fus

n. [ F. fusarolle, fr. It. fusaruolo, fr. fuso spindle, shaft of a column. See Fusee a conical wheel. ] (Arch.) A molding generally placed under the echinus or quarter round of capitals in the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian orders of architecture. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. fuscare, fuscatum, to make dark, fr. fuscus dark. ] A darkening; obscurity; obfuscation. [ R. ] Blount. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. fuscus dark-colored, tawny. ] (Physiol. Chem.) A brown, nitrogenous pigment contained in the retinal epithelium; a variety of melanin. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Chem.) A dark-colored substance obtained from empyreumatic animal oil. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. fuscus. ] Brown or grayish black; darkish. [ 1913 Webster ]

Sad and fuscous colors, as black or brown, or deep purple
and the like. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Fused p. pr. & vb. n. Fusing. ] [ L. fusus, p. p. of fundere to pour, melt, cast. See Foundo to cast, and cf. Futile. ] 1. To liquefy by heat; to render fluid; to dissolve; to melt. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To unite or blend, as if melted together. [ 1913 Webster ]

Whose fancy fuses old and new. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To be reduced from a solid to a fluid state by heat; to be melted; to melt. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To be blended, as if melted together. [ 1913 Webster ]

Fusing point, the degree of temperature at which a substance melts; the point of fusion; the melting point. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ For fusee, fusil. See 2d Fusil. ] (Gunnery, Mining, etc.) 1. A tube or casing filled with combustible matter, by means of which a charge of powder is ignited, as in blasting; -- called also fuzee. See Fuze. [ 1913 Webster ]

Fuse hole, the hole in a shell prepared for the reception of the fuse. Farrow. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Mil.) a mechanism in a bomb, torpedo, rocket, or artillery shell, usually having an easily detonated explosive charge and activated by the shock of impact, which detonates the main explosive charge. Some fuses may have timing mechanisms, delaying the explosion for a short time, or up to several days after impact. Fuses activated by other mechanisms more sophisticated than impact, such as proximity or heat, are used in modern weapons such as antiaircraft or antimissile missiles. [ PJC ]