FINALE

Final decree, in law, a conclusive sentence of a court, as distinguished from interlocutory.Final, Conclusive, Ultimate. Final, bringing an end or to an end, coming at the end or at last, marks mainly the circumstance of something being the last or at the last; conclusive means shutting up or settling; putting a stop to any further question or procedure, as a conclusive argument, a conclusive step; ultimate recalls the fact that something has gone before, and is applied to what is last in a sequence; an ultimate object is that to which all one's actions tend as the crowning point.

Addison.

Yet despair not of his final pardon. Milton. This objection... will not be found by any means so conclusive as at first sight it seems. Hobbes. Many actions apt to procure fame are not conducive to this our ultimate happiness. Finale (fē-nä'lă), n. [It.] 1. In music, (a) the last part of a concerted piece, sonata, or symphony; the last piece in the act of an opera. (b) The final piece in a concert programme. Finales are generally characterized by their grand effects, all the power of the instrument, the orchestra, or the chorus being called into play.-2. The last part, piece, or scene in any public performance or exhibition.

It was arranged that the two horsemen should first Occupy the arena, ... that Glaucus and the lion should next perform their part in the bloody spectacle; and the tiger and the Nazarene be the grand finale. Lord Lytton. Finality (fi-nal'i-ti), n. 1. The state of being final; the state of being settled or finally arranged; completeness.-2. In philos. the doctrine that nothing exists or was made except for a determinate end; the doctrine of final causes.

Finally (fi'nal-li), adv. 1. At the end or conclusion; ultimately; lastly; as, the cause is expensive, but we shall finally recover.— 2. Completely; beyond recovery.

The enemy was finally exterminated. Sir F. Davies. Finance (fi-nans'), n. [Fr., from L.L. financia, a money payment, from finare, to pay a fine or subsidy, from L. finis, in the sense of a sum of money paid by the subject to the king for the enjoyment of a privilege; the final settlement of a claim by composition or agreement.] 1. The system or science of public revenue and expenditure.

I hope, however, he will not rely too much on the fertility of Lord North's genius for finance.

Funius' Letters.

2. pl. Revenue; funds in the public treasury, or accruing to it; public resources of money; as, the finances of the king or government were in a low condition.-3. pl. The income or resources of individuals; as, my finances are in a very unhealthy state. [Colloq.] Finance (fi-nans'), v. i. To conduct financial operations; especially, in a commercial sense, to meet obligations by continual borrowing.

Financeer, v.i. See FINANCIER.

Financial (fi-nan'shal), a. Pertaining to finance or public revenue; having to do with money matters; as, financial concerns or operations.

Godolphin, whose financial skill had been greatly missed during the summer, was brought back to the Treasury. Macaulay. Financialist (fl-nan'shal-ist),n. One skilled in financial matters; a financier. Financially (fi-nan'shal-li), adv. In relation to finances or public revenue; in a manner to produce revenue.

I consider, therefore, the stopping of the distillery, economically, financially, commercially.... as a measure rather well meant than well considered. Burke.

Financian (fi - nan'shan), n. A financier. [Rare.] Financier (fl-nan'sër), n. 1. An officer who receives and manages the public revenues; a treasurer.-2. One who is skilled in financial matters or in the principles or system of public revenue; one who understands money matters; one who is acquainted with the mode of raising money by imposts, excise, or taxes, and the economical management and application of public money. 3. In France, a receiver or farmer of the public revenues.

Financier, Financeer (fi-nanʼsēr), v.i. To borrow one day to meet an obligation, and on a subsequent day to again borrow to meet the borrowed money, and so on till one's affairs get into confusion. Lever. Finary (fin'é-ri), n. [From fine, refine.] In ironworks, the second forge at the iron mill. See FINERY, 3. Finative (fin'a-tiv), a. Decisive; definitive; final.

276

Finback. See FINNER.

Finch (finsh), n. [A. Sax. fine; L.G. G. Dan. and Sw. fink, finke; D. vink. Comp. Fr. pinson, Sp. pinzon, It. pincione, W. pinc, a finch, Armor. pint and tint, Prov. E. and Sc. pink, spink. How many of these names are to be connected together, and what degree of relationship may be between them is doubtful. Probably onomatopoeia is partly the cause of their resemblance. Grimm points out the resemblance of the Teutonic forms to words meaning spark' or 'sparkling,' as G. funke, &c.] The popular name of the small singing birds forming the genus Fringilla. In its widest sense the term is applied to the numerous group constituting the family Fringillida (which see). Finch-backed, Finched (finsh'bakt, finsht), a. Striped or spotted on the back, as cattle. [Provincial.]

Find (find), v.t. pret. & pp. found; ppr. finding. [A. Sax. O. Sax. and O. G. findan, G. finden, Dan. finde, Icel. finna (for finda), to find; Goth. finthan, to find. From root (nasalized) cognate with L. pet, in peto, to aim at, to seek; and Gr. pynth, in pynthanomai, to learn by asking.] 1. To discover by the eye; to gain first sight or knowledge of something lost; to recover either by searching for or by accident; to fall in with (a person or thing unknown or unexpected).

