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68 results for: fact
fact 
Audio Help [fakt] Pronunciation Key
—Related forms
Audio Help [fakt] Pronunciation Key –noun
—Idioms
| 1. | something that actually exists; reality; truth: Your fears have no basis in fact. |
| 2. | something known to exist or to have happened: Space travel is now a fact. |
| 3. | a truth known by actual experience or observation; something known to be true: Scientists gather facts about plant growth. |
| 4. | something said to be true or supposed to have happened: The facts given by the witness are highly questionable. |
| 5. | Law. Often, facts. an actual or alleged event or circumstance, as distinguished from its legal effect or consequence. Compare question of fact, question of law. |
| 6. | after the fact, Law. after the commission of a crime: an accessory after the fact. |
| 7. | before the fact, Law. prior to the commission of a crime: an accessory before the fact. |
| 8. | in fact, actually; really; indeed: In fact, it was a wonder that anyone survived. |
[Origin: 1530–40; < L factum something done, deed, n. use of neut. of factus done, ptp. of facere to do1]
] —Related forms
factful, adjective
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
fact
To learn more about fact visit Britannica.com
| © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |
| fact
Audio Help (fākt) Pronunciation Key
n.
[Latin factum, deed, from neuter past participle of facere, to do; see dhē- in Indo-European roots.] Usage Note: Fact has a long history of usage in the sense "allegation of fact," as in "This tract was distributed to thousands of American teachers, but the facts and the reasoning are wrong" (Albert Shanker). This practice has led to the introduction of the phrases true facts and real facts, as in The true facts of the case may never be known. These usages may occasion qualms among critics who insist that facts can only be true, but the usages are often useful for emphasis. |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
fact
1539, "action," especially "evil deed," from L. factum "event, occurrence," lit. "thing done," from neut. pp. of facere "to do" (see factitious). Usual modern sense of "thing known to be true" appeared 1632, from notion of "something that has actually occurred." Facts of life "harsh realities" is from 1854; specific sense of "human sexual functions" first recorded 1913. Factoid is from 1973, first explained, if not coined, by Norman Mailer.
"Factoids ... that is, facts which have no existence before appearing in a magazine or newspaper, creations which are not so much lies as a product to manipulate emotion in the Silent Majority." [N. Mailer, "Marilyn," 1973]
| Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper |
| fact | |
noun | |
| 1. | a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred; "first you must collect all the facts of the case" |
| 2. | a statement or assertion of verified information about something that is the case or has happened; "he supported his argument with an impressive array of facts" |
| 3. | an event known to have happened or something known to have existed; "your fears have no basis in fact"; "how much of the story is fact and how much fiction is hard to tell" |
| 4. | a concept whose truth can be proved; "scientific hypotheses are not facts" |
| WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University. |
fact
In addition to the idiom beginning with fact, also see after the fact; in fact; is that a fact; matter of fact.
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. |
fact1 [fӕkt] noun
something known or believed to be true
Example: It is a fact that smoking is a danger to health.
fact2 [fӕkt] nounExample: It is a fact that smoking is a danger to health.
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reality
Example: fact or fiction
See also: as a matter of fact, in fact, in point of fact, factual, the facts of lifeExample: fact or fiction
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| Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary (Beta Version), © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd. |
Main Entry: fact
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin factum deed, real happening, something done, from neuter of factus, past participle of facere to do, make
1 : something that has actual existence : a matter of objective reality
2 : any of the circumstances of a case that exist or are alleged to exist in reality
: a thing whose actual occurrence or existence is to be determined by the evidence presented at trial —see also finding of fact at FINDING, JUDICIAL NOTICE question of fact at QUESTION, TRIER OF FACT —compare LAW, OPINION
adjudicative fact
: a fact particularly related to the parties to an esp. administrative proceeding —compare LEGISLATIVE FACT in this entry
collateral fact
: a fact that has no direct relation to or immediate bearing on the case or matter in question —compare MATERIAL FACT in this entry
constitutional fact
: a fact that relates to the determination of a constitutional issue (as violation of a constitutional right) —used esp. of administrative findings of fact
evidentiary fact
: a fact that is part of the situation from which a case arises and that is established by testimony or other evidence called also mediate fact predicate fact —compare ULTIMATE FACT in this entry
legislative fact
: a fact of general social, economic, or scientific relevance that does not change from case to case —compare ADJUDICATIVE FACT in this entry
material fact
: a fact that affects decision making: as a : a fact upon which the outcome of all or part of a lawsuit depends b : a fact that would influence a reasonable person under the circumstances in making an investment decision (as in purchasing a security or voting for a corporate officer or action)
mediate fact
: EVIDENTIARY FACT in this entry
predicate fact
: EVIDENTIARY FACT in this entry
ul·ti·mate fact
/'&l-ti-m&t-/
: a conclusion of law or esp. mixed fact and law that is necessary to the determination of issues in a case and that is established by evidentiary facts —compare EVIDENTIARY FACT in this entry—in fact : as a factual matter : established by fact rather than as a matter of law
| Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc. |
FACT
Fully Automated Compiling Technique
| The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe |
fact artificial intelligence, programming
The kind of clause used in logic programming which has no subgoals and so is always true (always succeeds). E.g.
wet(water). male(denis).
This is in contrast to a rule which only succeeds if all its subgoals do. Rules usually contain logic variables, facts rarely do, except for oddities like "equal(X,X).".
