fistwise 
fistwlse (fist'wi/.), . [< ME. fusttcyse; < fist* 
+ -wine.] In the form of a fist. 
And allu thre nys bute " god [is but one God] as my hand 
anil my fvngres, 
Vnfolde other [or] yfolde ajHutHcyM otter eUefc 
Piers Phil-ma n (I ), XX. 150. 
fisty 1 (fis'ti), a. [< fiat* + -i/ 1 .] Pertaining to 
the fists or to pugilism; fistic. [Bare.] 
In twice five years the "greatest living poet," 
Like to the champion in the fisty ring, 
Is call'il on to support his claim. 
ISijron, Don Juan, xi. 55. 
fisty 2 (fis'ti), n.; pi. fisties (-tiz). A dialectal 
variant of fi*t } . 
fiti (fit), re. [< UE.fit,fyt,fytt, a struggle, < AS. 
fitt, a struggle, fight ; cf. the verbal n. fitung, a 
fighting; fettiau(\n. pret. fl.fcttoclon), dispute, 
contend (?). The AS. forms occur but rarely 
(hardly more than once each). Connections un- 
known ; the nearest word in sense and form is 
light, AS.fcolit; but this cannot be related.] 
If. A struggle; a short period of active physi- 
cal exertion. 
Sys, sche seyde, make yow gladd, 
For on [an] hardere/j/K never ye had. 
Sir Eglamour, 1. 255. 
The body that on the here lis 
Scheweth the same that we schal be ; 
That ferful fit may no mon Be. 
Early Eng. Poems (ed. Furmvall), p. 135. 
2. An attack of convulsive disease ; a muscu- 
lar convulsion, often with loss of self-control 
and consciousness ; spasm ; specifically, an epi- 
leptic attack. 
The aged man that coffers up his gold 
Is plagued with cramps and gouts and painful fits. 
Shak., Lucrece, 1. 866. 
The frequency of attacks varies immensely in epilepsy. 
In one case . . . the average nightly number of fits had 
been about twelve. gam, Med. Diet. 
3. The invasion, exacerbation, or paroxysm of 
disease, or of any physical disturbance, coming 
suddenly or by abrupt transition : as, a fit of 
the gout ; a, fit of colic, of coughing, or of sneez- 
ing; a cold or a hot fit in intermittent fever. 
Unquiet meals make ill digestions, 
Thereof the raging fire of fever bred; 
And what's a fever but a fit of madness ! 
Shak., C. of E., v. 1. 
You shall not be rid of this ague of my letters, though 
perchance the fit change days. Donne, Letters, vi. 
4. A more or less sudden and transient mani- 
festation of emotion or feeling of any kind, 
as of passion (anger), grief, laughter, laziness, 
etc.; usually, a manifestation of violent emo- 
tion; a paroxysm; a "spell." 
Such fearefullyiK assaid her trembling hart, 
Ne word to speake, ne ioynt to move, she had. 
Spenser, F. Q., I. vl. 11. 
Thy jealous fits 
Have scar'd thy husband from the use of wits. 
Shak., C. of E., v. 1. 
There is no difference between a mad man and an angry 
man in the time of his^f. Burton, Anat. of Mel., p. 169. 
Wrapped in a fit of pleasing indolence. 
Wordsworth, Vernal Ode, Iv. 
6. A sudden impulse toward effort, activity, or 
motion, followed by an interval of relaxation ; 
impulsive and intermittent action : as, he will 
do it now that the fit is on him ; to have a fit 
of work. In the emission theory of light a fit is a period 
during which the matter of light is more or less easily 
transmitted. These fits were supposed by Newton to ac- 
count for the phenomena now explained by the periods 
of undulation. 
He that's compelled to goodness may be good, 
But 'tis but for that^f ; where others, drawn 
By softness and example, get a habit. 
