Part 125

Fic"tion*al (?), a. Pertaining to, or characterized by, fiction; fictitious; romantic."Fictional rather than historical." Latham.

Fic"tion*ist, n. A writer of fiction. [R.] Lamb.

Fic"tious (?), a. Fictitious. [R.] Prior.

Fic*ti"tious (?), a. [L. fictitius. See Fiction.] Feigned; imaginary; not real; fabulous; counterfeit; false; not genuine; as, fictitious fame.

The human persons are as fictitious as the airy ones.

Pope.

-- Fic*ti"tious*ly, adv. -- Fic*ti"tious*ness, n.

Fic"tive (?), a. [Cf. F. fictif.] Feigned; counterfeit. "The fount of fictive tears." Tennyson.

Fic"tor (?), n. [L.] An artist who models or forms statues and reliefs in any plastic material. [R.] Elmes.

||Fi"cus (?), n. [L., a fig.] A genus of trees or shrubs, one species ||of which (F. Carica) produces the figs of commerce; the fig tree.

Ficus Indica is the banyan tree; F. religiosa, the peepul tree; F. elastica, the India-rubber tree.

Fid (?), n. [Prov. E. fid a small, thick lump.] 1. (Naut.) A square bar of wood or iron, used to support the topmast, being passed through a hole or mortise at its heel, and resting on the trestle trees.

2. A wooden or metal bar or pin, used to support or steady anything.

3. A pin of hard wood, tapering to a point, used to open the strands of a rope in splicing.

There are hand fids and standing fids (which are larger than the others, and stand upon a flat base). An iron implement for this purpose is called a marline spike.

4. (Mil.) A block of wood used in mounting and dismounting heavy guns.

Fi*dal"go (?), n. [Pg. See Hidalgo.] The lowest title of nobility in Portugal, corresponding to that of Hidalgo in Spain.

Fid"dle (fd"d'l), n. [OE. fidele, fithele, AS. fiele; akin to D. vedel, OHG. fidula, G. fiedel, Icel. fila, and perh. to E. viol. Cf. Viol.] 1. (Mus.) A stringed instrument of music played with a bow; a violin; a kit.

2. (Bot.) A kind of dock (Rumex pulcher) with fiddle-shaped leaves; -- called also fiddle dock.

3. (Naut.) A rack or frame of bars connected by strings, to keep table furniture in place on the cabin table in bad weather. Ham. Nav. Encyc.

Fiddle beetle (Zoˆl.), a Japanese carabid beetle (Damaster blaptoides); -- so called from the form of the body. -- Fiddle block (Naut.), a long tackle block having two sheaves of different diameters in the same plane, instead of side by side as in a common double block. Knight. -- Fiddle bow, fiddlestick. -- Fiddle fish (Zoˆl.), the angel fish. -- Fiddle head, an ornament on a ship's bow, curved like the volute or scroll at the head of a violin. -- Fiddle pattern, a form of the handles of spoons, forks, etc., somewhat like a violin. -- Scotch fiddle, the itch. (Low) -- To play first, or second, fiddle, to take a leading or a subordinate part. [Colloq.]

Fid"dle, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Fiddled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Fiddling (?).] 1. To play on a fiddle.

Themistocles . . . said he could not fiddle, but he could make a small town a great city.

Bacon.

2. To keep the hands and fingers actively moving as a fiddler does; to move the hands and fingers restlessy or in busy idleness; to trifle.

Talking, and fiddling with their hats and feathers.

Pepys.

Fid"dle (?), v. t. To play (a tune) on a fiddle.