W (continued 7)

3. To have complete control over; to turn and bend at one's pleasure; to vary or alter or will; to regulate; to govern. "To turn and wind a fiery Pegasus." Shak. In his terms so he would him wind. Chaucer. Gifts blind the wise, and bribes do please And wind all other witnesses. Herrick. Were our legislature vested in the prince, he might wind and turn our constitution at his pleasure. Addison.

4. To introduce by insinuation; to insinuate. You have contrived . . . to wind Yourself into a power tyrannical. Shak. Little arts and dexterities they have to wind in such things into discourse. Gov. of Tongue.

5. To cover or surround with something coiled about; as, to wind a rope with twine. To wind off, to unwind; to uncoil. — To wind out, to extricate. [Obs.] Clarendon. — To wind up. (a) To coil into a ball or small compass, as a skein of thread; to coil completely. (b) To bring to a conclusion or settlement; as, to wind up one's affairs; to wind up an argument. (c) To put in a state of renewed or continued motion, as a clock, a watch, etc., by winding the spring, or that which carries the weight; hence, to prepare for continued movement or action; to put in order anew. "Fate seemed to wind him up for fourscore years." Dryden. "Thus they wound up his temper to a pitch." Atterbury. (d) To tighten (the strings) of a musical instrument, so as to tune it. "Wind up the slackened strings of thy lute." Waller.

WIND Wind, v. i.

1. To turn completely or repeatedly; to become coiled about anything; to assume a convolved or spiral form; as, vines wind round a pole. So swift your judgments turn and wind. Dryden.

2. To have a circular course or direction; to crook; to bend; to meander; as, to wind in and out among trees. And where the valley winded out below, The murmuring main was heard, and scarcely heard, to flow. Thomson. He therefore turned him to the steep and rocky path which . . . winded through the thickets of wild boxwood and other low aromatic shrubs. Sir W. Scott.

3. To go to the one side or the other; to move this way and that; to double on one's course; as, a hare pursued turns and winds. The lowing herd wind Gray. To wind out, to extricate one's self; to escape. Long struggling underneath are they could wind Out of such prison. Milton.

WIND Wind, n.

Defn: The act of winding or turning; a turn; a bend; a twist; a winding.

WIND Wind (wînd, in poetry and singing often wind; 277), n. Etym: [AS. wind; akin to OS., OFries., D., & G. wind, OHG. wint, Dan. & Sw. vind, Icel. vindr, Goth winds, W. gwynt, L. ventus, Skr. vata (cf. Gr. 'ah`ths a blast, gale, 'ah^nai to breathe hard, to blow, as the wind); originally a p. pr. from the verb seen in Skr. va to blow, akin to AS. wawan, D. waaijen, G. wehen, OHG. waen, wajen, Goth. waian. sq. root131. Cf. Air, Ventail, Ventilate, Window, Winnow.]

1. Air naturally in motion with any degree of velocity; a current of air. Except wind stands as never it stood, It is an ill wind that turns none to good. Tusser . Winds were soft, and woods were green. Longfellow.

2. Air artificially put in motion by any force or action; as, the wind of a cannon ball; the wind of a bellows.

3. Breath modulated by the respiratory and vocal organs, or by an instrument. Their instruments were various in their kind, Some for the bow, and some for breathing wind. Dryden.

4. Power of respiration; breath. If my wind were but long enough to say my prayers, I would repent. Shak.

5. Air or gas generated in the stomach or bowels; flatulence; as, to be troubled with wind.

6. Air impregnated with an odor or scent. A pack of dogfish had him in the wind. Swift.

7. A direction from which the wind may blow; a point of the compass; especially, one of the cardinal points, which are often called the four winds. Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain. Ezek. xxxvii. 9.

Note: This sense seems to have had its origin in the East. The Hebrews gave to each of the four cardinal points the name of wind.

8. (Far.)

Defn: A disease of sheep, in which the intestines are distended with air, or rather affected with a violent inflammation. It occurs immediately after shearing.

9. Mere breath or talk; empty effort; idle words. Nor think thou with wind Of airy threats to awe. Milton.

10. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The dotterel. [Prov. Eng.]

