infidel 
3t. In feudal law, one who violated fealty. 
i;n/i<ilj< intil Ijtirri'iifi:. =Syn. Infidel, UnMitver, bin- 
belteoer, Deitt, Atheist, Aiiiumtii; Saytie, free-thinker. 
The word injitlel I* generally used in upptohriiiin. Itmay 
mean either a disbeliever in one's own religion as opposed 
to another (as a Christian in the view of a Mohammedan, 
or the contrary), or a deist, an atheist, or an agnostic. 
(See helow.) In strict use, however, it is not applicable 
to one- ttlro has never heard (if Christianity, nor to one 
who rejects some particular doctrine of the Christian 
Ing the fundamental doctrinesol 'Christianity, but willing 
to lie taught and persuaded. The first Is a heathen, the 
I a heretic, the third a skeptic. Unbeliever and din- 
believer are negative In form, but dixbeliever Is positive in 
Its implication that one actually refuses to believe; the 
unbeliever only fails to believe. (See disbelief.) Unbeliever 
Is almost always general, applying to Christianity as a 
whole ; disbeliever Is specitlc, but has a wider range of pos- 
sible application : as, a disbeliever In the divine right of 
kings. A de.i*l believes in a God, but denies the fact or 
possibility of a revelation. An atheist denies the existence 
of a (lad. An agiusKe denies (a) any possible or (6) any 
actual knowledge concerning God aim a future life. A 
skeptic either doubts whether any truth or principle can 
be philosophically established, or, specifically, doubts the 
truth of all propositions in the field of religion. Free- 
thinker, though inoffensive by derivation, is opprobrlously 
used, the freedom of thinking being held to be lawlessness 
or license. None of these words draws the line distinctly 
between honesty and dishonesty in the treatment of the 
evidences of Christianity. 
The Saxons were Infidels, and brought in with them Di- 
versity of Idols, after whose names they gave Appellations 
to the several Days of the Week. Baker, Chronicles, p. 2. 
I love to consider an infidel, whether distinguished by 
the title of deiit, atheist,, or free-thinker, In three different 
lights : lu his solitudes, his afflictions, and his last mo- 
ments. Addition and Steete, Taller, No. 111. 
By night an atheist half believes a God. 
Young, Night Thoughts, v. 172. 
He on the thought-benighted skeptic beamed 
Manifest Oodhead. 
Cokridye, Religious Musings, 1. 31. 
infidelity (in-fi-del'i-ti), n. ; pi. infidelities (-tiz). 
L< F. infid6lit<!=Pi.infidelitat = Sp. infidelidad 
= Pg. infidelidade = It. infedelitd, infedelKi, 
infidelita, unfaithfulness, unbelief, < L. infideli- 
td(t-)s, unfaithfulness, < infidelis, unfaithful, 
uubelio ving : see infidel.] 1 . Lack of faith or 
belief; unbelief; disbelief: with reference to 
the essential tenets of any religion. 
The promyses of God can not bo disapolnted by mannes 
infidelite, as S. I'aule saith. 
Dp. Gardiner, Explication, fol. 78. 
That the fume of an Agath will avert a tempest, or the 
that m/Mc w</ are likely to end our days. 
Sir T. Browne, Pseud. Epld. (1646X 1L 5. 
Specifically 2. Disbelief in revealed religion; 
rejection of the doctrine of inspiration of the 
3083 
infllet (in-fil'), f. t. [< in- 2 + file*. Ct.enfile.] 
To place in u file ; arrange in a file or rank. 
UvlllllHl. 
infill (iu'lil), r. t. [< il + filft, rVJ To fill in ; 
fill. 
The impressions have been produced by the infilled 
tracks and burrowinga of marine animals. 
Geol. Man., X. ., IV. 80. 
infilling (in'fil-iug), n. [Verbal u. of infill, .] 
That which fills in, or has been made to occupy 
cavities or vacant places of any kind or dimen- 
sions: same as filling. 
The skeleton is more or less extensively composed of 
phosphate of lime, with the chambers occupied, through- 
out or in part, by phosphatic infilling. 
