feverish 
/Vc, ;/.,/( with hope and change. 
William MuiTin, Earthly Paradise, II. 170. 
Generally speaking, a feverish anxiety is manifested in 
every country to increase the naval strength. 
H. A. Jtev., CXXXIX. 432. 
5. Excited and fitful; in a state resembling 
fever; now hot, now cold; characterized by 
sudden change or rapid fluctuations : as, a fe- 
verish state of the money market. 
The political atmosphere is less agitated through the 
absorption of attention by the feverish condition of the 
commercial world. The American, VIII. 99. 
feverishly (fe'ver-ish-li), adv. In a feverish 
manner; as in a fever. 
These other apartments were densely crowded, and in 
them \>e*t feverishly the heart of life. Poe, Tales, I. 342. 
feverishness (fe'ver-ish-nes), . 1. The state 
of being feverish; a slight febrile affection. 
Hence 2. Heated or fitful agitation or ex- 
citement : as, the feverishness of popular feel- 
ing. 
The feverishness of his apprehensions. Scott. 
feverlyt (fe' ver-li), a. [< feverl + -lyl.J Char- 
acteristic of fever ; feverish. 
Feverly heat maketh no digestion. 
Ashinole's Theatrum Chemicum (1562), p. 62. 
feyernilt (fe'ver-nut), n. The seeds of Caisal- 
pinia Bonducella, a climbing leguminous shrub 
of the tropics, used as a tonic and febrifuge. 
feverous (fe'ver-us), a. [< ME. feverous, < OF. 
fievrous, F. fievreux = Pr. febros = It. febbroso ; 
as fever 1 + -ows.] 1. Affected with fever or 
ague. 
The earth was feverous, and did shake. 
Shak., Macbeth, ii. 3. 
The business of your last week's letter, concerning the 
widow, is not a subject for A feverous man's consideration. 
Donne, Letters, xxii. 
2. Having the nature of fever. 
All maladies 
Of ghastly spasm, or racking torture, qualms 
Of heart-sick agony, &\\ feverous kinds. 
Milton, P. L., xi. 482. 
A less feverous and exclusive pursuit of wealth. 
Westminster Rev., CXXVIII. 616. 
3. Having a tendency to produce fever. 
It hath been noted by the ancients that southern winds, 
Mowing much, without rain, do cause a feverous disposi- 
tion of the year ; but with rain not. Bacon, Nat. Hist. 
[Obsolete or rare in all uses.] 
feverouslyt (fe'ver-us-li), adv. In a feverous 
manner; feverishly. 
A malady 
Desperately hot or changing/ecerowj.-^/. 
Donne, Elegies, vii. 
feverroot (fe'vfer-rot), w. A caprifoliaceous 
herb of the United States, Triosteum perfolui- 
tum, said to have been used by the Indians as a 
remedy for fevers. The root is purgative and 
emetic. Also feteneort and horse-gentian. 
fever-sore (fe'ver-sor), n. A vesicular sore pro- 
duced by febrile conditions; fever-blister. 
fever-tree (fe'ver-tre), n. 1. The blue-gum 
tree (Eucalyptus globulus): so called from its 
quality of preventing malaria. See Eucalyptus. 
2. The Pinckneya pubens, a rubiaceous tree 
of the American coast, from South Carolina to 
Florida. The bark is used as a tonic and febri- 
fuge, under the name of Georgia bark. 
fevertwig (fe'ver-twig), n. The staff-vine, 
Celastnis scandens, the bark of which is used in 
domestic practice as an alterative, diuretic, etc. 
See cut under bittersweet. 
feyerweed (fe'ver-wed), . The Eryngium f(x- 
tidum of the West Indies. 
feverwort (fe'ver-wert), . Same as feverroot. 
feveryt (te'ver-i), a. [< fever 1 + -)/ 1 .] Af- 
fected with fever; feverish. 
O Rome, in what a sickness art thou fallen ! 
