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more about fine
fine |
10 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Fine \Fine\, adv 1. Finely; well elegantly; fully; delicately; mincingly. [Obs., Dial., or Colloq.] 2. (Billiards & Pool) In a manner so that the driven ball strikes the object ball so far to one side as to be deflected but little, the object ball being driven to one side From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Fine \Fine\ (f[imac]n), v. i. To become fine (in any one of various senses); as the ale will fine; the weather fined. {To fine} {away, down off}, gradually to become fine; to diminish; to dwindle. I watched her [the ship] . . . gradually fining down in the westward until I lost of her hull. --W. C. Russel. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Fine \Fine\, a. [Compar. {Finer}; superl. {Finest}.] [F. fin, LL finus fine, pure, fr L. finire to finish; cf finitus p. p., finished, completed (hence the sense accomplished, perfect.) See {Finish}, and cf {Finite}.] 1. Finished; brought to perfection; refined; hence free from impurity; excellent; superior; elegant; worthy of admiration; accomplished; beautiful. The gain thereof [is better] than fine gold. --Prov. iii. 14. A cup of wine that's brisk and fine. --Shak. Not only the finest gentleman of his time, but one of the finest scholars. --Felton. To soothe the sick bed of so fine a being [Keats]. --Leigh Hunt. 2. Aiming at show or effect; loaded with ornament; overdressed or overdecorated showy. He gratified them with occasional . . . fine writing. --M. Arnold. 3. Nice; delicate; subtle; exquisite; artful; skillful; dexterous. The spider's touch, how exquisitely fine! --Pope. The nicest and most delicate touches of satire consist in fine raillery. --Dryden. He has as fine a hand at picking a pocket as a woman. --T. Gray. 4. Not coarse, gross, or heavy; as: a Not gross; subtile; thin; tenous. The eye standeth in the finer medium and the object in the grosser. --Bacon. b Not coarse; comminuted; in small particles; as fine sand or flour. c Not thick or heavy; slender; filmy; as a fine thread. d Thin; attenuate; keen; as a fine edge. e Made of fine materials; light; delicate; as fine linen or silk. 5. Having such a proportion of pure metal in its composition; as coins nine tenths fine. 6. (Used ironically.) Ye have made a fine hand, fellows. --Shak. Note: Fine is often compounded with participles and adjectives, modifying them adverbially; a, fine-drawn, fine-featured, fine-grained, fine-spoken, fine-spun, etc {Fine arch} (Glass Making), the smaller fritting furnace of a glasshouse. --Knight. {Fine arts}. See the Note under {Art}. {Fine cut}, fine cut tobacco; a kind of chewing tobacco cut up into shreds. {Fine goods}, woven fabrics of fine texture and quality. --McElrath. {Fine stuff}, lime, or a mixture of lime, plaster, etc., used as material for the finishing coat in plastering. {To sail fine} (Naut.), to sail as close to the wind as possible. Syn: {Fine}, {Beautiful}. Usage: When used as a word of praise, fine (being opposed to coarse) denotes no ``ordinary thing of its kind.'' It is not as strong as beautiful, in reference to the single attribute implied in the latter term; but when we speak of a fine woman, we include a greater variety of particulars, viz., all the qualities which become a woman, -- breeding, sentiment, tact, etc The term is equally comprehensive when we speak of a fine garden, landscape, horse, poem, etc.; and though applied to a great variety of objects, the word has still a very definite sense denoting a high degree of characteristic excellence. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Fine \Fine\, v. t. [From {Fine}, n.] To impose a pecuniary penalty upon for an offense or breach of law; to set a fine on by judgment of a court; to punish by fine; to mulct; as the trespassers were fined ten dollars. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Fine \Fine\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Fined}; p. pr & vb n. {Fining}.] [From {Fine}, a.] 1. To make fine; to refine; to purify, to clarify; as to fine gold. It hath been fined and refined by . . . learned men. --Hobbes. 2. To make finer, or less coarse, as in bulk, texture, etc.; as to fine the soil. --L. H. Bailey. 3. To change by fine gradations; as (Naut.), to fine down a ship's lines, to diminish her lines gradually. I often sate at home On evenings, watching how they fined themselves With gradual conscience to a perfect night. --Browning. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Fine \Fine\, n. [OE. fin, L. finis end also in LL., a final agreement or concord between the lord and his vassal; a sum of money paid at the end so as to make an end of a transaction, suit, or prosecution; mulct; penalty; cf OF fin end settlement, F. fin end See {Finish}, and cf {Finance}.] 1. End conclusion; termination; extinction. [Obs.] ``To see their fatal fine.'' --Spenser. Is this the fine of his fines? --Shak. 2. A sum of money paid as the settlement of a claim, or by way of terminating a matter in dispute; especially, a payment of money imposed upon a party as a punishment for an offense; a mulct. 3. (Law) a (Feudal Law) A final agreement concerning lands or rents between persons, as the lord and his vassal. --Spelman. b (Eng. Law) A sum of money or price paid for obtaining a benefit, favor, or privilege, as for admission to a copyhold, or for obtaining or renewing a lease. {Fine for alienation} (Feudal Law), a sum of money paid to the lord by a tenant whenever he had occasion to make over his land to another. --Burrill. {Fine of lands}, a species of conveyance in the form of a fictitious suit compromised or terminated by the acknowledgment of the previous owner that such land was the right of the other party. --Burrill. See {Concord}, n., 4. {In fine}, in conclusion; by way of termination or summing up From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Fine \Fine\, v. i. To pay a fine. See {Fine}, n., 3 b . [R.] Men fined for the king's good will or that he would remit his anger; women fined for leave to marry. --Hallam. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Fine \Fine\, v. t. & i. [OF. finer, F. finir. See {Finish}, v. t.] To finish; to cease; or to cause to cease. [Obs.] From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: fine adj 1: superior to the average; "in fine spirits"; "a fine student"; "a fine summer day"; "made good grades"; "morale was good"; "had good weather for the parade" [syn: {good}] 2: superior in skill or ability or accomplishment; "a fine violinist"; "a fine athlete"; "a fine mind"; "the scupture showed the fine hand of a master"; "a fine performance" 3: (informal) being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition; "an all-right movie"; "the passengers were shaken up but are all right"; "is everything all right?"; "everything's fine"; "things are okay"; "dinner and the movies had been fine"; "nother minute I'd have been fine" [syn: {all right(p)}, {all-right(a)}, {ok}, {o.k.}, {okay}] 4: minutely precise especially in differences in meaning; "a fine distinction" 5: used ironically; "a fine mess"; "a pretty kettle of fish" [syn: {pretty}] 6: being in good health; "he's feeling all right again"; "I'm fine; how are you?" [syn: {all right}] 7: very thin in gauge or diameter; "fine hairs"; "a tenuous thread" [syn: {tenuous}] 8: characterized by elegance or refinement; "looking fine in her Easter suit"; "a fine gentleman" 9: of texture; being small-grained or smooth to the touch or having fine particles; "wood with a fine grain"; "fine powdery snow"; "fine rain"; "batiste is a cotton fabric with a fine weave"; "covered with a fine film of dust" [ant: {coarse}] 10: of delicate composition and artistry; "a dainty teacup"; "an exquisite cameo"; "fine china and crystal" [syn: {dainty}, {exquisite}] 11: of superior grade; "choice wines"; "fine wines" "prime beef"; "prize carnations"; "quality paper"; "select peaches" [syn: {choice}, {prime(a)}, {prize}, {quality}, {select}] 12: trained to the highest degree of physical excellence; "a fine racehorse" 13: (metallurgy) having a high or specified degree of purity; "gold 21 carats fine" [syn: {f.}] 14: (of weather) highly enjoyable; very pleasant; "a beautiful evening" [syn: {beautiful}] 15: very small "be sure to read the fine print" 16: able to make or detect effects of great subtlety; sensitive; "discerning taste"; "a fine eye for color" [syn: {discerning}] n 1: the act of imposing a fine [syn: {fining}] 2: money extracted as a penalty [syn: {mulct}, {amercement}] adv 1: sentence-initial expression of agreement [syn: {very well}, {alright}, {all right}, {OK}] 2: in a delicate manner; "finely shaped features"; "her fine drawn body" [syn: {finely}, {delicately}, {exquisitely}] 3: in an excellent and skilled manner; "the soldiers were fighting finely" [syn: {finely}] v 1: impose a fine on [syn: {mulct}] 2: issue a ticket or a fine to "I was fined for parking on the wrong side of the street"; "Move your car or else you will be ticketed!" [syn: {ticket}] From Jargon File (4.2.3, 23 NOV 2000) [jargon]: fine adj [WPI] Good, but not good enough to be {cuspy}. The word `fine' is used elsewhere, of course, but without the implicit comparison to the higher level implied by {cuspy}.
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