fall by the wayside : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

   fall by the wayside
         v 1: give up in the face of defeat of lacking hope; admit
               defeat; "In the second round, the challenger gave up" [syn:
               {drop out}, {give up}, {fall by the wayside}, {drop by the
               wayside}, {throw in}, {throw in the towel}, {quit}, {chuck
               up the sponge}] [ant: {enter}, {participate}]

English Dictionary: fall by the wayside	by the DICT Development Group
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
flap down v throw violently; "He slammed the book on the table" [syn: slam, flap down]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
flea beetle n any small leaf beetle having enlarged hind legs and capable of jumping
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
flea bite n sting inflicted by a flea a very minor inconvenience
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
flea-bitten adj worn and broken down by hard use; "a creaky shack"; "a decrepit bus...its seats held together with friction tape"; "a flea-bitten sofa"; "a run-down neighborhood"; "a woebegone old shack" Synonym(s): creaky, decrepit, derelict, flea-bitten, run-down, woebegone
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
fleapit n an old shabby movie theater
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
flip out v react in an excited, delighted, or surprised way; "he flipped when he heard that he was accepted into Princeton University" Synonym(s): flip, flip out go mad, go crazy; "He flipped when he heard that he was being laid off" Synonym(s): flip, flip out
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
floppy disk n a small plastic magnetic disk enclosed in a stiff envelope with a radial slit; used to store data or programs for a microcomputer; "floppy disks are noted for their relatively slow speed and small capacity and low price" Synonym(s): diskette, floppy, floppy disk
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
fly off the handle v get very angry and fly into a rage; "The professor combusted when the student didn't know the answer to a very elementary question"; "Spam makes me go ballistic" Synonym(s): flip one's lid, blow up, throw a fit, hit the roof, hit the ceiling, have kittens, have a fit, combust, blow one's stack, fly off the handle, flip one's wig, lose one's temper, blow a fuse, go ballistic
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
fuel pod n a detachable container of fuel on an airplane [syn: pod, fuel pod]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
full faith and credit n a guarantee to pay interest and principal on debt; usually issued by the United States Treasury
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
full-bodied adj marked by richness and fullness of flavor; "a rich ruby port"; "full-bodied wines"; "a robust claret"; "the robust flavor of fresh-brewed coffee" Synonym(s): full- bodied, racy, rich, robust
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
full-of-the-moon n the time when the Moon is fully illuminated; "the moon is at the full" Synonym(s): full moon, full-of-the-moon, full phase of the moon, full
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Fillip \Fil"lip\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Filliped}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Filliping}.] [For filp, flip. Cf. {Flippant}.] 1. To strike with the nail of the finger, first placed against the ball of the thumb, and forced from that position with a sudden spring; to snap with the finger. [bd]You filip me o' the head.[b8] --Shak. 2. To snap; to project quickly. The use of the elastic switch to fillip small missiles with. --Tylor.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Flap \Flap\, n. [OE. flappe, flap, blow, bly-flap; cf. D. flap, and E. flap, v.] Anything broad and limber that hangs loose, or that is attached by one side or end and is easily moved; as, the flap of a garment. A cartilaginous flap upon the opening of the larynx. --Sir T. Browne. 2. A hinged leaf, as of a table or shutter. 3. The motion of anything broad and loose, or a stroke or sound made with it; as, the flap of a sail or of a wing. 4. pl. (Far.) A disease in the lips of horses. {Flap tile}, a tile with a bent up portion, to turn a corner or catch a drip. {Flap valve} (Mech.), a valve which opens and shuts upon one hinged side; a clack valve.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Flapdragon \Flap"drag`on\, n. 1. A game in which the players catch raisins out burning brandy, and swallow them blazing. --Johnson. 2. The thing thus caught and eaten. --Johnson. Cakes and ale, and flapdragons and mummer's plays, and all the happy sports of Christians night. --C. Kingsley.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Flapdragon \Flap"drag`on\, v. t. To swallow whole, as a flapdragon; to devour. [Obs.] See how the sea flapdragoned it. --Shak.