fit1 (fit)

[ cal exertion. Sys, sche seyde, make yow gladd, For on [an] hardere fytt never ye had. Sir Eglamour , 1. 255. The body that on the bere lis Scheweth the same that we schal be; That ferful fit may no mon fle. Early Eng . Poems (ed. Furnivall), p. 135. 2. An attack of convulsive disease; a muscular convulsion, often with lo of self-control and consciousne ; spasm; specifically, an epileptic attack. The aged man that coffers up his gold Is plagued with cramps and gouts and painful fits . Shak ., Lucrece, 1. 856. The frequency of attacks varies immensely in epilepsy. In one case the average nightly number of fits had been about twelve. Quain, Med. Dict. 3. The invasion, exacerbation, or paroxysm of disease, or of any physical disturbance, coming suddenly or by abrupt transition: as, a fit of the gout; a fit of colic, of coughing, or of sneezing; a cold or a hot fit in intermittent fever. Unquiet meals make ill digestions, Thereof the raging fire of fever bred; And what's a fever but a fit of madne ! Shak., C. of E., v. 1. You shall not be rid of this ague of my letters, though perchance the fit change days. Donne, Letters, vi. 4. A more or le sudden and transient manifestation of emotion or feeling of any kind, as of pa ion (anger), grief, laughter, lazine , etc.; usually, a manifestation of violent emotion; a paroxysm; a "spell." Such feare full fitt a aid her trembling hart, Ne word to speake, ne joynt to move, she had. Spenser, F. Q., I. vi. 11. Thy jealous fits Have scar'd thy husband from the use of wits. Shak., C. of E., v. 1. There is no difference between a mad man and an angry man in the time of his fit . Burton , Anat. of Mel., p. 169. Wrapped in a fit of pleasing indolence. Words worth, Vernal Ode, iv. 5. A sudden impulse toward effort, activity, or motion, followed by an interval of relaxation; impulsive and intermittent action: as, he will do it now that the fit is on him; to have a fit of work. In the emi ion theory of light a fit is a period during which the matter of light is more or le easily transmitted. These fits were supposed by Newton to account for the phenomena now explained by the periods of undulation. He that's compelled to goodne may be good, But 'tis but for that fit ; where others, drawn By softne and example, get a habit. 2241 Shirley was glad to be independent as to property; by fits she was even elated at the notion of being lady of the manor. Charlotte Brontë , Shirley, xii. Fit of the facet, a grimace; a twist or contortion of the face. All the good our English Have got by the late voyage is but merely A fit or two o' the face. Shak., Hen. VIII., i. 3. Fits and starts, irregular periods of action; capricious impulses and movements; the performance of actions in an irregular or intermittent way: as, to work by fits and starts; the clock goes by fits and starts. Dalmatia has played a part in history only by fits and E. A. Freeman, Venice, p. 87. starts. To give one fits, or particular fits, to make a vigorous ly: as, I'll give him fits for that. [Slang, U. S.] attack upon one; especially, to rate or scold one vigorous The man ran after the thievish Indian, and the corporal cried out to give him fits if he caught him. G. W. Kendall , Santa Fé Expedition. I rather gue as how the old man will give particular fits to our folks to-day. E. Eggleston, Hoosier Schoolmaster, p. 101. fit Mon deth mid str eng the and mid witte That other thing nis non his fitte . Thez alle str eng the at one were, Monnes wit zet more were. Owl and Nightingale, 1. 781. 5. [ A fine fit gives a very large nigre, containing much soap; while a coarse fit gives a small nigre, composed chiefly of impure lye. W. L. Carpenter, Soap and Candles, p. 173. fit2 (fit), v.; pret. and pp. fitted , ppr. fitting . [Early mod. E. also fitte ; fitten (rare), fit, become, arrange or set in array, = OD. vitten , fit, suit, adapt. The early records are scant, and other connections are doubtful. The adj. may be ult. the contr. pp. of the verb (cf. fat1 , in part similarly contracted). The verb is by some connected with Icel. fitja , knit, web, Norw. fitja , draw (a lace) together in a a fit or convulsion. IMG:content-1395.png:[blocks in formation] He [John Adams) was chosen its President - a fit honor, Theodore Parker, Historic Americans, vi. which the feeble old man as fittingly declined. fit, the webbed foot of water-fowl, the web or skin of the feet of animals, the edge or hem of a sock, etc. Connection with feat2 (ME. fete, fetise, neat, well-made) is improbable; but cf. fit5 = feat2.] I. trans. 1. To make fit or suitable; adapt; bring into a corresponding form or a conformable condition: as, to fit a coat or gown to the figure; to fit a key to a lock; to fit the mind to one's circumstances. I return you here enclosed the Sonnet your Grace pleased to send me lately, rendered into Spanish, and fitted to the same Air it had in English. Howell, Letters, I. iv. 14. How the day fits itself to the mind, winds itself round it like a fine drapery, clothing all its fancies! Emerson , Works and Days. Nature has a magic by which she fits the man to his fortunes, by making them the fruit of his character. Emerson, Books. For anything I know about the matter, it may be the way of Nature to be unintelligible; she is often puzzling, and I have no reason to suppose that she is bound to fit herself to our notions. Huxley , Amer. Addre es, p. 29. 2. To accommodate with anything suitable; furnish with what is fit or appropriate as to size, shape, etc.: as, to fit one with a coat or a pair of shoes. We pa ed a company of them (monks), young and old, on our way, bareheaded and barefooted, as their use is, and looking very fit in the landscape. Howells, The Century, XXX. 671. 