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To impair; to wear away; to diminish. By starts His fretted fortunes give him hope and fear. Shak.

To act as the friend of; to favor; to countenance; to befriend. [Obs.] Fortune friends the bold. Spenser.

Any expression of displeasure; as, the frowns of Providence; the frowns of Fortune.

Obtained by, or appropriate to, economy; as, a frugal fortune. "Frugal fare." Dryden.

A kind of difficult dance; a dance tune, the air of which has two brisk and lively, yet dignified, strains in common time, each played twice over. [Written also gavotte.]

Giddi; light; inconstant; wanton. [Obs.] "O giglot fortune!" Shak.

, originally a series of bells on an iron rod, now a set of flat metal bars, diatonically tuned, giving a bell-like tone when played with a mallet; a carillon.

Pride; boastfulness; arrogance. In glory of thy fortunes. Chapman.

smoothly. Chaucer. A false, glozing parasite. South. So glozed the tempter, and his proem tuned. Milton.

h a surgical operation or a tedious illness. (c) To spend completely; to exhaust, as a fortune. (d) To strip or despoil (one) of his property. [Slang]

Something sent by God; an unexpected acquisiton or piece of good fortune.

will resort to the old place. Lord Eldon. -- In good time. (a) Promptly; punctually; opportunely; not too soon nor too late. (b) (Mus.) Correctly; in proper time. -- To hold good, to remain true or valid; to be operative; to remain in force or effect; as, his promise holds good; the condition still holds good. -- To…

Fortune; luck; -- used commonly with hard or sorry when it means misfortune. [Obs.] Chaucer.

nd on account of something in the past; mental suffering arising from any cause, as misfortune, loss of friends, misconduct of one's self or others, etc.; sorrow; sadness. The mother was so afflicted at the loss of a fine boy, . . . that she died for grief of it. Addison.

A step (in a flight of stairs); a degree. [Obs.] Every grise of fortune Is smoothed by that below. Shak.

The tune on which descants are raised; the plain song. Moore (Encyc.). On that ground I'll build a holy descant. Shak.

are now scattered over Turkey, Russia, Hungary, Spain, England, etc., living by theft, fortune telling, horsejockeying, tinkering, etc. Cf. Bohemian, Romany. Like a right gypsy, hath, at fast and loose, Beguiled me to the very heart of loss. Shak.

omes suddenly or unexpectedly; also, the manner of occurrence or taking place; chance; fortune; accident; casual event; fate; luck; lot. Chaucer. Whether art it was or heedless hap. Spenser. Cursed be good haps, and cursed be they that build Their hopes on haps. Sir P. Sidney. Loving goes by haps: Some Cupid kills with…

By good fortune; fortunately; luckily. Preferred by conquest, happily o'erthrown. Waller.

Good luck; good fortune; prosperity. All happiness bechance to thee in Milan! Shak.