Unabridged Dictionary - Letter W
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W
W (?), the twenty-third letter of the English alphabet, is usually a
consonant, but sometimes it is a vowel, forming the second element of
certain diphthongs, as in few, how. It takes its written form and its
name from the repetition of a V, this being the original form of the
Roman capital letter which we call U. Etymologically it is most
related to v and u. See V, and U. Some of the uneducated classes in
England, especially in London, confuse w and v, substituting the one
for the other, as weal for veal, and veal for weal; wine for vine, and
vine for wine, etc. See Guide to Pronunciation, §§ 266-268.
Waag
Waag (?), n. (Zo\'94l.) The grivet.
Waahoo
Waa*hoo" (?), n. (Bot.) The burning bush; -- said to be called after a
quack medicine made from it.
Wabble
Wab"ble (?), v. i. [Cf. Prov. G. wabbeln to wabble, and E. whap. Cf.
Quaver.] To move staggeringly or unsteadily from one side to the
other; to vacillate; to move the manner of a rotating disk when the
axis of rotation is inclined to that of the disk; -- said of a turning
or whirling body; as, a top wabbles; a buzz saw wabbles. <-- now
replaced by wobble. -->
Wabble
Wab"ble, n. A hobbling, unequal motion, as of a wheel unevenly hung; a
staggering to and fro.
Wabbly
Wab"bly (?), a. Inclined to wabble; wabbling.
Wacke, Wacky
Wack"e (?), Wack"y (?), n. [G. wacke, MHG.wacke a large stone, OHG.
waggo a pebble.] (Geol.) A soft, earthy, dark-colored rock or clay
derived from the alteration of basalt.
Wad
Wad (?), n. [See Woad.] Woad. [Obs.]
Wad
Wad, n. [Probably of Scand. origin; cf. Sw. vadd wadding, Dan vat, D.
& G. watte. Cf. Wadmol.]
1. A little mass, tuft, or bundle, as of hay or tow. Holland.
2. Specifically: A little mass of some soft or flexible material, such
as hay, straw, tow, paper, or old rope yarn, used for retaining a
charge of powder in a gun, or for keeping the powder and shot close;
also, to diminish or avoid the effects of windage. Also, by extension,
a dusk of felt, pasteboard, etc., serving a similar purpose.
3. A soft mass, especially of some loose, fibrous substance, used for
various purposes, as for stopping an aperture, padding a garment, etc.
Wed hook, a rod with a screw or hook at the end, used for removing the
wad from a gun.
Wad
Wad, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Waded; p. pr. & vb. n. Wadding.]
1. To form into a mass, or wad, or into wadding; as, to wad tow or
cotton.
2. To insert or crowd a wad into; as, to wad a gun; also, to stuff or
line with some soft substance, or wadding, like cotton; as, to wad a
cloak.
Wad, Wadd
Wad, Wadd, n. (Min.) (a) An earthy oxide of manganese, or mixture of
different oxides and water, with some oxide of iron, and often silica,
alumina, lime, or baryta; black ocher. There are several varieties.
(b) Plumbago, or black lead.
Wadding
Wad"ding (?), n. [See Wad a little mass.]
1. A wad, or the materials for wads; any pliable substance of which
wads may be made.
2. Any soft stuff of loose texture, used for stuffing or padding
garments; esp., sheets of carded cotton prepared for the purpose.
Waddle
Wad"dle (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Waddled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Waddling
(?).] [Freq. of wade; cf. AS. w\'91dlian to beg, from wadan to go. See
Wade.] To walk with short steps, swaying the body from one side to the
other, like a duck or very fat person; to move clumsily and
totteringly along; to toddle; to stumble; as, a child waddles when he
begins to walk; a goose waddles. Shak.
She drawls her words, and waddles in her pace. Young.
Waddle
Wad"dle, v. t. To trample or tread down, as high grass, by walking
through it. [R.] Drayton.
Waddler
Wad"dler (?), n. One who, or that which, waddles.
Waddlingly
Wad"dling*ly, adv. In a waddling manner.
Wade
Wade (?), n. Woad. [Obs.] Mortimer.
Wade
Wade (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Waded; p. pr. & vb. n. Wading.] [OE.
waden to wade, to go, AS. wadan; akin to OFries. wada, D. waden, OHG.
watan, Icel. va, Sw. vada, Dan. vade, L. vadere to go, walk, vadum a
ford. Cf. Evade, Invade, Pervade, Waddle.]
1. To go; to move forward. [Obs.]
When might is joined unto cruelty, Alas, too deep will the venom
wade. Chaucer.
Forbear, and wade no further in this speech. Old Play.
2. To walk in a substance that yields to the feet; to move, sinking at
each step, as in water, mud, sand, etc.
So eagerly the fiend . . . With head, hands, wings, or feet,
pursues his way, And swims, or sinks, or wades, or creeps, or
flies. Milton.
3. Hence, to move with difficulty or labor; to proceed as, to wade
through a dull book.
And wades through fumes, and gropes his way. Dryden.
The king's admirable conduct has waded through all these
difficulties. Davenant.
Wade
Wade, v. t. To pass or cross by wading; as, he waded .
Wade
Wade (?), n. The act of wading. [Colloq.]
Wader
Wad"er (?), n.
1. One who, or that which, wades.
2. (Zo\'94l.) Any long-legged bird that wades in the water in search
of food, especially any species of limicoline or grallatorial birds;
-- called also wading bird. See Illust. g, under Aves.
Wading
Wad"ing, a. & n. from Wade, v. Wading bird. (Zo\'94l.) See Wader, 2.
Wadmol
Wad"mol (?), n. [Of Scand. origin; cf. Icel.va a woollen stuff, Dan
vadmel. Cf. Wad a small mass, and Woodmeil.] A coarse, hairy, woolen
cloth, formerly used for garments by the poor, and for various other
purposes. [Spelled also wadmal, wadmeal, wadmoll, wadmel, etc.] Beck
(Draper's Dict.). Sir W. Scott.
Wadset
Wad"set (?), n. [Scot. wad a pledge; akin to Sw. vad a wager. See
Wed.] (Scots Law) A kind of pledge or mortgage. [Written also
wadsett.]
Wadsetter
Wad"set*ter (?), n. One who holds by a wadset.
Wady
Wad"y (?), n.; pl. Wadies (#). [Ar. w\'bed\'c6 a valley, a channel of
a river, a river.] A ravine through which a brook flows; the channel
of a water course, which is dry except in the rainy season.
Wae
Wae (?), n. A wave. [Obs.] Spenser.
Waeg
Waeg (?), n. (Zo\'94l.) The kittiwake. [Scot.]
Wafer
Wa"fer (?), n. [OE. wafre, OF. waufre, qaufre, F. qaufre; of Teutonic
origin; cf. LG. & D. wafel, G. waffel, Dan. vaffel, Sw. v\'86ffla; all
akin to G. wabe a honeycomb, OHG. waba, being named from the
resemblance to a honeycomb. G. wabe is probably akin to E. weave. See
Weave, and cf. Waffle, Gauffer.]
1. (Cookery) A thin cake made of flour and other ingredients.
Wafers piping hot out of the gleed. Chaucer.
The curious work in pastry, the fine cakes, wafers, and marchpanes.
Holland.
A woman's oaths are wafers -- break with making B. Jonson.
2. (Eccl.) A thin cake or piece of bread (commonly unleavened,
circular, and stamped with a crucifix or with the sacred monogram)
used in the Eucharist, as in the Roman Catholic Church.
3. An adhesive disk of dried paste, made of flour, gelatin, isinglass,
or the like, and coloring matter, -- used in sealing letters and other
documents. <-- 4. Any thin but rigid plate of solid material, esp. of
discoidal shape; -- a term used commonly to refer to the thin slices
of silicon used as starting material for the manufacture of integrated
circuits. -->
Wafer cake, a sweet, thin cake. Shak. -- Wafer irons, OR Wafer tongs
(Cookery), a pincher-shaped contrivance, having flat plates, or
blades, between which wafers are baked. -- Wafer woman, a woman who
sold wafer cakes; also, one employed in amorous intrigues. Beau. & Fl.
Wafer
Wa"fer, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wafered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Wafering.] To
seal or close with a wafer.
Waferer
Wa"fer*er (?), n. A dealer in the cakes called wafers; a confectioner.
[Obs.] Chaucer.
Waffle
Waffle (?), n. [D. wafel. See Wafer.]
1. A thin cake baked and then rolled; a wafer.
2. A soft indented cake cooked in a waffle iron.
Waffle iron, an iron utensil or mold made in two parts shutting
together, -- used for cooking waffles over a fire.
Waft
Waft (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wafted; p. pr. & vb. n. Wafting.] [Prob.
originally imp. & p. p. of wave, v. t. See Wave to waver.]
1. To give notice to by waving something; to wave the hand to; to
beckon. [Obs.]
But soft: who wafts us yonder? Shak.
2. To cause to move or go in a wavy manner, or by the impulse of
waves, as of water or air; to bear along on a buoyant medium; as, a
balloon was wafted over the channel.
A gentle wafting to immortal life. Milton.
Speed the soft intercourse from soul to soul, And waft a sigh from
Indus to the pole. Pope.
3. To cause to float; to keep from sinking; to buoy. [Obs.] Sir T.
Browne.
NOTE: &hand; This verb is regular; but waft was formerly somwafted.
Waft
Waft, v. i. To be moved, or to pass, on a buoyant medium; to float.
And now the shouts waft near the citadel. Dryden.
Waft
Waft, n.
1. A wave or current of wind. "Everywaft of the air." Longfellow.
In this dire season, oft the whirlwind's wing Sweeps up the burden
of whole wintry plains In one wide waft. Thomson.
2. A signal made by waving something, as a flag, in the air.
3. An unpleasant flavor. [Obs.]
4. (Naut.) A knot, or stop, in the middle of a flag. [Written also
wheft.]
NOTE: &hand; A fl ag with a waft in it, when hoisted at the staff,
or half way to the gaff, means, a man overboard; at the peak, a
desire to communicate; at the masthead, "Recall boats."
Waftage
Waft"age (?), n. Conveyance on a buoyant medium, as air or water.
Shak.
Boats prepared for waftage to and fro. Drayton.
Wafter
Waft"er (?), n.
1. One who, or that which, wafts.
O Charon, Thou wafter of the soul to bliss or bane. Beau. & FL.
2. A boat for passage. Ainsworth.
Wafture
Waf"ture (?), n. The act of waving; a wavelike motion; a waft. R.
Browning.
An angry wafture of your hand. Shak.
Wag
Wag (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wagged (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Wagging.]
[OE. waggen; probably of Scand. origin; cf. Sw. vagga to rock a
cradle, vagga cradle, Icel. vagga, Dan. vugge; akin to AS. wagian to
move, wag, wegan to bear, carry, G. & D. bewegen to move, and E.
weigh. \'fb136. See Weigh.] To move one way and the other with quick
turns; to shake to and fro; to move vibratingly; to cause to vibrate,
as a part of the body; as, to wag the head.
No discerner durst wag his tongue in censure. Shak.
Every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and wag his
head. Jer. xviii. 16.
NOTE: &hand; Wa g expresses specifically the motion of the head and
body used in buffoonery, mirth, derision, sport, and mockery.
Wag
Wag, v. i.
1. To move one way and the other; to be shaken to and fro; to vibrate.
The resty sieve wagged ne'er the more. Dryden.
2. To be in action or motion; to move; to get along; to progress; to
stir. [Colloq.]
"Thus we may see," quoth he, "how the world wags." Shak.
3. To go; to depart; to pack oft. [R.]
I will provoke him to 't, or let him wag. Shak.
Wag
Wag, n. [From Wag, v.]
1. The act of wagging; a shake; as, a wag of the head. [Colloq.]
2. [Perhaps shortened from wag-halter a rogue.] A man full of sport
and humor; a ludicrous fellow; a humorist; a wit; a joker.
We wink at wags when they offend. Dryden.
A counselor never pleaded without a piece of pack thread in his
hand, which he used to twist about a finger all the while he was
speaking; the wags used to call it the thread of his discourse.
Addison.
Wagati
Wa*ga"ti (?), n. (Zo\'94l.) A small East Indian wild cat (Felis
wagati), regarded by some as a variety of the leopard cat.
Wage
Wage (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Waged (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Waging (?).]
[OE. wagen, OF. wagier, gagier, to pledge, promise, F. gager to wager,
lay, bet, fr. LL. wadium a pledge; of Teutonic origin; cf. Goth. wadi
a pledge, gawadj\'d3n to pledge, akin to E. wed, G. wette a wager. See
Wed, and cf. Gage.]
1. To pledge; to hazard on the event of a contest; to stake; to bet,
to lay; to wager; as, to wage a dollar. Hakluyt.
My life I never but as a pawn To wage against thy enemies. Shak.
2. To expose one's self to, as a risk; to incur, as a danger; to
venture; to hazard. "Too weak to wage an instant trial with the king."
Shak.
To wake and wage a danger profitless. Shak.
3. To engage in, as a contest, as if by previous gage or pledge; to
carry on, as a war.
[He pondered] which of all his sons was fit To reign and wage
immortal war with wit. Dryden.
The two are waging war, and the one triumphs by the destruction of
the other. I. Taylor.
4. To adventure, or lay out, for hire or reward; to hire out. [Obs.]
"Thou . . . must wage thy works for wealth." Spenser.
5. To put upon wages; to hire; to employ; to pay wages to. [Obs.]
Abundance of treasure which he had in store, wherewith he might
wage soldiers. Holinshed.
I would have them waged for their labor. Latimer.
6. (O. Eng. Law) To give security for the performance of. Burrill.
To wage battle (O. Eng. Law), to give gage, or security, for joining
in the duellum, or combat. See Wager of battel, under Wager, n.
Burrill. -- To wage one's law (Law), to give security to make one's
law. See Wager of law, under Wager, n.
Wage
Wage, v. i. To bind one's self; to engage. [Obs.]
Wage
Wage, n. [OF. wage, gage, guarantee, engagement. See Wage, v. t. ]
1. That which is staked or ventured; that for which one incurs risk or
danger; prize; gage. [Obs.] "That warlike wage." Spenser.
