n. [ Arab. 'ifrīt. ] (Moham. Myth.) A powerful evil jinnee, demon, or monstrous giant. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. fritte, fr. frit fried, p. p. of frire to fry. See Far, v. t. ] 1. (Glass Making) The material of which glass is made, after having been calcined or partly fused in a furnace, but before vitrification. It is a composition of silex and alkali, occasionally with other ingredients. Ure. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Ceramics) The material for glaze of pottery. [ 1913 Webster ]

Frit brick, a lump of calcined glass materials, brought to a pasty condition in a reverberatory furnace, preliminary to the perfect vitrification in the melting pot. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Fritted; p. pr. & vb. n. Fritting. ] To prepare by heat (the materials for making glass); to fuse partially. Ure. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To fritter; -- with away. [ R. ] Ld. Lytton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) A small dipterous fly of the genus Oscinis, esp. O. vastator, injurious to grain in Europe, and O. Trifole, injurious to clover in America. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. [ OE. firth, Icel. fjörðr; akin to Sw. fjärd, Dan. fiord, E. ford. √78. See Ford, n., and cf. Firth, Fiord, Fret a frith, Port a harbor. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. (Geog.) A narrow arm of the sea; an estuary; the opening of a river into the sea; as, the Frith of Forth. Also called firth. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A kind of weir for catching fish. [ Eng. ] Carew. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. frith peace, protection, land inclosed for hunting, park, forest, AS. frið peace; akin to frenoð peace, protection, asylum, G. friede peace, Icel. friðr, and from the root of E. free, friend. See Free, a., and cf. Affray, Defray. ] 1. A forest; a woody place. [ Obs. ] Drayton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A small field taken out of a common, by inclosing it; an inclosure. [ Obs. ] Sir J. Wynne. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ , n. [ AS. friðstōl. See Fred, and Stool. ] A seat in churches near the altar, to which offenders formerly fled for sanctuary. [ Written variously fridstool, freedstool, etc. ] [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Woody. [ Obs. ] Skelton. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ NL., fr. L. fritillus dicebox: cf. F. fritillaire. So named from the checkered markings of the petals. ] (Bot.) A genus of liliaceous plants, of which the crown-imperial (Fritillaria imperialis) is one species, and the Guinea-hen flower (F. Meleagris) another. See Crown-imperial. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. (Bot.) A plant with checkered petals, of the genus Fritillaria: the Guinea-hen flower. See Fritillaria. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Zool.) One of several species of butterflies belonging to Argynnis and allied genera; -- so called because the coloring of their wings resembles that of the common Fritillaria. See Aphrodite. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. fritinnire to twitter. ] A chirping or creaking, as of a cricket. [ Obs. ] Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OR. fritour, friture, pancake, F. friture frying, a thing fried, from frire to fry. See Far, v. t. ] 1. A small quantity of batter, fried in boiling lard or in a frying pan. Fritters are of various kinds, named from the substance inclosed in the batter; as, apple fritters, clam fritters, oyster fritters. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A fragment; a shred; a small piece. [ 1913 Webster ]

And cut whole giants into fritters. Hudibras. [ 1913 Webster ]

Corn fritter. See under Corn. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Frittered p. pr. & vb. n. Frittering. ] 1. To cut, as meat, into small pieces, for frying. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To break into small pieces or fragments. [ 1913 Webster ]

Break all nerves, and fritter all their sense. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

To fritter away, to diminish; to pare off; to reduce to nothing by taking away a little at a time; also, to waste piecemeal; as, to fritter away time, strength, credit, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Frit to expose to heat. ] The formation of frit or slag by heat with but incipient fusion. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To become inoperable; of devices. See also on the fritz. [ PJC ]

pred. a. Malfunctioning or inoperable; -- of machinery and devices. [ slang ] [ PJC ]