Fool

[Fr. fou, fol; W. ffwl, foolish.] One destitute of reason or the common powers of understanding; an idiot. "He thanks his stars he was not born a fool ." - Pope. -A person somewhat deficient in intellect; one who acts absurdly; a simpleton; a silly person; a dolt; a dunce. "Experience keeps a dear school; but fools will learn in no other." Franklin. -A wicked or depraved person. "The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God." - Ps. xvi. 10. -A term of indignity and reproach. "You must first put the fool upon all mankind." - Dryden. -One who counterfeits folly; a buffoon; a king's fool; a Jester. See JESTER. To make a fool of , to disappoint; to defeat; to cause to appear ridiculous. A fool's errand, an absurd quest or search after what cannot be found; the undertaking what is impo ible. Fool, v. n. To trifle; to toy; to spend time in idlene or mirth. "Is this the time for fooling ?" - Dryden. -. a. To infatuate; to treat with contempt; to disappoint; to defeat; to frustrate. "That you are fooled , discarded, and shook off." - Shaks. anterior ends form the balls of the toes. The first metatarsal bone is the shortest and strongest, while the second is the largest, - the others all decreasing in length according to their distance from it. These bones form the anterior portion of the instep. The phalanges, or bones of the toes, are fourteen in number, three to each toe, except the great one, which has only two. The upper ones, which are the longest and largest, are named the metatarsal ; the next, the middle ; and the most anterior, the ungual phalanges. The bones of the foot, more particularly those that compose the tarsus and metatarsus, are firmly connected together, so that they are not liable to be displaced; and those parts where they articulate with one another being covered with a tolerably thick layer of highly elastic cartilage, they IMG:content-0223.jpg:[blocks in formation] po e a considerable degree of elasticity. They are bound together in various directions, by a number of ligaments, one of the principal of which is the plantar ligament, which is of great strength, and pa es through the under surface of the heelbone near its extremity, forward to the ends of the metatarsal bones. movements of the foot, which are permitted by the connecting ligaments, are effected by a variety of muscles. The principal movements are, (1) that at the ankle, formed by the tibia and fibula with the astragalus, by which the foot is bent and straightened; (2) between the astragalus and os calcis, by which the foot is rolled IMG:content-0224.png:[graphic] inwards and outwards; (3) between the first and second range of tarsal bones, admitting of a very slight motion, by which the arch of the foot may be somewhat increased or diminished. Besides these there are the le complicated movements of the metatarsal and phalangeal bones. The foot, naturally a beautiful structure, is usually so much interfered with in civilized life as to be deprived of much of its beauty, and even of its utility. Its movements are impeded by its being confined in tight-fitting boots; while, in place of the boots being conformed to the shape of the feet, the feet are made to conform to the shape of the boots. The consequences of which are corns, bunions, cold 10 11 Fig. 1044. -THE DORSAL SUR FACE OF THE LEFT FOOT. 1, the astragalus, its upper crticular surface: 2, its anterior extremity, which articulates with (4) the scaphoid bone; 3, the os calcis, or heel-bone; 4, the scaphoid bone; 5, the internal cuneiform bone; 6, the middle cunei form bone; 7, the external cunei form bone: 8, the cuboid bone: 9, the metatarsal bones of the first and second toes; 10, 11, the first and second phalanges of the great toe; 12, 13, 14, the first, second, and third phalanges of the second toe. feet, and a number of other evils, from which so many suffer in the present day. Attention has been, some years ago, called to this subject by Profe or Meyer, of Zurich, who published a pamphlet, entitled Why the shoe pinches; a contribution to applied Anatomy , which has been translated into English, and is well worth a perusal. (Pros.) In Greek and Latin poetry, a metre, or measure, composed of a certain number of long and short syllables. Some are di yllabic, consisting of two feet, as the spondee, iambus, trochee; and some trisyllabic, as the dactyl, anapest, tribrach. These are what are called simple feet . There are others, consisting of four, five, or six syllables, which are reckoned double or compound feet, but which are commonly resolved into single feet. A verse is frequently named from the number of feet which it contains, or from the foot which prevails in it; as, hexameter , containing six feet; pentameter, containing five; dactyllic , from the dactyl being the prevailing foot; iambic , the iambus. (Arith.) A measure of length, consisting of 12 inches, or 36 barleycorns laid end to end. It also expre es surface and solidity. A square foot is the same measure both in length and breadth, containing 12 × 12 = 144 square or superficial inches. A cubic or solid foot is the same measure in all directions, or 12 inches long, broad and deep, containing 12 × 12 = 144 × 12 = 1728 cubic inches to the solid or cubic foot. - As this term is employed in almost all languages as a linear measure, it has doubtle been derived from the length of the human foot. Though the denomination is the same, the measure itself varies considerably in different countries. ( Mus .) A term made use of in the same way as in poetry, denoting a short melodic figure of notes with only one accent. Foot is also now beginning to be used in speaking of the pitch of sounds. The Germans have always used the word Fu ton in representing the pitch of the different stops of an organ, such as Principal 16 F. , 8 F. , or 4 F. , ., which practice is now being introduced into English organs, and is found very useful to organists. The pitch of the stop is fixed according to the length of the lowest C pipe. ( Mil . ) Soldiers who march and fight on foot; infantry; as, horse and foot . In this sense it has no plural. -Anything bearing some resemblance to the foot of an animal in shape or office; as, the foot of a stocking. -The lower end of anything; the bottom; the base; the foundation; the end; as, the foot of a mountain, the foot of a cla , the foot of an account. -Condition; state; footing. "We are not on the same foot with our fellow-subjects of Eng. land."- Swift . On foot , walking: pedal locomotion. - To set on foot , to start; to originate. - A cubic foot , a volume equal to that of a cube having its edges 12 inches in length. A square foot , an area equal to that of a square having sides 12 inches in length.