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Fabaceous describes something that has the nature of a bean or is like a bean.
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A Fabian policy is a policy of delays and cautions. It is so called after the style of policy used by Fabiu Maximus, who, by carefully avoiding decisive contests, foiled Hannibal, harassing his army by marches, counter- marches, and Ambuscades.
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The Fabian Society is a socialist association founded in London in 1883 which aims at the reorganisation of society by the emancipation of land and capital from individual and class ownership, and the vesting of them in the community for the general benefit.
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Fabliau is a form of early French literature consisting of short versified tales, comic in spirit and intended primarily for recitation. They were mainly written between the 12th and 14th centuries in northern France, and caricature every subject, but particularly women.
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A fac (from a shortening of facsimile) is a large ornamental letter used, especially by the early printers, at the commencement of the chapters and other divisions of a book.
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A face mold is a template or pattern used by carpenters, and the like, to outline the forms which are to be cut out from boards, sheet metal, etc.
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A facet is a single, small, flat, side of a many-sided object, like for example one of the small sides of a cut diamond.
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Factorial is a name in mathematics given to the factors of a continued product when the former are derivable from one and the same function F(x) by successively imparting a constant increment or decrement h to the independent variable. Thus the product F(x).F(x + h).F(x + 2h) . . . F[x + (n-1) h] is called a factorial term, and its several factors take the name of factorials.
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The fading was an old Irish dance of the jig type.
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The Fairlop Oak was a 500 year old oak tree with a trunk fourteen meters in circumference in Hainault forest, Essex. Beneath its branches an annual fair was long held on the first Friday in July. It was blown down in 1820.
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In 16th century English law, a Fait or Fayte was a type of deed.
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In old English law, faldage was the privilege of setting up, and moving about, folds for sheep, in any fields within manors, so as to manure them. The privilege was often reserved to himself by the lord of the manor.
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In old English law, a faldfee was a fee or rent paid by a tenant for the privilege of faldage on his own ground.
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A faldstool is a reading-desk used in Anglican and Roman Catholic churches during certain portions of the service. A kneeling shelf is attached to the lower part.
Originally a faldstool was a folding stool, or portable seat, made to fold up in the manner of a camo stool. It was formerly placed in the choir for a bishop, when he officiated in any but his own cathedral church. The term is also used to describe a small stool employed in the coronation service for the use of the sovereign when being crowned.
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In Scottish whaling, fall was the cry given when a whale was spotted or harpooned. The term was also applied to the pursuit of a whale or school of whales.
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Fall-door (faldore) was 15th century English for a trap-door.
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In falconry, fallera was the name given to a disease of hawks characterised by a whitening of their talons.
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Fallow is land left unsown for a period, usually a year. Fallowing is an ancient process, it has been known for centuries that the same crop frown on the same land deteriorates after a few years, partly because the soil is exhausted and partly because of disease. By leaving the land for a year, it can recover and subsequent crops improve.
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The Falmouth Gazette and Weekly Advertiser was an American newspaper, the first printed in Maine. It was established at Portland, Maine, by Titcomb and White in 1785. In 1786 it was changed to the Cumberland Gazette and in 1792 to the Eastern Herald. In 1796 it was consolidated with the Gazette of Maine and was published as the Eastern Herald and Gazette of Maine. Again in 1804 it was united with the Portland Gazette. In 1831 it was established as a daily under the title of the Advertiser but was suspended for two years beginning with 1866. In 1868 its publication was once more resumed, and continued in connection with the weekly edition, under the name of the Advertiser.
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Human babies generally resemble their father. The reason for this is that in nature while a mother knows that she has spawned a child, the father does not know that it was his impregnation that fertilised the woman. However, through family resemblance nature reassures the father that the offspring is his, and thus improves the chances of the father providing the support to the mother and child that they need during the early years.
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Fanacle was an old term for a small temple or shrine.
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Fanagalo is a pidginised form of Zulu taking also many English and Afrikaans words and spoken in South Africa, particularly in the mines, whence it gets its popular name of 'mine kaffir'.
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Faneuil Hall was the gift to Boston of Peter Faneuil, a merchant. The hall was begun in 1740. It was designed to be both a market-house and a place of public meeting. In 1761 it was destroyed by fire. It was restored in 1763, and was used as a theatre during the British occupation of Boston, in 1775. In 1805 it was enlarged by the addition of a third story and an increase in width. During the American War of Independence it was the usual meeting place of patriots, and was the scene of many stirring debates and important resolutions. It has been called the Cradle of American Liberty.
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Fanikin was a 16th century term for a small flag or banner.
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Fantoccini was a puppet play popular in Italy in the 15th century and in England and Germany in the 18th century.
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A farger was an old form of weighted dice used during the 16th century for cheating.
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The Farmers' Alliance was an American an anti-secret, national organization of agriculturists for mutual improvement and furtherance of political ends. It was founded in New York in 1873 and spread rapidly westward. Alliances were at first State organizations. The national organization was completed in 1889 with the Agricultural Wheel under the name of National Farmers Alliance and Industrial Union. Annual conventions were held at different places, the most noted at Ocala in 1890. The Alliance was opposed to national banks, the alien ownership of land, special privileges and Federal election laws.
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Farriery is the art of horse-shoeing. It consists in the attachment of a rim of iron, by means of nails, to the lower border of the horse's hoof, in order to prevent its excessive wear.
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Fasces were bundles of wooden rods made of elm or birch strapped together with an axe whose head protruded at right angles from the sticks. The fasces symbolised the authority of the senior magistrates of ancient Rome and were carried by the lictors who preceded them.
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A fascet is a tool used for placing glass bottles in the oven where they are annealed.
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Fascism is a political movement which originated in Italy, deriving its name from fasces, and which holds that the individual exists for the State, to whose good all his work and interests should be directed. Fascism originated in Milan in 1919, as a movement started by Benito Mussolini.