What woman, having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? Luke xv. 8.

In the Proverbs of Solomon you will find the following words: May we ne'er want a friend nor a bottle to give him! When found, make a note of. Dickens.

2. To come upon or discover by seeking or sounding; as, to find bottom; to discover or know by experience; to learn by study, experiment, or trial; as, air and water are found to be compound substances; alchemists long attempted to find the philosopher's stone, but it is not yet found.

The torrid zone is now found habitable. Cowley. 3. To gain; to acquire; to enjoy; as, to find leisure for a visit.

In ills their business and their glory find. Cowley. 4. To catch; to detect.

When first found in a lie, talk to him of it as a Locke. strange monstrous thing.

5. In law, to determine and declare, or award, by verdict; as, the jury find the accused to be guilty; they find a verdict for the plaintiff or defendant; the grand-jury find a true bill; the jury have found a large sum in damages for the plaintiff.-6. To supply; to provide; to furnish; as, who will find the money or provisions for this expedition.

Listen to mne,

If I must find you wit.

Tennyson.

To find one's self, to be; to fare in regard to ease or pain, health or sickness; as, how do you find yourself this morning?—To find one in, to supply, furnish, or provide one with; as, he finds his nephew in money, victuals, and clothes. In this sense, to find one's self is sometimes used without any supplementary phrase, the meaning being to furnish all one's requirements for one's self.

He that shall marry thee, had better spend the poor remainder of his days in a dung-barge, for twopence a week, and find himself. Beau. & FL. -To find out, to detect, as a thief or the like; to find out or discover, as something before unknown, a mystery, secret, trick, and the like; to solve, as an enigma; to understand; to comprehend.

A man of Tyre, skilful to work in gold... and to find out every device. 2 Chr. ii, 14. Canst thou by searching find out God! Job xi. 7. -To find fault with, to blame; to censure. Find (find), v.i. In law, to determine and declare an issue of fact; to give judgment on the merits or facts of a case; as, the jury finds for the plaintiff. Find (find), n. A discovery of anything valuable; the thing found; as, a find in the gold-fields.

Specimens were among the find of coins at High Wycombe in 18.7. Evans. Finder (find'ěr), n.

One who or that which finds or discovers by accident, by searching. or the like; especially, (a) in the customs, a searcher employed to discover goods imported or exported without paying custom. (b) In astron. a smaller telescope attached to a larger, for the purpose of finding an object more readily.

Findfault (find'falt), n. A censurer; a cavil

ler.

We are the makers of manners, Kate; and the

FINE

liberty that follows our places stops the mouth of all find faults. Shak. Findfaultingt (find'falt-ing), a. Apt to censure captious. Unquiet branglings and find faulting quarrels.' Whitlock. Finding (finding), n. 1. Discovery; the act of discovering. -2. That which is found; especially, in law, the return of a jury to a bill; a verdict. -3. pl. The tools and materials which some workmen have to furnish in their employment. Finding-store (find'ing-stōr), n. United States, a shop where shoemakers' tools, &c., are sold. Called in England Grindery Warehouse.

In the

Findon Haddock, Finnan Haddock (fin'in-had-dok), N. A species of smoke-cured haddock largely used at table: so named from Findon, a fishing village on the coast of Kincardineshire, where this mode of curing haddocks appears to have originated. Findy (fin'di),a. [A. Sax. findig, heavy; gefindig, capacious; Dan. fyndig, strong, emphatical, nervous, weighty, from fynd, force, energy, emphasis, strength.] Full; heavy; or firm, solid, substantial.

A cold May and a windy,

Makes the barn fat and findy. Old prov. Fine (fin), a. [This word appears with little variation of form or meaning both in the Teutonic and Romance languages. Comp. G. fein, D. fijn, Dan. fiin, Sw. fin, Icel finn, Fr. fin, It. fino. It is generally derived with Diez from L. finitus, finished, perfect, complete; pp. of finio, to finish, from finis, an end (whence final, &c.)] 1. Small; thin; slender; minute; of very small diameter; as, a fine thread; fine silk; a fine hair.2. Not coarse; comminuted; in small grains or particles; as, fine sand or flour.-3. Subtile; thin; tenuous; rare; as, fine spirits evaporate; a fine, as opposed to a dense medium.

When the eye standeth in the finer medium, and the object in the grosser, things slow greater. Racon. 4. Thin; keen; sharp; as, the fine edge of a

5. Made of fine threads or material; light; delicate; as, fine linen or cambric.-6. Clear; pure; free from feculence or foreign matter; as, fine gold or silver. A cup of wine that's brisk and fine.' Shak.-7. Refined; elegant; cultivated.

Then turned to Lady Geraldine,

His eyes made up of wonder and love.
And said in courtly accents fine. Coleridge.

