FEATHER n.
the classes into which contestants are divided; -- in contradistinction to light weight, middle weight, and heavy weight. A feather in the cap an honour, trophy, or mark of distinction. [Colloq.] -- To be in full feather, to be in full dress or in one's best clothes. [Collog.] -- To be in high feather, to be in high s…
FLASK n.
undry; it consists of two or more parts; viz., the cope or top; sometimes, the cheeks, or middle part; and the drag, or bottom part. When there are one or more cheeks, the flask is called a three part flask, four part flask, etc. Erlenmeyer flask, a thin glass flask, flat-bottomed and cone-shaped to allow of safely sha…
FLOTATION n.
on. (Shipbuilding) (a) The center of any given plane of flotation. (b) More commonly, the middle of the length of the load water line. Rankine. -- Plane, or Line, of flotation, the plane or line in which the horizontal surface of a fluid cuts a body floating in it. See Bearing, n., 9 (c). -- Surface of flotation (Shi…
FOX n.
which is called the fox, and the rest the geese; the fox, whose first position is in the middle of the board, endeavors to break through the line of the geese, and the geese to pen up the fox. -- Fox bat (Zoöl.), a large fruit bat of the genus Pteropus, of many species, inhabiting Asia, Africa, and the East Indies, e…
FRET n.
The reticulated headdress or net, made of gold or silver wire, in which ladies in the Middle Ages confined their hair. A fret of gold she had next her hair. Chaucer. Fret saw, a saw with a long, narrow blade, used in cutting frets, scrolls, etc.; a scroll saw; a keyhole saw; a compass saw.