(1996-10-20)
| The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe |
Fact
Af*fair"\ ([a^]f*f[^a]r"), n. [OE. afere, affere, OF. afaire, F. affaire, fr. a faire to do; L.. ad + facere to do. See Fact, and cf. Ado.]1. That which is done or is to be done; matter; concern; as, a difficult affair to manage; business of any kind, commercial, professional, or public; -- often in the plural. "At the head of affairs." --Junius. "A talent for affairs." --Prescott. 2. Any proceeding or action which it is wished to refer to or characterize vaguely; as, an affair of honor, i. e., a duel; an affair of love, i. e., an intrigue. 3. (Mil.) An action or engagement not of sufficient magnitude to be called a battle. 4. Action; endeavor. [Obs.] And with his best affair Obeyed the pleasure of the Sun. --Chapman. 5. A material object (vaguely designated). A certain affair of fine red cloth much worn and faded. --Hawthorne.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Fact
Af*fect"\ ([a^]f*f[e^]kt"), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Affected; p. pr. & vb. n. Affecting.] [L. affectus, p. p. of afficere to affect by active agency; ad + facere to make: cf. F. affectere, L. affectare, freq. of afficere. See Fact.]1. To act upon; to produce an effect or change upon. As might affect the earth with cold heat. --Milton. The climate affected their health and spirits. --Macaulay. 2. To influence or move, as the feelings or passions; to touch. A consideration of the rationale of our passions seems to me very necessary for all who would affect them upon solid and pure principles. --Burke. 3. To love; to regard with affection. [Obs.] As for Queen Katharine, he rather respected than affected, rather honored than loved, her. --Fuller. 4. To show a fondness for; to like to use or practice; to choose; hence, to frequent habitually. For he does neither affect company, nor is he fit for it, indeed. --Shak. Do not affect the society of your inferiors in rank, nor court that of the great. --Hazlitt. 5. To dispose or incline. Men whom they thought best affected to religion and their country's liberty. --Milton. 6. To aim at; to aspire; to covet. [Obs.] This proud man affects imperial ?way. --Dryden. 7. To tend to by affinity or disposition. The drops of every fluid affect a round figure. --Newton. 8. To make a show of; to put on a pretense of; to feign; to assume; as, to affect ignorance. Careless she is with artful care, Affecting to seem unaffected. --Congreve. Thou dost affect my manners. --Shak. 9. To assign; to appoint. [R.] One of the domestics was affected to his special service. --Thackeray. Syn: To influence; operate; act on; concern; move; melt; soften; subdue; overcome; pretend; assume.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Fact
Au` fait"\ ([=o]` f[asl]"). [F. Lit., to the deed, act, or point. Fait is fr. L. factum. See Fact.] Expert; skillful; well instructed.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Fact
Ben"e*fit\, n. [OE. benefet, benfeet, bienfet, F. bienfait, fr. L. benefactum; bene well (adv. of bonus good) + factum, p. p. of facere to do. See Bounty, and Fact.]1. An act of kindness; a favor conferred. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. --Ps. ciii. 2. 2. Whatever promotes prosperity and personal happiness, or adds value to property; advantage; profit. Men have no right to what is not for their benefit. --Burke. 3. A theatrical performance, a concert, or the like, the proceeds of which do not go to the lessee of the theater or to the company, but to some individual actor, or to some charitable use. 4. Beneficence; liberality. [Obs.] --Webster (1623). 5. pl. Natural advantages; endowments; accomplishments. [R.] "The benefits of your own country." --Shak. Benefit of clergy. (Law) See under Clergy. Syn: Profit; service; use; avail. See Advantage.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Fact
Clar"i*fy\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Clarified; p. pr. & vb. n. Clarifying.] [F. clarifier, from L. clarificare; clarus clear + facere to make. See Clear, and Fact.]1. To make clear or bright by freeing from feculent matter; to defecate; to fine; -- said of liquids, as wine or sirup. "Boiled and clarified." --Ure. 2. To make clear; to free from obscurities; to brighten or illuminate. To clarify his reason, and to rectify his will. --South. 3. To glorify. [Obs.] Fadir, clarifie thi name. --Wyclif (John ii. 28).| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Fact
Com"fit\, n. [F. confit, prop. a p. p., fr. confire to preserve, pickle, fr. L. conficere to prepare; con- + facere to make. See Fact, and cf. Confect.] A dry sweetmeat; any kind of fruit, root, or seed preserved with sugar and dried; a confection.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Fact
Coun"ter*feit\ (koun"t?r-f?t), a. [F. contrefait, p. p. of contrefaire to counterfeit; contre (L. contra) + faire to make, fr. L. facere. See Counter, adv., and Fact.]1. Representing by imitation or likeness; having a resemblance to something else; portrayed. Look here upon this picture, and on this- The counterfeit presentment of two brothers. --Shak. 2. Fabricated in imitation of something else, with a view to defraud by passing the false copy for genuine or original; as, counterfeit antiques; counterfeit coin. "No counterfeit gem." --Robinson (More's Utopia). 3. Assuming the appearance of something; false; spurious; deceitful; hypocritical; as, a counterfeit philanthropist. "An arrant counterfeit rascal." --Shak. Syn: Forged; fictitious; spurious; false.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Fact
De*feat"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Defeated; p. pr. & vb. n. Defeating.] [From F. d['e]fait, OF. desfait, p. p. ofe d['e]faire, OF. desfaire, to undo; L. dis- + facere to do. See Feat, Fact, and cf. Disfashion.]1. To undo; to disfigure; to destroy. [Obs.] His unkindness may defeat my life. --Shak. 2. To render null and void, as a title; to frustrate, as hope; to deprive, as of an estate. He finds himself naturally to dread a superior Being that can defeat all his designs, and disappoint all his hopes. --Tillotson. The escheators . . . defeated the right heir of his succession. --Hallam. In one instance he defeated his own purpose. --A. W. Ward. 3. To overcome or vanquish, as an army; to check, disperse, or ruin by victory; to overthrow. 4. To resist with success; as, to defeat an assault. Sharp reasons to defeat the law. --Shak. Syn: To baffle; disappoint; frustrate.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Fact
De*fect"\, n. [L. defectus, fr. deficere, defectum, to desert, fail, be wanting; de- + facere to make, do. See Fact, Feat, and cf. Deficit.]1. Want or absence of something necessary for completeness or perfection; deficiency; -- opposed to superfluity. Errors have been corrected, and defects supplied. --Davies. 2. Failing; fault; imperfection, whether physical or moral; blemish; as, a defect in the ear or eye; a defect in timber or iron; a defect of memory or judgment. Trust not yourself; but, your defects to know, Make use of every friend -- and every foe. --Pope. Among boys little tenderness is shown to personal defects. --Macaulay. Syn: Deficiency; imperfection; blemish. See Fault.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Fact