8. Nice; delicate; susceptible; perceiving or discerning minute beauties or deformities; as, a fine taste; a fine sense.

The spider's touch, how exquisitely fine! Feels at each thread, and lives along the line. Pete 9. Subtle; artful; dexterous. See FINESSE. The finest mad devil of jealousy. Shak.10. Handsome; beautiful; accomplished.

the

There, with eyes reverentially fixed on Burke, appeared the finest gentleman of the age, chivalrous, the high-souled Windham. Macaulay. 11. Free from clouds or rain; sunshiny; as, fine weather.-12. Excellent; superior; brilliant or acute; as, a man of fine genius. The finest critical spirit of our time.' Matt. Arnold.-13. Amiable; noble; ingenuous; excellent; as, a man of a fine mind. Spirits are not finely touched But to fine issues.

Shak

14. Showy; splendid; elegant; handsome; as. a range of fine buildings; a fine house or garden; a fine view.

Fine feathers, they say, make fine birds. Bickerstaff. 15. Ironically, finically or affectedly elegant; aiming too much at show or effect; stilted; ridiculously ornate.

I cannot talk with civet in the room,

A fine puss gentleman that's all perfume. Cowper. He gratified them with occasional... fine writing. Matt. Arnold 16. Eminent even for bad qualities. O, for a fine thief.' Shak - Fine arts, the arts which depend chiefly on the labours of the mind or imagination, and whose object is the production of pleasure by their immediate impression on the mind, as poetry, music, painting, and sculpture. In modern usage the term is restricted to the imitative arts which appeal to us through the eye, namely, painting, sculpture, engraving, architecture, and is sometimes even restricted to the two first as more essentially imitative and imaginative.

Then Fine Art is that in which the hand, the head, and the heart of man go together. Ruskin.

FINIC

blage of foliage. By older writers finial is used to denote not only the leafy termination but the whole pyramidal mass. Finic (fin'ik), a. Finical. [Rare.]

Does he think to be courted for acting the finick and conceited? Collier. Finical (fin'ik-al), a. [From fine.] Affecting great nicety or superfluous elegance; overnice; unduly particular about trifles; fastidious; as, a finical fellow; a finical style. Finical taste." Wordsworth.

The gross style consists in giving no detail, the finical in giving nothing else. Hazlitt. Finicality (fin'ik-al'i-ti), n.

1. State of

being finical.-2. Something finical; finicalness. [Rare.]

Finically (fin'ik-al-li), adv. With great nicety or spruceness; foppishly. Finicalness (fin'ik-al-nes), n. Quality of being finical; extreme nicety in dress or manners; foppishness; finicality; fastidious

ness.

Finikin (fin'i-kin), a. [Equivalent to finical.] Precise in trifles; idly busy.

The bearded creatures are quite as finikin over their toilets, as any coquette in the world. Thackeray.

Finikin (fin'i-kin), n. Same as Finnikin. Fining (fin'ing), n. 1. The process of refining or purifying: applied specifically to the clarifying of wines, malt liquors, &c.2. The preparation, generally a solution of isinglass or gelatine, used to fine or clarify. Fining-pot (fin'ing-pot), n. A vessel in which metals are refined.

Finis (fin'is), n. [L.] An end; conclusion: a word sometimes placed at the end of a book.

Finish (fin'ish), v. t. [Fr. finir, ppr. finissant; L. finio, finitum, to finish, to complete, from finis, limit, end.] 1. To bring to an end; to make an end of; to arrive at the end of; as, to finish a journey; to finish a house.

Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people, and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins. Dan. ix. 24.

2. To bestow the last required labour upon; to perfect; to accomplish; to polish to a high degree; to elaborate carefully; as, some poets spend far more time and labour in finishing their poems than others. [Compare with reference to this meaning FINISH, n. and FINISHED.]-SYN. To end, terminate, close, conclude, complete, accomplish, perfect.

Finish (fin'ish), v.i. To come to an end; to terminate; to expire. His days may finish ere that.' Shak. Finish (fin'ish), n.

1. The last touch to a work; the last working up of any object of art whereby its completion is effected or whereby it is perfected; polish; careful

elaboration.

The keen observation and ironical pleasantry of a finished man of the world. Macaulay.

There are two great and separate senses in which we call a thing finished.... One, which refers to the mere neatness and completeness of the actual work, as we speak of a well-finished knife-handle or ivory toy; and secondly, a sense which refers to the effect produced by the thing done, as we call a picture well-finished if it is so full in its details as to produce the effect of reality. Ruskin. Finisher (fin'ish-èr), n. 1. One who finishes, puts an end to, completes, or perfects. Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Heb. xii. 2.

2. Something that gives the finishing touch to or settles anything. [Colloq.] 'You need go no farther on your flying tour of matrimony; my house and my heart alike are open to you both. This was a finisher,' said LackingT. Hook. Finishing-coat (fin'ish-ing-kōt), n. The coat which finishes, as the last coat of stucco, the last coat of paint.

ton.

278

Finishing-school (fin'ish-ing-sköl), n. A school in which young people complete their education: generally applied to ladies' schools.

Finite (fi'nit), a. [L. finitus, from finio, to finish, from finis, limit.] 1. Having a limit; limited; bounded: opposed to infinite; as, finite number, finite existence; a finite being; finite duration.-2. In gram. a term applied to those moods of a verb which are limited by number and person, as the indicative, potential, subjunctive, and imperative. Finiteless (fi'nit-les), a. Infinite. Sir T. Browne.

