referee 
ine and report on a question in aid of the 
court, or to perform some function involving 
judicial or quasi-judicial powers.=Syn. Umpire, 
Arbitrator, etc. See judge, n. 
referee (ref-e-re'), . ' [< referee, .] To pre- 
side over as referee or umpire. [Colloq.] 
The boys usually asked him to keep the score, or to 
referee the matches they played. St. Nicholas, XIV. 50. 
reference (ref'er-ens), n. [< F. reference = Sp. 
Pg. referenda = It. riferenza,<. ML. * referential 
L. referen(t-)s, ppr. of referre, refer: see refer.'] 
1. The act of referring, (o) The act of assigning : 
as, the reference of a work to its author, or of an animal to 
Us proper class. (6) The act of having recourse to a work 
or person for information; consultation: as, a work of 
reference : also used attributively, (c) The act of mention- 
ing or speaking of (a pel-son or thing) incidentally. 
But distance only cannot change the heart ; 
And, were I call'd to prove th' assertion true, 
One proof should serve a reference to you. 
Coivper, Epistle to Joseph Hill. 
(d) In law : (1) The process of assigning a cause pending in 
court, or some particular point in a cause, to one or more 
persons appointed by the court under authority of law to 
act in place of or in aid of the court. (2) The hearing or 
proceeding before such person. Abbreviated ref. 
2. Relation; respect; regard: generally in the 
phrase in or with reference to. 
Ro. But what will you be call'd ? 
Cel. Something that hath a reference, to my state ; 
No longer Celia, but Aliena. 
Shak., As you Like it, i. 8. 129. 
I have dwelt so long on this subject that I must contract 
what I have to say in reference to my translation. 
Dryden, tr. of Juvenal, Ded. 
If we take this definition of happiness, and examine it 
inth reference to the senses, it will be acknowledged won- 
derfully adapt. Swift, Tale of a Tub, ix. 
3. That which is or may be referred to. (a) A 
written testimonial to character or ability. Hence (6) 
One of whom inquiries may be made in regard to a per- 
son's character, abilities, or the like. 
4. A direction in a book or writing to refer 
to some other place or passage : often a mere 
citation, as of book, chapter, page, or text. 
5f. Assignment; apportionment. 
I crave fit disposition for my wife, 
Due reference of place and exhibition [maintenance]. 
S/iak., Othello, i. 3. 238. 
6f. An appeal. 
Make your full reference freely to my lord, 
Who is so full of grace that it flows over 
On all that need. Shak., A. and C., v. 2. 23. 
Book or work of reference, a book, such as a dictionary 
or an encyclopedia, intended to be consulted as occasion 
requires. Reference Bible, a Bible having references 
to parallel passages, with or without brief explanations, 
printed on the margin. Reference book, a book or 
work of reference. Reference library, a library con- 
taining books which can be consulted only on the spot : 
in contradistinction to a lending or circulating library. 
Reference-marks, in printing, the characters * 1 1 II IT, 
or figures, or letters, used in a printed page to refer the 
reader from the text to notes, or vice versa. 
referendar (ref"er-en-dar'), n. [G. : see refe- 
rendary.] In Germany, a jurist, or one not 
yet a full member of a judicial college, whose 
functions vary in different states, in Prussia, 
since 1869, two examinations are required in the judicial 
service ; after passing the first the candidate becomes a 
referendar, and serves generally without pay and without 
a vote. 
referendary (ref-e-ren'da-ri), n. [< OF. ref- 
ferendaire, referenda-ire, F. referenduire = Sp. 
Pg. referendario = It. riferendario, referendario 
= Gr. referendar, < ML. referendarius, an officer 
through whom petitions were presented to and 
answered by the sovereign, and by whom the 
sovereign's mandates were communicated to the 
courts, commissions signed, etc., < L. referen- 
dus, to be referred to, gerundive of referre, re- 
fer: see refer.] 1. One to whom or to whose 
decision anything is referred ; a referee. 
In suits which a man doth not well understand, it is 
good to refer them to some friend of trust and judgment ; 
. . . but let him chuse well his referendaries, for else he 
may be led by the nose. Bacon, Suitors (ed. 1887). 
If I were by your appointment your referendary for 
news, I should write but short letters, because the times 
are barren. Donne, Letters, xxiv. 
2. An officer acting as the medium of com- 
munication with a sovereign. 3. [Tr. Gr. pc- 
<t>epcv<5dpiof.] An official who is the medium of 
communication between the patriarch of Con- 
stantinople and the civil authorities. This of- 
fice has existed since the sixth century. 
referendum (ref-e-ren'dum), n. [= G. refe- 
rendum, etc., < NL". referendum, neut. of L. refe- 
rendus, gerundive of referre, refer: see referen- 
dary.'] 1. A note from a diplomatic agent ad- 
dressed to his government, asking for instruc- 
tions on particular matters. 2. In Switzer- 
land, the right of the people to decide on cer- 
tain laws or measures which have been passed 
by the legislative body. In one of its two forms, 
facultative referendum (contingent on certain conditions) 
5033 
or obligatory referendum, it exists in nearly all the can- 
tons, wince 1874 the facultative referendum forms part of 
the federal constitution : if 8 cantons or 30,000 voters so 
demand, a federal measure must be submitted to popular 
vote, 
referential (ref-e-ren'shal), a. [< reference 
(ML. *referentia)"+ -at.] Relating to or hav- 
ing reference ; relating to or containing a refer- 
ence or references. 
