fine
Definitions
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Geppetto Carried Off His Fine Piece of Wood -
WordNet 3.6
- adj fine characterized by elegance or refinement or accomplishment "fine wine","looking fine in her Easter suit","a fine gentleman","fine china and crystal","a fine violinist","the fine hand of a master"
- adj fine minutely precise especially in differences in meaning "a fine distinction"
- adj fine free from impurities; having a high or specified degree of purity "gold 21 carats fine"
- adj fine being satisfactory or in satisfactory condition "an all-right movie","the passengers were shaken up but are all right","is everything all right?","everything's fine","things are okay","dinner and the movies had been fine","another minute I'd have been fine"
- adj fine of textures that are smooth to the touch or substances consisting of relatively small particles "wood with a fine grain","fine powdery snow","fine rain","batiste is a cotton fabric with a fine weave","covered with a fine film of dust"
- adj fine thin in thickness or diameter "a fine film of oil","fine hairs","read the fine print"
- adv fine an expression of agreement normally occurring at the beginning of a sentence
- adv fine in a delicate manner "finely shaped features","her fine drawn body"
- v fine issue a ticket or a fine to as a penalty "I was fined for parking on the wrong side of the street","Move your car or else you will be ticketed!"
- n fine money extracted as a penalty
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Additional illustrations & photos:
Making a fine point
Fine feathers make fine birds
To see a fine Lady get on a white Horse
o he put on all his Fine Clothes
Some fine Free Hitting
"'IT'S FINE, BUNNY,' SHE CRIED"
I see a baker's been fined ten pounds for selling bread less than twelve hours old
Fine Adjustment Valve
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
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Interesting fact: Men are able to read fine print better than women can
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- Fine (Law) A final agreement concerning lands or rents between persons, as the lord and his vassal.
- Fine (Law) 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.
- Fine 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.
- fine Aiming at show or effect; loaded with ornament; overdressed or overdecorated; showy. "He gratified them with occasional . . . fine writing."
- Fine End; conclusion; termination; extinction. "To see their fatal fine .""Is this the fine of his fines?"
- Fine Finely; well; elegantly; fully; delicately; mincingly.
- fine Finished; brought to perfection; refined; hence, free from impurity; excellent; superior; elegant; worthy of admiration; accomplished; beautiful. "The gain thereof [is better] than fine gold.""A cup of wine that's brisk and fine .""Not only the finest gentleman of his time, but one of the finest scholars.""To soothe the sick bed of so fine a being [Keats]."
- fine Having (such) a proportion of pure metal in its composition; as, coins nine tenths fine .
- Fine (Billiards & Pool) In a manner so that the driven ball strikes the object ball so far to one side as to be deflected but little, the object ball being driven to one side.
- fine Made of fine materials; light; delicate; as, fine linen or silk.
- fine Nice; delicate; subtle; exquisite; artful; skillful; dexterous. "The spider's touch, how exquisitely fine !""The nicest and most delicate touches of satire consist in fine raillery.""He has as fine a hand at picking a pocket as a woman."
- fine Not coarse, gross, or heavy
- fine Not coarse; comminuted; in small particles; as, fine sand or flour.
- fine Not gross; subtile; thin; tenous.
- fine Not thick or heavy; slender; filmy; as, a fine thread.
- fine Thin; attenuate; keen; as, a fine edge.
- Fine To change by fine gradations; as Naut, to fine down a ship's lines, to diminish her lines gradually. "I often sate at home
On evenings, watching how they fined themselves
With gradual conscience to a perfect night." - v. t. & i Fine To finish; to cease; or to cause to cease.
- v. t Fine 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.
- Fine To make fine; to refine; to purify, to clarify; as, to fine gold. "It hath been fined and refined by . . . learned men."
- Fine To make finer, or less coarse, as in bulk, texture, etc.; as. to fine the soil.
- v. i Fine To pay a fine. See Fine n., 3 . "Men fined for the king's good will; or that he would remit his anger; women fined for leave to marry."
