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finer |
4 definitions found 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]: Finer \Fin"er\, n. One who fines or purifies. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: finer adj : (comparative of `fine') greater in quality or excellence; "a finer wine"; "a finer musician" From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]: Finer a worker in silver and gold (Prov. 25:4). In Judg. 17:4 the word tsoreph is rendered "founder," and in Isa. 41:7 "goldsmith."
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