O serpent under femininitee.
Chaucer.
Fe*min"i*ty (?), n. Womanliness; femininity. [Obs.] "Trained up in true
feminity." Spenser.
Fem`i*ni*za"tion (?), n. The act of feminizing, or the state of being
feminized.
Fem"i*nize (?), v. t. [Cf. F. fÈminiser.] To make womanish or
effeminate. Dr. H. More.
Fem"i*nye (?), n. [OF. femenie, feminie, the female sex, realm of
women.] The people called Amazons. [Obs.] "[The reign of] feminye."
Chaucer.
||Femme (? or ?), n. [F.] A woman. See Feme, n.
Femme de chambre (?). [F.] A lady's maid; a chambermaid.
Fem"o*ral (?), a. [L. femur, femoris, thigh: cf. F. fÈmoral.]
Pertaining to the femur or thigh; as, the femoral artery. "Femoral
habiliments." Sir W. Scott.
||Fe"mur (f"mr), n.; pl. Femora (fm"*r). [L. thigh.] (Anat.) (a) The
||thigh bone. (b) The proximal segment of the hind limb containing the
||thigh bone; the thigh. See Coxa.
Fen (?), n. [AS. fen, fenn, marsh, mud, dirt; akin to D. veen, OFries.
fenne, fene, OHG. fenna, G. fenn, Icel. fen, Goth. fani mud.] Low land
overflowed, or covered wholly or partially with water, but producing
sedge, coarse grasses, or other aquatic plants; boggy land; moor;
marsh.
'Mid reedy fens wide spread.
Wordsworth.
Fen is used adjectively with the sense of belonging to, or of the
nature of, a fen or fens.
Fen boat, a boat of light draught used in marshes. -- Fen duck (Zoˆl.),
a wild duck inhabiting fens; the shoveler. [Prov. Eng.] -- Fen fowl
(Zoˆl.), any water fowl that frequent fens. -- Fen goose (Zoˆl.), the
graylag goose of Europe. [Prov. Eng.] -- Fen land, swamp land.
Fence (?), n. [Abbrev. from defence.] 1. That which fends off attack or
danger; a defense; a protection; a cover; security; shield.
Let us be backed with God and with the seas, Which he hath given
for fence impregnable.
Shak.
A fence betwixt us and the victor's wrath.
Addison.
2. An inclosure about a field or other space, or about any object;
especially, an inclosing structure of wood, iron, or other material,
intended to prevent intrusion from without or straying from within.
Leaps o'er the fence with ease into the fold.
Milton.
In England a hedge, ditch, or wall, as well as a structure of boards,
palings, or rails, is called a fence.
3. (Locks) A projection on the bolt, which passes through the tumbler
gates in locking and unlocking.
4. Self-defense by the use of the sword; the art and practice of
fencing and sword play; hence, skill in debate and repartee. See
Fencing.
Enjoy your dear wit, and gay rhetoric, That hath so well been
taught her dazzing fence.
Milton.
Of dauntless courage and consummate skill in fence.
Macaulay.
5. A receiver of stolen goods, or a place where they are received.
[Slang] Mayhew.
Fence month (Forest Law), the month in which female deer are fawning,
when hunting is prohibited. Bullokar. -- Fence roof, a covering for
defense. "They fitted their shields close to one another in manner of a
fence roof." Holland. -- Fence time, the breeding time of fish or game,
when they should not be killed. -- Rail fence, a fence made of rails,
sometimes supported by posts. -- Ring fence, a fence which encircles a
large area, or a whole estate, within one inclosure. -- Worm fence, a
zigzag fence composed of rails crossing one another at their ends; --
called also snake fence, or Virginia rail fence. -- To be on the fence,
to be undecided or uncommitted in respect to two opposing parties or
policies. [Colloq.]
<! p. 552 !>
Fence, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Fenced (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Fencing (?).]
1. To fend off danger from; to give security to; to protect; to guard.
To fence my ear against thy sorceries.
Milton.
2. To inclose with a fence or other protection; to secure by an
inclosure.
O thou wall! . . . dive in the earth, And fence not Athens.
Shak.
A sheepcote fenced about with olive trees.
Shak.
To fence the tables (Scot. Church), to make a solemn address to those
who present themselves to commune at the Lord's supper, on the feelings
appropriate to the service, in order to hinder, so far as possible,
those who are unworthy from approaching the table. McCheyne.
Fence (?), v. i. 1. To make a defense; to guard one's self of anything,
as against an attack; to give protection or security, as by a fence.
Vice is the more stubborn as well as the more dangerous evil, and
therefore, in the first place, to be fenced against.
Locke.
2. To practice the art of attack and defense with the sword or with the
foil, esp. with the smallsword, using the point only.
He will fence with his own shadow.
Shak.
3. Hence, to fight or dispute in the manner of fencers, that is, by
thrusting, guarding, parrying, etc.
They fence and push, and, pushing, loudly roar; Their dewlaps and
their sides are bat&?;ed in gore.
Dryden.
As when a billow, blown against, Falls back, the voice with which I
fenced A little ceased, but recommenced.
Tennyson.
Fence"ful (?), a. Affording defense; defensive. [Obs.] Congreve.
Fence"less, a. Without a fence; uninclosed; open; unguarded;
defenseless. Milton.
Fen"cer (?), n. One who fences; one who teaches or practices the art of
fencing with sword or foil.
As blunt as the fencer's foils.
Shak.
Fen"ci-ble (?), a. Capable of being defended, or of making or affording
defense. [Obs.]
No fort so fencible, nor walls so strong.
Spenser.
Fen"ci*ble, n. (Mil.) A soldier enlisted for home service only; --
usually in the pl.
Fen"cing (?), n. 1. The art or practice of attack and defense with the
sword, esp. with the smallsword. See Fence, v. i., 2.
2. Disputing or debating in a manner resembling the art of fencers.
Shak.