34 
I N F 
it is juft with God to finite the greateft abilities with the 
greateft infatuations. South. —The word infatuation comes 
from the Latin fatuus, fool, of fari, to fpeak out, which 
is borrowed from the Greek (puu, whence (Doans, which 
dignifies the fame with vates in Latin, or prophet in Englifh ; 
and the reafon is, becaufe their prophets or priefts ufed 
to be feized with a kind of madnefs or folly, when they 
began to make their predictions, or deliver oracles. The 
Romans called thofe perfons infatuati, who fancied they 
had feen vifions, or imagined the god Faunus, whom they 
caller! Fatuus, had appeared to them. Ency. Brit. 
INFA'VOURABLE, adj. Incapable of receiving fa¬ 
vour. Bailey. 
INFAU'ST, adj. [from ft, Lat. contrary to, an dfaujlus, 
lucky.] Unlucky. Cole. 
INFAU'STING, /. [from irfaujlfes, Lat.] The ait of 
making unlucky. An odd and inelegant word. —As the 
king did in feme part remove the envy from himfelf, fo 
he did not obferve, that he did withal bring a kind of 
malediction and infaujling upon the marriage, as an ill 
prognoftic. Bacon. 
INFAU'STOUS, adj. Unfortunate, unlucky. Scott. 
INFE'ASIBLE, adj. Impracticable; not to be done.— 
This is fo difficult and infcafible, that it may well drive 
modefty to defpair of fcience. Glanville. 
To INFEC'T, v. a. [infeBer, Fr. infeBus, Lat.] To act 
upon by contagion ; to effeCt with communicated quali¬ 
ties ; to hurt by contagion ; to taint; to poifon ; to pol¬ 
lute.—One of thofe fantaftical m.\x\A-infeBed people, that 
children and muficians call lovers. Sidney. 
It would infeEl his fpeech, that if the king 
Should without ilfue die, he’d carry it fo 
To make the feeptre his. Shakefpeare. 
To fill with fomething hurtfully contagious : 
InfeBed be the air whereon they ride, 
And damn’d all thofe that trull: them ! Shakcfpearc. 
INFECTING, f. The aft of hurting by contagion. 
INFECTION, f. [Fr. from infeBio, Lat.] Contagion; 
mifchief bj' communication ; taint ; poifon. —InfeBion is 
that manner of communicating a dileafe by fome effluvia, 
or particles which fly off from difteropered bodies, and 
mixing with the juices of others, occafion the fame difor- 
ders as in the bodies they came from. Quincy. 
Vouchfafe, diffus’d InfeBion of a man, 
For thefe known evils, but to give me leave, 
By circumftance, to curfe thy curfed felf. Shakefpeare. 
INFECTIOUS, adj. Contagious; influencing by com¬ 
municated qualities.—Some known difeafes are infeBious, 
and others are not: thofe that are infeBious are fuch as 
are chiefly in the fpirits, and not fo much in the humours, 
and therefore pafs eafily from body to body; fuch as pef- 
tilence and lippitudes. Bacon. 
INFECTIOUSLY, adv. Contagioufly : 
The will dotes, that is inclinable 
To what infeBioufly it felf affects. Shakefpeare. 
INFECTIOUSNESS, J. The quality of being infecti¬ 
ous ; contagioufnefs. 
INFECTIVE, adj. Having the quality of ailing by 
contagion.—True love, well confidered, hath an infeBive 
power. Sidney. 
INFECUN'D, f [infacundus, Lat.] Unfruitful; infer¬ 
tile.—How fafe and agreeable a confervatory the earth is 
to vegetables; is manifeft from their rotting, drying, or 
being rendered infecund, in the waters or the air; but in 
the earth their vigour is long preferved. Derham. 
INFECUN'DITY, f. [j faemditas, Lat.] Want of fer¬ 
tility; barrennefs. 
To INFEE'BLE. See To Enfeeble. 