Finitely (fi'nit-li), adv. Within limits; to a certain degree only.

Finiteness (fi'nit-nes), n. State of being finite; confinement within certain boundaries; as, the finiteness of our natural powers. Finitude (fin'it-ud), n. State of being finite; limitation. "The fulness of the creation, and the finitude of the creature.' Chalmers. Finlander (fin'land-ér), n. A native of Finland. Destitute of fins; as,

Finless (fin'les), a. finless fish.

Finlike (fin'lik), a. Resembling a fin; as, a finlike oar.

Finn (fin), n. A native of Finland; a Finlander.

A

Finned (find), a. Having a fin or fins, or anything resembling a fin; especially, having broad edges on either side, as a plough. Finner, Finback (fin'êr, fin'bak), n. name given to the species of a genus of whales (Physalus), so called from their possessing a dorsal hump or fin. The name is also sometimes given to the members of the genus Balaenoptera. Finnikin (fin'i-kin), n. A sort of pigeon, with a crest somewhat resembling the mane of a horse. Finnish (fin'ish), a. Relating to the Finns or Finland.

Finnish (fin'ish), n.

A language spoken by the Finns in North-western Russia and related tribes in Esthonia and Livonia. It is allied to the Turkish and Hungarian languages.

Finny (fin'i), a.

Furnished with fins; relating to, or abounding with, fins or fish; as, With finny fish; finny tribes; finny prey. patient angle trolls the finny deep.' Goldsmith.

Finochio (fi-no'ke-o), n. [It. finocchio, fennel.] Foeniculum dulce, a variety of fennel; sweet fennel. Loudon.

Finos (fen'ōz), n. [Sp.] The second-best wool from merino sheep. Fin-pike (fin'pik), n. The name given to the individuals of a family (Polypterida) of ganoid fishes, remarkable for the structure of the dorsal fin, which, instead of being continuous, is separated into twelve or sixteen strong spines, distributed at short intervals along nearly the whole of the back, and each bordered behind by a small soft fin. Two species of this curious group are living, one of which inhabits the Nile and the other the Senegal; but the family attained its maximum in palæozoic times, most of the old red and carboniferous fishes Fin-scale (fin'skal), n. A name of the freshbelonging to it.

water fish otherwise called the Rudd or Redeye.

Fint. For Findeth.

Chaucer.

Fin-toed (fin'tōd), a. Having toes lobed or connected by a membrane, as aquatic fowls; web-footed.

Fion, Fein,, n. [Gael. fein, pl. feinne; Ir. fion, fian, pl. fiona, fionna.] A name given in the Ossianic poetry to a semi-mythical class of warriors of superhuman size, strength, speed, and prowess. Generally they are supposed to have been a sort of Irish militia, and to have had their name from Fion Mac Cumhal (the Finn Mac Coul of Dunbar, and Fingal of Macpherson), their most distinguished leader; but Mr. Skene believes them to have been of the race that inhabited Germany before the Germans, and Scotland and Ireland before the Scots. Fiord (fyord), n. [Dan. and N. fiord; Icel. fiordr.] An inlet from the sea, usually long, narrow, and very irregularly shaped, such as are common on the coast of Norway; a frith. Fiorin (fi'o-rin), n. [It. fiore, flower, blossom, from L. flos, floris, a flower.] Agrostis alba, a common British grass, found in pastures and waste places. It is not of much agricultural value. A stoloniferous variety, sometimes called A. stolonifera, is often a troublesome weed.

FIRE

Fiorite (fi'o-rit), n. A variety of siliceous sinter found incrusting volcanic tufa at Santa Fiore in Tuscany, whence the name. It is found in the vicinity of hot springs and volcanoes, and consists of silex, with a little alumina, iron-peroxide, and water. Fipplet (fip'l), n. [Perhaps from L. fibula, a clasp, a pin.] A stopper, as at the mouth of a musical wind-instrument.

Fir (fèr), n. [A. Sax. furh; G. föhre; Icel. Sw. fura, Dan. fyr, fyrre. The close resemblance of these words to the words meaning fire in the different languages is remarkable. Comp. E. fire, A. Sax. fyr, G. feuer, Dan. fyr; also Gr. pyr. Fir, A. Sax. furh, represents an ancient word, which appears in L. as quercus, an oak, and probably meant originally tree in general. It seems to be also connected with forest. From the needle-shaped leaves, common to all the varieties of fir, the term furze, anciently firres, firs, may have come to be applied to gorse, which is also characterized by sharp needle-like spines.] A name sometimes used as co-extensive with the term pine, and including the whole genus Pinus; as, the Scotch fir, the silver fir, spruce fir, and oriental fir. Sometimes the term is re

