Defn: A genus of small, slender fishes, remarkable for their habit of living as commensals in other animals. One species inhabits the gill cavity of the pearl oyster near Panama; another lives within an East Indian holothurian.
FIERCE Fierce, a. [Compar. Fiercer; superl. Fiercest.] Etym: [OE. fers, fiers, OF. fier, nom. fiers, fierce, savage, cruel, F. fier proud, from L. ferus wild, savage, cruel; perh. akin to E. bear the animal. Cf. Feral, Ferocity.]
1. Furious; violent; unrestrained; impetuous; as, a fierce wind. His fierce thunder drove us to the deep. Milton.
2. Vehement in anger or cruelty; ready or eager to kill or injure; of a nature to inspire terror; ferocious. "A fierce whisper." Dickens. "A fierce tyrant." Pope. The fierce foe hung upon our broken rear. Milton. Thou huntest me as a fierce lion. Job. x. 16.
3. Excessively earnest, eager, or ardent.
Syn.
— Ferocious; savage; cruel; vehement; impetuous; barbarous; fell.
See Ferocious.
— Fierce"ly, adv.
— Fierce"ness, n.
FIERI FACIAS
Fi"e*ri fa"ci*as. Etym: [L., cause it to be done.] (Law)
Defn: A judicial writ that lies for one who has recovered in debt or damages, commanding the sheriff that he cause to be made of the goods, chattels, or real estate of the defendant, the sum claimed. Blackstone. Cowell.
FIERINESS
Fi"er*i*ness, n.
Defn: The quality of being fiery; heat; acrimony; irritability; as, a fieriness of temper. Addison.