feast (fest)

[ And his sons went and feasted in their houses, every one his day. Job i. 4. We feast and sing, Middle ton, The Witch, i. 2. Dance, ki , and coll. Dear to Arthur was that hall of ours, As having there so oft with all his knights Feasted . Tennyson, Holy Grail. 2. Figuratively, to dwell with gratification or delight: as, to feast on a poem or a picture. Sometime all full with feasting on your sight, And by and by clean starved for a look. Shak., Sonnets, lxxv. doublet.] A deed; especially, a noteworthy or extraordinary act or performance; an exploit: as, feats of arms; feats of horsemanship or of dexterity. Also Sonnday And Munday, And was shewyd ther many Dyverse fet is of werre. Torkington, Diarie of Eng. Travell, p. 63. The feat of merchandizing is nowhere condemned throughout the holy Scriptures. Bullinger , Sermons (trans.), II. 31. You have shown all Hectors. Enter the city, clip your wives, your friends, Tell them your feats . Shak . , A. and C., iv. 8. They showed him also the jawbone with which Samson did such mighty feats . Bunyan , Pilgrini's Progre , p. 124. =Syn. Deed , Feat , Exploit , Achievement. These words are arranged in the order of strength; deed , however, may have a much more elevated character than feat , and even surpa exploit . A deed may, on the other hand, be base or ignoble. It is, therefore, often accompanied by an adjective of quality. A feat is generally an act of remarkable skill or strength: as, the feats of a juggler, a ventriloquist, an athlete. An exploit is especially an act of boldne or bravery, with various degrees of mental power in working it out. An achievement is the result of large ability in planning, and diligence and boldne in executing. Feat , exploit , and achievement differ from act , action , and deed in that the first three always, and the last three only sometimes, represent something great. Nor florid prose, nor honeyed lies of rhyme Can blazon evil deeds , nor consecrate a crime. Byron, Childe Harold, i. 3. He hath borne himself beyond the promise of his age, doing in the figure of a lamb, the feats of a lion. Shak., Much Ado, i. 1. First from the ancient world those giants came, With many a vain exploit . Milton , P. L., iii. 465. Great is the rumour of this dreadful knight, And his achievements of no le account. Shak., 1 Hen. VI., ii. 3. feat1t (fēt), v. t . [Appar. feat1 , n., but prob. with ref. to feature .] To form; fashion; set an example to. Liv'd in court,. A sample to the youngest; to th' more mature, A gla that feated them. Shak ., Cymbeline, i. 1. feat2 (fēt), a. [ fete (rare), shortened from II. trans. 1. To provide with a feast; enter the common form fet is , fetys (rarely fetous , tain with sumptuous fare. King Richard swore, on sea or shore, He never was feasted better. The Kings Disguise (Child's Ballads, V. 379). I do feast to-night My best-esteem'd acquaintance. Shak ., M. of V., ii. 2. The King feasted my Lord once, and it lasted from Eleven of the Clock till towards the Evening. Howell , Letters, I. vi. 2. 2. To delight; pamper; gratify luxuriously: as, to feast the soul. We cannot feast your eyes with masques and revels, Or courtly antics. Beau, and Fl., Laws of Candy, iii. 2. Whose taste or smell can ble the feasted sense. Dryden. whence later spelling featous, q. v.), neat, pretty, Se, so she goth on patens faire and fete . Court of Love, 1. 1087. Lightly the elves sae feat and free, They dance all under the greenwood tree! Sir Oluf and the Elf -King's Daughter (Child's Ballads, [I. 299). And look how well my garments sit upon me; Much feater than before. Shak ., Tempest, ii. 1. She speaks feat English. Fletcher and Shirley , Night-Walker, iii. 6. 2. Large: as, a pretty feat parcel (a rather large quantity). [Prov. Eng.] feat2 (fet), v . t. [ feat2 , a.] To make neat. (fet'bod"id), a. Having a feat or I am never weary of... feasting a foolish gaze on sun cracked plaster and unctuous indoor shadows. H. James, Jr., Trans. Sketches, p. 149. feast-day (fēst'dā), n. [= D. feestdag = G. festtag = Dan. Sw. festdag .] A day of feast-feat-bodiedt ing and rejoicing; a festival; especially, the day of an ecclesiastical feast. The prodigious increase of feast - days in the Christian church commenced toward the close of the fourth century. Rees's Cyc., art. Feast. feaster1 (fēs'ter), n. [ Neuer festour fedde better. Holy Rood (E. E. T. S.), p. 220. Lud was hardy, and bold in Warr, in Peace a jolly Feaster . Milton, Hist. Eng., i. feaster2t, v . An obsolete form of fester . feastful (fest'ful), a. [ feast + -ful .] Festive; joyful; sumptuous; luxurious: as, feast ful rites. The virgins also shall, on feastful days, Visit his tomb with flowers. Milton , S. A., 1. 1741. Therefore be sure, Thou, when the bridegroom with his feastful friends Pa es to bli at the mid hour of night, Hast gain'd thy entrance. Milton , Sonnets, iv. Singing and murmuring in her feastful mirth, Joying to feel herself alive. Tennyson , Palace of Art. feast fully (fēst'fül-i), adv . In a luxurious manner; festively. Imp. Dict. [Rare.]