fur 
(c) A coat or crust formed on the interior of a vessel by 
matter deposited from a liquid, as wine. 
Empty beer-casks hoary with cobwebs, and empty inr 
bottles with fur and fungus choking up their throats. 
Diclttiu, Little Don-it, i. 5. 
(d) Scale formed in a boiler. Ifamersly. 
5. In sporting, a general term for furred ani- 
mals, as in the phrase fur, Jin, md feather. Com- 
pare feather, Jin. 
He [the Scotch terrier] may be induced to hunt feather, 
[but] he never takes to it like /nr. and prefers vermin to 
game at all tinirs. 
/>;;/ r,/ ijri-nt liriiiiiii Hud America,, p. 72. 
6. Kind or class: from the use of particular 
furs as distinctive insignia. [Rare.] In the fol- 
lowing passage the allusion is to the use of fur mini- 
ver or vair -in some of the distinctive university i-os- 
tumes. 
O foolishness of men ! that lend their ears 
To those budge doctors of the Stoic/"/-. 
Milton, Comus, 1. 707. 
7. One of several tinctures used in heraldry. 
Each fur represents an artificial surface composed of 
patches of different colors, supposed to be sewn together, 
or of tufts sew 11 upon a plain ground. The eight furs most 
usually depictcit ;m<! Mazoned are ermine, ermines, ermi- 
nois, pean, vair, counter-vair, potent, and counter-potent ; 
there are also erminiU-s, vair-en-point vaire. Vairy cup- 
l>a and vairy taixa are names given to counter-vair. See 
mtire. To make the fur fly, to make a great commo- 
tion ; breed a disturbance. Bartlelt. [Slang, U. S.] 
Senator H was greatly excited, which proved most 
conclusively that he had made the fur fly among the five 
thousand four hundred and forty men in allusion to the 
Oregon boundary-line]. New York Tribune. 
II. a. Pertaining to or made of fur ; produ- 
cing fur : as, fur animals ; a fur cap. [A fur cap 
is a cap made of fur remaining on the skin; a fur hat 
(formerly called a beaver hat) is a hat made of fur partly 
felted, but retaining a furry surface.] 
fur 1 (fer), v. t.\ pret. and pp. furred, ppr. fur- 
ring. [< tfE.furren, line with fur, < OF. forrer, 
fourrer, F. fourrer, sheathe, fur, = Sp. Pg. for- 
rar, line, = It. foderare, line, line with fur ; 
from the noun.] 1. To line, face, or cover 
with fur: as, a, furred robe. 
The kyug dude of his robe/urra* with menevere. 
Kiinj Alisaunder, 1. 5474. 
The rich Tartars somtimes/iw their gowns with pelluce 
or silke shag, which is exceeding soft, light, & warme. 
Uakluyt's Voyages, I. 98. 
Who if they light vpon those furred Deities take away 
the Furres, and bestow on them greater heat in fires. 
Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 433. 
The mantles of our kings and peers, and the furred 
robes of the several classes of our municipal officers, are 
the remains of this once universal fashion. 
Fairholt, Costume, II. 174. 
2. To cover with morbid or foul matter ; coat. 
The walls 
On all sides furred with mouldy damps, and hung 
With clots of ropy gore, and human limbs. 
Addison, Knri.l, iii. 
A minute portion of the small-pox virus introduced 
into the system will, in a severe case, cause . . . heat of 
skin, accelerated pulse, furred tongue, . . . etc. 
H. Spencer, Universal Progress, p. 43. 
The objection to all effective surface heaters by exhaust 
steam is their liability to become/iirred up when the water 
contains a considerable quantity of lime-salts. 
Jt. Wilson, Steam Boilers, p. 118. 
There are serious conditions ... in which the develop- 
ment of epithelium on the tongue is prevented, and so it 
is \\otfurred, but becomes red and raw. Qttain, Med, Diet. 
3. In carp., to nail strips of board or timber to, 
as joists or rafters, in order to bring them to a 
level and range them into a straight surface, 
or as a wall or partition, for lathing or for 
forming an air-space between it and the plas- 
tering. 4. To clean off scale from the interior 
of (a boiler). Hamersly. 
fur 2 (fer), n. [Sc., = E. furrow, < ME. furwe, 
etc. See furrow.] A furrow; the space be- 
tween two ridges. 
What's the matter, my son Willie, 
She hasna a. fur o' land. 
Sweet Willie anil Pair Annie (Child's Ballads, II. 134). 
fur 3 (fer), adv. and a. A dialectal variant of 
far 1 . 
As Venus Bird, the white, swift, lovely Dove, . . . 
Doth on her wings her utmost swiftness prove, 
Finding the gripe of Falcon fierce notfurr. 