Any one might take down a lecture, word for word, for 
his own referential use. Athen&-um, No. 2944, p. 411. 
referentially (ref-e-ren'shal-i), adv. By way of 
reference. 
refermentH (rS-fer'ment), . [= It. riferi- 
tn/'iito ; as nj'i'r + -men't.] A reference for de- 
cision. 
There was a referinent made from his Majesty to my 
Lord's Grace of Cant., my Lords of Durham and Roches- 
ter, and myself, to hear and order a matter of difference in 
the church of Hereford. Abp. Laud, Diary, Dec. 6, 1624. 
referment- (re-fer-ment'X v. [= Pg. refcrmcn- 
tar; as re- + ferment.'] I. it 
again. Maunder. 
, intrans. To ferment 
II. trans. To cause to ferment again. 
Th' admitted nitre agitates the flood, 
Revives its fire, and referments the blood. 
Sir JR. Blackmore, Creation, vi. 
referrer (re-fer'er), . One who refers. 
referrible (re-fer'i-bl), a. [= Sp. referable = 
Pg. referivel; as refer + -Me. Cf. referable.] 
Same as referable. 
Acknowledging . . . the secondary [substance] to be re- 
ferrible also to the primary or centrall substance by way of 
causall relation. Dr. H. More, Immortal, of Soul, i. 4. 
I shall only take notice of those effects of lightning 
which seem referrible . . . partly to the distinct shapes 
and sizes of the corpuscles that compose the destructive 
matter. Boyle, Works, III. 682. 
Some of which may be referrible to this period. 
Hattam. 
refetet, t. [< ME. refeten, < OF. refeter, rc- 
faiiter, < refait, < L. refectus, pp. of reficere, re- 
fect : see refect. Cf. refit.'] To refect; refresh. 
Thay ar happen also that hungeres after 173!, 
For thay schal frely be refete ful of alle gode. 
Alliterative Poems (ed. Morris), iii. 20. 
refigure (re-fig'ur), v. t. [<ME. refiguren; < re- 
+ figure.]' 1. To go over again ; figure anew; 
represent anew. . 
Refigurynge hire shap, hire wommanhede, 
Withinne his herte, and every word or dede 
That passed was. Chaucer, Troilus, v. 472. 
The child doth not more expresly refigure the visage of 
his Father then that book resembles the stile of the Re- 
monstrant Milton, Apology for Smectymnuus. 
When the fog is vanishing away, 
Little by little doth the sight reflmire 
Whate'er the mist that crowds the air conceals. 
Longfellow, tr. of Dante's Inferno, xxxi. 35. 
Specifically 2. In astron., to correct or re- 
store the parabolic figure of: said of a para- 
bolic mirror. 
refill (re-fil' ), v. t. and i. [< re- + fiin.] To 
fill again. 
See i round the verge a vine-branch twines. 
See ! how the mimic clusters roll, 
As ready to refill the bowl ! 
Broome, tr. of Anacreon's Odes, 1. 
refine (re-fin'), v. [= Sp. Pg. refinar; as re- 
+ fine%. ' Cf . F. raffiner (= It. raffinare), refine, < 
re- + affiner, refine, fine (metal) : see ajme 2 .] I. 
trans. 1. To bring or reduce to a pure state; 
free from impurities ; free from sediment ; defe- 
cate ; clarify ; fine : as, to refine liquor, sugar, 
or petroleum. 
Wines on the lees well refined. Isa. xxv. . 
The temper of my love, whose flame I find 
Fin'd and refin'd too oft, but faintles flashes, 
And must within short time fall down in ashes. 
Stirling, Aurora, Sonnet xxii. 
Now the table was furnished with fat things, and wine 
that was well refined. Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress, p. 122. 
2. In metal., to bring into a condition of purity 
as complete as the nature of the ore treated 
will allow. Used chiefly with reference to gold and 
silver, especially with reference to the separation (parting) 
of these two metals from each other and from the baser 
metals with which they are combined in what are known 
as bullion-bars or bricks of mixed metals, as they come 
from the mills located at or near the mines. Refining is. 
In general, the last stage or stages in the metallurgical 
treatment of an ore. As the term refining is commonly 
used with reference to the manufacture of iron, it means 
the partial decarburization and purification of pig in the 
open-hearth furnace, for the purpose of rendering it more 
suitable for use in the puddling-furnace in which the 
? recess of converting it into malleable iron is completed, 
his method of puddling is called dry puddling. The op- 
eration of converting pig- into wrought-iron in the open- 
hearth furnace, when begun and completed without pud- 
dling, is generally called fining, and in this process char- 
coal or coke is used. There are many modifications of 
the fining process, but the principle is the same in all. In 
puddling, raw coal is used, and the fuel does not come in 
contact with the metal ; in fining, the ore and fuel (either 
charcoal or coke) are together upon the same hearth. The 
refinement 
various fining processes for converting pig- intowrought- 
iiuii, with charoual as fuel, were of great importance be- 
fore the invention of puddling, by which method much 
the larger part of the wrought-iion now used in the world 
is prepared, and this is done, for the most part, without 
previous partial decarburization of the pig in the refinery, 
by the process known as u'et puddling, or pig-boiling. See 
puddle^ andyi/i^ri/-. 