2. That for which one labors; meed; reward; stipulated payment for
service performed; hire; pay; compensation; -- at present generally
used in the plural. See Wages. "My day's wage." Sir W. Scott. "At
least I earned my wage." Thackeray. "Pay them a wage in advance." J.
Morley. "The wages of virtue." Tennyson.
By Tom Thumb, a fairy page, He sent it, and doth him engage, By
promise of a mighty wage, It secretly to carry. Drayton.
Our praises are our wages. Shak.
Existing legislation on the subject of wages. Encyc. Brit.
NOTE: &hand; Wa ge is us ed ad jectively an d as the first part of
compounds which are usually self-explaining; as, wage worker, or
wage-worker; wage-earner, etc.
Board wages. See under 1st Board. Syn. -- Hire; reward; stipend;
salary; allowance; pay; compensation; remuneration; fruit.
Wagel
Wag"el (?), n. (Zo\'94l.) See Waggel.
Wagenboom
Wa"gen*boom` (?), n. [D., literally, wagon tree.] (Bot.) A south
African proteaceous tree (Protea grandiflora); also, its tough wood,
used for making wagon wheels.
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Wager
Wa"ger (?), n. [OE. wager, wajour, OF. wagiere, or wageure, E.
gageure. See Wage, v. t.]
1. Something deposited, laid, or hazarded on the event of a contest or
an unsettled question; a bet; a stake; a pledge.
Besides these plates for horse races, the wagers may be as the
persons please. Sir W. Temple.
If any atheist can stake his soul for a wager against such an
inexhaustible disproportion, let him never hereafter accuse others
of credulity. Bentley.
2. (Law) A contract by which two parties or more agree that a certain
sum of money, or other thing, shall be paid or delivered to one of
them, on the happening or not happening of an uncertain event.
Bouvier.
NOTE: &hand; At co mmon la w a wa ger is co nsidered as a legal
contract which the courts must enforce unless it be on a subject
contrary to public policy, or immoral, or tending to the detriment
of the public, or affecting the interest, feelings, or character of
a third person. In many of the United States an action can not be
sustained upon any wager or bet.
Chitty. Bouvier.
3. That on which bets are laid; the subject of a bet.
Wager of battel, OR Wager of battle (O. Eng. Law), the giving of gage,
or pledge, for trying a cause by single combat, formerly allowed in
military, criminal, and civil causes. In writs of right, where the
trial was by champions, the tenant produced his champion, who, by
throwing down his glove as a gage, thus waged, or stipulated, battle
with the champion of the demandant, who, by taking up the glove,
accepted the challenge. The wager of battel, which has been long in
disuse, was abolished in England in 1819, by a statute passed in
consequence of a defendant's having waged his battle in a case which
arose about that period. See Battel. -- Wager of law (Law), the giving
of gage, or sureties, by a defendant in an action of debt, that at a
certain day assigned he would take a law, or oath, in open court, that
he did not owe the debt, and at the same time bring with him eleven
neighbors (called compurgators), who should avow upon their oaths that
they believed in their consciences that he spoke the truth. -- Wager
policy. (Insurance Law) See under Policy.
Wager
Wa"ger, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wagered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Wagering.] To
hazard on the issue of a contest, or on some question that is to be
decided, or on some casualty; to lay; to stake; to bet.
And wagered with him Pieces of gold 'gainst this which he wore.
Shak.
Wager
Wa"ger, v. i. To make a bet; to lay a wager.
'T was merry when You wagered on your angling. Shak.
Wagerer
Wa"ger*er (?), n. One who wagers, or lays a bet.
Wagering
Wa"ger*ing, a. Hazarding; pertaining to the act of one who wagers.
Wagering policy. (Com.) See Wager policy, under Policy.
Wages
Wa"ges (?), n. plural in termination, but singular in signification.
[Plural of wage; cf. F. gages, pl., wages, hire. See Wage, n.] A
compensation given to a hired person for services; price paid for
labor; recompense; hire. See Wage, n., 2.
The wages of sin is death. Rom. vi. 23.
Wages fund (Polit. Econ.), the aggregate capital existing at any time
in any country, which theoretically is unconditionally destined to be
paid out in wages. It was formerly held, by Mill and other political
economists, that the average rate of wages in any country at any time
depended upon the relation of the wages fund to the number of
laborers. This theory has been greatly modified by the discovery of
other conditions affecting wages, which it does not take into account.
Encyc. Brit. Syn. -- See under Wage, n.
Waggel
Wag"gel (?), n. (Zo\'94l.) The young of the great black-backed gull
(Larus marinus), formerly considered a distinct species. [Prov. Eng.]
Waggery
Wag"ger*y (?), n.; pl. Waggeries (#). [From Wag.] The manner or action
of a wag; mischievous merriment; sportive trick or gayety;
good-humored sarcasm; pleasantry; jocularity; as, the waggery of a
schoolboy. Locke.
A drollery and lurking waggery of expression. W. Irving.
Waggie
Wag"gie (?), n. The pied wagtail. [Prov. Eng.]
Waggish
Wag"gish , a.
1. Like a wag; mischievous in sport; roguish in merriment or good
humor; frolicsome. "A company of waggish boys." L'Estrange.
2. Done, made, or laid in waggery or for sport; sportive; humorous;
as, a waggish trick. -- Wag"gish*ly, adv. -- Wag"gish*ness, n.
Waggle
Wag"gle (?), v. i. [Freq. of wag; cf. D. waggelen, G. wackeln.] To
reel, sway, or move from side to side; to move with a wagging motion;
to waddle.
Why do you go nodding and waggling so? L'Estrange.
Waggle
Wag"gle, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Waggled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Waggling
(?).] To move frequently one way and the other; to wag; as, a bird
waggles his tail.
Wag-halter
Wag"-hal`ter (?), n. [Wag + halter.] One who moves or wears a halter;
one likely to be hanged. [Colloq. & Obs.]
I can tell you, I am a mad wag-halter. Marston.
Wagnerite
Wag"ner*ite (?), n. (Min.) A fluophosphate of magnesia, occurring in
yellowish crystals, and also in massive forms.
Wagon
Wag"on (?), n. [D. wagen. &root;136. See Wain.]
1. A wheeled carriage; a vehicle on four wheels, and usually drawn by
horses; especially, one used for carrying freight or merchandise.
NOTE: &hand; In th e Un ited States, light wagons are used for the
conveyance of persons and light commodities.
2. A freight car on a railway. [Eng.]
3. A chariot [Obs.] Spenser.
4. (Astron.) The Dipper, or Charles's Wain.
NOTE: &hand; This word and its compounds are often written with two
g's (waggon, waggonage, etc.), chiefly in England. The forms wagon,
wagonage, etc., are, however, etymologically preferable, and in the
United States are almost universally used.
Wagon boiler. See the Note under Boiler, 3. -- Wagon ceiling (Arch.),
a semicircular, or wagon-headed, arch or ceiling; -- sometimes used
also of a ceiling whose section is polygonal instead of semicircular.
-- Wagon master, an officer or person in charge of one or more wagons,
especially of those used for transporting freight, as the supplies of
an army, and the like. -- Wagon shoe, a skid, or shoe, for retarding
the motion of a wagon wheel; a drag. -- Wagon vault. (Arch.) See under
1st Vault.
Wagon
Wag"on (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wagoned (?); p. pr. & vb. n.
Wagoning.] To transport in a wagon or wagons; as, goods are wagoned
from city to city.
Wagon
Wag"on, v. i. To wagon goods as a business; as, the man wagons between
Philadelphia and its suburbs.
Wagonage
Wag"on*age (?), n.
1. Money paid for carriage or conveyance in wagon.
2. A collection of wagons; wagons, collectively.
Wagonage, provender, and a piece or two of cannon. Carlyle.
Wagoner
Wag"on*er (?), n.
1. One who conducts a wagon; one whose business it is to drive a
wagon.
2. (Astron.) The constellation Charles's Wain, or Ursa Major. See Ursa
major, under Ursa.
Wagonette
Wag`on*ette" (?), n. A kind of pleasure wagon, uncovered and with
seats extended along the sides, designed to carry six or eight persons
besides the driver.
Wagonful
Wag"on*ful (?), n.; pl. Wagonfuls (. As much as a wagon will hold;
enough to fill a wagon; a wagonload.
Wagon-headed
Wag"on-head`ed (?), a. Having a top, or head, shaped like the top of a
covered wagon, or resembling in section or outline an inverted U, thus
as, a wagonheaded ceiling.
Wagonload
Wag"on*load` (?), n. Same as Wagonful.
Wagon-roofed
Wag"on-roofed` (?), a. Having a roof, or top, shaped like an inverted
U; wagon-headed.
Wagonry
Wag"on*ry (?), n. Conveyance by means of a wagon or wagons. [Obs.]
Milton.
Wagonwright
Wag"on*wright` (?), n. One who makes wagons.
Wagtail
Wag"tail` (?), n. (Zo\'94l.) Any one of many species of Old World
singing birds belonging to Motacilla and several allied genera of the
family Motacillid\'91. They have the habit of constantly jerking their
long tails up and down, whence the name. Field wagtail, any one of
several species of wagtails of the genus Budytes having the tail
shorter, the legs longer, and the hind claw longer and straighter,
than do the water wagtails. Most of the species are yellow beneath.
Called also yellow wagtail. -- Garden wagtail, the Indian
black-breasted wagtail (Nemoricola Indica). -- Pied wagtail, the
common European water wagtail (Motacilla lugubris). It is variegated
with black and white. The name is applied also to other allied species
having similar colors. Called also pied dishwasher. -- Wagtail
flycatcher, a true flycatcher (Sauloprocta motacilloides) common in
Southern Australia, where it is very tame, and frequents stock yards
and gardens and often builds its nest about houses; -- called also
black fantail. -- Water wagtail. (a) Any one of several species of
wagtails of the restricted genus Motacilla. They live chiefly on the
shores of ponds and streams. (b) The American water thrush. See Water
thrush. -- Wood wagtail, an Asiatic wagtail; (Calobates sulphurea)
having a slender bill and short legs.
Wah
Wah (w&aum;), n. (Zo\'94l.) The panda.
Wahabee
Wa*ha"bee (?), n. [Ar. wah\'bebi.] A follower of Abdel Wahab (b. 1691;
d. 1787), a reformer of Mohammedanism. His doctrines prevail
particularly among the Bedouins, and the sect, though checked in its
influence, extends to most parts of Arabia, and also into India.
[Written also Wahaby.]
Waid
Waid (?), a. [For weighed.] Oppressed with weight; crushed; weighed
down. [Obs.] Tusser.
Waif
Waif (?), n. [OF. waif, gaif, as adj., lost, unclaimed, chose gaive a
waif, LL. wayfium, res vaivae; of Scand. origin. See Waive.]
1. (Eng. Law.) Goods found of which the owner is not known;
originally, such goods as a pursued thief threw away to prevent being
apprehended, which belonged to the king unless the owner made pursuit
of the felon, took him, and brought him to justice. Blackstone.
2. Hence, anything found, or without an owner; that which comes along,
as it were, by chance. "Rolling in his mind old waifs of rhyme."
Tennyson.
3. A wanderer; a castaway; a stray; a homeless child.
A waif Desirous to return, and not received. Cowper.
Waift
Waift (?), n. A waif. [Obs.] Spenser.
Wail
Wail (?), v. t. [Cf. Icel. val choice, velja to choose, akin to Goth.
waljan, G. w\'84hlen.] To choose; to select. [Obs.] "Wailed wine and
meats." Henryson.
Wail
Wail, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wailed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Wailing.] [OE.
wailen, weilen, probably fr. Icel. v\'91la; cf. Icel. v\'91, vei, woe,
and E. wayment, also OE. wai, wei, woe. Cf. Woe.] To lament; to
bewail; to grieve over; as, to wail one's death. Shak.
Wail
Wail, v. i. To express sorrow audibly; to make mournful outcry; to
weep.
Therefore I will wail and howl. Micah i. 8.
Wail
Wail, n. Loud weeping; violent lamentation; wailing. "The wail of
the forest." Longfellow.
Wailer
Wail"er (?), n. One who wails or laments.
Waileress
Wail"er*ess (?), n. A woman who wails. [Obs.]
Wailful
Wail"ful (?), a. Sorrowful; mournful. " Like wailful widows."
Spenser. "Wailful sonnets." Shak.
Wailingly
Wail"ing*ly, adv. In a wailing manner.
Wailment
Wail"ment (?), n. Lamentation; loud weeping; wailing. [Obs.] Bp.
Hacket.
Waiment
Wai"ment (?). v. & n. See Wayment. [Obs.]
Wain
Wain (?), n. [OE. wain, AS. w\'91gn; akin to D. & G. wagen, OHG.
wagan, Icel. & Sw. vagn, Dan. vogn, and E. way. Way, Weigh, and cf.
Wagon.]
1. A four-wheeled vehicle for the transportation of goods, produce,
etc.; a wagon.
The wardens see nothing but a wain of hay. Jeffrey.
Driving in ponderous wains their household goods to the seashore.
Longfellow.
2. A chariot. [Obs.]
The Wain. (Astron.) See Charles's Wain, in the Vocabulary. -- Wain
rope, a cart rope. Shak.
Wainable
Wain"a*ble (?), a. Capable of being plowed or cultivated; arable;
tillable. [Obs.] Cowell.
Wainage
Wain"age (?; 48), n. [From Wain.] A finding of carriages, carts, etc.,
for the transportation of goods, produce, etc. Ainsworth.
Wainage
Wain"age, n. (O. Eng. Law) See Gainage, a.
Wainbote
Wain"bote` (?), n. [Wain + bote.] (O. Eng. Law) See Cartbote. See also
the Note under Bote.
Wainscot
Wain"scot (?), n. [OD. waeghe-schot, D. wagen-schot, a clapboard, fr.
OD. waeg, weeg, a wall (akin to AS. wah; cf. Icel. veggr) + schot a
covering of boards (akin to E. shot, shoot).]
1. Oaken timber or boarding. [Obs.]
A wedge wainscot is fittest and most proper for cleaving of an
oaken tree. Urquhart.
Inclosed in a chest of wainscot. J. Dart.
2. (Arch.) A wooden lining or boarding of the walls of apartments,
usually made in panels.
