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r sing with a clear, soft note, like that of a flute. Knaves are men, That lute and flute fantastic tenderness. Tennyson. The redwing flutes his o-ka-lee. Emerson.

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

The act of fluttering; quick and irregular motion; vibration; as, the flutter of a fan. The chirp and flutter of some single bird Milnes. .

own out of the body. Arbuthnot. Her image has escaped the flux of things, And that same infant beauty that she wore Is fixed upon her now forevermore. Trench. Languages, like our bodies, are in a continual flux. Felton.

Two or more vanes set on a revolving axis, to act as a fanner, or to equalize or impede the motion of machinery by the resistance of the air, as in the striking part of a clock.

The fan wheel that rotates the cap of a windmill as the wind veers. Internat. Cyc.

he act of caressing; manifestation of tenderness. Cyrus made no . . . amorous fondling To fan her pride, or melt her guardless heart. Mickle.

folly; a professional jester or buffoon; a retainer formerly kept to make sport, dressed fantastically in motley, with ridiculous accouterments. Can they think me . . . their fool or jester Milton. April fool, Court fool, etc. See under April, Court, etc. -- Fool's cap, a cap or hood to which bells were usually attac…

Soldiers who march and fight on foot; the infantry, usually designated as the foot, in distinction from the cavalry. "Both horse and foot." Milton.

Infantry soldiers belonging to select regiments called the Guards. [Eng.]

+ hoop band; akin to E. heap. See For-, and Heap.] (Mil.), a body of men (called in F. enfants perdus, in G. verloren posten) selected, usually from volunteers, to attempt a breach, scale the wall of a fortress, or perform other extraordinarily perilous service; also, a desperate case or enterprise.…

To take a form, definite shape, or arrangement; as, the infantry should form in column.

power to resist attack. Timidity was fortified by pride. Gibbon. Pride came to the aid of fancy, and both combined to fortify his resolution. Sir W. Scott.

. In France it is usual to bring children into company, and cherish in them, from their infancy, a kind of forwardness and assurance. Addison.

, as regards sustenance and nurture, but not by tie of blood. Foster babe, or child, an infant of child nursed by a woman not its mother, or bred by a man not its father. -- Foster brother, Foster sister, one who is, or has been, nursed at the same breast, or brought up by the same nurse as another, but is not of the…

Scurrilous; obscene or profane; abusive; as, foul words; foul language.

Using language scurrilous, opprobrious, obscene, or profane; abusive. So foul-mouthed a witness never appeared in any cause. Addison.

Using profane, scurrilous, slanderous, or obscene language. Shak.

A deserted or exposed infant; a child found without a parent or owner. Foundling hospital, a hospital for foundlings.

A sudden causeless change or turn of the mind; a whim of fancy; a capricious prank; a vagary or caprice. She is restless and peevish, and sometimes in a freak will instantly change her habitation. Spectator.