fine
fine (fīn) , adjective
[French fin, Late Latin finus fine, pure, from Latin finire to finish; compare finitus, p. p., finished, completed (hence the sense accomplished, perfect.) See Finish, and compare 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.
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].
2.
Aiming at show or effect; loaded with ornament; overdressed or overdecorated; showy.
He gratified them with occasional... fine writing.
3.
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.
4.
Not coarse, gross, or heavy
(a)
Not gross; subtile; thin; tenous.
The eye standeth in the finer medium and the object in the grosser.
(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.
Fine is often compounded with participles and adjectives, modifying them adverbially; a, fine-drawn, fine-featured, fine-grained, fine-spoken, fine-spun, etc.
Collocations (6)
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 (Nautical) , to sail as close to the wind as possible.
Fine (fīnd) , transitive verb
[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.
2.
To make finer, or less coarse, as in bulk, texture, etc.; as. to fine the soil. — L. H. Bailey
3.
(Nautical) To change by fine gradations; as (Nautical), 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.
Fine (fīn) , noun
[Old English fin, Latin finis end, also in Late Latin, 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; compare Old French fin end, settlement, French fin end. See Finish, and compare Finance.]
1.
End; conclusion; termination; extinction. [Obsolete]
To see their fatal fine.
Is this the fine of his fines?
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.
(a) (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.
Collocations (3)
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
In fine , in conclusion; by way of termination or summing up.
Fine , transitive verb
[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.
Fine , intransitive verb
To pay a fine. See Fine, n., 3 (b). [Rare]
Men fined for the king's good will; or that he would remit his anger; women fined for leave to marry.
Fine , verb, transitive and intransitive
[Old French finer, French finir. See Finish, transitive verb]
To finish; to cease; or to cause to cease. [Obsolete]
Fine (fīn) , adverb
1.
Finely; well; elegantly; fully; delicately; mincingly. [Obsolete, Dialectal, or Colloquial]
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.
Fine (fīn) , intransitive verb
To become fine (in any one of various senses); as, the ale will fine; the weather fined.
I watched her [the ship]... gradually fining down in the westward until I lost of her hull.