fix 
2244 
Enamel may he applied to pottery, glass, or metals, and fix (fiks), n. [< fix, .] A critical condition : 
fixed by firing. Harper; May., LXXVII. 662. predicament . a difficulty; a dilemma. 
If the contrasts are likely to be a little too great, or 
tend that way, redevelop before fix'nvi. 
Lea, Photography, p. 32. 
It's " a pretty particular Fix," 
She is caught like a mouse in a trap. 
Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, II. 156. 
We were now placed in an uncommonly awkward fix. 
W. Black, Phaeton, xxv. 
It is not three years ago he came to me in a worse fix 
than this man. W. M. Baker, New Timothy, p. 153. 
Acting of Munden. fixable (fik'sa-bl), a. [< fix + -nble.~\ Capable always appearing to occupy the same place). 
7. To reduce to a concrete state; seize and put 
into permanent form : as, to fix one's thoughts 
on paper, or a conception on canvas. 
O for the power of the pencil to have fixed them when 
I awoke ! 
8. To establish as a fact or a conclusion ; de- of being fixe'd, in any sense of the verb fix. 
termine or settle definitely ; make certain : as, Since they cannot then stay what is transitory, let them 
this event fixed his destiny ; to fix the meaning attend to arrest that which is fixable. 
of a word. *'' Montague, Devoute Essays, I. ix. 2. 
Yet, with submission, for fear of blunders in future, I fixate (fik'sat), 0. ; pret. and pp. fixated, ppr. 
should beglad to fix what has brought us to Bath; in or- fixating. [< ML. fixatus, pp. of fixare, fix: see 
der that we may lie a little consistently. - - - 
Sheridan, The Rivals, ii. 1. 
The eclipse of the sun found to have occurred August 
31, 1030, fixes the exact date of the battle of Stiklestad, in 
Norway, wherein St. Olaf fell. N. and Q., 7th ser., IV. 14. 
9. To limit or confine, as by custom or practice ; 
determine by limitation. 
When custom hath fixed his eating to certain stated 
periods, his stomach will expect victuals at the usual hour. 
Locke, Education, 15. 
10. To regulate; adjust; put in order; ar- 
fixing 
The gradual establishment of law by the consolidation 
of custom is theformation of something fixed in the midst 
of things that are changing. H. Spencer. 
It is not life upon Thy gifts to live, 
But to grow fixed with deeper roots in Thee. 
Janet Very, Poems, p. ',4. 
2. Permanently placed or situated; established 
as to position or relation : as, the planets have 
fixed orbits ; the fixed stars (so called from their 
I. trans. 1. To fix or render stable; 
fix or confine in one place, state, or condition. 
The child naturally flits from one sensation to another ; 
to fixate and hold one sensation is an art that must be 
learned. Science, X. 293. 
The percipient . . . often judges on general grounds 
without laboriously fixating the sensation. Mind, X. 560. 
2. To determine or ascertain the position of: 
as, to fixate a star. 
II. intrans. To become fixed. 
_ = _ . Some subjects fixate first and then the eyes close, or are 
Bone's affairs; to fix one's room or one's dress; closed by the P erator - Amer - *" f'ychol., i. 506. 
to fix one's self for going out. [Fix in this use, [Recent in all uses.] 
as a^general term for any kind of adjustment, has a wide fixation (fik-sa'shon), n. [< ME. fixation, fixa- 
range in a suitable or desired manner : as, to 
ftronfi's affairs: tn fir. nnn'srnnm ni-nna'a Hi-oso- 
range of application. Though not uncommon in England, 
it is often regarded as an Americanism.] 
Why faith, Brass, I think thou art in the right on 't ; I 
must fix my Affairs quickly, or Madam Fortune will be 
playing some of her . . . tricks with me. 
Vanbrugh, Confederacy, L 1. 
To fix, in the American sense, I find used by the Com- 
missioners of the United Colonies so early as 1675, "their 
arms \ve\lfixed and fit for service." 
Lowell, Biglow Papers, Int. 
Dampier has fix apparently in the New England sense. 
" We went ashore and dried our cloaths, cleaned our guns, 
dried our ammunition, and fixt ourselves against our ene- 
mies if we should be attacked." G. P. Marsh. 
11. To bring into a state favorable to one's 
purpose; make sure of, as by selection, bar- 
gain, or some selfish inducement : as, to fix a 
legislative committee or a jury. [U. S.] 1 2f. 
To transfix; pierce. [Rare.] 
A bow of steel shall fix his trembling thighs. Sandys. 
To fix one's flint, to settle or do for one. (Low, U. S.] 
" Take it easy, Sam," says I, "your flint isfixed ; you 
are wet through." Haliburton, Sam Slick in England, ii. 
To fix Out, to set out ; display ; adorn ; supply ; fit out 
[Colloq., U. S.] To fix up. (a) To mend ; repair ; con- 
trive^ arrange, (b) Same as to fix out. (Colloq., U. S.] 
