fuller

Fuller
    n 1: United States jurist and chief justice of the United States
         Supreme Court (1833-1910) [syn: {Fuller}, {Melville W.
         Fuller}, {Melville Weston Fuller}]
    2: United States architect who invented the geodesic dome
       (1895-1983) [syn: {Fuller}, {Buckminster Fuller}, {R.
       Buckminster Fuller}, {Richard Buckminster Fuller}]
    3: a workman who fulls (cleans and thickens) freshly woven cloth
       for a living
    

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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Fuller \Full"er\, n. [AS. fullere, fr. L. fullo. See {Full}, v.
   t.]
   One whose occupation is to full cloth.
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   {Fuller's earth}, a variety of clay, used in scouring and
      cleansing cloth, to imbibe grease.

   {Fuller's herb} (Bot.), the soapwort ({Saponaria
      officinalis}), formerly used to remove stains from cloth.
      

   {Fuller's thistle} or {Fuller's weed} (Bot.), the teasel
      ({Dipsacus fullonum}) whose burs are used by fullers in
      dressing cloth. See {Teasel}.
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Fuller \Full"er\, n. [From {Full}, a.] (Blacksmith's Work)
   A die; a half-round set hammer, used for forming grooves and
   spreading iron; -- called also a {creaser}.
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Fuller \Full"er\, v. t.
   To form a groove or channel in, by a fuller or set hammer;
   as, to fuller a bayonet.
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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.