feel
English
editPronunciation
editEtymology 1
editFrom Middle English felen, from Old English fēlan, from Proto-West Germanic *fōlijan.[1]
Verb
editfeel (third-person singular simple present feels, present participle feeling, simple past and past participle felt)
- (heading) To use or experience the sense of touch.
- (transitive, copulative) To become aware of through the skin; to use the sense of touch on.
- You can feel a heartbeat if you put your fingers on your breast.
- I felt cold and miserable all night.
- (transitive) To find one's way (literally or figuratively) by touching or using cautious movements.
- I felt my way through the darkened room.
- I felt my way cautiously through the dangerous business maneuver.
- (intransitive) To receive information by touch or by any neurons other than those responsible for sight, smell, taste, or hearing.
- (intransitive) To search by sense of touch.
- He felt for the light switch in the dark.
- (transitive, copulative) To become aware of through the skin; to use the sense of touch on.
- (heading) To sense or think emotionally or judgmentally.
- (transitive) To experience an emotion or other mental state about.
- I can feel the sadness in his poems.
- 1738, [Alexander Pope], “Stanza X”, in The Universal Prayer. […], London [actually Edinburgh]: […] [Thomas Ruddiman] for R[obert] Dodsley, […], →OCLC, page 6:
- Teach me to feel another's VVoe; / To hide the Fault I ſee; / That Mercy I to others ſhovv, / That Mercy ſhow to me.
- 1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
- Captain Edward Carlisle, soldier as he was, martinet as he was, felt a curious sensation of helplessness seize upon him as he met her steady gaze, her alluring smile ; he could not tell what this prisoner might do.
- 2013 August 10, Lexington, “Keeping the mighty honest”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8848:
- British journalists shun complete respectability, feeling a duty to be ready to savage the mighty, or rummage through their bins. Elsewhere in Europe, government contracts and subsidies ensure that press barons will only defy the mighty so far.
- (transitive) To think, believe, or have an impression concerning.
- I feel that we need to try harder.
- 1613 (date written), William Shakespeare, [John Fletcher], “The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene ii]:
- They promised me eternal happiness; And brought me garlands, Griffith, which I feel I am not worthy yet to wear.
- 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter XIX, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
- When Timothy and Julia hurried up the staircase to the bedroom floor, where a considerable commotion was taking place, Tim took Barry Leach with him. He had him gripped firmly by the arm, since he felt it was not safe to let him loose, and he had no immediate idea what to do with him.
- (intransitive, copulative) To experience an emotion or other mental state.
- He obviously feels strongly about it.
- She felt even more upset when she heard the details.
- 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
- Then we relapsed into a discomfited silence, and wished we were anywhere else. But Miss Thorn relieved the situation by laughing aloud, and with such a hearty enjoyment that instead of getting angry and more mortified we began to laugh ourselves, and instantly felt better.
- (intransitive) To sympathise; to have the sensibilities moved or affected.
- I feel for you and your plight.
- 1790 November, Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France, and on the Proceedings in Certain Societies in London Relative to that Event. […], London: […] J[ames] Dodsley, […], →OCLC:
- [She] feels with the dignity of a Roman matron.
- 1738, Alexander Pope, Epilogue to the Satires:
- who feel for all mankind
- (transitive) To experience an emotion or other mental state about.
- (transitive) To be or become aware of.
- (transitive) To experience the consequences of.
- Feel my wrath!
- (copulative) To seem (through touch or otherwise).
- It looks like wood, but it feels more like plastic.
- This is supposed to be a party, but it feels more like a funeral!
- (transitive, US, slang) To understand.
- I don't want you back here, ya feel me?
- 2002, “Work It”, in Under Construction, performed by Missy Elliott:
- Shoot, errbody have the zipper jacket / And half of these thugs have the glove to match, ya feel me?
Usage notes
edit- When referring to the emotional state, most prescriptive grammarians prefer "I feel bad" to "I feel badly", but "I feel badly" is widely used this way in US English.
- In senses 2, 3, and 5, this is generally a stative verb that rarely takes the continuous inflection. See Category:English stative verbs
Conjugation
editConjugation of feel
infinitive | (to) feel | ||
---|---|---|---|
present tense | past tense | ||
1st-person singular | feel | felt | |
2nd-person singular | feel, feelest† | felt, feltst†, feltest† | |
3rd-person singular | feels, feeleth† | felt | |
plural | feel | ||
subjunctive | feel | felt | |
imperative | feel | — | |
participles | feeling | felt |
Derived terms
edit- feel around
- feel-bad
- feel eight feet tall
- feeler
- feel for
- feel free
- feel-good
- feel-goodery
- feelgoodery
- feel-good factor
- feel-goodism
- feeling
- feel in one's water
- feel in one's waters
- feel like
- feel like death
- feel like oneself
- feelness
- feel nine feet tall
- feel no pain
- feel oneself
- feel one's legs
- feel one's oats
- feel one's way
- feel out
- feel someone's collar
- feel someone's pain
- feel sorry for
- feel ten feet tall
- feelth
- feel the Bern
- feel the burn
- feel the heat
- feel the pinch
- feel twelve feet tall
- feel up
- feel up to
- feely
- forefeel
- I feel you
- misfeel
- overfeel
- underfeel
- unfeel
Descendants
edit- → Kashubian: filowac (United States)
Translations
edittransitive: to sense by touch
|
transitive: to experience an emotion or other mental state about
|
transitive: to think or believe
|
intransitive: to search by touching
|
intransitive: to experience an emotion or other mental state
|
copulative: to seem
intransitive: to sympathise
|
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
|
Noun
editfeel (plural feels)
- (archaic) The sense of touch.