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Fast and loose was a street fraud, or cheating game, found in England between the 16th and the 19th centuries, involving a tick and a belt or string, so arranged that a spectator would think he could secure the stick to the belt or string by passing it through the intricate folds presented to him, only to find that the operator could detach the two instantly, and thereby win the bet.
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Fasten-Tuesday (Fastens-Tuesday) is an old term for Shrove-Tuesday.
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A fata morgana is a kind of mirage by which distant objects appear inverted, distorted, displaced, or multiplied. It is noticed particularly at the Straits of Messina, between Calabria and Sicily.
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The fathom is an ancient unit of measurement described as the length between the tips of the middle fingers of a man's two outstretched arms, reckoned at six feet. By the 20th century the fathom was only really used for sounding measurements. During the 18th century three different lengths all known as fathoms were employed in the British navy. The fathom of the man-of-war was reckoned at six feet, the middling fathom used upon merchant ships at five and a half feet and the small fathom used on fishing boats was five feet.
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In geography, a fault is a break in the earth's crust along which movement has taken place - usually, but not always, vertically - so that the layers (strata) of the two rock faces no longer match. It is often along a fault that earthquakes occur.
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The Feast of Circumcision was a Roman Catholic festival celebrated on January the 1st in honour of the circumcision of Christ, and in opposition to the pagan feast of Janus held on the same day. Whereas the pagan festival was celebrated with feasting, the Christian festival was celebrated with fasting.
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The Feast of Fools was a mediaeval Christian celebration and merry-making.
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The feast of tabernacles was one of the three principal festivals of the ancient Jews, lasting for seven days in October and celebrating the completion of the harvest. Originally during the feast worshippers dwelt in booths formed of the boughs of trees in allusion to those used by agricultural labourers. The feast of tabernacles is traditionally an occasion of popular merry-making.
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February (named from the Italian Februus) is the second month of the year, in which were celebrated Februa, feasts on behalf of the manes of deceased persons.
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In America, the Federal Party was the first political party which had control of the Federal Government. When the Constitution of 1787 was before the people for ratification, those who favoured its adoption took the name of Federalists, giving to its opponents that of Anti-Federalists. In the First Congress, definite party divisions were not found. Before the second had ended, there was a definite division between Federalists and those who called themselves Republicans or Democrats. Hamilton was the leader of the former, Jefferson of the latter. Hamilton's financial measures had been acceptable to those who desired strong government, the commercial classes, those who wished to see the Union drawn still more closely together, still further in the direction of centralization and national consolidation. Their opponents stigmatised them as monarchists. Beside Hamilton and Vice-President John Adams, the party's chief leaders were Fisher Ames, Cabot, Sedgwick, Strong, Pickering and Quincy, of Massachusetts; Ellsworth, Tracy, Griswold and Hillhouse, of Connecticut; Rufus King, Jay and Gouverneur Morris, of New York; Dayton, of New Jersey; Bayard, of Delaware; Marshall, Henry Lee, of Virginia, and C. C. Pinckney, of South Carolina. George Washington was more inclined to this party than to the other.
The Federal Party's strength was always greatest in New England. When war broke out between England and France in 1793, the Federalists, conservative and averse to the French Revolution, favoured Great Britain. In 1796 they elected John Adams President, but failed to elect Thomas Pinckney Vice-President. In 1797 they tried to bring the country into war with France, but Adams, never so extreme as the bulk of the party, prevented this; the result was a schism in the party. In 1798 the party passed the Alien and Sedition laws, which forever destroyed their popularity. In the election of 1800 Adams and Pinckney were decisively defeated by Jefferson and Burr; the causes were, the acts mentioned, internal dissensions, and the indifference of intellectual and acute leaders to popular feelings. During the administrations of Jefferson and Madison the party dwindled. As an opposition party, it took strict-constructionist ground. Some of its leaders engaged in projects for a disruption of the Union. Finally, its unpatriotic course in the War of 1812 and the odium excited by the Hartford Convention destroyed it utterly. Holding the Government during the critical years 1789-1801, it had given it strength, but it distrusted the people top much for permanent success in America.
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A Federal State is a perpetual union of several sovereign States, which has organs of its own and is invested with powers over the member-States and their citizens. This direct power over the citizens of its member- States distinguishes a federate-State from a confederation.
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The Federalist was a collection of papers first published in the Independent Journal of New York City, by Hamilton, Madison and Jay, from October, 1787, until March, 1788. They were eighty-five in number and appeared under a joint signature, A Citizen of New York at first, and afterwards Publius. The first of these essays appeared immediately after the adoption of the American Constitution. They were in explanation and defence of the new system of government. Gouverneur Morris was also invited to take part, but was prevented by private business. Jay wrote five, Hamilton fifty-one, Madison twenty-six and their joint effort contributed three, by the most probable conclusions. These papers did much toward securing the ratification of the American Constitution, and form one of the most important commentaries on the American Constitution.
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A federation is a union of States in which the participants retain autonomy in local matters, while a Central Government determines questions of common interest.
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Feet is the plural of foot.
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Felching is the sex act of sucking semen out of a partner's vagina or anus.
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Fellatio is the sex act of stimulating the penis with the mouth and tongue.
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Felo-de-se is Latin for a felon with regard to himself, and is an old term describing someone who commits suicide. Until 1823 it was the practice in England to bury suicides at a cross-roads with a stake driven through the body, but a statute of that year directed burial in a churchyard or burial- ground, without religious service, between the hours of 9pm and midnight. In 1882 both these restrictions were removed.
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Felt is a fabric which is not woven, but made of fibres, usually wool, which when subjected to beating and vibration grip one another in the form of layers.
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Fence month is the thirty days extending from fifteen days before Midsummer until fifteen days after it. Fence month is the close-season when deer hunting is not allowed in Britain.