B. Joiuen, Every Man in his Humour, 1. 1. 
By ./if* he breathes, half views the fleeting skies, 
And seals again }>y fits his swimming eyes. 
Pope, Iliad, xiv. 
She came when the fit was on her, she staid jest so long 
as it pleased her, and went when she got ready, and not 
before. H. S. Stowe, Oldtown, p. 17. 
The mind now thinks ; now acts ; and e&chfit reproduces 
the other. Emerson, Misc., p. 84. 
Newton endeavoured to explain the rings which go by 
his name by the theory of fits of easy reflection and trans- 
mission. Stokes, Light, p. 51. 
6. A caprice ; capricious or irregular action or 
movement. 
The Sea hath fits, alternate course she keepes, 
From Deep to Shoar, and from the Shoar to Deeps. 
Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, i. 3. 
But, for your husband, 
He is noble, wise, judicious, and best knows 
the fits o' the season. Shak., Macbeth, iv. 2. 
7t. A stroke. 
" Curse on that Cross " (quoth then the Sarazin), 
"That keepes thy body from the bitter fitt!" 
Spe.nser, F. Q., I. 11. 18. 
By fits, fitfully ; spasmodically ; by irregular periods of 
action or emotion. 
141 
2241 
Shirley . was glad to be independent a to property; 
l,ii tits she was even elated at the notion of being lady of 
tile manor. Charlotte Bronte, Shirley, xii. 
Fit Of the facet, a grimace ; a twist or contortion of the 
All the good our English 
Have got by the late voyage is but merely 
A fit or two o' the face. Shak., Hen. VIII., i. 3. 
Fits and starts, irregular periods of action ; capricious 
impulses anil movements ; the performance of actions in 
an irregular or intermittent way : as, to work by fits and 
starts; the clock goes by fits and starts. 
Dalmatia has played a part in history only by fits and 
starts. E. A. freeman, Venice, p. 87. 
TO give one fits, or particular fits, to make a vigorous 
attack upon one; especially, to rate or scold one vigorous- 
ly: as, I'll give him fits for that. [Slang, U. S.] 
The man ran after the thievish Indian, and the corporal 
cried out to give him, fits if he caught him. 
6. W. Kendall, Santa Fe Expedition. 
I rather guess as how the old man will give particular 
fits to our folks to-day. 
E. EggleBton, Hoosler Schoolmaster, p. 101. 
fit 1 !, v. t. [< fift, .] To force or wrench, as by 
a fit or convulsion. 
How have mine eyes out of their spheres \ieenfitted, 
In the distraction of this madding fever! 
Shak., Sonnets, cxix. 
fit 2 (fit), a. and re. [Early mod. E. also fitte ; 
E. dial. alsofet; < ME. fit, fitte, fytjytte, meet; 
origin uncertain: see the verb.] I. . 1. Meet; 
suitable; befitting ; becoming; conformable to 
a standard of right, duty, or appropriateness ; 
proper; appropriate. 
Fyt or mete, equus [ajquus], cougruus. 
Prompt. Pan., p. 163. 
Fytte, as a garment or other thyng. Palsgrave. 
It is not fit for a little foot-page, 
That has run throughe mosse and myre, 
To lye in the chamber of any ladye. 
Child Waters (Child's Ballads, III. 210). 
There will be fit occasion ministred unto me to write 
something of it. Coryat, Crudities, 1. 188. 
We have certainly ... no reason to complain, if God 
thinks fit to debar us at all times any use of unlawfull 
Pleasures. Stillingjleet, Sermons, II. ix. 
He [John Adams] was chosen its President &fit honor, 
which the feeble old man as fittingly declined. 
Theodore Parker, Historic Americans, vl. 
We passed a company of them [monks], young and old, 
on our way bareheaded and barefooted, as their use is, 
and looking very Jlf in ^landscape. ^^ ^ ^ 
2. Adapted to an end, object, or design ; con- 
formable to a standard of efficiency or qualifi- 
cation; suitable; competent. 