A mer. Geologitt, L 256. 
infilm (in-film' ),v.t. [<n-l 4- film.'] To cover 
with a film, as in gilding. 
infilter (in-fil'ter), v. t. [= F. infiltrer = Sp. 
Pg. infiltrar = It. injiltrare; as in-'* + filter*.] 
To filter or sift in. 
infiltrate (in-fil'trat), c. ; pret. and pp. infil- 
trated, ppr. infiltrating. [< tn-2 + filtrate. Cf. 
infilter.] I. intrans. To pass by filtration; per- 
colate through pores or interstices. 
The water infiltrates through the porous rock. 
Addlson, 'travels in Italy. 
II. trans. To pass into or through the pores 
or interstices of; filter into or through. 
The quantity [of rain] which infiltrated the chalk dis- 
trict In the neighbourhood of King's Langley to replenish 
the springs ana livers of that neighbourhood was ascer- 
tained and recorded. 
T. Bailey Denton, Sanitary Engineering, p. 25. 
infiltrate (in-fil'trat), n. [< infiltrate, r. Cf. fil- 
trate, n.] That which infiltrates; specifically, 
inpathol., the substance which passes into the 
tissues to form a morbid accumulation, as the 
fat of fatty infiltration. 
infiltration (iu-fil-tra'shon), n. [= F. infiltra- 
tion = Sp. infiltracion = Pg. infiltrnqflo = It. in- 
filtrazionc; as infiltrate + -ion.] 1. The act or 
process of infiltrating. 
The landslips are occasioned by infiltrations of water 
into ground which retains it in great quantity. 
Trans, in J. C. Brown's Rebolseinent in France, p. 249. 
2. In pathol., a morbid condition of any portion 
of tissue produced by the accumulation in it 
of substances introduced from without : distin- 
guished from degeneration, where the substance 
abnormally present is produced from the tissue 
itself through faulty metabolism. 3. That 
which infiltrates; a fluid, or matter carried by 
a fluid, which enters the pores or cavities of a 
body. 
Calcareous infiltrations filling the cavities of other 
of religious faith. Thus, infidelity includes atheism, 
or disbelief in God ; deism, or belief In Uod accompanied 
with disbelief In Christianity ; and agnosticism, or disbe- 
lief In the possibility of extrumundano knowledge. 
I hear with sorrow ... that a very anti-chrlstian arti- 
clehascrept In the last number of the Edinburgh Review. 
. . You must be thoroughly aware that the rumour of in- 
3. Breach of trust ; unfaitlif ulness to a charge 
or an obligation; dishonesty; disloyalty; de- 
n-it : as, t In- infidelity of a friend or a servant. 
I have had, In twenty years' experience, enough of the 
uncertainty of princes, the caprices of fortune, . . . and 
the infidelity of friends. 
Sir W. Temple, Memoirs from the Peace In 1097. 
The infidelities of the post-offices, both of England and 
France, are not unknown to you. 
Je/rmon, Correspondence, I. 325. 
Specifically 4. Unfaithfulness to the mar- 
riage-vows; adultery. 
Too much indulgence has been shown to the extrava- 
gance, dishonesty, and domestic infidelity of men of wit. 
Lord John Kuell, in Lady Holland's Sydney Smith, vi., 
[note. 
infieldt (in-feld'), r. t. IX in-i + field.] To iii- 
close, as a piece of land; make a field of. 
infield (in'feld), a. [<ini+ field.] Undercrop; 
noting arable land which is still kept under 
crop: distinguished from outfield. [Scotch.] 
The rich infield ground produced spontaneously rib 
grass, white, yellow, and red clover, with the other plants 
of which cattle arc fondest. Kdin'mryh Her., CXLV. 196. 
in-field (in'feld),H. [</nl+ field.] lnlisr-l,,il!. 
