FEM
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FEN
The Felt intended for a Hat, being fuffciently full'd, and prepar'd, is redue'd into one Piece, iorhewhat in the figure of a iarge Funnel: In which State it remains ready, to be put into Form, and become a Hat. See Hat.
FELUCCA, or Felucco, a little Vcffel, with fix Oars, hot cover'd over; and much us'd in the Mediterranean. It may bear its Helm on both Sides; which is likewife fhifted from behind, forewards occafionally. Its Size is about equal to that of a Sloop, or Chaloup. See Boat.
The Word is form'd from the Arabick Felicon, a Ship. — FEMALE, the Sex that conceives, and bears Fruit. See Sex, and Woman.
An Animal that generates in it felf, is called Female; and that which generates in another, Male. See Male.
ThcFemale both in Quadrupeds, and even Birds,is ufually fmaller, and weaker than the Male ; tho' in Birds of Prey, as the Falcon, Hawk, &c. it is otherwife ; the Female be- ing bigger, ftrongcr, holder, hardier, and more courageous. See Falcon
The like is obferv'd in moft Infects, particularly Spiders; to that Degree, that Mr. Homberg affures us, he has weigh'd five or fix Male Garden-Spiders againft one Female of the lame Species.
For the 'Proportion of Males to Females, fee Marriage, Berths, &c.
Katuralifis diftinguifti Male and Female Plants ; Male and Female Flowers, g?e. See Plant, Flower, Gene- ration, &c. Female Screw. See Screw.
FEME Covert, in Law, a married Woman ; who is alfo faid to be under Covert Saron. See Covert.
FEMININE, in Grammar, one of the Genders of Nouns. See Gender.
The Feminine Gender is that, which denotes the Name to belong to a Female. In the Latin, the Feminine Gender is form'd of the Mafculine, by altering its Termination; particularly by changing us into a. Thus, of the Mafculine bonus equus, a good Horfe, is form'd the Feminine, bona eifua, a good Mare : So, of parvus homo, a little Man, is form'd, parva femina, a little Woman, $$c.
In French, the Feminine Gender is exprefs'd, not by a different Termination; but a different Article: Thus, le is joyn'd to a Male, and la to a Female.
In Englifr, we are generally more ftricf, and cxprefs the Difference of Sex, not by different Terminations, nor by different Particles, but different Words ; as Boar, and Sow; Boy, and Girl; Brother, and Sifler, iSc. tho' fometimesthe Feminine is fotm'd by varying the Termination of the Male into efs; as in Abbot, Abbefs, S?c. Feminine Rhimes, fee Rhime.
FEMUR, or Os Femor is, in Anatomy, the Thigh-bone. See Bone, and Thigh.
The Femur is the largeil and ftrongeft Bone in the Body; and its Articulations are proportion'd to its Bulk, and Strength. Its upper Part is jointed with the Ifchium, by Enarthrofis; the Head of the Femur being receiv'd into a Cavity ot the Ilchium ; and the two kept together by a firong Cartilage, or Bandage. The lower End is articu- lated with the Tibia by Ginglimus ; two Heads of the Fe- mur being receiv'd into two Cavities of the Tibia ; befide a Cavity between the two Heads, which receives a Procefs of the Tibia.
The Femur is pretty much incurvated, or bent ; the con- vex Part being before, and the Concave behind. It is di- vided into three Parts; the upper, middle, and lower.
The upper, confifts of a Head, and a Neck; in which arc contain d three Epiphyfes, viz. the Extremity, or Head, which is round, and big, and receiv'd into the Acetabulum ot the Coxendix, wherein it is tied by twoLigaments ; the one from the Head, and the other from the Bottom of the Acetabulum, but both inferted into the Middle of the Head. Immediately under the Head, is the Neck, which is fmall, long, and a little oval, and makes an Anole with the Body of the Bone ; by means whereof the ThTghs and Feet are kept at a due Diftance from each other, to make our Standing the firmer ; Befide that the Obliquity of the Neck conduces to the Strength of the Mufcles, which muib otherwile have pafs'd too near the Centre of Motion. The other two Epiphytes are call'd the greater and lefs 'tro- chanters. See Trochanter.
The middle Part or Shank of the Femur, is round, fmooth, and polilhd on its Fore-fide, and rou^h on the Hind-fide; along which there runs a fmall Ridge.'the whole Length of the Bone, called the Lima iifpera, ferving for the lnfertion of Mufcles. °
The lower Part of the Femur is divided by a Sinus in the Middle, into two Heads, or Apophyfes, call'd Condili, which make the Gmglymus above raention'd; being both received into the Sinus of the Tibia. See Conbilus.