Dig"ni*fy\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dignified; p. pr. & vb. n. Dignifying.] [OF. dignifier, fr. LL. d??nificare; L. dignus worthy + ficare (in comp.), facere to make. See Deign, and Fact.] To invest with dignity or honor; to make illustrious; to give distinction to; to exalt in rank; to honor. Your worth will dignity our feast. --B. Jonson. Syn: To exalt; elevate; prefer; advance; honor; illustrate; adorn; ennoble.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Fact
Dis*com"fit\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Discomfited; p. pr. & vb. n. Discomfiting.] [OF. desconfit, p. p. of desconfire, F. d['e]confire; fr. L. dis- + conficere to make ready, prepare, bring about. See Comfit, Fact.]1. To scatter in fight; to put to rout; to defeat. And his proud foes discomfit in victorious field. --Spenser. 2. To break up and frustrate the plans of; to balk? to throw into perplexity and dejection; to disconcert. Well, go with me and be not so discomfited. --Shak. Syn: To defeat; overthrow; overpower; vanquish; conquer; baffle; frustrate; confound; discourage.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Fact
Do\, v. t. or auxiliary. [imp. Din; p. p. Done; p. pr. & vb. n. Doing. This verb, when transitive, is formed in the indicative, present tense, thus: I do, thou doest (?) or dost ?, he does (?), doeth (?), or doth (?); when auxiliary, the second person is, thou dost. As an independent verb, dost is obsolete or rare, except in poetry. "What dost thou in this world?" --Milton. The form doeth is a verb unlimited, doth, formerly so used, now being the auxiliary form. The second pers, sing., imperfect tense, is didst (?), formerly didest (?).] [AS. d?n; akin to D. doen, OS. duan, OHG. tuon, G. thun, Lith. deti, OSlav. d?ti, OIr. d['e]nim I do, Gr. ? to put, Skr. dh[=a], and to E. suffix -dom, and prob. to L. facere to do, E. fact, and perh. to L. -dere in some compounfds, as addere to add, credere to trust. ??? Cf. Deed, Deem, Doom, Fact, Creed, Theme.]1. To place; to put. [Obs.] --Tale of a Usurer (about 1330). 2. To cause; to make; -- with an infinitive. [Obs.] My lord Abbot of Westminster did do shewe to me late certain evidences. --W. Caxton. I shall . . . your cloister do make. --Piers Plowman. A fatal plague which many did to die. --Spenser. We do you to wit [i. e., We make you to know] of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia. --2 Cor. viii. 1. Note: We have lost the idiom shown by the citations (do used like the French faire or laisser), in which the verb in the infinitive apparently, but not really, has a passive signification, i. e., cause . . . to be made. 3. To bring about; to produce, as an effect or result; to effect; to achieve. The neglecting it may do much danger. --Shak. He waved indifferently 'twixt doing them neither good not harm. --Shak. 4. To perform, as an action; to execute; to transact to carry out in action; as, to do a good or a bad act; do our duty; to do what I can. Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work. --Ex. xx. 9. We did not do these things. --Ld. Lytton. You can not do wrong without suffering wrong. --Emerson. Hence: To do homage, honor, favor, justice, etc., to render homage, honor, etc. 5. To bring to an end by action; to perform completely; to finish; to accomplish; -- a sense conveyed by the construction, which is that of the past participle done. "Ere summer half be done." "I have done weeping." --Shak. 6. To make ready for an object, purpose, or use, as food by cooking; to cook completely or sufficiently; as, the meat is done on one side only. 7. To put or bring into a form, state, or condition, especially in the phrases, to do death, to put to death; to slay; to do away (often do away with), to put away; to remove; to do on, to put on; to don; to do off, to take off, as dress; to doff; to do into, to put into the form of; to translate or transform into, as a text. Done to death by slanderous tongues. -- Shak. The ground of the difficulty is done away. -- Paley. Suspicions regarding his loyalty were entirely done away. --Thackeray. To do on our own harness, that we may not; but we must do on the armor of God. -- Latimer. Then Jason rose and did on him a fair Blue woolen tunic. -- W. Morris (Jason). Though the former legal pollution be now done off, yet there is a spiritual contagion in idolatry as much to be shunned. --Milton. It ["Pilgrim's Progress"] has been done into verse: it has been done into modern English. -- Macaulay. 8. To cheat; to gull; to overreach. [Colloq.] He was not be done, at his time of life, by frivolous offers of a compromise that might have secured him seventy-five per cent. -- De Quincey. 9. To see or inspect; to explore; as, to do all the points of interest. [Colloq.] 10. (Stock Exchange) To cash or to advance money for, as a bill or note. Note: (a) Do and did are much employed as auxiliaries, the verb to which they are joined being an infinitive. As an auxiliary the verb do has no participle. "I do set my bow in the cloud." --Gen. ix. 13. [Now archaic or rare except for emphatic assertion.] Rarely . . . did the wrongs of individuals to the knowledge of the public. -- Macaulay. (b) They are often used in emphatic construction. "You don't say so, Mr. Jobson. -- but I do say so." --Sir W. Scott. "I did love him, but scorn him now." --Latham. (c) In negative and interrogative constructions, do and did are in common use. I do not wish to see them; what do you think? Did C[ae]sar cross the Tiber? He did not. "Do you love me?" --Shak. (d) Do, as an auxiliary, is supposed to have been first used before imperatives. It expresses entreaty or earnest request; as, do help me. In the imperative mood, but not in the indicative, it may be used with the verb to be; as, do be quiet. Do, did, and done often stand as a general substitute or representative verb, and thus save the repetition of the principal verb. "To live and die is all we have to do." --Denham. In the case of do and did as auxiliaries, the sense may be completed by the infinitive (without to) of the verb represented. "When beauty lived and died as flowers do now." --Shak. "I . . . chose my wife as she did her wedding gown." --Goldsmith. My brightest hopes giving dark fears a being. As the light does the shadow. -- Longfellow. In unemphatic affirmative sentences do is, for the most part, archaic or poetical; as, "This just reproach their virtue does excite." --Dryden. To do one's best, To do one's diligence (and the like), to exert one's self; to put forth one's best or most or most diligent efforts. "We will . . . do our best to gain their assent." --Jowett (Thucyd.). To do one's business, to ruin one. [Colloq.] --Wycherley. To do one shame, to cause one shame. [Obs.] To do over. (a) To