Emily Dickinson Lexicon

FA'VOR-IT-ISM, n.

1. The act or practice of favoring, or giving a preference to one over another.
2. The disposition to favor, aid and promote the interest of a favorite, or of one person or family, or of one class of men, to the neglect of others having equal claims. It has been suggested that the proceeds of the foreign bills – were calculated merely to indulge a spirit of favoritism to the bank of the United states. Hamilton. Which consideration imposes such a necessity on the Crown, as hath, in a great measure, subdued the influence of favoritism. Paley.
3. Exercise of power by favorites. Burke.

FA'VOR-LESS, a.

1. Unfavored; not regarded with favor; having no patronage or countenance.
2. Not favoring; unpropitious. Spenser.

FAV'O-SITE, n. [L. favus, a honey-comb.]

A genus of fossil zoophytes.

FAWN, n. [Fr. faon, fawn. Qu. W. fynu, to produce.]

A young deer; a buck or doe of the first year. Bacon. Pope.

FAWN, n.

A servile cringe or bow; mean flattery.

FAWN, v.i.¹ [Fr. faonner.]

To bring forth a fawn.

FAWN, v.i.² [Sax. fægenian. See Fain.]

1. To court favor, or show attachment to, by frisking about one; as, a dog fawns on his master.
2. To soothe; to flatter meanly; to blandish; to court servilely; to cringe and bow to gain favor; as, a fawning favorite or minion. My love, forbear to fawn upon their frowns. Shak.

FAWN'ER, n.

One who fawns; one who cringes and flatters meanly.

FAWN'ING, n.

Gross flattery. Shak.

FAWN'ING, ppr.

Courting servilely; flattering by cringing and meanness; bringing forth a fawn.

FAWN'ING-LY, adv.

In a cringing, servile way; with mean flattery.

FAX'ED, a. [Sax. feax, hair.]

Hairy. [Not in use.] Camden.

FAY, n. [Fr. fée.]

A fairy; an elf. Milton. Pope.

FAY, v.i. [Sax. fægan; Sw. foga; D. voegen. See Fadge.]

To fit; to suit; to unite closely with. [This is a contraction of the Teutonic word, and the same as Fadge, – which see. It is not an elegant word.]

FAZ-ZO-LET', n. [fatsolet; It.]

A handkerchief. Percival.

FEA-BER-RY, n.

A gooseberry.

FEAGUE, v.t. [feeg; G. fegen.]

To beat or whip. [Not in use.] Buckingham.

FE'AL, a.

Faithful. [Infra.]

FE'AL-TY, n. [Fr. feal, trusty, contracted from L. fidelis; It. fedeltà; Fr. fidelité; Sp. fe, faith, contracted from fides; hence, fiel, faithful; fieldad, fidelity.]

Fidelity to a lord; faithful adherence of a tenant or vassal to the superior of whom he holds his lands; loyalty. Under the feudal system of tenures, every vassal or tenant was bound to be true and faithful to his lord, and to defend him against all his enemies. This obligation was called his fidelity or fealty, and an oath of fealty was required to be taken by all tenants to their landlords. The tenant was called a liege man; the land a liege fee; and the superior, liege lord. [See Liege.]

FEAR, n. [See the Verb.]

1. A painful emotion or passion excited by an expectation of evil, or the apprehension of impending danger. Fear expresses less apprehension than dread, and dread less than terror and fright. The force of this passion, beginning with the most moderate degree, may be thus expressed, fear, dread, terror, fright. Fear is accompanied with a desire to avoid or ward off the expected evil. Fear is an uneasiness of mind, upon the thought of future evil likely to befall us. Watts. Fear is the passion of our nature which excites us to provide for our security, on the approach of evil. Rogers.
2. Anxiety; solicitude. The principal fear was for the holy temple. Maccabees.
3. The cause of fear. Thy angel becomes a fear. Shak.
4. The object of fear. Except the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me. Gen. xxxi.
5. Something set or hung up to terrify wild animals, by its color or noise. Is. xxiv. Jer. xlviii.
6. In Scripture, fear is used to express a filial, or a slavish passion. In good men, the fear of God is a holy awe or reverence of God and his laws, which springs from a just view and real love of the divine character, leading the subjects of it to hate and shun every thing that can offend such a holy being, and inclining them to aim at perfect obedience. This is filial fear. I will put my fear in their hearts. Jer. xxxii. Slavish fear is the effect or consequence of guilt; it is the painful apprehension of merited punishment. Rom. viii. The love of God casteth out fear. I John iv.
7. The worship of God. I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Ps. xxxiv.
8. The law and word of God. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. Ps. xix.
9. Reverence; respect; due regard. Render to all their dues; fear to whom fear. Rom. xiii.

FEAR, n. [Sax. fera, gefera.]

A companion. [Not in use. See Peer.] Spenser.

FEAR, v.i.

To be in apprehension of evil; to be afraid; to feel anxiety on account of some expected evil. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtility, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 2 Cor. xi. Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward. Gen. xv.

FEAR, v.t. [Sax. færan, afæran, to impress fear, to terrify; D. vaaren, to put in fear, to disorder, to derange; L. vereor. In Sax. and Dutch, the verb coincides in elements with fare, to go or depart, and the sense seems to be to scare or drive away. Qu. Syr. and Ar. نَفَرَ nafara, to flee or be fearful. See Class Br, No. 46, 33.]

1. To feel a painful apprehension of some impending evil; to be afraid of; to consider or expect with emotions of alarm or solicitude. We fear the approach of an enemy or of a storm. We have reason to fear the punishment of our sins. I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Ps. xxiii.
2. To reverence; to have a reverential awe; to venerate. This I do, and live, for I fear God. Gen. xlii.
3. To affright; to terrify; to drive away or prevent approach by fear, or by a scare-crow. [This seems to be the primary meaning, but now obsolete.] We must not make a scarecrow of the law, / Setting it up to fear the birds of prey. Shak.

FEAR-ED, pp.

Apprehended or expected with painful solicitude; reverenced.

FEAR-FUL, a.

1. Affected by fear; feeling pain in expectations of evil; apprehensive with solicitude; afraid. I an fearful of the consequences of rash conduct. Hence,
2. Timid; timorous; wanting courage. What man is there that is fearful and faint-hearted? Deut xx.
3. Terrible; impressing fear; frightful; dreadful. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Heb. x.
4. Awful; to be reverenced. O Lord, who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises? Ex. xv. That thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, Jehovan, thy God. Deut. xxviii.