Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913 + 1828)

Page 541

Falter

Fal"ter (?), n. [See Falter, v. i.] Hesitation; trembling; feebleness; an uncertain or broken sound; as, a slight falter in her voice.

The falter of an idle shepherd's pipe. Lowell.

Faltering

Fal"ter*ing, a. Hesitating; trembling. With faltering speech." Milton. -- n. Falter; halting; hesitation. -- Fal"ter*ing*ly, adv.

Faluns

Fa`luns" (?), n. [F.] (Geol.) A series of strata, of the Middle Tertiary period, of France, abounding in shells, and used by Lyell as the type of his Miocene subdivision.

Falwe

Fal"we (?), a. & n. Fallow. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Falx

Falx (?), n. [L., a sickle.] (Anat.) A curved fold or process of the dura mater or the peritoneum; esp., one of the partitionlike folds of the dura mater which extend into the great fissures of the brain.

Famble

Fam"ble (?), v. i. [OE. falmelen; cf. SW. famla to grope, Dan. famle to grope, falter, hesitate, Isel. fālma to grope. Cf. Famble.] To stammer. [Obs.] Nares.

Famble

Fam"ble, n. [Cf. Famble, v.] A hand [Slang & Obs.] We clap our fambles." Beau. & Fl.

Fame

Fame (?), n. [OF. fame, L. fama, fr. fari to speak, akin to Gr. a saying, report, to speak. See Ban, and cf. Fable, Fate, Euphony, Blame.]

1. Public report or rumor.

The fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house. Gen. xlv. 16.

2. Report or opinion generally diffused; renown; public estimation; celebrity, either favorable or unfavorable; as, the fame of Washington.

I find thou art no less than fame hath bruited. Shak.

Syn. -- Notoriety; celebrity; renown; reputation.

Fame

Fame, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Famed (?),; p. pr. & vb. n. Faming.]

1. To report widely or honorably.

The field where thou art famed To have wrought such wonders. Milton.

2. To make famous or renowned.

Those Hesperian gardens famed of old. Milton.

Fameless

Fame"less, a. Without fame or renown. -- Fame"less*ly, adv.

Familiar

Fa*mil`iar (?), a. [OE. familer, familier, F. familier, fr. L. familiaris, fr. familia family. See Family.]

1. Of or pertaining to a family; domestic. Familiar feuds." Byron.

2. Closely acquainted or intimate, as a friend or companion; well versed in, as any subject of study; as, familiar with the Scriptures.

3. Characterized by, or exhibiting, the manner of an intimate friend; not formal; unconstrained; easy; accessible. In loose, familiar strains." Addison.

Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar. Shak.

4. Well known; well understood; common; frequent; as, a familiar illustration.

That war, or peace, or both at once, may be As things acquainted and familiar to us. Shak.

There is nothing more familiar than this. Locke.

5. Improperly acquainted; wrongly intimate. Camden. Familiar spirit, a demon or evil spirit supposed to attend at call. 1 Sam. xxviii. 3, 7-9.

Familiar

Fa*mil"iar, n.

1. An intimate; a companion.

All my familiars watched for my halting. Jer. xx. 10.

2. An attendant demon or evil spirit. Shak.

3. (Court of Inquisition) A confidential officer employed in the service of the tribunal, especially in apprehending and imprisoning the accused.

Familiarity

Fa*mil`iar"i*ty (?), n.; pl. Familiarities (#). [OE. familarite, F. familiaritéfr. L. faniliaritas. See Familiar.]

1. The state of being familiar; intimate and frequent converse, or association; unconstrained intercourse; freedom from ceremony and constraint; intimacy; as, to live in remarkable familiarity.

2. Anything said or done by one person to another unceremoniously and without constraint; esp., in the pl., such actions and words as propriety and courtesy do not warrant; liberties. Syn. -- Acquaintance; fellowship; affability; intimacy. See Acquaintance.

Familiarization

Fa*mil`iar*i*za"tion (?), n. The act or process of making familiar; the result of becoming familiar; as, familiarization with scenes of blood.

