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A small fiber; the branch of a fiber; a very slender thread; a fibrilla. Cheyne.

Pope. The sword which is made fiery. Hooker. Fiery cross, a cross constructed of two firebrands, and pitched upon the point of a spear; formerly in Scotland borne by a runner as a signal for the clan to take up arms. Sir W. Scott.

eep, when faced to the right or left, so that the front and rear rank march side by side. Brande & C. --Indian file, or Single file, a line of men marching one behind another; a single row. -- On file, preserved in an orderly collection. -- Rank and file. (a) The body of soldiers constituing the mass of an army, incl…

A thin skin; a pellicle; a membranous covering, causing opacity; hence, any thin, slight covering. He from thick films shall purge the visual ray. Pope.

An organ of a fish, consisting of a membrane supported by rays, or little bony or cartilaginous ossicles, and serving to balance and propel it in the water.

Having toes connected by a membrane; palmiped; palmated; also, lobate.

ling a finger in form. -- Finger sponge (Zoöl.), a sponge having finger-shaped lobes, or branches. -- Finger stall, a cover or shield for a finger. -- Finger steel, a steel instrument for whetting a currier's knife. To burn one's fingers. See under Burn. -- To have a finger in, to be concerned in. [Colloq.] -- To h…

A branch of the Mongolian race, inhabiting Northern and Eastern Europe, including the Magyars, Bulgarians, Permians, Lapps, and Finlanders. [Written also Fins.]

Fresh from the forge; bright; quite new; brand-new. Charles reade. Your fire-new stamp of honor is scarce current. Shak.

heat firlot was to the imperial bushel as 998 to 1000; the barley firlot as 1456 to 1000. Brande & C.

A young, flexible shoot of a plant; esp., the long trailing branch of a vine, or a slender branch in certain mosses.

The side of any building. Brands.

A game in which the players catch raisins out burning brandy, and swallow them blazing. Johnson.

To remove flesh, membrance, etc., from, as from hides.

irregular figures; to swing about in circles or vibrations by way of show or triumph; to brandish. And flourishes his blade in spite of me. Shak.

A tropical leguminous bush (Poinciana, or Cæsalpinia, pulcherrima) with prickly branches, and showy yellow or red flowers; -- so named from its having been sometimes used for hedges in the West Indies. Baird.

A cluster of leaves, flowers, and branches; especially, the representation of leaves, flowers, and branches, in architecture, intended to ornament and enrich capitals, friezes, pediments, etc. Foliage plant (Bot.), any plant cultivated for the beauty of its leaves, as many kinds of Begonia and Coleus.…

A curve of the third order, consisting of two infinite branches, which have a common asymptote. The curve has a double point, and a leaf-shaped loop; whence the name. Its equation is x3 + y3 = axy.

One of the membranous intervals between the incompleted angles of the parietal and neighboring bones of a fetal or young skull; -- so called because it exhibits a rhythmical pulsation.

Forked or branched like a pair of forceps; constructed so as to open and shut like a pair of forceps. Sir T. Browne.