My neighbour hath a wife, not/if to make him thrlue, 
But good to kill a quicke man, or make a dead reuiue. 
Puttenham, Arte of Eng. Poesie, p. 176. 
A trotting Horse is fit for a Coach, but not for a Lady's 
Saddle. Howell, Letters, I. v. 37. 
They're fitter far for book or pen 
Than under Mai's to lead on men. 
Battle o/Sherif-Mmr (Child's Ballads, VII. 263). 
Existence, generation after generation, in a region where 
despotic control has arisen, produces an adapted type of 
nature ; partly by daily habit, and partly by survival of 
those most fit for living under such control. 
//. Spencer, Prin. of Sociol., 483. 
3. In a state of preparedness ; in a suitable con- 
dition; ready; prepared: as, fit to die. 
So lit to shoot, she singled forth among 
Her foes who first her quarry's strength should feel. 
Fairfax. 
If I be not fit to go to prison, I am not fit to go to judg- 
ment, and from thence to execution. 
Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress, p. 85. 
fit 
Mon deth mid strengthc and mid witte 
That other thing nis mm hkjitli: 
they Me strengthe at one were, 
Monnes wit get more were. 
Old and .\i : iliti'n : mli; 1. 781. 
6. [< fit?, .] In soap-making, the liquid soap, 
before it is allowed to cool and harden, in the 
finishing stage of the manufacture of yellow 
soap. See fitting, n., 2. 
A &uefit gives a very large nigre , containing much soap j 
.vhile a coan 
impure lye. 
D _ . a a ti j ictif,*. . ..^. ' . 
while a coarse fit gives a small nigre, i lpo*ed cnlefly of 
W. L. Carpenter, Soap and Candles, p. 173. 
4. Specifically, in sporting language, in condi- 
tion; properly trained for action : as, the horse 
was not fit, and lost the race ; hence, colloqui- 
ally, in good health. [Eng.] 
One day he had opened his eyes as fit as a flea. 
The Century, XXXVI. 127. 
"Thought I'd run down for a bit and look you up," he 
explained. "And how are you all in Sleepy Hollow? 
Pretty fit > " W. E. Norrit, The Rogue, xix. 
Not fit to hold a candle to. See candle. Survival of 
the fittest. See survival. =Syn. 1. Proper, seemly, fitting. 
2. Expedient, congruous, correspondent, convenient, ap- 
posite, adequate. Apt, Fit. See apt. 
II. . 1. A fitting or adjustment; adapta- 
tion,' as of one thing to another; something 
that fits or is fitted : as, the fit of a garment, 
or of the parts of a machine ; the coat is an ex- 
act fit. 
" People lie about my being cross with you," Issells, the 
peevish tailor, remarks to his worn-out wife at supper, 
" and I may be put out a little by the everlasting bother 
and misfortune I have, . . . people dissatisfied with their 
fits, people promising and not paying." 
W. M. Baker, New Timothy, p. 237. 
2. A fitting out ; preparation : as, a good fit for 
college. 3. The part of a car-axle upon which 
the wheel is forced. E. H. Knight. 4. One's 
equal, like, or match. [Now only prov. Eng., 
in form/et.] 
fit 2 (fit), v.; pret. and pp. fitted, ppr. fitting. 
[Early mod. E. also fitte; < ME. fitten (rare), 
fit, become, arrange or set in array, = OD. 
vitten, fit, suit, adapt. The early records are 
scant, and other connections are doubtful. The 
adj. may be ult. the contr. pp. of the verb (cf. 
fat 1 , in part similarly contracted). The verb 
is by some connected with Icel. fitja, knit, 
web, = Norw. fitja, draw (a lace) together in a 
noose, = Sw. dial, fittja, bind together, < Icel. 
fit, the webbed foot of water-fowl, the web or 
skin of the feet of animals, the edge or hem of 
a sock, etc. Connection with feat 2 (ME. fete, 
fetise, neat, well-made) is improbable ; but cf . 
fifi = /ea< 2 .] I. trans. 1. To make fit or suit- 
able ; adapt; bring into a corresponding form 
or a conformable condition : as, to fit a coat or 
gown to the figure ; to fit a key to a lock ; to fit 
the mind to one's circumstances. 
