fond 
fond't. An obsolete preterit of find. 
fond 2 t, r. ' A Middle English form offancP. 
fond 3 (fond), a. [< ME. fond, contr. of usual 
fanned, sometimes fonnet, foolish, pp. of f<t- 
nen, act like a fool, be foolish: see/o, r.] 1. 
Foolish; simple; silly. 
The rlche man f ulle foimeA is, y wys, 
That weneth that he loved is. 
Bom. of the Roue, 1. 5367. 
Whether God hath not maad the wisdom of this world 
fanned. Wydif, 1 Cor. i. 20 (Purv.). 
I do wonder, 
Thou naughty gaoler, that thou art so fond 
To come abroad with him at his request. 
Shak., M. of V., iii. 3. 
An old man, that by reason of his age was a little fond. 
Burton, Anat. of Mel., p. 32. 
2. Exhibiting or expressing foolishness or folly. 
Thus shalle we hym refe alle his fonde talys. 
Towneley Mysteries, p. 201. 
Let men be assured that a fond opinion they have al- 
ready acquired enough is a principal reason why they have 
acquired so little. Bacon, Physical fables, ii., Expl. 
3. Foolishly tender and loving ; doting; weakly 
indulgent; also (without implication of weak- 
ness or foolishness), tender; loving; very affec- 
tionate. 
Coach. But does she draw kindly with the captain ? 
Fag. As fond as pigeons. Sheridan, The Rivals, i. 1. 
A passion fond even to idolatry. 
Macaulay, Hist. Bug., vii. 
4. Foolishly or extravagantly prized ; hence, 
trifling; trivial. 
Poynt not thy tale with thy fynger, vse thou no such fond 
toyes. Babees Book (E. E. T. 8.), p. 75. 
Not with fond shekels of the tested gold, 
Or stones whose rates are either rich or poor 
As fancy values them. Shak., JI. for M., 11. 2. 
6. Disposed to prize highly or to like very 
much; feeling affection or pleasure: usually 
followed by of, rarely by an infinitive: as, to 
be fond of children ; to be fond of oysters. 
As for their Recreations and Walks, there are no People 
more fond of coining together to see and be seen. 
Lister, Journey to Paris, p. 14. 
They seem also to be credulous, and fond of believing 
strange things, fococke, Description of the East, II. i. 266. 
Ah ! jolly mercer, they who have good wares are fond 
to show them. Scott, Kenilworth, ii. 
6. Cloyingly sweet in taste or smell ; fulsome ; 
luscious. [Prov. Eng. ] 
fond 3 t (fond), v. [^fond 3 , a. ; in part prob. an 
altered form of the older verb fon. Cf. fondle.] 
I. intrans. To be fond; be in love; dote. 
My master loves her dearly : 
And I, poor monster, fond as much on him. 
Shak., T. N., ii. 2. 
II. trans. To treat with great indulgence or 
tenderness ; caress ; fondle. 
The Tyrian hugs and fonds thee on her breast. 
Dnjden, Xacld, i. 
fond 4 (fond), n. [< F. fond, < L. fundtts, bottom : 
see fund.} If. Bottom. 2f. Fund; stock. 
Some new/omfr of wit should if possible be provided. 
Swift, Tale of a Tub, vii. 
3 (F. pron. fon). A background or ground- 
work, especially of lace Fond clair, in lace-mak- 
ing, a background of the more simple sort, such as a net 
pattern or mesh-like ground. Fond de cuvet, a cloak of 
round form like a cope or Spanish cloak, worn in the four- 
teenth and fifteenth centuries. 
fondant (fon-don'), a. [F., ppr. of fondre, 
found, ground: see/ownd 3 .] In her., stooping, 
as for prey : said of an eagle, a falcon, etc. 
fondle (fon'dl), v. ; pret. and pp. fondled, ppr. 
fondling. [Freq. of fond?, v., < fond?, a.] I. 
trans. To treat with tender caresses; bestow to- 
kens of love upon ; caress: as, to fondle a child. 
The rabbit fondles his own harmless face. 
Tennyson, Aylmer's Field. 
He knew it was not in their mother's nature to bear to see 
any living thing caressed but herself ; she would have felt 
annoyed had he fondled a kitten in her presence. 
Charlotte Bronte, Shirley, xxxv. 
H. intrans. To show fondness, as by man- 
ners, words, or caresses. 
Fondling together, as I'm alive. . . . Ah ! have I caught 
you, my pretty doves ? 
Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conquer, iv. 
Persuasion fondled in his look and tone. 
Lowell, Agassiz, ii. 1. 
fondler (fond'ler), n. One who fondles or ca- 
resses. Johnson. 
fondling (fond'ling), H. [</<KZ3 + -K0rl.] i t- 
A person who is fond or foolish ; one of weak 
mind or character; a fool. 
Yet were her words and lookes but false and fayned, 
To some hid end to make more easie way, 
Or to allure such fondlings whom she trayned 
Into her trap unto their owne decay. 
Spenser, F. Q., VI. vi. 42. 