Familiarize

Fa*mil"iar*ize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Familiarized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Familiarizing (?).] [Cf. F. familiariser.]

1. To make familiar or intimate; to habituate; to accustom; to make well known by practice or converse; as, to familiarize one's self with scenes of distress.

2. To make acquainted, or skilled, by practice or study; as, to familiarize one's self with a business, a book, or a science.

Familiarly

Fa"mil"iar*ly, adv. In a familiar manner.

Familiarness

Fa*mil"iar*ness, n. Familiarity. [R.]

Familiary

Fa*mil"ia*ry (?), a. [L. familiaris. See Familiar.] Of or pertaining to a family or household; domestic. [Obs.] Milton.

Familism

Fam"i*lism (?), n. The tenets of the Familists. Milton.

Familist

Fam"i*list (?), n. [From Family.] (Eccl. Hist.) One of afanatical Antinomian sect originating in Holland, and existing in England about 1580, called the Family of Love, who held that religion consists wholly in love.

Familistery

Fam"i*lis*ter*y (?), n.; pl. Familisteries (). [F. familist\'8are.] A community in which many persons unite as in one family, and are regulated by certain communistic laws and customs.

Familistic, Familistical

Fam`i*listic (?), Fam`i*lis"tic*al (?), a. Pertaining to Familists. Baxter.
Family
Fam"i*ly (?), n.; pl. Families (#). [L. familia, fr. famulus servant; akin to Oscan famel servant, cf. faamat he dwells, Skr. dhāman house, fr. dhāto set, make, do: cf. F. famille. Cf. Do, v. t., Doom, Fact, Feat.]
1. The collective body of persons who live in one house, and under one head or manager; a household, including parents, children, and servants, and, as the case may be, lodgers or boarders.
2. The group comprising a husband and wife and their dependent children, constituting a fundamental unit in the organization of society.
The welfare of the family underlies the welfare of society. H. Spencer.

3. Those who descend from one common progenitor; a tribe, clan, or race; kindred; house; as, the human family; the family of Abraham; the father of a family.
Go ! and pretennd your family is young. Pope.

4. Course of descent; genealogy; line of ancestors; lineage.
5. Honorable descent; noble or respectable stock; as, a man of family.
6. A groupe of kindred or closely related individuals; as, a family of languages; a family of States; the chlorine family.
7. (Biol.) A groupe of organisms, either animal or vegetable, related by certain points of resemblance in structure or development, more comprehensive than a genus, because it is usually based on fewer or less pronounced points of likeness. In zoölogy a family is less comprehesive than an order; in botany it is often considered the same thing as an order. Family circle. See under Circle. -- Family man. (a) A man who has a family; esp., one who has a wife and children living with him andd dependent upon him. (b) A man of domestic habits. The Jews are generally, when married, most exemplary family men." Mayhew. -- Family of curves ∨ surfaces (Geom.), a group of curves or surfaces derived from a single equation. -- In a family way, like one belonging to the family. Why don't we ask him and his ladies to come over in a family way, and dine with some other plain country gentlefolks?" Thackeray. -- In the family way, pregnant. [Colloq.]
Famine
Fam"ine (?), n. [F. famine, fr. L. fames hunger; cf. Gr. want, need, Skr. hāni loss, lack, hā to leave.] General scarcity of food; dearth; a want of provisions; destitution. Worn with famine." Milton.
There was a famine in the land. Gen. xxvi. 1.
Famine fever (Med.), typhus fever.
Famish
Fam"ish (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Famished (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Famishing.] [OE. famen; cf. OF. afamer, L. fames. See Famine, and cf. Affamish.]
1. To starve, kill, or destroy with hunger. Shak.
2. To exhaust the strength or endurance of, by hunger; to distress with hanger.
And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Cen. xli. 55.

The pains of famished Tantalus he'll feel. Dryden.

3. To kill, or to cause to suffer extremity, by deprivation or denial of anything necessary.
And famish him of breath, if not of bread. Milton.

4. To force or constrain by famine.
He had famished Paris into a surrender. Burke.

Famish
Fam"ish, v. i.
1. To die of hunger; to starve.
2. To suffer extreme hunger or thirst, so as to be exhausted in strength, or to come near to perish.
You are all resolved rather to die than to famish? Shak.