make over; to perform a second time. (b) To cover; to spread; to smear. "Boats . . . sewed together and done over with a kind of slimy stuff like rosin." --De Foe. To do to death, to put to death. (See 7.) [Obs.] To do up. (a) To put up; to raise. [Obs.] --Chaucer. (b) To pack together and envelop; to pack up. (c) To accomplish thoroughly. [Colloq.] (d) To starch and iron. "A rich gown of velvet, and a ruff done up with the famous yellow starch." --Hawthorne. To do way, to put away; to lay aside. [Obs.] --Chaucer. To do with, to dispose of; to make use of; to employ; -- usually preceded by what. "Men are many times brought to that extremity, that were it not for God they would not know what to do with themselves." --Tillotson. To have to do with, to have concern, business or intercourse with; to deal with. When preceded by what, the notion is usually implied that the affair does not concern the person denoted by the subject of have. "Philology has to do with language in its fullest sense." --Earle. "What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah? --2 Sam. xvi. 10.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Fact
Ed"i*fy\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Edified; p. pr. & vb. n. Edifying.] [F. ['e]difier, L. aedificare; aedes a building, house, orig., a fireplace (akin to Gr. ? to burn, Skr. idh to kindle, OHG. eit funeral pile, AS. [=a]d, OIr. aed fire) + facere to make. See Fact, -fy.]1. To build; to construct. [Archaic] There was a holy chapel edified. --Spenser. 2. To instruct and improve, especially in moral and religious knowledge; to teach. It does not appear probable that our dispute [about miracles] would either edify or enlighten the public. --Gibbon. 3. To teach or persuade. [Obs.] --Bacon.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Fact
Ef*fect"\, n. [L. effectus, fr. efficere, effectum, to effect; ex + facere to make: cf. F. effet, formerly also spelled effect. See Fact.]1. Execution; performance; realization; operation; as, the law goes into effect in May. That no compunctious visitings of nature Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between The effect and it. --Shak. 2. Manifestation; expression; sign. All the large effects That troop with majesty. --Shak. 3. In general: That which is produced by an agent or cause; the event which follows immediately from an antecedent, called the cause; result; consequence; outcome; fruit; as, the effect of luxury. The effect is the unfailing index of the amount of the cause. --Whewell. 4. Impression left on the mind; sensation produced. Patchwork . . . introduced for oratorical effect. --J. C. Shairp. The effect was heightened by the wild and lonely nature of the place. --W. Irving. 5. Power to produce results; efficiency; force; importance; account; as, to speak with effect. 6. Consequence intended; purpose; meaning; general intent; -- with to. They spake to her to that effect. --2 Chron. xxxiv. 22. 7. The purport; the sum and substance. "The effect of his intent." --Chaucer. 8. Reality; actual meaning; fact, as distinguished from mere appearance. No other in effect than what it seems. --Denham. 9. pl. Goods; movables; personal estate; -- sometimes used to embrace real as well as personal property; as, the people escaped from the town with their effects. For effect, for an exaggerated impression or excitement. In effect, in fact; in substance. See 8, above. Of no effect, Of none effect, To no effect, or Without effect, destitute of results, validity, force, and the like; vain; fruitless. "Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition." --Mark vii. 13. "All my study be to no effect." --Shak. To give effect to, to make valid; to carry out in practice; to push to its results. To take effect, to become operative, to accomplish aims. --Shak. Syn: Effect, Consequence, Result. Usage: These words indicate things which arise out of some antecedent, or follow as a consequent. Effect, which may be regarded as the generic term, denotes that which springs directly from something which can properly be termed a cause. A consequence is more remote, not being strictly caused, nor yet a mere sequence, but following out of and following indirectly, or in the train of events, something on which it truly depends. A result is still more remote and variable, like the rebound of an elastic body which falls in very different directions. We may foresee the effects of a measure, may conjecture its consequences, but can rarely discover its final results. Resolving all events, with their effects And manifold results, into the will And arbitration wise of the Supreme. --Cowper. Shun the bitter consequence, for know, The day thou eatest thereof, . . . thou shalt die. --Milton.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Fact
Face\, n. [F., from L. facies form, shape, face, perh. from facere to make (see Fact); or perh. orig. meaning appearance, and from a root meaning to shine, and akin to E. fancy. Cf. Facetious.]1. The exterior form or appearance of anything; that part which presents itself to the view; especially, the front or upper part or surface; that which particularly offers itself to the view of a spectator. A mist . . . watered the whole face of the ground. --Gen. ii. 6. Lake Leman wooes me with its crystal face. --Byron. 2. That part of a body, having several sides, which may be seen from one point, or which is presented toward a certain direction; one of the bounding planes of a solid; as, a cube has six faces. 3. (Mach.) (a) The principal dressed surface of a plate, disk, or pulley; the principal flat surface of a part or object. (b) That part of the acting surface of a cog in a cog wheel, which projects beyond the pitch line. (c) The width of a pulley, or the length of a cog from end to end; as, a pulley or cog wheel of ten inches face. 4. (Print.) (a) The upper surface, or the character upon the surface, of a type, plate, etc. (b) The style or cut of a type or font of type. 5. Outside appearance; surface show; look; external aspect, whether natural, assumed, or acquired. To set a face upon their own malignant design. --Milton. This would produce a new face of things in Europe. --Addison. We wear a face of joy, because We have been glad of yore. --Wordsworth. 6. That part of the head, esp. of man, in which the eyes, cheeks, nose, and mouth are situated; visage; countenance. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread. --Gen. iii. 19. 7. Cast of features; expression of countenance; look; air; appearance. We set the best faceon it we could. --Dryden. 8. (Astrol.) Ten degrees in extent of a sign of the zodiac. --Chaucer. 9. Maintenance of the countenance free from abashment or confusion; confidence; boldness; shamelessness; effrontery. This is the man that has the face to charge others with false citations. --Tillotson. 