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Flap \Flap\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Flapped}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Flapping}.] [Prob. of imitative origin; cf. D. flappen, E. flap, n., flop, flippant, fillip.] 1. To beat with a flap; to strike. Yet let me flap this bug with gilded wings. --Pope. 2. To move, as something broad and flaplike; as, to flap the wings; to let fall, as the brim of a hat. {To flap in the mouth}, to taunt. [Obs.] --W. Cartwright.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Flea-beetle \Flea"-bee`tle\, n. (Zo[94]l.) A small beetle of the family {Halticid[91]}, of many species. They have strong posterior legs and leap like fleas. The turnip flea-beetle ({Phyllotreta vittata}) and that of the grapevine ({Graptodera chalybea}) are common injurious species.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Flea-bite \Flea"-bite`\, n. 1. The bite of a flea, or the red spot caused by the bite. 2. A trifling wound or pain, like that of the bite of a flea. --Harvey.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Flea-bitten \Flea"-bit`ten\, a. 1. Bitten by a flea; as, a flea-bitten face. 2. White, flecked with minute dots of bay or sorrel; -- said of the color of a horse.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Flip \Flip\, n. [Cf. Prov. E. flip nimble, flippant, also, a slight blow. Cf. {Flippant}.] A mixture of beer, spirit, etc., stirred and heated by a hot iron. {Flip dog}, an iron used, when heated, to warm flip.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Flip \Flip\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Flipped}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Flipping}.] To toss or fillip; as, to flip up a cent. As when your little ones Do 'twixt their fingers flip their cherry stones. --W. Browne.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Flop \Flop\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Flopped}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Flopping}.] [A variant of flap.] 1. To clap or strike, as a bird its wings, a fish its tail, etc.; to flap. 2. To turn suddenly, as something broad and flat. [Colloq.] --Fielding.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Fluviatic \Flu`vi*at"ic\, a. [L. fluviaticus. See {Fluvial}.] Belonging to rivers or streams; fluviatile. --Johnson.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Fluviatile \Flu"viatile\, a. [L. fluviatilis, fr. fluvius river: cf. F. fluviatile.] Belonging to rivers or streams; existing in or about rivers; produced by river action; fluvial; as, fluviatile starta, plants. --Lyell.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
3. A familiar spirit; a witch's attendant. [Obs.] A trifling fly, none of your great familiars. --B. Jonson. 4. A parasite. [Obs.] --Massinger. 5. A kind of light carriage for rapid transit, plying for hire and usually drawn by one horse. [Eng.] 6. The length of an extended flag from its staff; sometimes, the length from the [bd]union[b8] to the extreme end. 7. The part of a vane pointing the direction from which the wind blows. 8. (Naut.) That part of a compass on which the points are marked; the compass card. --Totten. 9. (Mech.) (a) Two or more vanes set on a revolving axis, to act as a fanner, or to equalize or impede the motion of machinery by the resistance of the air, as in the striking part of a clock. (b) A heavy wheel, or cross arms with weights at the ends on a revolving axis, to regulate or equalize the motion of machinery by means of its inertia, where the power communicated, or the resistance to be overcome, is variable, as in the steam engine or the coining press. See {Fly wheel} (below). 10. (Knitting Machine) The piece hinged to the needle, which holds the engaged loop in position while the needle is penetrating another loop; a latch. --Knight. 11. The pair of arms revolving around the bobbin, in a spinning wheel or spinning frame, to twist the yarn. 12. (Weaving) A shuttle driven through the shed by a blow or jerk. --Knight. 13. (a) Formerly, the person who took the printed sheets from the press. (b) A vibrating frame with fingers, attached to a power to a power printing press for doing the same work. 14. The outer canvas of a tent with double top, usually drawn over the ridgepole, but so extended as to touch the roof of the tent at no other place. 15. One of the upper screens of a stage in a theater. 16. The fore flap of a bootee; also, a lap on trousers, overcoats, etc., to conceal a row of buttons. 17. (Baseball) A batted ball that flies to a considerable distance, usually high in the air; also, the flight of a ball so struck; as, it was caught on the fly. {Black fly}, {Cheese fly}, {Dragon fly, etc.} See under {Black}, {Cheese}, etc. -- {Fly agaric} (Bot.), a mushroom ({Agaricus muscarius}), having a narcotic juice which, in sufficient quantities, is poisonous. -- {Fly block} (Naut.), a pulley whose position shifts to suit the working of the tackle with which it is connected; -- used in the hoisting tackle of yards. -- {Fly board} (Printing Press), the board on which printed sheets are deposited by the fly. -- {Fly book}, a case in the form of a book for anglers' flies. --Kingsley.