FOSTER a. 6 definitions
ame nurse as another, but is not of the same parentage. -- Foster dam, one who takes the place of a mother; a nurse. Dryden. -- Foster earth, earth by which a plant is nourished, though not its native soil. J. Philips. -- Foster father, a man who takes the place of a father in caring for a child. Bacon. -- Foster l…
FOUND v. 5 definitions
To lay the basis of; to set, or place, as on something solid, for support; to ground; to establish upon a basis, literal or figurative; to fix firmly. I had else been perfect, Whole as the marble, founded as the rock. Shak. A man that all his time Hath founded his good fortunes on your love. Shak. It fell not, for it w…
FRENCH a. 3 definitions
de chasse. -- French leave, an informal, hasty, or secret departure; esp., the leaving a place without paying one's debts. -- French pie Etym: [French (here used in sense of "foreign") + pie a magpie (in allusion to its black and white color)] (Zoöl.), the European great spotted woodpecker (Dryobstes major); -- calle…
FRESHEN v. 5 definitions
To relieve, as a rope, by change of place where friction wears it; or to renew, as the material used to prevent chafing; as, to freshen a hawse. Totten. To freshen ballast (Naut.), to shift Or restore it. -- To freshen the hawse, to pay out a little more cable, so as to bring the chafe on another part. -- To freshen…
FROCK n. 4 definitions
A coarse gown worn by monks or friars, and supposed to take the place of all, or nearly all, other garments. It has a hood which can be drawn over the head at pleasure, and is girded by a cord. Frock coat, a body coat for men, usually doublebreasted, the skirts not being in one piece with the body, but sewed on so as t…
FROST n. 7 definitions
st grape (Bot.), an American grape, with very small, acid berries. -- Frost lamp, a lamp placed below the oil tube of an Argand lamp to keep the oil limpid on cold nights; -- used especially in lighthouses. Knight. -- Frost nail, a nail with a sharp head driven into a horse's shoe to keen him from slipping. -- Frost…