 2. Abounding in fishes. With patient angle trolls the finny deep.
Goldsmoth.
Finochio noun [ Italian
finocchio fennel, Late Latin
fenuclum . See
Fennel .]
(Botany) An umbelliferous plant ( Fœniculum dulce ) having a somewhat tuberous stem; sweet fennel. The blanched stems are used in France and Italy as a culinary vegetable.
Finos noun plural [ Spanish , plural, from fino fine.] Second best wool from Merino sheep. Gardner.
Finsen light [ After Prof. Niels R. Finsen (b. 1860), Danish physician.] (Medicine) Highly actinic light, derived from sunlight or from some form of electric lamp, used in the treatment of lupus and other cutaneous affections.
Fint 3d pers. sing. pr. of Find , for findeth . [ Obsolete]
Chaucer.
Fiord (fy...rd;
i or
y consonant, § 272)
noun [ Dan. & Norw.
fiord . See
Frith .]
A narrow inlet of the sea, penetrating between high banks or rocks, as on the coasts of Norway and Alaska. [ Written also
fjord .]
Fiorin noun [ Confer Ir. fiothran a sort of grass.] (Botany) A species of creeping bent grass ( Agrostis alba ); -- called also fiorin grass .
Fiorite noun (Min.) A variety of opal occuring in the cavities of volcanic tufa, in smooth and shining globular and botryoidal masses, having a pearly luster; - - so called from Fiora , in Ischia.
Fioriture noun plural [ Italian , plural of fioritura a flowering.] (Mus.) Little flowers of ornament introduced into a melody by a singer or player.
Fippenny bit (? or ?). [ Corruption of five penny bit .] The Spanish half real, or one sixteenth of a dollar, - - so called in Pennsylvania and the adjacent States. [ Obsolete] » Before the act of Congress, Feb. 21, 1857, caused the adoption of decimal coins and the withdrawal of foreign coinage from circulation, this coin passed currently for 6¼ cents, and was called in New England a fourpence ha'penny or fourpence ; in New York a sixpence ; in Pennsylvania, Virginia, etc., a fip ; and in Louisiana, a picayune .
Fipple (fẽr) noun [ perh. from Latin fibula a clasp, a pin; confer Prov. English fible a stick used to stir pottage.] A stopper, as in a wind instrument of music. [ Obsolete] Bacon.
Fir (fẽr) noun [ Danish fyr , fyrr ; akin to Swedish furu , Icelandic fura , Anglo-Saxon furh in furh wudu fir wood, German föhre , Old High German forha pine, vereh eih a sort of oak, Latin quercus oak.] (Botany) A genus ( Abies ) of coniferous trees, often of large size and elegant shape, some of them valued for their timber and others for their resin. The species are distinguished as the balsam fir , the silver fir , the red fir , etc. The Scotch fir is a Pinus . » Fir in the Bible means any one of several coniferous trees, including, cedar, cypress, and probably three species of pine. J. D. Hooker.
Fire (fīr)
noun [ Middle English
fir ,
fyr ,
fur Anglo-Saxon
fȳr ; akin to Dutch
vuur , Old Saxon & Old High German
fiur , German
feuer , Icelandic
fȳri ,
fūrr , Greek
py^r , and perhaps to Latin
purus pure, English
pure Confer
Empyrean ,
Pyre .]
1. The evolution of light and heat in the combustion of bodies; combustion; state of ignition. » The form of
fire exhibited in the combustion of gases in an ascending stream or current is called
flame . Anciently,
fire , air, earth, and water were regarded as the four elements of which all things are composed.
2. Fuel in a state of combustion, as on a hearth, or in a stove or a furnace. 3. The burning of a house or town; a conflagration. 4. Anything which destroys or affects like fire. 5. Ardor of passion, whether love or hate; excessive warmth; consuming violence of temper. he had fire in his temper.
Atterbury. 6. Liveliness of imagination or fancy; intellectual and moral enthusiasm; capacity for ardor and zeal. And bless their critic with a poet's fire .
Pope. 7. Splendor; brilliancy; luster; hence, a star. Stars, hide your fires .
Shak. As in a zodiac
representing the heavenly fires .
Milton. 8. Torture by burning; severe trial or affliction. 9. The discharge of firearms; firing; as, the troops were exposed to a heavy fire . Blue fire ,
Red fire ,
Green fire (Pyrotech.) ,
compositions of various combustible substances, as sulphur, niter, lampblack, etc., the flames of which are colored by various metallic salts, as those of antimony, strontium, barium, etc. --
Fire alarm (a) A signal given on the breaking out of a fire. (b) An apparatus for giving such an alarm. --
Fire annihilator ,
a machine, device, or preparation to be kept at hand for extinguishing fire by smothering it with some incombustible vapor or gas, as carbonic acid. --
Fire balloon .
(a) A balloon raised in the air by the buoyancy of air heated by a fire placed in the lower part .
