Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Fin
Fin
(fĭn)
, Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Finned
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Finning
.] [Cf.
Fin
of a fish.] To carve or cut up, as a chub.
Fin
,Noun.
[See ]
Fine
, Noun.
End; conclusion; object.
[Obs.]
“She knew eke the fin of his intent.” Chaucer.
Fin
,Noun.
[OE.
finne
, fin
, AS. finn
; akin to D. vin
, G. & Dan. finne
, Sw. fena
, L. pinna
, penna
, a wing, feather. Cf. pen
a feather.] 1.
(Zool.)
An organ of a fish, consisting of a membrane supported by rays, or little bony or cartilaginous ossicles, and serving to balance and propel it in the water.
☞ Fishes move through the water chiefly by means of the caudal fin or tail, the principal office of the other fins being to balance or direct the body, though they are also, to a certain extent, employed in producing motion.
2.
(Zool.)
A membranous, finlike, swimming organ, as in pteropod and heteropod mollusks.
(e)
(Mech.)
A feather; a spline.
4.
A finlike appendage, as to submarine boats.
Apidose fin
. (Zool.)
See under
– Adipose
, Adj.
Fin ray
(Anat.)
, one of the hornlike, cartilaginous, or bony, dermal rods which form the skeleton of the fins of fishes.
– Fin whale
(Zool.)
, a finback.
– Paired fins
(Zool.)
, the pectoral and ventral fins, corresponding to the fore and hind legs of the higher animals.
– Unpaired fins
, or
Median fins
(Zool.)
, the dorsal, caudal, and anal fins.
Webster 1828 Edition
Fin
FIN
,Noun.
The fin of a fish consists of a membrane supported by rays, or little bony or cartilaginous ossicles. The fins of fish serve to keep their bodies upright, and to prevent wavering or vacillation. The fins, except the caudal, do not assist in progressive motion; the tail being the instrument of swimming.
FIN
,Verb.
T.