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A feretory was a bier or shrine containing the relics of saints borne in processions, which was usually done on their feast-days, as a token of gratitude in times of public rejoicing, or to obtain some favour in seasons of calamity. A
feretory is a type of coffin, but the form is usually that of a ridged chest, with a roof-like top, generally ornamented with pierced work, with the sides and top engraved and enamelled, and sometimes having images in high relief. They were made of precious metals - typically gold, wood, or ivory.
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In March 1542, George Ferrar, a member of parliament, while in attendance on the house was taken in execution by a sheriff's officer for debt, and committed to the Compter prison. The house despatched their sergeant to require his release, which was resisted, and an affray taking place, his mace was broken. The house in a body repaired to the lords to complain, when the contempt was adjudged to be very great, and the punishment of the offenders was referred to the lower house. On another messenger being sent to the sheriff's by the commons, they delivered up the senator, and the civil magistrates and the creditor were committed to the Tower, the inferior officers to Newgate, and an act was passed releasing Ferrar from liability for the debt. The king, Henry VIII, approved of these proceedings and the transaction became the basis of the rule of parliament which exempts members from arrest.
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A Ferris wheel is an amusement park ride consisting of a large upright wheel rotating on a fixed stand and having suspended around its rim chairs, or capsules in which riders sit. These chairs or capsules are freely suspended so that they remain upright as the wheel rotates. The Ferris wheel was named after the 19th century American engineer G W G Ferris. The largest Ferris wheel is the London Eye on London's embankment which was erected for the millennium celebrations.
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The Fescennine Verses were ancient indigenous Roman songs, composed extempore, and recited at rustic merry- makings, particularly weddings. They were generally playfully abusive or licentious.
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A fetter-lock is an apparatus fixed on the leg of a horse when turned out to grass, to prevent him from running away or straying.
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In old manuscripts one may encounter 'ff' which was a corrupt way of making a capital F in Old English.
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The fiacre was a French, small four-wheeled horse-drawn carriage, usually with a folding roof invented by Sauvage in 1640 and named after the Hotel de St Fiacre, Paris, where these hackney-carriages were first hired out.
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Fianna Fail (warriors of Ireland) is an Irish political party. It was founded by de Valera in 1926 as a republican party.
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Fidei defensor (Latin meaning defender of the faith) is a title of British monarchs first conferred by Leo X on Henry VIII for his book Assertio septem Sacramentorum, published in 1521 which attacks the doctrines of Luther. At the dissolution of the monasteries the Pope stripped Henry VIII of the title, but Parliament confirmed it in 1544 and it has been used by all British monarchs subsequently, being indicated on British coins as FID. DEF.
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Under a treaty between America and Spain of 1819, parallel 42 degrees was fixed as the northern limit of Spain's possessions in America. Between 42 and 54 degrees 40 minutes lay the special 'Oregon country', claimed by both England and the United States. English fur-traders had passed to the south of parallel 49 degrees, below which surveys had been made by the United States, and where settlements were being- slowly made. In 1844 the hot-headed among the Democrats started the cry, Fifty-four forty or fight, referring to 54 degrees 4o minutes, for which limit they wished to resort to war. For a time war seemed inevitable, but in 1846 a treaty was concluded fixing the boundary between the British and United States possessions at 49 degrees north latitude.
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Figaro is a character of dramatic fiction. He made his first appearance in Beaumarchais's plays The ' Barber of Seville' written in 1775, 'The Marriage of Figaro' written in 1784, and 'The Other Tartuffe' written in 1792. Since Beaumarchais's time Figaro has become the type of ingenious roguery, intrigue, and cunning, who displays the utmost sang-froid in all his daring deceptions. He appears conspicuously in Mozart's opera 'The Marriage de
Figaro' written in 1786 and Rossini's 'The Barber of Seville' written in 1816, both operas being based on the plays of the same names.
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Filigree is fine ornamental work of gold or silver wire, closely interlaced. The ancient Greeks were famous for their fine filigree work. Malta produced so much filigree work that it became known as Maltese work, though other countries (notably Norway) produced far superior examples.
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Find the lady is an ancient and classic confidence trick or scam. Typically the conman will operate on a street corner with a table on which are three playing cards. These cards are shown to the audience to be three different and ordinary cards, one of which is a queen. The cards are dealt face down in a row and a victim asked to select which is the queen. Then the cards are slid to different positions and the victim again asked to locate the queen, this continues until the performer believes the victim is ready to be tricked. Finally the victim is invited to place a wager on their ability to locate the queen. The cards are slid about as before to change their sequence, but the queen is not where expected. The performer, an expert card sharp, has used sleight of hand to trick the victim. Often an accomplice will pretend to be a member of the audience, and will 'win' the wager, thereby enticing gullible members of the audience to try. In variations, a victim may be allowed to win a small wager, and perhaps
another, before being and invited to try a large wager, at which point flushed with their own perceived success at the 'game' they lose.
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Fine Gael is an Irish political party. It formed in 1921 from Sinn Fein and was originally known as Cummann na nGaedheal until it changed its name in 1933. It formed the first government of the Irish Free State.
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Finger-prints have been used in ceremonies since early times, but in police investigations their use dates back to 1897 when the Indian government sanctioned their use. Sir William Herschel of the Indian civil service, first introduced the practice when he was in executive charge of the Hugli district, Bengal. he found that impersonation was prevalent in all the courts, and with a view to checking the frauds that were committed, he insisted upon the executants of documents which were admitted to registration affixing their finger impressions in the Register of Admissions as evidence of personal identity. The use of fingerprints in Britain was sanctioned in 1901.
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A fiord is a long, narrow inlet of the sea, with steep sides, scooped out in ages past by glaciers. A fiord is usually very deep, becoming shallower towards its mouth.
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Around 1708 an Act was passed in England for the better protection of property and life from fire making it compulsory for every parish in England to maintain fire-engines and ladders, to be paid for out of the rates. The 1708 Act did not, however, provide any instructions for the use of the equipment, which subsequently was unmanned in the event of fires and so the fire insurance companies established brigades of fire-fighters. These private brigades, paid for by individual companies, often refused to fight fires at uninsured properties or at properties insured by other fire insurance companies.