3.
3. (Zo\'94l.) Any one of numerous species of European moths of the
family Leucanid\'91.
NOTE: &hand; Th ey are reddish or yellowish, streaked or lined with
black and white. Their larv\'91 feed on grasses and sedges.
Wainscot
Wain"scot, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wainscoted; p. pr. & vb. n.
Wainscoting.] To line with boards or panelwork, or as if with
panelwork; as, to wainscot a hall.
Music soundeth better in chambers wainscoted than hanged. Bacon.
The other is wainscoted with looking-glass. Addison.
Wainscoting
Wain"scot*ing, n.
1. The act or occupation of covering or lining with boards in panel.
2. The material used to wainscot a house, or the wainscot as a whole;
panelwork.
Wainwright
Wain"wright` (?), n. Same as Wagonwright.
Wair
Wair (?), n. (Carp.) A piece of plank two yard Bailey.
Waist
Waist (?), n. [OE. wast; originally, growth, akin to AS. weaxan to
grow; cf. AS. w\'91stm growth. See Wax to grow.]
1. That part of the human body which is immediately below the ribs or
thorax; the small part of the body between the thorax and hips.
Chaucer.
I am in the waist two yards about. Shak.
2. Hence, the middle part of other bodies; especially (Naut.), that
part of a vessel's deck, bulwarks, etc., which is between the
quarter-deck and the forecastle; the middle part of the ship.
3. A garment, or part of a garment, which covers the body from the
neck or shoulders to the waist line.
4. A girdle or belt for the waist. [Obs.] Shak.
Waist anchor. See Sheet anchor, 1, in the Vocabulary.
Waistband
Waist"band (?), n.
1. The band which encompasses the waist; esp., one on the upper part
of breeches, trousers, pantaloons, skirts, or the like.
2. A sash worn by women around the waist. [R.]
Waistcloth
Waist"cloth (?), n.
1. A cloth or wrapper worn about the waist; by extension, such a
garment worn about the hips and passing between the thighs.
2. (Naut.) A covering of canvas or tarpaulin for the hammocks, stowed
on the nettings, between the quarterdeck and the forecastle.
Waistcoat
Waist"coat (?), n. (a) A short, sleeveless coat or garment for men,
worn under the coat, extending no lower than the hips, and covering
the waist; a vest. (b) A garment occasionally worn by women as a part
of fashionable costume.
NOTE: &hand; Th e wa istcoat was a part of female attire as well as
male . . . It was only when the waistcoat was worn without a gown
or upper dress that it was considered the mark of a mad or
profligate woman. Nares.
Syn. -- See Vest.
Waistcoateer
Waist`coat*eer" (?), n. One wearing a waistcoat; esp., a woman wearing
one uncovered, or thought fit for such a habit; hence, a loose woman;
strumpet. [Obs.]
Do you think you are here, sir, Amongst your waistcoateers, your
base wenches? Beau. & Fl.
Waistcoating
Waist"coat*ing, n. A fabric designed for waistcoats; esp., one in
which there is a pattern, differently colored yarns being used.
Waister
Waist"er (?), n. (Naut.) A seaman, usually a green hand or a
broken-down man, stationed in the waist of a vessel of war. R. H.
Dana, Jr.
Wait
Wait (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Waited; p. pr. & vb. n. Waiting.] [OE.
waiten, OF. waitier, gaitier, to watch, attend, F. guetter to watch,
to wait for, fr. OHG. wahta a guard, watch, G. wacht, from OHG.
wahh\'c7n to watch, be awake. \'fb134. See Wake, v. i.]
1. To watch; to observe; to take notice. [Obs.]
"But [unless] ye wait well and be privy, I wot right well, I am but
dead," quoth she. Chaucer.
2. To stay or rest in expectation; to stop or remain stationary till
the arrival of some person or event; to rest in patience; to stay; not
to depart.
All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.
Job xiv. 14.
They also serve who only stand and wait. Milton.
Haste, my dear father; 't is no time to wait. Dryden.
_________________________________________________________________
Page 1623
To wait on OR upon. (a) To attend, as a servant; to perform services
for; as, to wait on a gentleman; to wait on the table. "Authority and
reason on her wait." Milton. "I must wait on myself, must I?" Shak.
(b) To attend; to go to see; to visit on business or for ceremony. (c)
To follow, as a consequence; to await. "That ruin that waits on such a
supine temper." Dr. H. More. (d) To look watchfully at; to follow with
the eye; to watch. [R.] "It is a point of cunning to wait upon him
with whom you speak with your eye." Bacon. (e) To attend to; to
perform. "Aaron and his sons . . . shallwait on their priest's
office." Num. iii. 10. (f) (Falconry) To fly above its master, waiting
till game is sprung; -- said of a hawk. Encyc. Brit.
Wait
Wait (?), v. t.
1. To stay for; to rest or remain stationary in expectation of; to
await; as, to wait orders.
Awed with these words, in camps they still abide, And wait with
longing looks their promised guide. Dryden.
2. To attend as a consequence; to follow upon; to accompany; to await.
[Obs.]
3. To attend on; to accompany; especially, to attend with ceremony or
respect. [Obs.]
He chose a thousand horse, the flower of all His warlike troops, to
wait the funeral. Dryden.
Remorse and heaviness of heart shall wait thee, And everlasting
anguish be thy portion. Rowe.
4. To cause to wait; to defer; to postpone; -- said of a meal; as, to
wait dinner. [Colloq.]
Wait
Wait, n. [OF. waite, guaite, gaite, F. guet watch, watching, guard,
from OHG. wahta. See Wait, v. i.]
1. The act of waiting; a delay; a halt.
There is a wait of three hours at the border Mexican town of El
Paso. S. B. Griffin.
2. Ambush. "An enemy in wait." Milton.
3. One who watches; a watchman. [Obs.]
4. pl. Hautboys, or oboes, played by town musicians; not used in the
singular. [Obs.] Halliwell.
5. pl. Musicians who sing or play at night or in the early morning,
especially at Christmas time; serenaders; musical watchmen. [Written
formerly wayghtes.]
Hark! are the waits abroad? Beau & Fl.
The sound of the waits, rude as may be their minstrelsy, breaks
upon the mild watches of a winter night with the effect of perfect
harmony. W. Irving.
To lay wait, to prepare an ambuscade. -- To lie in wait. See under 4th
Lie.
Waiter
Wait"er (?), n.
1. One who, or that which, waits; an attendant; a servant in
attendance, esp. at table.
The waiters stand in ranks; the yeomen cry, "Make room," as if a
duke were passing by. Swift.
2. A vessel or tray on which something is carried, as dishes, etc.; a
salver.
Coast waiter. See under Coast, n.
Waiting
Wait"ing, a. & n. from Wait, v. In waiting, in attendance; as, lords
in waiting. [Eng.] -- Waiting gentlewoman, a woman who waits upon a
person of rank. -- Waiting maid, Waiting woman, a maid or woman who
waits upon another as a personal servant.
Waitingly
Wait"ing*ly, adv. By waiting.
Waitress
Wait"ress (?), n. A female waiter or attendant; a waiting maid or
waiting woman. <-- esp. one employed in a commercial dining
establishment, who takes the customers' orders, brings the meals, and
otherwise serves the customers who are seated at a table or counter.
-->
Waive
Waive (?), n. [See Waive, v. t. ]
1. A waif; a castaway. [Obs.] Donne.
2. (O. Eng. Law) A woman put out of the protection of the law. See
Waive, v. t., 3 (b), and the Note.
Waive
Waive, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Waived (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Waiving.] [OE.
waiven, weiven, to set aside, remove, OF. weyver, quesver, to waive,
of Scand. origin; cf. Icel. veifa to wave, to vibrate, akin to Skr.
vip to tremble. Cf. Vibrate, Waif.] [Written also wave.]
1. To relinquish; to give up claim to; not to insist on or claim; to
refuse; to forego.
He waiveth milk, and flesh, and all. Chaucer.
We absolutely do renounce or waive our own opinions, absolutely
yielding to the direction of others. Barrow.
2. To throw away; to cast off; to reject; to desert.
3. (Law) (a) To throw away; to relinquish voluntarily, as a right
which one may enforce if he chooses. (b) (O. Eng. Law) To desert; to
abandon. Burrill.
NOTE: &hand; Th e term was applied to a woman, in the same sense as
outlaw to a man. A woman could not be outlawed, in the proper sense
of the word, because, according to Bracton, she was never in law,
that is, in a frankpledge or decennary; but she might be waived,
and held as abandoned. Burrill.
Waive
Waive, v. i. To turn aside; to recede. [Obs.]
To waive from the word of Solomon. Chaucer.
Waiver
Waiv"er (?), n. (Law) The act of waiving, or not insisting on, some
right, claim, or privilege.
Waivure
Waiv"ure (?), n. See Waiver. [R.]
Waiwode
Wai"wode (?), n. See Waywode.
Wake
Wake (?), n. [Originally, an open space of water sv\'94k a hole,
opening in ice, Sw. vak, Dan. vaage, perhaps akin to E. humid.] The
track left by a vessel in the water; by extension, any track; as, the
wake of an army.
This effect followed immediately in the wake of his earliest
exertions. De Quincey.
Several humbler persons . . . formed quite a procession in the
dusty wake of his chariot wheels. Thackeray.
Wake
Wake, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Waked (?) or Woke (p. pr. & vb. n. Waking.]
[AS. wacan, wacian; akin to OFries. waka, OS. wak, D. waken, G.
wachen, OHG. wahh, Icel. vaka, Sw. vaken, Dan. vaage, Goth. wakan, v.
i., uswakjan, v. t., Skr. v\'bejay to rouse, to impel. Vigil, Wait, v.
i., Watch, v. i.]
1. To be or to continue awake; to watch; not to sleep.
The father waketh for the daughter. Ecclus. xlii. 9.
Though wisdom wake, suspicion sleeps. Milton.
I can not think any time, waking or sleeping, without being
sensible of it. Locke.
2. To sit up late festive purposes; to hold a night revel.
The king doth wake to-night, and takes his rouse, Keeps wassail,
and the swaggering upspring reels. Shak.
3. To be excited or roused from sleep; to awake; to be awakened; to
cease to sleep; -- often with up.
He infallibly woke up at the sound of the concluding doxology. G.
Eliot.
4. To be exited or roused up; to be stirred up from a dormant, torpid,
or inactive state; to be active.
Gentle airs due at their hour To fan the earth now waked. Milton.
Then wake, my soul, to high desires. Keble.
Wake
Wake (?), v. t.
1. To rouse from sleep; to awake.
The angel . . . came again and waked me. Zech. iv. 1.
2. To put in motion or action; to arouse; to excite. "I shall waken
all this company." Chaucer.
Lest fierce remembrance wake my sudden rage. Milton.
Even Richard's crusade woke little interest in his island realm. J.
R. Green.
3. To bring to life again, as if from the sleep of death; to
reanimate; to revive.
To second life Waked in the renovation of the just. Milton.
4. To watch, or sit up with, at night, as a dead body.
Wake
Wake, n.
1. The act of waking, or being awaked; also, the state of being awake.
[Obs. or Poetic]
Making such difference 'twixt wake and sleep. Shak.
Singing her flatteries to my morning wake. Dryden.
2. The state of forbearing sleep, especially for solemn or festive
purposes; a vigil.
The warlike wakes continued all the night, And funeral games played
at new returning light. Dryden.
The wood nymphs, decked with daises trim, Their merry wakes and
pastimes keep. Milton.
3. Specifically: (a) (Ch. of Eng.) An annual parish festival formerly
held in commemoration of the dedication of a church. Originally,
prayers were said on the evening preceding, and hymns were sung during
the night, in the church; subsequently, these vigils were
discontinued, and the day itself, often with succeeding days, was
occupied in rural pastimes and exercises, attended by eating and
drinking, often to excess.
Great solemnities were made in all churches, and great fairs and
wakes throughout all England. Ld. Berners.
And every village smokes at wakes with lusty cheer. Drayton.
(b) The sitting up of persons with a dead body, often attended with a
degree of festivity, chiefly among the Irish. "Blithe as shepherd at a
wake." Cowper. Wake play, the ceremonies and pastimes connected with a
wake. See Wake, n., 3 (b), above. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Wakeful
Wake"ful (?), a. Not sleeping; indisposed to sleep; watchful;
vigilant.
Dissembling sleep, but wakeful with the fright. Dryden.
-- Wake"ful*ly, adv. -- Wake"ful*ness, n.
Waken
Wak"en (?), v. i. [imp. & p. pr. Wakened (?); p. pr. & vb. n.
Wakening.] [OE. waknen, AS. w\'91cnan; akin to Goth. gawaknan. See
Wake, v. i.] To wake; to cease to sleep; to be awakened.
Early, Turnus wakening with the light. Dryden.
Waken
Wak"en, v. t.
1. To excite or rouse from sleep; to wake; to awake; to awaken. "Go,
waken Eve." Milton.
2. To excite; to rouse; to move to action; to awaken.
Then Homer's and Tyrt\'91us' martial muse Wakened the world.
Roscommon.
Venus now wakes, and wakens love. Milton.
They introduce Their sacred song, and waken raptures high. Milton.
Wakener
Wak"en*er (?), n. One who wakens.
Wakening
Wak"en*ing, n.
1. The act of one who wakens; esp., the act of ceasing to sleep; an
awakening.
2. (Scots Law) The revival of an action. Burrill.
They were too much ashamed to bring any wakening of the process
against Janet. Sir W. Scott.
Waker
Wak"er (?), n. One who wakes.
Wake-robin
Wake"-rob`in (?), n. (Bot.) Any plant of the genus Arum, especially,
in England, the cuckoopint (Arum maculatum).
NOTE: &hand; In Am erica th e na me is given to several species of
Trillium, and sometimes to the Jack-in-the-pulpit.
Waketime
Wake"time` (?), n. Time during which one is awake. [R.] Mrs. Browning.
Waking
Wak"ing, n.
1. The act of waking, or the state or period of being awake.
2. A watch; a watching. [Obs.] "Bodily pain . . . standeth in prayer,
in wakings, in fastings." Chaucer.
In the fourth waking of the night. Wyclif (Matt. xiv. 25).
