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Webster’s Dictionary (1828)



1,667 words match “OFTEN”

FAMILY n.
ints of likeness. In zoölogy a family is less comprehesive than an order; in botany it is often considered the same thing as an order. Family circle. See under Circle. -- Family man. (a) A man who has a family; esp., one who has a wife and children living with him andd dependent upon him. (b) A man of domestic habits.…
FAMOUS a.
of; distinguished in story; -- used in either a good or a bad sense, chiefly the former; often followed by for; as, famous for erudition, for eloquence, for military skill; a famous pirate. Famous for a scolding tongue. Shak.
FAN n.
An instrument for cooling the person, made of feathers, paper, silk, etc., and often mounted on sticks all turning about the same pivot, so as when opened to radiate from the center and assume the figure of a section of a circle.
FAN PALM n.
t talipot tree (Corypha umbraculifera) of Ceylon and Malaya. The leaves of the latter are often eighteen feet long and fourteen wide, and are used for umbrellas, tents, and roofs. When cut up, they are used for books and manuscripts.
FARCY n.
enlargements, esp. upon the head and limbs. It is of the same nature as glanders, and is often fatal. Called also farcin, and farcimen.
FAREWELL interj.
departing, but by custom now applied both to those who depart and those who remain. It is often separated by the pronoun; as, fare you well; and is sometimes used as an expression of separation only; as, farewell the year; farewell, ye sweet groves; that is, I bid you farewell. So farewell hope, and with hope, farewell…
FASCIA n.
The layer of loose tissue, often containing fat, immediately beneath the skin; the stronger layer of connective tissue covering and investing all muscles; an aponeurosis.
FASCIATE; FASCIATED a.
Flattened and laterally widened, as are often the stems of the garden cockscomb.
FATHER n. 2 definitions
One of the chief esslesiastical authorities of the first centuries after Christ; -- often spoken of collectively as the Fathers; as, the Latin, Greek, or apostolic Fathers.
FAWN v.
To court favor by low cringing, frisking, etc., as a dog; to flatter meanly; -- often followed by on or upon. You showed your teeth like apes, and fawned like hounds. Shak. Thou with trembling fear, Or like a fawning parasite, obeyest. Milton. Courtiers who fawn on a master while they betray him. Macaulay.…
FAY v.
To lie close together; to fit; to fadge; -- often with in, into, with, or together. Faying surface, that surface of an object which comes with another object to which it is fastened; -- said of plates, angle irons, etc., that are riveted together in shipwork.
FEASIBILITY n.
that which is feasible; as, before we adopt a plan, let us consider its feasibility. Men often swallow falsities for truths, dubiosities for certainties, possibilities for feasibilities. Sir T. Browne.
FEATHER v.
To grow or form feathers; to become feathered; -- often with out; as, the birds are feathering out.
FEEL v.
e; to examine by touching; as, feel this piece of silk; hence, to make trial of; to test; often with out. Come near, . . . that I may feel thee, my son. Gen. xxvii. 21. He hath this to feel my affection to your honor. Shak.
FEND v.
To keep off; to prevent from entering or hitting; to ward off; to shut out; -- often with off; as, to fend off blows. With fern beneath to fend the bitter cold. Dryden. To fend off a boat or vessel (Naut.), to prevent its running against anything with too much violence.
FENG-HWANG n.
e accession of a sage to the throne, or when right principles are about to prevail. It is often represented on porcelains and other works of art.
FERAE n.
s which formerly included the Carnivora, Insectivora, Marsupialia, and lemurs, but is now often restricted to the Carnivora.
FERE n.
A mate or companion; -- often used of a wife. [Obs.] [Written also fear and feere.] Chaucer. And Cambel took Cambrina to his fere. Spenser. In fere, together; in company. [Obs.] Chaucer.
FERN n.
ally found in humid soil, sometimes grow epiphytically on trees, and in tropical climates often attain a gigantic size.
FERRET v.
king place, as a ferret does the cony; to search out by patient and sagacious efforts; -- often used with out; as, to ferret out a secret. Master Fer! I'll fer him, and firk him, and ferret him. Shak.
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