‖ [ L., to infinity. ] Without limit; endlessly. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. affinis. ] Related by marriage; from the same source. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ F. affiner to refine; &unr_; (L. ad) + fin fine. See Fine. ] To refine. [ Obs. ] Holland. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ OF. afiné related, p. p., fr. LL. affinare to join, fr. L. affinis neighboring, related to; ad + finis boundary, limit. ] Joined in affinity or by any tie. [ Obs. ] “All affined and kin.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of the nature of affinity. -- Af*fin"i*ta*tive*ly, adv. [1913 Webster]

a. Closely connected, as by affinity. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Affinities [ OF. afinité, F. affinité, L. affinites, fr. affinis. See Affined. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. Relationship by marriage (as between a husband and his wife's blood relations, or between a wife and her husband's blood relations); -- in contradistinction to consanguinity, or relationship by blood; -- followed by with, to, or between. [ 1913 Webster ]

Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh. 1 Kings iii. 1. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Kinship generally; close agreement; relation; conformity; resemblance; connection; as, the affinity of sounds, of colors, or of languages. [ 1913 Webster ]

There is a close affinity between imposture and credulity. Sir G. C. Lewis. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Companionship; acquaintance. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

About forty years past, I began a happy affinity with William Cranmer. Burton. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Chem.) That attraction which takes place, at an insensible distance, between the heterogeneous particles of bodies, and unites them to form chemical compounds; chemism; chemical or elective affinity or attraction. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Nat. Hist.) A relation between species or higher groups dependent on resemblance in the whole plan of structure, and indicating community of origin. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. (Spiritualism) A superior spiritual relationship or attraction held to exist sometimes between persons, esp. persons of the opposite sex; also, the man or woman who exerts such psychical or spiritual attraction. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. See Biffin. Wright. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. Beaufin. ] 1. A sort of apple peculiar to Norfolk, Eng. [ Sometimes called beaufin; but properly beefin (it is said), from its resemblance to raw beef. ] Wright. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A baked apple pressed down into a flat, round cake; a dried apple. Dickens. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) See Bluefin. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) A species of whitefish (Coregonus nigripinnis) found in Lake Michigan. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. a scientist or technician, especially one engaged in military research. [ British slang ] [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. (Zool.) A voracious ganoid fish (Amia calva) found in the fresh waters of the United States; the mudfish; -- called also Johnny Grindle, and dogfish. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. giving detailed instructions, as for a military operation. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. a detailed set of instructions before an operation, given to those who are to execute it. [ PJC ]

3. a summary report of an operation or event after it has occurred, by a participant or observer. [ PJC ]

n. [ So called from resembling buff &unr_;eather. ] A sort of coarse stuff; as, buffin gowns. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

See Buffer, 1. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) A bird of the genus Pyrrhula and other related genera, especially the Pyrrhula vulgaris or Pyrrhula rubicilla, a bird of Europe allied to the grosbeak, having the breast, cheeks, and neck, red. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ As a cage bird it is highly valued for its remarkable power of learning to whistle correctly various musical airs. [ 1913 Webster ]

Crimson-fronted bullfinch. (Zool.) See Burion. --
Pine bullfinch, the pine finch. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Apt to let things fall, or to let them slip away; not skillful in using the hands; slippery; careless.
Syn. -- bumbling, bungling, ham-fisted, ham-handed, handless, heavy-handed, left-handed. [ 1913 Webster + WordNet 1.5 ]

n. someone who drops things (especially one who cannot catch a ball); a person who is butter-fingered. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ Cf. Chiff-chaff. ] (Zool.) A bird of Europe (Fringilla cœlebs), having a variety of very sweet songs, and highly valued as a cage bird; -- called also copper finch. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The use of light, frivolous language by way of fun or ridicule; raillery; banter. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Chafe, v. t. ] The act of rubbing, or wearing by friction; making by rubbing. [ 1913 Webster ]