I return you here enclosed the Sonnet your Grace pleased 
to send me lately, rendered into Spanish, &nd fitted to the 
same Air it had in English. Uowell, Letters, I. iv. 14. 
How the A&yfits itself to the mind, winds itself round 
it like a fine drapery, clothing all its fancies ! 
Emerson, Works and Days. 
Nature has a magic by which she fits the man to his 
fortunes, by making them the fruit of his character. 
Emerson, Books. 
For anything I know about the matter, it may be the 
way of Nature to be unintelligible ; she is often puzzling, 
and I have no reason to suppose that she is bound to fit 
herself to our notions. Huxley, Amer. Addresses, p. 29. 
2. To accommodate with anything suitable; 
furnish with what is fit or appropriate as to 
size, shape, etc. : as, to fit one with a coat or a 
pair of shoes. 
No milliner can so fit his customers with gloves. 
Shak., W. T.,iv. 3. 
His shoe-maker, fitting him, told him. " that if his Lord- 
ship would please to tread hard . . . his Lordship would 
nndhis Lordship's shoe will sit as easy as any piece of work 
his Lordship should see in England." 
Steelc, Tatler, No. 204. 
3. To prepare ; furnish with what is proper or 
necessary; equip; make ready; qualify: as, to 
fit a ship for a long voyage ; to fit one's self for 
a journey; to fit a student for college. 
I create you 
Companions to our person, and willy!* you 
With dignities becoming your estates. 
Shak., Cymbeline, v. 5. 
We are directed to ask with a fixed and fervent mind, 
because such a manner of asking./it and qualifies us for 
receiving. Bp. Atterlrunj, Sermons, II. xx. 
To fit thee for a nobler post than thine. 
Cowper, Valediction, 1. 32. 
He [Peter Stuyvesant] was in fact the very man fitted 
by nature to retrieve the desperate fortunes of her beloved 
province. Irving, Knickerbocker, p. 267. 
4. To be properly adjusted or adapted to ; be 
suitable for as to size, form, character, qualifi- 
cation, etc. ; suit : as, the coat exactly fits you ; 
he fits his place well. 
Every man's pocket is my treasury, 
And no man wears a suit but fits me neatly. 
Fletcher, Wife for a Month, v. 3. 
You writ to me lately for a Footman, and I think this 
Bearer will fit you. Uowell, Letters, I. v. 13. 
A good government, like a good coat, is that which fits 
the body for which it is designed. 
Macaulay, Mitford s Hist. Greece. 
It seems to me ... that you cannot always cut out 
men to fit their profession, and that you ought not to curse 
them because that profession sometimes hangs on them 
ungracefully. Charlotte Bronte, Shirley, Hi. 
5. To be proper for; be in keeping with; be- 
come; befit. 
The time when screech-owls cry, and ban-dogs howl, 
And spirits walk, and ghosts break up their graves, 
That time best fits the work we have in hand. 
Shak., 2 Hen. VI., i. 4. 
Lay me downe all your commodities together : what I 
like I will take, and in recompence giue you what I thinke 
fitting their value. 
Quoted in Capt, John Smith's Works, 1. 167. 
So clothe yourself in this, that better fits 
Our mended fortunes and a Prince's bride. 
Tennyson, Geraint. 
To fit out, to furnish ; equip ; supply with necessaries or 
means : as, to fit out a ship (that is, to furnish her with 
sails, stores, and other necessaries).^ To fit up, to pre- 
pare furnish with things suitable ; make proper for the 
