Fluff (?), n. [Cf. 2d Flue. √84.] Nap or down; flue; soft, downy
feathers.
Fluff"y (?), a. [Compar. Fluffier (?); superl. Fluffiest.] Pertaining
to, or resembling, fluff or nap; soft and downy. "The carpets were
fluffy." Thackeray.
The present Barnacle . . . had a youthful aspect, and the fluffiest
little whisker, perhaps, that ever was seen.
Dickens.
-- Fluff"i*ness, n.
||Fl¸"gel (?), n. [G., a wing.] (Mus.) A grand piano or a harpsichord,
||both being wing- shaped.
Flu"gel*man (?), n. [G. fl¸gelman.] (Mil.) Same as Fugleman.
Flu"id (fld), a. [L. fluidus, fr. fluere to flow: cf. F. fluide. See
Fluent.] Having particles which easily move and change their relative
position without a separation of the mass, and which easily yield to
pressure; capable of flowing; liquid or gaseous.
Flu"id, n. A fluid substance; a body whose particles move easily among
themselves.
Fluid is a generic term, including liquids and gases as species. Water,
air, and steam are fluids. By analogy, the term is sometimes applied to
electricity and magnetism, as in phrases electric fluid, magnetic
fluid, though not strictly appropriate.
Fluid dram, or Fluid drachm, a measure of capacity equal to one eighth
of a fluid ounce. -- Fluid ounce. (a) In the United States, a measure
of capacity, in apothecaries' or wine measure, equal to one sixteenth
of a pint or 29.57 cubic centimeters. This, for water, is about 1.04158
ounces avoirdupois, or 455.6 grains. (b) In England, a measure of
capacity equal to the twentieth part of an imperial pint. For water,
this is the weight of the avoirdupois ounce, or 437.5 grains. -- Fluids
of the body. (Physiol.) The circulating blood and lymph, the chyle, the
gastric, pancreatic, and intestinal juices, the saliva, bile, urine,
aqueous humor, and muscle serum are the more important fluids of the
body. The tissues themselves contain a large amount of combined water,
so much, that an entire human body dried in vacuo with a very moderate
degree of heat gives about 66 per cent of water. -- Burning fluid,
Elastic fluid, Electric fluid, Magnetic fluid, etc. See under Burning,
Elastic, etc.
Flu"id*al (?), a. Pertaining to a fluid, or to its flowing motion.
Fluidal structure (Geol.), the structure characteristic of certain
volcanic rocks in which the arrangement of the minute crystals shows
the lines of flow of thew molten material before solidification; --
also called fluxion structure.
Flu*id"i*ty (?), n. [Cf. F. fluiditÈ.] The quality of being fluid or
capable of flowing; a liquid, aÎriform, or gaseous state; -- opposed to
solidity.
It was this want of organization, this looseness and fluidity of
the new movement, that made it penetrate through every class of
society.
J. R. Green.
Flu"id*ize (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Fluidized (?); p. pr. & vb. n.
Fluidizing.] To render fluid.
Flu"id*ness, n. The state of being fluid; fluidity.
Flu"id*ounce`, n. See Fluid ounce, under Fluid.
Flu"i*drachm` (?), n. See Fluid dram, under Fluid. Pharm. of the U. S.
Flu"kan (?), n. (Mining) Flucan.
Fluke (flk), n. [Cf. AS. flc a kind of flatfish, Icel. flki a kind of
halibut.] 1. (Zoˆl.) The European flounder. See Flounder. [Written also
fleuk, flook, and flowk]. [1913 Webster]
2. (Zoˆl.) A parasitic trematode worm of several species, having a
flat, lanceolate body and two suckers. Two species (Fasciola hepatica
and Distoma lanceolatum) are found in the livers of sheep, and produce
the disease called rot. [1913 Webster]
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Fluke (flk), n. [Cf. LG. flunk, flunka wing, the palm of an anchor;
perh. akin to E. fly.] 1. The part of an anchor which fastens in the
ground; a flook. See Anchor.
2. (Zoˆl.) One of the lobes of a whale's tail, so called from the
resemblance to the fluke of an anchor.