.S'l'r P. Sidney, Arcadia, i. 
fur. An abbreviation of furlong. 
furacioust (t'u-ra'shus), a. [< Ij.furax (furaci-), 
thievish, inclined to steal, < fnrari, steal, < fur 
= Gr. Q&p, a thief, prob. connected with L. ferre 
= Gr. Qcpeiv = E. bear*, carry away. Cf. convey 
in the sense of ' steal.' Hence also (from L. 
fur) E. furtive, ferret^.] Given to theft; in- 
clined to steal ; thievish. Bailey, 1727. 
furacityt (fu-ras'i-ti), n. [< L. furacita(t-)s, 
thievishness, < fu'rax, thievish: se&furadous.] 
The quality of being furacious ; propensity to 
steal; thievishness. E. Phillips, 1706. 
2413 
fur-bearing (fer'bar"ing), a. Yielding a fur or 
peltry of commercial value, as an animal : some- 
times specifically applied to the members of the 
family Mustelhln'. 
furbelow (fer'be-16), H. [Formerly also/wr&e- 
loe; an accom. '(as if fur or fringe below, and 
so given, with an interrogation, in the Diction- 
ary of the Spanish Academy) of earlier fal- 
belo, orig. falbala : see falbala.] 1. A piece 
of stuff plaited and puckered on a gown or pet- 
ticoat ; a plaited or puffed flounce ; the plaited 
border of a petticoat or skirt. 
! Vrps into ev'ry Chest and Box ; 
Tunis all her Furbelfte* and Flounces. 
I'rim; The Hove, St. 25. 
Nay, oft, in dreams, invention we bestow, 
To change a flounce, or add a. furbelow. 
Pope, R. of theL.,ii. 100. 
Hence 2. An elaborate adornment of any 
kind. 
A furbelow of precious stones, a hat buttoned with a 
diamond, a brocade waistcoat or petticoat, are standing 
topicks. Spectator, No. 15. 
Some rhetorical furbelows or broidery that belong to 
the wardrobes of the past. 
D. G. Mitchell, Bound Together, i. 
3. The Laminaria bulbosa, a species of seaweed 
having a large wrinkled frond, found on the 
coasts of England. 
While you were running down the sands, and made 
The dimpled flounce of the sen-furbelow flap, 
Good man, to please the child. Tennyson, Sea Dreams. 
4. Some part or process like a fringe or flounce. 
The beautiful Chrysaora, remarkable for its long furbe- 
lows, which act as organs of prehension. 
W. B. Carpenter, Micros., 523. 
furbelow (fer'be-16), *;.<. [< furbelow, n.~\ To 
furnish or ornament with furbelows or elabo- 
rate embellishments. 
When arguments too fiercely glare, 
You calm 'em with a milder air : 
To break their points, you turn their force, 
And furbelow the plain discourse. Prior, Alma, ii. 
She shut out the garish light with soft curtains ; she put 
on the plain mirror and toilet table what Gilbert called n 
French cap and overskirt, and she furbelowed the mantel- 
piece. Howells, Private Theatricals, x. 
furberyt, " Same &sfourbery. 
furbish (fer'bish), v. t. [Early mod. E. also 
< M 
furcula 
piece, it was a gallows on which criminals were hanged, or 
a cross upon which they were bound or nailed. 
They shall escape the furca and the wheel, the torments 
of lustful persona, and the crown of flames that is reserved 
for the ambitious. Jer. Taylor, Works (ed. 1S3!>), I. 680. 
2. In zoological classifications, divergence in 
two lines from the point representing a given 
group; dichotomy, considered in the abstract, 
furcate (fer' kat), "a. [< ML./ra/<, <L./m<, 
a fork: see/orfc.] Forked; branching like the 
prongs of a fork. Furcate antennae, in entam., 
those ;iMtrrin:r which are divided from the base into two 
branches, as in certain 7V/^/,,v<//,i,w<r. <(<-. 
furcate (fer'kat), v. i. ; pret. and pp. furcated, 
ppr. fun-tit ini/. [< ML. fiircatus: see furcatf, 
a.] To branch ; fork ; divide into branches. 
furcately (fer'kat-li), adv. In a furcate or 
forked manner or condition. 
furcation (fer-ka'shon), H. [(.furcate + -ion.} 
A forking ; a branching like the tines of a fork ; 
also, that which branches off; a division. 
But when they grow old, they grow less branched, and 
first do lose their brow antlers, or lowest/t*rcaf/o/w next 
the head. .S'/r 7'. Browne, Vulg. Err., iii. . 
furcatorium (fer-ka-to'ri-um), H.; pi. furcato- 
ria (-a). [NL., neut. of "furcatorius, < ML.fur- 
catusj forked : see furcate, a.~\ The furciform 
bone, wishbone, or merrythought of a fowl: 
more fully called os furcatorium. See cut un- 
der furcula. 
furcellate (fer-sel'at), a. [< L. as if "furcella, 
equiv. to furcilla, a little fork (cf. furcillatm, 
forked), dim. of furca, fork : see fork. Cf . fur- 
cate."} Slightly furcate. 
furche" (fer-sha'), a. In her., same asfourche. 
