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table in bad weather. Ham. Nav. Encyc. Fiddle beetle (Zoöl.), a Japanese carabid beetle (Damaster blaptoides); -- so called from the form of the body. -- Fiddle block (Naut.), a long tackle block having two sheaves of different diameters in the same plane, instead of side by side as in a common double block. Knight.…

A judicial writ that lies for one who has recovered in debt or damages, commanding the sheriff that he cause to be made of the goods, chattels, or real estate of the defendant, the sum claimed. Blackstone. Cowell.

urious to figs. -- Fig leaf, the leaf tree; hence, in allusion to the first clothing of Adam and Eve (Genesis iii.7), a covering for a thing that ought to be concealed; esp., an inadequate covering; a symbol for affected modesty. -- Fig marigold (Bot.), the name of several plants of the genus Mesembryanthemum, some o…

n engine in extinguishing fires. -- Fire cross. See Fiery cross. [Obs.] Milton. -- Fire damp. See under Damp. -- Fire dog. See Firedog, in the Vocabulary. -- Fire drill. (a) A series of evolutions performed by fireman for practice. (b) An apparatus for producing fire by friction, by rapidly twirling a wooden pin in…

in time, space, rank, etc.; -- much used in composition with adjectives and participles. Adam was first formed, then Eve. 1 Tim. ii. 13. At first, At the first, at the beginning or origin. -- First or last, at one time or another; at the beginning or end. And all are fools and lovers first or last. Dryden.…

A firework, made of damp powder, which makes a fizzing or hissing noise when it explodes.

A soft, nappy, woolen cloth, of loose texture. Shak. Adam's flannel. (Bot.) See under Adam. -- Canton flannel, Cotton flannel. See Cotton flannel, under Cotton.

A board placed temporarily upon a milldam, to raise the water in the pond above its usual level; a flushboard. [U.S.]

l were made to produce a shower of sparks, which gave light, but did not inflame the fire damp. Knight. -- Flint stone, a hard, siliceous stone; a flint. -- Flint wall, a kind of wall, common in England, on the face of which are exposed the black surfaces of broken flints set in the mortar, with quions of masonry. -…

he cavity of a joint, and often interferes with the functions of the latter. -- Floating dam. (a) An anchored dam. (b) A caisson used as a gate for a dry dock. -- Floating derrick, a derrick on a float for river and harbor use, in raising vessels, moving stone for harbor improvements, etc. -- Floating dock. (Naut.)…

Tainted or contaminated with flyblows; damaged; foul. Wherever flyblown reputations were assembled. Thackeray.

Fundamental principle; basis; plan; -- used only in the singular. Answer directly upon the foot of dry reason. Berkeley.

The European forked hake or hake's-dame (Phycis blennoides); -- also called great forked beard.

First. [Obs.] "Adam our forme father." Chaucer.

govern a realm! Hayward. Our old English word forsooth has been changed for the French madam. Guardian.

or brought up by the same nurse as another, but is not of the same parentage. -- Foster dam, one who takes the place of a mother; a nurse. Dryden. -- Foster earth, earth by which a plant is nourished, though not its native soil. J. Philips. -- Foster father, a man who takes the place of a father in caring for a chi…

To proceed; to go. [Obs.] The bauty of this sinful dame Made many princes thither frame. Shak.

In Germany, a woman; a married woman; a wife; -- as a title, equivalent to Mrs., Madam.

proceeds from the sun; separate the coarse wool from the fine; men have all sprung from Adam, and often go from good to bad, and from bad to worse; the merit of an action depends on the principle from which it proceeds; men judge of facts from personal knowledge, or from testimony. Experience from the time past to the…

To feel or grope about; to make awkward attempts to do or find something. Adams now began to fumble in his pockets. Fielding.