In 1833, in response to the neglect of the fire-fighting equipment, the London
fire brigades were amalgamated into the London Fire-engine establishment by Charles Bell Ford director of the Sun Fire-office company. This new brigade had 80 men and 19 fire stations. In 1862 a commission recommended the establishment of a fire brigade and this was effected by the Metropolitan Fire-Brigade Act of 1865, resulting in the private London fire-brigade being taken over by the Metropolitan Board of Works. At the same time, while a few major cities in England and Scotland had paid fire-brigades, other towns in Britain had volunteer forces. Within 30 years national fire-brigades had been established with 400 brigades nationwide employing over 30,000 firemen.
At the end of the 19th century the London Fire-Brigade was manned by 800 seamen and equipped with fire-engines, both land based and water-based 'fire-floats' manufactured by the Merryweather company which had been making fire-fighting engines since 1694. In 1889 an Act allowed London's fire-fighters to be recruited from all walks of life, not just sailors.
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The Great Fire of London occurred in 1666, starting in a baker's house in Pudding Lane and burning for four days. It was attributed to be a Catholic plot intended to destroy the Protestant city of London (an early act of terrorism). The fire destroyed 88 churches, the city gates, the Royal Exchange, the Custom House, the Guildhall, Sion College, other public buildings, 13,200 houses and destroyed 400 streets. 200,000 people were made homeless and camped in Islington and Highgate fields, but only eight people were killed by the fire. A monument to the fire (the Monument of London) was erected designed by Sir Christopher Wren in 1671 - 1677.
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Fire-drill is the name given by Tylor to the instrument used by Aboriginal peoples around the world, particularly the Australians and Tasmanians, for producing fire. It consists of two pieces of soft dry wood; one a stick about 20 cm long, the other piece flat. The stick is shaped into an obtuse point at one end, and, pressing it upon the flat piece of wood, it is caused to revolve quickly between the hands. The resulting friction causes fire to be produced within two minutes.
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The firkin was a British measure equal to 56 lbs for butter and 64 lbs for soap, 100 lbs of beef, 100 lbs of pork and nine gallons of beer.
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The firlot was an old Scottish measure of capacity containing a quarter of a boll, being 2214 cubic inches of wheat and 3232 cubic inches of barley.
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The First International was an international workers' association founded in 1864 by Karl Marx to promote the joint political action of the working classes in all countries. It was dissolved in 1876.
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Formerly in Britain first-class hard labour was a prison sentence in which the prisoner slept on a plank bed without a mattress and spent between six and eight hours a day turning a hard crank of treading a wheel.
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Firth is the Scottish name for a narrow arm of the sea, usually the outlet of a river. The English equivalent, frifth is a result of simple translation.
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Properly, a fiscus is a wicker basket or pannier. However, from the Roman custom of carrying money in such receptacles the word came to mean a money- chest, and, after establishment of the empire, the treasury of the emperor as distinct from that of the state which was called aerarium.
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A fish kettle is a large oval-shaped saucepan, usually fitted with a perforated tray with handles, and used for cooking fish.
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In the USA, the fisheries question was a dispute over fishing between the inhabitants of America and Canada.
Previous to the American War of Independence, fishermen of the American colonies had free access to the fishing-grounds of Labrador, Newfoundland and the Gulf of St Lawrence. Subsequently to the war this privilege was protested against by the inhabitants of Canada. The question was long debated. Finally a compromise was effected in the Treaty of Paris on September the 3rd, 1783. United States fishermen were allowed access to the fishing grounds of Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Labrador, the St Lawrence and the Magdalen Islands, on an equal footing with British fishermen, in such parts as were unsettled or where permission could be obtained from the settlers.
The War of 1812 did away with this treaty, the fishery right was denied the United States and Canadian Governors were instructed to exclude American fishermen. A commission of the two countries decided in 1818 that the United States should forever have the right to fish on the western and northern coast of Newfoundland and the Magdalens only. Reciprocal trade being established between the United States and Canada by the Treaty of 1847, fishing was allowed the former in all British colonies except Newfoundland, which refused consent. This treaty was terminated in 1866 by the United States and the conditions of 1818 were revived.
By the Treaty of Washington in 1871, the United States fishermen were allowed to take fish of any description, except shell-fish, in all Canadian waters, the British fishermen to have the same privileges in United States waters north of latitude 39 degrees north.
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Fisting is the sex act of inserting the hand or fist into the anus or vagina.
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Fitz is a Norman prefix indicating 'son', as Fitzgerald, son of Gerald.
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The five mile act, passed in the reign of Elizabeth I, prohibited Roman Catholics convicted of not attending the established church from going more than five miles from their usual place of abode. Another act of the same name passed by Charles II in 1665, prohibited nonconformist preachers and teachers who refused to take the oath of non-resistance, from coming within five miles of any city, town or borough corporate returning members to Parliament, or of any place where they had preached since the Act of Oblivion. This act was appealed by William III in 1689.
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A fjord is a long, narrow inlet resulting from the subsidence of a mountainous coast and the subsequent flooding of the valleys.
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In its most popular usage, a flag is a piece of bunting, usually but not always, square or rectangular in shape, attached to a pole and used as a standard, ensign or signal for display or decoration. Formerly in Britain, a black flag was raised outside prisons to announce the execution of a prisoner. Traditionally in Britain, when in mourning flags are lowered to halfway down the pole and 'flown at half mast'.
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Flagellation is a beating, usually with twigs or a whip. It may be employed as a penal punishment for criminals, as a means of correction for children, or as a sexual activity of the sado-masochism family.
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A flail is two pieces of wood joined by a leather thong or short metal chain and used for threshing. One piece of wood is held and the other then swung.