- 1838, John Burns, The Principles of Surgery, volume 1, page 330:
- It begins as a firm elastic swelling, which communicates to the feel the idea that a fluid is contained under a firm fascia […]
- A perception experienced mainly or solely through the sense of touch.
- Bark has a rough feel.
- 1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide:
- And then something in the sound or the feel of the waters made him look down, and he perceived that the ebb had begun and the tide was flowing out to sea.
- 2010, Nathan Bowers, 4-H Guide to Training Horses, page 111:
- The unshanked snaffle bit is good for bending and getting a horse used to the feel of a bit.
- A vague mental impression.
- You should get a feel for the area before moving in.
- 2010, Paul Wilson, “Khotan (Hetian)”, in The Silk Roads: A Route & Planning Guide[1], 3rd edition (Travel), Trailblazer Publications, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 379:
- You can arrange camel trips into the desert but to really get a feel for this allow yourself a couple of extra days and be prepared for what at times can be an uncomfortable journey: Xuan Zang tells us that as he left Khotan he was ‘attacked by tornados which bring with them clouds of flying gravel’.
- An act of fondling.
- She gave me a quick feel to show that she loves me.
- A vague understanding.
- I'm getting a feel for what you mean.
- An intuitive ability.
- She has a feel for music.
- (chiefly US, slang) A feeling; an emotion.
- I know that feel.
Derived terms
editDescendants
edit- → Korean: 삘 (ppil)
Translations
editquality
mental impression
vague understanding
intuitive ability
Etymology 2
editSee fele.
Pronoun
editfeel
Adjective
editfeel (not comparable)
Adverb
editfeel (not comparable)
References
editAnagrams
editChinese
editEtymology
editFrom English feel. Cognate with Mandarin fu.
Pronunciation
edit- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Jyutping: fiu1
- Yale: fīu
- Cantonese Pinyin: fiu1
- Guangdong Romanization: fiu1
- Sinological IPA (key): /fiːu̯⁵⁵/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
Noun
editfeel (Hong Kong Cantonese)
Verb
editfeel (Hong Kong Cantonese)
- to sense
- to experience or understand the mental state of others
Suffix
editfeel (Hong Kong Cantonese)
- Used after a noun to form an adjective denoting resemblance towards such noun; -like; sense of …
- 2012 September 15, “陳展鵬谷上一線 孖鍾嘉欣談情”, in 東方日報[2]:
- 他接受訪問時表示由於劇中是佛山人,要做大陸feel一點 [Literary Cantonese, trad.]
- taa1 zip3 sau6 fong2 man6 si4 biu2 si6 jau4 jyu1 kek6 zung1 si6 fat6 saan1 jan4, jiu3 zou6 daai6 luk6 feel jat1 dim2 [Jyutping]
- When being interviewed, he said that he need to act a bit more mainland-like as the character is from Foshan.
他接受访问时表示由于剧中是佛山人,要做大陆feel一点 [Literary Cantonese, simp.]
- 2023 March 13, “奧斯卡|《奇異女俠》橫掃7大獎項 網民曾神預言:拎獎拎到手軟”, in 香港01[3]:
- 現在證明事實確是如此,但相關帖文曾被懷疑是宣傳帖,「呢個POST勁PR FEEL」、「完全唔覺有吹到咁神」。 [Hong Kong Cantonese, trad.]
- jin6 zoi6 zing3 ming4 si6 sat6 kok3 si6 jyu4 ci2, daan6 soeng1 gwaan1 tip3 man4 cang4 bei6 waai4 ji4 si6 syun1 cyun4 tip3-2, “ni1 go3 post ging3 PR fiu1”, “jyun4 cyun4 m4 gok3 jau5 ceoi1 dou3 gam3 san4”. [Jyutping]
- Now it has been proven to be the truth, but the post was suspected to be promotional material; “this post is very PR-like”, “not feeling the movie is godlike how it has been said to be at all”.
现在证明事实确是如此,但相关帖文曾被怀疑是宣传帖,「呢个POST劲PR FEEL」、「完全唔觉有吹到咁神」。 [Hong Kong Cantonese, simp.]
Synonyms
edit- 感 (gǎn)
References
editMiddle English
editPronoun
editfeel
- Alternative form of fele (“many”)
North Frisian
editEtymology
editFrom Old Frisian fēla.
Verb
editfeel
- (Föhr-Amrum) to feel
Old Catalan
editEtymology
editInherited from Latin fidēlem (“faithful”). Replaced by the borrowing fidel in modern Catalan.
Adjective
editfeel
Old French
editAlternative forms
editEtymology
editAdjective
editfeel m (oblique and nominative feminine singular feel)
Descendants
editSeri
editPronunciation
editNoun
editfeel (article quij, plural feeloj)
References
edit- Moser, Mary B., Marlett, Stephen A. (2010) Comcaac quih yaza quih hant ihiip hac: cmiique iitom - cocsar iitom - maricaana iitom [Seri-Spanish-English Dictionary], 2nd edition, Hermosillo: Plaza y Valdés Editores, →ISBN, page 297.
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