floor 
4. One complete section of a building having 
one continuous or approximately continuous 
floor; a story: as, an office on the first yZoor. 
It \va.s a larye roiini <.n the Imver jlmr, wainscoted with 
piiu ami untainted, l.'iuylt'll'i/r, Hyperion, iii. ;i. 
5. Kant., that part of the bottom of a vessel on 
each side of the keelson which is most nearly 
Ship's Floor. A A, floor-plates ; BBB. keelsons ; FF, main frame ; 
K, keel ; LL, liglitening-hules ; RK, reverse frame. 
horizontal. 6. In legislative assemblies, the 
part of the house assigned to the members, and 
from which they speak; hence, figuratively, 
the right of speaking or right to be heard in 
preference to other members: as, the gentle- 
man from New York has the floor. 
Carrington gave the new envoy a cordial welcome, [and] 
introduced him to members on the floor of Congress. 
Bancroft, Hist. Const., II. 110. 
They [chairmanships of standing committees] have their 
rights to tile floor and their little perquisites in the shape 
of clerks and committee-rooms, and they are therefore 
much sought after. K. Schityler, Amer. Diplomacy, p. 25. 
7. In mining, a flat mass of ore. [Cornwall, 
Eug.] 8f. A plane; a surface. 
Both of them [visihles and aildihles] spread themselves 
in round, anil nil a whole floare or orbe into certain lim- 
its. Bacon, Nat. Hist., 225. 
9. In brewing, same as piece. 
Each steeping is called a floor or piece, and must he 
laid in succession according to age, the most recent next 
the couch, and the oldest next the kiln. 
Kiu'iii-. Brit., IV. 268. 
Dead floor. See dead. Double floor, a Hoor whose 
primary timbers are binders resting upon the wall-plates, 
and supporting the floor- or bridging-joists and the ceiling- 
joists; a double-framed floor; a double-joisted floor. 
Drying-floor, in brewing, a floor where the grain is ex- 
posed in layers to the nlr. First floor, in the United 
States, generally the floor or story of a building immedi- 
ately on or above the ground or above the basement floor ; 
in Great Britain and also in some American cities, espe- 
cially in large buildings, the floor next higher than this, 
or the floor above the ground floor. Folding floor, u 
floor having the floor-boards so laid that the joints be- 
tween the ends of the boards are not continuous through- 
out the width of the floor, the boards being laid in bays or 
folds of three, four, or more boards each. Ground floor, 
the floor of a house on a level, or nearly so, with the exte- 
rior ground. Half-floor, in nhip-building, one of a pair 
of timbers whose adjoining ends abut anil are bolted be- 
tween the keel and the keelson. They extend outward 
each way from the middle line of the vessel, beneath the 
futtock-planks, and up to the second f uttocks, whose ends 
bear against them. Single floor, flooring supported upon 
a single tier of bridging-joists. - Straight-Joint floor, a 
floor in which the joints between the ends of the boards 
are not broken. To get In on the ground floor, to be 
admitted to or receive an interest in some projected enter- 
prise on specially advantageous terms to which others, 
and especially the general public, are not admitted, as by 
receiving stock without valuable consideration, or by hav- 
ing an early opportunity of investing below par. or before 
the stock appreciates. [Commercial slang, U. S.] To 
have or get the floor, in legislative and other assemblies, 
to be recognized by the presiding officer as having a right 
to address the assembly or meeting. [U. S.] 
floor (flor), v. t. [= D. t'loeren = ODan. flore ; 
from the noun.] 1. To cover or furnish with 
a floor: as, to floor a house with pine boards. 
Thick fir forests, Hourtd with bright green moss. 
/>'. Taylor, Northern Travel, p. 30. 
2. To place upon a floor; base. 
The doctrine of a heaven floored upon a firmament. 
E. II. Tylor, Prim. Culture, II. 68. 
3. To place near or on the floor, as a picture 
in an exhibition. [Colloq.] 
One R. A. is "skied" and another "floored." 
The American, VIII. 376. 
4. To strike down or lay level with the floor ; 
beat; conquer; figuratively, to put to silence 
by some decisive argument, retort, etc. ; over- 
come in any way; overthrow: as, to floor an 
assailant. 
The express object of his visit was to know how he could 
knock religion over and floor the Established Church. 
Dickens. 
What is flooring Win at present . . . is thatproblem of 
the robin that eats half a pint of grasshoppers and then 
doesn't weigh a bit more than he did before. 
W. D. llowells, Annie Kilburn, xi. 
5. To go through; make an end of; finish. 
[Slang.] 
I have a few bottles of old wine left, we may as well 
floor them. Macmillaris Maij. 
To floor an examination-paper, to answer fully every 
question in it. [Eng.] 
Our best classic had not time to floor the paper. 
C. A. Briited, English t'nlvenity, p. 135. 
2278 
floorage (Hor'aj), . [< floor + -age.'] Spare 
on a floor ; floor-space. 
The [new Exposition] building, with its three stories, af- 
ford* seven acres i'I !\:,K,'II<I'' . 