See fi,-lil, ii. ,3. 
in fieri (in fi'e-ri). [L. : in. in; fieri, become 
(here us a noun, becoming), used as pass. ,i|' 
fart vr, make, do: tMjfe&j In process; yet in 
the making: said of legal proceedings whioh. 
though actually pending, have not yet been 
completed, and therefore may yet be molded as 
accuracy and justice require. 
as lardaceuitx diseate. (which see, under lardaceoun). Fat- 
ty Infiltration, the deposit in the cells of globules of fat, 
taken up by the cell from without, and not formed by the 
degeneration of the proteld substance of the celL 
infinitant (in-fin 'i-taut), a. [< ML. infini- 
tttn(t-)s, ppr. of infinitare, infinitate : see infini- 
tate.] In logic, applied to a sign of negation 
which is closely connected with a general term, 
as the won. in non-existent. 
infinitary (in-fin'i-ta-ri), a. [< infinite + -<iry.] 
Pertaiuingto infinite quantity Inflnitary prop- 
erty Of a function, In math, . a property belonging to 
the function when the variable becomes Infinite. Inflni- 
tary type of fx, a quantity having a finite ratio to/r :f'x 
when i becomes Infinite. 
infinitate (in-fin'i-tat), r. t. ; pret. and pp. tii- 
finitated, ppr. iiifinitating. [< ML. infinilitiT 
(Abelard), negate, mark as infinite, < L. infini- 
(*-, infinite: see infinite.'] To render infinite ; 
in logic, to negate by attaching a sign of nega- 
tion to: said particularly of terms, as objects 
of the action, and also of propositions, 
infinitation (in-fin-i-ta'shon), . [< infinitate 
+ -ion.] The act or result of iiifinitating. 
infinite (in'fi-nit), u. and n. [< ME. infinite, 
iiit'iinyte = F. infini = Pr. infinit, enfenit = Sp. 
Pg. It. infinito,' < L. infinitus, boundless, un- 
limited, without end, endless, indefinite, ( in- 
priv. + finitus, bounded, ended : see finite.] I. 
a. 1. Immeasurably or innumerably great ; so 
great as to be absolutely incapable of being 
measured or counted. Space Is the most familiar 
example of an object ordinarily conceived to be infinite. 
Anaximander and other early Greek philosophers appear 
to have called this cipar, unbounded, and the Latin in- 
i translation of this Greek word. The two 
Ideas, that of the Immeasurable and that of the unbouml- 
i il were confused by the early Greeks, and also by some 
modern philosopban, as HobDM and Hegel. Ordinary 
geometry regards space as both unbounded and im- 
measurable; but the hypothesis of modern geometers 
onecniing the properties of space, culled elliptic non- 
Euclidean geometry, makes space measurable (In that it 
supposes that a point proceeding along a straight line. 
infinite 
after having traversed a vast but Unite distance, would 
return from behind to Its original starting-point), and this 
supposition, which Is entirely self-consistent, leaves spue 
unbounded just as the surface of a spherical body, such as 
a pea, or the circumference of a circle is unbounded. But 
it Is no more the usage of ordinary language than of math- 
ematics to coll the surface of a pea infinite. On the other 
hand, geometers conceive that If from an unbounded and 
immeasurable (Infinite) right line a small port be cut 
olf, what remains, having two terminals, Is liounded but 
Immeasurable; and in ordinary as in mathematical lan- 
guage such a line would be called itiji nile. 'I hns, the usual 
and mathematical meaning of the word infinite departsfrom 
the suggestion of its etymology. Mathematicians speak of 
the ratios of Infinite quantities ; such an expression sup- 
poses that the arrangement of the units or elements re- 
mains essentially unchanged In the measurement. Thus, a 
line two inches long, comprising an infinity of points, may 
be said to have twice as many points as one which mea- 
sures only one Inch and also comprises an Infinity of points : 
but this only means that the former multitude appears 
twice as great as the hitter when the points are not com- 
pletely dlsinU.'grated. So orders of infinity are spoken of. 
(See infinitesimal.) These expressions have le<l metaphy- 
sicians to suppose that the infinite quantity of the mathe- 
maticians Is not the maximum, and consequently 1s not 
truly infinite. But the points of a line, however short, can 
be brought Into a one-to-one correspondence with those of 
all space that is, for every point in all space there Is a 
distinct and separate point in the line, and that although 
the space considered have an Infinite multitude of dimen- 
sions ; so that the multitude of points in a line Is the great- 
est possible quantity. Mathematicians distinguish, how- 
ever, two kinds of infinity. The multitude of finite whole 
numbers may be said to be infinite, since the counting of 
then, cannot be completed. But the multitude of points 
upon a line, which corresponds to the multitude of nun,- 
bers expressible by an infinite series of decimals. Is in- 
finitely greater, in that it cannot be brought Into a one- 
to-one correspondence with the former. If *> represents 
the former multitude. 10*> will represent the hitter, so 
that the former Is analogous to a logarithmic infinit*, or 
infinite of order zero. The former Is said to be improperly 
or discretely infinite, the latter properly or continuomly iii- 
finile. 