How dangerous and deadly, when thy head 
Is drowned in sleep, and all thy body/euery / 
JB. Jonson, Catiline, iii. 5. 
Fevillea (fe-vil'e-ii), . Same as Feuillea. 
few (fu), a. and pron. or n. [Early mod. E. also 
fewe, < ME. few, fewe, feue, femes, feu, feawe, 
feaue, famve, fawe, fowe, faa, fo, prop, pi., the 
suffix -e being that of the nom. pi. (absorbed 
in the contracted form fo, to which was then 
sometimes attached another pi. suffix -n, giving 
the pi. fon,fone) (compar. fewer, fewere ; also, 
from the pi. /OH, sometimes foner); < AS.fedwe, 
contr. fed, pi., = OS. fa, fo (fdh-) = OFries. fe 
= OHG. fao, fo (fao-, fo-, foh-, fow-) = Icel. 
far = Sw.fd, pi., = Norw. Dan./aa, pi., = Goth. 
*/aies or "fans, only in pi. faioai, few; Teut. 
-/ *fau = L. and Gr. '/ *pau, in L. paucus, lit- 
tle, pi. pauei, few, panlus,paullus(= Gr. -n-aiipoc; ), 
little, small, L. pauper (for "pauciper), poor : see 
paucity, pauper, poor. The constructions of few 
2196 
partly conform to those of little and many.'] I. 
a. Not many; a small number; only a small 
number. 
That the fewe word [pi.] that we on ure bede (bead, 
prayer] seien be cuthe alle halegen [known to all saints]. 
Old Eny. Homilies (ed. Morris), II. 119. 
Ther is ladis [men] now in lond fulle/oe 
That wold haue seruut [served] hor [their] lord soe. 
Sir Amadace, st. 70 (Three Early Eng. Metr. Rom., 
[ed. Robson). 
Fone, men may now fourty yhere pas, 
And foner fifty. 
Hampole, Prick of Conscience, 1. 764. 
Few substances are found pure in nature. 
Emerson, Society and Solitude. 
II. pron. or n. 1. Not many; only a small 
number (of persons or things) : in this use prop- 
erly an adjective, used elhptically as a plural 
noun, and not preceded by the article. 
On his side were but/o. 
Robert of Brunne, tr. of Langtoft's Chron., p. 58. 
Many be called, but/ew chosen. Mat. xx. 16. 
But for the miracle, 
I mean our preservation, few in millions 
Can speak like us. Shak., Tempest, ii. 1. 
Few there are who have either had, or could have, such 
a loss ; and yet /ewer who carried their love and constancy 
beyond the grave. Drydm, Eleonora, Pref. 
Few, few shall part, where many meet ! 
Campbell, Hohenlinden. 
2. A small number ; a minoritv: in this sense 
preceded by the article a (originally in the 
plural) or the, with or without a noun follow- 
ing, the noun, if used, expressing the whole of 
which the few are taken, and being in the parti- 
tive genitive, with or without the preposition 
of: as, a few, or a few members, or a few of the 
members, dissented. 
Her je mowe yse [see] that an vewe thoru synue of lech- 
erye 
Mowe bynyme grace of God al a compaynye. 
Robert of Gloucester, p. 405. 
The Cane [khan] rood with a fewe ineynee \numti-. at- 
tendants]. Handel-Hit, Travels, p. 226. 
We are left but a few of many, as thine eyes do behold 
us. Jer. xlii. 2. 
A grateful few shall love thy modest lay ... 
Long as the thrush shall pipe on Grongar Hill ! 
Wordsworth, Sonnets, i. 17. 
3. A small quantity or portion ; a little : fol- 
lowed by a noun (without of) in a construction 
similar to def . 2 and to that of little, n. [Obso- 
lete or local.] 
At ten of the clocke they go to dynner, whereas they be 
contente with a penye pyece of byefe amongest iiii, hau- 
yng a fewe porage made of the brothe of the same byefe, 
wyth salte and otemell, and nothynge els. 
