DICT.TW Dictionary Taiwan

 Small a. [Compar. Smaller superl. Smallest.]
 1. Having little size, compared with other things of the same kind; little in quantity or degree; diminutive; not large or extended in dimension; not great; not much; inconsiderable; as, a small man; a small river.
 To compare
 Great things with small.   --Milton.
 2. Being of slight consequence; feeble in influence or importance; unimportant; trivial; insignificant; as, a small fault; a small business.
 3. Envincing little worth or ability; not large-minded; -- sometimes, in reproach, paltry; mean.
    A true delineation of the smallest man is capable of interesting the greatest man.   --Carlyle.
 4. Not prolonged in duration; not extended in time; short; as, after a small space.
 5. Weak; slender; fine; gentle; soft; not loud. “A still, small voice.”
 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 2¼d. sterling, or about 4½cents.
 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 n.
 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 fruits and pomes; drupaceous fruits are stony within and fleshy without, as peaches, plums, and cherries; 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 Zool., 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 Zool., a small dipterous insect of the genus Drosophila, which lives in fruit, in the larval state.  There are seveal species, some of which are very damaging to fruit crops.  One species, Drosophila melanogaster, has been intensively studied as a model species for genetic reserach.
 Fruit jar, a jar for holding preserved fruit, usually made of glass or earthenware.
 Fruit pigeon Zool., one of numerous species of pigeons of the family Carpophagidæ, 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 Zool., one of numerous species of insect larvæ: which live in the interior of fruit. They are mostly small species of Lepidoptera and Diptera.
 Small fruits Hort., currants, raspberries, strawberries, etc.