F F, the sixth letter of the English Alphabet., is a labial
articulation, formed by placing the upper teeth on the under lip, and
accompanied with an emission of breath. Its kindred letter is v, which
is chiefly distinguished from f by being more vocal, or accompanied
with more sound, as may be perceived by pronouncing ef, ev. This letter
may be derived from the Oriental vau. The Latins received the letter
from the Eolians in Greece, who wrote it in the form of a double g, F,;
whence it has been called most absurdly digamma. It corresponds in power
to the Greek phi, and its proper name is ef. As a Latin numeral, it
signifies 40, and with a dash over the top, forty thousand. In the
civil law, two of these letters together ff, signify the pandects.
In English criminal law, this letter is branded on felons, when admitted
to the benefit of clergy. In medical prescriptions, F stands for
fiat, let it be made; F.S.A. fiat secundum artem. F stands also
for Fellow; F.R.S. Fellow of the Royal Society. F or fa, in music,
is the fourth note rising in this order in the gamut, ut, re, mi, fa. It
denotes also one of the Greek keys in music, destined for the base.
F in English has one uniform sound, as in father, after.
F
n 1: a degree on the Fahrenheit scale of temperature [syn:
degree Fahrenheit, F]
2: a nonmetallic univalent element belonging to the halogens;
usually a yellow irritating toxic flammable gas; a powerful
oxidizing agent; recovered from fluorite or cryolite or
fluorapatite [syn: fluorine, F, atomic number 9]
3: the capacitance of a capacitor that has an equal and opposite
charge of 1 coulomb on each plate and a voltage difference of
1 volt between the plates [syn: farad, F]
4: the 6th letter of the Roman alphabet [syn: F, f]
f I. noun (pluralf'sorfs)
Usage: often capitalized, often attributive Date: before 12th
century 1.a. the 6th letter of the English alphabet b. a graphic
representation of this letter c. a speech counterpart of orthographic
f2. the fourth tone of a C-major scale 3. a graphic device
for reproducing the letter f4. one designated f
especially as the sixth in order or class 5.a. a grade rating a student's work as failing b. one graded
or rated with an F
6. something shaped like the letter F II. abbreviation1. failure 2. false 3. family 4.
faraday 5. feast 6. female 7. feminine 8.
femto- 9. fermi 10. fine 11. finish 12.
fluid; fluidness 13. focal length 14. folio 15.
[following] and the following one 16. force 17. forte
18. fragile 19. frequency 20. from 21. full
F 1. abbr. Electr. faraday. 2. n. (also f) (pl. Fs or F's) 1 the sixth letter of the alphabet. 2 Mus. the fourth note of the diatonic scale of C
major. 3. abbr. (also F.) 1 Fahrenheit. 2 farad(s). 3 female. 4 fine (pencil-lead). 5 Biol. filial generation (as F1 for the first filial generation, F2 for the second,
etc.). 4. symb. Chem. the element fluorine.
F \F\ ([e^]f).
1. F is the sixth letter of the English alphabet, and a
nonvocal consonant. Its form and sound are from the Latin.
The Latin borrowed the form from the Greek digamma ?,
which probably had the value of English w consonant. The
form and value of Greek letter came from the Ph[oe]nician,
the ultimate source being probably Egyptian.
Etymologically f is most closely related to p, k, v, and
b; as in E. five, Gr. pe`nte; E. wolf, L. lupus, Gr.
ly`kos; E. fox, vixen; fragile, break; fruit, brook, v.
t.; E. bear, L. ferre. See Guide to Pronunciation,
[sect][sect] 178, 179, 188, 198, 230.
2. (Mus.) The name of the fourth tone of the model scale, or
scale of C. F sharp (F [sharp]) is a tone intermediate
between F and G.
F clef, the bass clef. See under Clef.
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