10 definitions found
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Fine \Fine\, adv
1. Finely; well elegantly; fully; delicately; mincingly.
[Obs., Dial., or Colloq.]
2. (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
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Fine \Fine\ (f[imac]n), v. i.
To become fine (in any one of various senses); as the ale
will fine; the weather fined.
{To fine} {away, down off}, gradually to become fine; to
diminish; to dwindle.
I watched her [the ship] . . . gradually fining down
in the westward until I lost of her hull. --W. C.
Russel.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Fine \Fine\, a. [Compar. {Finer}; superl. {Finest}.] [F. fin,
LL finus fine, pure, fr L. finire to finish; cf finitus
p. p., finished, completed (hence the sense accomplished,
perfect.) See {Finish}, and cf {Finite}.]
1. 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. --Prov.
iii. 14.
A cup of wine that's brisk and fine. --Shak.
Not only the finest gentleman of his time, but one
of the finest scholars. --Felton.
To soothe the sick bed of so fine a being [Keats].
--Leigh Hunt.
2. Aiming at show or effect; loaded with ornament;
overdressed or overdecorated showy.
He gratified them with occasional . . . fine
writing. --M. Arnold.
3. Nice; delicate; subtle; exquisite; artful; skillful;
dexterous.
The spider's touch, how exquisitely fine! --Pope.
The nicest and most delicate touches of satire
consist in fine raillery. --Dryden.
He has as fine a hand at picking a pocket as a
woman. --T. Gray.
4. Not coarse, gross, or heavy; as:
a Not gross; subtile; thin; tenous.
The eye standeth in the finer medium and the
object in the grosser. --Bacon.
b Not coarse; comminuted; in small particles; as fine
sand or flour.
c Not thick or heavy; slender; filmy; as a fine thread.
d Thin; attenuate; keen; as a fine edge.
e Made of fine materials; light; delicate; as fine
linen or silk.
5. Having such a proportion of pure metal in its
composition; as coins nine tenths fine.
6. (Used ironically.)
Ye have made a fine hand, fellows. --Shak.
Note: Fine is often compounded with participles and
adjectives, modifying them adverbially; a, fine-drawn,
fine-featured, fine-grained, fine-spoken, fine-spun,
etc
{Fine arch} (Glass Making), the smaller fritting furnace of a
glasshouse. --Knight.
{Fine arts}. See the Note under {Art}.
{Fine cut}, fine cut tobacco; a kind of chewing tobacco cut
up into shreds.
{Fine goods}, woven fabrics of fine texture and quality.
--McElrath.
{Fine stuff}, lime, or a mixture of lime, plaster, etc., used
as material for the finishing coat in plastering.
{To sail fine} (Naut.), to sail as close to the wind as
possible.
Syn: {Fine}, {Beautiful}.
Usage: When used as a word of praise, fine (being opposed to
coarse) denotes no ``ordinary thing of its kind.'' It
is not as strong as beautiful, in reference to the
single attribute implied in the latter term; but when
we speak of a fine 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 fine 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.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Fine \Fine\, v. t. [From {Fine}, 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.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Fine \Fine\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Fined}; p. pr & vb n.
{Fining}.] [From {Fine}, a.]
1. To make fine; to refine; to purify, to clarify; as to
fine gold.
It hath been fined and refined by . . . learned men.
--Hobbes.
2. To make finer, or less coarse, as in bulk, texture, etc.;
as to fine the soil. --L. H. Bailey.
3. 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. --Browning.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Fine \Fine\, n. [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}.]
1. End conclusion; termination; extinction. [Obs.] ``To see
their fatal fine.'' --Spenser.
Is this the fine of his fines? --Shak.
2. 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.
3. (Law)
a (Feudal Law) A final agreement concerning lands or
rents between persons, as the lord and his vassal.
--Spelman.
b (Eng. 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 for alienation} (Feudal Law), a sum of money paid to
the lord by a tenant whenever he had occasion to make over
his land to another. --Burrill.
{Fine of lands}, a species of conveyance in the form of a
fictitious suit compromised or terminated by the
acknowledgment of the previous owner that such land was
the right of the other party. --Burrill. See {Concord},
n., 4.
{In fine}, in conclusion; by way of termination or summing
up
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Fine \Fine\, v. i.
To pay a fine. See {Fine}, n., 3
b . [R.]
Men fined for the king's good will or that he
would remit his anger; women fined for leave to
marry. --Hallam.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Fine \Fine\, v. t. & i. [OF. finer, F. finir. See {Finish}, v.
t.]
To finish; to cease; or to cause to cease. [Obs.]
From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]:
fine
adj 1: superior to the average; "in fine spirits"; "a fine
student"; "a fine summer day"; "made good grades";
"morale was good"; "had good weather for the parade"
[syn: {good}]
2: superior in skill or ability or accomplishment; "a fine
violinist"; "a fine athlete"; "a fine mind"; "the scupture
showed the fine hand of a master"; "a fine performance"
3: (informal) 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"; "nother minute I'd have been fine" [syn: {all
right(p)}, {all-right(a)}, {ok}, {o.k.}, {okay}]
4: minutely precise especially in differences in meaning; "a
fine distinction"
5: used ironically; "a fine mess"; "a pretty kettle of fish"
[syn: {pretty}]
6: being in good health; "he's feeling all right again"; "I'm
fine; how are you?" [syn: {all right}]
7: very thin in gauge or diameter; "fine hairs"; "a tenuous
thread" [syn: {tenuous}]
8: characterized by elegance or refinement; "looking fine in
her Easter suit"; "a fine gentleman"
9: of texture; being small-grained or smooth to the touch or
having fine 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"
[ant: {coarse}]
10: of delicate composition and artistry; "a dainty teacup"; "an
exquisite cameo"; "fine china and crystal" [syn: {dainty},
{exquisite}]
11: of superior grade; "choice wines"; "fine wines" "prime
beef"; "prize carnations"; "quality paper"; "select
peaches" [syn: {choice}, {prime(a)}, {prize}, {quality},
{select}]
12: trained to the highest degree of physical excellence; "a
fine racehorse"
13: (metallurgy) having a high or specified degree of purity;
"gold 21 carats fine" [syn: {f.}]
14: (of weather) highly enjoyable; very pleasant; "a beautiful
evening" [syn: {beautiful}]
15: very small "be sure to read the fine print"
16: able to make or detect effects of great subtlety; sensitive;
"discerning taste"; "a fine eye for color" [syn: {discerning}]
n 1: the act of imposing a fine [syn: {fining}]
2: money extracted as a penalty [syn: {mulct}, {amercement}]
adv 1: sentence-initial expression of agreement [syn: {very well},
{alright}, {all right}, {OK}]
2: in a delicate manner; "finely shaped features"; "her fine
drawn body" [syn: {finely}, {delicately}, {exquisitely}]
3: in an excellent and skilled manner; "the soldiers were
fighting finely" [syn: {finely}]
v 1: impose a fine on [syn: {mulct}]
2: issue a ticket or a fine to "I was fined for parking on the
wrong side of the street"; "Move your car or else you will
be ticketed!" [syn: {ticket}]
From Jargon File (4.2.3, 23 NOV 2000) [jargon]:
fine adj [WPI] Good, but not good enough to be {cuspy}. The
word `fine' is used elsewhere, of course, but without the implicit
comparison to the higher level implied by {cuspy}.
more about fine
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