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The Flaminian Way was the great road from Rome to Arimium in Umbria, made under the direction of Flaminius in 221 BC.
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Flanagan and Allen were the stage name of the comedy duo Bud Flanagan and Chesney Allen.
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Fleet marriages were clandestine marriages at one time performed without banns or licence by needy chaplains, in Fleet Prison, London. As many as thirty marriages a day were sometimes celebrated, and between November 1704 and February 1705 2954 such marriages were registered. The practice was superseded by the Marriage Act of 1754.
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Fleet Prison was a famous London Prison which stood in Farringdon Street, on what was called Fleet Market, from the River Fleet which flowed into the Thames. Its keeper was called the Warden of the Fleet. As far back as the 12th century the Fleet served as a Royal Prison. In the reigns of Mary and Elizabeth I it was used for religious martyrs and the political victims of the Star Chambers. In 1641 it became a place of confinement for debtors and persons committed for contempt of court, and rapidly acquired a notoriety for every kind of brutality and extortion. It was destroyed and rebuilt several times before being finally abolished in 1842.
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The Flesch Reading Ease is a percentage scale of 'readability' for text documents based upon the Gunning Fog Index, and also taking into consideration the proportion of passive and active verbs. The Flesch Reading Ease rates documents from 0 to 100%, the higher the percentage being the easier to read.
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The Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level is a readability grade for documents. It computes readability based on the average number of syllables per word and the average number of words per sentence. This readability score relates to the American school-grade at which most readers could understand the document.
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Fletcher versus Peck was an American breach of covenant case brought before the Supreme Court in 1809 and 1810, by writ of error from the Circuit Court of Massachusetts. Peck had sold to Fletcher certain lands in the State of Georgia, which had been purchased from the State. The breach assigned was that the Legislature of Georgia had no authority to dispose of the lands. Peck had averred that the title was good and that by the Act of the Georgia Legislature of January the 7th, 1795, the State was empowered to dispose of unappropriated lands. But in 1796 this act was repealed. The Supreme Court decided that the grant of land by the State was a contract, and that the Act of 1796, impairing the obligation of this contract of 1795, was therefore unconstitutional and void.
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The Flight to Varennes was the unsuccessful attempt by Louis XVI to escape from France and join the exiled royalists in June 1791. He had been prevented from leaving Paris in April 1791, and elaborate plans for an escape were made. On the night of the 20th of June the royal party, disguised and with forged passports, left Paris. However, they were recognised by a postmaster, pursued, and stopped at Varennes. The fugitives were returned and became virtual prisoners in the Tuileries.
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Fodder is all manner of foods given to horses, cattle, and other animals. It includes grass or any plant eaten green, or the same dried for convenience or for use in winter, and grain, beans, peas etc. or artificial products made from any nutritional material.
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A fog index is a readability scale for written work. There are various methods of measuring the readability of a text, one popular method is the 'Gunning
Fog Index' which simply requires calculation of the average number of words per sentence, added together with the percentage of 'hard' words - those are words not generally understood by teenage school children or those words of three syllables or more (some interpretations claim two or more syllables), multiplied by 0.4: e.g.: ((Total words / number of sentences) + (hard words / total words * 100)) * 0.4. The lower the score, the easier the text is to understand, with television guides scoring about six and broadsheet newspapers, Time magazine and the like scoring about eleven.
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In geography, a fohn is a hot, dry, local Alpine wind produced by the desiccation of an air current in passing over the mountain ranges and its subsequent heating by compression on being drawn into the denser valley atmosphere.
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A Fohn wind is a warm, dry wind blowing down the sides of mountains facing away from the prevailing wind. It is best known in the valleys of the northern Alps. Other fohn winds are the Chinook (the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains, Canada and the USA); the Nor'Wester (New Zealand) and the Samoon (Iran).
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Folc-right was the common law of England in pre-Norman days. It was administered in the hundred court and the folc-moot.
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Folio is a sheet of paper folded once to make two leaves of a book or manuscript, and hence the term is given to paper of a large size used for this purpose.
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Follower was an old British term for a boyfriend or a male suitor. The term was particularly applied to the suitors of servants.
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A font is a vessel, generally of stone, used in the Christian Church for holding the water for the sacrament of Holy Baptism.
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The Food Council was a body formed in 1925 on the advice of a Royal Commission to investigate charges of food profiteering and to take action in such cases. It had few powers, and the natural fall in prices soon made it unnecessary, however the Food Council did sponsor the Weights and Measures Act of 1926.
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Foolscap is a regular paper size of 13.5 by 16.5 inches, so called because it was originally water- marked with a fool's head and cap during the 13th to the 17th centuries. Brewer maintains that the name is an erroneous corruption of the Italian foglio-capo meaning a folio-sized sheet, but concedes that the error must be very ancient as evidenced by the watermark present during the 13th century.
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The foot is a unit of the imperial scale of measurement of length equivalent to 12 inches or 30.48 centimetres.
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A footman was a domestic servant. During the 18th century, pompous and grand-looking footmen strutting through the streets of London caused some degree of resentment among the ordinary population who termed them 'fart catchers', and dismissed them as little more than fashion accessories showing off the wealth of their employers. However, Mrs Beeton helpfully describes the duties of the footman to those starting a household in 1860 as:
Where a single footman, or odd man, is the only male servant, then, whatever his ostensible position, he is required to make himself generally useful. He has to clean the knives and shoes, the furniture, the plate [silver plated metal objects]; answer the visitors who call, the drawing-room and parlour bells; and do all the errands. His life is no sinecure; and a methodical arrangement of his time will be necessary, in order to perform his many duties with any satisfaction to himself or his master.
The footman is expected to rise early, in order to get through all his dirty work before the family are stirring. Boots and shoes, and knives and forks, should be cleaned, lamps in use trimmed, his master's clothes brushed, the furniture rubbed over; so that he may put aside his working dress, tidy himself, and appear in a clean jacket, to lay the cloth and prepare breakfast for the family... He lays the cloth on the table; over it the breakfast-cloth, and sets the breakfast things in order, and then proceeds to wait upon his master, if he has any of the duties of a valet to perform.
