from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Full \Full\ (f[.u]l), a. [Compar. {Fuller} (f[.u]l"[~e]r);
superl. {Fullest}.] [OE. & AS. ful; akin to OS. ful, D. vol,
OHG. fol, G. voll, Icel. fullr, Sw. full, Dan. fuld, Goth.
fulls, L. plenus, Gr. plh`rhs, Skr. p[=u][.r]na full, pr[=a]
to fill, also to Gr. poly`s much, E. poly-, pref., G. viel,
AS. fela. [root]80. Cf. {Complete}, {Fill}, {Plenary},
{Plenty}.]
1. Filled up, having within its limits all that it can
contain; supplied; not empty or vacant; -- said primarily
of hollow vessels, and hence of anything else; as, a cup
full of water; a house full of people.
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Had the throne been full, their meeting would not
have been regular. --Blackstone.
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2. Abundantly furnished or provided; sufficient in quantity,
quality, or degree; copious; plenteous; ample; adequate;
as, a full meal; a full supply; a full voice; a full
compensation; a house full of furniture.
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3. Not wanting in any essential quality; complete; entire;
perfect; adequate; as, a full narrative; a person of full
age; a full stop; a full face; the full moon.
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It came to pass, at the end of two full years, that
Pharaoh
dreamed. --Gen. xii. 1.
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The man commands
Like a full soldier. --Shak.
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I can not
Request a fuller satisfaction
Than you have freely granted. --Ford.
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4. Sated; surfeited.
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I am full of the burnt offerings of rams. --Is. i.
11.
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5. Having the mind filled with ideas; stocked with knowledge;
stored with information.
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Reading maketh a full man. --Bacon.
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6. Having the attention, thoughts, etc., absorbed in any
matter, and the feelings more or less excited by it, as,
to be full of some project.
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Every one is full of the miracles done by cold baths
on decayed and weak constitutions. --Locke.
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7. Filled with emotions.
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The heart is so full that a drop overfills it.
--Lowell.
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8. Impregnated; made pregnant. [Obs.]
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Ilia, the fair, . . . full of Mars. --Dryden.
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{At full}, when full or complete. --Shak.
{Full age} (Law) the age at which one attains full personal
rights; majority; -- in England and the United States the
age of 21 years. --Abbott.
{Full and by} (Naut.), sailing closehauled, having all the
sails full, and lying as near the wind as poesible.
{Full band} (Mus.), a band in which all the instruments are
employed.
{Full binding}, the binding of a book when made wholly of
leather, as distinguished from half binding.
{Full bottom}, a kind of wig full and large at the bottom.
{Full brother} or {Full sister}, a brother or sister having
the same parents as another.
{Full cry} (Hunting), eager chase; -- said of hounds that
have caught the scent, and give tongue together.
{Full dress}, the dress prescribed by authority or by
etiquette to be worn on occasions of ceremony.
{Full hand} (Poker), three of a kind and a pair.
{Full moon}.
(a) The moon with its whole disk illuminated, as when
opposite to the sun.
(b) The time when the moon is full.
{Full organ} (Mus.), the organ when all or most stops are
out.
{Full score} (Mus.), a score in which all the parts for
voices and instruments are given.
{Full sea}, high water.
{Full swing}, free course; unrestrained liberty; "Leaving
corrupt nature to . . . the full swing and freedom of its
own extravagant actings." South (Colloq.)
{In full}, at length; uncontracted; unabridged; written out
in words, and not indicated by figures.
{In full blast}. See under {Blast}.
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from
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
Fuller
The word "full" is from the Anglo-Saxon fullian, meaning "to
whiten." To full is to press or scour cloth in a mill. This art
is one of great antiquity. Mention is made of "fuller's soap"
(Mal. 3:2), and of "the fuller's field" (2 Kings 18:17). At his
transfiguration our Lord's rainment is said to have been white
"so as no fuller on earth could white them" (Mark 9:3). En-rogel
(q.v.), meaning literally "foot-fountain," has been interpreted
as the "fuller's fountain," because there the fullers trod the
cloth with their feet.