FIRST a.
g), 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 ground floor. [U.S.] (b) The floor next above the ground floor. [Eng.] -- First fruit or fruits…
FIT n.
A mood of any kind which masters or possesses one for a time; a temporary, absorbing affection; a paroxysm; as, a fit melancholy, of passion, or of laughter. All fits of pleasure we balanced by an equal degree of pain. Swift. The English, however, were on this subject prone to fits of jealously. Macaulay.…
FLUORINE n.
which it is the first member. It always occurs combined, is very active chemically, and possesses such an avidity for most elements, and silicon especially, that it can neither be prepared nor kept in glass vessels. If set free it immediately attacks the containing material, so that it was not isolated until 1886. It…
FOLIATION n.
The property, possessed by some crystalline rocks, of dividing into plates or slabs, which is due to the cleavage structure of one of the constituents, as mica or hornblende. It may sometimes include slaty structure or cleavage, though the latter is usually independent of any mineral constituent, and transverse to the…
FORESTALL v.
To take possession of, in advance of some one or something else, to the exclusion or detriment of the latter; to get ahead of; to preoccupy; also, to exclude, hinder, or prevent, by prior occupation, or by measures taken in advance.