Where a valet is not kept, a portion of his duties falls to the footman's share - brushing the clothes among others. If the footman is required to perform any part of a valet's duties, he will have to see that the housemaid lights a fire in the dressing-room in due time; that the room is dusted and cleaned; that the washhand-ewer is filled with soft water; and that the bath whether hot or cold, is ready when required; that towels are at hand; that hairbrushes and combs are properly cleansed and in their places; that hot water is ready at the hour ordered; the dressing-gown and slippers in their place, the clean linen aired, and the clothes to be worn for the day in their proper places. After the master has dressed, it will be the footman's duty to restore everything to its place properly cleansed and dry, and the whole restored to order.
At breakfast, when there is no butler, the footman carries up the tea-urn, and, assisted by the housemaid, he waits during breakfast. Breakfast over, he removes the tray and other things off the table, folds up the breakfast-cloth, and sets the room in order, by sweeping up all crumbs, shaking the cloth, and laying it on the table again, making up the fire, and sweeping up the hearth.
At luncheon-time nearly the same routine is observed, except where the footman is either out with the carriage or away on other business, when, in the absence of any butler, the housemaid must assist.
For dinner, the footman lays the cloth, taking care that the table is not too near the fire, if there is one, and that passage-room is left. A table-cloth should be laid without a wrinkle; and this requires two persons; over this the slips are laid, which are usually removed preparatory to placing dessert on the table. He prepares knives, forks, and glasses, with five or six plates for each person. This done, he places chairs enough for the party, distributing them equally on each side of the table, and opposite to each a napkin neatly folded within it a piece of bread or small roll, and a knife on the right side of each plate, a fork on the left, and a carving-knife and fork at the top and bottom of the table, outside the others, with the rests opposite to them, and a gravy-spoon beside the knife. The fish-slice should be at the top, where the lady of the house with the assistance of the gentleman next to her, divides the fish, and the soup-ladle at the bottom: it is sometimes usual to add a desert-knife and fork; at the same time , on the right side also of each plate, put a wine-glass for as many kinds of wine as it is intended to hand round, and a finger-glass or glass-cooler about four inches [nine centimetres] from the edge. The latter are frequently put on the table with the dessert.
About half an hour before dinner, he rings the dinner-bell, where that is the practice, and occupies himself with carrying up everything he is likely to require. At the expiration of the time, having communicated with the cook, he rings the real dinner-bell, and proceeds to take it up with such assistance as he can obtain. Having ascertained that all is in order, that his own dress is clean and presentable, and his white cotton gloves are without a stain, he announces in the drawing-room that dinner is served, and stands respectfully by the door until the company are seated: he places himself on the left, behind his master, who is to distribute the soup; where soup and fish are served together, his place will be at his mistress's left hand; but he must be on the alert to see that whoever is assisting him, whether male or female, are at their posts. If any of the guests has brought his own servant with him, his place is behind his master's chair, rendering such assistance to others as he can, while attending to his master's wants throughout the dinner, so that every guest has what he requires. This necessitates both activity and intelligence, and should be done without bustle, without asking any questions, except where it is the custom of the house to hand round dishes or wine, when it will be necessary to mention, in a quiet and unobtrusive manner, the dish or wine you present.
When required to go out with the carriage, it is the footman's duty to see that it has come to the door perfectly clean, and that the glasses and sashes, and linings are free from dust. In receiving messages at the carriage door, he should turn his ear to the speaker, so as to comprehend what is said, in order that he may give his directions to the coachman clearly. When the house he is to call at is reached, he should knock, and return to the carriage for orders. In closing the door upon the family, he should see that the handle is securely turned, and that no part of the ladies' dress is shut in.
It is the footman's duty to carry messages or letters for his master or mistress to their friends, to the post, or to the tradespeople; and nothing is more important than dispatch and exactness in doing so, although writing even the simplest message is now the ordinary and very proper practice.
In addition, footmen were also required to reserve seats in the family's box at the theatre, awaiting the arrival of the family. To lay out and wait at table for evening receptions and games of cards. To open and close doors behind visitors and to announce visitors upon directing them into the drawing room where the master or mistress awaited.
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The Ford Maverick is an American three and five-door model estate car produced since 1993 in a 2.4 litre petrol and 2.7 litre turbo diesel engine model offering 25 and 29 mpg respectively and a top speed of around 105 mph.
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A forelock is a wedge put through a hole in a bolt to keep the bolt in place.
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Forest is a term properly applied to an extensive woodland or to a large tract of mingland woodland and open uncultivated land. In English law, a forest was a territory privileged for game generally belonging to the sovereign and set aside for his recreation.
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Forestry is the business of growing, harvesting and marketing trees and of managing the associated wildlife and recreational resources.
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Formicophilia is the sexual arousal by ants.
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The Forth and Clyde Canal is a canal linking the seas of the eastern and western coasts of Scotland. It was started by John Smeaton in 1768 and opened in 1790.
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Fortis is a powerful explosive invented in Belgium in 1887 and intended for mining.
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The foss-way was one of the four principal highways made by the Romans in England. The foss-way ran from Cornwall to Lincoln and was so named on account of having a ditch (a foss) each side of it.
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Foundling hospitals were charitable institutions for the care of children abandoned by their parents. They were first founded to reduce instances of infanticide during the 7th and 8th centuries by church authorities and their numbers increased rapidly during the Middle Ages, especially in France.
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A fountain-pen is a refillable pen which carries its own supply of ink which runs to the writing point as required from a reservoir in the holder.