(b) A balloon sent up at night with fireworks which ignite at a regulated height. Simmonds. --
Fire bar ,
a grate bar. --
Fire basket ,
a portable grate; a cresset. Knight. --
Fire beetle .
(Zoology) See in the Vocabulary. --
Fire blast ,
a disease of plants which causes them to appear as if burnt by fire. --
Fire box ,
the chamber of a furnace, steam boiler, etc., for the fire. --
Fire brick ,
a refractory brick, capable of sustaining intense heat without fusion, usually made of fire clay or of siliceous material, with some cementing substance, and used for lining fire boxes, etc. --
Fire brigade ,
an organized body of men for extinguished fires. --
Fire bucket .
See under Bucket . --
Fire bug ,
an incendiary; one who, from malice or through mania, persistently sets fire to property; a pyromaniac. [ U.S.] --
Fire clay .
See under Clay . --
Fire company ,
a company of men managing an engine in extinguishing fires. --
Fire cross .
See Fiery cross . [ Obsolete]
Milton. --
Fire damp .
See under Damp . --
Fire dog .
See Firedog , in the Vocabulary. --
Fire drill .
(a) A series of evolutions performed by fireman for practice .
(b) An apparatus for producing fire by friction, by rapidly twirling a wooden pin in a wooden socket; -- used by the Hindoos during all historic time, and by many savage peoples. --
Fire eater .
(a) A juggler who pretends to eat fire. (b) A quarrelsome person who seeks affrays; a hotspur. [ Colloq.] --
Fire engine ,
a portable forcing pump, usually on wheels, for throwing water to extinguish fire. --
Fire escape ,
a contrivance for facilitating escape from burning buildings. --
Fire gilding (Fine Arts) ,
a mode of gilding with an amalgam of gold and quicksilver, the latter metal being driven off afterward by heat. --
Fire gilt (Fine Arts) ,
gold laid on by the process of fire gilding. --
Fire insurance ,
the act or system of insuring against fire; also, a contract by which an insurance company undertakes, in consideration of the payment of a premium or small percentage -- usually made periodically -- to indemnify an owner of property from loss by fire during a specified period. --
Fire irons ,
utensils for a fireplace or grate, as tongs, poker, and shovel. --
Fire main ,
a pipe for water, to be used in putting out fire. --
Fire master (Mil) ,
an artillery officer who formerly supervised the composition of fireworks. --
Fire office ,
an office at which to effect insurance against fire. --
Fire opal ,
a variety of opal giving firelike reflections. --
Fire ordeal ,
an ancient mode of trial, in which the test was the ability of the accused to handle or tread upon red-hot irons. Abbot. --
Fire pan ,
a pan for holding or conveying fire, especially the receptacle for the priming of a gun. --
Fire plug ,
a plug or hydrant for drawing water from the main pipes in a street, building, etc., for extinguishing fires. --
Fire policy ,
the writing or instrument expressing the contract of insurance against loss by fire. --
Fire pot .
(a) (Mil.) A small earthen pot filled with combustibles, formerly used as a missile in war. (b) The cast iron vessel which holds the fuel or fire in a furnace. (c) A crucible. (d) A solderer's furnace. --
Fire raft ,
a raft laden with combustibles, used for setting fire to an enemy's ships. --
Fire roll ,
a peculiar beat of the drum to summon men to their quarters in case of fire. --
Fire setting (Mining) ,
the process of softening or cracking the working face of a lode, to facilitate excavation, by exposing it to the action of fire; -- now generally superseded by the use of explosives. Raymond. --
Fire ship ,
a vessel filled with combustibles, for setting fire to an enemy's ships. --
Fire shovel ,
a shovel for taking up coals of fire. --
Fire stink ,
the stench from decomposing iron pyrites, caused by the formation of sulphureted hydrogen. Raymond. --
Fire surface ,
the surfaces of a steam boiler which are exposed to the direct heat of the fuel and the products of combustion; heating surface. --
Fire swab ,
a swab saturated with water, for cooling a gun in action and clearing away particles of powder, etc. Farrow. --
Fire teaser ,
in England, the fireman of a steam emgine. --
Fire water ,
ardent spirits; -- so called by the American Indians. --
Fire worship ,
the worship of fire, which prevails chiefly in Persia, among the followers of Zoroaster, called Chebers , or Guebers , and among the Parsees of India. --
Greek fire .
See under Greek . --
On fire ,
burning; hence, ardent; passionate; eager; zealous. --
Running fire ,
the rapid discharge of firearms in succession by a line of troops. --
St. Anthony's fire ,
erysipelas; -- an eruptive fever which St. Anthony was supposed to cure miraculously. Hoblyn. --
St. Elmo's fire .
See under Saint Elmo . --
To set on fire ,
to inflame; to kindle. --
To take fire ,
to begin to burn; to fly into a passion.
Fire transitive verb [
imperfect & past participle Fired ;
present participle & verbal noun Fring .]
