Part 21

Fis*sip"a*rous (?), a. [L. fissus (p. p. of findere to split) + parere to bring forth: cf. F. fissipare.] (Biol.) Reproducing by spontaneous fission. See Fission. -- Fis*sip"a*rous*ly, adv.

Fis`si*pa"tion (?), n. (Biol.) Reproduction by fission; fissiparism.

{ Fis"si*ped (?), Fis*sip"e*dal (?) }, a. [Cf. F. fissipËde.] (Zoˆl.) Having the toes separated to the base. [See Aves.]

Fis"si*ped, n. (Zoˆl.) One of the Fissipedia.

||Fis`si*pe"di*a (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. L. fissus (p. p. of findere to ||cleave) + pes, pedis, a foot.] (Zoˆl.) A division of the Carnivora, ||including the dogs, cats, and bears, in which the feet are not ||webbed; -- opposed to Pinnipedia.

Fis`si*ros"tral (?), a. [Cf. F. fissirostre.] (Zoˆl.) Having the bill cleft beyond the horny part, as in the case of swallows and goatsuckers.

||Fis`si*ros"tres (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. L. fissus (p. p. of findere to ||cleave) + rostrum beak.] (Zoˆl.) A group of birds having the bill ||deeply cleft.

Fis"sur*al (?), a. Pertaining to a fissure or fissures; as, the fissural pattern of a brain.

Fis`su*ra"tion (?), n. (Anat.) The act of dividing or opening; the state of being fissured.

Fis"sure (?), n. [L. fissura, fr. findere, fissum, to cleave, split; akin to E. bite: cf. F. fissure.] A narrow opening, made by the parting of any substance; a cleft; as, the fissure of a rock.

Cerebral fissures (Anat.), the furrows or clefts by which the surface of the cerebrum is divided; esp., the furrows first formed by the infolding of the whole wall of the cerebrum. -- Fissure needle (Surg.), a spiral needle for catching together the gaping lips of wounds. Knight. -- Fissure of rolando (Anat.), the furrow separating the frontal from the parietal lobe in the cerebrum. -- Fissure of Sylvius (Anat.), a deep cerebral fissure separating the frontal from the temporal lobe. See Illust. under Brain. -- Fissure vein (Mining), a crack in the earth's surface filled with mineral matter. Raymond.

Fis"sure (?), v. t. To cleave; to divide; to crack or fracture.

||Fis`su*rel"la (?), n. [NL., dim. of L. fissura a fissure.] (Zoˆl.) A ||genus of marine gastropod mollusks, having a conical or limpetlike ||shell, with an opening at the apex; -- called also keyhole limpet.

Fist (fst), n. [OE. fist, fust, AS. fst; akin to D. vuist, OHG. fst, G. faust, and prob. to L. pugnus, Gr. pygmh` fist, py`x with the fist. Cf. Pugnacious, Pigmy.] 1. The hand with the fingers doubled into the palm; the closed hand, especially as clinched tightly for the purpose of striking a blow.

Who grasp the earth and heaven with my fist.

Herbert.

2. The talons of a bird of prey. [Obs.]

More light than culver in the falcon's fist.

Spenser.

3. (print.) the index mark [], used to direct special attention to the passage which follows.

Hand over fist (Naut.), rapidly; hand over hand.

Fist, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Fisted; p. pr. & vb. n. Fisting.] 1. To strike with the fist. Dryden.

2. To gripe with the fist. [Obs.] Shak.

Fist"ic (?), a. [From Fist.] Pertaining to boxing, or to encounters with the fists; puglistic; as, fistic exploits; fistic heroes. [Colloq.]

Fist"i*cuff (?), n. A cuff or blow with the fist or hand; (pl.) a fight with the fists; boxing. Swift.

Fis"ti*nut (?), n. [Cf. Fr. fistinq, fistuq. See Pistachio.] A pistachio nut. [Obs.] Johnson.

||Fis*tu"ca (?), n. [L.] An instrument used by the ancients in driving ||piles.

||Fis"tu*la (?; 135), n.; pl. FistulÊ (#). [L.] 1. A reed; a pipe.