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The Four Years' Law was an American law passed by Congress in May, 1820, limiting the term of office of all persons employed in collecting the revenue to four years. The bill was hurried through with little debate and signed by President Monroe after a brief consideration. Its purpose was avowedly to bring revenue accounts for inspection each year and withhold reappointment for remissness. Its framers have been suspected of passing it in order to strengthen Crawford's chances for the Presidency. At all events, its passage much facilitated the growth of the spoils system. It included all postmasters.
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The 'Fourteenth Amendment' was the 14th amendment to the Constitution of the United States, made in 1868 it assured citizenship, personal liberties, and rights to the freed slaves. It guaranteed due process of law and equality under protection of the law. The amendment also made references to representation in Congress and the holding of public offices by Southerners who had been involved in the Civil War.
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The Fourth International was a body of Trotskyite organisations formed in 1938 in opposition to the Stalin- dominated Third International.
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Fowling is the pursuit of birds either by shooting or trapping them.
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Foxing is a term applied to brown spots that appear in old paper and are caused by moulds or by metal impurities left in the paper during its manufacture. Foxing is a common problem in old books, and may be repaired by an expert using an appropriate bleach. The particular bleach used being dependant upon the nature of the paper.
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A frail is a rush basket for packing figs and raisins, holding between 32 and 56 lbs of figs.
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John Francis, a youth, fired a pistol at queen Victoria as she was riding down Constitution-hill, in an open barouche, accompanied by Prince Albert in May 1842. The queen was uninjured. The palace having heard of the youth's plans, the queen had commanded that none of her ladies of court should attend her. Francis was condemned to death, but was transported for life. He was liberated on ticket-of-leave in 1867.
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Frangipani was a perfume invented by the Marquis Frangipani, Marechal des Armees of Louis XIII of France. It was a powder composed of every spice then known, with the addition of ground orris-root and musk. Later it was prepared from the flower of the West Indian red jasmine tree.
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The Frankfort Land Company was a company formed in 1686 of wealthy and distinguished persons of Germany and Holland. The members were chiefly Pietists, and they had intended going to Pennsylvania themselves, but gave up the idea, so the colonists were led by Francis Daniel Pastorius, a lawyer and scholar. They went to America in 1683, and began the foundation of Germantown the same year. Later the company was organized, and 25000 acres were purchased from William Penn.
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The Franking Privilege was a privilege in the USA formerly enjoyed by the President, Vice-President, the Cabinet officers, the members of Congress, the delegates from the Territories and a few others, of sending mail matter free. To each of the first four Presidents this privilege was voted for the remainder of his life, and it was voted to the widows of ex-Presidents. The privilege as regards individuals was abolished in February, 1873, but there was still a provision permitting packages and business letters to be sent free from the departments for some time after.
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Fraticide is the term for the murder of a brother.
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The term Free Lance was originally a soldier who fought as a mercenary for anyone who would pay him for his service. Now the term is applied to anyone who works for anyone who will pay them, but is not on the regular staff of any company, such as a writer for example.
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Free Libraries are libraries supported by municipalities, counties or charitable organisations etc. available to the public without charge. The first was established in Manchester in 1653.
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The Free Society of Traders were a Welsh colonisation company formed in 1682 to establish colonies in Pennsylvania. On March the 20th, 1682, William Penn sold to the company the Manor of Frank, with privileges of local self-government and later 20,000 acres of land.
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The Free Soil Party was an American political party which came into existence in 1848 and advocated non-extension of slavery in the newly acquired territory of the United States. It was composed of Abolitionists - formerly Democrats and Whigs, who had left their party conventions upon their failure to support that issue. Their first convention was held in 1848 when they polled a large popular vote, but secured no electoral count. Their second convention in 1852 was held at Pittsburgh and secured them less votes than before. In 1854 they opposed the Kansas-Nebraska bill, and in 1856 became absorbed in the newly-formed Republican party.
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Freebench was an English right of a woman during her widowhood to an interest, generally one-third, in her late husband's copyhold land. It was abolished in 1925.
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The Freedmen's Bureau was a bureau of the War Department of the United States Government, established by Act of March the 3rd 1865, to have general charge of the interests of the enfranchised blacks of the Southern States. It's title was 'bureau of refugees, freedmen and abandoned lands', and it was authorised to assign to the freedmen allotments of confiscated or abandoned lands given over to it by the President for such purposes. It was to continue one year. A bill continuing it for two years was vetoed by President Johnson in 1866, but was passed over the veto. The bureau's general work continued until 1869 and its educational work until 1870.
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Freedom of the Press is the right for a newspaper to publish what it likes without censorship by the government or other authorities. During British rule of the colonies this freedom was much restricted by the Star Chamber Press-censorship regulation of 1637, which was confirmed by Parliament in 1643.
In the original Constitution of the United States there was no provision regarding the freedom of the press, it being left to be regulated by the States in accordance with the established opinion of the people. But the first Congress passed an amendment to the Constitution securing the freedom of the press against the Federal Government. Previous to this the States had nearly all inserted in their constitutions clauses permitting freedom of speech and publication to every citizen. Citizens were of course held responsible for abuses of this liberty. In States, as New York and New Jersey, where no such provision was made in the original Constitution, the freedom of the press was considered as established under the common law, but provisions to that effect were embodied in later constitutions.
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Freemasonry are linked national organisations open to men and women over 21, united by the possession of a common code of morals and beliefs, and of certain traditional 'secrets'. Apart from requiring a belief in the ' Great Architect of the Universe' and acceptance of its moral code, English Freemasons maintain strict impartiality in politics and religion.
Freemasonry is descended from an operative guild of masons which existed in the 14th century, and by the 16th was admitting men unconnected with the building trade. The name ' freemason' may mean a full member of the guild, or one working in free-stone, i.e. a mason Of the highest class. Modern Freemasonry originated with the formation of the first Grand Lodge, or governing body, in 1717, and during the 18th century spread from Britain to America, the colonies, and Europe. In France and other European countries
Freemasonry assumed a political and anticlerical character; it has been condemned by the papacy, and in certain countries was suppressed by the State. Both in Britain and the USA the freemasons maintain hospitals and institutions for their sick or aged members, and schools for their orphans.