Note: Wind is often used adjectively, or as the first part of compound words. All in the wind. (Naut.) See under All, n. — Before the wind. (Naut.) See under Before. — Between wind and water (Naut.), in that part of a ship's side or bottom which is frequently brought above water by the rolling of the ship, or fluctuation of the water's surface. Hence, colloquially, (as an injury to that part of a vessel, in an engagement, is particularly dangerous) the vulnerable part or point of anything. — Cardinal winds. See under Cardinal, a. — Down the wind. (a) In the direction of, and moving with, the wind; as, birds fly swiftly down the wind. (b) Decaying; declining; in a state of decay. [Obs.] "He went down the wind still." L'Estrange. — In the wind's eye (Naut.), directly toward the point from which the wind blows. — Three sheets in the wind, unsteady from drink. [Sailors' Slang] - - To be in the wind, to be suggested or expected; to be a matter of suspicion or surmise. [Colloq.] — To carry the wind (Man.), to toss the nose as high as the ears, as a horse. — To raise the wind, to procure money. [Colloq.] — To take, or have, the wind, to gain or have the advantage. Bacon. — To take the wind out of one's sails, to cause one to stop, or lose way, as when a vessel intercepts the wind of another. [Colloq.] — To take wind, or To get wind, to be divulged; to become public; as, the story got wind, or took wind. — Wind band (Mus.), a band of wind instruments; a military band; the wind instruments of an orchestra. — Wind chest (Mus.), a chest or reservoir of wind in an organ. — Wind dropsy. (Med.) (a) Tympanites. (b) Emphysema of the subcutaneous areolar tissue. — Wind egg, an imperfect, unimpregnated, or addled egg. — Wind furnace. See the Note under Furnace. — Wind gauge. See under Gauge. — Wind gun. Same as Air gun. — Wind hatch (Mining), the opening or place where the ore is taken out of the earth. — Wind instrument (Mus.), an instrument of music sounded by means of wind, especially by means of the breath, as a flute, a clarinet, etc. — Wind pump, a pump moved by a windmill. — Wind rose, a table of the points of the compass, giving the states of the barometer, etc., connected with winds from the different directions. — Wind sail. (a) (Naut.) A wide tube or funnel of canvas, used to convey a stream of air for ventilation into the lower compartments of a vessel. (b) The sail or vane of a windmill. — Wind shake, a crack or incoherence in timber produced by violent winds while the timber was growing. — Wind shock, a wind shake. — Wind side, the side next the wind; the windward side. [R.] Mrs. Browning. — Wind rush (Zoöl.), the redwing. [Prov. Eng.] — Wind wheel, a motor consisting of a wheel moved by wind. — Wood wind (Mus.), the flutes and reed instruments of an orchestra, collectively.

WIND Wind, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Winded; p. pr. & vb. n. Winding.]

1. To expose to the wind; to winnow; to ventilate.

2. To perceive or follow by the scent; to scent; to nose; as, the hounds winded the game.

3. (a) To drive hard, or force to violent exertion, as a horse, so as to render scant of wind; to put out of breath. (b) To rest, as a horse, in order to allow the breath to be recovered; to breathe. To wind a ship (Naut.), to turn it end for end, so that the wind strikes it on the opposite side.

WIND Wind, v. t. Etym: [From Wind, moving air, but confused in sense and in conjugation with wind to turn.] [imp. & p. p. Wound (wound), R. Winded; p. pr. & vb. n. Winding.]

Defn: To blow; to sound by blowing; esp., to sound with prolonged and mutually involved notes. "Hunters who wound their horns." Pennant. Ye vigorous swains, while youth ferments your blood, . . . Wind the shrill horn. Pope. That blast was winded by the king. Sir W. Scott.

WINDAGE Wind"age, n. Etym: [From Wind air in motion.]

1. (Gun.)

Defn: The difference between the diameter of the bore of a gun and that of the shot fired from it.

2. The sudden compression of the air caused by a projectile in passing close to another body.

WINDAS Wind"as, n.

Defn: See 3d Windlass. [Obs.] Chaucer.

WINDBORE Wind"bore`, n.

Defn: The lower, or bottom, pipe in a lift of pumps in a mine. Ansted.

WINDBOUND Wind"bound`, a. (Naut.)

Defn: prevented from sailing, by a contrary wind. See Weatherbound.

WIND-BREAK Wind"-break`, v. t.

Defn: To break the wind of; to cause to lose breath; to exhaust. [R.] 'T would wind-break a mule to vie burdens with her. Ford.

WIND-BREAK Wind"-break`, n.

Defn: A clump of trees serving for a protection against the force of wind. [Local, U. S.]

WIND-BROKEN Wind"-bro`ken, a.

Defn: Having the power of breathing impaired by the rupture, dilatation, or running together of air cells of the lungs, so that while the inspiration is by one effort, the expiration is by two; affected with pulmonary emphysema or with heaves; — said of a horse. Youatt.

WINDER Wind"er, n. Etym: [From Wind to turn.]

1. One who, or that which, winds; hence, a creeping or winding plant.

2. An apparatus used for winding silk, cotton, etc., on spools, bobbins, reels, or the like.

3. (Arch.)

Defn: One in a flight of steps which are curved in plan, so that each tread is broader at one end than at the other; — distinguished from flyer.

WINDER Wind"er, v. t. & i. Etym: [Prov. E. winder a fan, and to winnow. Winnow.]