1. To set on fire; to kindle; as, to fire a house or chimney; to fire a pile. 2. To subject to intense heat; to bake; to burn in a kiln; as, to fire pottery. 3. To inflame; to irritate, as the passions; as, to fire the soul with anger, pride, or revenge. Love had fired my mind.
Dryden. 4. To animate; to give life or spirit to; as, to fire the genius of a young man. 5. To feed or serve the fire of; as, to fire a boiler. 6. To light up as if by fire; to illuminate. [ The sun] fires the proud tops of the eastern pines.
Shak. 7. To cause to explode; as, to fire a torpedo; to disharge; as, to fire a musket or cannon; to fire cannon balls, rockets, etc. 8. To drive by fire. [ Obsolete]
Till my bad angel fire my good one out.
Shak. 9. (Far.) To cauterize. To fire up ,
to light up the fires of, as of an engine.
Fire intransitive verb
1. To take fire; to be kindled; to kindle. 2. To be irritated or inflamed with passion. 3. To discharge artillery or firearms; as, they fired on the town.
To fire up , to grow irritated or angry. "He . . . fired up , and stood vigorously on his defense." Macaulay.
Fire beetle (Zoology) A very brilliantly luminous beetle ( Pyrophorus noctilucus ), one of the elaters, found in Central and South America; -- called also cucujo . The name is also applied to other species. See Firefly .
Fire-fanged adjective [ Fire + fanged seized.] Injured as by fire; burned; -- said of manure which has lost its goodness and acquired an ashy hue in consequence of heat generated by decomposition.
Fire-new adjective Fresh from the forge; bright; quite new; brand-new. Charles reade. Your fire-new stamp of honor is scarce current.
Shak.
Firearm (-ärm`) noun A gun, pistol, or any weapon from which a shot is discharged by the force of an explosive substance, as gunpowder.
Fireback noun (Zoology) One of several species of pheasants of the genus Euplocamus , having the lower back a bright, fiery red. They inhabit Southern Asia and the East Indies.
Fireball noun (a) (Mil.) A ball filled with powder or other combustibles, intended to be thrown among enemies, and to injure by explosion; also, to set fire to their works and light them up, so that movements may be seen. (b) A luminous meteor, resembling a ball of fire passing rapidly through the air, and sometimes exploding.
Fireball noun Ball, or globular, lightning.
Firebare noun A beacon. [ Obsolete] Burrill.
Firebird noun (Zoology) The Baltimore oriole.
Fireboard noun A chimney board or screen to close a fireplace when not in use.
Firebote noun (O. Eng. Law) An allowance of fuel. See Bote .
Firebrand noun
1. A piece of burning wood. L'Estrange. 2. One who inflames factions, or causes contention and mischief; an incendiary. Bacon.
Firecracker noun See Cracker ., noun , 3.
Firecrest noun (Zoology) A small European kinglet ( Regulus ignicapillus ), having a bright red crest; -- called also fire-crested wren .
Firedog noun A support for wood in a fireplace; an andiron.
Firedrake noun [ Anglo-Saxon
fȳrdraca ;
fȳr fire +
draca a dragon. See
Fire , and
Drake a dragon.] [ Obsolete]
1. A fiery dragon. Beau. & Fl. 2. A fiery meteor; an ignis fatuus; a rocket. 3. A worker at a furnace or fire. B. Jonson.
Firefish noun (Zoology) A singular marine fish of the genus Pterois , family Scorpænidæ , of several species, inhabiting the Indo-Pacific region. They are usually red, and have very large spinose pectoral and dorsal fins.
Fireflaire noun [ Fire + Prov. English flaire a ray.] (Zoology) A European sting ray of the genus Trygon ( T. pastinaca ); -- called also fireflare and fiery flaw .
Fireflame noun (Zoology) The European band fish ( Cepola rubescens ).
Firefly noun ;
plural Fireflies (Zoology) Any luminous winged insect, esp. luminous beetles of the family Lampyridæ . » The common American species belong to the genera
Photinus and
Photuris , in which both sexes are winged. The name is also applied to luminous species of
Elateridæ . See
Fire beetle .
Fireless adjective Destitute of fire.
Firelock noun An old form of gunlock, as the flintlock, which ignites the priming by a spark; perhaps originally, a matchlock. Hence, a gun having such a lock.
Fireman noun ;
plural Firemen (-m
e n).
1. A man whose business is to extinguish fires in towns; a member of a fire company. 2. A man who tends the fires, as of a steam engine; a stocker.
Fireplace noun The part a chimney appropriated to the fire; a hearth; -- usually an open recess in a wall, in which a fire may be built.
Fireproof adjective Proof against fire; incombustible.
Fireproofing noun The act or process of rendering anything incombustible; also, the materials used in the process.
Firer noun One who fires or sets fire to anything; an incendiary. [ R.] R. Carew.