10. Presence; sight; front; as in the phrases, before the face of, in the immediate presence of; in the face of, before, in, or against the front of; as, to fly in the face of danger; to the face of, directly to; from the face of, from the presence of. 11. Mode of regard, whether favorable or unfavorable; favor or anger; mostly in Scriptural phrases. The Lord make his face to shine upon thee. --Num. vi. 25. My face [favor] will I turn also from them. --Ezek. vii. 22. 12. (Mining) The end or wall of the tunnel, drift, or excavation, at which work is progressing or was last done. 13. (Com.) The exact amount expressed on a bill, note, bond, or other mercantile paper, without any addition for interest or reduction for discount. --McElrath. Note: Face is used either adjectively or as part of a compound; as, face guard or face-guard; face cloth; face plan or face-plan; face hammer. Face ague (Med.), a form of neuralgia, characterized by acute lancinating pains returning at intervals, and by twinges in certain parts of the face, producing convulsive twitches in the corresponding muscles; -- called also tic douloureux. Face card, one of a pack of playing cards on which a human face is represented; the king, queen, or jack. Face cloth, a cloth laid over the face of a corpse. Face guard, a mask with windows for the eyes, worn by workman exposed to great heat, or to flying particles of metal, stone, etc., as in glass works, foundries, etc. Face hammer, a hammer having a flat face. Face joint (Arch.), a joint in the face of a wall or other structure. Face mite (Zo["o]ll.), a small, elongated mite (Demdex folliculorum), parasitic in the hair follicles of the face. Face mold, the templet or pattern by which carpenters, ect., outline the forms which are to be cut out from boards, sheet metal, ect. Face plate. (a) (Turning) A plate attached to the spindle of a lathe, to which the work to be turned may be attached. (b) A covering plate for an object, to receive wear or shock. (c) A true plane for testing a dressed surface. --Knight. Face wheel. (Mach.) (a) A crown wheel. (b) A Wheel whose disk face is adapted for grinding and polishing; a lap. Cylinder face (Steam Engine), the flat part of a steam cylinder on which a slide valve moves. Face of an anvil, its flat upper surface. Face of a bastion (Fort.), the part between the salient and the shoulder angle. Face of coal (Mining), the principal cleavage plane, at right angles to the stratification. Face of a gun, the surface of metal at the muzzle. Face of a place (Fort.), the front comprehended between the flanked angles of two neighboring bastions. --Wilhelm. Face of a square (Mil.), one of the sides of a battalion when formed in a square. Face of a watch, clock, compass, card etc., the dial or graduated surface on which a pointer indicates the time of day, point of the compass, etc. Face to face. (a) In the presence of each other; as, to bring the accuser and the accused face to face. (b) Without the interposition of any body or substance. "Now we see through a glass darkly; but then face to face." 1 --Cor. xiii. 12. (c) With the faces or finished surfaces turned inward or toward one another; vis [`a] vis; -- opposed to back to back. To fly in the face of, to defy; to brave; to withstand. To make a face, to distort the countenance; to make a grimace. --Shak.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Fact
Fa"cient\, n. [L. faciens, -- entis, p. pr. of facere to make, do. See Fact.]1. One who does anything, good or bad; a doer; an agent. [Obs.] --Bp. Hacket. 2. (Mach.) (a) One of the variables of a quantic as distinguished from a coefficient. (b) The multiplier. Note: The terms facient, faciend, and factum, may imply that the multiplication involved is not ordinary multiplication, but is either some specified operation, or, in general, any mathematical operation. See Multiplication.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Fact
Fac"ile\a. [L. facilis, prop., capable of being done or made, hence, facile, easy, fr. facere to make, do: cf. F. facile. Srr Fact, and cf. Faculty.]1. Easy to be done or performed: not difficult; performable or attainable with little labor. Order . . . will render the work facile and delightful. --Evelyn. 2. Easy to be surmounted or removed; easily conquerable; readily mastered. The facile gates of hell too slightly barred. --Milton. 3. Easy of access or converse; mild; courteous; not haughty, austere, or distant; affable; complaisant. I meant she should be courteous, facile, sweet. --B. Jonson. 4. Easily persuaded to good or bad; yielding; ductile to a fault; pliant; flexible. Since Adam, and his facile consort Eve, Lost Paradise, deceived by me. --Milton. This is treating Burns like a child, a person of so facile a disposition as not to be trusted without a keeper on the king's highway. --Prof. Wilson. 5. Ready; quick; expert; as, he is facile in expedients; he wields a facile pen. -- Fac"ile-ly, adv. -- Fac"ile*ness, n.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Fact
Fac*sim"i*le\, n.; pl. Facsimiles (-l?z). [L. fac simile make like; or an abbreviation of factum simile made like; facere to make + similes like. See Fact, and Simile.] A copy of anything made, either so as to be deceptive or so as to give every part and detail of the original; an exact copy or likeness. Facsimile telegraph, a telegraphic apparatus reproducing messages in autograph.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Fact
Fact\, n. [L. factum, fr. facere to make or do. Cf. Feat, Affair, Benefit, Defect, Fashion, and -fy.]1. A doing, making, or preparing. [Obs.] A project for the fact and vending Of a new kind of fucus, paint for ladies. --B. Jonson. 2. An effect produced or achieved; anything done or that comes to pass; an act; an event; a circumstance. What might instigate him to this devilish fact, I am not able to conjecture. --Evelyn. He who most excels in fact of arms. --Milton. 3. Reality; actuality; truth; as, he, in fact, excelled all the rest; the fact is, he was beaten. 4. The assertion or statement of a thing done or existing; sometimes, even when false, improperly put, by a transfer of meaning, for the thing done, or supposed to be done; a thing supposed or asserted to be done; as, history abounds with false facts. I do not grant the fact. --De Foe. This reasoning is founded upon a fact which is not true. --Roger Long. Note: TheTerm fact has in jurisprudence peculiar uses in contrast with low; as, attorney at low, and attorney in fact; issue in low, and issue in fact. There is also a grand distinction between low and fact with reference to the province of the judge and that of the jury, the latter generally determining the fact, the former the low. --Burrill Bouvier. Accessary before, or after, the fact. See under Accessary. Matter of fact, an actual occurrence; a verity; used adjectively: of or pertaining to facts; prosaic; unimaginative; as, a matter-of-fact narration. Syn: Act; deed; performance; event; incident; occurrence; circumstance.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Fact
