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Webster’s Dictionary (1828)



1,872 words match “MEAN”

FLOURISH v.
quity do flourish. Ps. xcii 7 Bad men as frequently prosper and flourish, and that by the means of their wickedness. Nelson. We say Of those that held their heads above the crowd, They flourished then or then. Tennyson.
FLUTING n.
Decoration by means of flutes or channels; a flute, or flutes collectively; as, the fluting of a column or pilaster; the fluting of a lady's ruffle. Fluting iron, a laundry iron for fluting ruffles; -- called also Italian iron, or gaufering iron. Knight. -- Fluting lathe, a machine for forming spiral flutes, as on bal…
FLY n. 2 definitions
ights at the ends on a revolving axis, to regulate or equalize the motion of machinery by means of its inertia, where the power communicated, or the resistance to be overcome, is variable, as in the steam engine or the coining press. See Fly wheel (below).
FLYING FISH n.
A fish which is able to leap from the water, and fly a considerable distance by means of its large and long pectoral fins. These fishes belong to several species of the genus Exocoetus, and are found in the warmer parts of all the oceans.
FOG v.
To practice in a small or mean way; to pettifog. [Obs.] Where wouldst thou fog to get a fee Dryden.
FOLIATION n.
The enrichment of an opening by means of foils, arranged in trefoils, quatrefoils, etc.; also, one of the ornaments. See Tracery.
FOLLOW v.
rogress, as a speech, musical performance, etc.; also, to keep up with; to understand the meaning, connection, or force of, as of a course of thought or argument. He followed with his eyes the flitting shade. Dryden.
FOOTY a.
Poor; mean. [Prov. Eng.] C. Kingsley.
FOR prep.
. Now, for so many glorious actions done, For peace at home, and for the public wealth, I mean to crown a bowl for Cæsar's health. Dryden. That which we, for our unworthiness, are afraid to crave, our prayer is, that God, for the worthiness of his Son, would, notwithstanding, vouchsafe to grant. Hooker.…
FOR- n.
ve. It often implies also loss, detriment, or destruction, and sometimes it is intensive, meaning utterly, quite thoroughly, as in forbathe.
FORAGE n.
. See under Cap. -- Forage master (Mil.), a person charged with providing forage and the means of transporting it. Farrow.
FORCE v.
by the exertion of a power not resistible; to compel by physical, moral, or intellectual means; to coerce; as, masters force slaves to labor.
FORESEE v.
To provide. [Obs.] Great shoals of people, which go on to populate, without foreseeing means of life. Bacon.
FORKED a.
Having a double meaning; ambiguous; equivocal. Cross forked (Her.), a cross, the ends of whose arms are divided into two sharp points; -- called also cross double fitché. A cross forked of three points is a cross, each of whose arms terminates in three sharp points. -- Forked counsel, advice pointing more than one way…
FORLORN a.
erate. For here forlorn and lost I tread. Goldsmith. The condition of the besieged in the mean time was forlorn in the extreme. Prescott. She cherished the forlorn hope that he was still living. Thomson. A forlorn hope Etym: [D. verloren hoop, prop., a lost band or troop; verloren, p.p. of verliezen to lose + hoop band…
FORMATIVE a.
Giving form; having the power of giving form; plastic; as, the formative arts. The meanest plant can not be raised without seed, by any formative residing in the soil. Bentley.
FORMULA n.
A symbolic expression (by means of letters, figures, etc.) of the constituents or constitution of a compound.
FORT n.
ps, surrounded with a ditch, rampart, and parapet, or with palisades, stockades, or other means of defense; a fortification. Detached works, depending solely on their own strength, belong to the class of works termed forts. Farrow.
FORTE n.
he strong point; that in which one excels. fort"a The construction of a fable seems by no means the forte of our modern poetical writers. Jeffrey.
FORTHRIGHT n.
A straight path. [Archaic] Here's a maze trod, indeed, Through forthrights and meanders! Shak.
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