Fine

14 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  fine \fine\ (f[imac]n), a. [Compar. {finer} (f[imac]n"[~e]r);
     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.
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              The gain thereof [is better] than fine gold. --Prov.
                                                    iii. 14.
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              A cup of wine that's brisk and fine.  --Shak.
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              Not only the finest gentleman of his time, but one
              of the finest scholars.               --Felton.
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              To soothe the sick bed of so fine a being [Keats].
                                                    --Leigh Hunt.
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     2. Aiming at show or effect; loaded with ornament;
        overdressed or overdecorated; showy.
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              He gratified them with occasional . . . fine
              writing.                              --M. Arnold.
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     3. Nice; delicate; subtle; exquisite; artful; skillful;
        dexterous.
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              The spider's touch, how exquisitely fine! --Pope.
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              The nicest and most delicate touches of satire
              consist in fine raillery.             --Dryden.
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              He has as fine a hand at picking a pocket as a
              woman.                                --T. Gray.
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     4. Not coarse, gross, or heavy; as:
        (a) Not gross; subtile; thin; tenous.
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                  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.
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     5. Having (such) a proportion of pure metal in its
        composition; as, coins nine tenths fine.
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     6. (Used ironically.)
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              Ye have made a fine hand, fellows.    --Shak.
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     Note: Fine is often compounded with participles and
           adjectives, modifying them adverbially; a, fine-drawn,
           fine-featured, fine-grained, fine-spoken, fine-spun,
           etc.
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     {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.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  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.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Fine \Fine\, v. i.
     To pay a fine. See {Fine}, n., 3
     (b) . [R.]
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               Men fined for the king's good will; or that he
               would remit his anger; women fined for leave to
               marry.                               --Hallam.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Fine \Fine\ (f[imac]n), 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.
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              Is this the fine of his fines?        --Shak.
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     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.
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     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.
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     {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.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Fine \Fine\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Fined} (f[imac]nd); p. pr. &
     vb. n. {Fining}.] [From {Fine}, a.]
     1. To make fine; to refine; to purify, to clarify; as, to
        fine gold.
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              It hath been fined and refined by . . . learned men.
                                                    --Hobbes.
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     2. To make finer, or less coarse, as in bulk, texture, etc.;
        as. to fine the soil. --L. H. Bailey.
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     3. To change by fine gradations; as (Naut.), to fine down a
        ship's lines, to diminish her lines gradually.
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              I often sate at home
              On evenings, watching how they fined themselves
              With gradual conscience to a perfect night.
                                                    --Browning.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Fine \Fine\, v. t. & i. [OF. finer, F. finir. See {Finish}, v.
     t.]
     To finish; to cease; or to cause to cease. [Obs.]
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Fine \Fine\ (f[imac]n), adv.
     1. Finely; well; elegantly; fully; delicately; mincingly.
        [Obs., Dial., or Colloq.]
        [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
  