Walaway
Wa"la*way (?), interj. See Welaway. [Obs.]
Wald
Wald (?), n. [AS. weald. See Wold.] A forest; -- used as a termination
of names. See Weald.
Waldenses
Wal*den"ses (?; 277), n. pl. [So called from Petrus Waldus, or Peter
Waldo, a merchant of Lyons, who founded this sect about a. d. 1170.]
(Eccl. Hist.) A sect of dissenters from the ecclesiastical system of
the Roman Catholic Church, who in the 13th century were driven by
persecution to the valleys of Piedmont, where the sect survives. They
profess substantially Protestant principles.
Waldensian
Wal*den"sian (?), a. Of or pertaining to the Waldenses. -- n. One
Holding the Waldensian doctrines.
Waldgrave
Wald"grave (?), n. [See Wald, and Margrave.] In the old German empire,
the head forest keeper.
Waldheimia
Wald*hei"mi*a (?), n. [NL.] (Zo\'94l.) A genus of brachiopods of which
many species are found in the fossil state. A few still exist in the
deep sea.
Wale
Wale (?), n. [AS. walu a mark of stripes or blows, probably
originally, a rod; akin to Icel. v\'94lr, Goth. walus a rod, staff.
&root;146. Cf. Goal, Weal a wale.]
1. A streak or mark made on the skin by a rod or whip; a stripe; a
wheal. See Wheal. Holland.
2. A ridge or streak rising above the surface, as of cloth; hence, the
texture of cloth.
Thou 'rt rougher far, And of a coarser wale, fuller of pride. Beau
& Fl.
3. (Carp.) A timber bolted to a row of piles to secure them together
and in position. Knight.
4. (Naut.) (a) pl. Certain sets or strakes of the outside planking of
a vessel; as, the main wales, or the strakes of planking under the
port sills of the gun deck; channel wales, or those along the spar
deck, etc. (b) A wale knot, or wall knot.
Wale knot. (Naut.) See Wall knot, under 1st Wall.
Wale
Wale, v. t.
1. To mark with wales, or stripes.
2. To choose; to select; specifically (Mining), to pick out the refuse
of (coal) by hand, in order to clean it. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]
Walhalla
Wal*hal"la (?), n. [Cf. G. walhalla, See Valhalla.] See Valhalla.
Waling
Wal"ing (?), n. (Naut.) Same as Wale, n., 4.
Walk
Walk (w&asdd;k), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Walked (?); p. pr. & vb. n.
Walking.] [OE. walken, probably from AS. wealcan to roll, turn,
revolve, akin to D. walken to felt hats, to work a hat, G. walken to
full, OHG. walchan to beat, to full, Icel. v\'belka to roll, to stamp,
Sw. valka to full, to roll, Dan. valke to full; cf. Skr. valg to
spring; but cf. also AS. weallian to roam, ramble, G. wallen.
&root;130.]
1. To move along on foot; to advance by steps; to go on at a moderate
pace; specifically, of two-legged creatures, to proceed at a slower or
faster rate, but without running, or lifting one foot entirely before
the other touches the ground.
At the end of twelve months, he walked in the palace of the kingdom
of Babylon. Dan. iv. 29.
When Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water,
to go to Jesus. Matt. xiv. 29.
NOTE: &hand; In th e walk of quadrupeds, there are always two, and
for a brief space there are three, feet on the ground at once, but
never four.
2. To move or go on the feet for exercise or amusement; to take one's
exercise; to ramble.
3. To be stirring; to be abroad; to go restlessly about; -- said of
things or persons expected to remain quiet, as a sleeping person, or
the spirit of a dead person; to go about as a somnambulist or a
specter.
I have heard, but not believed, the spirits of the dead May walk
again. Shak.
When was it she last walked? Shak.
4. To be in motion; to act; to move; to wag. [Obs.] "Her tongue did
walk in foul reproach." Spenser.
Do you think I'd walk in any plot? B. Jonson.
I heard a pen walking in the chimney behind the cloth. Latimer.
5. To behave; to pursue a course of life; to conduct one's self.
We walk perversely with God, and he will walk crookedly toward us.
Jer. Taylor.
6. To move off; to depart. [Obs. or Colloq.]
He will make their cows and garrans to walk. Spenser.
To walk in, to go in; to enter, as into a house. -- To walk after the
flesh (Script.), to indulge sensual appetites, and to live in sin.
Rom. viii. 1. -- To walk after the Spirit (Script.), to be guided by
the counsels and influences of the Spirit, and by the word of God.
Rom. viii. 1. -- To walk by faith (Script.), to live in the firm
belief of the gospel and its promises, and to rely on Christ for
salvation. 2 Cor. v. 7. -- To walk in darkness (Script.), to live in
ignorance, error, and sin. 1 John i. 6. -- To walk in the flesh
(Script.), to live this natural life, which is subject to infirmities
and calamities. 2 Cor. x. 3. -- To walk in the light (Script.), to
live in the practice of religion, and to enjoy its consolations. 1
John i. 7. -- To walk over, in racing, to go over a course at a walk;
-- said of a horse when there is no other entry; hence, colloquially,
to gain an easy victory in any contest.<-- = to win in a walk. --> --
To walk through the fire (Script.), to be exercised with severe
afflictions. Isa. xliii. 2. -- To walk with God (Script.), to live in
obedience to his commands, and have communion with him.
Walk
Walk, v. t.
1. To pass through, over, or upon; to traverse; to perambulate; as, to
walk the streets.
As we walk our earthly round. Keble.
2. To cause to walk; to lead, drive, or ride with a slow pace; as to
walk one's horses. " I will rather trust . . . a thief to walk my
ambling gelding." Shak.
3. [AS. wealcan to roll. See Walk to move on foot.] To subject, as
cloth or yarn, to the fulling process; to full. [Obs. or Scot.]
To walk the plank, to walk off the plank into the water and be
drowned; -- an expression derived from the practice of pirates who
extended a plank from the side of a ship, and compelled those whom
they would drown to walk off into the water; figuratively, to vacate
an office by compulsion. Bartlett.
Walk
Walk, n.
1. The act of walking, or moving on the feet with a slow pace; advance
without running or leaping.
2. The act of walking for recreation or exercise; as, a morning walk;
an evening walk.
3. Manner of walking; gait; step; as, we often know a person at a
distance by his walk.
4. That in or through which one walks; place or distance walked over;
a place for walking; a path or avenue prepared for foot passengers, or
for taking air and exercise; way; road; hence, a place or region in
which animals may graze; place of wandering; range; as, a sheep walk.
A woody mountain . . . with goodliest trees Planted, with walks and
bowers. Milton.
He had walk for a hundred sheep. Latimer.
Amid the sound of steps that beat The murmuring walks like rain.
Bryant.
5. A frequented track; habitual place of action; sphere; as, the walk
of the historian.
The mountains are his walks. Sandys.
He opened a boundless walk for his imagination. Pope.
6. Conduct; course of action; behavior.
7. The route or district regularly served by a vender; as, a milkman's
walk. [Eng.]
_________________________________________________________________
Page 1624
Walkable
Walk"a*ble (?), a. Fit to be walked on; capable of being walked on or
over. [R.] Swift.
Walker
Walk"er (?), n.
1. One who walks; a pedestrian.
2. That with which one walks; a foot. [Obs.]
Lame Mulciber, his walkers quite misgrown. Chapman.
3. (Law) A forest officer appointed to walk over a certain space for
inspection; a forester.
4. [AS. wealcere. See Walk, v. t., 3.] A fuller of cloth. [Obs. or
Prov. Eng. & Scot.]
She cursed the weaver and the walker The cloth that had wrought.
Percy's Reliques.
5. (Zo\'94l.) Any ambulatorial orthopterous insect, as a stick insect.
Walking
Walk"ing, a. & n. from Walk, v. Walking beam. See Beam, 10. -- Walking
crane, a kind of traveling crane. See under Crane. -- Walking fern.
(Bot.) See Walking leaf, below. -- Walking fish (Zo\'94l.), any one of
numerous species of Asiatic fishes of the genus Ophiocephalus, some of
which, as O. marulius, become over four feet long. They have a special
cavity over the gills lined with a membrane adapted to retain moisture
to aid in respiration, and are thus able to travel considerable
distances over the land at night, whence the name. They construct a
curious nest for their young. Called also langya. -- Walking gentleman
(Theater), an actor who usually fills subordinate parts which require
a gentlemanly appearance but few words. [Cant] -- Walking lady
(Theater), an actress who usually fills such parts as require only a
ladylike appearance on the stage. [Cant] -- Walking leaf. (a) (Bot.) A
little American fern (Camptosorus rhizophyllus); -- so called because
the fronds taper into slender prolongations which often root at the
apex, thus producing new plants. (b) (Zo\'94l.) A leaf insect. See
under Leaf. -- Walking papers, OR Walking ticket, an order to leave;
dismissal, as from office. [Colloq.] Bartlett. -- Walking stick. (a) A
stick or staff carried in the hand for hand for support or amusement
when walking; a cane. (b) (Zo\'94l.) A stick insect; -- called also
walking straw. See Illust. of Stick insect, under Stick. -- Walking
wheel (Mach.), a prime mover consisting of a wheel driven by the
weight of men or animals walking either in it or on it; a treadwheel.
Walk-mill
Walk"-mill` (?), n. [Walk to Walking Leaf, or full + mill.] A fulling
mill. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.
Walk-over
Walk"-o`ver (?), n. In racing, the going over a course by a horse
which has no competitor for the prize; hence, colloquially, a
one-sided contest; an uncontested, or an easy, victory.<-- = a walk; a
cake-walk. -->
Walkyr
Wal"kyr, n. (Scand. Myth.) See Valkyria.
Wall
Wall (?), n. (Naut.) A kind of knot often used at the end of a rope; a
wall knot; a wale. Wall knot, a knot made by unlaying the strands of a
rope, and making a bight with the first strand, then passing the
second over the end of the first, and the third over the end of the
second and through the bight of the first; a wale knot. Wall knots may
be single or double, crowned or double-crowned.
Wall
Wall (?), n. [AS. weall, from L. vallum a wall, vallus a stake, pale,
palisade; akin to Gr. Interval.]
1. A work or structure of stone, brick, or other materials, raised to
some height, and intended for defense or security, solid and permanent
inclosing fence, as around a field, a park, a town, etc., also, one of
the upright inclosing parts of a building or a room.
The plaster of the wall of the King's palace. Dan. v. 5.
2. A defense; a rampart; a means of protection; in the plural,
fortifications, in general; works for defense.
The waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their
left. Ex. xiv. 22.
In such a night, Troilus, methinks, mounted the Troyan walls. Shak.
To rush undaunted to defend the walls. Dryden.
3. An inclosing part of a receptacle or vessel; as, the walls of a
steam-engine cylinder.
4. (Mining) (a) The side of a level or drift. (b) The country rock
bounding a vein laterally. Raymond.
NOTE: &hand; Wa ll is of ten us ed ad jectively, an d al so in the
formation of compounds, usually of obvious signification; as in
wall paper, or wall-paper; wall fruit, or wall-fruit; wallflower,
etc.
Blank wall, Blind wall, etc. See under Blank, Blind, etc. -- To drive
to the wall, to bring to extremities; to push to extremes; to get the
advantage of, or mastery over. -- To go to the wall, to be hard
pressed or driven; to be the weaker party; to be pushed to extremes.
-- To take the wall. to take the inner side of a walk, that is, the
side next the wall; hence, to take the precedence. "I will take the
wall of any man or maid of Montague's." Shak. -- Wall barley (Bot.), a
kind of grass (Hordeum murinum) much resembling barley; squirrel
grass. See under Squirrel. -- Wall box. (Mach.) See Wall frame, below.
-- Wall creeper (Zo\'94l.), a small bright-colored bird (Tichodroma
muraria) native of Asia and Southern Europe. It climbs about over old
walls and cliffs in search of insects and spiders. Its body is
ash-gray above, the wing coverts are carmine-red, the primary quills
are mostly red at the base and black distally, some of them with white
spots, and the tail is blackish. Called also spider catcher. -- Wall
cress (Bot.), a name given to several low cruciferous herbs,
especially to the mouse-ear cress. See under Mouse-ear. -- Wall frame
(Mach.), a frame set in a wall to receive a pillow block or bearing
for a shaft passing through the wall; -- called also wall box. -- Wall
fruit, fruit borne by trees trained against a wall. -- Wall gecko
(Zo\'94l.), any one of several species of Old World geckos which live
in or about buildings and run over the vertical surfaces of walls, to
which they cling by means of suckers on the feet. -- Wall lizard
(Zo\'94l.), a common European lizard (Lacerta muralis) which frequents
houses, and lives in the chinks and crevices of walls; -- called also
wall newt. -- Wall louse, a wood louse. -- Wall moss (Bot.), any
species of moss growing on walls. -- Wall newt (Zo\'94l.), the wall
lizard. Shak. -- Wall paper, paper for covering the walls of rooms;
paper hangings. -- Wall pellitory (Bot.), a European plant (Parictaria
officinalis) growing on old walls, and formerly esteemed medicinal. --
Wall pennywort (Bot.), a plant (Cotyledon Umbilicus) having rounded
fleshy leaves. It is found on walls in Western Europe. -- Wall pepper
(Bot.), a low mosslike plant (Sedum acre) with small fleshy leaves
having a pungent taste and bearing yellow flowers. It is common on
walls and rocks in Europe, and is sometimes seen in America. -- Wall
pie (Bot.), a kind of fern; wall rue. -- Wall piece, a gun planted on
a wall. H. L. Scott. -- Wall plate (Arch.), a piece of timber placed
horizontally upon a wall, and supporting posts, joists, and the like.
See Illust. of Roof. -- Wall rock, granular limestone used in building
walls. [U. S.] Bartlett. -- Wall rue (Bot.), a species of small fern
(Asplenium Ruta-muraria) growing on walls, rocks, and the like. --
Wall spring, a spring of water issuing from stratified rocks. -- Wall
tent, a tent with upright cloth sides corresponding to the walls of a
house. -- Wall wasp (Zo\'94l.), a common European solitary wasp
(Odynerus parietus) which makes its nest in the crevices of walls.