2. A pipe for convejing water. [Obs.] Knight.

3. (Med.) A permanent abnormal opening into the soft parts with a constant discharge; a deep, narrow, chronic abscess; an abnormal opening between an internal cavity and another cavity or the surface; as, a salivary fistula; an anal fistula; a recto-vaginal fistula.

Incomplete fistula (Med.), a fistula open at one end only.

Fis"tu*lar (?), a. [L. fistularis: cf. F. fistulaire.] Hollow and cylindrical, like a pipe or reed. Johnson.

||Fis`tu*la"ri*a (?), n. [NL., fr. L. fistula pipe.] (Zoˆl.) A genus of ||fishes, having the head prolonged into a tube, with the mouth at the ||extremity.

Fis`tu*la"ri*oid (?), a. [Fistularia + -oid.] (Zoˆl.) Like or pertaining to the genus Fistularia.

Fis"tu*late (?; 135), v. t. & i. [Cf. L. fistulatus furnished with pipes.] To make hollow or become hollow like a fistula, or pipe. [Obs.] "A fistulated ulcer." Fuller.

Fis"tule (?; 135), n. A fistula.

Fis"tu*li*form (? or ?), a. [Fistula + -form.] Of a fistular form; tubular; pipe-shaped.

Stalactite often occurs fistuliform.

W. Philips.

Fis"tu*lose` (?; 135), a. [L. fistulosus.] Formed like a fistula; hollow; reedlike. Craig.

Fis"tu*lous (?), a. [Cf. F. fistuleux.] 1. Having the form or nature of a fistula; as, a fistulous ulcer.

2. Hollow, like a pipe or reed; fistulose. Lindley.

Fit (?), imp. & p. p. of Fight. [Obs. or Colloq.]

Fit, n. [AS. fitt a song.] In Old English, a song; a strain; a canto or portion of a ballad; a passus. [Written also fitte, fytte, etc.]

To play some pleasant fit.

Spenser.

Fit, a. [Compar. Fitter (?); superl. Fittest (?).] [OE. fit, fyt; cf. E. feat neat, elegant, well made, or icel. fitja to web, knit, OD. vitten to suit, square, Goth. ftjan to adorn. √77.] 1. Adapted to an end, object, or design; suitable by nature or by art; suited by character, qualitties, circumstances, education, etc.; qualified; competent; worthy.

That which ordinary men are fit for, I am qualified in.

Shak.

Fit audience find, though few.

Milton.

2. Prepared; ready. [Obs.]

So fit to shoot, she singled forth among her foes who first her quarry's strength should feel.

Fairfax.

3. Conformed to a standart of duty, properiety, or taste; convenient; meet; becoming; proper.

Is it fit to say a king, Thou art wicked?

Job xxxiv. 18.

Syn. -- Suitable; proper; appropriate; meet; becoming; expedient; congruous; correspondent; apposite; apt; adapted; prepared; qualified; competent; adequate.

Fit (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Fitted (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Fitting (?).] 1. To make fit or suitable; to adapt to the purpose intended; to qualify; to put into a condition of readiness or preparation.

The time is fitted for the duty.

Burke.

The very situation for which he was peculiarly fitted by nature.

Macaulay.

2. To bring to a required form and size; to shape aright; to adapt to a model; to adjust; -- said especially of the work of a carpenter, machinist, tailor, etc.

The carpenter . . . marketh it out with a line; he fitteth it with planes.

Is. xliv. 13.

3. To supply with something that is suitable or fit, or that is shaped and adjusted to the use required.

No milliner can so fit his customers with gloves.

Shak.

4. To be suitable to; to answer the requirements of; to be correctly shaped and adjusted to; as, if the coat fits you, put it on.

That's a bountiful answer that fits all questions.

Shak.

That time best fits the work.

Shak.

To fit out, to supply with necessaries or means; to furnish; to equip; as, to fit out a privateer. -- To fit up, to furnish with things suitable; to make proper for the reception or use of any person; to prepare; as, to fit up a room for a guest.

Fit (?), v. i. 1. To be proper or becoming.

Nor fits it to prolong the feast.

Pope.