3. To suffer extremity from deprivation of anything essential or necessary.
The Lord will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish. Prov. x. 3.

Famishment
Fam"ish*ment (?), n. State of being famished.
Famosity
Fa*mos"i*ty (?), n. [L. famositas infamy: cf. F. famosité. See Famous.] The state or quality of being famous. [Obs.] Johnson.
Famous
Fa"mous (?), a. [L. famosus, fr. fama fame: cf. F. fameux. See Fame.] Celebrated in fame or public report; renowned; mach talked of; distinguished in story; -- used in either a good or a bad sense, chiefly the former; often followed by for; as, famous for erudition, for eloquence, for military skill; a famous pirate.
Famous for a scolding tongue. Shak.
Syn. -- Noted; remarkable; signal; conspicuous; celebrated; renowned; illustrious; eminent; transcendent; excellent. -- Famous, Renowned, Illustrious. Famous is applied to a person or thing widely spoken of as extraordinary; renowned is applied to those who are named again and again with honor; illustrious, to those who have dazzled the world by the splendor of their deeds or their virtues. See Distinguished.
Famoused
Fa"moused (?), a. Renowned. [Obs.] Shak.
Famously
Fa"mous*ly (?), adv. In a famous manner; in a distinguished degree; greatly; splendidly.
Then this land was famously enriched With politic grave counsel. Shak.

Famousness
Fa"mous*ness, n. The state of being famous.
Famular
Fam"u*lar (?), n. [Cf. L. famularis of servants.] Domestic; familiar. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Famulate
Fam"u*late (?), v. i. [L. famulatus, p.p. of famulari to serve, fr. famulus servant.] To serve. [Obs.]
Famulist
Fam"u*list (?), n. [L. famulus servant.] A collegian of inferior rank or position, corresponding to the sizar at Cambridge. [Oxford Univ., Eng.]
Fan
Fan (?), n. [AS. fann, fr. L. vannus fan, van for winnowing grain; cf. F. van. Cf. Van a winnowing machine, Winnow.]
1. An instrument used for producing artificial currents of air, by the wafting or revolving motion of a broad surface; as: (a) An instrument for cooling the person, made of feathers, paper, silk, etc., and often mounted on sticks all turning about the same pivot, so as when opened to radiate from the center and assume the figure of a section of a circle. (b) (Mach.) Any revolving vane or vanes used for producing currents of air, in winnowing grain, blowing a fire, ventilation, etc., or for checking rapid motion by the resistance of the air; a fan blower; a fan wheel. (c) An instrument for winnowing grain, by moving which the grain is tossed and agitated, and the chaff is separated and blown away. (d) Something in the form of a fan when spread, as a peacock's tail, a window, etc. (e) A small vane or sail, used to keep the large sails of a smock windmill always in the direction of the wind.
Clean provender, which hath been winnowed with the shovel and with the fan. Is. xxx. 24.

2. That which produces effects analogous to those of a fan, as in exciting a flame, etc.; that which inflames, heightens, or strengthens; as, it served as a fan to the flame of his passion.
3. A quintain; -- from its form. [Obs.] Chaucer. Fan blower, a wheel with vanes fixed on a rotating shaft inclosed in a case or chamber, to create a blast of air (fan blast) for forge purposes, or a current for draft and ventilation; a fanner. -- Fan cricket (Zoöl.), a mole cricket. -- Fan light (Arch.), a window over a door; -- so called from the semicircular form and radiating sash bars of those windows which are set in the circular heads of arched doorways. -- Fan shell (Zoöl.), any shell of the family Pectinidæ. See Scallop, n., 1. -- Fan tracery (Arch.), the decorative tracery on the surface of fan vaulting. -- Fan vaulting (Arch.), an elaborate system of vaulting, in which the ribs diverge somewhat like the rays of a fan, as in Henry VII.'s chapel in Westminster Abbey. It is peculiar to English Gothic. -- Fan wheel, the wheel of a fan blower. -- Fan window. Same as Fan light (above).
Fan
Fan (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Fanned (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Fanning (?).] [Cf. OF. vanner, L. vannere. See Fan, n., Van a winnowing machine.]
1. To move as with a fan.
The air . . . fanned with unnumbered plumes. Milton.

