What is the difference between fine and good?
fine | good |
(lb) Of subjective quality.
#Of superior quality.
#:
#*
#*:"A fine man, that Dunwody, yonder," commented the young captain, as they parted, and as he turned to his prisoner. "We'll see him on in Washington some day. He is strengthening his forces now against Mr. Benton out there.."
#(lb) Being acceptable, adequate, passable, or satisfactory.
#:
#*
, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=3
, passage=Now all this was very fine , but not at all in keeping with the Celebrity's character as I had come to conceive it. The idea that adulation ever cloyed on him was ludicrous in itself. In fact I thought the whole story fishy, and came very near to saying so.}}
#(lb) Good-looking, attractive.
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#*, chapter=10
, title= #Subtle, delicately balanced.
#*The Independent
#*:The fine distinction between lender of last resort and a bail-out
#(lb) Showy; overdecorated.
#*(Matthew Arnold) (1822-1888)
#*:He gratified them with occasionalfine writing.
#Delicate; subtle; exquisite; artful; dexterous.
#*(Alexander Pope) (1688-1744)
#*:The spider's touch, how exquisitely fine !
#*(John Dryden) (1631-1700)
#*:The nicest and most delicate touches of satire consist in fine raillery.
#*(Thomas Gray) (1716-1771)
#*:He has as fine a hand at picking a pocket as a woman.
(lb) Of objective quality.
#Of a particular grade of quality, usually between very good'' and ''very fine'', and below ''mint .
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#(lb) Sunny and not raining.
#*, chapter=23
, title= #Consisting of especially minute particulate; made up of particularly small pieces.
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#Particularly slender; especially thin, narrow, or of small girth.
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#Made of slender or thin filaments.
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#Having a (specified) proportion of pure metal in its composition.
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(lb) Behind the batsman and at a small angle to the line between the wickets.
:
(lb) Subtle; thin; tenuous.
*(Francis Bacon) (1561-1626)
*:The eye standeth in the finer medium and the object in the grosser.
expression of agreement
well, nicely, in a positive way
Fine champagne; French brandy.
* 1926 , Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises , Scribner 2003, p. 14:
* 1936 , Djuna Barnes, Nightwood , Faber & Faber 2007, p. 18:
(usually, in the plural) something that is fine; fine particles
* They filtered silt and fines out of the soil.
to make finer, purer, or cleaner; to purify or clarify.
* Hobbes
to become finer, purer, or cleaner.
To make finer, or less coarse, as in bulk, texture, etc.
To change by fine gradations.
* Browning
to clarify (wine and beer) by filtration.
A fee levied as punishment for breaking the law.
* The fine for jay-walking has gone from two dollars to thirty in the last fifteen years.
* {{quote-book, year=2006, author=
, title=Internal Combustion
, chapter=2 To issue a fine as punishment to (someone).
* She was fined a thousand dollars for littering, but she appealed.
To pay a fine.
* Hallam
(music) The end of a musical composition.
(music) The location in a musical score that indicates the end of the piece, particularly when the piece ends somewhere in the middle of the score due to a section of the music being repeated.
(obsolete) To finish; to cease.
(obsolete) To cause to cease; to stop.
(obsolete) End; conclusion; termination; extinction.
* Spenser
* Shakespeare
A final agreement concerning lands or rents between persons, as the lord and his vassal.
(UK, legal) A sum of money or price paid for obtaining a benefit, favor, or privilege, as for admission to a copyhold, or for obtaining or renewing a lease.
(Webster 1913)
(lb) Of people.
#Acting in the interest of good; ethical.
#:
#*1891 , (Oscar Wilde), (The Picture of Dorian Gray) , Ch.6
#*:When we are happy, we are always good', but when we are ' good , we are not always happy.
#Competent or talented.
#:
#*(Robert South) (1634–1716)
#*:Those are generally good' at flattering who are ' good for nothing else.
#*{{quote-book, year=1922, author=(Michael Arlen), title=
, passage=Ivor had acquired more than a mile of fishing rights with the house?; he was not at all a good fisherman, but one must do something?; one generally, however, banged a ball with a squash-racket against a wall.}}
#Able to be depended on for the discharge of obligations incurred; of unimpaired credit.
#:
(lb)
#Useful for a particular purpose; functional.
#:
#*{{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=May-June, author=
, title= #Effective.