Scotch Fir (Pinus sylvestris). stricted to trees of the section Abies, which differ from the true pines (Pinus) in their leaves growing singly on the stem, and the scales of the cones being smooth, round, and thin. (See ABIES.) The firs, even in the widest sense of the term, are almost all remarkable for the regularity of their growth, their tapering form, and the great altitude of their stems. Their timber is valuable, being almost solely used in the construction of houses, and for the spars and masts of vessels of all kinds. Fire (fir), n. [A. Sax. fŷr, G. feuer, Icel fýri, fire. Comp. etym. of fir. Cog. Gr. pyr, fire; allied to Skr. pu, to purify, as fire is the great purifying element.] 1.The simultaneous and vividly perceptible evolution of heat and light during the process of combustion; combustion. Anciently, fire, air. earth, and water were regarded as the four elements of which all things are composed. 2. Fuel in a state of combustion, as on a hearth, in a furnace, and the like. Fire answers fire, and through their paly flames Each battle sees the other's umber'd face. Shak

The broken soldier, kindly bid to stay.
Sat by his fire, and talked the night away.

Goldsmith.

3 The burning of a house or town; a conflagration; as, the great fire in London in 1666 consumed a great part of the city.-4. The discharge of firearms; the discharge of a number of firearms, as rifles, muskets, or cannon, from a body of troops, a battery, or the like; as, to be under fire; to silence the enemy's fire; enfilade and ricochet fire, &c 5. A spark, as from hot iron accidentally lodged in the eye.-6. Light; lustre; splendour; hence, a star. The heavenly fires." Milton.

But chafing me on fire to find my bride. Tennyson. -To take fire, to become ignited; to begin to burn; hence, fig. to take violent offence; to become enraged; to fly into a passion.St. Anthony's fire, see ANTHONY'S FIRE and ERYSIPELAS. Running fire (milit.), the rapid discharge of firearms by a line of troops in succession.-Greek fire, an artificial fire, which the Greeks of the Byzantine Empire used in their struggles against the Saracens, and which is said to have burned even in water. It is supposed to have been a composition of sulphur, naphtha, pitch, gum, and bitumen. -- Letters of fire and sword, in the ancient law of Scotland, letters of ejectment issued from the Scots Privy Council, and directed to the sheriff of the county, authorizing him to call the assistance of the county to dispossess a tenant who retained his possession contrary to the order of the judge and the diligence of the law.

Fire (fir), v. t. pret. & pp. fired; ppr. firing. 1. To set on fire; to kindle; as, to fire a house or chimney; to fire a pile.-2. To inflame; to irritate, as the passions of; as, to fire one with anger or revenge. "Then soonest fired with zeal.' Milton.-3. To animate; to give life or spirit; as, to fire the genius.4. To drive by fire. [Rare.]

He that parts us, shall bring a brand from heaven And fire us hence.

Shak.

5. To cause to explode; to discharge; as, to fire a musket or cannon.-6. In farriery, to cauterize.-7. To illuminate strongly; to make to shine as if on fire.

When, from under this terrestrial ball, He (the sun) fires the proud tops of the eastern pines. Shak. -To fire up, to kindle the fires of, as an engine.

Fire (fir), v. i. 1. To take fire; to be kindled. 2. To be irritated or inflamed with passion. 3. To discharge artillery or firearms; as, they fired on the town.-To fire away, to begin; to go on a slang expression borrowed from the language of soldiers and sailors.To fire up, to become irritated or angry; to fly into a passion.

He... fired up, and stood vigorously on his defence. Macaulay. Fire-alarm (fir'a-larm), n. An apparatus for instantaneously communicating information of fire, as by telegraphic signal. Fire-annihilator (fir'an-ni-hil-at-ér), n. An apparatus for extinguishing fire; an extincteur (which see).

Firearm (fir arm), n. A weapon whose charge is expelled by the combustion of powder, as cannon, pistols, muskets, &c.

Fire-arrow (fir'a-ro), n. A small iron dart, furnished with a match impregnated with powder and sulphur, formerly used to fire the sails of ships.

Fireball (fir bal), n. 1. A ball filled with powder or other combustibles, intended to be thrown among enemies, and to injure by explosion, or to set fire to their works in order that by the light movements may be seen.-2. A popular name applied to a certain class of meteors which exhibit themselves as globular masses of light, moving with great velocity, and not unfrequently passing unbroken across the sky until lost in the horizon. They differ from ordinary meteors, probably, more in volume and brilliancy than in any other distinctive characteristic. They are not to be confounded with another class of meteors that explode in their passage, and appear to let fall a dull red body (meteorolite) to the earth.

Fire-balloon (firbal-lön), n. 1. A balloon sent up through the superior buoyancy of air rarefied by means of the heat of a fire kindled in connection with it.-2. A balloon sent up at night with fire-works, which ignite at a regulated height. Firebar, Furnace-bar (fir bär, fer nas-bär), n. One of the series of bars which form the grated bottom of a furnace, on which the fuel rests.

Firebare (fir bar), n. [Fire, and bear, to carry.] A beacon.

279

Fire-barrel (fir'ba-rel), n. A hollow cylinder, filled with various kinds of combustibles, used in fireships, to convey the fire to the shrouds.

Fire-basket (fir'bas-ket), n. A portable grate or cresset for a bed-room. Firebavin (fir'ba-vin), n. A bundle of brushwood for lighting a fire.

