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firehouse

a building housing firemen and the apparatus they use to extinguish fires.

firelight

the light of a fire (especially in a fireplace); as, lovers sitting together in the firelight.

firelighter

(a piece of) a substance that burns easily and can be used to start a coal or coke fire.

Firelock

An old form of gunlock, as the flintlock, which ignites the priming by a spark; perhaps originally, a matchlock. Hence, a gun having such a lock.

Fireman

A man whose business is to extinguish fires in towns; a member of a fire company.

Fireplace

The part a chimney appropriated to the fire; a hearth; -- usually an open recess in a wall, in which a fire may be built.

fireplug

an upright hydrant that can supply large volumes of water to use in fighting a fire. They are commonly placed at intervals at the street edge of a sidewalk for convenience in suppressing fires in towns.

firepower

The relative capacity for delivering weapons fire on a target; as, the battleship has more firepower than a cruiser.

Fireproofing

The act or process of rendering anything incombustible; also, the materials used in the process.

Firer

One who fires or sets fire to anything; an incendiary.

Fireside

A place near the fire or hearth; home; domestic life or retirement.

Firestone

Iron pyrites, formerly used for striking fire; also, a flint.

Firetail

The European redstart; -- called also fireflirt.

Firewarden

An officer who has authority to direct in the extinguishing of fires, or to order what precautions shall be taken against fires; -- called also fireward.

Fireweed

An American plant (Erechthites hiercifolia), very troublesome in spots where brushwood has been burned. The great willow-herb (Epilobium spicatum).

firewheel

An annual of the central U. S. (Gaillardia pulchella) having showy long-stalked yellow flower heads marked with scarlet or purple in the center.

firework

A device for producing a striking display of light, or a figure or figures in plain or colored fire, by the combustion of materials that burn in some peculiar manner, as gunpowder, sulphur, metallic filings, and various salts; also called a pyrotechnic device. The most common feature of fireworks is a paper or pasteboard tube filled with the combustible material. A number of these tubes or cases are often combined so as to make, when kindled, a great variety of figures in fire, often variously colored. The skyrocket is a common form of firework. The art of designing fireworks for purposes of entertainment is called pyrotechnics. The name firework is also given to various combustible preparations used in war.

Fireworm

The larva of a small tortricid moth which eats the leaves of the cranberry, so that the vines look as if burned; -- called also cranberry worm.

Firing

The act of discharging firearms.

Firk

A freak; trick; quirk.

Firkin

A varying measure of capacity, usually being the fourth part of a barrel; specifically, a measure equal to nine imperial gallons.

Firlot

A dry measure formerly used in Scotland; the fourth part of a boll of grain or meal. The Linlithgow wheat firlot was to the imperial bushel as 998 to 1000; the barley firlot as 1456 to 1000.

Firm

To fix; to settle; to confirm; to establish.

Firmament

Fixed foundation; established basis.

Firmamental

Pertaining to the firmament; celestial; being of the upper regions.

Firman

In Turkey and some other Oriental countries, a decree or mandate issued by the sovereign; a royal order or grant; -- generally given for special objects, as to a traveler to insure him protection and assistance.

Firmer-chisel

A chisel, thin in proportion to its width. It has a tang to enter the handle instead of a socket for receiving it.

Firmity

Strength; firmness; stability.

Firmness

The state or quality of being firm.

Firms

The principal rafters of a roof, especially a pair of rafters taken together.

Firry

Made of fir; abounding in firs.

First

The upper part of a duet, trio, etc., either vocal or instrumental; -- so called because it generally expresses the air, and has a pre/minence in the combined effect.

first aid

Medical care provided immediately after an injury or sudden illness for the purpose of minimizing injurious effects, before more complete medical care becomes available.

first-class

Of the best class; of the highest rank; in the first division; of the best quality; first-rate; as, a first-class telescope.

first-come-first-served

distributed in order to those who request it in person; not subject to reservation for later delivery. Contrasted with reservable.

First-hand

Obtained directly from the first or original source; hence, without the intervention of an agent; -- of information; as, a firsthand report; firsthand information; firsthand knowledge.

First-order

decaying at an exponential rate; -- a mathematical concept applied to various types of decay, such as radioactivity and chemical reactions.

