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A ball or general dance, as in Mexico. [Colloq.]

A low style of comedy; a dramatic composition marked by low humor, generally written with little regard to regularity or method, and abounding with ludicrous incidents and expressions. Farce is that in poetry which "grotesque" is in a picture: the persons and action of a farce are all unnatural, and the manners false.…

To fasten a charge, or a crime, upon, to make his guilt certain, or so probable as to be generally believed. -- To fasten one's eyes upon, to look upon steadily without cessation. Acts iii. 4.

To nourish, in a general sense; to foster, strengthen, develop, and guard. Thou shalt feed people Israel. 2 Sam. v. 2. Mightiest powers by deepest calms are feed. B. Cornwall.

s, or certain states of the body itself; that one of the five senses which resides in the general nerves of sensation distributed over the body, especially in its surface; the sense of touch; nervous sensibility to external objects. Why was the sight To such a tender ball as the eye confined, . . . And not, as feeling,…

That which renders fertile; a general name for commercial manures, as guano, phosphate of lime, etc.

diseased state of the system, marked by increased heat, acceleration of the pulse, and a general derangement of the functions, including usually, thirst and loss of appetite. Many diseases, of which fever is the most prominent symptom, are denominated fevers; as, typhoid fever; yellow fever.

A general name for the raw material, such as cotton, flax, hemp, etc., used in textile manufactures. Fiber gun, a kind of steam gun for converting, wood, straw, etc., into fiber. The material is shut up in the gun with steam, air, or gas at a very high pressure which is afterward relieved suddenly by letting a lid at t…

A general nervous restlessness, manifested by incessant changes of position; dysphoria. Dunglison.

To march in a file or line, as soldiers, not abreast, but one after another; -- generally with off. To file with, to follow closely, as one soldier after another in file; to keep pace. My endeavors Have ever come too short of my desires, Yet filed with my abilities. Shak.

shape the fin of a fish, though often with a cigar-shaped bulb of lead at the bottom, and generally made of metal. Its use is to ballast the boat and also to enable her to sail close to the wind and to make the least possible leeway by offering great resistance to lateral motion through the water.

ng face of a lode, to facilitate excavation, by exposing it to the action of fire; -- now generally superseded by the use of explosives. Raymond. -- Fire ship, a vessel filled with combustibles, for setting fire to an enemy's ships. -- Fire shovel, a shovel for taking up coals of fire. -- Fire stink, the stench from…

iental countries, a decree or mandate issued by the sovereign; a royal order or grant; -- generally given for special objects, as to a traveler to insure him protection and assistance. [Written also firmaun.]

e upper part of a duet, trio, etc., either vocal or instrumental; -- so called because it generally expresses the air, and has a preëminence in the combined effect.

The solicitor in Spain and Portugal; the attorney-general.

consciousness; a convulsion; a paroxysm; hence, a period of exacerbation of a disease; in general, an attack of disease; as, a fit of sickness. And when the fit was on him, I did mark How he did shake. Shak.

A vessel with a narrow mouth, used for holding and conveying liquors. It is generally larger than a bottle, and of leather or stoneware rather than of glass. A trencher of mutton chops, and a flagon of ale. Macaulay.

State of flowers; flowers, collectively or in general. Tennyson.

A general name for organ stops in which the sound is caused by wind passing through a flue or fissure and striking an edge above; -- in distinction from reedwork.

f modifying the light incident upon it. The light emitted by fluorescent substances is in general of lower refrangibility than the incident light. Stockes.