Firebill (fir'bil), n. Naut. the distribution of the officers and crew on board a man-of-war in the case of alarm of fire

Fireblast (fir'blast), n. A disease in hops, chiefly toward the later periods of their growth, in which they appear as if burned by fire, due to the delicate parts of the plants being too suddenly exposed to a brilliant sun, the rapid transpiration which takes place drying up and shrivelling the

leaves.

Fireboard (fir'bord), n. A chimney-board used to close a fireplace in summer. Fireboom (fir böm), n. Naut. a long boom, having a goose-neck to slip on to a bolt in a ship's wales; the ends of firebooms are formed with open prongs, through which a rope is reeved, and carried round the vessel, to prevent an enemy's boats from getting alongside during the night, or to keep off fire-ships, fire-stages, or vessels accidentally on fire.

Firebote (fir'bot), n. [Fire and bote.] In law, an allowance of fuel, to which a tenant is entitled.

Firebox (fir'boks), n. The box (generally made of copper) in which the fire in a locomotive is placed, surrounded on the outside by an iron casing which is separated from the copper firebox by a space of about 3 inches all round for water to prevent the radiation of heat.

Firebrand (fir'brand), n. 1. A piece of wood kindled or on fire.-2. An incendiary; one who inflames factions, or causes contention and mischief.

Our firebrand brother, Paris, burns us all. Shak. Firebrick (fir'brik), n. A brick that will sustain intense heat without fusion, made of fireclay.

Firebridge (fir'brij), n. The partition at the inner end of the furnace of a steam-boiler, over which the products of combustion pass to the flues, and so cause the flame to impinge on the bottom of the boiler. Fire-brief (fir bref), n. A circular letter soliciting subscriptions for sufferers from a fire.

We laugh at fire-briefs now, although they be Commended to us by his Majesty. Cartwright. Fire-brigade (fir'bri-gad), n. A body of firemen organized in large towns to work the fire-engine in extinguishing fires. Firebrush (fir'brush), n. A brush used to sweep the hearth.

Fire-bucket (fir buk-et), n. A bucket to convey water to engines for extinguishing fire.

Fireclay (fir'klā), n. A kind of clay, consisting chiefly of silica and alumina, capable of sustaining intense heat, and used in making firebricks, gas-retorts, crucibles,

&c.

It

It exists chiefly in the coal measures, the finest being the Stourbridge, which is found in a bed 4 ft. thick. Firecock (fir'kok), n. A cock or spout to let out water for extinguishing fire. Fire-company (fir'kum-pa-ni), n. 1. A company of men for managing an engine to extinguish fires.-2. A fire-insurance company. Fire-cracker (fir'krak-ér), n. A species of firework discharged for amusement. consists of a small paper cylinder filled with gunpowder, &c., and furnished with a fusee. Firedamp (fir'damp), n. Light carburetted hydrogen gas or marsh-gas (CH4). It is sometimes very abundantly evolved in coalmines, and is productive of the most dreadful results, occasioning the death of nearly all employed in the mines, from its explosion. It appears to be generated by the decomposition of partially carbonized coal, and when it constitutes more than th of the volume of the atmosphere of mines, the whole becomes highly explosive when fire is brought in contact with it. The safety-lamp affords the chief protection against the fatal effects of this gas.

Fire-dog (fir'dog). See ANDIRON. Firedrake (fir'drák), n. 1. A fiery dragon or serpent. Beau & Fl.-2. A fiery meteor; an ignis fatuus.-3.† A worker at a furnace or fire. B. Jonson. Fire-dress (fir'dres), n. An invention used as a protection against fire, with the view of enabling the wearer to approach, and

I took leave of my Lady Sunderland. She made me stay dinner at Leicester House, and afterwards sent for Richardson, the famous fire-eater. He devoured brimstone, on glowing coals before us, chewing and swallowing them; he melted a beer-glass, and eat it quite up, &c. Evelyn.

2. A cant term for a fighting character or duellist.

Fire-engine (fir'en-jin), n. An engine for throwing water to extinguish fire and save buildings. Fire-engines are a species of force-pumps, in which the water is subjected to pressure sufficient to raise it to the required height. Those commonly used consist of two force-pumps, which play into a

common reservoir containing in its upper portion (the air-chamber) air compressed by the working of the engine. A tube dips into the water in the reservoir, and to the upper end of this tube is screwed the leather hose through which the water is discharged. The piston-rods are jointed to a double lever, the ends of which are connected with two long handles running parallel to the engine on each side, so that the lever may be worked by several men at once. The ends of the lever are thus raised and depressed alternately, and one piston ascends while the other descends, water being thus continually forced into the reservoir, except at the instant of the reversing stroke; and as the compressed air in the air-chamber performs the part of a reservoir of work the discharge of water from the hose is very steady. The engine is sometimes supplied with water by means of an attached cistern into which water is poured, but it is more usually furnished with a suction-pipe which renders it self-feeding. Fire-engines are now often worked by steam. Fire-escape (fir'es-kap), n. A machine for escaping from the upper part of a building

FIRE-FANGED

and mounted on wheels, for easier transport from place to place. Under the first or main ladder is a recess, down which the inmates of the house on fire are lowered to the ground.

