The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Fluid \Flu"id\, n.
A fluid substance; a body whose particles move easily among
themselves.
[1913 Webster]
Note: Fluid is a generic term, including liquids and gases as
species. Water, air, and steam are fluids. By analogy,
the term was sometimes applied to electricity and
magnetism, as in phrases electric fluid, magnetic
fluid, though not strictly appropriate; such usage has
disappeared.
[1913 Webster +PJC]
Fluid dram, or Fluid drachm, a measure of capacity equal
to one eighth of a fluid ounce.
Fluid ounce.
(a) In the United States, a measure of capacity, in
apothecaries' or wine measure, equal to one sixteenth of
a pint or 29.57 cubic centimeters. This, for water, is
about 1.04158 ounces avoirdupois, or 455.6 grains.
(b) In England, a measure of capacity equal to the twentieth
part of an imperial pint. For water, this is the weight
of the avoirdupois ounce, or 437.5 grains.
Fluids of the body. (Physiol.) The circulating blood and
lymph, the chyle, the gastric, pancreatic, and intestinal
juices, the saliva, bile, urine, aqueous humor, and muscle
serum are the more important fluids of the body. The
tissues themselves contain a large amount of combined
water, so much, that an entire human body dried in vacuo
with a very moderate degree of heat gives about 66 per
cent of water.
Burning fluid, Elastic fluid, Electric fluid, Magnetic
fluid, etc. See under Burning, Elastic, etc.
[1913 Webster]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Burning \Burn"ing\, n.
The act of consuming by fire or heat, or of subjecting to the
effect of fire or heat; the state of being on fire or
excessively heated.
[1913 Webster]
Burning fluid, any volatile illuminating oil, as the
lighter petroleums (naphtha, benzine), or oil of
turpentine (camphine), but esp. a mixture of the latter
with alcohol.
Burning glass, a convex lens of considerable size, used for
producing an intense heat by converging the sun's rays to
a focus.
Burning house (Metal.), the furnace in which tin ores are
calcined, to sublime the sulphur and arsenic from the
pyrites. --Weale.
Burning mirror, a concave mirror, or a combination of plane
mirrors, used for the same purpose as a burning glass.
[1913 Webster]
Syn: Combustion; fire; conflagration; flame; blaze.
[1913 Webster]