v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Befitted; p. pr. & vb. n. Befitting. ] To be suitable to; to suit; to become. [ 1913 Webster ]

That name best befits thee. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Suitable; proper; becoming; fitting. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a befitting manner; suitably. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. benefet, benfeet, bienfet, F. bienfait, fr. L. benefactum; bene well (adv. of bonus good) + factum, p. p. of facere to do. See Bounty, and Fact. ] 1. An act of kindness; a favor conferred. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. Ps. ciii. 2. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Whatever promotes prosperity and personal happiness, or adds value to property; advantage; profit. [ 1913 Webster ]

Men have no right to what is not for their benefit. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A theatrical performance, a concert, or the like, the proceeds of which do not go to the lessee of the theater or to the company, but to some individual actor, or to some charitable use. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Beneficence; liberality. [ Obs. ] Webster (1623). [ 1913 Webster ]

5. pl. Natural advantages; endowments; accomplishments. [ R. ] “The benefits of your own country.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Benefit of clergy. (Law) See under Clergy. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Profit; service; use; avail. See Advantage. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Benefited; p. pr. & vb. n. Benefitting. ] To be beneficial to; to do good to; to advantage; to advance in health or prosperity; to be useful to; to profit. [ 1913 Webster ]

I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them. Jer. xviii. 10. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To gain advantage; to make improvement; to profit; as, he will benefit by the change. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who confers a benefit; -- also, one who receives a benefit. [ 1913 Webster ]

. A society or association formed for mutual insurance, as among tradesmen or in labor unions, to provide for relief in sickness, old age, and for the expenses of burial. Usually called friendly society in Great Britain. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. [ F. confit, prop. a p. p., fr. confire to preserve, pickle, fr. L. conficere to prepare; con- + facere to make. See Fact, and cf. Confect. ] A dry sweetmeat; any kind of fruit, root, or seed preserved with sugar and dried; a confection. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To preserve dry with sugar. [ 1913 Webster ]

The fruit which does so quickly waste, . . .
Thou comfitest in sweets to make it last. Cowley. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. confiture; cf. LL. confecturae sweetmeats, confectura a preparing. See Comfit, and cf. Confiture. ] See Comfit, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Same as Comfit. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. confitens, p. pr. ] One who confesses his sins and faults. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ L., I confess. See Confess. ] (R.C.Ch.) A form of prayer in which public confession of sins is made. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. See Confiture. ] Composition; preparation, as of a drug, or confection; a sweetmeat. [ Obs. ] “Confitures and pies.” Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Discomfited; p. pr. & vb. n. Discomfiting. ] [ OF. desconfit, p. p. of desconfire, F. déconfire; fr. L. dis- + conficere to make ready, prepare, bring about. See Comfit, Fact. ] 1. To scatter in fight; to put to rout; to defeat. [ 1913 Webster ]

And his proud foes discomfit in victorious field. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To break up and frustrate the plans of; to balk&unr_; to throw into perplexity and dejection; to disconcert. [ 1913 Webster ]

Well, go with me and be not so discomfited. Shak.

Syn. -- To defeat; overthrow; overpower; vanquish; conquer; baffle; frustrate; confound; discourage. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Discomfited; overthrown. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Rout; overthrow; discomfiture. [ 1913 Webster ]

Such a discomfit as shall quite despoil him. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. pl. people who are defeated.
Syn. -- defeated. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adj. 1. thwarted; -- used especially of feelings of defeat and discouragement.
Syn. -- baffled, balked, discouraged, frustrated, disconcerted. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. same as discombobulated.
Syn. -- discombobulated. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ OF. desconfiture, F. déconfiture. See Discomfort, v. t., and cf. Comfiture. ] The act of discomfiting, or the state of being discomfited; rout; overthrow; defeat; frustration; confusion and dejection. [ 1913 Webster ]

Every man's sword was against his fellow, and there was a very great discomfiture. 1 Sam. xiv. 20. [ 1913 Webster ]

A hope destined to end . . . in discomfiture and disgrace. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. & i. To be, or to cause to be, without profit or benefit. [ Obs. or Archaic ] Bale. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Loss; damage. Foxe. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Unprofitable. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

imp. & p. p. of Fight. [ Obs. or Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ AS. fitt a song. ] In Old English, a song; a strain; a canto or portion of a ballad; a passus. [ Written also fitte, fytte, etc. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

To play some pleasant fit. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Compar. Fitter superl. Fittest ] [ OE. fit, fyt; cf. E. feat neat, elegant, well made, or icel. fitja to web, knit, OD. vitten to suit, square, Goth. fētjan to adorn. √77. ] 1. Adapted to an end, object, or design; suitable by nature or by art; suited by character, qualities, circumstances, education, etc.; qualified; competent; worthy. [ 1913 Webster ]

That which ordinary men are fit for, I am qualified in. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Fit audience find, though few. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Prepared; ready. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

So fit to shoot, she singled forth among
her foes who first her quarry's strength should feel. Fairfax. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Conformed to a standart of duty, properiety, or taste; convenient; meet; becoming; proper. [ 1913 Webster ]

Is it fit to say a king, Thou art wicked? Job xxxiv. 18.