Wall
Wall (, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Walled (; p. pr. & vb. n. Walling.]
1. To inclose with a wall, or as with a wall. "Seven walled towns of
strength." Shak.
The king of Thebes, Amphion, That with his singing walled that
city. Chaucer.
2. To defend by walls, or as if by walls; to fortify.
The terror of his name that walls us in. Denham.
3. To close or fill with a wall, as a doorway.
Wallaba
Wal"la*ba (?), n. (Bot.) A leguminous tree (Eperua falcata) of
Demerara, with pinnate leaves and clusters of red flowers. The reddish
brown wood is used for palings and shingles. J. Smith (Dict. Econ.
Plants).
Wallaby
Wal"la*by (?), n.; pl. Wallabies (#). [From a native name.] (Zo\'94l.)
Any one of numerous species of kangaroos belonging to the genus
Halmaturus, native of Australia and Tasmania, especially the smaller
species, as the brush kangaroo (H. Bennettii) and the pademelon (H.
thetidis). The wallabies chiefly inhabit the wooded district and bushy
plains. [Written also wallabee, and whallabee.]
Wallah
Wal"lah (?), n. (Zo\'94l.) A black variety of the jaguar; -- called
also tapir tiger. [Written also walla.]
Wallaroo
Wal`la*roo" (?), n. (Zo\'94l.) Any one of several species of kangaroos
of the genus Macropus, especially M. robustus, sometimes called the
great wallaroo.
Wallbird
Wall"bird` (?), n. (Zo\'94l.) The spotted flycatcher. [Prov. Eng.]
Waller
Wall"er (?), n. One who builds walls.
Waller
Wall"er, n. [G.] (Zo\'94l.) The wels.
Wallerian degeneration
Wal*le"ri*an de*gen`er*a"tion (?). (Med.) A form of degeneration
occurring in nerve fibers as a result of their division; -- so called
from Dr. Waller, who published an account of it in 1850.
Wallet
Wal"let (?), n. [OE. walet, probably the same word as OE. watel a bag.
See Wattle.]
1. A bag or sack for carrying about the person, as a bag for carrying
the necessaries for a journey; a knapsack; a beggar's receptacle for
charity; a peddler's pack.
[His hood] was trussed up in his walet. Chaucer.
2. A pocketbook for keeping money about the person.
3. Anything protuberant and swagging. "Wallets of flesh." Shak.
Walleteer
Wal`let*eer" (?), n. One who carries a wallet; a foot traveler; a
tramping beggar. [Colloq.] Wright.
Wall-eye
Wall"-eye` (?), n. [See Wall-eyed.]
1. An eye in which the iris is of a very light gray or whitish color;
-- said usually of horses. Booth.
NOTE: &hand; Jo nson ha s de fined wall-eye to be "a disease in the
crystalline humor of the eye; glaucoma." But glaucoma is not a
disease of the crystalline humor, nor is wall-eye a disease at all,
but merely a natural blemish. Tully. In the north of England, as
Brockett states, persons are said to be wall-eyed when the white of
the eye is very large and distorted, or on one side.
2. (Zo\'94l.) (a) An American fresh-water food fish (Stizostedion
vitreum) having large and prominent eyes; -- called also glasseye,
pike perch, yellow pike, and wall-eyed perch. (b) A California surf
fish (Holconotus argenteus). (c) The alewife; -- called also wall-eyed
herring.
Wall-eyed
Wall"-eyed` (?), a. [Icel. valdeyg&edh;r, or vagleygr; fr. vagl a
beam, a beam in the eye (akin to Sw. vagel a roost, a perch, a sty in
the eye) + eygr having eyes (from auga eye). See Eye.] Having an eye
of a very light gray or whitish color. Booth.
NOTE: &hand; Sh akespeare, in using wall-eyed as a term of reproach
(as "wall-eyed rage," a "wall-eyed wretch"), alludes probably to
the idea of unnatural or distorted vision. See the Note under
Wall-eye. It is an eye which is utterly and incurably perverted, an
eye that knows no pity.
Wallflower
Wall"flow`er (?), n.
1. (Bot.) A perennial, cruciferous plant (Cheiranthus Cheiri), with
sweet-scented flowers varying in color from yellow to orange and deep
red. In Europe it very common on old walls.
NOTE: &hand; Th e na me is so metimes extended to other species of
Cheiranthus and of the related genus Erysimum, especially the
American Western wallflower (Erysimum asperum), a biennial herb
with orange-yellow flowers.
2. A lady at a ball, who, either from choice, or because not asked to
dance, remains a spectator. [Colloq.]
Wallhick
Wall"hick` (?), n. (Zo\'94l.) The lesser spotted woodpecker (Dryobates
minor). [Prov. Eng.]
Walling
Wall"ing, n.
1. The act of making a wall or walls.
2. Walls, in general; material for walls.
Walling wax, a composition of wax and tallow used by etchers and
engravers to make a bank, or wall, round the edge of a plate, so as to
form a trough for holding the acid used in etching, and the like.
Fairholt.
Walloons
Wal*loons" (?), n. pl.; sing. Walloon (. [Cf. F. wallon.] A Romanic
people inhabiting that part of Belgium which comprises the provinces
of Hainaut, Namur, Li\'82ge, and Luxembourg, and about one third of
Brabant; also, the language spoken by this people. Used also
adjectively. [Written also Wallons.] "A base Walloon . . . thrust
Talbot with a spear." Shak. Walloon guard, the bodyguard of the
Spanish monarch; -- so called because formerly consisting of Walloons.
Wallop
Wal"lop (?), v. i. [Cf. OFlem. walop a gallop; of uncertain origin.
Cf. Gallop.] To move quickly, but with great effort; to gallop. [Prov.
Eng. & Scot.]
Wallop
Wal"lop, n. A quick, rolling movement; a gallop. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]
Wallop
Wal"lop, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Walloped (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Walloping.]
[Probably fr. AS. weallan to spring up, to boil or bubble. &root;147.
See Well, n. & v. i.]
1. To boil with a continued bubbling or heaving and rolling, with
noise. [Prov. Eng.] Brockett.
2. To move in a rolling, cumbersome manner; to waddle. [Prov. Eng.]
Halliwell.
3. To be slatternly. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.
Wallop
Wal"lop, v. t.
1. To beat soundly; to flog; to whip. [Prov. Eng., Scot., & Colloq. U.
S.]
2. To wrap up temporarily. [Prov. Eng.]
3. To throw or tumble over. [Prov. Eng.]
Wallop
Wal"lop, n.
1. A thick piece of fat. Halliwell.
2. A blow. [Prov. Eng., Scot., & Colloq. U.S.]
Wallow
Wal"low (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Wallowed (?); p. pr. & vb. n.
Wallowing.] [OE. walwen, AS. wealwian; akin to Goth. walwjan (in
comp.) to roll, L. volvere; cf. Skr. val to turn. \'fb147. Cf. Voluble
Well, n.]
1. To roll one's self about, as in mire; to tumble and roll about; to
move lazily or heavily in any medium; to flounder; as, swine wallow in
the mire.
I may wallow in the lily beds. Shak.
2. To live in filth or gross vice; to disport one's self in a beastly
and unworthy manner.
God sees a man wallowing in his native impurity. South.
3. To wither; to fade. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]
Wallow
Wal"low, v. t. To roll; esp., to roll in anything defiling or unclean.
"Wallow thyself in ashes." Jer. vi. 26.
Wallow
Wal"low, n. A kind of rolling walk.
One taught the toss, and one the new French wallow. Dryden.
Wallower
Wal"low*er (?), n.
1. One who, or that which, wallows.
2. (Mach.) A lantern wheel; a trundle.
Wallowish
Wal"low*ish, a. [Scot. wallow to fade or wither.] Flat; insipid.
[Obs.] Overbury.
Wall-plat
Wall"-plat` (?), n. (Zo\'94l.) The spotted flycatcher. It builds its
nest on walls. [Prov. Eng.]
Wall-sided
Wall"-sid`ed (?), a. (Naut.) Having sides nearly perpendicular; --
said of certain vessels to distinguish them from those having flaring
sides, or sides tumbling home (see under Tumble, v. i.).
Wallwort
Wall"wort` (?), n. (Bot.) The dwarf elder, or danewort (Sambucus
Ebulus).
Walm
Walm (?), v. i. [AS. weallan; cf. w\'91lm, billow. \'fb147.] To roll;
to spout; to boil up. [Obs.] Holland.
Walnut
Wal"nut (?), n. [OE. walnot, AS. wealh-hnutu a Welsh or foreign nut, a
walnut; wealh foreign, strange, n., a Welshman, Celt (akin to OHG.
Walh, properly, a Celt, from the name of a Celtic tribe, in L. Volcae)
+ hnutu a nut; akin to D. walnoot, G. walnuss, Icel. valhnot, Sw.
valn\'94t, Dan valn\'94d. See Nut, and cf. Welsh.] (Bot.) The fruit or
nut of any tree of the genus Juglans; also, the tree, and its timber.
The seven or eight known species are all natives of the north
temperate zone.
_________________________________________________________________
Page 1625
NOTE: &hand; In so me parts of America, especially in New England,
the name walnut is given to several species of hickory (Carya), and
their fruit.
Ash-leaved walnut, a tree (Juglans fraxinifolia), native in
Transcaucasia. -- Black walnut, a North American tree (J. nigra)
valuable for its purplish brown wood, which is extensively used in
cabinetwork and for gunstocks. The nuts are thick-shelled, and nearly
globular. -- English, OR European, walnut, a tree (J. regia), native
of Asia from the Caucasus to Japan, valuable for its timber and for
its excellent nuts, which are also called Madeira nuts. -- Walnut
brown, a deep warm brown color, like that of the heartwood of the
black walnut. -- Walnut oil, oil extracted from walnut meats. It is
used in cooking, making soap, etc. -- White walnut, a North American
tree (J. cinerea), bearing long, oval, thick-shelled, oily nuts,
commonly called butternuts. See Butternut.
Walrus
Wal"rus (?), n. [D. walrus; of Scand. origin; cf. Dan valros, Sw.
vallross, Norw. hvalros; literally, whale horse; akin to Icel.
hrosshvalr, AS. horshw\'91l. See Whale, and Horse.] (Zo\'94l.) A very
large marine mammal (Trichecus rosmarus) of the Seal family, native of
the Arctic Ocean. The male has long and powerful tusks descending from
the upper jaw. It uses these in procuring food and in fighting. It is
hunted for its oil, ivory, and skin. It feeds largely on mollusks.
Called also morse.
NOTE: &hand; Th e wa lrus of th e North Pacific and Behring Strait
(Trichecus obesus) is regarded by some as a distinct species, by
others as a variety of the common walrus.
Walter
Wal"ter (?), v. i. [See Welter.] To roll or wallow; to welter. [Obs.
or Prov. Eng. & Scot.]
Waltron
Wal"tron (?), n. A walrus. [Obs.] Woodward.
Walty
Wal"ty (?), a. [Cf. Walter to roll.] Liable to roll over; crank; as, a
walty ship. [R.] Longfellow.
Waltz
Waltz (?), n. [G. walzer, from walzen to roll, revolve, dance, OHG.
walzan to roll; akin to AS. wealtan. See Welter.] A dance performed by
two persons in circular figures with a whirling motion; also, a piece
of music composed in triple measure for this kind of dance.
Waltz
Waltz, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Waltzed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Waltzing.] To
dance a waltz.
Waltzer
Waltz"er (?), n. A person who waltzes.
Walwe
Wal"we (?), v. To wallow. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Waly
Wa"ly (?), interj. [Cf. Welaway.] An exclamation of grief. [Obs. or
Prov. Eng. & Scot.]
Wamble
Wam"ble (?), v. i. [Cf. Dan. vamle, and vammel squeamish, ready to
vomit, Icel. v\'91ma to feel nausea, v\'91minn nauseous.]
1. To heave; to be disturbed by nausea; -- said of the stomach.
L'Estrange.
2. To move irregularly to and fro; to roll.
Wamble
Wam"ble, n. Disturbance of the stomach; a feeling of nausea. Holland.
Wamble-cropped
Wam"ble-cropped` (?), a. Sick at the stomach; also, crestfallen;
dejected. [Slang]
Wammel
Wam"mel (?), v. i. To move irregularly or awkwardly; to wamble, or
wabble. [Prov. Eng.]
Wamp
Wamp (?), n. [From the North American Indian name.] (Zo\'94l.) The
common American eider.
Wampee
Wam*pee" (?), n. (Bot.) (a) A tree (Cookia punctata) of the Orange
family, growing in China and the East Indies; also, its fruit, which
is about the size of a large grape, and has a hard rind and a peculiar
flavor. (b) The pickerel weed. [Southern U.S.]
Wampum
Wam"pum (?), n. [North American Indian wampum, wompam, from the Mass.
w\'a2mpi, Del. w\'bepe, white.] Beads made of shells, used by the
North American Indians as money, and also wrought into belts, etc., as
an ornament.
Round his waist his belt of wampum. Longfellow.
Girded with his wampum braid. Whittier.
NOTE: &hand; Th ese be ads we re of tw o kinds, one white, and the
other black or dark purple. The term wampum is properly applied
only to the white; the dark purple ones are called suckanhock. See
Seawan. "It [wampum] consisted of cylindrical pieces of the shells
of testaceous fishes, a quarter of an inch long, and in diameter
less than a pipestem, drilled . . . so as to be strung upon a
thread. The beads of a white color, rated at half the value of the
black or violet, passed each as the equivalent of a farthing in
transactions between the natives and the planters." Palfrey.
Wan
Wan (?), obs. imp. of Win. Won. Chaucer.
Wan
Wan (, a. [AS. wann, wonn, wan, won, dark, lurid, livid, perhaps
originally, worn out by toil, from winnan to labor, strive. See Win.]
Having a pale or sickly hue; languid of look; pale; pallid. "Sad to
view, his visage pale and wan." Spenser.
My color . . . [is] wan and of a leaden hue. Chaucer.
Why so pale and wan, fond lover? Suckling.
With the wan moon overhead. Longfellow.
Wan
Wan, n. The quality of being wan; wanness. [R.]
Tinged with wan from lack of sleep. Tennyson.