Fac*ti"tious\, a. [L. factitius, fr. facere to make. See Fact, and cf. Fetich.] Made by art, in distinction from what is produced by nature; artificial; sham; formed by, or adapted to, an artificial or conventional, in distinction from a natural, standard or rule; not natural; as, factitious cinnabar or jewels; a factitious taste. -- Fac-ti"tious*ly, adv. -- Fac*ti"tious-ness, n. He acquires a factitious propensity, he forms an incorrigible habit, of desultory reading. --De Quincey. Syn: Unnatural. Usage: Factitious, Unnatural. Anything is unnatural when it departs in any way from its simple or normal state; it is factitious when it is wrought out or wrought up by labor and effort, as, a factitious excitement. An unnatural demand for any article of merchandise is one which exceeds the ordinary rate of consumption; a factitious demand is one created by active exertions for the purpose. An unnatural alarm is one greater than the occasion requires; a factitious alarm is one wrought up with care and effort.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Fact
Fac"ti*tive\ a. [See Fact.]1. Causing; causative. 2. (Gram.) Pertaining to that relation which is proper when the act, as of a transitive verb, is not merely received by an object, but produces some change in the object, as when we say, He made the water wine. Sometimes the idea of activity in a verb or adjective involves in it a reference to an effect, in the way of causality, in the active voice on the immediate objects, and in the passive voice on the subject of such activity. This second object is called the factitive object. --J. W. Gibbs.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Fact
Fac"tor\, n. [L. factor a doer: cf. F. facteur a factor. See Fact.]1. (Law) One who transacts business for another; an agent; a substitute; especially, a mercantile agent who buys and sells goods and transacts business for others in commission; a commission merchant or consignee. He may be a home factor or a foreign factor. He may buy and sell in his own name, and he is intrusted with the possession and control of the goods; and in these respects he differs from a broker. --Story. --Wharton. My factor sends me word, a merchant's fled That owes me for a hundred tun of wine. --Marlowe. 2. A steward or bailiff of an estate. [Scot.] --Sir W. Scott. 3. (Math.) One of the elements or quantities which, when multiplied together, from a product. 4. One of the elements, circumstances, or influences which contribute to produce a result; a constituent. The materal and dynamical factors of nutrition. --H. Spencer.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Fact
Fac*to"tum\, n.; pl. Factotums (-t?mz). [L., do everything; facere to do + totus all : cf. F. factotum. See Fact, and Total.] A person employed to do all kinds of work or business. --B. Jonson.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Fact
Fac"tum\, n.; pl. Facta. [L. See Fact.]1. (Law) A man's own act and deed; particularly: (a) (Civil Law) Anything stated and made certain. (b) (Testamentary Law) The due execution of a will, including everything necessary to its validity. 2. (Mach.) The product. See Facient, 2.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Fact
Fac"ture\, n. [F. facture a making, invoice, L. factura a making. See Fact.]1. The act or manner of making or doing anything; -- now used of a literary, musical, or pictorial production. --Bacon. 2. (Com.) An invoice or bill of parcels.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Fact
Fac"ul*ty\, n.; pl. Faculties. [F. facult?, L. facultas, fr. facilis easy (cf. facul easily), fr. fecere to make. See Fact, and cf. Facility.]1. Ability to act or perform, whether inborn or cultivated; capacity for any natural function; especially, an original mental power or capacity for any of the well-known classes of mental activity; psychical or soul capacity; capacity for any of the leading kinds of soul activity, as knowledge, feeling, volition; intellectual endowment or gift; power; as, faculties of the mind or the soul. But know that in the soul Are many lesser faculties that serve Reason as chief. --Milton. What a piece of work is a man ! how noble in reason ! how infinite in faculty ! --Shak. 2. Special mental endowment; characteristic knack. He had a ready faculty, indeed, of escaping from any topic that agitated his too sensitive and nervous temperament. --Hawthorne. 3. Power; prerogative or attribute of office. [R.] This Duncan Hath borne his faculties so meek. --Shak. 4. Privilege or permission, granted by favor or indulgence, to do a particular thing; authority; license; dispensation. The pope . . . granted him a faculty to set him free from his promise. --Fuller. It had not only faculty to inspect all bishops' dioceses, but to change what laws and statutes they should think fit to alter among the colleges. --Evelyn. 5. A body of a men to whom any specific right or privilege is granted; formerly, the graduates in any of the four departments of a university or college (Philosophy, Law, Medicine, or Theology), to whom was granted the right of teaching (profitendi or docendi) in the department in which they had studied; at present, the members of a profession itself; as, the medical faculty; the legal faculty, ect. 6. (Amer. Colleges) The body of person to whom are intrusted the government and instruction of a college or university, or of one of its departments; the president, professors, and tutors in a college. Dean of faculty. See under Dean. Faculty of advocates. (Scot.) See under Advocate. Syn: Talent; gift; endowment; dexterity; expertness; cleverness; readiness; ability; knack.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Fact
Fam"i*ly\, n.; pl. Families. [L. familia, fr. famulus servant; akin to Oscan famel servant, cf. faamat he dwells, Skr. dh[=a]man house, fr. dh[=a]to set, make, do: cf. F. famille. Cf. Do, v. t., Doom, Fact, Feat.]1. The collective body of persons who live in one house, and under one head or manager; a household, including parents, children, and servants, and, as the case may be, lodgers or boarders. 2. The group comprising a husband and wife and their dependent children, constituting a fundamental unit in the organization of society. The welfare of the family underlies the welfare of society. --H. Spencer. 3. Those who descend from one common progenitor; a tribe, clan, or race; kindred; house; as, the human family; the family of Abraham; the father of a family. Go ! and pretend your family is young. --Pope. 4. Course of descent; genealogy; line of ancestors; lineage. 5. Honorable descent; noble or respectable stock; as, a man of family. 6. A group of kindred or closely related individuals; as, a family of languages; a family of States; the chlorine family. 7. (Biol.) A group of organisms, either animal or vegetable, related by certain points of resemblance in structure or development, more comprehensive than a genus, because it is usually based on fewer or less pronounced points of likeness. In zo["o]logy a family is less comprehesive than an order; in botany it is often considered the same thing as an order. Family circle. See under Circle. Family man. (a) A man who has a family; esp., one who has a wife and children living with him andd dependent upon him. (b) A man of domestic habits. "The Jews are generally, when married, most exemplary family men." --Mayhew. Family of curves or surfaces (Geom.), a group of curves or surfaces derived from a single equation. In a family way, like one belonging to the family. "Why don't we ask him and his ladies to come over in a family way, and dine with some other plain country gentlefolks?" --Thackeray. In the family way, pregnant. [Colloq.]| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Fact
