Fine \Fine\, a. [Compar. Finer; superl. Finest.]

[F. fin, LL. finus fine, pure, fr. L. finire to finish; cf. finitus, p. p., finished, completed (hence the sense accomplished, perfect.) See Finish, and cf. Finite.]

1. Finished; brought to perfection; refined; hence, free from impurity; excellent; superior; elegant; worthy of admiration; accomplished; beautiful.

The gain thereof [is better] than fine gold. --Prov. iii. 14.

A cup of wine that's brisk and fine. --Shak.

Not only the finest gentleman of his time, but one of the finest scholars. --Felton.

To soothe the sick bed of so fine a being [Keats]. --Leigh Hunt.

2. Aiming at show or effect; loaded with ornament; overdressed or overdecorated; showy.

He gratified them with occasional . . . fine writing. --M. Arnold.

3. Nice; delicate; subtle; exquisite; artful; skillful; dexterous.

The spider's touch, how exquisitely fine! --Pope.

The nicest and most delicate touches of satire consist in fine raillery. --Dryden.

He has as fine a hand at picking a pocket as a woman. --T. Gray.

4. Not coarse, gross, or heavy; as:
   (a) Not gross; subtile; thin; tenous.

The eye standeth in the finer medium and the object in the grosser. --Bacon.
   (b) Not coarse; comminuted; in small particles; as, fine sand or flour.
   (c) Not thick or heavy; slender; filmy; as, a fine thread.
   (d) Thin; attenuate; keen; as, a fine edge.
   (e) Made of fine materials; light; delicate; as, fine linen or silk.

5. Having (such) a proportion of pure metal in its composition; as, coins nine tenths fine.

6. (Used ironically.)

Ye have made a fine hand, fellows. --Shak.

Note: Fine is often compounded with participles and adjectives, modifying them adverbially; a, fine-drawn, fine-featured, fine-grained, fine-spoken, fine-spun, etc.

Fine arch (Glass Making), the smaller fritting furnace of a glasshouse. --Knight.

Fine arts. See the Note under Art.

Fine cut, fine cut tobacco; a kind of chewing tobacco cut up into shreds.

Fine goods, woven fabrics of fine texture and quality. --McElrath.

Fine stuff, lime, or a mixture of lime, plaster, etc., used as material for the finishing coat in plastering.

To sail fine (Naut.), to sail as close to the wind as possible.

Syn: Fine, Beautiful.

Usage: When used as a word of praise, fine (being opposed to coarse) denotes no ``ordinary thing of its kind.'' It is not as strong as beautiful, in reference to the single attribute implied in the latter term; but when we speak of a fine woman, we include a greater variety of particulars, viz., all the qualities which become a woman, -- breeding, sentiment, tact, etc. The term is equally comprehensive when we speak of a fine garden, landscape, horse, poem, etc.; and, though applied to a great variety of objects, the word has still a very definite sense, denoting a high degree of characteristic excellence.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)