{Fly cap}, a cap with wings, formerly worn by women. -- {Fly drill}, a drill having a reciprocating motion controlled by a fly wheel, the driving power being applied by the hand through a cord winding in reverse directions upon the spindle as it rotates backward and forward. --Knight.{Fly fishing}, the act or art of angling with a bait of natural or artificial flies. --Walton.{Fly flap}, an implement for killing flies. -- {Fly governor}, a governor for regulating the speed of an engine, etc., by the resistance of vanes revolving in the air. -- {Fly honeysuckle} (Bot.), a plant of the honeysuckle genus ({Lonicera}), having a bushy stem and the flowers in pairs, as {L. ciliata} and {L. Xylosteum}. -- {Fly hook}, a fishhook supplied with an artificial fly. -- {Fly leaf}, an unprinted leaf at the beginning or end of a book, circular, programme, etc. -- {Fly maggot}, a maggot bred from the egg of a fly. --Ray. {Fly net}, a screen to exclude insects. {Fly nut} (Mach.), a nut with wings; a thumb nut; a finger nut. {Fly orchis} (Bot.), a plant ({Ophrys muscifera}), whose flowers resemble flies. {Fly paper}, poisoned or sticky paper for killing flies that feed upon or are entangled by it. {Fly powder}, an arsenical powder used to poison flies. {Fly press}, a screw press for punching, embossing, etc., operated by hand and having a heavy fly. {Fly rail}, a bracket which turns out to support the hinged leaf of a table. {Fly rod}, a light fishing rod used in angling with a fly. {Fly sheet}, a small loose advertising sheet; a handbill. {Fly snapper} (Zo[94]l.), an American bird ({Phainopepla nitens}), allied to the chatterers and shrikes. The male is glossy blue-black; the female brownish gray. {Fly wheel} (Mach.), a heavy wheel attached to machinery to equalize the movement (opposing any sudden acceleration by its inertia and any retardation by its momentum), and to accumulate or give out energy for a variable or intermitting resistance. See {Fly}, n., 9. {On the fly} (Baseball), still in the air; -- said of a batted ball caught before touching the ground.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Fly-bitten \Fly"-bit`ten\, a. Marked by, or as if by, the bite of flies. --Shak.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Flyboat \Fly"boat`\, n. [Fly + boat: cf. D. vlieboot.] 1. (Naut.) A large Dutch coasting vessel. Captain George Weymouth made a voyage of discovery to the northwest with two flyboats. --Purchas. 2. A kind of passenger boat formerly used on canals.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Foalfoot \Foal"foot`\, n. (Bot.) See {Coltsfoot}.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Bottom \Bot"tom\ (b[ocr]t"t[ucr]m), n. [OE. botum, botme, AS. botm; akin to OS. bodom, D. bodem, OHG. podam, G. boden, Icel. botn, Sw. botten, Dan. bund (for budn), L. fundus (for fudnus), Gr. pyqmh`n (for fyqmh`n), Skr. budhna (for bhudhna), and Ir. bonn sole of the foot, W. bon stem, base. [fb]257. Cf. 4th {Found}, {Fund}, n.] 1. The lowest part of anything; the foot; as, the bottom of a tree or well; the bottom of a hill, a lane, or a page. Or dive into the bottom of the deep. --Shak. 2. The part of anything which is beneath the contents and supports them, as the part of a chair on which a person sits, the circular base or lower head of a cask or tub, or the plank floor of a ship's hold; the under surface. Barrels with the bottom knocked out. --Macaulay. No two chairs were alike; such high backs and low backs and leather bottoms and worsted bottoms. --W. Irving. 3. That upon which anything rests or is founded, in a literal or a figurative sense; foundation; groundwork. 4. The bed of a body of water, as of a river, lake, sea. 5. The fundament; the buttocks. 6. An abyss. [Obs.] --Dryden. 7. Low land formed by alluvial deposits along a river; low-lying ground; a dale; a valley. [bd]The bottoms and the high grounds.[b8] --Stoddard. 8. (Naut.) The part of a ship which is ordinarily under water; hence, the vessel itself; a ship. My ventures are not in one bottom trusted. --Shak. Not to sell the teas, but to return them to London in the same bottoms in which they were shipped. --Bancroft. {Full bottom}, a hull of such shape as permits carrying a large amount of merchandise. 9. Power of endurance; as, a horse of a good bottom. 10. Dregs or grounds; lees; sediment. --Johnson. {At bottom}, {At the bottom}, at the foundation or basis; in reality. [bd]He was at the bottom a good man.[b8] --J. F. Cooper. {To be at the bottom of}, to be the cause or originator of; to be the source of. [Usually in an opprobrious sense.] --J. H. Newman. He was at the bottom of many excellent counsels. --Addison. {To go to the bottom}, to sink; esp. to be wrecked. {To touch bottom}, to reach the lowest point; to find something on which to rest.