S. 1. " 
cioun, < OF. fixation, F. fixation = Sp. fijacion 
= Pg. fixaq&o = It. fissazione, < ML. "fixatio(n-), 
< fixare, pp. fixatus : see fix, t>.] 1 . The act of 
fixing. 
To do ther he fixacioun, 
With tempi-id hetis of the fyre. 
Gower, Conf. Amant., II. 86. 
But who settled that course of nature ? If we ascend 
not to the original cause, ttie fixation of that course is as 
admirable and unaccountable ; if we do, a departure from 
it is as easy. Howe, Funeral Sermon on Dr. W. Bates. 
She opened her eyes again, which \vvrefixed and staring. 
H'. Black, In Far Lochaber, xxiii. 
[Fixed is used substantively lor fixed stars by Milton. 
They pass the planets seven, and pass the fix'd, 
And that crystalline sphere. P. L, iii. 481.) 
3. In her., same asfirme. 4. Inzoril., not free 
or locomotory ; rooted or otherwise attached 
to some object. 5. In com., without grace or 
days of grace : said of drafts and other commer- 
cial papers payable on a specified date without 
grace Fixed air. See airi. Fixed alkalis. Seeof- 
kali. Fixed ammunition. See ammunition. Fixed 
bodies, those bodies which bear a high heat without evap- 
oration or volatilization. Fixed capital. See capital?. 
Fixed dial See dial. Fixed do. s t <. fixed syllables. 
Fixed fact, a positive or well-established fact. Fixed 
fires. See firework. Fixed force, a force resident in 
a body, as gravitation. Fixed gases. See gas. Fixed 
idea, see idea. - Fixed income, sw //,</,. Fixed 
Oils, oilsobtained by simple pressure, and not readily vola- 
tilized : so called in distinction from volatile oils. They 
are compounds of glycerin and certain organic acids. Such 
compounds are exclusively natural products, none having 
been as yet formed artificially. Among animals they oc- 
cur chiefly in the cellular membrane ; among plants, in the 
seeds, capsules, or pulp surrounding the seed, very seldom 
in the root. They are generally inodorous, and when fluid 
or melted make a greasy stain on paper, which is perma- 
nentFixed star. See star. Fixed syllables, in sol- 
mization, the system which applies a given syllable to a 
given tone and to all of its chromatic derivatives, without 
respect to their key-relationship. Thus, C, CJ, and Cb nre 
all always called do, D, DJ, and Db are all always called re, 
etc. Hence often called the fixed-do system. It is most 
used In southern Europe. Its utility consists simply in 
furnishing speech-sounds for elementary vocal study, ra- 
tlier than a real system of solmization. 
The fixation in a definite and permanent form of those 
effusions which had floated from tent to tent and tribe to 
tribe . . . must necessarily be associated with the art of fixed-eyed (fikst'ld), a. In Crustacea, sessile- 
writing. The Atlantic, LVin. 552. eyed ; edriophthalmous. 
2. The state of being fixed; a fixed, firm, or sta- fixedly (fik'sed-li), adv. In a fixed or settled or 
ble condition; stability; firmness; steadiness, established manner; firmly; steadfastly. 
Thus ge haue oure heuene, and the sunne In him flxid, to And when our hearts are once stript naked and care- 
the conseruacioun of mannys nature and fixacioun of oure fully searcht, let our eyes be ever fixedly bent upon their 
heuene. Book of Quinte Essence (ed. Furnivall), p. 7. conveyances and inclinations. Bp. Hall, Great Impostor. 
an unalterable fixa- fixedness (fik'sed-iies), n. The state of being 
k, Sermons, p. 32. ^--j- _i--*.i_- * . - c 
3. Fixed or certain position or location. [Rare.] 
To light, created in the first day, God gave no certain 
place or fixation. Raleigh, Hist. World. 
II. intrans. 1. To rest; settle down or re- Specifically 4. The act or process by which 
fixedness of opinion on any subject ; the fixed- 
ness of gold. 
main permanently; cease from wandering. 
I am divided, 
And, like the trembling needle of a dial, 
My heart's afraid to fix. 
Shirley, Love in a Maze, i. 2. 
Your kindness banishes your fear, 
Resolved to fix for ever here. Waller. 
Samuel was grown old and could not go about from year 
to year in circuit to Bethel, and Gilgal, and Mizpeh as he 
was wont to do, but fixed at his house in Ramah. 
Stittinyfieet, Sermons, II. iv. 
a fluid or a gas becomes or is rendered firm or 
stable in consistency, and evaporation or vol- 
atilization prevented, or by which colors are 
rendered permanent or lasting; specifically, in fi _. _ , filr , ., 
chem., that process by which a gaseous body n ? A V 
becomes fixed or solid on uniting with a solid 
body. 
There are or may be some corporeal things in the com- 
pass of the universe that may possibly be of such & fixed- 
ness, stability, and permanent nature, that may sustain 
an external existence, at least dependency upon the su- 
M. Hale, Orig. of Mankind, iii. 1. 
MHG. riihsin 
ME. 
