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Webster’s Dictionary (1828)



1,306 words match “FIRST”

FERMENT n.
ts. The latter are also called soluble or chemical ferments, and enzymes. Ferments of the first class are as a rule simple microscopic vegetable organisms, and the fermentations which they engender are due to their growth and development; as, the acetic ferment, the butyric ferment, etc. See Fermentation. Ferments of t…
FERMENTATION n.
h the oxygen of the air is essential. An intermediate product, aldehyde, is formed in the first process. 1. C2H6O + O = H2O + C2H4O
FERRANTI PHENOMENON n.
of the converter is connected with a condenser of moderate capacity; -- so called because first observed in connection with the Ferranti cables in London.
FERRIS WHEEL n.
rs around its rim; -- so called after G. W. G. Ferris, American engineer, who erected the first of its kind for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893.
FETICHISM; FETISHISM n.
lind adoration. The real and absolute worship of fire falls into two great divisions, the first belonging rather to fetichism, the second to polytheism proper. Tylor.
FIDDLE n.
poons, forks, etc., somewhat like a violin. -- Scotch fiddle, the itch. (Low) -- To play first, or second, fiddle, to take a leading or a subordinate part. [Colloq.]
FIG n.
fly said to be injurious 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 Mesem…
FIGURATE a.
h.), numbers, or series of numbers, formed from any arithmetical progression in which the first term is a unit, and the difference a whole number, by taking the first term, and the sums of the first two, first three, first four, etc., as the successive terms of a new series, from which another may be formed in the same…
FILLIP v.
To strike with the nail of the finger, first placed against the ball of the thumb, and forced from that position with a sudden spring; to snap with the finger. "You filip me o' the head." Shak.
FIND v.
To meet with, or light upon, accidentally; to gain the first sight or knowledge of, as of something new, or unknown; hence, to fall in with, as a person. Searching the window for a flint, I found This paper, thus sealed up. Shak. In woods and forests thou art found. Cowley.
FISSURE n.
the furrows or clefts by which the surface of the cerebrum is divided; esp., the furrows first formed by the infolding of the whole wall of the cerebrum. -- Fissure needle (Surg.), a spiral needle for catching together the gaping lips of wounds. Knight. -- Fissure of rolando (Anat.), the furrow separating the fronta…
FIT a.
Prepared; ready. [Obs.] So fit to shoot, she singled forth among her foes who first her quarry's strength should feel. Fairfax.
FIXATION n.
being fixed. An unalterable fixation of resolution. Killingbeck. To light, created in the first day, God gave no proper place or fixation. Sir W. Raleigh. Marked stiffness or absolute fixation of a joint. Quain. A fixation and confinement of thought to a few objects. Watts.
FLANK n.
f the right or left wing formed at a projecting angle with the line. -- Flank files, the first men on the right, and the last on the left, of a company, battalion, etc. -- Flank march, a march made parallel or obliquely to an enemy's position, in order to turn it or to attack him on the flank. -- Flank movement, a c…
FLEA v.
To flay. [Obs.] He will be fleaced first And horse collars made of's skin. J. Fletcher.
FLESH v.
on; to initiate; -- from the practice of training hawks and dogs by feeding them with the first game they take, or other flesh. Hence, to use upon flesh (as a murderous weapon) so as to draw blood, especially for the first time. Full bravely hast thou fleshed Thy maiden sword. Shak. The wild dog Shall flesh his tooth o…
FLOATING a.
man they are the last two pairs. -- Floating screed (Plastering), a strip of plastering first laid on, to serve as a guide for the thickness of the coat. -- Floating threads (Weaving), threads which span several other threads without being interwoven with them, in a woven fabric.
FLORIN n.
A silver coin of Florence, first struck in the twelfth century, and noted for its beauty. The name is given to different coins in different countries. The florin of England, first minted in 1849, is worth two shillings, or about 48 cents; the florin of the Netherlands, about 40 cents; of Austria, about 36 cents.…
FLOWER-DE-LUCE n.
and large three-petaled flowers often of very gay colors, but probably white in the plant first chosen for the royal French emblem.
FLUORINE n.
or associated with chlorine, bromine, and iodine, in the halogen group of 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 att…
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