feck, scarcity. Germ. fach, a portion or compartment; ein fach, single; twey fach, double; mehr fach, many fold. FECKFUL, strong, powerful, brawny.

FECKLESS, feeble, helpless, inefficient.

FELL, s. a rocky hill, a mountain or common scarcely admitting of cultivation. Isl. fell, one mountain resting on another. Su.-Got. fiaell, a ridge of mountains. Germ. fels, a rock.

FELL, a. sharp, keen. Hence fell, savage, cruel, &c. FELLON, a disease in cows, occasioned by cold. Skinner derives it from Sax. felle, cruel, on account of the anguish the complaint occasions; and the author of the Crav. Gloss. from Dut. felen or feylen, to fail; because milch cows, which are subject to it, fail of giving their milk; or from hellen, to bow or hang down, as the udders of cows are frequently enlarged in this disease. A cutaneous eruption in children is also called the fellon.

FELTERED, entangled.

His feltred locks that on his bosom fell.-Fairfax.

FEMMER, weak, slender. Isl. framur, mollis.

FEN, to appear to do any thing neatly, or adroitly, not to be deterred by shame.-FENSOME, neat, becoming, adroit. “I cannot fen,” signifies I am restrained by a sort of awe arising from the presence of some person for whom I have a respect or dread.

FEND, to make a shift, to be industrious, to struggle with difficulties, to ward off. "He fends hard for a living." It is also used in allusion to the state of health, as how fends

it," i. e. how are you in health.-FENDY, good at making a shift, warding off want. Fend, is an old word for support.

FEND AND PROVE, to argue and defend.

FERE, FIERE, a brother, friend, or companion. Sax. gefera,

socius.

And here's a hand, my trusty fiere,

And gie's a hand o' thine:

And we'll tak a right gude willie-waught,

For auld lang syne.

Burns, Auld Lang Syne.

The word is used by Spenser for a husband.

But faire Clarissa to a lovely fere

Was lincked, and by him had many pledges dere.

Spencer, Faerie Queene.

FEST, to bind or place out an apprentice under an indenture. Su.-Got: faesta, to fasten.-FESTING-PENNY, money given by way of earnest, to a servant, at a hiring.

FEST, OF THE FEST, a place at the Quay, Newcastle, where keelmen generally receive their orders.

There pitmen, with baskets and gay poesy waistcoats, Discourse about nought but whee puts and hews best; There keelmen, just landed, swear may they be stranded; If they're not shav'd first while their keel's at the fest. Song, Quayside Shaver. FETTLE, v. to put in order, to repair or mend any thing that is broken or defective. Dr. John. explains this word "to do trifling business, to ply the hands without labour," and calls it a cant word from feel. Mr. Todd corrects this mistake, and quoting Grose's definition which is different from that here assigned to it, thinks it probably comes from Su.-Got. fykt, studium. The word has the same meaning in Cheshire as that which I have given, and Mr. Wilbraham says, "it appears to me to be derived with some deflection of the word, faire, to do, which itself comes from the Latin facere. The nearest which occurs to me is the

old French word faiture, which has exactly the same meaning as our substantive fettle, and is explained by Roquefort, in his Glossaire de la Langue Romaine, by Façon, mode, forme," &c.

FETTLE, s. order, good condition, proper repair. Used by Roger Ascham, in his Toxophilus.

Few, is used not only for a small number, but also for a little quantity; as a "little few broth.”

FIDDLESTICK, an interjectional expression of disbe

usually bestowed on any absurd, nonsensical ( FIDGING, uneasy, impatient.

FIG, to supply ginger to a horse, to excite him t
tail. A common practice at fairs.

FIKE, v. to fidget, to be restless or busied about
Got. fika, cursitare.-FIKE, s. restlessness, tri
FIKEY, a. fidgetty, minutely troublesome.
FILE, to soil, to foul, to defile. Sax. afylan, con
FINNIKING, FINNIKY, trifling, scrupulously particu
variations of finical.
FIPPLE, the under lip.