Chafing dish, a dish or vessel for cooking on the table, or for keeping food warm, either by coals, by a lamp, or by hot water; a portable grate for coals. --
Chafing gear (Naut.), any material used to protect sails, rigging, or the like, at points where they are exposed to friction. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being chuffy. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE., a basket, receptacle, OF. cofin, fr. L. cophinus. See Coffer, n. ] 1. The case in which a dead human body is inclosed for burial. [ 1913 Webster ]

They embalmed him [ Joseph ], and he was put in a coffin. Gen. 1. 26. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A basket. [ Obs. ] Wyclif (matt. xiv. 20). [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A casing or crust, or a mold, of pastry, as for a pie. [ 1913 Webster ]

Of the paste a coffin I will rear. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A conical paper bag, used by grocers. [ Obs. ] Nares. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Far.) The hollow crust or hoof of a horse's foot, below the coronet, in which is the coffin bone. [ 1913 Webster ]

Coffin bone, the foot bone of the horse and allied animals, inclosed within the hoof, and corresponding to the third phalanx of the middle finger, or toe, of most mammals. --
Coffin joint, the joint next above the coffin bone. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Coffined p. pr. & vb. n. Coffining. ] To inclose in, or as in, a coffin. [ 1913 Webster ]

Would'st thou have laughed, had I come coffined home? Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Devotion is not coffined in a cell. John Hall (1646). [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Having no coffin. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) A British wagtail. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ or , n. (Astron.) A telescope of low power, having a large field of view, used for finding comets. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Capable of being confined, restricted, or limited. [ 1913 Webster ]

Not confinable to any limits. Bp. Hall. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Confined p. pr. & vb. n. Confining. ] [ F. confiner to border upon, LL. confinare to set bounds to; con- + finis boundary, end. See Final, Finish. ] To restrain within limits; to restrict; to limit; to bound; to shut up; to inclose; to keep close. [ 1913 Webster ]

Now let not nature's hand
Keep the wild flood confined! let order die! Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

He is to confine himself to the compass of numbers and the slavery of rhyme. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

To be confined, to be in childbed.

Syn. -- To bound; limit; restrain; imprison; immure; inclose; circumscribe; restrict. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To have a common boundary; to border; to lie contiguous; to touch; -- followed by on or with. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Where your gloomy bounds
Confine with heaven. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bewixt heaven and earth and skies there stands a place.
Confining on all three. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. Common boundary; border; limit; -- used chiefly in the plural. [ 1913 Webster ]

Events that came to pass within the confines of Judea. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

And now in little space
The confines met of empyrean heaven,
And of this world. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

On the confines of the city and the Temple. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Apartment; place of restraint; prison. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Confines, wards, and dungeons. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

The extravagant and erring spirit hies
To his confine. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. having movement restricted to within a certain area; -- usually a building. Opposite of unconfined. [ Narrower terms: claustrophobic; close, confining; homebound, housebound, shut-in; in childbed(prenominal); pent, shut up(predicate); snowbound; weather-bound; stormbound, storm-bound ] [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. deprived of liberty; especially placed under arrest or restraint. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

3. having movement restricted to within an enclosed outdoor area; -- of animals.
Syn. -- fenced in, penned. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

4. (Med.) not invading healthy tissue. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

5. held prisoner.
Syn. -- captive, imprisoned, jailed. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

6. having movement or progress restricted to a certain area; as, an outbreak of the plague confined to one quarter of the city; wildfires confined to within the canyon. [ PJC ]

a. Without limitation or end; boundless. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. Restraint within limits; imprisonment; any restraint of liberty; seclusion. [ 1913 Webster ]

The mind hates restraint, and is apt to fancy itself under confinement when the sight is pent up. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Restraint within doors by sickness, esp. that caused by childbirth; lying-in. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who, or that which, limits or restrains. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who lives on confines, or near the border of a country; a borderer; a near neighbor. [ Obs. ] Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