2. To be adjusted to a particular shape or size; to suit; to be adapted; as, his coat fits very well.

Fit, n. 1. The quality of being fit; adjustment; adaptedness; as of dress to the person of the wearer.

2. (Mach.) (a) The coincidence of parts that come in contact. (b) The part of an object upon which anything fits tightly.

Fit rod (Shipbuilding), a gauge rod used to try the depth of a bolt hole in order to determine the length of the bolt required. Knight.

Fit, n. [AS. fit strife, fight; of uncertain origin. √ 77.] 1. A stroke or blow. [Obs. or R.]

Curse on that cross, quoth then the Sarazin, That keeps thy body from the bitter fit.

Spenser.

2. A sudden and violent attack of a disorder; a stroke of disease, as of epilepsy or apoplexy, which produces convulsions or unconsciousness; a convulsion; a paroxysm; hence, a period of exacerbation of a disease; in general, an attack of disease; as, a fit of sickness.

And when the fit was on him, I did mark How he did shake.

Shak.

3. A mood of any kind which masters or possesses one for a time; a temporary, absorbing affection; a paroxysm; as, a fit of melancholy, of passion, or of laughter.

All fits of pleasure we balanced by an equal degree of pain.

Swift.

The English, however, were on this subject prone to fits of jealously.

Macaulay.

4. A passing humor; a caprice; a sudden and unusual effort, activity, or motion, followed by relaxation or inaction; an impulsive and irregular action.

The fits of the season.

Shak.

5. A darting point; a sudden emission. [R.]

A tongue of light, a fit of flame.

Coleridge.

By fits, By fits and starts, by intervals of action and repose; impulsively and irregularly; intermittently.

Fitch (?; 224), n.; pl. Fitches (#). [See Vetch.] 1. (Bot.) A vetch. [Obs.]

2. pl. (Bot.) A word found in the Authorized Version of the Bible, representing different Hebrew originals. In Isaiah xxviii. 25, 27, it means the black aromatic seeds of Nigella sativa, still used as a flavoring in the East. In Ezekiel iv. 9, the Revised Version now reads spelt.

Fitch, n. [Contr. of fitched.] (Zoˆl.) The European polecat; also, its fur.

Fitch"È (?), a. [Cf. F. fichÈ, lit. p. p. of ficher to fasten, OF. fichier to pierce. Cf. 1st Fish.] (Her.) Sharpened to a point; pointed.

Cross fitchÈ, a cross having the lower arm pointed.

Fitched (?), a. (her.) FitchÈ. [Also fiched.]

{ Fitch"et (?), Fitch"ew (?) }, n. [Cf. OF. fisseau, fissel, OD. fisse, visse, vitsche, D. vies nasty, loathsome, E. fizz.] (Zoˆl.) The European polecat (Putorius fútidus). See Polecat.

Fitch"y (?), a. Having fitches or vetches.

Fitch"y, a. [See FitchÈ.] (Her.) FitchÈ.

Fit"ful (?), a. [From 7th Fit.] Full of fits; irregularly variable; impulsive and unstable.

After life's fitful fever, he sleeps well.

Shak.

-- Fit"ful*ly, adv. -- Fit"ful*ness, n.

The victorious trumpet peal Dies fitfully away.

Macaulay.

{ Fith"el (?), Fith"ul (?) }, n. [OE. See Fiddle.] A fiddle. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Fit"ly (?), adv. In a fit manner; suitably; properly; conveniently; as, a maxim fitly applied.

Fit"ment (?), n. The act of fitting; that which is proper or becoming; equipment. [Obs.] Shak.

Fit"ness, n. The state or quality of being fit; as, the fitness of measures or laws; a person's fitness for office.

Fitt (?), n. See 2d Fit.

Fit"ta*ble (?), a. Suitable; fit. [Obs.] Sherwood.

Fit"ted*ness (?), n. The state or quality of being fitted; adaptation. [Obs.] Dr. H. More.

Fit"ter (?), n. 1. One who fits or makes to fit; esp.: (a) One who tries on, and adjusts, articles of dress. (b) One who fits or adjusts the different parts of machinery to each other.

