Part 4280

<hw>Fic"tile</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>a.</tt> <ety>[L. <ets>fictilis</ets>. See <er>Fiction</er>.]</ety> <def>Molded, or capable of being molded, into form by art; relating to pottery or to molding in any soft material.</def>

<blockquote><b>Fictile</b> earth is more fragile than crude earth. <i>Bacon.</i></blockquote>

<blockquote>The earliest specimens of Italian <b>fictile</b> art. <i>C. Wordsworth.</i></blockquote>

<cs><col>Fictile ware</col>, <cd>ware made of any material which is molded or shaped while soft; hence, pottery of any sort.</cd></cs>

-- <wordforms><wf>Fic"tile*ness</wf>, <tt>n.</tt> -- <wf>Fic*til"i*ty</wf> <tt>(#)</tt>, <tt>n.</tt></wordforms>

<h1>Fiction</h1> <Xpage=556>

<hw>Fic"tion</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>n.</tt> <ety>[F. <ets>fiction</ets>, L. <ets>fictio</ets>, fr. <ets>fingere</ets>, <ets>fictum</ets> to form, shape, invent, feign. See <er>Feign</er>.]</ety> <p><b>1.</b> <def>The act of feigning, inventing, or imagining; <as>as, by a mere <ex>fiction</ex> of the mind</as>.</def>

<i>Bp. Stillingfleet.</i>

<p><b>2.</b> <def>That which is feigned, invented, or imagined; especially, a feigned or invented story, whether oral or written. Hence: A story told in order to deceive; a fabrication; -- opposed to <i>fact</i>, or <i>reality</i>.</def>

<blockquote>The <b>fiction</b> of those golden apples kept by a dragon. <i>Sir W. Raleigh.</i></blockquote>

<blockquote>When it could no longer be denied that her flight had been voluntary, numerous <b>fictions</b> were invented to account for it. <i>Macaulay.</i></blockquote>

<p><b>3.</b> <def>Fictitious literature; comprehensively, all works of imagination; specifically, novels and romances.</def>

<blockquote>The office of <b>fiction</b> as a vehicle of instruction and moral elevation has been recognized by most if not all great educators. <i>Dict. of Education.</i></blockquote>

<p><b>4.</b> <fld>(Law)</fld> <def>An assumption of a possible thing as a fact, irrespective of the question of its truth.</def>

<i>Wharton.</i>

<p><b>5.</b> <def>Any like assumption made for convenience, as for passing more rapidly over what is not disputed, and arriving at points really at issue.</def>

<syn>Syn. -- Fabrication; invention; fable; falsehood.</syn> <usage> -- <er>Fiction</er>, <er>Fabrication</er>. <i>Fiction</i> is opposed to what is real; <i>fabrication</i> to what is true. <i>Fiction</i> is designed commonly to amuse, and sometimes to instruct; a <i>fabrication</i> is always intended to mislead and deceive. In the novels of Sir Walter Scott we have <i>fiction</i> of the highest order. The poems of Ossian, so called, were chiefly <i>fabrications</i> by Macpherson.</usage>

<h1>Fictional</h1> <Xpage=556>

<hw>Fic"tion*al</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>a.</tt> <def>Pertaining to, or characterized by, fiction; fictitious; romantic.</def>"<i>Fictional</i> rather than historical."

<i>Latham.</i>

<h1>Fictionist</h1> <Xpage=556>

<hw>Fic"tion*ist</hw>, <tt>n.</tt> <def>A writer of fiction.</def> <mark>[R.]</mark>

<i>Lamb.</i>

<h1>Fictious</h1> <Xpage=556>

<hw>Fic"tious</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>a.</tt> <def>Fictitious.</def> <mark>[R.]</mark>

<i>Prior.</i>

<h1>Fictitious</h1> <Xpage=556>

<hw>Fic*ti"tious</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>a.</tt> <ety>[L. <ets>fictitius</ets>. See <er>Fiction</er>.]</ety> <def>Feigned; imaginary; not real; fabulous; counterfeit; false; not genuine; <as>as, <ex>fictitious</ex> fame</as>.</def>