I will bring the third part through the fire, and will re- 
fine them as silver is refined. Zech. xiii. 9. 
To gild refined gold, to paint the lily. 
Shah., K. John, iv. 2. 11. 
3. To purify from what is gross, coarse, de- 
basing, low, vulgar, inelegant, rude, clownish, 
and the like ; make elegant ; raise or educate, 
as the taste ; give culture to ; polish : as, to re- 
fine the manners, taste, language, style, intel- 
lect, or moral feelings. 
So it more faire accordingly it [beauty] makes, 
And the grosse matter of this earthly myne 
Which clotheth it thereafter doth refyne. 
Spenser, In Honour of Beautie, 1. 47. 
Love refines 
The thoughts, and heart enlarges. 
Milton, P. L., viii. 590. 
Refined madder. See madderi. 
II. intrans. 1. To become pure ; be cleared 
of feculent matter. 
So the pure limpid stream, when foul with stains. 
Works itself clear, and, as it runs, refines. Addison. 
2. To improve in accuracy, delicacy, or in 
anything that constitutes excellence. 
Chaucer has refined on Boccace, and has mended the 
stories which he has borrowed. Dryden, Pref. to Fables. 
But let a lord once own the happy lines, 
How the wit brightens ! how the style refines! 
Pope, Essay on Criticism, 1. 421. 
A new generation, refining upon the lessons given by 
himself [Shelley] and Keats, has carried the art of rhythm to 
extreme variety and finish. Stedman, Viet. Poets, p. 3SO. 
3. To exhibit nicety or subtlety in thought or 
language, especially excessive nicety. 
You speak like good blunt soldiers ; and 'tis well enough ; 
But did you live at court, as I do, gallants, 
You would refine, and learn an apter language. 
Fletcher (and another), False One, iii. 2. 
Who, too deep for his hearers, still went on refining, 
And thought of convincing, while they thought of dining. 
Goldsmith, Retaliation, 1. 36. 
refined (re-find'), p. a. Purified; elevated; cul- 
tivated; subtle: as, a refined taste; a refined 
discrimination; refined society. 
There be men that be so sharp, and so over-sharpe or re- 
fined, that it seemeth little unto them to interprete words, 
but also they holde it for an office to diuine thoughts. 
Guemra, Letters (tr. by Hellowes, 1577), p. 133. 
Modern taste 
Is so refin'd, and delicate, and chaste. 
Cowper, Table-Talk, 1. 511. 
refinedly (re-fi'ned-li), adv. With refinement; 
with nicety or elegance, especially excessive 
nicety. 
Will any dog ... 
Reftnedly leave his bitches and his bones, 
To turn a wheel ? 
Dryden, Essay upon Satire, 1. 135. 
Some have refinedly expounded that passage in Matt. xii. 
Calvin, On Jonah (Calv. Trans. Soc., 1847), p. 20. 
refinedness (re-fi'ned-nes), n. The state of be- 
ing refined ; purity ; refinement ; also, affected 
purity. 
Great semblances of peculiar sanctimony, integrity, scru- 
pulosity, spirituality, refinedness. Barrow, Works, III. xv. 
refinement (re-fm'ment), 11. [=Pg.refinamento; 
as refine + -mcn t. Cf.F. ruffinemeHt = \t. raffina- 
mento.~\ 1. The act of refining or purifying; 
the act of separating from a substance ail ex- 
traneous matter; purification; clarification: 
as, the refinement of metals or liquors. 
The soul of man is capable of very high refinements, even 
to a condition purely angelical. 
Dr. II. More, Immortal, of Soul, iii. 1. 
2. The state of being pure or purified. 
The more bodies are of a kin to spirit in subtilty and 
refinement, the more diffusive are they. Harris. 
3. The state of being free from what is coarse, 
rude, inelegant, debasing, or the like; purity 
of taste, mind, etc. ; elegance of manners or 
language; culture. 
I am apt to doubt whether the corruptions in our lan- 
guage have not at least equalled the refinements of it. 
Sicift, Improving the English Tongue. 
This refined taste is the consequence of education and 
habit ; we are born only with a capacity of entertaining 
this refinement, us we are born with a disposition to re- 
ceive and obey all the rules and regulations of society. 
Sir J. Reynolds, Discourse?, xiii. 
Refinement as opposed to simplicity of taste is not ne- 
cessarily a mark of a good sesthetic faculty. 
J. Sully, Outlines of Psychol., p. 544. 
4. That which proceeds from refining or a de- 
sire to refine ; a result of elaboration, polish, or 
nicety : often used to denote an over-nicety, or 