- fine Used ironically "Ye have made a fine hand, fellows."
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Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
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Interesting fact: Swearing at someone over the phone in virginia is punishable by a $100 fine.
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- n fine End; termination; conclusion.
- n fine Specifically The end of life; death.
- n fine In old English law, a judicial proceeding, often fictitious, resorted to merely as a mode of conveyance of land. The persons concerned in the transfer were made parties to a fictitious action, in which the transferrer solemnly acknowledged the land to be the property of the transferee, thus by apparent compromise putting an end to the suit. It was used very commonly as a means of putting an end to an entail.
- n fine In feudal law: A final agreement between persons concerning lands or rents, or between the lord and his vassal prescribing the conditions on which the latter should hold his lands.
- n fine A sum of money paid by custom by a tenant to his lord, nominally as a gratuity, and distinct from rent. This custom belongs solely to feudal tenures and to those modified by the feudal law, as copyholds. Fines were paid usually at a transfer of the tenant's estate by alienation or succession, but sometimes on other occasions, as at the death of the lord.
- n fine The exaction of a money payment as a punishment for an offense or a dereliction of any kind; a mulct: as, a fine for assault; the fines prescribed in the constitution of a society.
- n fine The sum of money so exacted.
- n fine An agreement to do something, as in reparation or restitution; composition; atonement; penance.
- n fine In conclusion; to conclude; to sum up.
- fine To bring to an end.
- fine To subject to a pecuniary penalty; set a fine upon, as by judgment of a court or by any competent authority; punish by fine: as, jurors are fined for non-attendance; absent members are fined.
- fine To pay by way of fine or fee.
- fine To pledge; pawn.
- fine To condemn; pronounce judgment against.
- fine To come to an end; end; cease.
- fine To pay a fine; procure acknowledgment of one's right or claim by pecuniary compensation.
- fine In general, finished; consummate; perfect in form or quality; polished, adroit, in manner or action; delicate, slender, minute, thin, rare, in size, proportion, or consistence: opposed to coarse, gross, crude, rough, unfinished, etc.
- fine Specifically Excellent or perfect in form, style, or aspect; beautiful; attractive; showy: as, a man of fine appearance; a fine horse; a fine house or landscape; a fine display of flags.
- fine Exquisite or elegant in manner, action, appearance, or use; making or constituting an attractive or imposing display; aiming to please; pleasing; gratifying: as, a fine lady or gentleman; fine feathers make fine birds; fine clothes or furniture.
- fine Perfect or excellent in kind; suitable or admirable in character or quality; very fit or proper; superior: as, fine roads; fine weather; fine sport; a fine entertainment.
- fine Of exquisite quality; refined; choice; elegant; delicate; dainty: as, a fine compliment; a fine wine; fine workmanship; fine texture; fine manners.
- fine Attracting pleased or interested attention; admirable; notable; remarkable; striking: often ironical: as, some fine day you will discover your mistake.
- fine Expert in knowledge or action; accomplished; skilled or skilful; adroit; apt; handy: as, a fine actor or musician; a fine scholar or workman.
- fine Delicate in perception or feeling; nicely discriminating; acutely susceptible to impressions: as, a fine wit; a fine taste; a fine sense of color.
- fine Minutely precise or exact; subtle: as, a fine distinction; a fine point in an argument.
- fine Free from foreign matter; without dross or feculence or other impurities; clear; pure; refined: as, fine gold; fine oil.
- fine Delicate or choice in material, texture, or style; light, thin, elegant, tasteful, etc., according to the nature of the thing spoken of: as, fine silk or wool; fine linen or cambric.
- fine Thin in consistence; subtile; rare; tenuous: as, fine spirits evaporate rapidly.
- fine Consisting of minute particles, grains, drops, flakes, etc.: as, fine sand or flour; fine rain or snow; fine shot.
- fine Very small in girth or diameter; slender; attenuated: as, fine thread; fine wire; a fine hair; a fine needle.