2306 
We have many such fondlings that are their wives' 
pack-horses and slaves. Burton, Anat. of Mel., p. 568. 
2. A person or thing fondled or caressed. 
The badges of afondlynge, as 
Hraue napkyne, brucelettes, rynges, 
He layde away, and went to schoole 
To learn more sober thinges. 
Drant, tr. of Horace's Satires, i. 3. 
He was his parents' darling, not their fondling. Fuller. 
fondly (fond'li), adv. In a fond manner, (a) 
Foolishly ; simply ; sillily. 
Sometimes her head she fondly would aguize 
With gaudy girlonds. Spenser, K. Q., II. vi. 7. 
Sorrow and grief of heart 
Makes him speak fondly, like a frantic man. 
Shak., Rich. II., iii. 3. 
Fondly we think we merit honour then, 
When we but praise ourselves in other men. 
/''/"'. Essay on Criticism, 1. 454. 
(6) With indiscreet or excessive affection ; also (without 
implication of indiscretion), affectionately ; tenderly. 
He to lips thAt fondly falter 
Presses his without reproof. 
Tennyson, Lord of Burleigh. 
It was natural in the early days of Wordsworth's career 
to dwell moat fondly on those profounder qualities to ap- 
preciate which settled in some sort the measure of a man's 
right to judge of poetry at all. 
Lowell, Among my Books, 2d ser., p. 202. 
fondness (fond'nes), n. [< ME. fonnednegse, 
foolishness, < fanned, fond, foolish, + -nesse, 
-ness.] 1 . The state or character of being fond. 
(a) Foolishness; weakness; want of sense or judgment. 
In the profetis of Samarie Y sij fonnednesse [Latin fa- 
tmtatem). Wyclif, Jer. xxiii. 13 (Purv.). 
Fondnesse it were for any, being free, 
To covet fetters, though they golden bee ! 
Spenser, Sonnets, xHvil. 
He is in mourning for his wife's grandmother, which is 
thought a great piece of fondness. Pepys, Diary, I. 238. 
(6) Foolish tenderness ; tender passion ; strong or demon- 
strative affection. 
Some said he died of melancholy, some of love, 
And of that/<mrfw* perish'd. 
Fletcher (and itatilngerf). Lovers' Progress, Iv. 3. 
Her fondness for a certain earl 
Began when I was but a girl. 
Swift, Cadenus and Vanessa. 
And still, that deep and hidden love, 
With its tint fondness, wept above 
The victim of its own revenge ! 
WhMier, Mogg Megone, ii. 
2. Strong inclination, propensity, or appetite. 
Being all poor as rats, they dwelt with peculiar fond- 
ness upon the popular theme of the enchanted riches. 
Irving, Alhambra, p. 302. 
Every one has noticed Milton's fondness for sonorous 
proper names. Lowell, Among my Books, 2d ser., p. 291. 
=8yn. Attachment, Afection, etc. (see lone) ; partiality, 
inclination, propensity. 
fondon (Sp. pron. fon-don'), n. [8p., bottom, 
< fondo, bottom: see fund.] A tub or kettle 
with a copper bottom and sides of wood or 
stone, larger than the cazo, in which silver 
ores are ground and amalgamated. This is ef- 
fected by the action of rotating pulverizers (voladoras), as 
in the arrastre, except that in the case of the fondon the 
pulverizers are made not of stone, but of copper. The 
fondon is used in the Catorce mining district in Mexico. 
See cazo. 
fondu (fon-dti'), a. [F., pp. of fondre, melt, 
cast, found, dissolve, soften, blend : see found 3 .] 
Blended ; softened. In decorative art, noting anything 
in which colors are so applied as to pass insensibly into 
each other through delicate gradations : especially said 
of color-printiug, as in wall-paper and calicoes. 
The fondu or rainbow style of paper-hangings. 
Ure, Diet., HI. 479. 
fondue (fon-du'), n. [F. fondue, a cheese-pud- 
ding, lit. melted, fern, of fondu, pp. of fondre, 
melt: see founds.] A cheese-pudding, made 
of grated cheese, eggs, butter, and seasoning. 
fone 1 ! (fon), n. A Middle English form of the 
plural of foe 1 . 
fone 2 t, n. An obsolete plural of fete. 
fongt, v. A Middle English form of fang: 
fonlyt (fon'li), adv. [< fan 1 , a., + -ly*.] Fond- 
ly. Spenser. 
font 1 (font), n. [< WE. font, rarely fant (often 
funt, see below) (often in equiv. comp. font- 
ston: see fontstone), < AS. /<(once in comp. 
font), a font, = OFries. font, funt = D. vont 
= tAiiQt.funte, runte = Icel. fontr = Sw. funt, 
in comp. dop-funt = Dan. font, in comp. dobe- 
fontj a font, < ML. fon(t-)s, a baptismal font, a 
particular use of li.fon(t-)s, a fountain, spring. 
From the ME. funt, a font, parallel to font, 
comes E. fount, now used chiefly in the orig. 
