Noah Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language 1. (superl.) Finished; brought to perfection; refined; hence, free from impurity; excellent; superior; elegant; worthy of admiration; accomplished; beautiful. 2. (superl.) Aiming at show or effect; loaded with ornament; overdressed or overdecorated; showy. 3. (superl.) Nice; delicate; subtle; exquisite; artful; skillful; dexterous. 4. (superl.) Not coarse, gross, or heavy 5. (superl.) Not gross; subtle; thin; tenous. 6. (superl.) Not coarse; comminuted; in small particles; as, fine sand or flour. 7. (superl.) Not thick or heavy; slender; filmy; as, a fine thread. 8. (superl.) Thin; attenuate; keen; as, a fine edge. 9. (superl.) Made of fine materials; light; delicate; as, fine linen or silk. 10. (superl.) Having (such) a proportion of pure metal in its composition; as, coins nine tenths fine. 11. (superl.) (Used ironically.) 12. (v.) To make fine; to refine; to purify, to clarify; as, to fine gold. 13. (v.) To make finer, or less coarse, as in bulk, texture, etc.; as. to fine the soil. 14. (v.) To change by fine gradations; as (Naut.), to fine down a ship's lines, to diminish her lines gradually. 15. (n.) End; conclusion; termination; extinction. 16. (n.) A sum of money paid as the settlement of a claim, or by way of terminating a matter in dispute; especially, a payment of money imposed upon a party as a punishment for an offense; a mulct. 17. (n.) A final agreement concerning lands or rents between persons, as the lord and his vassal. 18. (n.) A sum of money or price paid for obtaining a benefit, favor, or privilege, as for admission to a copyhold, or for obtaining or renewing a lease. 19. (n.) To impose a pecuniary penalty upon for an offense or breach of law; to set a fine on by judgment of a court; to punish by fine; to mulct; as, the trespassers were fined ten dollars. 20. (v. i.) To pay a fine. See Fine, n., 3 (b). 21. (v. t.) To finish; to cease; or to cause to cease.
|