2. Adapted to an end, object, or design; con- formable to a standard of efficiency or qualifiship would please to tread hard his Lordship would cation; suitable; competent. IMG:content-1396.png:[blocks in formation] They're fitter far for book or pen Than under Mars to lead on men. Battle of Sheriff - Muir (Child's Ballads, VII. 263). Existence, generation after generation, in a region where despotic control has arisen, produces an adapted type of nature; partly by daily habit, and partly by survival of those most fit for living under such control. H. Spencer , Prin. of Sociol., § 483. 3. In a state of preparedne ; in a suitable condition; ready; prepared: as, fit to die. So fit to shoot, she singled forth among Her foes who first her quarry's strength should feel. Fairfax . If I be not fit to go to prison, I am not fit to go to judg- ment, and from thence to execution. Bunyan , Pilgrim's Progre , p. 85. 4. Specifically, in sporting language, in cond i- tion; n; properly trained for action: as, the horse was not fit , and lost the race; hence, colloqui- By fits he breathes, half views the fleeting skies, And seals again by fits his swimming eyes. Pope , Iliad, xiv. She came when the fit was on her, she staid jest so long as it pleased her, and went when she got ready, and not before. H. B. Stowe , Oldtown, p. 17. The mind now thinks; now acts; and each fit reproduces the other. Emerson, Misc., p. 84. Newton endeavoured to explain the rings which go by his name by the theory of fits of easy reflection and transmi ion. Stokes , Light, p. 51. 6. A caprice; capricious or irregular action or movement. The Sea hath fits , alternate course she keepes, From Deep to Shoar, and from the Shoar to Deeps. Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, i. 3. But, for your husband, He is noble, wise, judicious, and best knows The fits o' the season. Shak., Macbeth, iv. 2. 71. A stroke. "Curse on that Cro " (quoth then the Sarazin), "That keepes thy body from the bitter fitt !" Spenser, F. Q., I. ii. 18. By fits, fitfully; spasmodically; by irregular periods of action or emotion. IMG:content-1397.png:[blocks in formation] Not fit to hold a candle to. See candle. - Survival of the fittest. See survival. = Syn. 1. Proper, seemly, fitting. -2. Expedient, congruous, correspondent, convenient, apposite, adequate. Apt, Fit. See apt. II. n. 1. A fitting or adjustment; adaptation, as of one thing to another; something that fits or is fitted: as, the fit of a garment, or of the parts of a machine; the coat is an exact fit . "People lie about my being cro with you," Is sells, the peevish tailor, remarks to his worn-out wife at supper, "and I may be put out a little by the everlasting bother and misfortune I have,. people di atisfied with their fits , people promising and not paying." W. M. Baker, New Timothy, p. 237. 2. A fitting out; preparation: as, a good fit for college.-3. The part of a car-axle upon which the wheel is forced. E. H. Knight . 4. One's equal, like, or match. [Now only prov. Eng., in form fet . ] No milliner can so fit his customers with gloves. Shak ., W. T., iv. 3. His shoe-maker, fitting him, told him, "that if his Lord- find his Lordship's shoe will sit as easy as any piece of work his Lordship should see in England." Steele , Tatler, No. 204. 3. To prepare; furnish with what is proper or nece ary; equip; make ready; qualify: as, to fit a ship for a long voyage; to fit one's self for a journey; to fit a student for college. I create you Companions to our person, and will fit you With dignities becoming your estates. Shak ., Cymbeline, v. 5. We are directed to ask with a fixed and fervent mind, because such a manner of asking fits and qualifies us for receiving. Bp. Atterbury, Sermons, II. xx. Cowper, Valediction, 1. 32. He [Peter Stuyvesant] was in fact the very man fitted by nature to retrieve the desperate fortunes of her beloved province. Irving, Knickerbocker, p. 267. To fit thee for a nobler post than thine. 4. To be properly adjusted or adapted to; be suitable for as to size, form, character, qualification, etc.; suit: as, the coat exactly fits you; he fits his place well. Every man's pocket is my treasury, And no man wears a suit but fits me neatly. Fletcher , Wife for a Month, v. 3. You writ to me lately for a Footman, and I think this Bearer will fit you. Howell , Letters, I. v. 13. A good government, like a good coat, is that which fits the body for which it is designed. Macaulay , Mitford's Hist. Greece. It seems to me that you cannot always cut out men to fit their profe ion, and that you ought not to curse them because that profe ion sometimes hangs on them ungracefully. Charlotte Bronte , Shirley, iii. 5. To be proper for; be in keeping with; become; befit. The time when screech-owls cry, and ban-dogs howl, And spirits walk, and ghosts break up their graves, That time best fits the work we have in hand. Shak., 2 Hen. VI., i. 4. Lay me downe all your commodities together; what I like I will take, and in recompence giue you what I thinke fitting their value. Quoted in Capt . John Smith's Works, I. 167. So clothe yourself in this, that better fits Our mended fortunes and a Prince's bride. Tennyson, Geraint. To fit out, to furnish; equip; supply with nece aries or means: as, to fit out a ship (that is, to furnish her with sails, stores, and other nece aries). To fit up, to pre pare; furnish with things suitable; make proper for the IMG:content-1398.png:[blocks in formation] Nor fits it to prolong the feast. Pope , Ody ey. 2. To be properly adjusted; be adapted or made suitable. This [habit] fits not nicely, that is ill conceiv'd. Corper , Task, ii. 603. To fit into, to adapt itself to; harmonize with. All below fits into the proce ion in cloudland above. The American, XII. 88.