. . . (= OHG. fiichsin, 
fiichsen), a female fox, < fox, 
This fixation of oxygen in yeast, as well as the oxida- 
tions resulting from it, have the most marked effect on 
the life of yeast. Pasteur, Fermentation (trans.), p. 244 
fox, 4- fern, suffix -en : see /ox 1 and -ew 3 .] 
A female fox. 
If. 
In my own memory, the dinner has crept by degrees .. The <l lm lut iu in the quantity of available nitrogen 
from twelve o'clock to three, and where it will fix nobody , ,"l sup ,?. '* resto r e<1 bv the fixation of free nitrogen 
kllows - 
Steele, Tatler, No. 263. by the action of organisms in the soil. Science, VIII. 161. 
The fixene fox whelpeth under the erthe more depe than 
the bicche of the wolf doith. MS. Bodl., 546. (Halliwell.) 
2. A scold; a vixen. [North. Eng.] 
[In both senses now usually vixen.'] 
"' 
2. To assume a stable form; cease to flow or is ^f, Krtg?3 " a ' ae U, lf"l !0 " of '?? flier (fik'ser), n. One who or that which fixes, 
be fluid; congeal; become hard and malleable, , Sunbeam, p. 326. establishes, or renders permanent; specifically 
as a metallic substance. f * irmness or stableness of consistency; that any solution used to fix a photograph, a crayon 
firm state of a body in which it resists evapo- drawing etc. : a fixative. 
ration or volatilization by heat : as, the fixation 
of gold or other metals. 
fixative (fik'sa-tiv), a. and n. [< fixate + -ive.~\ 
I. a. Serving to fix, or make fixed or stable : as, 
a fixative substance or process. 
II. n. Anything which serves to render fixed 
or stable, as a mordant with reference to colors ; 
specifically, a weak solution of shellac in alco- 
In the midst of molten lead, when it beginneth to con- 
geal, make a little dent and put quicksilver, wrapped in 
a piece of linen, in that hole, and the quicksilver will fix 
and run no more, and endure the hammer. 
Bacon, Nat. Hist. 
To fix on or upon, to determine on ; come to a definite 
resolve or conclusion in regard to ; pitch on ; choose : as 
the committee has fixed on the leading features of the 
scheme ; to fix on the candidates. 
That sweet creature is the man whom my father has 
drawing, etc. ; a fixative. 
The fixer ... is simply a very weak solution of gum- 
lac in spirits of wine. 
P. G. Hamerton, Graphic Arts, p. 163. 
The parts which form the image are covered with re- 
duced silver, or an altered iodide or chloride of silver, 
which is insoluble in the fixers. Silcer Sunbeam, p. 118. 
xfax (fiks'faks), n. Same as faxwax, pax- 
wax - 
fixed on for my husband. Sheridan, The Duenna, i. B. hoi applied to charcoal and crayon drawings fixidityt (fik-sid'i-ti), n. [Absurdly formed from 
unmedan'sabrt; 5 Mfl S" 1*L 1,^ th tonHzer to fix them and prevent them J***/ Pb. suggested by rigidity.] Fix- 
hammedan Sabbath, were, it is said, because Adam Wi.= 
created on that day, and died on the same day of the 
week, and because the general resurrection was prophe- 
sied to happen on that day. 
E. W. Lane, Modern Egyptians, I. 93. 
from being rubbed. [Recent.] edness. 
Bodies mingled by the fire are differing as to fixiditti and 
volatility. Boyle. 
F. Fowler, Charcoal" Drawing, p. 15. fixing (fik'sing), n. [Verbal n. of fix, t).] 1. 
The act of making firm, stable, steadfast, or se- 
Artists therefore prefer to buy an imported fixative 
which is made by a reliable manufacturer. 
cure ; the act of determining, settling, establish- 
Diuerse tables of longitudes & latitudes of starres fixe. 
Chaucer, Astrolabe, p. 3. 
2. Solidified. 
Ne eek our spirites ascencioun, 
Ne our materes that lyen al fixe adoun, 
Mowe in our werking no thing us auayle 
Chaucer, Prol. to Canon's Yeoman's Tale 1. 226 
fixed habits or opinions, 
The most fixt Being still does move and fly 
Swift as the Wings of Time 'tis measur'd by. 
Cowley, The Mistress, Inconstancy. 
^v rll 5 i ud 8 men ' and . consideration of ... things be- adapted to carry pillow-blocks and the like" 
nana keeps the mind of man more steady and fixt "'' * { ~ >--- ji * ;.-*- - n ** *- ., i _ . ,. .. . 
, 
exercises. Bacon, Advancement of Learning, ii. 300. 
2. The act of repairing or putting to rights or 
in order. 3. In mnch., a piece of cast-ir 
cast-iron 
amidst all the contingencies of humane affairs. 
StiUingfleet, Sermons, I. 
. 
When it is built into a wall, it is called a mill-fixinti or 
wall-box ; when attached to a wall by bolts, it is a /jnte- 
fixing. There are also beam-fixings, as when wheels are 
