n. The jaws between which the hinder end of a carriage tongue is inserted. Knight. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. [ From the sounds of the first five letters. ] The Runic alphabet; -- so called from the first six letters f, u, þ (th), o (or a), r, c (=k). See rune. [ Also spelled futhark ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

☞ The spelling futharc represents most accurately the original values of these six Runic letters. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

☞The name is derived from the sounds of the first five letters of the runic alphabet, f, u, th, o, r, and c. The vowel sound of the fourth letter corresponded more closely to a in the earlier versions used in Scandinavian countries, and the earlier alphabet is therefore referred to as the futharc or futhark. The fifth rune had a sound like that of k, and in the Danish futhark the fifth character is that transliterated as k. Thus the runic alphabet is also called the futhork or futhark. The third rune had a sound and form resembling that of the Anglo-Saxon thorn, which represented the th sound at the beginning of the word thorn. The origins of the runic alphabet are obscure, but the earliest forms may have been invented around the second century A.D. in eastern Europe. The forms of some of the letters show a relation to the Latin or Greek alphabets, and the futhorc was presumably in part an adaptation of those alphabets to the sound of the Germanic tongues. An inscription of the futhark itself, an ordered list of the runes, was found on an object dated as early as the fifth century A.D. The Scandinavian futharc had 16 runes, but the futhorc used in Anglo-Saxon England had 31. The futhark was mostly used for writing on wood, for which reason the runes were comprised of only vertical and diagonal strokes. The degree of widespread use of the futharc is not known but it was probably used mostly for short messages or inscriptions on objects. Fewer than 10, 000 runic inscriptions, both on wood and stone, have been found. The number and forms of some of the runes varied over time and locality. R. I. Page, “Runes”. [ PJC ]

The letters are called Runes and the alphabet bears the name Futhorc from the first six letters. I. Taylor. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. [ L. futilis that easily pours out, that easily lets loose, vain, worthless, from the root of fundere to pour out: cf. F. futile. See Fuse, v. t. ] 1. Talkative; loquacious; tattling. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Talkers and futile persons. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Of no importance; having no useful purpose; useless; vain; worthless; pointless. “Futile theories.” I. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

His reasoning . . . was singularly futile. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a futile manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. futilitas: cf. F. futilité. ] 1. The quality of being talkative; talkativeness; loquaciousness; loquacity. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The quality of producing no valuable effect, or of coming to nothing; uselessness. [ 1913 Webster ]

The futility of this mode of philosophizing. Whewell. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Futile; trifling. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Prob. corrupted fr. foothook. ] (Naut.) One of the crooked timbers which are scarfed together to form the lower part of the compound rib of a vessel; one of the crooked transverse timbers passing across and over the keel. [ 1913 Webster ]

Futtock plates (Naut.), plates of iron to which the dead-eyes of the topmast rigging are secured. --
Futtock shrouds, short iron shrouds leading from the upper part of the lower mast or of the main shrouds to the edge of the top, or through it, and connecting the topmast rigging with the lower mast. Totten. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Capable of being future; possible to occur. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Not only to things future, but futurable. Fuller. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ F. futur, L. futurus, used as fut. p. of esse to be, but from the same root as E. be. See Be, v. i. ] That is to be or come hereafter; that will exist at any time after the present; as, the next moment is future, to the present. [ 1913 Webster ]

Future tense (Gram.), the tense or modification of a verb which expresses a future act or event. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. futur. See Future, a. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. Time to come; time subsequent to the present (as, the future shall be as the present); collectively, events that are to happen in time to come. “Lay the future open.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The possibilities of the future; -- used especially of prospective success or advancement; as, he had great future before him. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Gram.) A future tense. [ 1913 Webster ]

To deal in futures, to speculate on the future values of merchandise or stocks. [ Brokers' cant ] [ 1913 Webster ]