Fash"ion\, n. [OE. fasoun, facioun, shape, manner, F. facon, orig., a making, fr. L. factio a making, fr. facere to make. See Fact, Feat, and cf. Faction.]1. The make or form of anything; the style, shape, appearance, or mode of structure; pattern, model; as, the fashion of the ark, of a coat, of a house, of an altar, etc.; workmanship; execution. The fashion of his countenance was altered. --Luke ix. 29. I do not like the fashion of your garments. --Shak. 2. The prevailing mode or style, especially of dress; custom or conventional usage in respect of dress, behavior, etiquette, etc.; particularly, the mode or style usual among persons of good breeding; as, to dress, dance, sing, ride, etc., in the fashion. The innocent diversions in fashion. --Locke. As now existing, fashion is a form of social regulation analogous to constitutional government as a form of political regulation. --H. Spencer. 3. Polite, fashionable, or genteel life; social position; good breeding; as, men of fashion. 4. Mode of action; method of conduct; manner; custom; sort; way. "After his sour fashion." --Shak. After a fashion, to a certain extent; in a sort. Fashion piece (Naut.), one of the timbers which terminate the transom, and define the shape of the stern. Fashion plate, a pictorial design showing the prevailing style or a new style of dress.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Fact
Fea"si*ble\a. [F. faisable, fr. faire to make or do, fr. L. facere. See Fact, Feat.]1. Capable of being done, executed, or effected; practicable. Always existing before their eyes as a thing feasible in practice. --Burke. It was not feasible to gratify so many ambitions. --Beaconsfield. 2. Fit to be used or tailed, as land. [R.] --R. Trumbull. Fea"si*ble*ness, n. --Fea"si*bly, adv.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Fact
Feat\, n. [OE. fet, OF. fet, fait, F. fait, factum, fr. L. facere, factum, to make or do. Cf. Fact, Feasible, Do.]1. An act; a deed; an exploit. The warlike feats I have done. --Shak. 2. A striking act of strength, skill, or cunning; a trick; as, feats of horsemanship, or of dexterity.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Fact
Fea"ture\ (?; 135), n. [OE. feture form, shape, feature, OF. faiture fashion, make, fr. L. factura a making, formation, fr. facere, factum, to make. See Feat, Fact, and cf. Facture.]1. The make, form, or outward appearance of a person; the whole turn or style of the body; esp., good appearance. What needeth it his feature to descrive? --Chaucer. Cheated of feature by dissembling nature. --Shak. 2. The make, cast, or appearance of the human face, and especially of any single part of the face; a lineament. (pl.) The face, the countenance. It is for homely features to keep home. --Milton. 3. The cast or structure of anything, or of any part of a thing, as of a landscape, a picture, a treaty, or an essay; any marked peculiarity or characteristic; as, one of the features of the landscape. And to her service bind each living creature Through secret understanding of their feature. --Spenser. 4. A form; a shape. [R.] So scented the grim feature, and upturned His nostril wide into the murky air. --Milton.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
FAct
For"feit\, n. [OE. forfet crime, penalty, F. forfait crime (LL. forefactum, forifactum), prop. p. p. of forfaire to forfeit, transgress, fr. LL. forifacere, prop., to act beyond; L. foris out of doors, abroad, beyond + facere to do. See Foreign, and FAct.]1. Injury; wrong; mischief. [Obs. & R.] To seek arms upon people and country that never did us any forfeit. --Ld. Berners. 2. A thing forfeit or forfeited; what is or may be taken from one in requital of a misdeed committed; that which is lost, or the right to which is alienated, by a crime, offense, neglect of duty, or breach of contract; hence, a fine; a mulct; a penalty; as, he who murders pays the forfeit of his life. Thy slanders I forgive; and therewithal Remit thy other forfeits. --Shak. 3. Something deposited and redeemable by a sportive fine; -- whence the game of forfeits. Country dances and forfeits shortened the rest of the day. --Goldsmith.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Fact
Fruc"ti*fy\ (fr[u^]k"t[i^]*f[imac]), v. i. [F. fructifier, L. fructificare; fructus fruit + -ficare (only in comp.), akin to L. facere to make. See Fruit, and Fact.] To bear fruit. "Causeth the earth to fructify." --Beveridge.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Fact
-fy\ [Through French verbs in -fier, L. -ficare, akin to facere to do, make. See Fact.] A suffix signifying to make, to form into, etc.; as, acetify, amplify, dandify, Frenchify, etc.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Fact
Ha`ci*en"da\ (? or ?), n. [Sp., fr. OSp. facienda employment, estate, fr. L. facienda, pl. of faciendum what is to be done, fr. facere to do. See Fact.] A large estate where work of any kind is done, as agriculture, manufacturing, mining, or raising of animals; a cultivated farm, with a good house, in distinction from a farming establishment with rude huts for herdsmen, etc.; -- a word used in Spanish-American regions.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Fact
In*fect"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Infected; p. pr. & vb. n. Infecting.] [L. infectus, p. p. of inficere to put or dip into, to stain, infect; pref. in- in + facere to make; cf. F. infecter. See Fact.]1. To taint with morbid matter or any pestilential or noxious substance or effluvium by which disease is produced; as, to infect a lancet; to infect an apartment. 2. To affect with infectious disease; to communicate infection to; as, infected with the plague. Them that were left alive being infected with this disease. --Sir T. North. 3. To communicate to or affect with, as qualities or emotions, esp. bad qualities; to corrupt; to contaminate; to taint by the communication of anything noxious or pernicious. --Cowper. Infected Ston's daughters with like heat. --Milton. 4. (Law) To contaminate with illegality or to expose to penalty. Syn: To poison; vitiate; pollute; defile.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Fact
Mag*nif"ic\, Magnifical \Mag*nif"ic*al\, a. [L. magnificus; magnus great + facere to make: cf. F. magnifique. See Magnitude, Fact. and cf. Magnificent.] Grand; splendid; illustrious; magnificent. [Obs.] --1 Chron. xxii. 5. "Thy magnific deeds." --Milton. -- Mag*nif"ic*al*ly, adv. [Obs.]| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Fact