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Full \Full\, a. [Compar. {Fuller}; superl. {Fullest}.] [OE. & AS. ful; akin to OS. ful, D. vol, OHG. fol, G. voll, Icel. fullr, Sw. full, Dan. fuld, Goth. fulls, L. plenus, Gr. [?], Skr. p[?]rna full, pr[?] to fill, also to Gr. [?] much, E. poly-, pref., G. viel, AS. fela. [root]80. Cf. {Complete}, {Fill}, {Plenary}, {Plenty}.] 1. Filled up, having within its limits all that it can contain; supplied; not empty or vacant; -- said primarily of hollow vessels, and hence of anything else; as, a cup full of water; a house full of people. Had the throne been full, their meeting would not have been regular. --Blackstone. 2. Abundantly furnished or provided; sufficient in. quantity, quality, or degree; copious; plenteous; ample; adequate; as, a full meal; a full supply; a full voice; a full compensation; a house full of furniture. 3. Not wanting in any essential quality; complete, entire; perfect; adequate; as, a full narrative; a person of full age; a full stop; a full face; the full moon. It came to pass, at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed. --Gen. xii. 1. The man commands Like a full soldier. --Shak. I can not Request a fuller satisfaction Than you have freely granted. --Ford. 4. Sated; surfeited. I am full of the burnt offerings of rams. --Is. i. 11. 5. Having the mind filled with ideas; stocked with knowledge; stored with information. Reading maketh a full man. --Bacon. 6. Having the attention, thoughts, etc., absorbed in any matter, and the feelings more or less excited by it, as, to be full of some project. Every one is full of the miracles done by cold baths on decayed and weak constitutions. --Locke. 7. Filled with emotions. The heart is so full that a drop overfills it. --Lowell. 8. Impregnated; made pregnant. [Obs.] Ilia, the fair, . . . full of Mars. --Dryden. {At full}, when full or complete. --Shak. {Full age} (Law) the age at which one attains full personal rights; majority; -- in England and the United States the age of 21 years. --Abbott. {Full and by} (Naut.), sailing closehauled, having all the sails full, and lying as near the wind as poesible. {Full band} (Mus.), a band in which all the instruments are employed. {Full binding}, the binding of a book when made wholly of leather, as distinguished from half binding. {Full bottom}, a kind of wig full and large at the bottom. {Full} {brother [or] sister}, a brother or sister having the same parents as another. {Full cry} (Hunting), eager chase; -- said of hounds that have caught the scent, and give tongue together. {Full dress}, the dress prescribed by authority or by etiquette to be worn on occasions of ceremony. {Full hand} (Poker), three of a kind and a pair. {Full moon}. (a) The moon with its whole disk illuminated, as when opposite to the sun. (b) The time when the moon is full. {Full organ} (Mus.), the organ when all or most stops are out. {Full score} (Mus.), a score in which all the parts for voices and instruments are given. {Full sea}, high water. {Full swing}, free course; unrestrained liberty; [bd]Leaving corrupt nature to . . . the full swing and freedom of its own extravagant actings.[b8] South (Colloq.) {In full}, at length; uncontracted; unabridged; written out in words, and not indicated by figures. {In full blast}. See under {Blast}.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Butt \Butt\, But \But\, n. [F. but butt, aim (cf. butte knoll), or bout, OF. bot, end, extremity, fr. boter, buter, to push, butt, strike, F. bouter; of German origin; cf. OHG. b[d3]zan, akin to E. beat. See {Beat}, v. t.] 1. A limit; a bound; a goal; the extreme bound; the end. Here is my journey's end, here my butt And very sea mark of my utmost sail. --Shak. Note: As applied to land, the word is nearly synonymous with mete, and signifies properly the end line or boundary; the abuttal. 2. The thicker end of anything. See {But}. 3. A mark to be shot at; a target. --Sir W. Scott. The groom his fellow groom at butts defies, And bends his bow, and levels with his eyes. --Dryden. 4. A person at whom ridicule, jest, or contempt is directed; as, the butt of the company. I played a sentence or two at my butt, which I thought very smart. --Addison. 5. A push, thrust, or sudden blow, given by the head of an animal; as, the butt of a ram. 6. A thrust in fencing. To prove who gave the fairer butt, John shows the chalk on Robert's coat. --Prior. 7. A piece of land left unplowed at the end of a field. The hay was growing upon headlands and butts in cornfields. --Burrill. 8. (Mech.) (a) A joint where the ends of two objects come squarely together without scarfing or chamfering; -- also called {butt joint}. (b) The end of a connecting rod or other like piece, to which the boxing is attached by the strap, cotter, and gib. (c) The portion of a half-coupling fastened to the end of a hose. 9. (Shipbuilding) The joint where two planks in a strake meet. 10. (Carp.) A kind of hinge used in hanging doors, etc.; -- so named because fastened on the edge of the door, which butts against the casing, instead of on its face, like the strap hinge; also called {butt hinge}. 