#:
#*
#*:There was a neat hat-and-umbrella stand, and the stranger's weary feet fell soft on a good , serviceable dark-red drugget, which matched in colour the flock-paper on the walls.
#(lb) Real; actual; serious.
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#*(William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)
#*:Love no man in good earnest.
(lb) Of properties and qualities.
#(lb)
##Edible; not stale or rotten.
##:
##Having a particularly pleasant taste.
##:
##* c. 1430' (reprinted '''1888 ), Thomas Austin, ed., ''Two Fifteenth-century Cookery-books. Harleian ms. 279 (ab. 1430), & Harl. ms. 4016 (ab. 1450), with Extracts from Ashmole ms. 1429, Laud ms. 553, & Douce ms. 55 [Early English Text Society, Original Series; 91], London:
#
##* 1962' (quoting '''1381 text), (Hans Kurath) & Sherman M. Kuhn, eds., ''(Middle English Dictionary) , Ann Arbor, Mich.: (University of Michigan Press), , page 1242:
#
##Being satisfying; meeting dietary requirements.
##:
#Healthful.
#:
#Pleasant; enjoyable.
#:
#Favourable.
#:
#Beneficial; worthwhile.
#:
#*, chapter=22
, title= #Adequate; sufficient; not fallacious.
#*(William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)
#*:My reasons are both good and weighty.
(lb) With "and", extremely.
:
(lb) Holy.
:
(lb) Of quantities.
#Reasonable in amount.
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#Large in amount or size.
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#*
#*:The big houses, and there are a good many of them, lie for the most part in what may be called by courtesy the valleys. You catch a glimpse of them sometimes at a little distance from the [railway] line, which seems to have shown some ingenuity in avoiding them,.
#Entire.
#:
#*
#*:Athelstan Arundel walked home all the way, foaming and raging. No omnibus, cab, or conveyance ever built could contain a young man in such a rage. His mother lived at Pembridge Square, which is four good measured miles from Lincoln's Inn.
That is good: an elliptical exclamation of satisfaction or commendation.
(nonstandard) Well; satisfactorily or thoroughly.
* 1906 , Zane Grey, The Spirit of the Border: A Romance of the Early Settlers in the Ohio Valley
* 2007 April 19, , WHYY, Pennsylvania [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9683874]
(uncountable) The forces or behaviors that are the enemy of evil. Usually consists of helping others and general benevolence.
* , chapter=13
, title= (countable) A result that is positive in the view of the speaker.
(uncountable) The abstract instantiation of goodness; that which possesses desirable qualities, promotes success, welfare, or happiness, is serviceable, fit, excellent, kind, benevolent, etc.
* Bible, Psalms iv. 6
* Jay
(countable, usually in plural) An item of merchandise.
* (William Shakespeare)
To thrive; fatten; prosper; improve.
To make good; turn to good; improve.
To make improvements or repairs.
To benefit; gain.
To do good to (someone); benefit; cause to improve or gain.
To satisfy; indulge; gratify.
To flatter; congratulate oneself; anticipate.
Good is a synonym of fine.
In heading terms the difference between fine and good
is that fine is Of objective quality.good is Of quantities.In obsolete terms the difference between fine and good
is that fine is end; conclusion; termination; extinction while good is real; actual; serious.As an interjection good is
that is good: an elliptical exclamation of satisfaction or commendation.As a proper noun Good is
{{surname}.fine
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) fin, from (etyl) .Adjective
(er)The Mirror and the Lamp, passage=It was a joy to snatch some brief respite, and find himself in the rectory drawing–room. Listening here was as pleasant as talking; just to watch was pleasant. The young priests who lived here wore cassocks and birettas; their faces were fine and mild, yet really strong, like the rector's face; and in their intercourse with him and his wife they seemed to be brothers.}}
The Mirror and the Lamp, passage=If the afternoon was fine they strolled together in the park, very slowly, and with pauses to draw breath wherever the ground sloped upward. The slightest effort made the patient cough.}}
Synonyms
* (of superior quality) good, excellent * (informal) (being acceptable, adequate, passable, or satisfactory ): all right, ok, , okay, hunky-dory, kosher * (made up of particularly small pieces) fine-grained, powdered, powdery, pulverised, pulverized, small-grained * (made of slender or thin filaments) fine-threadedAntonyms
* (made up of particularly small pieces) coarse * (made of slender or thin filaments) coarseAdverb
(en adverb)- Everything worked out fine.
