force 
1 force not of such fooleries [omens], but if I have any 
skill in South-saying (as in sooth I have none), it doth 
prognosticate that I shall change copie from a Duke to a 
King. Camden, Remains, Wise Speeches. 
force 2 (fore), v. t. ; pret. and pp. forced, ppr. 
forcing. [< ME. forccii, forsen; a corruption 
of force 1 , v. t., by confusion with force 1 , v. t.~\ 
To stuff; farce. 
Fors hit with powder of canel or good gynger. 
Liber Cure Cocorum, p. 31. 
To what form, but that he is, should wit larded with 
malice, aiid malice/orceci with wit, turn him? 
Shak.,'f. andC., v. 1. 
force 3 (fors), H. [E. dial., also written forse, 
fors, foss; < Icel. fors, mod. foss, a waterfall, 
also a brook, stream, = Sw. fors, a torrent, = 
Dan. /os, a waterfall ; hence Icel. forsa, stream 
in torrents, = Sw. forsa, gush, rush, = Dan. 
fosse, stream in torrents, foam, boil.] A water- 
fall. [North. Eng.] 
After dinner I went along the Milthrope turnpike four 
miles to see the falls or force of the river Kent. 
Gray, To Dr. Wharton, Oct. 9, 1769. 
force 4 (fors), v. t. ; pret. and pp. forced, ppr. for- 
cing. [< ME. *forcen,foorcyn, < AF. forcer, clip, 
shear, < OF. forces, F. forces, shears, = Pr. force, 
forsa = It. force, forbicia, forbice, forbid, < L. 
forpices, pi. offorjiex, tongs, a confused form, 
mixing forfex, scissors, and forceps, tongs: see 
forceps and forfex.] 1. To clip or shear, as the 
beard or wool. In particular 2. To clip off 
the upper and more nairy part of (wool), for ex- 
port: a practice forbidden by stat. 8 Henry VI., 
c. 20. 
forceable (for'sa-bl), a. [</orcel + -able. Cf. 
forcible."} That may be forced; amenable to 
force. 
Since in humane lawes there be more things arbitrable 
than forceable, he (Trajan) should advise his Judges to 
approach more unto reason than opinion. 
Letter! of Sir Antonie of Guerrara (trans. 1577), p. 20. 
forced (forst), p. a. [Pp. of /orce 1 , v.] 1. Ef- 
fected by an unusual application of force or 
effort. 
He travelled by forced journeys, frequently changing his 
Jaded horses. Ining, Granada, p. 60. 
If there were no other phenomena of will than those of 
forced attention, it would be necessary to admit the prob- 
ability that all the mental activities are purely mechan- 
ical and absolutely dependent upon the action of the ner- 
vous system under the exciting influences of stimuli. 
G. T. Ladd, Physiol. Psychology, p. 539. 
2. Overstrained; unnatural; affected; artifi- 
cial. 
Whether or no the city of Clazomene might extend 
across any part of the high ground, so as that an island 
or two in that bay might be said to lie opposite to it, is 
very uncertain, and rather too forced an interpretation of 
Strabo. Pococke, Description of the East, II. ii. 41. 
The joy assumed, while sorrow dimm'd the eyes, 
The forced sad smiles that follow'd sudden sighs. 
Crabbe, Works, I. 49. 
force-diagram (fors'di'a-gram), . See rfia- 
gram. 
forcedly (for'sed-li), adv. In a forced manner ; 
violently; constrainedly; unnaturally. T. Bur- 
net. [Bare.] 
fqrcedness (for'sed-nes), n. The state of being 
forced. Worthington. 
forceful (fors'ful), a. [< force + -fill.] 1. Pos- 
sessing force; forcible; expressing or repre- 
senting with force. 
There is a sea-piece of Ruysdael's in the Louvre, which, 
though nothing very remarkable in any quality of art, is 
at least forceful, agreeable, and, as far as it goes, natural. 
Rnskin, Modern Painters, II. v. 21. 