11. (Leather Trade) The thickest and stoutest part of tanned oxhides, used for soles of boots, harness, trunks. 12. The hut or shelter of the person who attends to the targets in rifle practice. {Butt chain} (Saddlery), a short chain attached to the end of a tug. {Butt end}. The thicker end of anything. See {But end}, under 2d {But}. Amen; and make me die a good old man! That's the butt end of a mother's blessing. --Shak. {A butt's length}, the ordinary distance from the place of shooting to the butt, or mark. {Butts and bounds} (Conveyancing), abuttals and boundaries. In lands of the ordinary rectangular shape, butts are the lines at the ends (F. bouts), and bounds are those on the sides, or sidings, as they were formerly termed. --Burrill. {Bead and butt}. See under {Bead}. {Butt and butt}, joining end to end without overlapping, as planks. {Butt weld} (Mech.), a butt joint, made by welding together the flat ends, or edges, of a piece of iron or steel, or of separate pieces, without having them overlap. See {Weld}. {Full butt}, headfirst with full force. [Colloq.] [bd]The corporal . . . ran full butt at the lieutenant.[b8] --Marryat.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Full \Full\, n. Complete measure; utmost extent; the highest state or degree. The swan's-down feather, That stands upon the swell at full of tide. --Shak. {Full of the moon}, the time of full moon.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Full-bottomed \Full"-bot"tomed\, a. 1. Full and large at the bottom, as wigs worn by certain civil officers in Great Britain. 2. (Naut.) Of great capacity below the water line.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Full-butt \Full"-butt"\, adv. With direct and violentop position; with sudden collision. [Colloq.] --L'Estrange.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Fulvid \Ful"vid\, a. [LL. fulvidus, fr. L. fulvus.] Fulvous. [R.] --Dr. H. More.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Swastika \Swas"tika\, Swastica \Swas"tica\, n. [Also {suastica}, {svastika}, etc.] [Skr. svastika, fr. svasti walfare; su well + asti being.] A symbol or ornament in the form of a Greek cross with the ends of the arms at right angles all in the same direction, and each prolonged to the height of the parallel arm of the cross. A great many modified forms exist, ogee and volute as well as rectilinear, while various decorative designs, as Greek fret or meander, are derived from or closely associated with it. The swastika is found in remains from the Bronze Age in various parts of Europe, esp. at Hissarlik (Troy), and was in frequent use as late as the 10th century. It is found in ancient Persia, in India, where both Jains and Buddhists used (or still use) it as religious symbol, in China and Japan, and among Indian tribes of North, Central, and South America. It is usually thought to be a charm, talisman, or religious token, esp. a sign of good luck or benediction. Max M[81]Ller distinguished from the swastika, with arms prolonged to the right, the suavastika, with arms prolonged to the left, but this distinction is not commonly recognized. Other names for the swastika are {fylfot} and {gammadion}.
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (15Feb98) [foldoc]:
floppy disk (Or "floppy", "diskette") A small, portable plastic disk coated in a magnetisable substance used for storing computer data, readable by a computer with a floppy disk drive. The physical size of disks has shrunk from the early 8 inch, to 5 1/4 inch ("minifloppy") to 3 1/2 inch ("microfloppy") while the data capacity has risen. These disks are known as "floppy" disks (or diskettes) because the disk is flexible and the read/write head is in physical contact with the surface of the disk in contrast to "{hard disks}" (or winchesters) which are rigid and rely on a small fixed gap between the disk surface and the heads. Floppies may be either single-sided or double-sided. 3.5 inch floppies are less floppy than the larger disks because they come in a stiff plastic "envelope" or case, hence the alternative names "stiffy" or "crunchy" sometimes used to distinguish them from the floppier kind. The following formats are used on {IBM PC}s and elsewhere: Capacity Density Width 360K double 5.25" 720K double 3.5" 1.2M high 5.25" 1.44M high 3.5" Double denisty and high density are usually abbreviated DD and HD. HD 3.5 inch disks have a second hole in the envelope and an overlapping "HD" logo. (1996-08-23)
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (15Feb98) [foldoc]:
floppy disk drive {disk drive}
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (15Feb98) [foldoc]:
floppy drive {disk drive}
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (15Feb98) [foldoc]:
floptical (From "floppy disk" and "optical") A {floppy disk} which uses an optical tracking mechanism to improve the positioning accuracy of an ordinary magnetic head, thereby allowing more tracks and greater density. {Storage media FAQ (http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/arch-storage/part1/faq.html)}. (1995-03-15)