English Words: F
18,613 words · Page 87 of 373
Of a penalty, only coming into force after it is imposed by an authority, and not by the fact of the law being broken.
A kind of medieval reliquary or shrine containing the sacred effigies and relics of a saint.
A surname transferred from the given name originating in Scotland from Clan Fergusson and now widespread in the English-speaking world.
The idea that increased scrutiny of police following the 2014 shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, has led to an increased crime rate (or sometimes murder rate) in major US cities.
The neuroendocrine reflex comprising the self-sustaining cycle of uterine contractions initiated by pressure at the cervix or vaginal walls in mammals.
Relating to Charles A. Ferguson (1921–1998), American linguist, known for his work on diglossia and as one of the founders of sociolinguistics.
The algebraic curve in the complex projective plane defined in homogeneous coordinates (X:Y:Z) by the Fermat equation.
An integer which is one more than two raised to a power which is itself a power of two (i.e., is expressible in the form 2^(2ⁿ)+1 for some n>0); equivalently, a number that is one more than two raised to some power (is expressible as 2ⁿ+1) and is prime.
With respect to an integer base b, with b > 1, a composite integer n such that bⁿ⁻¹ is congruent to one modulo n.
The theorem that the Diophantine equation aⁿ+bⁿ=cⁿ has no solutions for positive integers a,b,c,n, where n>2.
The theorem that, for any prime number p and integer a, aᵖ-a is an integer multiple of p.
The principle, which links geometrical optics (or "ray optics") with wave optics, that the path traversed by a ray between two given points is: (in the original "strong" formulation) the one that takes the least time, or (in a weaker but more general formulation) one that takes a time that is "stationary" with respect to variations of the path (so that, loosely speaking, a small change in the ray path entails a very small change in the traversal time).
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English alphabetical index for the letter F contains 18,613 headwords drawn from our Wiktionary-derived dictionary table. At 50 entries per page the browse splits into 373 pages, and you are currently viewing page 87. Every row above is a dictionary-backed entry with a canonical slug, and each links through to a full definition page with pronunciation, senses, etymology, and related-word data where available.
On this page 50 of 50 entries carry a part-of-speech tag and 50 carry at least one stored definition. Coverage varies across letters because Wiktionary volunteers build entries at different speeds for different parts of the alphabet, letters with common starting sounds (S, C, T, P) usually have the densest coverage, while less frequent starters (X, Q, Z) tend to have shorter but more specialised lists. PlainSpell surfaces whatever data is present and links back to the source when a definition is not yet recorded.
For readers using this index as a spelling reference, the guarantee is that every form you see on the list is a documented English headword, not a guess, not a derived inflection lacking a lemma row. If a word you expected to find is absent from the "F" list, it usually means the form exists only as an inflection of another lemma (e.g. a past participle stored under the infinitive) or the entry has not yet been imported from Wiktionary. Use the search bar or the misspelling lookup to resolve these cases.