L. sense 'a spring,' which is in both cases later 
in E. use than the baptismal sense, and infonfl 
is to be referred directly to the L.: see fount 1 .] 
1 . A repository for the water used in baptism ; 
fontange 
now, specifically, a basin, usually of marble or 
other fine stone, permanently fixed within a 
church, to contain 
the water for baptism 
by sprinkling or im- 
mersion: distinctive- 
ly called a baptismal 
font. Ritually, its prop- 
er position is near the en- 
trance of the church, but 
it is very commonly placed 
near the chancel. In the 
early ages of the church 
the font was placed in a 
separate building or chap- 
el called the baptistery; 
and this usage lias main- 
tained itself in some re- 
gions, notably in Italy. 
By the eleventh century it 
had become customary to 
locate the font within the 
main church edifice. The 
earliest medieval fonts 
were of considerable Size, Font, CathedralofLangres. France ; 
as it was then the practice "d of isth century. 
to administer the rite by (From vioiiet-ie-Duc's ''Diet, de 
immersion. They were I Arch.tecture.-) 
usually of massive stone or marble, and even the oldest 
surviving examples are, as a rule, richly sculptured. See 
baptistery. 
In the font we weren eft iboren. ... In the font ther 
we iclensed weren. Old Eng. Homiliet (ed. Morris), p. 59. 
A Font of baptisme, made of porphyrie stone. 
Coryat, Crudities, I. 46. 
I have no name, no title ; 
No, not that name was given me at the/on<, 
But 'tis usurp'd. Shak., Rich. II., iv. 1. 
2. A fount; fountain; source. [Archaic.] 
In this garden there are two/onto wherein are two aun- 
cient Images of great antiquity made of stone. 
Coryat, Crudities, I. 35. 
Wherefore Moylvennll wyll'd hys Cluyd [river] herself to 
show; 
Who from her native font, as proudly she doth flow, 
Her handmaids Manian hath, and Hespin, her to bring 
To Ruthin. Drayton, Polyolbion, x. 110. 
Holy-water font, a basin or receptacle for holy water in 
Roman Catholic churches ; a benitier or stoup. Formerly 
also called holy-water stock, stone, stoup, vat, etc. See cut 
under benitier. 
font 2 (font), n. [In sense 2 also fount; < F. 
fonte, a casting, a founding, a cast, a cast of 
tvpe, a font, < fondre, melt, cast, found : see 
fottnd3.] 1. A casting; the act or process of 
casting; founding. 
When the flgure was ready to be cast in bronze, Michel- 
angelo seems suddenly to have remembered that, as he 
knew nothing of the processes of the font, he could not go 
on without the assistance of a skilled workman. 
C. C. Perkins, Italian Sculpture, p. 273. 
2. A complete assortment and just apportion- 
ment of all the characters of a particular face 
and size of printing-type, as required for ordi- 
nary printed work. The ordinary font of 500 pounds 
of Roman and Italic type for book- or newspaper-work in 
the English language is divided in about the following 
proportions : small or lower-case letters, 265 pounds ; cap- 
ital letters, 37 pounds; small-capital letters, 17 pounds; 
figures, 14 pounds ; points and references, 20 pounds ; 
braces, dashes, fractions, etc., 12 pounds; spaces and quad- 
rats, 99 pounds ; Italic letters, 36 pounds. For other lan- 
guages than English different apportionments are neces- 
sary. 
fontal (fon'tal), a. and n. [< OF. fontal, < ML. 
fontalis, < I/. fon(t-)s, a fount, source: see 
fount*, font 1 .] I. a. Pertaining to a font, foun- 
tain, source, or origin. 
This day among the faithful placed, 
And fed with fontal manna, 
O with maternal title graced 
Dear Anna's dearest Anna. 
Coleridge, Christening of a Friend's Child. 
From the fontal light of ideas only can a man draw in- 
tellectual power. Coleridge. 
H. n. In her., a vase or water-pot depicted 
with a fountain or stream running from it. 
fontanelle. fontanel (fon-ta-nel'), [< F. fon- 
tanelle, a fontanelle: see fontinel.] 1. In pa- 
thol., an opening for the discharge of pus. 
2. A vacancy between bones of the skull of 
a young animal, due to incompleteness of the 
process of ossification. The principal fontanelles 
of the human infant's skull are at tiie cornel's of the 
parietal bones, between these and the frontal, occipital, 
and squamosal, respectively. The frontoparietal fonta- 
nelle is the largest and lasts the longest, causing the ' ' soft 
spot" which may be felt just above the forehead. 
The fmtanelles remain patent [in rickets] much longer 
than in a healthy infant. Quain, Med. Diet. 
3. Some similar opening between other bones, 
as in the scapular arch of some batrachians. 
Also fontinel. 
Coracold fontanelle, in Batrachia. See coracoid, and 
cut under omosternuin. 
fontange (fdn-tonzh'), n. [F., after the Du- 
chesse de Fontanges, one of the mistresses of 
Louis XIV. See def.] A head-dress fashion- 