TheCotiregatioualitt,Hvi>t. -J, I-M;. 
floor-cloth (flor'kloth), H. A heavy canvas of 
hemp or flax woven of extra width, printed in 
oil-colors, and used as carpeting. The term also 
includes many substitutes for carpets, as felted fabrics, 
liiirlaps, mattings, crash, and prepared fabrics made of 
powdered cork, paper, etc. Sec ofwhth. Paper floor- 
cloth, a substitute for oil-cloth, consisting nemrally nf 
one or more thick sheets of paper treated \vitii paint and 
varnish. 
floorer (flor'er), n. 1. One who makes or lays 
floors. 2. One who or that which strikes to 
the floor, as a blow; hence, figuratively, any- 
thing which leads to one's defeat or which over- 
masters one; an overwhelming argument or 
requirement ; a poser. 
floor-frame (flor'fram), n. The main frame of 
the body of a railroad-car underneath the floor, 
including the sills, body-bolsters, and needle- 
beams. Car-Builder's Diet. 
floor-guide (flor'gid), n. \n.ship-liuil<lin<i, a nar- 
row flexible piece of timber placed between the 
floor-ribbon and the keel. 
floor-hanger (flor'hang'er), n. 
ing secured to the floor, and 
used for running countershafts 
and lines when they cannot 
conveniently be suspended 
from the ceiling-joists. 
floor-head (flor'hed), . In 
xlii/>-l>i(ilding, an outer end of 
the floor-timbers. 
A shaft-bear- 
Floor-haner. 
These [molds] extend on each side 
of the ship as high as the floor head, and are formed of 
battens. Thearle, Naval Arch., 9 41. 
floor-hollow (flor'hol'o), n. Naut., an elliptical 
mold for the hollow of the floor-timbers and 
lower f uttocks of a vessel. 
flooring (flor'ing), . [< floor + -ingl ; in AS. 
with umlaut, flering, a floor or story, < flor, 
floor.] 1. A floor; floors collectively. 
Mosaique is an ornament, in truth, of much beauty and 
long life ; but of most use in pavements and flooring. 
Sir 11. Walton, Rellquiie, p. 63. 
An extremely interesting portion of the church is the 
marble flooring, inscribed with the arms of the various 
knights of the order who are buried below. 
E. Sartoriut, In the Soudan, p. 4. 
2. Materials used in the construction of floors. 
3. In brewing, the operation of spreading 
the grain thinly on the malt-floor, and turning 
it over carefully several times a day to keep it 
at the temperature of about 62 F., and thus to 
check germination Carcass-flooring. Seeoiraw*. 
Naked flooring, in carp., the timber orrramework on 
which the floor-ltoarding is laid. 
flooring-clamp (flor'ing-klamp), n. A carpen- 
ters' tool for closing up the joints between 
flooring-boards. It consists of a clamp to seize the 
joist, and a lever which is supplied with a purchase by 
the clamp, and serves to force a board about to be nailed 
down into close contact with that adjoining. 
floorless (flor'les), a. [< floor + -Jess."] Hav- 
ing no floor. 
floortht, . [MV.florthe; us floor + -th.~\ Floor- 
ing ; a floor. 
Y" sayd Goothis, by crafty and false meanes, caused the 
flortheof the sayd chambre to falle, by which meane y sayd 
Paterne was grevously hurte. Fabyan, Chron., I. xcix. 
floor-timber (flor'tim"ber), n. One of the tim- 
bers on which a floor is laid; specifically, in 
ship-building, one of the timbers which are 
placed immediately across the keel, and upon 
which the bottom of the ship is framed. 
floor-walker (flor'wa'k&r), n. A person em- 
ployed in a large retail shop to walk about the 
place, give information to customers, watch 
their conduct and that of employees, etc. Also 
called sliop-walker. 
flop (flop), '. ; pret. and pp. flopped, ppr. flop- 
ping. [Another form of flap, q. v.] I. trans. 
1. To clap or strike, as the wings; flap. 2. To 
cause to fall or hang down. 
Fanny, . . . during the examination, had flopped her 
hat over her eyes, which were also bathed in tears. 
Fielding, Joseph Andrews, iv. 5. 
II. intrans. 1. To flap. 2. To plump down 
suddenly ; turn or come down with a flop : as, 
to flop on one's knees. [Colloq. or vulgar. ] 
If you must go flopping yourself down, flop in favour of 
your husband and child. Dickent, Tale of "Two Cities, ii. 1. 
3. To collapse ; yield or break down suddenly. 
[Slang. ] To flop over, (a) To turn over heavily, or 
by a sudden or laborious effort : as, to flop over on one's 
back. (6) To go over suddenly to another side or par- 
ty ; make a sudden change of association or allegiance. 
[Slang.] 
Floreal 
flop (flop), it. [Another form of flaji, q. v.] 1. 
The act of flopping or flapping. 2. A fall like 
that of a soft outspread body upon the ground. 
