fifer 
fifer (fi'fer), . One who plays on a fife. 
fife-rail (fif'ral), H. Arail above the deck around 
the lower part of the mast of a vessel, having 
holes in it for belaying-pins. 
fi-fi (fi'fi), a. [F. fi fi, repetition of fi, fie: 
see fie."} Somewhat immoral ; scandalous: as, 
"Paul de Kock's fi-fi novels," Thackeray. 
[Slang.] 
The widow of an Indian Nabob, from whom she was di- 
vorced on account of some fi-fi story, my dear, that is never 
mentioned now. 
Mrs. Argles (" The Duchess "), Airy Fairy Lilian, xxxiii. 
Fifish (fi'fish), a. [Sc., < Fife + -isfcl. "The 
term, it is said, had its origin from a number of 
the principal families in the county of Fife hav- 
ing at least a bee in their bonnet" (Jamieson), 
i. e., being deranged. The earliest form of the 
name of Fife was Fif; it is said to be a Jutland 
word (fibh) meaning a forest.] Exceedingly 
whimsical; crabbed and peculiar in disposi- 
tion ; cranky in a manner once considered char- 
acteristic of Fifeshire in Scotland. 
He will be as wowf as ever his father was. To guide in 
that gate a bargain that cost him four dollars very, very 
Fifish, as the east-country fisher-folks say. Scott, Pirate, ix. 
fifteen (fif 'ten'), a. and n. [< ME. fiftene, < AS. 
fiftene, fiftyne = OS. fiftein = OFries. fiftine, 
fitene = D. mjftien = MLG. viftein, viften, LG. 
feftein, foftein = OHG. fimfzehan, finfzehan, 
MHG. finfzehen, viinfzehen, G. funfzehn = Icel. 
fimmtdn = Norw./e/wton = Svr.femton = Dan. 
femten = Goth, fimftaihun = L. quindecim = Gr. 
7revre(/ca(')cSe/ca = Skt. panchadaqa ; < AS. fif, etc., 
five, + ten, tyn, etc., ten: see five and ten.~\ I. 
a. Five more than ten, or one more than four- 
teen : a cardinal numeral. 
Here's to the maiden of bashful fifteen. 
Sheridan, School for Scandal, iii. 3 (song). 
II. n. 1. The sum of ten and five, or four- 
teen and one. 2. A symbol representing fif- 
teen units, as 15, XV, or xv. 3f. Same as fif- 
teenth, 3. 
First the kyng with her had not one penny, and for the 
fetching of her the Marquis of Suff olke demanded a whole 
fifteen in open parliament. Hall, Hen. VI., an. 18. 
The fifteen, the Jacobite rising in Scotland in 1715 : as, 
he was out in the fifteen. [Scotch.] 
Ye were just as ill aff in the feifteen, and got the bonnie 
baronie back, an' a'. Scott, Waverley, xiv. 
fifteenth (fif 'tenth' ), a. and n. [< ME. fiftenthe, 
fiftende, fiftethe, < AS. fifteotha = OFries. fif- 
tinda = D. vijftiende = MLG. vifteinde, LG./o/- 
teinde = OHG. finftazehento, funfzendo, MHG. 
fiinfzehende, G. funfzehnte Icel. fimmtdndi = 
Norw. femtande = Sw. femtonde = Dan. fem- 
tende = Goth, fimftaihunda, fifteenth ; < A8. fif- 
tyne, etc., fifteen, + -th, etc., ordinal suffix.] 
I. a. Next after the fourteenth: an ordinal nu- 
meral. 
II. n. 1. The quotient of unity divided by 
fifteen; one of fifteen equal parts of anything: 
as, eleven fifteenths (-B-) of an acre. 2. (a) In 
music, the interval or the concord of a double 
octave. (6) In organ-building, a stop whose 
pipes are tuned two octaves above the keys 
struck. 3. In early Eng. law, a fifteenth part of 
the rents of the year, or of movables, or both, 
granted or levied by way of tax. When a fifteenth 
was the rate for the counties at large, that for towns and 
demesnes was usually a tenth. 
In 1334 the old system of grants of fractional parts of 
moveables, fifteenths and tenths, had been relinquished, 
and in lieu thereof a practice was adopted of granting a 
sum of money, to be partitioned out between the various 
counties and towns as for & fifteenth and tenth. 
S. Dowell, Taxes in England, II. 52. 
fifth (fifth), a. and n. [Early mod. E. also /ift; 
< ME. fif the, fifte,fift, < A.S.fifta = OS. fif to = 
OFries. fifta = D. vijfde = MLG. mfte, vifte, 
LG. fifte, fofte = OHG. fimfto, finfto, MHG. G. 
fiinfte Icel. fimmti = Sw. Dan./emte = Goth. 
*fimfta (not recorded) = L. quintus = Gr. irtfi- 
TtTof = Skt. panchatha (very rare: usually pan- 
chama, with different suffix), fifth ; < AS./n/, E. 
five, etc., + -tha, -ta, -th, ordinal suffix.] I. a. 
Next after the fourth: an ordinal numeral. 