T. Lever, quoted in N. and Q., 7th ser., IV. 486. 
Here's a rahm. . . . It's weel eneugh to ate a few por- 
ridge in. E. Bronte, withering Heighte, xiii. 
A few. (a) See II., 2. (6) See II., 3. (c) Adc.phr. Some- 
what ; to some slight extent : often used ironically for re 
good deal. [Colloq. or low.] 
I trembled a fete, for I thought ten to one but he'd say 
" He? Not he, I promise you." 
time. D'Arblat/, Diary, I. 28. 
A good few, a good many ; a considerable number : a 
cautious phrase expanded by use into a meaning nearly 
the opposite. Compare quite a few. Wright. [Prov. Eng.] 
In fewt, in a few words ; briefly; in brief. 
No compliment, I pray ; but to the case 
I hang upon, which, in few, is my honour. 
Beau, and Fl., King and No King, iv. 3. 
The night grows on, and you are for your meeting ; 
I'll therefore end in few. B. Jonson, Catiline, iii. 3. 
Quite a few, a good many ; a considerable number : same 
as a good few. [Prov., U. S. (Sew Jersey, etc.).] The few, 
the minority ; a small number of persons or things sepa- 
rated or discriminated from the multitude : as, a measure 
calculated to benefit the few at the expense of the many. 
The India House was a lottery-office, which invited 
everybody to take a chance, and held out ducal fortunes 
as the prize destined for the lucky few. 
Afacaulay, Lord Clive. 
fewelt, . and v. See fuel. 
fewellert, n. Seefueler. 
fewmet, n. See fumet. 
fewmisningst, . pi. Same asfumets. 
fewness (fu'nes), n. [< ME. feivness, fewenesse, 
fewnes, feunesse, fonenesse, < AS. '"fedwness, 
contr. fedness, < feawe, few: see few.] The 
state of being few ; paucity. 
Fewenesse [var. fewnesse] of my da8is schewe me. 
Wycltf, Ps. ci. 24. 
How little substantial doctrine is apprehended by the 
femiess of good grammarians ! 
Sir T. Elyot, The Governour, lol. 50 b. 
They on the Hill, which were not yet come to blows, 
perceaving the fewness of thir Enemies, came down amain. 
Milton, Hist. Eng., ii. 
I was chiefly struck with the comparative fewness of the 
large houses, either built or building. 
Darwin, Voyage of Beagle, II. 235. 
Fewness and truth* , in few words and truly : an affect- 
ed phrase. 
fiance 
Fewness antl truth, 'tis thus : 
Your brother and his lover have embraced. 
Shak., M. for M., i. B. 
fewstyt, An obsolete variant offuuty. 
fewteet, . See/ewte 2 . 
fewterH, . and . See/enter 1 . 
fewter 2 t, n. See feuter'*. 
fewterert, See feuterer. 
fewterlock (fu'ter-lok), . A dialectal variant 
of fetterlock, fetlock. 
fewtrils (fu'trilz), n. pi. [E. dial. ; appar. an 
accom. form (simulating few) of fattrels, q. v.] 
Small articles ; little, unimportant things ; tri- 
fles, as the smaller articles of furniture, etc. 
I ha' paid to keep her awa' f ra' me ; these five year I 
ha' paid her ; I ha' gotten decent/ewtrife about me agen. 
Dickens, Hard Times, xi. 
fey if, '. An obsolete form of /fly 1 . 
fey 2 , r. t. Same as fay 2 . 
fey 3 t, n. A Middle English form otfayS. 
fey 4 , a. See/a#5. 
fey"'t, . An obsolete form of fee. 
feydom (fa'dum), . See/a<fo. 
Feylinia (fa-lin'i-a), . [NL. ; a nonsense- 
name.] A genus of African skinks, or lizards, 
of the family Fey liniida;, without limbs and with 
numerous preanal scales. J. E. Gray, 1845. 