The more forceful the current, the more sharp the rip- 
ple from any alien substance interposed. 
Lowell, Among my Books, 1st ser., p. 193. 
2. Impelled by violence; driven with force; 
acting with power; violent; impetuous. 
Against the steed he threw 
His forceful spear. Dri/den, .Eneid, ii. 65. 
Why, what need we 
Commune with you of this? but rather follow 
OUT forceful instigation ? Shak., W. T., ii. 1. 
forcefully (fors'ful-i), adv. In a forceful or 
violent manner; violently; impetuously. 
Not so forcefully as half a generation ago, perhaps, but 
still forcefully. S. L. Clemens, Life on Mississippi, p. 467. 
forcefulness (fors'ful-nes), n. The character 
of being forceful. 
IteforcrJ 'ulness and wildness stand in antithesis to the 
spirit of great beauty and culture. 
The Academy, May 3, 1888, p. 155. 
force-function (fors'fungk"shon), . In math., 
a function expressing work in terms of position. 
It is commonly written 2/(Xdx + Ydy + Zdz), where X, 
Y, and Z are the rectangular components of the impressed 
force, and x, y. and z those of the position, and where the 
sign of summation refers to the different particles. Gravi. 
tatiou uud all the primordial forces of nature have force- 
2S20 
functions, but viscosity and other forces which are merely 
phenomena derived from the action of chance upon in- 
numerable molecules have none. 
f9rceless(fors'les),a. [< force 1 + -Jess.] Hav- 
ing little or no force ; feeble ; impotent. 
The tiranous bishops are ejected, their courts dissolved, 
their cannons forceless, their servise casheired, their cere- 
monies uselesse and despised. 
Brat(ford, Plymouth Plantation, p. 7. 
forcelett (fors'let), . [< HE.forcelette, < ML. 
forcelletui,forciletiti, accom. dim. forms, after 
OF., of ML. fortis, OF. force, a stronghold, a 
fort, fortification, a particular use of ML./orft'n, 
force, strength : see /creel, and cf. the equiv. 
fort, fortress, fortalice, etc.] A small fort; a 
blockhouse. 
In Egypt there ben but fewe Forcelettet or Castelles, be 
cause that the Contree is so strong of him self. 
Alandeville, Travels, p. 47. 
forcelyt (fors'li), a. [ME./orsety; < force* + 
-ly l ."\ Strong; powerful. 
The flfte was a faire mane thane fele of thles other, 
Aforsely mane and a ferse with fomand lippis. 
Morte Arthure, MS. Lincoln, f. 74. (Ualliwell.) 
forcemeat (fors'met), n. [For farce meat or 
farced meat: see /orce 2 tor farce 1 , and meat.] 
In cookery, meat chopped fine and seasoned, 
either served up alone or used as stuffing; 
farced meat. 
forcementt (fors'ment), n. [(force 1 + -went.] 
The act of forcing ;" violence. 
We sought no kingdom, we desir'd no crown : 
It was imposed upon us by constraint, 
Like golden fruit hung on a barren tree ; 
And will you count such forcenunt treachery ? 
Webster and Dekker, Sir Thomas Wyat. 
forcene' (for-se-na'), a. [Heraldic F.] In her., 
rearing on its hind legs : said of a horse. Also 
frighted. 
force-piece (fors'pes), i. In mining, a piece of 
timber placed in a level shaft to keep the ground 
open. 
forceps (fdr'seps), n. [< L. forceps, a pair of 
tongs, pincers, forceps, appar. lit. something 
by which to grasp hot things, < for- (f) in/or- 
mus, warm, fornax, a furnace, etc., + capere, 
take: see captive, etc.] 1. An instrument, such 
as pincers or tongs, used for seizing, holding, 
or moving objects which it would be imprac- 
ticable to manipulate with the fingers. Such in- 
struments are used by watchmakers and jewelers in deli- 
cate manipulations; by dentists for the forcible extrac- 
tion of teeth ; by accoucheurs for grasping and steadying 
the head of the fetus in delivery, or for extracting the 
fetus ; by surgeons for grasping and holding parts in dis- 
section, for taking up an artery, etc.; and in blowpipe 
analysis (and then platinum-pointed) to hold the fragment 
of the mineral whose fusibility, etc., is being tested. 