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French is a term used to denote someone or something from France.
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The Academie Francaise (French Academy) is a literary society concerned with maintaining the purity of the French language. It was founded by Richelieu in 1635 and membership is limited to 40 ' Immortals' at a time.
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The French Exhibition was held at Earl's Court, London from May to September 1890. The exhibition consisted mainly of objects which had been displayed at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1889, and included works of art, manufactured goods, books, panoramas of parts of Paris and a hippodrome. Perhaps the high point of the exhibition was a chariot drawn by three African lions which was driven around the arena.
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The French Revolution occurred in 1789 and overthrew the despotic Bourbon Monarchy, only to itself be overthrown by the Empire of Napoleon. In 1830 another revolution overthrew the again reigning monarchy, and again in 1848.
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Friday is the fifth or some say sixth day of the week, the name derives from the Saxon Frige-doeg, the day sacred to Freya. Friday having been the day of the Crucifixion, the Roman Catholic church holds Friday as the weekly fast day. Friday being the day of Adam's creation, the Islam religion holds
Friday as the weekly day of prayer.
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Frith is the English name for a narrow arm of the sea, usually the outlet of a river. It is a result of the simple translation of the Scottish firth.
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A Frith Gild was a Saxon voluntary association of neighbours for purposes of order and self-defence. They repressed theft, traced stolen cattle and indemnified parties robbed from a common fund raised by subscription of the members.
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Frottage is the practice of rubbing oneself against, or touching, the clothed bodies of other people, usually in a crowd, for sexual gratification.
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The fugitive slave bill was passed by the American legislature in 1850. It imposed a fine of 1000 dollars and six months' imprisonment on any person harbouring fugitive slaves or aiding in their escape. The law was declared to be unconstitutional by the judges of the superior court in 1855 and was repealed in 1864.
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In all the American colonies provision was made by law for the arrest and return of fugitive slaves. The articles of confederation between the New England colonies in 1643 provided for mutual restoration between those colonies. Somersett's case prevented extradition from England. The Ordinance for the Northwest Territory provided for return of fugitives thence.
The Constitution of 1787 provided that no fugitive slave, fleeing into a free State, should therefore be free, but that he should be delivered up on claim by his owner. In 1793 Congress passed the first Fugitive Slave Act, providing that, on the owner's giving proof of ownership before a magistrate of the locality where the slave was found, the magistrate should order the slave delivered up to him, without trial by jury. Hindering arrest or harbouring a runaway slave was punishable by fine of five hundred dollars. The law was open to much abuse. Many free negroes in Northern States were kidnapped. Interference with captures and rescue of arrested negroes became more frequent as anti-slavery feeling increased in the North. In Prigg vs. Pennsylvania the Supreme Court held that the law must be carried out by Federal authorities alone; States or State authorities could not be forced to act (1842). Several States then forbade them to do so. The escape of slaves to Canada was extensive, and systematically aided by the Underground Railway.
In 1850, as a part of the compromise measures of that year, the Fugitive Slave Bill was passed providing for a stricter practice in the matter, through US commissioners appointed by the US courts. Proof of identity and two witnesses to the fact of escape were all that was required as evidence. The negro could not testify, nor have jury-trial. Upon this many Northern States passed 'Personal Liberty Laws' for the protection of negroes. Some of these conflicted with the Fugitive Slave Bill of 1850 and even with the Constitution. The Fugitive Slave Bill of 1850 aroused great feeling in the North, the 'Personal Liberty Laws' in the South. The question of fugitive slaves did much to bring on the American Civil War. The war and emancipation ended the whole matter, and the acts were declared to be unconstitutional by the judges of the superior court in 1855 and repealed in 1864.
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Fumage was a tax levied for having a fire. It was mentioned in the Domesday Book and abolished by William III.
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The Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina were an elaborate constitution for that colony, drawn up in 1667 for the proprietors by John Locke, the philosopher. It provided for a territorial aristocracy, the proprietors at the head and two orders of nobility, called landgraves and caciques, below them. These were to have entailed estates called seigniories and baronies. The proprietors were to be respectively palatine, chancellor, chief justice, constable, admiral, treasurer, high steward and chamberlain. There was to be a palatine's court, a grand council and a parliament. Property qualifications prevailed. Some religious liberty was granted. The whole scheme was unsuited to the needs of a pioneer colony, and never went into practical operation.
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The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut were the oldest truly political constitution in America, according to Bryce. They were framed in January, 1639, by the towns of Windsor, Hartford and Wethersfield, uniting to form 'one publike State or commonwealth'. The orders provided for two general representative assemblies each year, composed of delegates from each town, one for the election of Governor and magistrates, the other for the making of laws.
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Fur is the short, fine, soft hair covering of some animals, as distinct from the longer, coarser hairs covering other animals. The term fur is also applied to fabric imitating, or prepared from the dressed coat of various animals.
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In America, the fur-trade, especially that trade in beaver fur, was an important element in the economic life of all the colonies in the seventeenth century, and in the struggle between England and France for the possession of North America, also in all negotiations respecting the northwest boundary of the United States. As the trade receded farther and farther to the northwest, the Hudson Bay Company and the Northwest Company, established in 1783 by England, tried to monopolize it. In 1809 John Jacob Astor secured the incorporation of the American Fur Company. He founded Astoria in Oregon, and attempted to connect it with Mackinaw by a line of posts and consolidate the whole north-western fur-trade. After the War of 1812 he renewed his attempt. In 1816 the American Congress passed an act excluding foreign fur-traders.
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The furlong is a unit of the imperial scale of measurement of length equivalent to 10 chains, 220 yards or 201.168 metres. The name furlong derives from furrow-long, when it described the length of a furrow, and also the ancient acre, that is 40 perches.
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