Also called Anelytrops, 
feyliniid (fa-lin'i-id), n. A lizard of the fam- 
ily Feyliniido!, 
Feyliniidae (fa-li-nl'i-de), n. pi. [NL., < Fey- 
linia + -idee.] A family of lizards, taking name 
from the genus Feylinia, generally called Ane- 
lytropidce. 
feynet, A Middle English form of feign. 
feyreH, a. A Middle English form of fair 1 . 
feyre 2 t, A Middle English form of /air 2 . 
feyt 1 (fat), v. and n. A dialectal variant of fight. 
feyt 2 (fat), n. A dialectal variant of feaft. 
fez (fez), n.; pl.fezzes (fez'ez). [< F.fez, < Turk. 
fes, said to be named from the city of Fez, the 
principal town in Morocco, where such caps are 
largely manufactured.] A cap of red felt of 
the shape of a truncated cone, having a black 
silk tassel inserted in the middle of the top 
and hanging down nearly to the lower edge. 
It was maae part of Turkish official dress by the sultan 
Mahmud II. in the early part of the nineteenth century. 
It is considered as the special badge of a Turkish subject, 
who, even if not a Mussulman, is obliged to wear it. 
fezzle (fez'l), n. [Origin obscure.] A litter of 
pigs. [Prov. Eng.] 
r. F. V. An abbreviation of the phrase "first 
families of Virginia"; hence, as a substantive 
in the plural, those families : in general, the 
highest social class in the Southern States. 
[Humorous, U. 8.] 
Mason wuz F. F. V., though a cheap card to win on, 
But t'other was jes' New York trash to begin on. 
Lowell, Biglow Papers, 2d ser., iv. 
A high-toned gentleman bred and born, one of the true 
chivalry of the South and of the F. F. t'.'s. 
N. Sargent, Public Men, II. 322. 
He [Patrick Henry] stood midway between the F, F. 
I'.'s (First Families of Virginia) and the " mean whites." 
Nineteenth Century, XXIII. 100. 
f-hole (ef'hol), w. One of the openings in the 
upper plate of the body of the violin and simi- 
lar instruments: so called from their resem- 
blance to the Italic letter/. See cut under vio- 
lin. 
& (fi), interj. Beefy. 
fiacre (fe-a'kr), n. [F., from the Hotel de St. 
Fiacre in Paris, where the first station for the 
hire of these carriages is said to have been es- 
tablished about 1650.] A small four-wheeled 
carriage for hire ; a hackney-coach. 
Du Plessis . . . shows that the name Fiacre was first 
given to hackney coaches, because hired coaches were first 
made use of for the convenience of pilgrims who went 
from Paris to visit the shrine of the saint [Fiaker, Fiacre], 
and because the inn where these coaches were hired was 
known by the sign of St. Fiaker. 
A. Butler, Lives of the Saints (1836), II. 379, note. 
fiancet, n. [< ME. fiaunce, fyawnce, < OF. fiance, 
confidence, trust, promise, = Pr. fiansa = Sp. 
fianza = Pg. fianga = It.fidanza, < L. fidentia, 
confidence, <fiden(t-)s, ppr. of fidere, trust, con- 
fide: see affiance, confidence, and/aeA.] Trust; 
confidence. 
She is Fortune verelye 
In whom no man shulde affye 
Nor in her yeftis have tiaunce. 
Rom. of the Rose, 1. 5482. 
fiancet, v. t. [< OF. fiancer, fianeier, F.fiancer 
(= Pr. fiansar = It. fidanzare), betroth, < OF. 
fiance, promise: see fiance, n.] To betroth. 
See affiance. 
And they had with theym theyr younge sonne, who hadde 
fyaunced the yere before Mary, doughter to the Duke of 
Berrey. Berners, tr. of Froissart's Chron., II. i-xxiii. 