     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.
        [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  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.
        [Webster 1913 Suppl.]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  fine
       adj 1: superior to the average; "in fine spirits"; "a fine
              student"; "made good grades"; "morale was good"; "had
              good weather for the parade" [syn: {good}]
       2: 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" [syn: {all
          right}, {ok}, {o.k.}, {okay}, {hunky-dory}]
       3: minutely precise especially in differences in meaning; "a
          fine distinction"
       4: 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}]
       5: being in good health; "he's feeling all right again"; "I'm
          fine, how are you?" [syn: {all right}]
       6: thin in thickness or diameter; "a fine film of oil"; "fine
          hairs"; "read the fine print"
       7: 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"
       8: ; free or impurities; having a high or specified degree of
          purity; "gold 21 carats fine" [syn: {f.}]
       9: (of weather) pleasant; not raining, perhaps with the sun
          shining; "a fine summer evening"
       n : 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 a superior and skilled manner; "the soldiers were
          fighting finely" [syn: {finely}]
       v : 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!" [syn: {ticket}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  512 Moby Thesaurus words for "fine":
     Babylonian, Corinthian, OK, Roger, absolutely, abstruse,
     accomplished, accurate, acrid, acute, admirable, adulterated,
     advantageous, aesthetic, aesthetically appealing, affable,
     agreeable, airy, alive and kicking, all right, alright, alrighty,
     amen, amerce, amercement, amiable, amicable, amusing, appreciative,
     arabesque, aright, as you say, assessment, assuredly, attentive,
     attenuate, attenuated, attractive, auspicious, awe-inspiring,
     awful, aye, balmy, barbaric, baroque, beauteous, beautiful,
     beneficial, benevolent, bitsy, bitty, blissful, bon, bonny, bonzer,
     boyish, branny, braw, bright, bright and fair,
     bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, brilliant, bueno, busy, by all means,
     capital, capitally, certainly, chalklike, chalky, champion, charge,
     cheerful, chichi, chipper, choice, civilized, clear, close,
     cloudless, cogent, comely, commendable, comminute, comminuted,
     compatible, complaisant, confiscate, congenial, conscientious,
     constant, consummate, cool, cordial, correct, critical, crushed,
     cryptic, cultivated, cultured, cut, cute, cutting, da, dainty,
     damages, dandy, delicat, delicate, deluxe, demanding, desirable,
     detailed, detrital, detrited, diaphanous, differential, dilute,
     diluted, direct, discriminate, discriminating, discriminative,
     disintegrated, distinctive, distinguishing, distrain, distraint,
     distress, double-edged, downy, dry, dulcet, dusty, edged,
     efflorescent, elaborate, elegant, en rapport, endowed with beauty,
     enigmatic, enjoyable, enjoying health, entertaining, escheat,
     escheatment, esoteric, estimable, estreat, ethereal, eupeptic,
     even, exact, exacting, exactly, excellent, excellently,
     exceptional, exigent, expedient, express, exquisite, extravagant,
     eye-filling, fair, fair and pleasant, faithful, famous, famously,
     fancy, farinaceous, fastidious, favorable, featheredged, fee,
     felicific, felicitous, filamentous, filmy, fine-drawn,
     fine-grained, finely, finespun, finical, finicking, finicky,
     first-class, first-rate, firsts, fit, fit and fine, flaky,
     flamboyant, flimsy, florid, floury, flowerlike, flowery, fluffy,
     forfeit, forfeiture, frail, frilly, full of beans, furfuraceous,
     fussy, fuzzy, gaseous, gauzy, genial, girlish, glorious,
     gone to dust, good, good enough, good-looking, goodly, gossamer,
     gossamery, graceful, gracile, gracious, grand, grandiose, grated,
     grateful, gratifying, great, ground, hair-splitting, hairline,
     hairsplitting, handsome, harmonious, healthful, healthy, hear,
     heart-warming, heavy, helpful, high-grade, high-wrought, honeyed,
     impalpable, imposing, impressive, in condition, in fine fettle,
     in fine whack, in good case, in good health, in good shape,
     in health, in high feather, in mint condition, in shape,
     in the pink, indeed, indeedy, inerrable, inerrant, infallible,
     insubstantial, interesting, itsy-bitsy, ja, just so, keen,
     keen-edged, kind, knifelike, labored, lacy, laudable, levigated,
     levy, levy a distress, light, likable, loose, lovely, luxuriant,
     luxurious, magnificent, mais oui, majestic, masterly, mathematical,
     mealy, mellifluous, mellow, meritorious, meticulous,
     micrometrically precise, microscopic, milled, minute, misty,
     moresque, most assuredly, mulct, narrow, naturally, naturellement,
     neat, nice, nicely, noble, obscure, of course, okay, ornate,
     ostentatious, oui, outstanding, overelaborate, overelegant,
     overlabored, overworked, overwrought, palatial, papery, particular,
     peachy, peewee, penalize, penalty, pestled, petty, picturesque,
     pinpoint, pleasant, pleasing, pleasurable, pleasure-giving,
     pleasureful, plush, pointed, polished, porous, posh, positively,
     powdered, powdery, precise, precisely, precisianistic,
     precisionistic, pretty, pretty-pretty, prime, princely, profitable,
     proud, pubescent, pulchritudinous, pulverant, pulverized,
     pulverulent, punctilious, punctual, punishment, quality, quite,
     rainless, rare, rarefied, rather, razor-edged, really, recondite,
     reduced to powder, refined, regal, religious, religiously exact,
     reparation, rewarding, rich, right, righto, rigid, rigorous,
     ripping, ritzy, robust, rococo, royal, royally, satin, satiny,
     satisfactory, satisfying, scaly, scientific, scientifically exact,
     scobicular, scobiform, sconce, scrupulous, scrutinizing, scurfy,
     seemly, select, selective, sensitive, sequestrate, set, severe,
     sharded, sharp, sheer, shredded, silky, skillful, slender,
     slenderish, slight, slight-made, slim, slimmish, slinky, small,
     smooth, sophisticated, sound, splendacious, splendid, splendidly,
     splendiferous, square, stately, strict, striking, subtile, subtle,
     sumptuous, sunny, superb, superfancy, superfine, superior, supreme,
     sure, sure thing, surely, svelte, swank, swanky, sweet, swell,
     sylphlike, tactful, tax, teeny, teeny-weeny, tenuous, thin,
     thin-bodied, thin-set, thin-spun, thinned, thinned-out, thinnish,
     threadlike, tiny, to be sure, top-drawer, trifling, triturated,
     truly, two-edged, uncompact, uncompressed, undarkened, undeviating,
     unerring, unsubstantial, useful, vague, valid, vaporous,
     velutinous, velvety, very good, very well, virtuoso, virtuous,
     wasp-waisted, watered, watered-down, watery, weak, wee, welcome,
     well, well and good, well-made, why yes, willowy, windy, wiredrawn,
     wispy, worthy, yea, yeah, yep, yes, yes indeed, yes indeedy,
     yes sir, yes sirree
  
  

From Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001) [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}.
  