INFELICITY,/. [ infe licite, Fr. inf elicit as, Lat.] Un- 
happinefs; mifery; calamity.—Here is our great infelicity, 
that, when {ingle words fignify complex ideas, one word 
can never diftinctly manifeft all the parts of a complex 
I N F 
idea. Watts. —Unlucky choice.'—They may poffibly correct 
that curious infelicity of diition, which you acquired at 
Weftminfter. Chejlerfield. 
INFEODA'TION, / A law-term ; the ait of granting 
in fee; a grant"in fee. 
Infeodation of Tithes. The granting'of tithes to 
mere laymen. See the article Tithes. 
To INFE'OFF, v. a. See To Enfeoff. 
INFE'OFFMENT, f. See Enfeoffment, vol. vi. 
To INFER', v. a. \inferer, Fr. infero, Lat.] To bring 
on; to induce.—Vomits infer fome linall detriment to the 
lungs. Harvey. —To infer is nothing but, by virtue of one 
propofition laid down as true, to draw in another as true, 
i. e. to fee or luppofe fuch a connexion of die two ideas 
of the inferred propofition. Locke. 
Yet what thou can’ft attain, which beft may ferve 
To glorify the Maker, and infer 
Thee alfo happier, fflall not be with-lield. Milton. 
To offer ; to produce. Not in ufe: 
Full well hath Clifford play’d the orator. 
Inferring arguments of mighty force. Shakefpeare. 
INFER'ABLE, adj. To be inferred.—Mr. Burke does 
not allow, that a fufficient argument ad homintm is infera- 
ble from thefe premifes. Burke. 
IN'FERENCE, f. [inference, Fr. from infer. ] Conclu- 
fion drawn from previous arguments.—Though it may 
chance to be right in the conclufion, it is yet unjuft and 
miftaken in the method of inference. Glanville. —Thefe in¬ 
ferences or conclufions are the effeits of reafoning, and the 
three propofitions taken all together, are called fyllogifia 
or argument. Watts. 
INFE'RIiE, [Latin.] Sacrifices offered by the Greeks 
and Romans to the Dii Manes, or the fouls of deceafed 
heroes or other illuftrious perfons, or even any relation 
or perfon vvhofe memory was held in veneration. Thefe 
facrifices confifted of honey, water, wine, milk, the blood 
of victims, variety of balfamic unguents, chaplets, and 
loofe flowers. The viitims upon thefe occafions were ge¬ 
nerally of the fmaller cattle, though in ancient times they 
facrificed Haves or captives. The altars on which they 
were offered were holes dug in the ground. The honey, 
water, wine, &c. were ufed as libations, and were poured 
on the tombs of children by children, on thofe of virgins 
by virgins, and on thofe of married men by w r omen. The 
inferite were offered on the 9th and 30th days after inter¬ 
ment amongft the Greeks, and repeated in the month 
Anthefterion. 
INFE'RIAL, adj. Belonging to funeral rites. 
INFER'IBLE, adj. [from infer .] Deducible from pre- 
mifed grounds.—As Ample miftakes commonly beget fal¬ 
lacies, fo men from fallacious foundations, and mifappre- 
liended mediums, erect conclufions no way inferible from 
their premiffes. Brown. 
INFER'ING,/. The act of drawing an inference. 
INFE'RIOR, adj. [Lat. inferieur, Fr.] Lower in place.- 
Low r er in ftation or rank of life; correlative to fuperior: 
Render me more equal, or perhaps 
Superior, for inferior, w'ho is free ? Milton. 
Lower in value or excellency.'—I have added fome origi¬ 
nal papers of my own, which, whether they are equal or 
inferior to my other poems, an author is the molt impro¬ 
per judge of. Dryden. 
The love of liberty with life is giv’n. 
And life itfelf th’ inferior gift of heav’n. Dryden. 
Subordinate.—General and fundamental truths in philo- 
fophy, religion, and human life, conduit our thoughts 
into a thoufand inferior and particular propofitions. Watts. 
INFE'RIOR, f. [from the adjeitive.] One in a lower 
rank or ftation than another.'—A great perfon gets more 
by obliging his inferior than by difdaining him. South. 
INFERIORITY, f. [ inferiority, Fr. from inferior . ] 
Lower ftate of dignity or value.~-The language, though 
not 