He consecrated Games, after the like Heathenish so- 
lemnitie, in honour of Caesar, to be celebrated euery fift 
yeare at Cresarea. Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 118. 
2206 
ceding four ; hence their self-assumed title. They unsuc- 
cessfully attempted risings against the government in 1657 
and 1601. 
Our vicar, from John 18. v. 38, declaim'd against ye folly 
of a sort of enthusiasts and desperate zealots, call'd y 
Fifth-Monarchy-Men, pretending to set up the kingdome 
of Christ with the sword. Evelyn, Diary, Aug. 10, 1657. 
Fifth nerve, that one of the cranial nerves which comes 
between the fourth and sixth in enumeration from before 
backward ; the tri- 
facial or trigeminal 
nerve. See second 
cut under brain. 
Fifthwheel,ahori- 
zontal plate, bent 
to form a whole or 
part of a circle, 
placed on the for- 
ward axle of a car- 
riage. It is de- 
signed to support 
the fore part of the 
body while allow- 
ing it to turn free- 
ly in a horizontal 
plane. Sometimes 
called circle-iron. 

Two forms of Fifth Wheels. 
II. n. 1. The 
quotient of uni- 
ty divided by 
five ; one of 
five equal parts of anything: as, one fifth () 
of an acre. 2. In music: (a) A tone five dia- 
tonic degrees above or below any given tone. 
(6) The interval between any tone and a tone 
five degrees distant from it. (c) The combina- 
tion of two tones distant by a fifth, (d) In 
a scale, the fifth tone from the bottom ; the 
dominant: solmizated sol, as G in the scale 
of C, or E in that of A. The typical interval of the 
fifth is that between the first and fifth tones of a diatonic 
scale, acoustically represented by the ratio 3 : 2, and equal 
to three diatonic steps and a half. Such a fifth is called 
perfect or major; a fifth a half-step shorter is called di- 
minished or minor ; a fifth a half -step longer is called aug- 
mented, pluperfect, superfluous, or extreme. The perfect 
fifth is the next most perfect consonance after the octave. 
In harmony the parallel motion of two voices in perfect 
fifths is forbidden ; such fifths are often called consecutive 
fifths, or simply consecutive*. 
As if a musician should insist on having nothing but 
perfect chords and simple melodies, no diminished fifths, 
no flat sevenths, no flourishes, on any account. 
0. W. Holmes, Autocrat, ii. 
3. In early Eng. law, a fifth part of the rents of 
the year, or of movables, or both, granted or lev- 
ied by way of tax Defective fifth. See defectioe. 
False fifth, in music, a diminished fifth. Hidden fifths, 
in music, the consecutive fifths that are suggested when 
two voices proceed in similar (not parallel) motion to a 
perfect fifth. (See 
flg. 1.) The objec- 
tion to this kind 
of progression be- 
comes evident 
when the interme- 
fig 
fiinfzig = Icel. fimmtigir, mod. fimmtiu = Norw. 
ffii'iti = Svr.femtio = Dan.femti (usually halv- 
tredsindstyve) = Goth. Jiniftigjus = L. quinqua- 
ginta = Gr. nevrr/Kovra = Skt. panchaq a t, fifty; 
< AS./T/, E.^ce, etc., + AS. -%, Goth, tigjus, 
etc., a form allied to ten; fifty being thus 'five 
tens': see-% 1 .] I. a. Five times ten; ten more 
than forty, or one more than forty-nine : a car- 
dinal numeral. 
Better;!/'!/ years of Europe than a cycle of Cathay. 
Tennyson, Locksley Hall. 
II. n.; -pi. fifties (-tiz). 1. The sum of five 
tens, or of forty-nine and one. 
And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds and by fifties. 
Mark vi. 40. 
2. A symbol representing this number, as 50, 
L, or 1 Fifty Decisions. See derision. 
fifty-fold (fif 'ti-fold), adv. Fifty times. 
Let worse follow worse, till the worst of all follow him 
laughing to his grave, fifty-fold a cuckold. 
Shak., A. andC., 1. 2. 
figif (fig), v. i. ; pret. and pp. figged, ppr. figging. 
[Another form, with sonant g for surd fc, of fick, 
fike 2 , q. v. Hence the assibilated form fidge, 
and freq. fidget, q. v.] To move suddenly or 
quickly ; rove about. 
Like as a Hound, that (following loose, behinde 
His pensive Master) of a Hare doth flnde ; 
Leaves whom he loves, vpon the scent doth ply, 
Figs to and fro, and fals in cheerfull Cry. 
Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, li., The Handy-Crafts. 
flg2 (fig), n. [< ME. fig,fyg,fygge, vl.figes, figis, 
figgus (rarely fyke, < AS. fie), a fig-tree, a fig, 
also piles, < OF.figtte, fige (prob. < Pr.), also 
fie, F.figue = Pr. figa, figua, alsofia = Sp. higo, 
OSp. Pg. figo = It. fico = AS. fie (in comp. j = 
OS. figa = D. vijg = MLG. vige = OHG. figa, 
MHG. vige, G. feige = Icel. fikja = OSw. fika, 
Sw. fikon = Dan. figen, < L. ficus, fern, (rarely 
masc.), a fig-tree, a fig, also the piles.] 1. The 
common name for species of the genus Fiais, 
and for their fruit. The common flg, F. Cat-tea, is 
a native of the Mediterranean region ; it has been culti- 
vated from a very remote date, and is now found in most 
Fig. I. 
diate tones through which the skipping voice virtually 
passes are filled in. (See flg. 2.) Hidden fifths are forbid- 
Fig. 2. 
den in strict counterpoint, and discountenanced in simple 
harmony, particularly if both voices skip. Compare hid- 
den octaves. 
fifthly (fifth'li), adv. [< fifth + -fy2.] i n the 
fifth place. 
Fifthly, they counted all them as wicked and reprobate 
wyche were not of their secte. Whitgift, Defence, p. 11. 
fifthy (fif 'thi), a. [< fifth + -2/1.] In musical 
acoustics, having, as a tone, the second har- 
monic that is, the fifth above the octave 
specially prominent. [Rare.] 
If Ce G be followed by C D Fa, we seem to have two 
primary triads (involving fifths) or, to use Hauptmann's 
expression, they have a "fifthy" appearance. 
The Academy, Sept. 22, 1888, p. 213. 
fiftieth (fif'ti-eth), a. and n. [< ME. fiftithe, 
fiftuthe, fiftugethe, < AS. fiftigotha = OFries. 
fiftichsta = D. vijftigste = Ml/G. viftegeste, LG. 
foftigste = OHQr.fimfzugosto, MHG. wiinfeegeste, 
G. fiinfzigste = Icel. fimmtugandi, mod. fimmtu- 
gasti = Norw. femtiande = Sw. femtionde = 
Dan. femtiende, fiftieth; < AS. fiftig, E. fifty, 
etc., + -tha, -th, ordinal suffix.] I. o. Next 
after the forty-ninth: an ordinal numeral. 
A jubile shall that fiftieth year be unto you : ye shall 
not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, 
nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed. 
Lev. xxv. 11. 
Fifth Chain, the tug or chain which connects the leading 
horse with the pole when five horses are used in a team. 
Fifth-day, the name commonly used by the Society of 
Friends to designate Thursday, the fifth day of the week. 
Fifth essence or element. See essence, 5. Fifth Mon- 
archy Men, a sect of millenarians of the time of Crom- .., Kou/ 
well, differing from other Second-Adventists in believing fifty (fif 'ti), a. and n f<. ME -fifty 
not only in a literal second coming of Christ, but also that -* ~~ - - -- 
it was their duty to inaugurate his kingdom by force. This 
kingdom was to be the fifth and last in the series of which ~ ~ *---* - . ~ 
those of Assyria, Persia, Greece, and Rome were the pre- OHG. fimfzug, finfzuc, MHG. viinfzec,funfzec, Gr. 
II. n. The quotient of unity divided by fifty; 
one of fifty equal parts of anything : as, twen- 
ty-four fiftieths (f J) of an estate. 
fifty (fif 'ti), a. and n. [< ME. fifty, fifti, < AS. 
fiftig = OS. fiftich = OFries. fiftich, fiftech = 
D. vijftig = MLG. viftieh, veftic'h, LG. foftig = 
Common Fig {Ficus Carita). 
warm temperate countries. It is a small tree, with large, 
rough, deciduous leaves, and a pyriform fruit, which va- 
ries much in size, color, and flavor, and of which two crops 
are usually borne each season. This fruit consists of a 
hollow, fleshy receptacle filled with a multitude of minute 
nutlets or so-called 
seeds, the ripened 
ovaries of the pistil- 
late flowers which 
covered the interior. 
When green the flg 
has a milky, acrid 
juice, which be- 
comes sweet and 
mucilaginous at ma- 
turity. The Turkey 
or Smyrna figs of 
commerce, which 
arc the most esteem- 
ed, are large and 
pulpy. A superior 
quality of these are 1 'a 
known as elewe fign 
(Turkish elteme, 
hand-picked). What 
are called Greek flgs 
are small and dry. The number of cultivated varieties is 
large. Figs are used in medicine as a mild laxative. The 
wild flg, or caprifig, is the staminate and sterile form of the 
same species. Of other species, F. Sycamorus, Pharaoh's 
flg, or the sycamore flg, is a large tree of Egypt, the fruit of 
which is eaten by the Arabs. Its light, durable wood was 
used by the Egyptians as the material for their mummy- 
cases. F. religiosa, the sacred flg of India, is also known 
as the pippul- or bo-tree (which see). F. pedunculata is 
the wild or red fig of southern Florida and the West In- 
dies, a tree sometimes 40 feet high, and spreading by aerial 
roots, with a very small, globose fruit. The black fig of 
Jamaica is F. laurifolia and F. crassinervia. In Australia, 
F. macrophylla is known as the Moreton Bay flg, a noble 
tree with a broadly buttressed trunk. F. rubiyinom, the 
Port Jackson fig, is a tree with rooting branches, similar 
to the banian. 
, Section of Female Floret of Fig ; #, 
Section of Fruit of Fif? . 
