Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
4. Not prolonged in duration; not extended in time; short;
as, after a small space. --Shak.
5. Weak; slender; fine; gentle; soft; not loud. ``A still,
small voice.'' --1 Kings xix. 12.
{Great and small},of all ranks or degrees; -- used especially
of persons. ``His quests, great and small.'' --Chaucer.
{Small arms}, muskets, rifles, pistols, etc., in distinction
from cannon.
{Small beer}. See under {Beer}.
{Small coal}.
(a) Little coals of wood formerly used to light fires.
--Gay.
(b) Coal about the size of a hazelnut, separated from the
coarser parts by screening.
{Small craft} (Naut.), a vessel, or vessels in general, of a
small size.
{Small fruits}. See under {Fruit}.
{Small hand}, a certain size of paper. See under {Paper}.
{Small hours}. See under {Hour}.
{Small letter}. (Print.), a lower-case letter. See
{Lower-case}, and {Capital letter}, under {Capital}, a.
{Small piece}, a Scotch coin worth about 21/4d. sterling, or
about 41/2cents.
{Small register}. See the Note under 1st {Register}, 7.
{Small stuff} (Naut.), spun yarn, marline, and the smallest
kinds of rope. --R. H. Dana, Jr.
{Small talk}, light or trifling conversation; chitchat.
{Small wares} (Com.), various small textile articles, as
tapes, braid, tringe, and the like. --M`Culloch.
Fruit \Fruit\, n. [OE. fruit, frut, F. fruit, from L. fructus
enjoyment, product, fruit, from frui, p. p. fructus, to
enjoy; akin to E. brook, v. t. See {Brook}, v. t., and cf.
{Fructify}, {Frugal}.]
1. Whatever is produced for the nourishment or enjoyment of
man or animals by the processes of vegetable growth, as
corn, grass, cotton, flax, etc.; -- commonly used in the
plural.
Six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather
in the fruits thereof. --Ex. xxiii.
10.
2. (Hort.) The pulpy, edible seed vessels of certain plants,
especially those grown on branches above ground, as
apples, oranges, grapes, melons, berries, etc. See 3.
3. (Bot.) The ripened ovary of a flowering plant, with its
contents and whatever parts are consolidated with it.
Note: Fruits are classified as fleshy, drupaceous, and -dry.
Fleshy fruits include berries, gourds, and melons,
orangelike fruita and pomes; drupaceous fruits are
stony within and fleshy without, as peaches, plums, and
chercies;and dry fruits are further divided into
achenes, follicles, legumes, capsules, nuts, and
several other kinds.
4. (Bot.) The spore cases or conceptacles of flowerless
plants, as of ferns, mosses, algae, etc., with the spores
contained in them.
6. The produce of animals; offspring; young; as, the fruit of
the womb, of the loins, of the body.
King Edward's fruit, true heir to the English crown.
--Shak.
6. That which is produced; the effect or consequence of any
action; advantageous or desirable product or result;
disadvantageous or evil consequence or effect; as, the
fruits of labor, of self-denial, of intemperance.
The fruit of rashness. --Shak.
What I obtained was the fruit of no bargain.
--Burke.
They shall eat the fruit of their doings. --Is. iii
10.
The fruits of this education became visible.
--Macaulay.
Note: Fruit is frequently used adjectively, signifying of,
for, or pertaining to a fruit or fruits; as, fruit bud;
fruit frame; fruit jar; fruit knife; fruit loft; fruit
show; fruit stall; fruit tree; etc.
{Fruit bat} (Zo["o]l.), one of the Frugivora; -- called also
{fruit-eating bat}.
{Fruit bud} (Bot.), a bud that produces fruit; -- in most
oplants the same as the power bud.
{Fruit dot} (Bot.), a collection of fruit cases, as in ferns.
See {Sorus}.
{Fruit fly} (Zo["o]l.), a small dipterous insect of the genus
{Drosophila}, which lives in fruit, in the larval state.
{Fruit jar}, a jar for holding preserved fruit, usually made
of glass or earthenware.
{Fruit pigeon} (Zo["o]l.), one of numerous species of pigeons
of the family {Carpophagid[ae]}, inhabiting India,
Australia, and the Pacific Islands. They feed largely upon
fruit. and are noted for their beautiful colors.
{Fruit sugar} (Chem.), a kind of sugar occurring, naturally
formed, in many ripe fruits, and in honey; levulose. The
name is also, though rarely, applied to {invert sugar}, or
to the natural mixture or dextrose and levulose resembling
it, and found in fruits and honey.
{Fruit tree} (Hort.), a tree cultivated for its edible fruit.
{Fruit worm} (Zo["o]l.), one of numerous species of insect
larv[ae]: which live in the interior of fruit. They are
mostly small species of Lepidoptera and Diptera.
{Small fruits} (Hort.), currants, raspberries, strawberries,
etc.