Part 120

R. L. Stevenson.

The most feck, or The feck, the greater or larger part. "The feck o' my life." Burns.

||Fehm (?), n., ||Fehm"ge*richt` (&?;), n. Same as Vehm, Vehmgericht.

Fêng"-hwang` (?), n. [Chin. feng + 'huang.] (Chinese Myth.) A pheasantlike bird of rich plumage and graceful form and movement, fabled to appear in the land on the accession of a sage to the throne, or when right principles are about to prevail. It is often represented on porcelains and other works of art.

Fêng"-shu`i (?), n. [Chin. feng wind + shiu water.] A system of spirit influences for good and evil believed by the Chinese to attend the natural features of landscape; also, a kind of geomancy dealing with these influences, used in determining sites for graves, houses, etc.

Fer`men*ta"tion the"o*ry. (Med.) The theory which likens the course of certain diseases (esp. infectious diseases) to the process of fermentation, and attributes them to the organized ferments in the body. It does not differ materially from the accepted germ theory (which see).

Fer"me*ture (?), n. [F., fr. fermer to close.] (Mil.) The mechanism for closing the breech of a breech-loading firearm, in artillery consisting principally of the breechblock, obturator, and carrier ring.

{ Fer*ran"ti ca"bles (?), Fer*ran"ti mains" (?) }. (Elec.) A form of conductor, designed by Ferranti, for currents of high potential, and consisting of concentric tubes of copper separated by an insulating material composed of paper saturated with black mineral wax.

Fer*ran"ti phe*nom"e*non. (Elec.) An increase in the ratio of transformation of an alternating current converter, accompanied by other changes in electrical conditions, occurring when the secondary of the converter is connected with a condenser of moderate capacity; -- so called because first observed in connection with the Ferranti cables in London.

Fer"ris wheel (?). An amusement device consisting of a giant power-driven steel wheel, revolvable on its stationary axle, and carrying a number of balanced passenger cars around its rim; -- so called after G. W. G. Ferris, American engineer, who erected the first of its kind for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893.

Fer"ro-con"crete (?), n. (Arch. & Engin.) Concrete strengthened by a core or foundation skeleton of iron or steel bars, strips, etc. Floors, columns, piles, water pipes, etc., have been successfully made of it. Called also armored concrete steel, and reënforced concrete.

||Fies"ta (?), n. [Sp. See Feast, n.] Among Spanish, a religious festival; a saint's day or holiday; also, a holiday or festivity.

Even . . . a bullfight is a fiesta.

Am. Dialect Notes.

Some fiesta, when all the surrounding population were expected to turn out in holiday dress for merriment.

The Century.

Fig"u*line (?), a. [L. figulinus. See Figulate.] 1. Suitable for the making of pottery; fictile; -- said of clay.

2. Made of clay, as by the potter; -- said of vessels, ornamental figures, or the like; as, figuline ware.

Fi*la"ri*al (?), a. 1. (Zoöl. & Med.) Of, pertaining to, or caused by, filariæ and allied parasitic worms.

2. Straight, as if in a line; as, the filarial flight of birds.

||Fil`a*ri"a*sis (?), n. [NL.] (Med.) The presence of filariæ in the blood; infection with filariæ.

Fi*lasse" (?), n. [F., fr. fil thread, L. filum.] Vegetable fiber, as jute or ramie, prepared for manufacture.

File" clos`er. (Mil.) A commissioned or noncommissioned officer posted in the rear of a line, or on the flank of a column, of soldiers, to rectify mistakes and insure steadiness and promptness in the ranks.

Fil`i*a"tion (?), n. 1. Descent from, or as if from, a parent; relationship like that of a son; as, to determine the filiation of a language.

2. One that is derived from a parent or source; an offshoot; as, the filiations are from a common stock.

||Fil`i*o"que (?), n. (Eccl. Hist.) The Latin for, "and from the Son," equivalent to et filio, inserted by the third council of Toledo (a. d. 589) in the clause qui ex Patre procedit (who proceedeth from the Father) of the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed (a. d. 381), which makes a creed state that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Son as well as from the Father. Hence, the doctrine itself (not admitted by the Eastern Church).

Fil`i*pi"no (?), n.; pl. Filipinos (#). [Sp.] A native of the Philippine Islands, specif. one of Spanish descent or of mixed blood.

Then there are Filipinos, -- "children of the country," they are called, -- who are supposed to be pure-blooded descendants of Spanish settlers. But there are few of them without some touch of Chinese or native blood.