2. In zool. and anat., some part or process of 
the body like a forceps ; any f orcipate organ. 
Specifically (a) In anat., the fibers passing backward on 
each side from the splenium of the corpus callosum to the 
posterior and upper part of the occipital lobes. (b) In en- 
tont., a pair of movable horny appendages, curved or bent 
inward like forceps, found on the extremity of the abdomen 
of many insects. In the earwigs they are often very long, 
and are used in tucking the delicate folding wings under 
the short tegmina, and also as weapons of defense. (See 
cut under earwig.) In most other groups they are found 
only in the males, and serve for seizing and retaining 
the females. Alveolar, anal, bicuspid, bulldog, etc., 
forceps. See the qualifying words. Cataract forceps, 
an instrument resembling the dissecting forceps, but much 
finer, used in operating for cataract. Dilating forceps, 
a surgical forceps used to dilate a passage or meatus. 
Dissecting or ligature forceps, a forceps used in dis- 
secting, to lay hold of delicate parts. Fulcrum forceps, 
an instrument used by dentists, consisting of a forceps in 
which one teak is furnished with a hinged metal plate, 
padded with india-rubber, which rests against the gum, 
while the other beak has the usual tooth or gouge shape. 
Polypus forceps. See jmlypia. 
forceps-candlestick (f6r'seps-kan*dl-stik), . 
Same as clip-candlestick. 
forceps-tail (for'seps-tal), n. A book-name of 
an earwig ; any insect of the family Forficulid(e : 
so called from the anal forceps. 
force-pump (fors'pump), n. A pump, of widely 
varying types, which delivers a liquid under 
pressure, so as to eject it forcibly: distin- 
guished from a lift-pump, in which the liquid 
is simply lifted and runs out of the spout. Also 
called forcing-pump. See pump 1 . 
forcer 1 (fpr'ser), n. One who or that which 
forces, drives, compels, or constrains. 
How much bloodshed have the forcerg of conscience to 
answer for ! Milton, Civil Power. 
Specifically (a) In mech., a solid piston applied to a pump 
for the purpose of producing aeon stant stream, or of raising 
water to a greater height than it can be raised by the pres- 
sure of the atmosphere. Seept/mpl. (6) In Cornish min- 
ing, a small pump worked by hand, used in sinking small 
simples or pits. 
forcer 2 !, . [Early mod. E. also corruptly foser, 
fosar; < ME. forcer, forser, f order, < OF. f or- 
der, forchier, forgier, forjier, fourgier = It. for- 
forcipal 
giero, fortiere (ML. reflex forearius), a chest, 
casket; perhaps lit. 'a strong box,' ult. < L. 
fnrtis, strong (see /orce 1 , .); or otherwise ult. 
(like/ojv/e 1 ) < li.fabrica, a workshop, fabricari, 
frame, build, make: see forge 1 . Cf. forcet.] A 
chest ; a coffer. 
And in \mr forcer sche can hym keste, 
That same God that Judas solde. 
US. Cantab. Ff. ii. 38, f. 46. (HalKwell.) 
I have a girdil in myforcere. 
MS. Douce 175, p. 57. (Halliwell.) 
forcett, [Early mod. E. also forset, forsette ; 
var. (with dim. -et) of /orcer 2 , q. v.] Same as 
/orce)' 2 . Florio. 
fbrchet, n. [ME.: see/onrc/i.] Same as/ourc/i. 
And after the ragge-boon kytteth enyii also, 
The f orchis and the sydes euyn by twene, 
And loke that your knyues ay whettyd bene ; 
Thenne turne vp the/orcAw, and frote theym wyth blood, 
For to saue grece ; so doo men of cood. 