In the extension of space-construction to the Infinitely 
great, we must distinguish between itnboundedness and in- 
finite extent ; the former belongs to the extent-relations, 
the latter to the measure-relations. 
Rieuiann, Hypotheses at the liases of Oeometry (tr. by 
t\V. K. Clilford), III. I 2. 
2. All-embracing; lacking nothing; the great- 
est possible ; perfect ; absolute : applied only to 
Divinity. 
But shining with such vast, such various Light, 
As speaks the Hand that form d them (stars) Infinite. 
I'rior, Solomon, 1. 
That which is conceived as absolute and infinite must be 
conceived as containing within Itself the sum not only of 
all actual, but of all possible modes of being. 
Maiuell, Limits of Religious Thought. 
3. Boundless; unbounded; endless; without 
limit; interminable. In this sense the surface of a 
pea Is Infinite, while a plane of immeasurable extent whose 
continuity is interrupted by one small hole is finite. [Rare, 
except by confusion with def. 1 (which see). | 
The environment of any finite portion of space is and 
must be necessarily other portions of space. But if any 
limited space has space for its environment, It Is not lim- 
ited by it, but continued by It. Any possible limited or 
finite space is continued by an environment of space, and 
the whole of space is infinite. . . . Self-environment U the 
characteristic of the infinite. 
W. T. Harris, Philos. in Outline, f 10. 
4. By hyperbole, indefinitely extensive; be- 
yond our powers of measuring or reckoning. 
Gratiano speaks an infinite deal of nothing. 
Shak., M. of V., L 1. 
What a piece of work Is a man ! How noble In reason ! 
how infinite to faculty ! SAaJr., Hamlet, II. >. 
Man differs from man ; generation from generation ; na- 
tion from nation. Education, station, sex, age, acciden- 
tal associations, produce infinite shades of variety. 
Hacavlay, Mill on Government. 
5. [Tr. Gr. aAptarof: see aorist.] In logic, mod- 
ified, as a term, by a sign of negation Infinite 
being, a being In whose mode of existence there is no de- 
fect; specifically (the Infinite Beimj), God; the absolute 
Deity. Infinite decimal, a decimal which Is Intern,!- 
nate, or which may be carried to infinity. Thus, If the di- 
ameter of a circle be 1, the circumference is 8.14159205, 
etc., carried ro infinity. Infinite distress, divisibili- 
ty, group, hyperbola, etc. See the nouns. Infinite 
ellipse. Same as ellipiiiis. Infinite series, a series the 
terms of which go on Increasing or diminishing without 
coining to an end. See series. = 8yn. boundless. Immea- 
surable, illimitable, interminable, limitless, unlimited, un- 
bounded. 
II. n. Anything which is infinite, in any sense. 
Specifically (a) [cap. or 1. e.] In philo*., the Infinite 
Being; the absolute Deity. 
The nothingness of the finite is due to an Implicit con- 
sciousness of the Infinite that is rising within the spirit. 
J. Coin/, in Faiths of the World. 
The finite Is relative to something else : the infinite Is 
self-related. J'. //. Bradley, Ethical Studies, p. 71. 
The being of the Infinite may be a consciousness, but it 
Is not our consciousness, nor is ours related to it as the 
port to the whole, or in any way necessary to it. 
I'eitch, Introd. to Descartess Method, p. cxllil. 
(6) In math., a fictitious or supposed quantity, too great 
to be capable of measurement. See infinitesimal. 
It is already a doctrine of Aristotle's that an inliniu 
can never be actu (I. e. actual and ai>en\ but only poten- 
tia. ... He expounds the antinomies in hi* short way. 
