Part 4312

<blockquote>To soothe the sick bed of so <b>fine</b> a being [Keats]. <i>Leigh Hunt.</i></blockquote>

<p><b>2.</b> <def>Aiming at show or effect; loaded with ornament; overdressed or overdecorated; showy.</def>

<blockquote>He gratified them with occasional . . . <b>fine</b> writing. <i>M. Arnold.</i></blockquote>

<p><b>3.</b> <def>Nice; delicate; subtle; exquisite; artful; skillful; dexterous.</def>

<blockquote>The spider's touch, how exquisitely <b>fine</b>! <i>Pope.</i></blockquote>

<blockquote>The nicest and most delicate touches of satire consist in <b>fine</b> raillery. <i>Dryden.</i></blockquote>

<blockquote>He has as <b>fine</b> a hand at picking a pocket as a woman. <i>T. Gray.</i></blockquote>

<p><b>4.</b> <def>Not coarse, gross, or heavy</def>; as: <sd>(a)</sd> <def>Not gross; subtile; thin; tenous.</def>

<blockquote>The eye standeth in the <b>finer</b> medium and the object in the grosser. <i>Bacon.</i></blockquote>

<sd>(b)</sd> <def>Not coarse; comminuted; in small particles; as, <i>fine</i> sand or flour</def>. <sd>(c)</sd> <def>Not thick or heavy; slender; filmy; as, a <i>fine</i> thread</def>. <sd>(d)</sd> <def>Thin; attenuate; keen; as, a <i>fine</i> edge</def>. <sd>(e)</sd> <def>Made of fine materials; light; delicate; as, <i>fine</i> linen or silk</def>.

<p><b>5.</b> <def>Having (such) a proportion of pure metal in its composition; <as>as, coins nine tenths <ex>fine</ex></as>.</def>

<p><b>6.</b> <def>(Used ironically.)</def>

<blockquote>Ye have made a <b>fine</b> hand, fellows. <i>Shak.</i></blockquote>

<note>&hand; <i>Fine</i> is often compounded with participles and adjectives, modifying them adverbially; a, <i>fine</i>-drawn, <i>fine</i>-featured, <i>fine</i>-grained, <i>fine</i>-spoken, <i>fine</i>-spun, etc.</note>

<cs><col>Fine arch</col> <fld>(Glass Making)</fld>, <cd>the smaller fritting furnace of a glasshouse.</cd> <i>Knight.</i> -- <col>Fine arts</col>. <cd>See the Note under <er>Art</er>.</cd> -- <col>Fine cut</col>, <cd>fine cut tobacco; a kind of chewing tobacco cut up into shreds.</cd> -- <col>Fine goods</col>, <cd>woven fabrics of fine texture and quality.</cd> <i>McElrath.</i> -- <col>Fine stuff</col>, <cd>lime, or a mixture of lime, plaster, etc., used as material for the finishing coat in plastering.</cd> -- <col>To sail fine</col> <fld>(Naut.)</fld>, <cd>to sail as close to the wind as possible.</cd></cs>

<syn>Syn. -- <er>Fine</er>, <er>Beautiful</er>.</syn> <usage> When used as a word of praise, <i>fine</i> (being opposed to <i>coarse</i>) denotes no "ordinary thing of its kind." It is not as strong as <i>beautiful</i>, in reference to the single attribute implied in the latter term; but when we speak of a <i>fine</i> woman, we include a greater variety of particulars, viz., all the qualities which become a woman, -- breeding, sentiment, tact, etc. The term is equally comprehensive when we speak of a <i>fine</i> garden, landscape, horse, poem, etc.; and, though applied to a great variety of objects, the word has still a very definite sense, denoting a high degree of characteristic excellence.</usage>

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<h1>Fine</h1> <Xpage=561>

<hw>Fine</hw>, <tt>v. t.</tt> <wordforms>[<tt>imp. & p. p.</tt> <er>Fined</er> <tt>(?)</tt>; <tt>p. pr. & vb. n.</tt> <er>Fining</er>.]</wordforms> <ety>[From <er>Fine</er>, <tt>a.</tt>]</ety> <p><b>1.</b> <def>To make fine; to refine; to purify, to clarify; <as>as, to <ex>fine</ex> gold</as>.</def>

<blockquote>It hath been <b>fined</b> and refined by . . . learned men. <i>Hobbes.</i></blockquote>

<p><b>2.</b> <def>To make finer, or less coarse, as in bulk, texture, etc.; as. to <i>fine</i> the soil.</def>

<i>L. H. Bailey.</i>

<p><b>3.</b> <def>To change by fine gradations; as <fld>(Naut.)</fld>, to <i>fine</i> down a ship's lines, to diminish her lines gradually.</def>

<blockquote>I often sate at home On evenings, watching how they <b>fined</b> themselves With gradual conscience to a perfect night. <i>Browning.</i></blockquote>

<h1>Fine</h1> <Xpage=561>

<hw>Fine</hw> <tt>(?)</tt>, <tt>n.</tt> <ety>[OE. <ets>fin</ets>, L. <ets>finis</ets> end, also in LL., a <ets>final</ets> agreement or concord between the lord and his vassal; a sum of money paid at the <ets>end</ets>, so as to make an <ets>end</ets> of a transaction, suit, or prosecution; mulct; penalty; cf. OF. <ets>fin</ets> end, settlement, F. <ets>fin</ets> end. See <er>Finish</er>, and cf. <er>Finance</er>.]</ety> <p><b>1.</b> <def>End; conclusion; termination; extinction.</def> <mark>[Obs.]</mark> "To see their fatal <i>fine</i>."

<i>Spenser.</i>

<blockquote>Is this the <b>fine</b> of his fines? <i>Shak.</i></blockquote>