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ent; a progenitor; especially, a first ancestor; a founder of a race or family; -- in the plural, fathers, ancestors. David slept with his fathers. 1 Kings ii. 10. Abraham, who is the father of us all. Rom. iv. 16.

Any temporary fortification thrown up by an army in the field; -- commonly in the plural. All works which do not come under the head of permanent fortification are called fieldworks. Wilhelm.

state; revennue; public money; sometimes, the income of an individual; often used in the plural for funds; available money; resources. All the finances or revenues of the imperial crown. Bacon.

creatures; -- especially applied to sheep and birds, rarely to persons or (except in the plural) to cattle and other large animals; as, a flock of ravenous fowl. Milton. The heathen . . . came to Nicanor by flocks. 2 Macc. xiv. 14.

People in general, or a separate class of people; -- generally used in the plural form, and often with a qualifying adjective; as, the old folks; poor folks. [Colloq.] In winter's tedious nights, sit by the fire With good old folks, and let them tell thee tales. Shak.

An ancestor; a forefather; -- usually in the plural. [Scot.] "Your forbears of old." Sir W. Scott.

r appurtenances, ready for action; -- an armament; troops; warlike array; -- often in the plural; hence, a body of men prepared for action in other ways; as, the laboring force of a plantation. Is Lucius general of the forces Shak.

rocesses of vegetable growth, as corn, grass, cotton, flax, etc.; -- commonly used in the plural. Six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof. Ex. xxiii. 10.

., the ceremony or solemnization of interment; obsequies; burial; -- formerly used in the plural. King James his funerals were performed very solemnly in the collegiate church at Westminster. Euller.

Formerly, a soldier armed with a fusil. Hence, in the plural:

th; acts or entertainments prompted by, or inspiring, merry delight; -- used often in the plural; as, the gayeties of the season.

rsons of gentle or good family and breeding. Etym: [Generally in the United States in the plural form.] Shak.

A man, irrespective of condition; -- used esp. in the plural (= citizens; people), in addressing men in popular assemblies, etc.

An optical glass; a lens; a spyglass; -- in the plural, spectacles; as, a pair of glasses; he wears glasses.

ystalline lens of the eye, and in blood serum, and is sometimes called crystallin. In the plural the word is applied to a group of proteid substances such as vitellin, myosin, fibrinogen, etc., all insoluble in water, but soluble in dilute salt solutions.

The ramus of the lower jaw of a bird as far as it is naked; -- commonly used in the plural.

Armor for the leg below the knee; -- usually in the plural.

Fresh leaves or branches of trees or other plants; wreaths; -- usually in the plural. In that soft season when descending showers Call forth the greens, and wake the rising flowers. Pope.

Pinching and spasmodic pain in the intestines; -- chiefly used in the plural.

ld by grocers, as tea, coffee, spices, etc.; -- in the United States almost always in the plural form, in this sense. A deal box . . . to carry groceries in. Goldsmith. The shops at which the best families of the neighborhood bought grocery and millinery. Macaulay.