2. To cool and refresh, by moving the air with a fan; to blow the air on the face of with a fan.
3. To ventilate; to blow on; to affect by air put in motion.
Calm as the breath which fans our eastern groves. Dryden.

4. To winnow; to separate chaff from, and drive it away by a current of air; as, to fan wheat. Jer. li. 2.
5. To excite or stir up to activity, as a fan axcites a flame; to stimulate; as, this conduct fanned the excitement of the populace. Fanning machine, ∨ Fanning mill, a machine for separating seed from chaff, etc., by a blast of air; a fanner.
Fanal
Fa`nal" (?), n. [F.] A lighthouse, or the apparatus placed in it for giving light.
Fanatic
Fa*nat"ic (?), a. [L. fanaticus inspired by divinity, enthusiastic, frantic, fr. fanum fane: cf. F. fanatique. See Fane.] Pertaining to, or indicating, fanaticism; extravagant in opinions; ultra; unreasonable; excessively enthusiastic, especially on religious subjects; as, fanatic zeal; fanatic notions.
But Faith, fanatic Faith, once wedded fast To some dear falsehood, hugs it to the last. T. Moore.

Fanatic
Fa*nat"ic, n. A person affected by excessive enthusiasm, particularly on religious subjects; one who indulges wild and extravagant notions of religion.
There is a new word, coined within few months, called fanatics, which, by the close stickling thereof, seemeth well cut out and proportioned to signify what is meant thereby, even the sectaries of our age. Fuller (1660).

Fanatics are governed rather by imagination than by judgment. Stowe.

Fanatical
Fa*nat"ic*al (?), a. Characteristic of, or relating to, fanaticism; fanatic. -Fa*nat"ic*al*ly, adv. -- Fa*nat"ic*al*ness, n.
Fanaticism
Fa*nat"i*cism (?), n. [Cf. Fanatism.] Excessive enthusiasm, unreasoning zeal, or wild and extravagant notions, on any subject, especially religion; religious frenzy.<-- and politics, terrorism --> Syn. -- See Superstition.
Fanaticize
Fa*nat"i*cize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Fanaticized (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Fanaticizing (?).] To cause to become a fanatic.
Fanatism
Fan"a*tism (?), n. [Cf. F. fanatisme. Cf. Fanaticism.] Fanaticism. [R.] Gibbon.
Fancied
Fan"cied (?), a. [From Fancy, v. t.] Formed or conceived by the fancy; unreal; as, a fancied wrong.
Fancier
Fan"ci*er (?), n.
1. One who is governed by fancy. Not reasoners, but fanciers." Macaulay.
2. One who fancies or has a special liking for, or interest in, a particular object or class or objects; hence, one who breeds and keeps for sale birds and animals; as, bird fancier, dog fancier, etc.
Fanciful
Fan"ci*ful (?), a.
1. Full of fancy; guided by fancy, rather than by reason and experience; whimsical; as, a fanciful man forms visionary projects.
2. Conceived in the fancy; not consistent with facts or reason; abounding in ideal qualities or figures; as, a fanciful scheme; a fanciful theory.
3. Curiously shaped or constructed; as, she wore a fanciful headdress.
Gather up all fancifullest shells. Keats.
Syn. -- Imaginative; ideal; visionary; capricious; chimerical; whimsical; fantastical; wild. -- Fanciful, Fantastical, Visionary. We speak of that as fanciful which is irregular in taste and judgment; we speak of it as fantastical when it becomes grotesque and extravagant as well as irregular; we speak of it as visionary when it is wholly unfounded in the nature of things. Fanciful notions are the product of a heated fancy, without any tems are made up of oddly assorted fancies, aften of the most whimsical kind; visionary expectations are those which can never be realized in fact. -- Fan"ci*ful*ly, adv. -Fan"ci*ful*ness, n.