Happy confiners you of other lands,
That shift your soil, and oft 'scape tyrants' hands. Daniel. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. confinité. ] Community of limits; contiguity. [ R. ] Bailey. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ From Define. ] Capable of being defined, limited, or explained; determinable; describable by definition; ascertainable; as, definable limits; definable distinctions or regulations; definable words. -- De*fin"a*bly, adv. [1913 Webster]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Defined p. pr. & vb. n. Defining. ] [ OE. definer, usually, to end, to finish, F. définir to define, L. definire to limit, define; de- + finire to limit, end, finis boundary, limit, end. See Final, Finish. ] 1. To fix the bounds of; to bring to a termination; to end. “To define controversies.” Barrow. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To determine or clearly exhibit the boundaries of; to mark the limits of; as, to define the extent of a kingdom or country. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To determine with precision; to mark out with distinctness; to ascertain or exhibit clearly; as, the defining power of an optical instrument. [ 1913 Webster ]

Rings . . . very distinct and well defined. Sir I. Newton. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To determine the precise signification of; to fix the meaning of; to describe accurately; to explain; to expound or interpret; as, to define a word, a phrase, or a scientific term. [ 1913 Webster ]

They define virtue to be life ordered according to nature. Robynson (More's Utopia). [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To determine; to decide. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act of defining; definition; description. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who defines or explains. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. definitis, p. p. of definire: cf. F. défini. See Define. ] 1. Having certain or distinct; determinate in extent or greatness; limited; fixed; as, definite dimensions; a definite measure; a definite period or interval. [ 1913 Webster ]

Elements combine in definite proportions. Whewell. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Having certain limits in signification; determinate; certain; precise; fixed; exact; clear; as, a definite word, term, or expression. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Determined; resolved. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Serving to define or restrict; limiting; determining; as, the definite article. [ 1913 Webster ]

Definite article (Gram.), the article the, which is used to designate a particular person or thing, or a particular class of persons or things; -- also called a definitive. See Definitive, n. - -
Definite inflorescence. (Bot.) See Determinate inflorescence, under Determinate. --
Law of definite proportions (Chem.), the essential law of chemical combination that every definite compound always contains the same elements in the same proportions by weight; and, if two or more elements form more than one compound with each other, the relative proportions of each are fixed. Compare Law of multiple proportions, under Multiple. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A thing defined or determined. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a definite manner; with precision; precisely; determinately. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The state of being definite; determinateness; precision; certainty. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. definitio: cf. F. définition. ] 1. The act of defining; determination of the limits; as, a telescope accurate in definition. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Act of ascertaining and explaining the signification; a description of a thing by its properties; an explanation of the meaning of a word or term; as, the definition of “circle;” the definition of “wit;” an exact definition; a loose definition. [ 1913 Webster ]

Definition being nothing but making another understand by words what the term defined stands for. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Description; sort. [ R. ] “A new creature of another definition.” Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Logic) An exact enunciation of the constituents which make up the logical essence. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Opt.) Distinctness or clearness, as of an image formed by an optical instrument; precision in detail.

Syn. -- Definition, Explanation, Description. A definition is designed to settle a thing in its compass and extent; an explanation is intended to remove some obscurity or misunderstanding, and is therefore more extended and minute; a description enters into striking particulars with a view to interest or impress by graphic effect. It is not therefore true, though often said, that description is only an extended definition. “Logicians distinguish definitions into essential and accidental. An essential definition states what are regarded as the constituent parts of the essence of that which is to be defined; and an accidental definition lays down what are regarded as circumstances belonging to it, viz., properties or accidents, such as causes, effects, etc.” Whately. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Relating to definition; of the nature of a definition; employed in defining. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. definitivus: cf. F. définitif. ] 1. Determinate; positive; final; conclusive; unconditional; express. [ 1913 Webster ]

A strict and definitive truth. Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

Some definitive . . . scheme of reconciliation. Prescott. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Limiting; determining; as, a definitive word. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Determined; resolved. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]