Part 4285

<hr> <page="557"> Page 557<p>

<h1>Field</h1> <Xpage=557>

<hw>Field</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>n.</tt> <ety>[OE. <ets>feld</ets>, <ets>fild</ets>, AS. <ets>feld</ets>; akin to D. <ets>veld</ets>, G. <ets>feld</ets>, Sw. <ets>f\'84lt</ets>, Dan. <ets>felt</ets>, Icel. <ets>fold</ets> field of grass, AS. <ets>folde</ets> earth, land, ground, OS. <ets>folda</ets>.]</ety> <p><b>1.</b> <def>Cleared land; land suitable for tillage or pasture; cultivated ground; the open country.</def>

<p><b>2.</b> <def>A piece of land of considerable size; esp., a piece inclosed for tillage or pasture.</def>

<blockquote><b>Fields</b> which promise corn and wine. <i>Byron.</i></blockquote>

<p><b>3.</b> <def>A place where a battle is fought; also, the battle itself.</def>

<blockquote>In this glorious and well-foughten <b>field</b>. <i>Shak.</i></blockquote>

<blockquote>What though the <b>field</b> be lost? <i>Milton.</i></blockquote>

<p><b>4.</b> <def>An open space; an extent; an expanse.</def> Esp.: <sd>(a)</sd> <def>Any blank space or ground on which figures are drawn or projected.</def> <sd>(b)</sd> <def>The space covered by an optical instrument at one view.</def>

<blockquote>Without covering, save yon <b>field</b> of stars. <i>Shak.</i></blockquote>

<blockquote>Ask of yonder argent <b>fields</b> above. <i>Pope.</i></blockquote>

<p><b>5.</b> <fld>(Her.)</fld> <def>The whole surface of an escutcheon; also, so much of it is shown unconcealed by the different bearings upon it. See <i>Illust</i>. of <er>Fess</er>, where the <i>field</i> is represented as gules (red), while the <i>fess</i> is argent (silver).</def>

<p><b>6.</b> <def>An unresticted or favorable opportunity for action, operation, or achievement; province; room.</def>

<blockquote>Afforded a clear <b>field</b> for moral experiments. <i>Macaulay.</i></blockquote>

<p><b>7.</b> <def>A collective term for all the competitors in any outdoor contest or trial, or for all except the favorites in the betting.</def>

<p><b>8.</b> <fld>(Baseball)</fld> <def>That part of the grounds reserved for the players which is outside of the diamond; -- called also <altname>outfield</altname>.</def>

<note>&hand; <i>Field</i> is often used adjectively in the sense of <i>belonging to</i>, or <i>used in</i>, <i>the fields</i>; especially with reference to the operations and equipments of an army during a campaign away from permanent camps and fortifications. In most cases such use of the word is sufficiently clear; as, <i>field</i> battery; <i>field</i> fortification; <i>field</i> gun; <i>field</i> hospital, etc. A <i>field</i> geologist, naturalist, etc., is one who makes investigations or collections out of doors. A survey uses a <i>field</i> book for recording <i>field</i> notes, <it>i.e.</it>, measurment, observations, etc., made in <i>field</i> work (outdoor operations). A farmer or planter employs <i>field</i> hands, and may use a <i>field</i> roller or a <i>field</i> derrick. <i>Field</i> sports are hunting, fishing, athletic games, etc.</note>