Defn: To fan; to clean grain with a fan. [Prov. Eng.]

WINDER Wind"er, n.

Defn: A blow taking away the breath. [Slang]

WINDER Wind"er, v. i.

Defn: To wither; to fail. [Obs.] Holland.

WINDFALL Wind"fall`, n.

1. Anything blown down or off by the wind, as fruit from a tree, or the tree itself, or a portion of a forest prostrated by a violent wind, etc. "They became a windfall upon the sudden." Bacon.

2. An unexpected legacy, or other gain. He had a mighty windfall out of doubt. B. Jonson.

WINDFALLEN Wind"fall`en, a.

Defn: Blown down by the wind.

WIND-FERTILIZED Wind"-fer`ti*lized, a. (Bot.)

Defn: Anemophilous; fertilized by pollen borne by the wind.

WINDFLOWER Wind"flow`er, n. (Bot.)

Defn: The anemone; — so called because formerly supposed to open only when the wind was blowing. See Anemone.

WINDGALL Wind"gall`, n. (Far.)

Defn: A soft tumor or synovial swelling on the fetlock joint of a horse; — so called from having formerly been supposed to contain air.

WINDHOVER Wind"hov`er, n. Etym: [From its habit of hovering over one spot.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The kestrel; — called also windbibber, windcuffer, windfanner. [Prov. Eng.]

WINDINESS Wind"i*ness, n.

1. The quality or state of being windy or tempestuous; as, the windiness of the weather or the season.

2. Fullness of wind; flatulence.

3. Tendency to generate wind or gas; tendency to produce flatulence; as, the windiness of vegetables.

4. Tumor; puffiness. The swelling windiness of much knowledge. Brerewood.

WINDING Wind"ing, n. Etym: [From Wind to blow.] (Naut.)

Defn: A call by the boatswain's whistle.

WINDING Wind"ing, a. Etym: [From Wind to twist.]

Defn: Twisting from a direct line or an even surface; circuitous. Keble.

WINDING Wind"ing, n.

Defn: A turn or turning; a bend; a curve; flexure; meander; as, the windings of a road or stream. To nurse the saplings tall, and curl the grove With ringlets quaint, and wanton windings wove. Milton.

Defn: A line- or ribbon-shaped material (as wire, string, or bandaging) wound around an object; as, the windings (conducting wires) wound around the armature of an electric motor or generator. Winding engine, an engine employed in mining to draw up buckets from a deep pit; a hoisting engine. — Winding sheet, a sheet in which a corpse is wound or wrapped. — Winding tackle (Naut.), a tackle consisting of a fixed triple block, and a double or triple movable block, used for hoisting heavy articles in or out of a vessel. Totten.

WINDINGLY Wind"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: In a winding manner.

WINDJAMMER Wind"jam`mer, n.

1. (Naut.) A sailing vessel or one of its crew; — orig. so called contemptuously by sailors on steam vessels. [Colloq.]

2. An army bugler or trumpeter; any performer on a wind instrument. [Slang]

WINDLACE Wind"lace, n. & v.

Defn: See Windlass. [Obs.] Two arblasts, . . . with windlaces and quarrels. Sir W. Scott.

WINDLASS Wind"lass, n.Etym: [Perhaps from wind to turn + lace.]

Defn: A winding and circuitous way; a roundabout course; a shift.

WINDLASS Wind"lass, v. i.

Defn: To take a roundabout course; to work warily or by indirect means. [Obs.] Hammond.

WINDLASS Wind"lass, n. Etym: [OE. windelas, windas, Icel. vindilass, vindas, fr. vinda to wind + ass a pole; cf. Goth. ans a beam. See Wind to turn.]

1. A machine for raising weights, consisting of a horizontal cylinder or roller moving on its axis, and turned by a crank, lever, or similar means, so as to wind up a rope or chain attached to the weight. In vessels the windlass is often used instead of the capstan for raising the anchor. It is usually set upon the forecastle, and is worked by hand or steam.

2. An apparatus resembling a winch or windlass, for bending the bow of an arblast, or crossbow. [Obs.] Shak. Chinese windlass. See Differential windlass, under Differential.

WINDLASS Wind"lass, v. t. & i.

Defn: To raise with, or as with, a windlass; to use a windlass. The Century.

WINDLE Win"dle, n. Etym: [From Wind to turn.]

1. A spindle; a kind of reel; a winch.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The redwing. [Prov. Eng.]

WINDLESS Wind"less, a.

1. Having no wind; calm.

2. Wanting wind; out of breath.

WINDLESTRAE; WINDLESTRAW Win"dle*strae`, Win"dle*straw`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A grass used for making ropes or for plaiting, esp. Agrostis Spica-ventis. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.] Shelley.

WINDMILL Wind"mill`, n.