Wan
Wan (?), v. i. To grow wan; to become pale or sickly in looks. "All
his visage wanned." Shak.
And ever he mutter'd and madden'd, and ever wann'd with despair.
Tennyson.
Wand
Wand (?), n. [Of Scand. origin; cf. Icel. v\'94ndr, akin to Dan.
vaand, Goth. wandus; perhaps originally, a pliant twig, and akin to E.
wind to turn.]
1. A small stick; a rod; a verge.
With good smart blows of a wand on his back. Locke.
2. Specifically: (a) A staff of authority.
Though he had both spurs and wand, they seemed rather marks of
sovereignty than instruments of punishment. Sir P. Sidney.
(b) A rod used by conjurers, diviners, magicians, etc.
Picus bore a buckler in his hand; His other waved a long divining
wand. Dryden.
Wand of peace (Scots Law), a wand, or staff, carried by the messenger
of a court, which he breaks when deforced (that is, hindered from
executing process), as a symbol of the deforcement, and protest for
remedy of law. Burrill.
Wander
Wan"der (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Wandered (?); p. pr. & vb. n.
Wandering.] [OE. wandren, wandrien, AS. wandrian; akin to G. wandern
to wander; fr. AS. windan to turn. See Wind to turn.]
1. To ramble here and there without any certain course or with no
definite object in view; to range about; to stroll; to rove; as, to
wander over the fields.
They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins. Heb. xi. 37.
He wandereth abroad for bread. Job xv. 23.
2. To go away; to depart; to stray off; to deviate; to go astray; as,
a writer wanders from his subject.
When God caused me to wander from my father's house. Gen. xx. 13.
O, let me not wander from thy commandments. Ps. cxix. 10.
3. To be delirious; not to be under the guidance of reason; to rave;
as, the mind wanders. Syn. -- To roam; rove; range; stroll; gad;
stray; straggly; err; swerve; deviate; depart.
Wander
Wan"der, v. t. To travel over without a certain course; to traverse;
to stroll through. [R.] "[Elijah] wandered this barren waste." Milton.
Wanderer
Wan"der*er (?), n. One who wanders; a rambler; one who roves; hence,
one who deviates from duty.
Wandering
Wan"der*ing, a. & n. from Wander, v. Wandering albatross (Zo\'94l.),
the great white albatross. See Illust. of Albatross. -- Wandering cell
(Physiol.), an animal cell which possesses the power of spontaneous
movement, as one of the white corpuscles of the blood. -- Wandering
Jew (Bot.), any one of several creeping species of Tradescantia, which
have alternate, pointed leaves, and a soft, herbaceous stem which
roots freely at the joints. They are commonly cultivated in hanging
baskets, window boxes, etc. -- Wandering kidney (Med.), a morbid
condition in which one kidney, or, rarely, both kidneys, can be moved
in certain directions; -- called also floating kidney, movable kidney.
-- Wandering liver (Med.), a morbid condition of the liver, similar to
wandering kidney. -- Wandering mouse (Zo\'94l.), the whitefooted, or
deer, mouse. See Illust. of Mouse. -- Wandering spider (Zo\'94l.), any
one of a tribe of spiders that wander about in search of their prey.
Wanderingly
Wan"der*ing*ly, adv. In a wandering manner.
Wanderment
Wan"der*ment (?), n. The act of wandering, or roaming. [Obs.] Bp.
Hall.
Wanderoo
Wan`der*oo" (?), n. [Cingalese wanderu a monkey.] (Zo\'94l.) A large
monkey (Macacus silenus) native of Malabar. It is black, or nearly so,
but has a long white or gray beard encircling the face. Called also
maha, silenus, neelbhunder, lion-tailed baboon, and great wanderoo.
[Written also ouanderoo.]
NOTE: &hand; Th e na me is so metimes applied also to other allied
species.
Wandy
Wand"y (?), a. Long and flexible, like a wand. [Prov. Eng.] Brockett.
Wane
Wane (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Waned (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Waning.] [OE.
wanien, AS. wanian, wonian, from wan, won, deficient, wanting; akin to
D. wan-, G. wahnsinn, insanity, OHG. wan, wana-, lacking, wan to
lessen, Icel. vanr lacking, Goth. vans; cf. Gr. wanting, inferior.
Want lack, and Wanton.]
1. To be diminished; to decrease; -- contrasted with wax, and
especially applied to the illuminated part of the moon.
Like the moon, aye wax ye and wane. Waning moons their settled
periods keep. Addison.
2. To decline; to fail; to sink.
You saw but sorrow in its waning form. Dryden.
Land and trade ever will wax and wane together. Sir J. Child.
Wane
Wane, v. t. To cause to decrease. [Obs.] B. Jonson.
Wane
Wane, n.
1. The decrease of the illuminated part of the moon to the eye of a
spectator.
2. Decline; failure; diminution; decrease; declension.
An age in which the church is in its wane. South.
Though the year be on the wane. Keble.
3. An inequality in a board. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.
Waney
Wan"ey (?), n. A sharp or uneven edge on a board that is cut from a
log not perfectly squared, or that is made in the process of squaring.
See Wany, a.
Wang
Wang (?), n. [OE. wange, AS. wange, wonge, cheek, jaw; akin to D.
wang, OS. & OHG. wanga, G. wange.]
1. The jaw, jawbone, or cheek bone. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]
So work aye the wangs in his head. Chaucer.
2. A slap; a blow. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.
Wang tooth, a cheek tooth; a molar. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Wang
Wang (?), n. See Whang. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]
Wangan
Wan"gan (?), n. [American Indian.] A boat for conveying provisions,
tools, etc.; -- so called by Maine lumbermen. [Written also wangun.]
Bartlett.
Wanger
Wang"er (?), n. [AS. wangere. See 1st Wang.] A pillow for the cheek; a
pillow. [Obs. & R.]
His bright helm was his wanger. Chaucer.
Wanghee
Wang*hee" (?), n. [Chin. wang yellow + he a root.] (Bot.) The Chinese
name of one or two species of bamboo, or jointed cane, of the genus
Phyllostachys. The slender stems are much used for walking sticks.
[Written also whanghee.]
Wango
Wang"o (?), n. A boomerang.
Wanhope
Wan"hope` (?), n. [AS. wan, won, deficient, wanting + hopa hope: cf.
D. wanhoop. . See Wane, and Hope.] Want of hope; despair; also, faint
or delusive hope; delusion. [Obs.] Piers Plowman. "Wanhope and
distress." Chaucer.
Wanhorn
Wan"horn` (?) n. [Corruption fr. Siamese wanhom.] (Bot.) An East
Indian plant (K\'91mpferia Galanga) of the Ginger family. See Galanga.
Waniand
Wan"i*and (?), n. [See Wanion.] The wane of the moon. [Obs.]
Halliwell.
Waning
Wan"ing (?), n. The act or process of waning, or decreasing.
This earthly moon, the Church, hath fulls and wanings, and
sometimes her eclipses. Bp. Hall.
Wanion
Wan"ion (?), n. [Probably for OE. waniand waning, p. pr. of wanien;
hence, used of the waning of the moon, supposed to be an unlucky time.
See Wane.] A word of uncertain signification, used only in the phrase
with a wanion, apparently equivalent to with a vengeance, with a
plague, or with misfortune. [Obs.] B. Jonson. Latimer.
Wankle
Wan"kle (?), a. [AS. wancol.] Not to be depended on; weak; unstable.
[Prov. Eng.] Grose.
Wanly
Wan"ly (?), adv. In a wan, or pale, manner.
Wanned
Wanned (?), a. Made wan, or pale.
Wanness
Wan"ness (?), n. The quality or state of being wan; a sallow, dead,
pale color; paleness; pallor; as, the wanness of the cheeks after a
fever.
Wannish
Wan"nish, a. Somewhat wan; of a pale hue.
No sun, but a wannish glare, In fold upon fold of hueless cloud.
Tennyson.
Want
Want (277), n. [Originally an adj., from Icel. vant, neuter of vanr
lacking, deficient. &root;139. See Wane, v. i.]
1. The state of not having; the condition of being without anything;
absence or scarcity of what is needed or desired; deficiency; lack;
as, a want of power or knowledge for any purpose; want of food and
clothing.
And me, his parent, would full soon devour For want of other prey.
Milton.
From having wishes in consequence of our wants, we often feel wants
in consequence of our wishes. Rambler.
Pride is as loud a beggar as want, and more saucy. Franklin.
2. Specifically, absence or lack of necessaries; destitution; poverty;
penury; indigence; need.
Nothing is so hard for those who abound in riches, as to conceive
how others can be in want. Swift.
3. That which is needed or desired; a thing of which the loss is felt;
what is not possessed, and is necessary for use or pleasure.
Habitual superfluities become actual wants. Paley.
4. (Mining) A depression in coal strata, hollowed out before the
subsequent deposition took place. [Eng.] Syn. -- Indigence;
deficiency; defect; destitution; lack; failure; dearth; scarceness.
Want
Want, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wanted; p. pr. & vb. n. Wanting.]
1. To be without; to be destitute of, or deficient in; not to have; to
lack; as, to want knowledge; to want judgment; to want learning; to
want food and clothing.
They that want honesty, want anything. Beau. & Fl.
Nor think, though men were none, That heaven would want spectators,
God want praise. Milton.
The unhappy never want enemies. Richardson.
2. To have occasion for, as useful, proper, or requisite; to require;
to need; as, in winter we want a fire; in summer we want cooling
breezes.
3. To feel need of; to wish or long for; to desire; to crave. " What
wants my son?" Addison.
I want to speak to you about something. A. Trollope.
Want
Want, v. i. [Icel. vanta to be wanting. See Want to lack.]
1. To be absent; to be deficient or lacking; to fail; not to be
sufficient; to fall or come short; to lack; -- often used impersonally
with of; as, it wants ten minutes of four.
The disposition, the manners, and the thoughts are all before it;
where any of those are wanting or imperfect, so much wants or is
imperfect in the imitation of human life. Dryden.
2. To be in a state of destitution; to be needy; to lack.
You have a gift, sir (thank your education), Will never let you
want. B. Jonson.
For as in bodies, thus in souls, we find What wants in blood and
spirits, swelled with wind. Pope.
NOTE: &hand; Wa nt wa s formerly used impersonally with an indirect
object. "Him wanted audience."
Chaucer.
Wa'n't
Wa'n't (?). A colloquial contraction of was not.
Wantage
Want"age (?), n. That which is wanting; deficiency.
Wanting
Want"ing, a. Absent; lacking; missing; also, deficient; destitute;
needy; as, one of the twelve is wanting; I shall not be wanting in
exertion.
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Page 1626
Wantless
Want"less (?), a. Having no want; abundant; fruitful.
Wanton
Wan"ton (?), a. [OE. wantoun, contr. from wantowen; pref. wan- wanting
(see Wane, v. i.), hence expressing negation + towen, p. p., AS.
togen, p. p. of te\'a2n to draw, to educate, bring up; hence,
properly, ill bred. See Tug, v. t.]
1. Untrained; undisciplined; unrestrained; hence, loose; free;
luxuriant; roving; sportive. "In woods and wanton wilderness."
Spenser. "A wild and wanton herd." Shak.
A wanton and a merry [friar]. Chaucer.
[She] her unadorned golden tresses wore Disheveled, but in wanton
ringlets waved. Milton.
How does your tongue grow wanton in her praise! Addison.
2. Wandering from moral rectitude; perverse; dissolute. "Men grown
wanton by prosperity." Roscommon.
3. Specifically: Deviating from the rules of chastity; lewd; lustful;
lascivious; libidinous; lecherous.
Not with wanton looking of folly. Chaucer.
[Thou art] froward by nature, enemy to peace, Lascivious, wanton.
Shak.
4. Reckless; heedless; as, wanton mischief.
Wanton
Wan"ton, n.
1. A roving, frolicsome thing; a trifler; -- used rarely as a term of
endearment.
I am afeard you make a wanton of me. Shak.
Peace, my wantons; he will do More than you can aim unto. B.
Jonson.
2. One brought up without restraint; a pampered pet.
Anything, sir, That's dry and wholesome; I am no bred wanton. Beau.
& Fl.
3. A lewd person; a lascivious man or woman.
Wanton
Wan"ton, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Wantoned (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Wantoning.]
1. To rove and ramble without restraint, rule, or limit; to revel; to
play loosely; to frolic.
Nature here wantoned as in her prime. Milton.
How merrily we would sally into the fields, and strip under the
first warmth of the sun, and wanton like young dace in the streams!
Lamb.
2. To sport in lewdness; to play the wanton; to play lasciviously.
Wanton
Wan"ton, v. t. To cause to become wanton; also, to waste in
wantonness. [Obs.]
Wantonize
Wan"ton*ize (?), v. i. To behave wantonly; to frolic; to wanton. [R.]
Lamb.
Wantonly
Wan"ton*ly, adv.
1. In a wanton manner; without regularity or restraint; loosely;
sportively; gayly; playfully; recklessly; lasciviously.
2. Unintentionally; accidentally. [Obs.] J. Dee.
Wantonness
Wan"ton*ness, n. The quality or state of being wanton; negligence of
restraint; sportiveness; recklessness; lasciviousness. Gower.
The tumults threatened to abuse all acts of grace, and turn them
into wantonness. Eikon Basilike.
Young gentlemen would be as sad as night Only for wantonness. Shak.
Wantrust
Wan"trust` (?), n. [Pref. wan- as in wanton + trust.] Failing or
diminishing trust; want of trust or confidence; distrust. [Obs.]
Chaucer.
Wantwit
Want"wit` (?), n. One destitute of wit or sense; a blockhead; a fool.
[Obs.] Shak.
Wanty
Wan"ty (?), n. [For womb tie, that is, bellyWomb, and Tie.] A
surcingle, or strap of leather, used for binding a load upon the back
of a beast; also, a leather tie; a short wagon rope. [Prov. Eng.]
Wany
Wan"y (?), v. i. To wane. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Wany
Wan"y, a.
1. Waning or diminished in some parts; not of uniform size throughout;
-- said especially of sawed boards or timber when tapering or uneven,
from being cut too near the outside of the log.