And with a desperate ponderous flop, full thirteen sinnr 
and ten pounds, ... I dropped on the llajali s feet, and 
took my seat at his side. H", //. A'j/x.sr//. 
3. Something that flops or is capable of flop- 
ping or striking, as a fluid, semi-liquid, or ge- 
latinous substance, against the side of a vessel 
containing it. [Rare.] 
l-onl and Lady Rosse showed us the foundry (near his 
great telescope], and Professor Lloyd gave the story of 
the casting . . . and by [near] the oven where the fiery 
flop was shut up for six weeks to cool. 
Caroline Fox, Journal. 
4. A sudden collapse or breakdown, as of re- 
sistance. [Slang.] 
flopper (flop'er). . 1. One who or that which 
flops. Specifically 2. A young duck; a flap- 
per. 
floppy (flop'i), a. l<flop + -)/i.] Having a ten- 
dency to flop or flap ; flapping: as, ^floppy hat. 
In those days even fashionable caps were large and 
floppy. George Eliot, Amos Barton, ii. 
flopwing (flop'wing), n. Same as lapwing. 
Flora (no'ra), n. [L. Flora, the goddess of 
flowers, < flos (flor-), a flower : see flower.] 1. 
In classical myth., the goddess of flowers. 2. 
[1. c. ; pi. fli>r<c, floras (-re, -raz).] In but. : (a) 
The aggregate of the plants indigenous to a 
particular country or region, or belonging to a 
particular period: as, the Australasian flora; 
the flora of the Carboniferous period. Seefauna. 
The origination of the successive flora* which have oc- 
cupied the northern hemisphere in geological time, not, 
as one might at first sight suppose, in the sunny climes 
of the south, but under the arctic skies, is a fact long 
known or suspected. Dawson, Geol. Hist, of Plants, p. 237. 
(6) A work systematically describing the plants 
of a country or region or a geological period. 
3. The eighth planetoid, discovered by Hind, in 
London, in 1847. Flora horologica, a flower which 
opens at a certain hour of the day. Flora's clock. See 
horolotfiitm. 
floral (flo'ral), a. [= F. Pg. floral, < L. floralis, 
of or belonging to Flora ; neut. pi. Floralia, the 
festival of Flora, also, rarely, a flower-garden ; 
< flos (flor-), flower : seeflmrer.] 1. [cap.~\ Per- 
taining to the goddess Flora: as, the Floral 
games of Rome (see below). 2. Containing or 
belonging to the flower; pertaining to flowers 
in general: made of flowers : as, a, floral bud ; a 
floral leaf ; floral ornaments. Floral envelop. 
See envelop. Floral games. () See Floralia. (b) An 
annual literary festival held at Toulouse in France on the 
3d of May, under the auspices of a society founded by the 
troubadours about 1324, originally called the College of the 
Gay Science, and after alwut 1500 (when it was perma- 
nently endowed by Clemence Isaure) the College (now the 
Academy) of the Floral names. At flrst a golden violet 
was awarded in competition to the author of the best 
poem ; now a number of gold and silver flowers are dis- 
tributed among the competitors in both prose and verse. 
Floralest (flo-ra'lez), . pi. [NL. (Latreille, 
1809), pi. of L. floralis, floral: see floral.] A 
Cup or section of dipterous insects, of the 
lily Tipulida?, corresponding to Meigen's 
Musceeformes. 
Floralia (flo-ra'li-ii), n.pl. [L.: see floral.] A 
festival celebrated in ancient Borne in honor 
of Flora or Chloris. It lasted from April 28th to May 
2d, and was an occasion of merriment and excessive drink- 
ing, also of comic theatrical representations under the di- 
rection of the edile. The Floralia were of comparatively 
late introduction in Rome, and had their origin in the 
simpler and more innocent rejoicings of the country peo- 
ple at the flowering season of vegetation. Also called Flo- 
rales ludi, or Floral games. 
florally (flo'ral-i), adv. In a floral manner ; in 
a manner in which flowers or representations of 
them are concerned: as, florally ornamented. 
floramourt, w. [Also written/formHor, florimer 
(= G. floramor, flormor = ODan. floramor); 
< OF. "fleur (Faniour," flower-gentle, velvet- 
flower, amaranth, lit. flower of love, hence ex- 
plained as " a flower begetting love " (Ash) (see 
flower and amour) ; said to be a mistaken trans- 
lation of amaranthus, as if < L. amor, love, + 
Gr. dvflof, a flower: see amaranth.] An old 
name for various cultivated species of Ama- 
rantus, as A. caudatus and A. hypochondriacus ; 
the flower-gentle. 
florascope (flo'ra-skop), n. [More prop, "flori- 
scope; < L. flos (flor-), a flower, + Gr. nno-irelv, 
view.] An optical instrument for inspecting 
flowers. 
floret, " An obsolete form of floor. 
Floreal (flo-ra-al'), . [F., < ~L.floreus, of flow- 
ers, <flos (flor-), a flower.] In the calendar of 
the first French republic, the eighth month of 
the year. It commenced (in 1794) April 20th and 
ended May 20th. 
