Search the Dictionary

The state of being a father; the character or authority of a father; paternity.

Without a known author. Beau. & Fl.

pecially, one unduly loved, trusted, and enriched with favors by a person of high rank or authority. Committing to a wicked favorite All public cares. Milton.

Respectful reverence for men of authority or worth. I will put my fear in their hearts. Jer. xxxii. 40. I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Ps. xxxiv. 11. render therefore to all their dues; tribute to whom tribute is due . . . fear to whom fear. Rom. xiii. 7.

An authoritative command or order to do something; an effectual decree. His fiat laid the corner stone. Willis.

A juggler's trick; conjuring. [Obs.] The devil is the author of wicked figgum. B. Jonson.

An officer who has authority to direct in the extinguishing of fires, or to order what precautions shall be taken against fires; -- called also fireward.

A word found in the Authorized Version of the Bible, representing different Hebrew originals. In Isaiah xxviii. 25, 27, it means the black aromatic seeds of Nigella sativa, still used as a flavoring in the East. In Ezekiel iv. 9, the Revised Version now reads spelt.

A subclass of algæ including all the red or purplish seaweeds; the Rhodospermeæ of many authors; -- so called from the rosy or florid color of most of the species.

ss, or whatever is desirable; to thrive; to be prominent and influental; specifically, of authors, painters, etc., to be in a state of activity or production. When all the workers of iniquity do flourish. Ps. xcii 7 Bad men as frequently prosper and flourish, and that by the means of their wickedness. Nelson. We say Of…

To accept as authority; to adopt the opinions of; to obey; to yield to; to take as a rule of action; as, to follow good advice. Approve the best, and follow what I approve. Milton. Follow peace with all men. Heb. xii. 14. It is most agreeable to some men to follow their reason; and to others to follow their appetites.…

ude further claim of inheritance; to emancipate (as a with his own consent) from paternal authority. Blackstone.

m which it flows. Smalridge. You and your followers do stand formally divided against the authorized guides of the church and rest of the people. Hooker.

Earlier, as between two things mentioned together; first mentioned. A bad author deserves better usage than a bad critic; a man may be the former merely through the misfortune of an ill judgment; but he can not be latter without both that and an ill temper. Pope.

One who founds, establishes, and erects; one who lays a foundation; an author; one from whom anything originates; one who endows.

hing is supplied continuously; origin; source. Judea, the fountain of the gospel. Fuller. Author of all being, Fountain of light, thyself invisible. Milton. Air fountain. See under Air. -- Fountain heead, primary source; original; first principle. Young. -- Fountain inkstand, an inkstand having a continual supply of…

e jurisdiction of the ordinary, having been founded by the king or by a subject specially authorized. [Eng.] Bouvier. -- Free charge (Elec.), a charge of electricity in the free or statical condition; free electricity. -- Free church. (a) A church whose sittings are for all and without charge. (b) An ecclesiastical b…

One who plunders or pillages without the authority of national warfare; a member of a predatory band; a pillager; a buccaneer; a sea robber. Bacon.

One who speculates or forms opinions independently of the authority of others; esp., in the sphere or religion, one who forms opinions independently of the authority of revelation or of the church; an unbeliever; -- a term assumed by deists and skeptics in the eighteenth century. Atheist is an old-fashioned word: I'm a…

have caught the scent, and give tongue together. -- Full dress, the dress prescribed by authority or by etiquette to be worn on occasions of ceremony. -- Full hand (Poker), three of a kind and a pair. -- Full moon. (a) The moon with its whole disk illuminated, as when opposite to the sun. (b) The time when the moon…