Between the hind Parts of thefe Heads is a Space for the Paffagc of the great Veffcls and Nerves, which go to the Leg,
The Femur has a very large Cavity, running its whole Length, filled, like the reft, with Marrow. The Curvity of the Femur makes it ferve as a Buttrefs to the Body, to prevent its falling, or bearing too much forward.
Surge»ns and Bone-fetters iliould take Care, that in fraftures of the Femur they don't endeavour tafetitftreighf, which is unnatural.
Monf. 'Dionis derives the Word Femur from fero, by rea-
fon it bears the whole Weight of the Body. •
FEN, in Geography,, a kind of Lake, or rather, Morafs. See Lake, and Mop.ass.
Fens ire of two Kinds: The firft of a Boggy Confidence, compofed of Water and Earth intermixed; fcarce firm enough to fuftain the Tread of a Man. See Bog, and Moss.
The fecond are Ponds, or Collections of Waters, with pieces of dry Land, railed here and there, above the Sur- face thereof.
The former kind neither receive, nor emit any River: But the latter are frequently the Heads or Springs of Ri- vers : Such is the Head of the Nile, Tanais, &c.
FENCE- jjfcfi (Menfis prohibitionis, or Men/is vctitus) is a Month, wherein the female Deer do fawn; for which Reafonit is unlawful to hunt in the Foreft, during thatTime. It begins fifteen Days before Midfummer, and ends fif- teen Days after; in all, thirty Days.
There are alfo certain Fence, or defence Months, or Sea- fons for Fifh, as well as wildBeafts; as appears by Stat. JVeftm.z. cap. 13. in thefe Words:
All Waters, where Salmons are taken, fhall be in Tie- fence for taking of Salmon, from the Nativity of our Lady, unto St. Martin's Day. And likewife, young Salmons fhall not be taken or deftroyed by Nets, £S?c. from the Midffc of April, to the Nativity of St. John Baptiji, rxc. See Tempus, Foinesun, Fanatio, £$c.
H-zKc-z-Walls, are Walls of Brick, or Stone, made round Gardens, e?c. See Wall.
FENCING, the Art of 'Defence ; or of ufing the Sword, to wound an Enemy, and fheiter one's felf from his Attacks. See Sword, and Guard.
Fencing is one fo the Exercifes learnt in the Academies, &c. See Exercise.
Fencing is learnt by practifing with Files, called in Latin, Rudes ; whence Fencing is called Gladiatura rudiarm. See' Gladiator.
'Pyrard affures, that the Art of Fencing is fo highly efteemed in the Eajl Indies, that none but Princes and Noblemen are allowed to teach it. They wear a Badge or Cognizance on their right Arms, called in their Language Efarll, which is put on with great Ceremony, like the Badges of our Orders of Knighthood, by the Kings them- felves.
Montaign affures us, that when he was a Youth, the No- bility all fhunned the Reputation of being good Fencers; as fomething too fubtle, and defigning, and apt to corrupt vif- tuous Manners.
Fencing is divided into two Parts, Simple, and Com- pound.
Simple is, what is performed directly and nimbly, on ' the fame Line ; and is either Offenfive, or Defenfive. The principal Object of the firft, is whatever may be at- tempted, in pufhing or pafilng from this or that Point, to the moft uncovered Part of the Enemy. The fecond, con- fifts in parrying, and repelling the Thrufts aimed by the Enemy.
The Compound, on the offenfive Side, includes all the poffible Arts and Inventions, to deceive the Enemy, and make him leave that Part we have a Defign on, bare, and unguarded, upon finding we cannot come at it by Force, nor by the Agility of the Ample Play.
The principal Means hereof are Feints, Appeals, Clafh- ings, and Intanglings of Swords, half-Thrufts, £j?c. And in the Defenfive, to pufti in fpeaking.
FEND, in the Sea Language, is ufed for the faving a Boat from being da/h'd againft the Rocks, Shore, or Ships Side.
Hence the Phrafe, Fending the Seat, &c . Hence alfo Feneers, any Pieces of old Cable Ropes, or Billets of Wood, hung over the Ship's Side, to fend or keep other Ships from tubbing againft her. Boats have the like. — —
FENDUE en 'Pal, in Heraldry, a French Phrafe, ap- plied to a Crofs, to denote it cloven down from Top to Bottom, and the Parts fct at fome Diftance from one another. FENESTRA, in Anatomy, a Name applied to two Holes, or Apertures in the inner Ear. See Ear.
The Fenefirie are two Openings in the Labyrinth ; the firft of them inclos'd by the Bafis of the Stapes, and from its oval Figure_ denominated Feneflra evalis ; the latter, call'd rotunda, is dos'd with a tranfverfe tranfparent Mem- brane, plac'd a little within the Surface of its Aperture.
Thefis