Fire-fanged (fir'fangd), a. Dried up as by fire; specifically, applied to manure which has assumed a baked appearance, from the heat evolved during decomposition. Fire-flaire (fir'flår), n. A fish; a name of the only British species of sting-ray (Trygon pastinaca)

Fire-flaught (firflacht), n. A flash of lightning; more specifically, a flash unaccompanied by thunder. [Scotch.]

Firefly (fir'fli), n. A name indefinitely given to any winged insect which possesses much luminosity. Except the lantern-fly, the fire-flies are all coleopterous, and are members of two nearly allied families, the Elateridae or skipjacks, and Lampyridæ, to which the glow-worm belongs. Our British glow-worm has too little luminosity to entitle it to the name of firefly, but the Lampyris italica, and L. corusca of Canada are allied to it. True fireflies are found only in the warmer regions of the earth. The Elater or Pyrophorus noctilucus of South America and the West Indies is one of the most brilliant, giving out its light from two eye-like tubercles on the thorax. Their light is so powerful that small print may be read by it, and in St. Domingo they are used to give light for domestic purposes, eight or ten confined in a phial emitting sufficient light to enable a person to write.

Fireguard (firʼgärd), n. A framework of iron wire, to be placed in front of a fireplace to protect against fire. Firehook (fir'hök), n. A large hook for pulling down buildings in conflagrations. Fire-insurance (fir'in-shör-ans), n. surance against loss by fire. See INSUR

ANCE.

In

Utensils em

Fire-irons (fir'í-ėrnz), n. pl. ployed for managing a fire, consisting of poker, tongs, and shovel. Fire-kiln (fir'kil), n. An oven or place for heating anything. Simmonds. Fire-ladder (firlad-dér), n. A fire-escape. Fireless (fir'les), a. Destitute of fire. Firelight, Firelighter (firlit, firlit-ér), n. A composition of very inflammable material, as pitch and sawdust, for lighting fires. Firelock (fir'lok), n.

A musket or other gun, with a lock furnished with a flint and steel, by means of which fire is produced in order to discharge it; distinguished from the old matchlock, which was fired with a match.

Fire-main (firʼmân), n. A pipe for water, to be employed in case of conflagration. Fireman (fir'man), n. 1. A man whose business is to extinguish fires in towns; a member of a fire-brigade. 2. A man employed in tending the fires, as of a steamengine; a stoker.-3. In coal-mining, one whose special duty it is to examine every morning the working-places and roads of a pit to ascertain if firedamp is present. Firemaster (fir'mas-tér), n. 1. An officer of artillery who superintends the composition of fireworks.-2. The chief of a firebrigade.

Firenew (fir'nú), a. Fresh from the forge; bright; bran-new.

You should have accosted her; and with some excellent jests, fire-new from the mint. Shak. Fire-office (fir'of-fis), n. An office for making insurance against fire.

Fire-opal (fir'ō-pal), n. A variety of opal. See GIRASOLE, 2.

Fire - ordeal (fir'or-de-al), n. An ancient mode of trying an accused person by means of fire. See ORDEAL.

Firepan (fir'pan), n. 1. A pan for holding or conveying fire. Ex. xxvii. 3.-2. In a firelock, the receptacle for the primingpowder.

Fireplace (fir'plás), n. The lower part of a chimney which opens into an apartment, and in which fuel is burned; a hearth. The bottom or floor of the fireplace is called the hearth, sometimes the inner hearth; the broad flat stone in front of the hearth is called the slab or outer hearth. The vertical sides of the fireplace opening are termed the jambs, and the lintel which lies on them is called the mantle. The part of the wall immediately above the mantle is called the breast, and the wall behind the fireplace the back. The tube which conveys the smoke from the fireplace to the top of the chimney

Section of Fireplace.

gle or periodical 1, Slab. 2, Hearth. 3. Jamb payment of premi- 4. Fireplace. 5. Mantleum, an insurance piece. 6, Throat. 7, Gather8, Funnel. company ing. 9. Flue. engages 1o, Mantle. 11, Back. 12, Grate. 13, Breast. 14, Dam. per.

to make good to the assured person such loss as may occur by fire to his property, described in the policy, within the period therein specified, to an amount not exceeding a particular sum, which is fixed by such policy. Firepot (fir'pot), n. 1. A small earthen pot filled with combustibles, used in military operations.-2. That part of a furnace in which the fire is made.

Fireproof (fir'pröf), a. Proof against fire; incombustible. Various plans have been adopted for rendering houses, or an apartment in a house, fireproof, as by constructing them entirely of brick or stone, and employing iron doors, ties, and lintels, stone staircases, and landings. In the case of textile fabrics, as cotton, linen, &c., saturation with various salts, as borax, which leave their crystals in the substance of the fabrics, is the means adopted for rendering them incombustible. Wood is best protected by silicate of soda, which, on the application of strong heat, fuses into a glass, which enveloping not only the outside but also the internal fibres of the wood shield it from contact with the oxygen of the air. All that can be done by any process, however, is the prevention of conflagration; no mode yet known can prevent smouldering. Firer (firer), n. One who sets fire to anything: an incendiary.

