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. 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\, 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.]
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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.
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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\ (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. [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\ (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.
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From Italian-English FreeDict Dictionary ver. 0.1.1 [fd-ita-eng]:
fine
end; ending
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