  

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  FINE. This word has various significations. It is employed, 1. To mean a sum 
  of money, which, by judgment of a competent jurisdiction, is required to be 
  paid for the punishment of an offence. 2. To designate the amount paid by 
  the tenant, on his entrance, to the lord. 3. To signify a special kind of 
  conveyance. 
  
  

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  FINE, conveyance, Practice. An amicable composition or agreement of a suit, 
  either actual or fictitious, by leave of the court, by which the lands in 
  question become, or are acknowledged to be the right of one of the parties. 
  Co. Litt. 120; 2 Bl. Com. 349; Bac. Abr. Fines and Recoveries. A fine is so 
  called, because it puts an end, not only to the suit thus commenced, but 
  also to all other suits and controversies concerning the same matter. Such 
  concords, says Doddridge, (Eng. Lawyer, 84, 85,) have been in use in the 
  civil law, and are called transactions (q.v.) whereof they say thus: 
  Transactiones sunt de eis quae in controversia sunt, a, lite futura aut 
  pendente ad certam compositionem reducuntur, dando aliquid vel accipiendo. 
  Or shorter, thus: Transactio est de re dubia et lite ancipite ne dum ad 
  finem ducta, non gratuita pactio. It is commonly defined an assurance by 
  matter of record, and is founded upon a supposed previously existing right, 
  and upon a writ requiring the party to perform his covenant; although a fine 
  may be levied upon any writ by which lands may be demanded, charged, or 
  bound. It has also been defined an acknowledgment on record of a previous 
  gift or feoffment, and prima facie carries a fee, although it may be limited 
  to an estate for life or in fee tail. Prest. on Convey. 200, 202, 268, 269 2 
  Bl. Com. 348-9. 
       2. The stat. 18 E. I., called modus levandi fines, declares and 
  regulates the manner in which they should be levied and carried on and that 
  is as follows: 1. The party to whom the land is conveyed or assured, 
  commences an action at law against the other, generally an action of 
  covenant, by suing out of a writ of praecipe, called a writ of covenant, 
  that the one shall convey the lands to the other, on the breach of which 
  agreement the action is brought. The suit being thus commenced, then 
  follows, 
       2. The licentia concordandi, or leave to compromise the suit. 3. The 
  concord or agreement itself, after leave obtained by the court; this is 
  usually an acknowledgment from the deforciants, that the lands in question 
  are the lands of the complainants. 4. The note of the fine, which is only an 
  abstract of the writ of covenant, and the concord naming the parties, the 
  parcels of land, and the agreement. 5. The foot of the fine or the 
  conclusion of it, which includes the whole matter, reciting the parties, 
  day, year, and place, and before whom it was acknowledged or levied. 
       3. Fines thus levied, are of four kinds. 1. What in law French is 
  called a fine sur cognizance de droit, come ceo que il ad de son done; or a 
  fine upon the acknowledgment of the right of the cognizee, as that which he 
  has of the gift of the cognizor. This fine is called a feoffment of record. 
  2. A fine sur cognizance de droit tantum, or acknowledgment of the right 
  merely. 3. A fine sur concessit, is where the cognizor, in order to make an 
  end of disputes, though he acknowledges no precedent right, yet grants to 
  the consignee an estate de novo, usually for life or years, by way of a 
  supposed composition. 4. A fine sur done grant et render, which is a double 
  fine, comprehending the fine sur cognizance de droit come ceo, &c., and the 
  fine sur concessit; and may be used to convey particular limitations of 
  estate, and to persons who are strangers, or not named in the writ of the 
  covenant, whereas the fine sur cognizance de droit come ceo &c., conveys 
  nothing but an absolute estate either of inheritance, or at least of 
  freehold. Salk. 340. In this last species of fines, the cognizee, after the 
  right is acknowledged to be in him, grants back again, or renders to the 
  cognizor, or perhaps to a stranger some other estate in the premises. 2 Bl. 
  Com. 348 to 358. See Cruise on Fines; Vin. Abr. Fine; Sheph. Touch. c. 2; 
  Bac. Ab. Fines and Recoveries; Com. Dig. Fine. 
  
  

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  FINE, criminal law. Pecuniary punishment imposed by a lawful tribunal, upon 
  a person convicted of crime or misdemeanor. See Shep. Touchs. 2; Bac. Abr. 
  Fines and Amercements. 
       2. The amount of the fine is frequently left to the discretion of the 
  court, who ought to proportion the fine to the offence. To prevent the abuse 
  of excessive fines, the Constitution of the United States directs that 
  "excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor 
  cruel and unusual punishments inflicted." Amendm. to the Constitution, art. 
  8. See Division of opinion.