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To keep off; to prevent from entering or hitting; to ward off; to shut out; -- often with off; as, to fend off blows. With fern beneath to fend the bitter cold. Dryden. To fend off a boat or vessel (Naut.), to prevent its running against anything with too much violence.

A festering or rankling. The fester of the chain their necks. I. Taylor.

A festering. [R.] Chalmers.

purify or defecate, as water or other liquid, by causing it to pass through a filter. Filtering paper, or Filter paper, a porous unsized paper, for filtering.

The act or process of filtering; the mechanical separation of a liquid from the undissolved particles floating in it.

Anything that does work of a finger; as, the pointer of a clock, watch, or other registering machine; especially (Mech.) a small projecting rod, wire, or piece, which is brought into contact with an object to effect, direct, or restrain a motion.

Tending to complete or to render fit for the market or for use. Finishing coat. (a) (Plastering) the final coat of plastering applied to walls and ceilings, usually white and rubbed smooth. (b) (Painting) The final coat of paint, usually differently mixed applied from the others. -- Finishing press, a machine for pres…

son to reveal it at first hand, by way of mouth, to yourself. Dickens. -- First coat (Plastering), the solid foundation of coarse stuff, on which the rest is placed; it is thick, and crossed with lines, so as to give a bond for the next coat. -- First day, Sunday; -- so called by the Friends. -- First floor. (a) The…

Lit., strolling; sauntering; hence, aimless; idleness; as, intellectual flânerie.

The act or practice of flattering; the act of pleasing by artiful commendation or compliments; adulation; false, insincere, or excessive praise. Just praise is only a debt, but flattery is a present. Rambler. Flattery corrupts both the receiver and the giver. Burke.

The act of wavering or of fluttering; flucuation; sudden and brief increase of brightness; as, the last flicker of the dying flame.

A flying with lightness and celerity; a fluttering.

Unstable; fluttering. [Obs.] Dr. H. More.

The trowel or tool with which the floated coat of plastering is leveled and smoothed.

ed with the others in front; in man they are the last two pairs. -- Floating screed (Plastering), a strip of plastering first laid on, to serve as a guide for the thickness of the coat. -- Floating threads (Weaving), threads which span several other threads without being interwoven with them, in a woven fabric.…

m the refuse contained in the meal yielded by the stones. -- Flour box a tin box for scattering flour; a dredging box. -- Flour dredge or dredger, a flour box. -- Flour dresser, a mashine for sorting and distributing flour according to grades of fineness. -- Flour mill, a mill for grinding and sifting flour.…

Ready in the use of words; voluble; copious; having words at command; and uttering them with facility and smoothness; as, a fluent speaker; hence, flowing; voluble; smooth; -- said of language; as, fluent speech. With most fluent utterance. Denham. Fluent as the flight of a swallow is the sultan's letter. De Quincey.…

at; hence, to throw into agitation and confusion; to confuse; to muddle. His habit or flustering himself daily with claret. Macaulay.

The act of flustering, or the state of being flustered; fluster. [Colloq.]

To move with quick vibrations or undulations; as, a sail flutters in the wind; a fluttering fan.