Synonyms
* (expression of agreement) all right, alright, OK, very wellNoun
(en noun)- We had dined at l'Avenue's, and afterward went to the Café de Versailles for coffee. We had several fines after the coffee, and I said I must be going.
- He refilled his glass. ‘The fine is very good,’ he said.
Usage notes
Particularly used in plural as fines of ground coffee beans in espresso making.See also
* filingVerb
(fin)- to fine gold
- It hath been fined and refined by learned men.
- to fine the soil
- to fine down a ship's lines, i.e. to diminish her lines gradually
- I often sate at home / On evenings, watching how they fined themselves / With gradual conscience to a perfect night.
Synonyms
* (to make or become finer, purer, or cleaner ): clarify, refine, purifyDerived terms
* chance'd be a fine thing * cut it fine * fine art * fine as frog hair * fine feathers make fine birds * fine-grained * fine leg * fine line * finely * fineness * fine print * fine-structure constant * fine-tooth comb * fine-tune * fine words butter no parsnips * * just fine * to a fine fare-thee-wellEtymology 2
(etyl)Noun
(en noun)citation, passage=The popular late Middle Ages fictional character Robin Hood, dressed in green to symbolize the forest, dodged fines for forest offenses and stole from the rich to give to the poor. But his appeal was painfully real and embodied the struggle over wood.}}
Synonyms
* amercementVerb
- Men fined' for the king's good will; or that he would remit his anger; women ' fined for leave to marry.
Synonyms
* amerceEtymology 3
From (etyl) ("end").Noun
(en noun)Usage notes
This word is virtually never used in speech and therefore essentially confined to musical notation.Derived terms
* da capo al fine=Etymology 4
(etyl) finer, (etyl) finir. See (finish) (transitive verb).Verb
(fin)Noun
(en noun)- to see their fatal fine
- Is this the fine of his fines?
- (Spelman)
Statistics
*Anagrams
* * * English heteronyms English terms with multiple etymologies 1000 English basic words ----good
English
(wikipedia good)Etymology 1
From (etyl) good, from (etyl) . Related to gather.Alternative forms
* (poetic contraction)Adjective
“Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days, chapter=3/19/2
David Van Tassel], [http://www.americanscientist.org/authors/detail/lee-dehaan Lee DeHaan
Wild Plants to the Rescue, volume=101, issue=3, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Plant breeding is always a numbers game.
374760, page 11:
- Soupes dorye. — Take gode almaunde mylke
- dorr?̅', '''d?r?''' adj. & n. toste wyte bred and do yt in dischis, and ' god Almande mylk.
The Mirror and the Lamp, passage=Not unnaturally, “Auntie” took this communication in bad part.
Synonyms
* (having positive attributes) not bad, all right, satisfactory, decent * (healthful) well * (competent or talented) accomplishedAntonyms
* (having positive attributes) bad, poor * (ethical) bad, evilDerived terms
* come from a good place * do well by doing good * fight the good fight * for good * good afternoon * good and * * good books * goodbye * good day * good drunk * gooden * good-for-nothing * good graces * good grief * goodish * good job * good morning * goodly * goodness * good night * good to go * good works * the good die young * too much of a good thingInterjection
(en interjection)- Good! I can leave now.
Etymology 2
From (etyl) , all from the adjective.Adverb
- If Silvertip refuses to give you the horse, grab him before he can draw a weapon, and beat him good . You're big enough to do it.
- The one thing that we can't do...''is throw out the baby with the bathwater.''...'' We know our process works pretty darn good and, uh, it’s really sparked this amazing phenomenon of this''... high-quality website.
Derived terms
* but goodEtymology 3
From (etyl) good, god, from (etyl) .Noun
The Mirror and the Lamp, passage=And Vickers launched forth into a tirade very different from his platform utterances. He spoke with extreme contempt of the dense stupidity exhibited on all occasions by the working classes. He said that if you wanted to do anything for them, you must rule them, not pamper them. Soft heartedness caused more harm than good .}}
- There be many that say, Who will show us any good ?
- The good' of the whole community can be promoted only by advancing the ' good of each of the members composing it.
- Thy lands and goods / Are, by the laws of Venice, confiscate / Unto the state of Venice.