"See how he hangs his

Jam. faiple. FIRST-FOOT, the name given to the person who house on New Year's Day-regarded by the and the credulous as influencing the fate of the cially the fair part of it, for the remainder of t exclude all suspected or unlucky persons, I f tomary for one of the damsels to engage, befor favoured youth, who-elated with so signal a m distinction-gladly comes early in the morni empty handed.

FISSLE, FISTLING, to make a rustling noise, to fi futselen, agitare.

FITT, to vend or load coals.-FITTER, the vender or loader.—

Running-fitter, his deputy.

FIX-FAX, a sort of gristle, the tendon of the neck. Germ. flachse.

Fizz, to scorch, to fly off, to make a hissing noise. Isl. fysa. -FIZ-GIG, a comical person.—FIZZLE, a jocular name for a mistake of the most offensive kind.

FIZZOG, PHYSIOG, the face. Contraction of Physiognomy. FLACKER, to flutter, to vibrate like the wings of a bird under alarm, to quiver. Su.-Got. fleckra. Germ. flackern.— Flicker is used by Chaucer and Shakspeare.

FLAH, FLAW, a square piece of turf, dried and used as fuel.Sax. flean, to flay off.

FLAM, a fall-also flattery bordering on a lie.

FLAPPER-GHASTED, frightened, as if by a ghost. Moor has flabber-gasted, astonished, confused.

FLAUT, FLOUGHт, a roll of wool carded ready for spinning. FLAY, to frighten.-FLAY'D, affrighted, terrified, timorous."Aw's flayed," I'm afraid.-FLAYING, an apparition or hobgoblin.-FLAY-SOME, frightful.-FLAY-CRAW, a scare-crow. FLEA-BITE, FLEE-BITE, a ludicrous designation for any trivial pain or danger.

FLECKED, Spotted, streaked. Isl. flecka, discolor.

FLEECH, to supplicate in a flattering manner, to wheedle.Teut. fletsen.-FLEECHING, flattering, supplicating.

FLEE OF FLY-BY-THE-SKY, a silly, flirting, absurdly dressed, giggling girl.

FLEET, shallow; as a fleet pan or vessel, fleet water. Sax. fleding, fluxus.

FLEET-MILK, milk without cream; from the verb fleet, to skim off the surface.

L

FLEING-EATHER, Aying-adder, the pond or marsh fly. The vul

gar are afraid of being stung by it.

FLICK of bacon, a side or flitch of bacon. Sax. flicce.
Another broughte a spycke

Of a bacon flicke.-Skelton.

FLIGGED, fledged. "Flig'd o'er the doup." Isl. fleigur; hence fliggers, young birds that can fly.

FLINDERS, shreds, broken pieces, splinters. Dut. flenters. FLING, to dance in a peculiar manner, as the Highland fling. Also to kick.

FLIRE, to laugh, or rather to have a countenance expressive of laughter, without laughing out. Isl. flyra, subridere. FLISK, to skip or bounce. "She's a flisky jade." Su.-Got. flasa, lascivire, or Sw. flasig, frolicksome.

FLIRTIGIG, a wanton, giggling lass.

FLIT, to remove from one habitation to another. Su.-Got. flytta. FLITTING, the act of removing.-MOONLIGHT-FLITTING, going away in debt to the landlord.

FLITE, to scold, to make a great noise. Sax. flitan, to brawl. -FLITING, Scolding, brawling.

FLITY, giddy, light headed. "A flity body."

FLOW, FLOUGH, cold, windy, boisterous, bleak. "Its flow weather." "Here's a flow day."

FLOWTER, a fright.-FLOWTERED, affrighted.

FLUCK, FLOOK, FLUCKER, JENNY-FLUCKER, a flounder. Sax.

floc, a flat fish.

FLUM, fummery, flattery.

FLUNG, deceived, beaten. "He was sadly flung."