Fireraft (fir'raft), n. A timber construction bearing combustible matters, used by the Chinese to destroy an enemy's vessel. Fire-raising (fir'rāz-ing), n. The act of setting on fire. In Scots law, fire-raising is the technical equivalent of arson in English law. In Scotland it is a capital crime, where the property is houses, ships, corn, coal heughs, or woods, but capital punishment is not now inflicted. See ARSON. Fireroll (fir'rōl), n. Naut. a peculiar beat of the drum to order men to their stations on an alarm of fire; a summons to quarters. Firescreen (fir'skren), n. 1. A kind of movable screen placed before a fire to intercept the heat.-2. A woollen screen placed in the passage way from a powder-magazine, whenever this is opened. Fireset (fir'set), n. A set of fire-irons, commonly shovel, poker, and tongs. Fireship (fir'ship), n. A vessel filled with combustibles to be set on fire for the purpose of carrying fire to and burning an enemy's ships.

Fireshovel (fir'shu-vel), n. A shovel or instrument for taking up or removing coals of fire.

Fireside (fir'sid), n. The side of the fireplace; the hearth; home.

rope-yarn, secured to the tompion, and immersed in water to wet the gun and clear away any particles of powder, &c. Fire-telegraph (fir'te-le-graf), n.

A tele

graph to announce the outbreak of fire to different parts of a city.

Fire-tower (fir'tou-ér), n. A sort of lighthouse.

Firetube (fir'tūb), n. A pipe or flue for conveying heat, as, in a locomotive, a tube through which fire passes for obtaining a large heating surface. It is fixed longitu dinally in the middle compartment between the firebox and smokebox.

Fireward, Firewarden (fir'ward, fir'ward-n), n. An officer who has authority to direct others in the extinguishing of fires.

Fireweed (fir'wed), n.

Erechthites hieracifolia, a North American plant, nat. order Compositæ. It is an erect coarse annual with many-flowered heads of whitish flowers. Its popular name is given to it from its appearing abundantly wherever lands have been burnt over. It possesses a strong and disagreeable odour.

Firewood (fir'wyd), n.

Wood for fuel. Firework (fir'werk), n. 1. A preparation of gunpowder, sulphur, and other inflammable materials used for making explosions in the air on occasions of public rejoicing, &c.; also, the name given to various combustible preparations used in war.

The light of his fine mind is not sunshine, but the glitter of an artificial firework. Carlyle.

2. pl. An exhibition or exhibitions of fireworks; pyrotechnics. Fireworker (fir'wèrk-ér), n. An officer of artillery subordinate to the firemaster, now called the second lieutenant.

Fire-worship (fir'wer-ship), n. The worship of fire, the highest type of which worship is seen in the adoration of the sun, not only as the most glorious visible object in the universe, but also as the source of light and heat. In the early religion of India the sun appears in the form of the god Agni (L. ignis, fire), what was first regarded as a mere abstract influence or a phenomenon in time being regarded as a sentient individual. Thus in the Vedic hymns Agni is the god of fire, corresponding to the Greek Hephæstos. In the East the worship of the element of fire was practised by the ancient Persians or Magians, and is continued by the modern Parsees. The establishment of this species of idolatry among the Persians is ascribed to Zoroaster, who taught his disciples that in the sun and in the sacred fires of their temples God more especially dwelt, and that therefore divine homage was to be paid to these. Fire-worshipper (fir'wer-ship-pêr), n. A worshipper of fire; specifically, a follower of Zoroaster, who inculcated the worship of fire as the symbol of the sun-deity. See GUEBRE, PARSEE. Fir-in-bond (fèr-in-bond'), n. In carp. a name given to lintels, bond-timbers, wallplates, and all timbers built in walls. See BOND.

Firing (fir'ing), n. 1. The act of discharging firearms. 2. Fuel; firewood or coal.-3. The application of fire or of a cautery. Firing-iron (fir'ing-i-ern), n. An instrument used in farriery for cauterizing; a cautery.

In

Firing-machine (fir'ing-ma-shen), n. mech. an apparatus for feeding an enginefurnace with coal.

Firk (férk), v. t. [Perhaps onomatopoetic in origin. Comp. flick, jerk.] To beat; to whip; to chastise.

Shak.

I'll firk him and ferret him. Firkt (férk), v. i. [A. Sax. frician, to dance.] To spring; to go off or fly out suddenly. A wench is a rare bait, with which a man No sooner's taken but he firks mad. B. Jonson. Firkt (fèrk), n. A stroke; a lash. Firkin (férkin), n. [A contr. form of four, with dim. suffix kin. See KIN, suffix.] 1. A measure of capacity, being the fourth part of a barrel, or equal to 74 imperial gallons, or 2538 cubic inches. It is now legally abelished. 2. A small wooden vessel or cask