- fine Keen; sharp; easily penetrating: as, the fine edge of a razor; a fine point, as of a needle or a thorn.
- fine Sheer; mere; pure; absolute: in the old phrase fine force.
- fine A casting from a mold in the preparation of which special care has been taken. See figure-casting.
- fine To make fine or pure; purify; clarify; refine: as, to fine gold or silver; to fine wine.
- fine To make fine or slender; make less coarse: as, to fine grass.
- fine To change by imperceptible degrees; cause to pass by fine gradations to another or more perfect state.
- fine To become fine or pure; become clear, as by depositing sediment: often followed by down.
- fine To become fine or thin; melt or fade.
- fine Finely; well: as, I wad like fine to do it.
- fine Delicately; cautiously.
- n fine In musical notation, the word indicating the end of a repeated section, whether da capo or dal segno; also, the end of a composition in several sections.
- fine In ship-building, to reduce the lateral dimensions of a vessel below the water-line.
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Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary
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Interesting fact: "Fine turkey" and "honeycomb" are terms used for different qualities and textures of sponges.
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- adj Fine fīn excellent: beautiful: not coarse or heavy: subtle: thin: slender: exquisite: nice: delicate: overdone: showy: splendid: striking or remarkable (often ironically): pure, refined: consisting of small particles; sharp, keen
- v.t Fine to make fine: to refine: to purify: to change by imperceptible degrees
- adv Fine (Scot.) for finely, well
- n Fine fīn a composition: a sum of money imposed as a punishment
- v.t Fine to impose a fine on: to punish by fine:
- v.t Fine (Shak.) to pledge or pawn
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Quotations
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“He is a fine friend. He stabs you in the front.” -
“It is a fine thing to be honest, but it is also very important to be right.” -
“As to honor -- you know -- it's a very fine mediaeval inheritance which women never got hold of. It wasn't theirs.” -
“I have a fine sense of the ridiculous, but no sense of humor.”
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“Imitation, if it is not forgery, is a fine thing. It stems from a generous impulse, and a realistic sense of what can and cannot be done.”
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“Oh how fine it is to know a thing or two!”
Idioms
Cut it fine - If you cut it fine, you only just manage to do something- at the very last moment. 'Cut things fine' is the same. 'Cut it a bit fine' is a common variation.
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Fine and dandy - (UK) If thing's are fine and dandy, then everything is going well.
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Fine tuning - Small adjustments to improve something or to get it working are called fine tuning.
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Fine words butter no parsnips - This idiom means that it's easy to talk, but talk is not action.
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Walk a fine line - If you have to walk a fine line, you have to be very careful not to annoy or anger people or groups that are competing. ('Walk a thin line' is an alternative.)
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Etymology
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
OE. fin, L. finis, end, also in LL., a final, agreement or concord between the lord and his vassal; a sum of money paid at the end, so as to make an end, of a transaction, suit, or prosecution; mulct; penalty; cf. OF. fin, end, settlement, F. fin, end. See Finish, and cf. Finance
Usage
In literature:
Well, he says, It's a fine bird.
"The Life of Charles Dickens, Vol. I-III, Complete" by John Forster
You will see how closely I went with him, by my minding so slight an incident in so fine a performance.
"The Letters of Charles Dickens" by Charles Dickens
Also add a green mango pepper thinly sliced, and if desired a clove of garlic, finely minced.
"The Khaki Kook Book" by Mary Kennedy Core
A fine vegetable fibre, with which the white Manila rope, so much used on the India station, is made.
"The Sailor's Word-Book" by William Henry Smyth
Half a pint of cream, six eggs, salt and white pepper, and a small teaspoonful of finely minced parsley.
"The Golden Age Cook Book" by Henrietta Latham Dwight
Sauce of this thickness is produced by using one ounce (exact weight) of flour of fine quality to half a pint of liquid.
"Choice Cookery" by Catherine Owen
Pick to pieces 1 can of lobster, juice of 1 onion, juice of 1 lemon, stalk of celery chopped fine, paprika, sweet peppers, cut fine.
