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That which is believed on any subject, whether in science, politics, or religion; especially (Theol.), a system of religious belief of any kind; as, the Jewish or Mohammedan faith; and especially, the system of truth taught by Christ; as, the Christian faith; also, the creed or belief of a Christian society or church.…

A time of fasting, whether a day, week, or longer time; a period of abstinence from food or certain kinds of food; as, an annual fast. Fast day, a day appointed for fasting, humiliation, and religious offices as a means of invoking the favor of God. -- To break one's fast, to put an end to a period of abstinence by ta…

One who has begotten a child, whether son or daughter; a generator; a male parent. A wise son maketh a glad father. Prov. x. 1.

A skin or hide; a fell; a pelt. [Obs.] To know whether sheep are sound or not, see that the felt be loose. Mortimer.

That which is feigned, invented, or imagined; especially, a feigned or invented story, whether oral or written. Hence: A story told in order to deceive; a fabrication; -- opposed to fact, or reality. The fiction of those golden apples kept by a dragon. Sir W. Raleigh. When it could no longer be denied that her flight h…

A very small figure, whether human or of an animal; especially, one in terra cotta or the like; -- distinguished from statuette, which is applied to small figures in bronze, marble, etc.

Defiled with filth, whether material or moral; nasty; dirty; polluted; foul; impure; obscene. "In the filthy-mantled pool." Shak. He which is filthy let him be filthy still. Rev. xxii. 11.

Ardor of passion, whether love or hate; excessive warmth; consumingviolence of temper. he had fire in his temper.Atterbury.

To float; to swim. [Obs.] "Whether I sink or flete." Chaucer.

Ornamentation by means of flower forms, whether closely imitated or conventionalized.

one or both of the sexual organs; an organ or combination of the organs of reproduction, whether inclosed by a circle of foliar parts or not. A complete flower consists of two essential parts, the stamens and the pistil, and two floral envelopes, the corolla and callyx. In mosses the flowers consist of a few special l…

To refuse; to decline; to give no heed. Thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear. Ezek. ii. 7.

r, more generally, which changes, or tends to change, any physical relation between them, whether mechanical, thermal, chemical, electrical, magnetic, or of any other kind; as, the force of gravity; cohesive force; centrifugal force. Animal force (Physiol.), muscular force or energy. -- Catabiotic force Etym: [Gr. (Bi…

Like or pertaining to fossils; contained in rocks. whether petrified or not; as, fossil plants, shells. Fossil copal, a resinous substance, first found in the blue clay at Highgate, near London, and apparently a vegetable resin, partly changed by remaining in the earth. -- Fossil cork, flax, paper, or wood, varieties…

parts fitted and united together; a fabric; a structure; esp., the constructional system, whether of timber or metal, that gives to a building, vessel, etc., its model and strength; the skeleton of a structure. These are thy glorius works, Parent of good, Almighty! thine this universal frame. Milton.…

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.

A plant, whether recent or fossil, which resembles a seaweed. See Fucoid, a.

The solemn rites used in the disposition of a dead human body, whether such disposition be by interment, burning, or otherwise; esp., the ceremony or solemnization of interment; obsequies; burial; -- formerly used in the plural. King James his funerals were performed very solemnly in the collegiate church at Westminste…

A vessel propelled by oars, whether having masts and sails or not; as:

night, boy Shak. I think, as the world goes, he was a good sort of man enough. Arbuthnot. Whether the cause goes for me or against me, you must pay me the reward. I Watts.