Emily Dickinson Lexicon

FEB'RI-FA-CIENT, a. [L. febris, a fever, and facio, to make.]

Causing fever. Beddoes.

FEB'RI-FA-CIENT, n.

That which produces fever. Beddoes.

FE-BRIF'IC, a. [L. febris, fever, and facio, to make.]

Producing fever; feverish.

FEB-RI-FU'GAL, a. [Infra.]

Having the quality of mitigating or curing fever. [Not in use among physicians, but only among unmedical men.] Lindley.

FEB'RI-FUGE, a.

Having the quality of mitigating or subduing fever; antifebrile. Arbuthnot.

FEB'RI-FUGE, n. [L. febris, fever, and fugo, to drive away.]

Any medicine that mitigates or removes fever. Encyc.

FE'BRILE, a. [Fr. from L. febrilis, from febris, fever.]

Pertaining to fever; indicating fever, or derived from it; as febrile symptoms; febrile action.

FEB'RU-A-RY, n. [L. Februarius; Fr. Fevrier; It. Febbraio; Sp. Febrero; Arm. Fevrer; Port. Fevereiro; Ir. Feabhra; Russ. Phebral. The Latin word is said to be named from februo, to purify by sacrifice, and thus to signify the month of purification, as the people were, in this month, purified by sacrifices and oblations. The word februo is said to be a Sabine word, connected with ferveo, ferbeo, to boil, as boiling was used in purifications. Varro. Ovid. This practice bears a resemblance to that of making atonement among the Jews; but the connection between ferveo and February is doubtful. The W. çwevral, February, Arm. heuvrer, Corn. heuvral, is from W. çwevyr, violence; the severe month.]

The name of the second month in the year, introduced into the Roman calendar by Numa. In common years, this month contains 28 days; in the bissextile or leap year, 29 days.

FEB-RU-A'TION, n.

Purification. [See February.] Spenser.

FE'CAL, a. [See Fæces.]

Containing or consisting of dregs, lees, sediment or excrement.

FE'CES, n. [plur. L. fæces.]

1. Dregs; lees; sediment; the matter which subsides in casks of liquor.
2. Excrement. Arbuthnot.

FE'CIAL, a. [L. fecialis.]

Pertaining to heralds and the denunciation of war to an enemy; as, fecial law. Kent.

FE'CIT, n. [L. he made.]

This word is used to indicate the author of a work, or designer in the arts. Elmes.

FEC'U-LA, n.

1. The green matter of plants; chlorophyl. Ure.
2. Starch or farina; called also amylaceous fecula. This term is applied to any pulverulent matter obtained from plants by simply breaking down the texture, washing with water, and subsidence. Hence its application to starch and the green fecula, though entirely different in chimical properties. Cyc.

FEC'U-LENCE, or FEC'U-LEN-CY, n. [L. faculentia, from fæcula, fæces, fæx, dregs.]

1. Muddiness; foulness; the quality of being foul with extraneous matter or lees.
2. Lees; sediment; dregs; or rather the substances mixed with liquor, or floating in it, which, when separated and lying at the bottom, are called lees, dregs or sediment. The refining or fining of liquor is the separation of it from its feculencies.

FEC'U-LENT, a.

Foul with extraneous or impure substances; muddy; thick; turbid; abounding with sediments excrementitious matter.

FEC'U-LUM, n. [from fæces, supra.]

A dry, dusty, tasteless substance obtained from plants. Fourcroy, Trans. [This should be fecula.]

FE'CUND, a. [L. fœcundus, from the root of fœtus.]

Fruitful in children; prolific. Graunt.

FE'CUND-ATE, v.t.

1. To make fruitful or prolific.
2. To impregnate; as, the pollen of flowers fecundates the stigma. Anachursis, Trans.

FE'CUNDA-TED, pp.

Rendered prolific or fruitful; impregnated.

FE'CUND-A-TING, ppr.

Rendering fruitful; impregnating.

FE-CUND-A'TION, n.

The act of making fruitful or pro-life; impregnation.

FE-CUND'I-FY, v.t.

To make fruitful; to fecundate. [Little used.]

FE-CUND'I-TY, n. [L. fœcunditas.]

1. Fruitfulness; quality of producing fruit; particularly, the quality in female animals of producing young in great numbers.
2. The power of producing or bringing forth. It is said that the seeds of some plants retain their fecundity forty years. Ray.
3. Fertility; the power of bringing forth in abundance; richness of invention.

FED, v. [pret. and pp. of Feed – which see.]