"The Suffrage Cook Book"
Light soft, stiff, not strong, of fine texture.
"Seasoning of Wood" by Joseph B. Wagner
In summer there are occasionally fine days, though seldom two in succession.
"Travels in Peru, on the Coast, in the Sierra, Across the Cordilleras and the Andes, into the Primeval Forests" by J. J. von Tschudi
His fish, his birds, and fruit are as exquisitely fine as any of the Flemish masters.
"Highways and Byways in Surrey" by Eric Parker
Well, the first day that the weather is fine enough and I am well enough, I will go out with you and we will see about it.
"The Wide, Wide World" by Susan Warner
Any kind of cooked meat is nice minced fine, and mixed with the dressing.
"The American Housewife" by Anonymous
The grinding should be neither too fine nor too coarse.
"Dishes & Beverages of the Old South" by Martha McCulloch Williams
Bought them a fine piano, also an organ, and a lot of music, sacred and sentimental.
"A California Girl" by Edward Eldridge
Peppers are seldom ground or pounded sufficiently fine.
"The Cook's Oracle; and Housekeeper's Manual" by William Kitchiner
They may be stuffed with a fine forcemeat made with veal, bacon, and the other ingredients, and then they will eat very fine.
"The Cook and Housekeeper's Complete and Universal Dictionary; Including a System of Modern Cookery, in all Its Various Branches," by Mary Eaton
I have found some very fine specimens in Poke Hollow, near Chillicothe.
"The Mushroom, Edible and Otherwise" by M. E. Hard
As if a trial ain't a sure thing with a girl that's got the fine looks and the fine education that Ellen's got!
"The Rosie World" by Parker Fillmore
Skin smooth, of a fine dark red, with a few streaks, and a little yellow ground appearing on the shady side.
"The Apple" by Various
If there were fine clothes, fine trappings, of course social prestige went with them.
"The "Genius"" by Theodore Dreiser
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In poetry:
Satin glows in candlelight-
Satin's for the proud!
They will say who watch at night,
"What a fine shroud!"
Satin's for the proud!
They will say who watch at night,
"What a fine shroud!"
"The Satin Dress" by Dorothy Parker
All in a scarlet kercher lay'd
Of silk so fine and thin;
A golden mantle wrapt him round,
Pinn'd with a silver pin.
Of silk so fine and thin;
A golden mantle wrapt him round,
Pinn'd with a silver pin.
"Valentine and Ursine" by Anonymous British
But at their place of meeting
They keep a home and shrine.
Your angel twists a purple flax,
Then weaves a mantle fine.
They keep a home and shrine.
Your angel twists a purple flax,
Then weaves a mantle fine.
"Our Guardian Angels And Their Children" by Vachel Lindsay
Good luck to you, Paris ladies!
Ye are over fine and nice
I know where the country maid is,
Who needs not asking twice.
Ye are over fine and nice
I know where the country maid is,
Who needs not asking twice.
"Soli Cantare Periti Arcades" by Ernest Christopher Dowson
Tom Roberts, he was there, too,
With painted portraits fine
Of men of light and leading --
Me, and some friends of mine.
With painted portraits fine
Of men of light and leading --
Me, and some friends of mine.
"A Vision Splendid" by Victor James Daley
We two have run about the hills
And pulled the daisies fine
But we've wandered many a weary mile
Since the days long ago.
And pulled the daisies fine
But we've wandered many a weary mile
Since the days long ago.
"Auld Lang Syne" by Robert Burns
In news:
There are plenty of fine tables around the dining room at Tarbell's, but we come here just for the fun of eating rock shrimp ceviche or Scotch beef sliders at the bar.
Kyle Shanahan Fined $25,000 for Berating Officials Following Sunday's Loss.
NFL fines Redskins' Shanahan $25K for berating referee.
Broncos' John Fox, Jack Del Rio fined for berating officials in Atlanta.
Cups finely shredded carrot* (lightly packed).