First-rate

A war vessel of the highest grade or the most powerful class.

first-rate

of the highest quality; as, a first-rate reporter.

first-string

First to play in a game; not reserved as a substitute; -- of members of a team. Also used in non-sports contexts to mean first-rate.

first-year

Being in the first year of an experience especially in a U. S. high school or college; -- of a person.

firstborn

The first child born to a parent; as, his firstborn was showered with gifts from relatives.

Firstborn

First brought forth; first in the order of birth; eldest; hence, most excellent; most distinguished or exalted; as, the firstborn child.

Firstly

In the first place; before anything else; -- sometimes improperly used for first.

Firth

An arm of the sea; a frith.

Fisc

A public or state treasury.

Fiscal

The income of a prince or a state; revenue; exchequer.

Fisetic

Pertaining to fustet or fisetin.

Fisetin

A yellow crystalline substance extracted from fustet, and regarded as its essential coloring principle; -- called also fisetic acid.

Fish

To catch; to draw out or up; as, to fish up an anchor.

Fish-bellied

Bellying or swelling out on the under side; as, a fish-bellied rail.

Fish-tackle

A tackle or purchase used to raise the flukes of the anchor up to the gunwale. The block used is called the fish-block.

Fish-tail

Like the of a fish; acting, or producing something, like the tail of a fish.

Fisherman

One whose occupation is to catch fish.

Fishery

The business or practice of catching fish; fishing.

fishfly

a fly similar to but smaller than the dobsonfly.

Fishgig

A spear with barbed prongs used for harpooning fish.

Fishhawk

The osprey (Pandion halia/tus), found both in Europe and America; -- so called because it plunges into the water and seizes fishes in its talons. Called also fishing eagle, and bald buzzard.

Fishiness

The state or quality of being fishy or fishlike.

Fishing

Pertaining to fishing; used in fishery; engaged in fishing; as, fishing boat; fishing tackle; fishing village.

fishing expedition

An investigation searching for evidence of wrongdoing, with no credible evidence of such wrongdoing available at the outset of the investigation, and often without specifying in advance the wrongdoing to be proven.

Fishlike

Like fish; suggestive of fish; having some of the qualities of fish.

Fishskin

The skin of a fish (dog fish, shark, etc.)

fishtail

to have the rear end skid from side to side, out of control: -- said of automobiles or other vehicles.

Fishwoman

A woman who retails fish; a female fishmonger.

Fishy

Consisting of fish; fishlike; having the qualities or taste of fish; abounding in fish.

Fisk

To run about; to frisk; to whisk.

Fissigemmation

A process of reproduction intermediate between fission and gemmation.

Fissile

Capable of being split, cleft, or divided in the direction of the grain, like wood, or along natural planes of cleavage, like crystals.

Fissilinguia

A group of Lacertilia having the tongue forked, including the common lizards.

Fission

A cleaving, splitting, or breaking up into parts.

fissionable

Capable of undergoing nuclear fission; -- a property of certain isotopes of elements with heavy nuclei.

Fissipalmate

Semipalmate and loboped, as a grebe's foot. See Illust. under Aves.

Fissiparous

Reproducing by spontaneous fission. See Fission.

Fissipedia

A division of the Carnivora, including the dogs, cats, and bears, in which the feet are not webbed; -- opposed to Pinnipedia.

Fissirostral

Having the bill cleft beyond the horny part, as in the case of swallows and goatsuckers.

Fissural

Pertaining to a fissure or fissures; as, the fissural pattern of a brain.

Fissuration

The act of dividing or opening; the state of being fissured.

Fissure

To cleave; to divide; to crack or fracture.

Fissurella

A genus of marine gastropod mollusks, having a conical or limpetlike shell, with an opening at the apex; -- called also keyhole limpet.

Fist

To strike with the fist.

Fistic

Pertaining to boxing, or to encounters with the fists; puglistic; as, fistic exploits; fistic heroes.

Fisticuff

A cuff or blow with the fist or hand a fight with the fists; boxing.

Fistuca

An instrument used by the ancients in driving piles.

Fistular

Hollow and cylindrical, like a pipe or reed.

Fistularia

A genus of fishes, having the head prolonged into a tube, with the mouth at the extremity.

Fistulate

To make hollow or become hollow like a fistula, or pipe.

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