Furcifer (fer'si-fer), H. [NL., < "L. furcifer, a 
yoke-bearer: see furciferon*."] 1. A genus of 
South American deer, so called from the fur- 
forbischen, < OF.foitrbiss-, stem of certain parts 
offourbir, furbir, F.fourbir = Pr./orWr = It. 
forbire (ML. forbare), polish, < OHG. fiirpan, 
furban, MHG. furben, viiricen, clean, = AS. 
feormian (for *furbian, "feorbian), clean, rub 
bright, polish (in the latter sense only in the 
deriv. feormend (orig. ppr.), a polisher, feor- 
mung, a polishing, furbishing (esp. of arms)), 
incomp. d-feormian, clean, cleanse, purge: see 
/arm 3 .] 1. To rub or scour to brightness; 
polish; burnish. 
A naughty souldier . . . who would be tiofrobitihinij and 
trimming his weapons at the very instant when there was 
more need to use them. Holland, tr. of Plutarch, p. 339. 
Men of all ranks and occupations . . . were deserting 
their daily occupations to furbish helmets, handle mus- 
" 3 of war. 
MMey, Dutch Republic, III. 89. 
occupi 
arn th< 
kets, and learn the trade of war. 
2. Figuratively, to clear from taint or stain ; 
renew the glory or brightness of; renovate. 
Hang your bread and water, 
I'le make you young again, believe that, lady. 
I will &ofrubbinh you. 
Beau, and b*l., Custom of the Country, i. 3. 
It is much more to the manager's advantage iufurbith 
up all the lumber which the good sense of our ancestors 
. . . had consigned to oblivion. 
Goldxmith, Polite Learning, xii. 
She would have Sophie to look over all her "toilets," 
as she called frocks, to furbish up any that were "passees," 
and to air and arrange the new. 
Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre, xvii. 
furbishable (fer'bish-a-bl), a. [< furbish + 
-able.] Capable of being furbished. Imp. Diet. 
furbisher (fer'bish-er), M. [Early mod. E. also 
*frubbisther,frobi8lier (whence the surname Fro- 
bisher); < ME. forbushere, etc., < OF. fourbis- 
seur, F. fourbisseur, < fourbir, furbish : see fur- 
bish.] One who or that which furbishes, or 
makes bright by rubbing; one who or that 
which cleans or polishes. 
furca (fer'ka), n. ; pi. furcce (-se). [L., a fork; 
specifically! as in def . 1 : see/orfc.] 1. In Bom. 
antiq., an instrument of punishment varying 
between the types and uses of the yoke and the 
gallows, according to its size and shape. As a 
yoke it was fork-shaped, the bow being placed over the 
neck of the offender, whose arms were tied to the arms, 
and it was thus carried about by the person upon whom 
it was inflicted. In another form it served as a post to 
which persons were bound to be scourged ; and in a larger 
form, sometimes with two uprights connected by a cross- 
Gemul Deer (l-'itrci/er chittnsis ). 
cate antlers, which have a simple beam and a 
brow-antler. F. chilensis and F. antisiensis are 
examples; they are called gemul deer. 2. A 
genus of reptiles. Fitzinger. 
furciferous (fer-sif e-rus), a. [< L. fiircifer, 
bearing a fork or yoke, a yoke-bearer (much 
used as a term of vituperation, usually of slaves, 
equiv. to "rascal," "gallows-bird"), < furca, a 
fork, also an instrument of punishment in the 
form of afork (see/wrea, 1), +/ercc = E. ftearl.] 
1. In entom., bearing a forked appendage or or- 
gan. Applied to certain lepidopterous larva; which have, 
on the first segment behind the head, a forked tube, called 
the osmeteria, or scent-organ, from which the insect can 
protrude slender threads, for the purpose, it is supposed. 
of frightening away ichneumons. 
2. Rascally; scoundrelly; villainous. DeQuiti- 
cey, [Rare.] 
furciform (fer'si-form),fli. [< L. furca, a fork, 
+ forma, shape.] Shaped like a fork: as, the 
furciform clavicles or merrythought of a fowl. 
I*urcrO3a (fer-kre'a), n. [NL., named after A. 
F. de Fourcroy, a French chemist (1755-1809).] 
A genus of amaryllidaceous plants closely re- 
lated to Agave, and resembling that genus in 
slow growth, thick fleshy leaves, and tall, pyra- 
midal terminal inflorescence. There are about 15 
species, of tropical America, some of which are extensively 
naturalized in the old world, and some are cultivated for 
ornament. Also written Faurcroya. 
furcula (fer'ku-la), H.; pi. furcula; (-le). [L., 
a forked prop 
to support a 
wall when un- 
dermined, dim. 
off urea, a fork : 
see fork.] 1. 
In ornith., the 
united pair of 
clavicles of a 
bird forming a 
Single forked 
Vmno wr)Tir'*i 
Done, wnence 
the name. The 
or Merry- 
Red-tailed Hawk (Butta 
borealis). h, hypocli- 
dium which js m ^^ u . 
tryin. 