Cup finely chopped pecans, toasted (optional).
Martin Freeman "should make a fine Bilbo Baggins" insists one "Hobbit" enthusiast.
Tavern on the Lake's menu spans sports bar grub and fine Italian cuisine.
Papa Luigi's fine Italian dining tradition continues at Mamma Rosa's.
5 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup almonds, finely ground in a food processor 1 lb.
After undergoing special surgery at a clinic in Kirkland, Tasha, a 3-month old cougar cub is scheduled to be back home soon at the Cougar Mountain Zoo and is reportedly doing fine.
The Vikings star said his health is fine but added that he still needs a little fine-tuning following his recovery.
As far as overeducated Bethesda kids go, Jeremy Joseph is a fine, fine rocker.
Fine cut volume in stick equivalents was increased by 0.4 per cent to 44.1 billion, but total stick equivalent volume (cigarettes and fine-cut ) was down by 2.7 per cent to 336.6 billion.
About > Special Events > Fine Cut > 14th Annual Fine Cut Festival.
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In science:
First observe that unipotent elements of GL(n, q) corresponding to nilpotent n × n matrices (subtract the identity matrix), and that the number of nilpotent n × n matrices is qn(n−1) by the Fine-Herstein theorem [FeinHer].
Random matrix theory over finite fields: a survey
FeinHer] Fine, N.J. and Herstein, I. N., The probability that a matrix is nilpotent, Il linois J.
Random matrix theory over finite fields: a survey
Fine Structure in Magnetization of Individual Fluxoid States.
Non-Quantized Penetration of Magnetic Field in the Vortex State of Superconductors
Fine-grained control of how resources are used.
Fine-Grained Authorization for Job Execution in the Grid: Design and Implementation
He is currently supported by a Fine Fellowship.
Feedback Heating with Slow Jets in Cooling Flow Clusters
Simon, Fine structure of the zeros of orthogonal polynomials, I. A tale of two pictures, preprint. B.
The Statistical Distribution of the Zeros of Random Paraorthogonal Polynomials on the Unit Circle
For a small number of segments (.6), image masks work fine − rectangular segments are preferred.
Coronographic Methods for the Detection of Terrestrial Planets
Fine-scale computation: Fully resolve (2.9) by using the fine mesh in D, a small time step δ t in J , and an appropriate method in Γ (e.g., the Monte Carlo method).
Equation-free, multiscale computation for unsteady random diffusion
With these interferometric observations combined with astrometric measurements made by the Hubble Space Telescope Fine Guidance Sensors (FGS), and published radial velocity observations we have estimated preliminary visual and physical orbits of the HD 98800 B subsystem.
Dynamical Masses for Low-Mass Pre-Main Sequence Stars: A Preliminary Physical Orbit for HD 98800 B
For every ECAL trigger tower the information that re(cid:176)ects the lateral extension of the electromagnetic shower (referred to as \Fine Grain" or FG veto bit) is used to improve the rejection of background in the electron trigger.
The CMS High Level Trigger
The MIP bit in a calorimeter region requires on top of the Quiet bit condition, that at least one of the 16 trigger towers has the HCAL Fine Grain bit \on".
The CMS High Level Trigger
Summarizing, in the open systems the fine-tuning cannot automatically provide the relaxation of the wild non-homogeneities produced by the permanent action of the stochistising interactions.
Fluctuations and Long-Term Stability: from Coherence to Chaos
In the previous chapter we have established that the stochastising interactions and the fine-tuning damp any local δ-like fluctuation in closed systems.
Fluctuations and Long-Term Stability: from Coherence to Chaos
Fine-grained histories: The most refined description of the particles from the initial time t = 0 to a suitably large final time t = T gives their position at all times in between, i.e. their Feynman paths.
Generalizing Quantum Mechanics for Quantum Spacetime
Fine-grained histories that are single-valued in the time labeling the spacelike surfaces in the foliating family.
Generalizing Quantum Mechanics for Quantum Spacetime
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