Search the Dictionary

Webster’s Dictionary (1828)



403 words match “FREN”

PLUVIOSE n.
The fifth month of the French republican calendar adopted in
POET n.
sition; the author of a poem; an imaginative thinker or writer. The poet's eye, in a fine frenzy rolling, Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven. Shak. A poet is a maker, as the word signifies. Dryden. Poet laureate. See under Laureate.
PORTAL n.
By analogy with the French portail, used by recent writers for the whole architectural composition which surrounds and includes the doorways and porches of a church.
POSSESSION n.
ate of being possessed or controlled, as by an evil spirit, or violent passions; madness; frenzy; as, demoniacal possession. How long hath this possession held the man Shak. To give possession, to put in another's power or occupancy. -- To put in possession. (a) To invest with ownership or occupancy; to provide or fur…
POT-AU-FEU n.
broth, meat, and vegetables prepared by boiling in a pot, -- a dish esp. common among the French. Grant Allen.
PRAIRIAL n.
The ninth month of the French Republican calendar, which dated from September 22, 1792. It began May, 20, and ended June 18. See Vendemiaire.
PRECIEUSE n.
An affected woman of polite society, esp. one of the literary women of the French salons of the 17th century.
PROSPECTIVE a.
Looking forward in time; acting with foresight; -- opposed to retrospective. The French king of Sweden are circumspect, industrious, and prospective, too, in this affair. Sir J. Child.
PRUNE n.
A plum; esp., a dried plum, used in cookery; as, French or Turkish prunes; California prunes. German prune (Bot.), a large dark purple plum, of oval shape, often one-sided. It is much used for preserving, either dried or in sirup. Prune tree. (Bot.) (a) A tree of the genus Prunus (P. domestica), which produces prunes.…
PRUNELLE n.
A kind of small and very acid French plum; -- applied especially to the stoned and dried fruit.
PUERILE a.
Boyish; childish; trifling; silly. The French have been notorious through generations for their puerile affectation of Roman forms, models, and historic precedents. De Quincey.
PUT v.
t.), to change direction; to tack. -- To put back (Naut.), to turn back; to return. "The French . . . had put back to Toulon." Southey. -- To put forth. (a) To shoot, bud, or germinate. "Take earth from under walls where nettles put forth." Bacon. (b) To leave a port or haven, as a ship. Shak. -- To put in (Naut.),…
Q n.
n, cw being used instead of qu; as in cwic, quick; cwen, queen. The name (ku) is from the French ku, which is from the Latin name of the same letter; its form is from the Latin, which derived it, through a Greek alphabet, from the Phoenician, the ultimate origin being Egyptian. Etymologically, q or qu is most nearly re…
QUADRILLION n.
According to the French notation, which is followed also upon the Continent and in the United States, a unit with fifteen ciphers annexed; according to the English notation, the number produced by involving a million to the fourth power, or the number represented by a unit with twenty-four ciphers annexed. See the Note…
QUI VIVE n.
The challenge of a French sentinel, or patrol; -- used like the English challenge: "Who comes there" To be on the qui vive, to be on guard; to be watchful and alert, like a sentinel.
QUINTILLLION n.
According to the French notation, which is used on the Continent and in America, the cube of a million, or a unit with eighteen ciphers annexed; according to the English notation, a number produced by involving a million to the fifth power, or a unit with thirty ciphers annexed. See the Note under Numeration.…
RA- n.
A prefix, from the Latin re and ad combined, coming to us through the French and Italian. See Re-, and Ad-.
RALLIES n.
A French political group, also known as the Constitutional Right from its position in the Chambers, mainly monarchists who rallied to the support of the Republic in obedience to the encyclical put forth by Pope Leo XIII. in Feb., 1892.
RAMIST n.
A follower of Pierre Ramé, better known as Ramus, a celebrated French scholar, who was professor of rhetoric and philosophy at Paris in the reign of Henry II., and opposed the Aristotelians.
RAVE v.
To utter in madness or frenzy; to say wildly; as, to rave nonsense. Young.
← Previous Page 16 of 21 Next →