<cs><col>Coal field</col> <fld>(Geol.)</fld> <cd>See under <er>Coal</er>.</cd> -- <col>Field artillery</col>, <cd>light ordnance mounted on wheels, for the use of a marching army.</cd> -- <col>Field basil</col> <fld>(Bot.)</fld>, <cd>a plant of the Mint family (<spn>Calamintha Acinos</spn>); -- called also <i>basil thyme<i>.</cd> -- <col>Field colors</col> <fld>(Mil.)</fld>, <cd>small flags for marking out the positions for squadrons and battalions; camp colors.</cd> -- <col>Field cricket</col> <fld>(Zo\'94l.)</fld>, <cd>a large European cricket (<spn>Gryllus campestric</spn>), remarkable for its loud notes.</cd> -- <col>Field day</col>. <sd>(a)</sd> <cd>A day in the fields.</cd> <sd>(b)</sd> <fld>(Mil.)</fld> <cd>A day when troops are taken into the field for instruction in evolutions.</cd> <i>Farrow.</i> <sd>(c)</sd> <cd>A day of unusual exertion or display; a gala day.</cd> -- <col>Field driver</col>, <cd>in New England, an officer charged with the driving of stray cattle to the pound.</cd> -- <col>Field duck</col> <fld>(Zo\'94l.)</fld>, <cd>the little bustard (<spn>Otis tetrax</spn>), found in Southern Europe.</cd> -- <col>Field glass</col>. <fld>(Optics)</fld> <sd>(a)</sd> <cd>A binocular telescope of compact form; a lorgnette; a race glass.</cd> <sd>(b)</sd> <cd>A small achromatic telescope, from 20 to 24 inches long, and having 3 to 6 draws.</cd> <sd>(c)</sd> <cd>See <cref>Field lens</cref>.</cd> -- <col>Field lark</col>. <fld>(Zo\'94l.)</fld> <sd>(a)</sd> <cd>The skylark.</cd> <sd>(b)</sd> <cd>The tree pipit.</cd> -- <col>Field lens</col> <fld>(Optics)</fld>, <cd>that one of the two lenses forming the eyepiece of an astronomical telescope or compound microscope which is nearer the object glass; -- called also <altname>field glass</altname>.</cd> -- <col>Field madder</col> <fld>(Bot.)</fld>, <cd>a plant (<spn>Sherardia arvensis</spn>) used in dyeing.</cd> -- <col>Field marshal</col> <fld>(Mil.)</fld>, <cd>the highest military rank conferred in the British and other European armies.</cd> -- <col>Field mouse</col> <fld>(Zo\'94l.)</fld>, <cd>a mouse inhabiting fields, as the campagnol and the deer mouse.</cd> See <er>Campagnol</er>, and <er>Deer mouse</er>. -- <col>Field officer</col> <fld>(Mil.)</fld>, <cd>an officer above the rank of captain and below that of general.</cd> -- <col>Field officer's court</col> <fld>(U.S.Army)</fld>, <cd>a court-martial consisting of one field officer empowered to try all cases, in time of war, subject to jurisdiction of garrison and regimental courts.</cd> <i>Farrow.</i> -- <col>Field plover</col> <fld>(Zo\'94l.)</fld>, <cd>the black-bellied plover (<spn>Charadrius squatarola</spn>); also sometimes applied to the Bartramian sandpiper (<spn>Bartramia longicauda</spn>).</cd> -- <col>Field spaniel</col> <fld>(Zo\'94l.)</fld>, <cd>a small spaniel used in hunting small game.</cd> -- <col>Field sparrow</col>. <fld>(Zo\'94l.)</fld> <sd>(a)</sd> <cd>A small American sparrow (<spn>Spizella pusilla</spn>).</cd> <sd>(b)</sd> <cd>The hedge sparrow.</cd> <mark>[Eng.]</mark> -- <col>Field staff</col>> <fld>(Mil.)</fld>, <cd>a staff formerly used by gunners to hold a lighted match for discharging a gun.</cd> -- <col>Field vole</col> <fld>(Zo\'94l.)</fld>, <cd>the European meadow mouse.</cd> -- <col>Field of ice</col>, <cd>a large body of floating ice; a pack.</cd> -- <mcol><col>Field</col>, &or; <col>Field of view</col></mcol>, <cd>in a telescope or microscope, the entire space within which objects are seen.</cd> -- <col>Field magnet</col>. <cd>see under <er>Magnet</er>.</cd> -- <col>Magnetic field</col>. <cd>See <er>Magnetic</er>.</cd> -- <mcol><col>To back the field</col>, &or; <col>To bet on the field</col>. <cd>See under <er>Back</er>, <tt>v. t.</tt></cd> -- <col>To keep the field</col></mcol>. <sd>(a)</sd> <fld>(Mil.)</fld> <cd>To continue a campaign.</cd> <sd>(b)</sd> <cd>To maintain one's ground against all comers.</cd> -- <mcol><col>To</col> <col>lay, &or; back</col>, <col>against the field</col></mcol>, <cd>to bet on (a horse, etc.) against all comers.</cd> -- <col>To take the field</col> <fld>(Mil.)</fld>, <cd>to enter upon a campaign.</cd></cs>

<h1>Field</h1> <Xpage=557>

<hw>Field</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>v. i.</tt> <wordforms>[<tt>imp. & p. p.</tt> <er>Fielded</er>; <tt>p. pr. & vb. n.</tt> <er>Fielding</er>.]</wordforms> <p><b>1.</b> <def>To take the field.</def> <mark>[Obs.]</mark>

<i>Spenser.</i>

<p><b>2.</b> <fld>(Ball Playing)</fld> <def>To stand out in the field, ready to catch, stop, or throw the ball.</def>

<h1>Field</h1> <Xpage=557>

<hw>Field</hw>, <tt>v. t.</tt> <fld>(Ball Playing)</fld> <def>To catch, stop, throw, etc. (the ball), as a fielder.</def>

<h1>Fielded</h1> <Xpage=557>

<hw>Field"ed</hw>, <tt>a.</tt> <def>Engaged in the field; encamped.</def> <mark>[Obs.]</mark>

<blockquote>To help <b>fielded</b> friends. <i>Shak.</i></blockquote>

<h1>Fielden</h1> <Xpage=557>