Syn. -- Suitable; proper; appropriate; meet; becoming; expedient; congruous; correspondent; apposite; apt; adapted; prepared; qualified; competent; adequate. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Fitted p. pr. & vb. n. Fitting ] 1. To make fit or suitable; to adapt to the purpose intended; to qualify; to put into a condition of readiness or preparation. [ 1913 Webster ]

The time is fitted for the duty. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

The very situation for which he was peculiarly fitted by nature. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To bring to a required form and size; to shape aright; to adapt to a model; to adjust; -- said especially of the work of a carpenter, machinist, tailor, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

The carpenter . . . marketh it out with a line; he fitteth it with planes. Is. xliv. 13. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To supply with something that is suitable or fit, or that is shaped and adjusted to the use required. [ 1913 Webster ]

No milliner can so fit his customers with gloves. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To be suitable to; to answer the requirements of; to be correctly shaped and adjusted to; as, if the coat fits you, put it on. [ 1913 Webster ]

That's a bountiful answer that fits all questions. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

That time best fits the work. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

To fit out, to supply with necessaries or means; to furnish; to equip; as, to fit out a privateer. --
To fit up, to furnish with things suitable; to make proper for the reception or use of any person; to prepare; as, to fit up a room for a guest. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To be proper or becoming. [ 1913 Webster ]

Nor fits it to prolong the feast. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To be adjusted to a particular shape or size; to suit; to be adapted; as, his coat fits very well. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The quality of being fit; adjustment; adaptedness; as of dress to the person of the wearer. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Mach.) (a) The coincidence of parts that come in contact. (b) The part of an object upon which anything fits tightly. [ 1913 Webster ]

Fit rod (Shipbuilding), a gauge rod used to try the depth of a bolt hole in order to determine the length of the bolt required. Knight. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ AS. fit strife, fight; of uncertain origin. √ 77. ] 1. A stroke or blow. [ Obs. or R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Curse on that cross, quoth then the Sarazin,
That keeps thy body from the bitter fit. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A sudden and violent attack of a disorder; a stroke of disease, as of epilepsy or apoplexy, which produces convulsions or unconsciousness; a convulsion; a paroxysm; hence, a period of exacerbation of a disease; in general, an attack of disease; as, a fit of sickness. [ 1913 Webster ]

And when the fit was on him, I did mark
How he did shake. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A mood of any kind which masters or possesses one for a time; a temporary, absorbing affection; a paroxysm; as, a fit of melancholy, of passion, or of laughter. [ 1913 Webster ]

All fits of pleasure we balanced by an equal degree of pain. Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

The English, however, were on this subject prone to fits of jealously. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A passing humor; a caprice; a sudden and unusual effort, activity, or motion, followed by relaxation or inaction; an impulsive and irregular action. [ 1913 Webster ]

The fits of the season. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. A darting point; a sudden emission. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

A tongue of light, a fit of flame. Coleridge. [ 1913 Webster ]

By fits,
By fits and starts, by intervals of action and repose; impulsively and irregularly; intermittently. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Fitches [ See Vetch. ] 1. (Bot.) A vetch. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. pl. (Bot.) A word found in the Authorized Version of the Bible, representing different Hebrew originals. In Isaiah xxviii. 25, 27, it means the black aromatic seeds of Nigella sativa, still used as a flavoring in the East. In Ezekiel iv. 9, the Revised Version now reads spelt. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Contr. of fitched. ] (Zool.) The European polecat; also, its fur. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. fiché, lit. p. p. of ficher to fasten, OF. fichier to pierce. Cf. 1st Fish. ] (Her.) Sharpened to a point; pointed. [ 1913 Webster ]

Cross fitché, a cross having the lower arm pointed. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (her.) Fitché. [ Also fiched. ]

{ , n. [ Cf. OF. fisseau, fissel, OD. fisse, visse, vitsche, D. vies nasty, loathsome, E. fizz. ] (Zool.) The European polecat (Putorius fœtidus). See Polecat. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Having fitches or vetches. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ See Fitché. ] (Her.) Fitché. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ From 7th Fit. ] Full of fits; irregularly variable; impulsive and unstable. [ 1913 Webster ]

After life's fitful fever, he sleeps well. Shak.

-- Fit"ful*ly, adv. -- Fit"ful*ness, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

The victorious trumpet peal
Dies fitfully away. Macaulay.

{ , n. [ OE. See Fiddle. ] A fiddle. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a fit manner; suitably; properly; conveniently; as, a maxim fitly applied. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act of fitting; that which is proper or becoming; equipment. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state or quality of being fit; as, the fitness of measures or laws; a person's fitness for office. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. See 2d Fit. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Suitable; fit. [ Obs. ] Sherwood. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state or quality of being fitted; adaptation. [ Obs. ] Dr. H. More. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. same as outfitted, 1.
Syn. -- outfitted. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. 1. One who fits or makes to fit; esp.: (a) One who tries on, and adjusts, articles of dress. (b) One who fits or adjusts the different parts of machinery to each other. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A coal broker who conducts the sales between the owner of a coal pit and the shipper. [ Eng. ] Simmonds. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A little piece; a flitter; a flinder. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Where's the Frenchman? Alas, he's all fitters. Beau. & Fl. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Anything used in fitting up; especially (pl.), necessary fixtures or apparatus; as, the fittings of a church or study; gas fittings. [ 1913 Webster ]