2. Spoiled by wet; -- said of timber. Halliwell.
Wanze
Wanze, v. i. To wane; to wither. [Obs.]
Wap
Wap (?), v. t. & i. [See Whap.] To beat; to whap. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]
Sir T. Malory.
Wap
Wap, n. A blow or beating; a whap. [Prov. Eng.]
Wapacut
Wap"a*cut (?), n. (Zo\'94l.) The American hawk owl. See under Hawk.
Wapatoo
Wap"a*too` (?), n. (Bot.) The edible tuber of a species of arrowhead
(Sagittaria variabilis); -- so called by the Indians of Oregon.
[Written also wappato.]
Waped
Waped (?), a. [Prov. E. wape pale, v., to stupefy, akin to wap to
beat. Cf. Whap, and Wappened.] Cast down; crushed by misery; dejected.
[Obs.]
Wapentake
Wap"en*take (?; 277), n. [AS. w, w, from Icel. v\'bepnat\'bek,
literally, a weapon taking or weapon touching, hence an expression of
assent ("si displicuit sententia fremitu aspernantur; sin placuit
frameas concutiunt." Tacitus, "Germania," xi.). See Weapon, and Take.
This name had its origin in a custom of touching lances or spears when
the hundreder, or chief, entered on his office. "Cum quis accipiebat
pr\'91fecturam wapentachii, die statuto in loco ubi consueverant
congregari, omnes majores natu contra eum conveniebant, et descendente
eo de equo suo, omnes assurgebant ei. Ipse vero, erecta lancea sua, ab
omnibus secundum morem f&oe;dus accipiebat; omnes enim quot-quot
venissent cum lanceis suis ipsius hastam tangebant, et ita se
confirmabant per contactum armorum, pace palam concessa. W\'91pnu enim
arma sonat; tac, tactus est -- hac de causa totus ille conventus
dicitur Wapentac, eo quod per tactum armorum suorum ad invicem
conf&oe;derati sunt." L L. Edward Confessor, 33. D. Wilkins.] In some
northern counties of England, a division, or district, answering to
the hundred in other counties. Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and
Nottinghamshire are divided into wapentakes, instead of hundreds.
[Written also wapentac.] Selden. Blackstone.
Wapinschaw
Wap"in*schaw (?), n. [Scot. See Weapon, and Show.] An exhibition of
arms. according to the rank of the individual, by all persons bearing
arms; -- formerly made at certain seasons in each district. [Scot.]
Jamieson. Sir W. Scott.
Wapiti
Wap"i*ti (?), n. [Probably the Iroquois name. Bartlett.] (Zo\'94l.)
The American elk (Cervus Canadensis). It is closely related to the
European red deer, which it somewhat exceeds in size.
NOTE: &hand; By so me writers it is thought to be a variety of the
red deer, but it is considered a distinct species by others. It is
noted for the large, branching antlers of the male.
Wapp
Wapp (?), n. [CF. Prov. E. wap to wrap up.] (Naut.) (a) A fair-leader.
(b) A rope with wall knots in it with which the shrouds are set taut.
Wappato
Wap"pa*to (?), n. (Bot.) See Wapatoo.
Wappened
Wap"pened (?), a. [Cf. Waped, Wapper.] A word of doubtful meaning used
once by Shakespeare.
This [gold] is it
That makes the wappen'd widow wed again.
NOTE: It is co njectured by some that it is an error for wappered,
meaning tremulous or exhausted.
Wapper
Wap"per (?), v. t. & i. [freq. of wap, v.; cf. dial. G. wappern,
wippern, to move up and down, to rock.] To cause to shake; to
tremble; to move tremulously, as from weakness; to totter. [Obs.]
Wapper
Wap"per (?), n. (Zo\'94l.) A gudgeon. [Prov. Eng.] <-- ## The Zool.
mark was in square brackets, inconsistent with normal usage. -->
Wappet
Wap"pet (?), n. A small yelping cur. [Prov. Eng.]
Wapping
Wap"ping (?), n. Yelping. [R.] Fuller.
War
War (?), a. Ware; aware. [Obs.] Chaucer.
War
War (?), n. [OE. & AS. werre; akin to OHG. werra scandal, quarrel,
sedition, werran to confound, mix, D. warren, G. wirren, verwirren,
to embroil, confound, disturb, and perhaps to E. worse; cf. OF.
werre war, F. querre, of Teutonic origin. Cf. Guerrilla, Warrior.]
1. A contest between nations or states, carried on by force,
whether for defence, for revenging insults and redressing wrongs,
for the extension of commerce, for the acquisition of territory,
for obtaining and establishing the superiority and dominion of one
over the other, or for any other purpose; armed conflict of
sovereign powers; declared and open hostilities.
Men will ever distinguish war from mere bloodshed. F. W. Robertson.
NOTE: &hand; As war is the contest of nations or states, it always
implies that such contest is authorized by the monarch or the
sovereign power of the nation. A war begun by attacking another
nation, is called an offensive war, and such attack is aggressive.
War undertaken to repel invasion, or the attacks of an enemy, is
called defensive.
2. (Law) A condition of belligerency to be maintained by physical
force. In this sense, levying war against the sovereign authority
is treason.
3. Instruments of war. [Poetic]
His complement of stores, and total war. Prior.
4. Forces; army. [Poetic]
On their embattled ranks the waves return, And overwhelm their war.
Milton.
5. The profession of arms; the art of war.
Thou art but a youth, and he is a man of war from his youth. 1 Sam.
xvii. 33.
6. a state of opposition or contest; an act of opposition; an
inimical contest, act, or action; enmity; hostility. "Raised
impious war in heaven." Milton.
The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in
his heart. Ps. lv. 21.
Civil war
, a war between different sections or parties of the same country or
nation. -- Holy war. See under Holy. -- Man of war. (Naut.) See in the
Vocabulary. -- Public war, a war between independent sovereign states.
-- War cry, a cry or signal used in war; as, the Indian war cry. --
War dance, a dance among savages preliminary to going to war. Among
the North American Indians, it is begun by some distinguished chief,
and whoever joins in it thereby enlists as one of the party engaged in
a warlike excursion. Schoolcraft. -- War field, a field of war or
battle. -- War horse, a horse used in war; the horse of a cavalry
soldier; especially, a strong, powerful, spirited horse for military
service; a charger. -- War paint, paint put on the face and other
parts of the body by savages, as a token of going to war. "Wash the
war paint from your faces." Longfellow. -- War song, a song of or
pertaining to war; especially, among the American Indians, a song at
the war dance, full of incitements to military ardor. -- War whoop, a
war cry, especially that uttered by the American Indians.
War
War, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Warred (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Warring.]
1
1 To make war; to invade or attack a state or nation with force of
arms; to carry on hostilities; to be in a state by violence.
Rezin the king of Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of
Israel, went up toward Jerusalem to war against it. Isa. vii. 1.
Why should I war without the walls of Troy? Shak.
Our countrymen were warring on that day! Byron.
2. To contend; to strive violently; to fight. "Lusts which war against
the soul." 1 Pet. ii. 11.
War
War (?), v. t.
1. To make war upon; to fight. [R.]
To war the Scot, and borders to defend. Daniel.
2. To carry on, as a contest; to wage. [R.]
That thou . . . mightest war a good warfare. Tim. i. 18.
War-beaten
War"-beat`en (?), a. Warworn.
Warble
War"ble (?), n. [Cf. Wormil.]
1. (Far.) (a) A small, hard tumor which is produced on the back of a
horse by the heat or pressure of the saddle in traveling. (b) A small
tumor produced by the larv\'91 of the gadfly in the backs of horses,
cattle, etc. Called also warblet, warbeetle, warnles.
2. (Zo\'94l.) See Wormil.
Warble
War"ble, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Warbled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Warbling
(?).] [OE. werbelen, OF. werbler; of Teutonic origin; cf. G. wirbeln
to turn, to warble, D. wervelen, akin to E. whirl. See Whirl.]
1. To sing in a trilling, quavering, or vibratory manner; to modulate
with turns or variations; to trill; as, certain birds are remarkable
for warbling their songs.
2. To utter musically; to modulate; to carol.
If she be right invoked in warbled song. Milton.
Warbling sweet the nuptial lay. Trumbull.
3. To cause to quaver or vibrate. "And touch the warbled string."
Milton.
Warble
War"ble, v. i.
1. To be quavered or modulated; to be uttered melodiously.
Such strains ne'er warble in the linnet's throat. Gay.
3. To sing in a trilling manner, or with many turns and variations.
"Birds on the branches warbling." Milton.
3. To sing with sudden changes from chest to head tones; to yodel.
Warble
War"ble, n. A quavering modulation of the voice; a musical trill; a
song.
And he, the wondrous child, Whose silver warble wild Outvalued
every pulsing sound. Emerson.
Warbler
War"bler (?), n.
1. One who, or that which, warbles; a singer; a songster; -- applied
chiefly to birds.
In lulling strains the feathered warblers woo. Tickell.
2. (Zo\'94l.) Any one of numerous species of small Old World singing
birds belonging to the family Sylviid\'91, many of which are noted
songsters. The bluethroat, blackcap, reed warbler (see under Reed),
and sedge warbler (see under Sedge) are well-known species.
3. (Zo\'94l.) Any one of numerous species of small, often bright
colored, American singing birds of the family or subfamily
Mniotiltid\'91, or Sylvicolin\'91. They are allied to the Old World
warblers, but most of them are not particularly musical.
NOTE: &hand; Th e American warblers are often divided, according to
their habits, into bush warblers, creeping warblers, fly-catching
warblers, ground warblers, wood warblers, wormeating warblers, etc.
Bush warbler (Zo\'94l.) any American warbler of the genus Opornis, as
the Connecticut warbler (O. agilis). -- Creeping warbler (Zo\'94l.),
any one of several species of very small American warblers belonging
to Parula, Mniotilta, and allied genera, as the blue yellow-backed
warbler (Parula Americana), and the black-and-white creeper (Mniotilta
varia). -- Fly-catching warbler (Zo\'94l.), any one of several species
of warblers belonging to Setophaga, Sylvania, and allied genera having
the bill hooked and notched at the tip, with strong rictal bristles at
the base, as the hooded warbler (Sylvania mitrata), the black-capped
warbler (S. pusilla), the Canadian warbler (S. Canadensis), and the
American redstart (see Redstart). -- Ground warbler (Zo\'94l.), any
American warbler of the genus Geothlypis, as the mourning ground
warbler (G. Philadelphia), and the Maryland yellowthroat (see
Yellowthroat). -- Wood warbler (Zo\'94l.), any one of numerous
American warblers of the genus Dendroica. Among the most common wood
warblers in the Eastern States are the yellowbird, or yellow warbler
(see under Yellow), the black-throated green warbler (Dendroica
virens), the yellow-rumped warbler (D. coronata), the blackpoll (D.
striata), the bay-breasted warbler (D. castanea), the chestnut-sided
warbler (D. Pennsylvanica), the Cape May warbler (D. tigrina), the
prairie warbler (see under Prairie), and the pine warbler (D. pinus).
See also Magnolia warbler, under Magnolia, and Blackburnian warbler.
Warblingly
War"bling*ly, adv. In a warbling manner.
Warburg's tincture
War"burg's tinc"ture (?). (Pharm.) A preparation containing quinine
and many other ingredients, often used in the treatment of malarial
affections. It was invented by Dr. Warburg of London.
-ward, -wards
-ward (?), -wards (?). [AS. -weard, -weardes; akin to OS. & OFries.
-ward. OHG. -wert, G. -w\'84rts, Icel. -ver\'ebr, Goth. -va\'a1r\'eds,
L. vertere to turn, versus toward, and E. worth to become. \'fb143.
See Worth. v. i., and cf. Verse. Adverbs ending in -wards (AS.
-weardes) and some other adverbs, such as besides, betimes, since (OE.
sithens). etc., were originally genitive forms used adverbially.]
Suffixes denoting course or direction to; motion or tendency toward;
as in backward, or backwards; toward, or towards, etc.
Ward
Ward (?), n. [AS. weard, fem., guard, weard, ward a watcher, warden,
G. wart, OHG. wart, Icel. v\'94r a warden, a watch, Goth. -wards in
da\'a3rawards a doorkeeper, and E. wary; cf. OF. warde guard, from the
German. See Ware, a., Wary, and cf. Guard, Wraith.]
1. The act of guarding; watch; guard; guardianship; specifically, a
guarding during the day. See the Note under Watch, n., 1.
Still, when she slept, he kept both watch and ward. Spenser.
2. One who, or that which, guards; garrison; defender; protector;
means of guarding; defense; protection.
For the best ward of mine honor. Shak.
The assieged castle's ward Their steadfast stands did mightily
maintain. Spenser.
For want of other ward, He lifted up his hand, his front to guard.
Dryden.
3. The state of being under guard or guardianship; confinement under
guard; the condition of a child under a guardian; custody.
And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard.
Gen. xl. 3.
I must attend his majesty's command, to whom I am now in ward.
Shak.
It is also inconvenient, in Ireland, that the wards and marriages
of gentlemen's children should be in the disposal of any of those
lords. Spenser.
4. A guarding or defensive motion or position, as in fencing; guard.
"Thou knowest my old ward; here I lay, and thus I bore my point."
Shak.
5. One who, or that which, is guarded. Specifically: -- (a) A minor or
person under the care of a guardian; as, a ward in chancery. "You know
our father's ward, the fair Monimia." Otway. (b) A division of a
county. [Eng. & Scot.] (c) A division, district, or quarter of a town
or city.
Throughout the trembling city placed a guard, Dealing an equal
share to every ward. Dryden.
(d) A division of a forest. [Eng.] (e) A division of a hospital; as, a
fever ward.
6. (a) A projecting ridge of metal in the interior of a lock, to
prevent the use of any key which has not a corresponding notch for
passing it. (b) A notch or slit in a key corresponding to a ridge in
the lock which it fits; a ward notch. Knight.
The lock is made . . . more secure by attaching wards to the front,
as well as to the back, plate of the lock, in which case the key
must be furnished with corresponding notches. Tomlinson.
_________________________________________________________________
Page 1627
Ward penny (O. Eng. Law), money paid to the sheriff or castellan for
watching and warding a castle. -- Ward staff, a constable's or
watchman's staff. [Obs.]