Mal`e*fac"tor\, n. [L., fr. malefacere to do evil; male ill, evil + facere to do. See Malice, and Fact.]1. An evil doer; one who commits a crime; one subject to public prosecution and punishment; a criminal. 2. One who does wrong by injuring another, although not a criminal. [Obs.] --H. Brooke. Fuller. Syn: Evil doer; criminal; culprit; felon; convict.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Fact
Mal"i*cho\, n. [Sp. malhecho; mal bad + hecho deed, L. factum. See Fact.] Mischief. [Obs.] --Shak.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Fact
Man`u*fac"ture\, n. [L. manus the hand + factura a making, fr. facere to make: cf. F. manufacture. See Manual, and Fact.]1. The operation of making wares or any products by hand, by machinery, or by other agency. 2. Anything made from raw materials by the hand, by machinery, or by art, as cloths, iron utensils, shoes, machinery, saddlery, etc.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Fact
Mat"ter\, n. [OE. matere, F. mati[`e]re, fr. L. materia; perh. akin to L. mater mother. Cf. Mother, Madeira, Material.]1. That of which anything is composed; constituent substance; material; the material or substantial part of anything; the constituent elements of conception; that into which a notion may be analyzed; the essence; the pith; the embodiment. He is the matter of virtue. --B. Jonson. 2. That of which the sensible universe and all existent bodies are composed; anything which has extension, occupies space, or is perceptible by the senses; body; substance. Note: Matter is usually divided by philosophical writers into three kinds or classes: solid, liquid, and a["e]riform. Solid substances are those whose parts firmly cohere and resist impression, as wood or stone. Liquids have free motion among their parts, and easily yield to impression, as water and wine. A["e]riform substances are elastic fluids, called vapors and gases, as air and oxygen gas. 3. That with regard to, or about which, anything takes place or is done; the thing aimed at, treated of, or treated; subject of action, discussion, consideration, feeling, complaint, legal action, or the like; theme. "If the matter should be tried by duel." --Bacon. Son of God, Savior of men ! Thy name Shall be the copious matter of my song. --Milton. Every great matter they shall bring unto thee, but every small matter they shall judge. --Ex. xviii. 22. 4. That which one has to treat, or with which one has to do; concern; affair; business. To help the matter, the alchemists call in many vanities out of astrology. --Bacon. Some young female seems to have carried matters so far, that she is ripe for asking advice. --Spectator. 5. Affair worthy of account; thing of consequence; importance; significance; moment; -- chiefly in the phrases what matter ? no matter, and the like. A prophet some, and some a poet, cry; No matter which, so neither of them lie. --Dryden. 6. Inducing cause or occasion, especially of anything disagreeable or distressing; difficulty; trouble. And this is the matter why interpreters upon that passage in Hosea will not consent it to be a true story, that the prophet took a harlot to wife. --Milton. 7. Amount; quantity; portion; space; -- often indefinite. Away he goes, . . . a matter of seven miles. --L' Estrange. I have thoughts to tarry a small matter. --Congreve. No small matter of British forces were commanded over sea the year before. --Mi --lton. 8. Substance excreted from living animal bodies; that which is thrown out or discharged in a tumor, boil, or abscess; pus; purulent substance. 9. (Metaph.) That which is permanent, or is supposed to be given, and in or upon which changes are effected by psychological or physical processes and relations; -- opposed to form. --Mansel. 10. (Print.) Written manuscript, or anything to be set in type; copy; also, type set up and ready to be used, or which has been used, in printing. Dead matter (Print.), type which has been used, or which is not to be used, in printing, and is ready for distribution. Live matter (Print.), type set up, but not yet printed from. Matter in bar, Matter of fact. See under Bar, and Fact. Matter of record, anything recorded. Upon the matter, or Upon the whole matter, considering the whole; taking all things into view. Waller, with Sir William Balfour, exceeded in horse, but were, upon the whole matter, equal in foot. --Clarendon.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Fact
Of"fice\, n. [F., fr. L. officium, for opificium; ops ability, wealth, holp + facere to do or make. See Opulent, Fact.]1. That which a person does, either voluntarily or by appointment, for, or with reference to, others; customary duty, or a duty that arises from the relations of man to man; as, kind offices, pious offices. I would I could do a good office between you. --Shak. 2. A special duty, trust, charge, or position, conferred by authority and for a public purpose; a position of trust or authority; as, an executive or judical office; a municipal office. 3. A charge or trust, of a sacred nature, conferred by God himself; as, the office of a priest under the old dispensation, and that of the apostles in the new. Inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office. --Rom. xi. 13. 4. That which is performed, intended, or assigned to be done, by a particular thing, or that which anything is fitted to perform; a function; -- answering to duty in intelligent beings. They [the eyes] resign their office and their light. --Shak. Hesperus, whose office is to bring Twilight upon the earth. --Milton. In this experiment the several intervals of the teeth of the comb do the office of so many prisms. --Sir I. Newton. 5. The place where a particular kind of business or service for others is transacted; a house or apartment in which public officers and others transact business; as, the register's office; a lawyer's office. 6. The company or corporation, or persons collectively, whose place of business is in an office; as, I have notified the office. 7. pl. The apartments or outhouses in which the domestics discharge the duties attached to the service of a house, as kitchens, pantries, stables, etc. [Eng.] As for the offices, let them stand at distance. --Bacon. 8. (Eccl.) Any service other than that of ordination and the Mass; any prescribed religious service. This morning was read in the church, after the office was done, the declaration setting forth the late conspiracy against the king's person. --Evelyn. Holy office. Same as Inquisition, n., 3. Houses of office. Same as def. 7 above. --Chaucer. Little office (R.C.Ch.), an office recited in honor of the Virgin Mary. Office bearer, an officer; one who has a specific office or duty to perform. Office copy (Law), an authenticated or certified copy of a record, from the proper office. See Certified copies, under Copy. --Abbott. Office-found (Law), the finding of an inquest of office. See under Inquest. Office holder. See Officeholder in the Vocabulary| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Fact
Ol*fac"to*ry\, a. [L. ol