2. A coal broker who conducts the sales between the owner of a coal pit and the shipper. [Eng.] Simmonds.

Fit"ter, n. A little piece; a flitter; a flinder. [Obs.]

Where's the Frenchman? Alas, he's all fitters.

Beau. & Fl.

Fit"ting (?), n. Anything used in fitting up; especially (pl.), necessary fixtures or apparatus; as, the fittings of a church or study; gas fittings.

Fit"ting, a. Fit; appropriate; suitable; proper. -- Fit"ting*ly, adv. -- Fit"ting*ness, n. Jer. Taylor.

Fit"weed` (?), n. (Bot.) A plant (Eryngium fútidum) supposed to be a remedy for fits.

Fitz (?), n. [OF. fils, filz, fiz, son, F. fils, L. filius. See Filial.] A son; -- used in compound names, to indicate paternity, esp. of the illegitimate sons of kings and princes of the blood; as, Fitzroy, the son of the king; Fitzclarence, the son of the duke of Clarence.

Five (?), a. [OE. fif, five, AS. ff, ffe; akin to D. vijf, OS. ff, OHG. finf, funf, G. f¸nf, Icel. fimm, Sw. & Sw. Dan. fem, Goth. fimf, Lith. penki, W. pump, OIr. cÛic, L. quinque, Gr. &?;, ∆ol. &?;, Skr. pa&?;can. √303. Cf. Fifth, Cinque, Pentagon, Punch the drink, Quinary.] Four and one added; one more than four.

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Five nations (Ethnol.), a confederacy of the Huron-Iroquois Indians, consisting of five tribes: Mohawks, Onondagas, Cayugas, Oneidas, and Senecas. They inhabited the region which is now the State of new York.

Five (fv), n. 1. The number next greater than four, and less than six; five units or objects.

Five of them were wise, and five were foolish.

Matt. xxv. 2.

2. A symbol representing this number, as 5, or V.

Five"-fin`ger (?), n. 1. (Bot.) See Cinquefoil.

2. (Zoˆl.) A starfish with five rays, esp. Asterias rubens.

Five"fold` (?), a. & adv. In fives; consisting of five in one; five repeated; quintuple.

Five"-leaf` (?), n. Cinquefoil; five-finger.

{ Five"-leafed` (?), Five"-leaved` (?) }, a. (Bot.) Having five leaflets, as the Virginia creeper.

Five"ling (?), n. (Min.) A compound or twin crystal consisting of five individuals.

Fives (fvz), n. pl. A kind of play with a ball against a wall, resembling tennis; -- so named because three fives, or fifteen, are counted to the game. Smart.

Fives court, a place for playing fives.

Fives, n. [See Vives.] A disease of the glands under the ear in horses; the vives. Shak.

Five`-twen"ties (?), n. pl. Five- twenty bonds of the United States (bearing six per cent interest), issued in 1862, '64, and '65, redeemable after five and payable in twenty years.

Fix (fks), a. [OE., fr. L. fixus, p. p. of figere to fix; cf. F. fixe.] Fixed; solidified. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Fix, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Fixed (fkst); p. pr. & vb. n. Fixing.] [Cf. F. fixer.] 1. To make firm, stable, or fast; to set or place permanently; to fasten immovably; to establish; to implant; to secure; to make definite.

An ass's nole I fixed on his head.

Shak.

O, fix thy chair of grace, that all my powers May also fix their reverence.

Herbert.

His heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.

Ps. cxii. 7.

And fix far deeper in his head their stings.

Milton.

2. To hold steadily; to direct unwaveringly; to fasten, as the eye on an object, the attention on a speaker.

Sat fixed in thought the mighty Stagirite.

Pope.

One eye on death, and one full fix'd on heaven.

Young.

3. To transfix; to pierce. [Obs.] Sandys.

4. (Photog.) To render (an impression) permanent by treating with such applications as will make it insensible to the action of light. Abney.

5. To put in order; to arrange; to dispose of; to adjust; to set to rights; to set or place in the manner desired or most suitable; hence, to repair; as, to fix the clothes; to fix the furniture of a room. [Colloq. U.S.]

6. (Iron Manuf.)