Ward
Ward (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Warded; p. pr. & vb. n. Warding.] [OE.
wardien, AS. weardian to keep, protect; akin to OS. ward to watch,
take care, OFries. wardia, OHG. wart, G. warten to wait, wait on,
attend to, Icel. var to guarantee defend, Sw. v\'86rda to guard, to
watch; cf. OF. warder, of German origin. See Ward, n., and cf. Award,
Guard, Reward.]
1. To keep in safety; to watch; to guard; formerly, in a specific
sense, to guard during the day time.
Whose gates he found fast shut, no living wight To ward the same.
Spenser.
2. To defend; to protect.
Tell him it was a hand that warded him From thousand dangers. Shak.
3. To defend by walls, fortifications, etc. [Obs.]
4. To fend off; to repel; to turn aside, as anything mischievous that
approaches; -- usually followed by off.
Now wards a felling blow, now strikes again. Daniel.
The pointed javelin warded off his rage. Addison.
It instructs the scholar in the various methods of warding off the
force of objections. I. Watts.
Ward
Ward, v. i.
1. To be vigilant; to keep guard.
2. To act on the defensive with a weapon.
She redoubling her blows drove the stranger to no other shift than
to ward and go back. Sir P. Sidney.
Ward-corn
Ward"-corn` (?), n. [Ward + F. corne horn, L. cornu.] (O. Eng. Law)
The duty of keeping watch and ward (see the Note under Watch, n., 1)
with a horn to be blown upon any occasion of surprise. Burrill.
Wardcorps
Ward"corps` (?), n. [Wars + corps.] Guardian; one set to watch over
another. [Obs.] "Though thou preyedest Argus . . . to be my
wardcorps." Chaucer.
Warden
Ward"en (?), n. [OE. wardein, OF. wardein, gardein, gardain, F.
gardien. See Guardian, and Ward guard.]
1. A keeper; a guardian; a watchman.
He called to the warden on the . . . battlements. Sir. W. Scott.
2. An officer who keeps or guards; a keeper; as, the warden of a
prison. <-- chief officer of a prison. -->
3. A head official; as, the warden of a college; specifically (Eccl.),
a churchwarden.
4. [Properly, a keeping pear.] A large, hard pear, chiefly used for
baking and roasting. [Obs.]
I would have had him roasted like a warden. Beau. & Fl.
Warden pie, a pie made of warden pears. [Obs.] Shak.
Wardenry, Wardenship
Ward"en*ry (?), Ward"en*ship, n. The office or jurisdiction of a
warden.
Warder
Ward"er (?), n.
1. One who wards or keeps; a keeper; a guard. "The warders of the
gate." Dryden.
2. A truncheon or staff carried by a king or a commander in chief, and
used in signaling his will.
When, lo! the king suddenly changed his mind, Casts down his warder
to arrest them there. Daniel.
Wafting his warder thrice about his head, He cast it up with his
auspicious hand, Which was the signal, through the English spread,
This they should charge. Drayton.
Wardian
Ward"i*an (?), a. Designating, or pertaining to, a kind of glass
inclosure for keeping ferns, mosses, etc., or for transporting growing
plants from a distance; as, a Wardian case of plants; -- so named from
the inventor, Nathaniel B. Ward, an Englishman.
Wardmote
Ward"mote` (?), n. Anciently, a meeting of the inhabitants of a ward;
also, a court formerly held in each ward of London for trying defaults
in matters relating to the watch, police, and the like. Brande & C.
"Wards and wardmotes." Piers Plowman.
Wardrobe
Ward"robe` (?), n. [OE. warderobe, OF. warderobe, F. garderobe; of
German origin. See Ward, v. t., and Robe.]
1. A room or apartment where clothes are kept, or wearing apparel is
stored; a portable closet for hanging up clothes.
2. Wearing apparel, in general; articles of dress or personal
decoration.
Flowers that their gay wardrobe wear. Milton.
With a pair of saddlebags containing his wardrobe. T. Hughes.
3. A privy. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Wardroom
Ward"room` (?), n.
1. (Naut.) A room occupied as a messroom by the commissioned officers
of a war vessel. See Gunroom. Totten.
2. A room used by the citizens of a city ward, for meetings, political
caucuses, elections, etc. [U.S.]
-wards
-wards (?). See -ward.
Wardship
Ward"ship (?), n.
1. The office of a ward or keeper; care and protection of a ward;
guardianship; right of guardianship.
Wardship is incident to tenure in socage. Blackstone.
2. The state of begin under a guardian; pupilage.
It was the wisest act . . . in my wardship. B. Jonson.
Wardsman
Wards"man (?), n.; pl. Wardsmen (. A man who keeps ward; a guard. [R.]
Sydney Smith.
Ware
Ware (?), obs. imp. of Wear. Wore.
Ware
Ware, v. t. (Naut.) To wear, or veer. See Wear.
Ware
Ware, n. [AS. w\'ber.] (Bot.) Seaweed. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.] Ware goose
(Zo\'94l.), the brant; -- so called because it feeds on ware, or
seaweed. [Prov. Eng.]
Ware
Ware, n. [OE. ware, AS. waru; akin to D. waar, G. waare, Icel. & Sw.
vara, Dan. vare; and probably to E. worth, a. See Worth, a.] Articles
of merchandise; the sum of articles of a particular kind or class;
style or class of manufactures; especially, in the plural, goods;
commodities; merchandise. "Retails his wares at wakes." Shak. "To
chaffer with them and eke to sell them their ware." Chaucer.
It the people of the land bring ware or any victuals on the Sabbath
day to sell, that we would not buy it of them on the Sabbath, or on
the holy day. Neh. x. 31.
NOTE: &hand; Although originally and properly a collective noun, it
admits of a plural form, when articles of merchandise of different
kinds are meant. It is often used in composition; as in hardware,
glassware, tinware, etc.
Ware
Ware, a. [OE. war, AS. w\'91r. &root;142. See Wary.] A ware; taking
notice; hence, wary; cautious; on one's guard. See Beware. [Obs.]
She was ware and knew it bet [better] than he. Chaucer.
Of whom be thou ware also. 2. Tim. iv. 15.
He is ware enough; he is wily and circumspect for stirring up any
sedition. Latimer.
The only good that grows of passed fear Is to be wise, and ware of
like again. Spenser.
Ware
Ware, n. [AS. waru caution.] The state of being ware or aware; heed.
[Obs.] Wyclif.
Ware
Ware, v. t. [As. warian.] To make ware; to warn; to take heed of; to
beware of; to guard against. "Ware that I say." Chaucer.
God . . . ware you for the sin of avarice. Chaucer.
Then ware a rising tempest on the main. Dryden.
Wareful
Ware"ful (?), a. Wary; watchful; cautious. [Obs.]
Warefulness
Ware"ful*ness, n. Wariness; cautiousness. [Obs.] "Full of
warefulness." Sir P. Sidney.
Warega fly
Wa*re"ga fly` (?). (Zo\'94l.) A Brazilian fly whose larv\'91 live in
the skin of man and animals, producing painful sores.
Warehouse
Ware"house` (?), n.; pl. Warehouses (. A storehouse for wares, or
goods. Addison.
Warehouse
Ware"house` (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Warehoused (?); p. pr. & vb. n.
Warehousing.]
1. To deposit or secure in a warehouse.
2. To place in the warehouse of the government or customhouse stores,
to be kept until duties are paid.
Warehouseman
Ware"house`man (?), n.; pl. Warehousemen (.
1. One who keeps a warehouse; the owner or keeper of a dock warehouse
or wharf store.
2. One who keeps a wholesale shop or store for Manchester or woolen
goods. [Eng.]
Warehouseman's itch (Med.), a form of eczema occurring on the back of
the hands of warehousemen.
Warehousing
Ware"hous`ing (?), n. The act of placing goods in a warehouse, or in a
customhouse store. Warehousing system, an arrangement for lodging
imported articles in the customhouse stores, without payment of duties
until they are taken out for home consumption. If re\'89xported, they
are not charged with a duty. See Bonded warehouse, under Bonded, a.
Wareless
Ware"less (?), a. [See Ware, n.] Unwary; incautious; unheeding;
careless; unaware. [Obs.]
And wareless of the evil That by themselves unto themselves is
wrought. Spenser.
Warely
Ware"ly, adv. Cautiously; warily. [Obs.]
They bound him hand and foot with iron chains, And with continual
watch did warely keep. Spenser.
Warence
War"ence (?), n. [OF. warance. F. garance, LL. warentia, garantia.]
(Bot.) Madder.
Wareroom
Ware"room` (?), n. A room in which goods are stored or exhibited for
sale.
Wares
Wares (?), n. pl. See 4th Ware.
Warfare
War"fare` (?), n. [War + OE. fare a journey, a passage, course, AS.
faru. See Fare, n.]
1. Military service; military life; contest carried on by enemies;
hostilities; war.
The Philistines gathered their armies together for warfare, to
fight with Israel. I Sam. xxviii. 1.
This day from battle rest; Faithful hath been your warfare. Milton.
2. Contest; struggle.
The weapons of our warfare are not carnal. 2 Cor. x. 4.
Warfare
War"fare`, v. i. To lead a military life; to carry on continual wars.
Camden.
Warfarer
War"far`er (?), n. One engaged in warfare; a military man; a soldier;
a warrior.
Warhable
War"ha`ble (?), a. [War + hable.] Fit for war. [Obs.] "Warhable
youth." Spenser.
Wariangle
War`i*an"gle (?), n. [OE. wariangel, weryangle; cf. AS. wearg outlaw,
criminal, OHG, warg, warch, Goth. wargs (in comp.), G. w\'81rgengel,
i. e., destroying angel, destroyer, killer, and E. worry.] (Zo\'94l.)
The red-backed shrike (Lanius collurio); -- called also w\'81rger,
worrier, and throttler. [Written also warriangle, weirangle, etc.]
[Obs. or Prov. Eng.]
Warily
Wa"ri*ly (?), adv. In a wary manner.
Wariment
Wa"ri*ment (?), n. Wariness. [Obs.] Spenser.
Warine
War"ine (?), n. (Zo\'94l.) A South American monkey, one of the
sapajous.
Wariness
Wa"ri*ness (?), n. The quality or state of being wary; care to foresee
and guard against evil; cautiousness. "An almost reptile wariness." G.
W. Cable.
To determine what are little things in religion, great wariness is
to be used. Sprat.
Syn. -- Caution; watchfulness; circumspection; foresight; care;
vigilance; scrupulousness.
Warish
War"ish (?), v. t. [OF. warir to protect, heal, cure, F. gu\'82ri to
cure; of Teutonic origin; cf. OHG. werian, weren, to protect, to
hinder. See Garret.] To protect from the effects of; hence, to cure;
to heal. [Obs.]
My brother shall be warished hastily. Chaucer.
Varro testifies that even at this day there be some who warish and
cure the stinging of serpents with their spittle. Holland.
Warish
War"ish, v. i. To be cured; to recover. [Obs.]
Your daughter . . . shall warish and escape. Chaucer.
Warison
War"i*son (?), n. [OF. warison safety, supplies, cure, F. gu\'82rison
cure. See Warish, v. t.]
1. Preparation; protection; provision; supply. [Obs.]
2. Reward; requital; guerdon. [Obs. or Scot.]
Wit and wisdom is good warysoun. Proverbs of Hending.
Wark
Wark (?), n. [See Work.] Work; a building. [Obs. or Scot.] Spenser.
Warkloom
Wark"loom (?), n. A tool; an implement. [Scot.]
Warlike
War"like` (?), a.
1. Fit for war; disposed for war; as, a warlike state; a warlike
disposition.
Old Siward, with ten thousand warlike men. Shak.
2. Belonging or relating to war; military; martial.
The great archangel from his warlike toil Surceased. Milton.
Syn. -- Martial; hostile; soldierly. See Martial.
Warlikeness
War"like`ness, n. Quality of being warlike.
Warling
War"ling (?), n. One often quarreled with; -- darling. [Obs.]
Better be an old man's darling than a young man's warling. Camde
Warlock
War"lock (?), n. [OE. warloghe a deceiver, a name or the Devil, AS. w
a belier or breaker of his agreement, word, or pledge; w covenant,
troth (akiverus true; see Very) + loga a liar (in comp.), le\'a2gan to
lie. See 3d Lie.] A male witch; a wizard; a sprite; an imp. [Written
also warluck.] Dryden.
It was Eyvind Kallda's crew Of warlocks blue, With their caps of
darkness hooded! Longfellow.
Warlock
War"lock, a. Of or pertaining to a warlock or warlock; impish. [R.]
Thou shalt win the warlock fight. J. R. Drak
Warlockry
War"lock*ry (?), n. Impishness; magic.
Warly
War"ly (?), a. Warlike. Burns.
Warm
Warm (?), a. [Compar. Warmer; superl. Warmest.] [AS. wearm; akin to
OS., OFries., D., & G. warm, Icel. varmr, Sw. & Dan. varm, Goth.
warmjan to warm; probably akin to Lith. virti to cook, boil; or
perhaps to Skr. gharma heat, OL. formus warm.
1. Having heat in a moderate degree; not cold as, warm milk. "Whose
blood is warm within." Shak.
Warm and still is the summer night. Longfellow.
2. Having a sensation of heat, esp. of gentle heat; glowing.
3. Subject to heat; having prevalence of heat, or little or no cold
weather; as, the warm climate of Egypt.
4. Fig.: Not cool, indifferent, lukewarm, or the like, in spirit or
temper; zealous; ardent; fervent; excited; sprightly; irritable;
excitable.
Mirth, and youth, and warm desire! Milton.
Each warm wish springs mutual from the heart. Pope.
They say he's warm man and does not care to be madAddison.
I had been none of the warmest of partisans. Hawthor
5. Violent; vehement; furious; excited; passionate; as, a warm
contest; a warm debate.
Welcome, daylight; we shall have warm work on't. Dryden.
6. Being well off as to property, or in good circumstances;
forehanded; rich. [Colloq.]
Warm householders, every one of them. W. Irving.
You shall have a draft upon him, payable at sight: and let me tell
you he as warm a man as any within five miles round him. Goldsmith.
7. In children's games, being