Sake of St. Albatu, 1496. 
forcible (for'si-bl), . [< force 1 + -ible. Cf. 
forceable.] 1. Characterized by the exertion 
or use of force; energetic; vigorous; violent: 
as, a. forcible current; forcible means or mea- 
sures. 
Common forcible ways make not an end of evil, but leave 
hatred and malice behind them. 
Sir T. Broime, Christ. Mor., iii. 12. 
2. Done or effected by force; procured or 
brought about by the use of force : as, a forcible 
abduction. 
The abdication of king James the advocates on that side 
look upon to have been forcible and unjust, and conse- 
quently void. Swift. 
3. Having force or cogency; strong; potent; 
efficacious: as, a forcible argument. 
How forcible are right words ! Job vi. 25. 
But I have reasons strong and forcible. 
Shot., 3 Hen. VI., I. 2. 
All the most weighty arguments and most forcible per- 
swaslons are to such [hardened sinners] but like showers 
failing upon a Rock. Stillingfltet, Sermons, II. Hi. 
Forcible detainer, In law, a violent withholding from a 
person of lands or goods belonging to him. Forcible 
entry, in law, an actual entry, by means of violence or 
menaces, into houses or lands without authority of law. It 
implies intent to take possession, as distinguished from 
a mere trespass. =8yn. 1 and 3. Potent, weighty, impres- 
sive, cogent, energetic, vigorous. 
forcible-feeble (for'si-bl-fe'bl), a. and n. [< 
forcible + feeble: in allusion to one of Shak- 
spere's characters, named Feeble, whom Falstaff 
describes as " valiant as a wrathful dove or most 
magnanimousmouse, . . . most, forcible Feeble," 
2 Hen. IV., iii. 12.] I. a. Striving to be or ap- 
pear strong or vigorous while being in reality 
feeble: as, a forcible-feeble style. 
Epithets which are in the bad taste of the forcible-feeble 
school. North British Bee. 
II. . A feeble person striving to appear 
strong or vigorous : usually said of a writer. 
When the writer was of opinion he had made a point, 
you may be sure the hit was in italics, that lost resource 
of theforcibte-fetblei. Disraeli. 
forcibleness (for'si-bl-nes), . The condition 
or quality of being forcible, 
forcibly (for'si-bli), adv. In a forcible manner; 
by force; strongly; energetically ; impressively. 
The proud control of fierce and bloody war, 
To enforce these rights so forcibly withheld. 
Shale. K. John, i. 1. 
But, of the objects which I have endeavoured to describe, 
none arrested my attention BO forcibly as two others. 
Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, I. 196. 
No man can express his convictions more forcibly than 
by acting upon them in a great and solemn matter of na- 
tional importance. II . K. Clifford, Lectures, II. 232. 
forcing (for'sing), . [< ME. forsynge, verbal 
n. of force 1 , v.~) 1. In liort., the art or practice 
of raising plants by artificial heat, at a season 
earlier than the natural one. 
Portuguese gardeners are about the very worst and most 
ignorant in the civilized world, . . . knowing almost no- 
thing of potting, and soils, and cuttings, and grafts, and 
forcing, and the management of glass. 
Fortnightly Rev., N. S., XLIII. 811. 
2. In gun., the act of making a bullet take the 
grooves of a rifle. 
forcing-house (for'sing-hous), . In hort., a 
hothouse for forcing plants. 
forcing-pit (for'sing-pit), n. A pit of wood or 
masonry, sunk in the earth, for containing fer- 
menting materials to produce bottom-heat in 
forcing plants. 
forcing-pump (for 'sing -pump), . Same as 
force-pump. 
fbrcipalt (for'si-pal), a. [< L. forceps (forcip-), 
forceps, + -al.] "Of the nature of forceps. 
Mechanicks made use hereof inforcipal organs, and in- 
struments of incision. Sir T. Bromte, Garden of Cyrus, ii. 