Defn: A mill operated by the power of the wind, usually by the action of the wind upon oblique vanes or sails which radiate from a horizontal shaft. Chaucer.

WINDORE Win"dore, n. Etym: [A corrupt. of window; or perh. coined on the wrong assumption that window is from wind + door.]

Defn: A window. [Obs.] Hudibras.

WINDOW Win"dow, n. Etym: [OE. windowe, windoge, Icel. vindauga window, properly, wind eye; akin to Dan. vindue. Wind, n., and Eye.]

1. An opening in the wall of a building for the admission of light and air, usually closed by casements or sashes containing some transparent material, as glass, and capable of being opened and shut at pleasure. I leaped from the window of the citadel. Shak. Then to come, in spite of sorrow, And at my window bid good morrow. Milton.

2. (Arch.)

Defn: The shutter, casement, sash with its fittings, or other framework, which closes a window opening.

3. A figure formed of lines crossing each other. [R.] Till he has windows on his bread and butter. King.

French window (Arch.), a casement window in two folds, usually reaching to the floor; — called also French casement. — Window back (Arch.), the inside face of the low, and usually thin, piece of wall between the window sill and the floor below. — Window blind, a blind or shade for a window. — Window bole, part of a window closed by a shutter which can be opened at will. [Scot.] — Window box, one of the hollows in the sides of a window frame for the weights which counterbalance a lifting sash. — Window frame, the frame of a window which receives and holds the sashes or casement. — Window glass, panes of glass for windows; the kind of glass used in windows. — Window martin (Zoöl.), the common European martin. [Prov. Eng.] - - Window oyster (Zoöl.), a marine bivalve shell (Placuna placenta) native of the East Indies and China. Its valves are very broad, thin, and translucent, and are said to have been used formerly in place of glass. — Window pane. (a) (Arch.) See Pane, n., 3 (b). (b) (Zoöl.) See Windowpane, in the Vocabulary. — Window sash, the sash, or light frame, in which panes of glass are set for windows. — Window seat, a seat arranged in the recess of a window. See Window stool, under Stool. — Window shade, a shade or blind for a window; usually, one that is hung on a roller. — Window shell (Zoöl.), the window oyster. — Window shutter, a shutter or blind used to close or darken windows. — Window sill (Arch.), the flat piece of wood, stone, or the like, at the bottom of a window frame. — Window swallow (Zoöl.), the common European martin. [Prov. Eng.] — Window tax, a tax or duty formerly levied on all windows, or openings for light, above the number of eight in houses standing in cities or towns. [Eng.]

WINDOW Win"dow, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Windowed; p. pr. & vb. n. Windowing.]

1. To furnish with windows.

2. To place at or in a window. [R.] Wouldst thou be windowed in great Rome and see Thy master thus with pleach'd arms, bending down His corrigible neck Shak.

WINDOWED Win"dowed, a.

Defn: Having windows or openings. [R.] "Looped and windowed raggedness." Shak.

WINDOWLESS Win"dow*less, a.

Defn: Destitute of a window. Carlyle.

WINDOWPANE Win"dow*pane`, n.

1. (Arch.)

Defn: See Pane, n., (3) b. [In this sense, written also window pane.]

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A thin, spotted American turbot (Pleuronectes maculatus) remarkable for its translucency. It is not valued as a food fish. Called also spotted turbot, daylight, spotted sand flounder, and water flounder.

WINDOWY Win"dow*y, a.

Defn: Having little crossings or openings like the sashes of a window. [R.] Donne.

WINDPIPE Wind"pipe`, n. (Anat.)

Defn: The passage for the breath from the larynx to the lungs; the trachea; the weasand. See Illust. under Lung.

WIND-PLANT Wind"-plant`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A windflower.

WIND-RODE Wind"-rode`, a. (Naut.)

Defn: Caused to ride or drive by the wind in opposition to the course of the tide; — said of a vessel lying at anchor, with wind and tide opposed to each other. Totten.

WINDROW Wind"row`, n. Etym: [Wind + row.]

1. A row or line of hay raked together for the purpose of being rolled into cocks or heaps.

2. Sheaves of grain set up in a row, one against another, that the wind may blow between them. [Eng.]

3. The green border of a field, dug up in order to carry the earth on other land to mend it. [Eng.]

WINDROW Wind"row, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Windrowed; p. pr. & vb. n. Windrowing.]

Defn: To arrange in lines or windrows, as hay when newly made. Forby.

WIND-SHAKEN Wind"-shak`en, a.

Defn: Shaken by the wind; specif. (Forestry),

Defn: affected by wind shake, or anemosis (which see, above).

WIND SIGNAL Wind signal.

Defn: In general, any signal announcing information concerning winds, and esp. the expected approach of winds whose direction and force are dangerous to shipping, etc. The wind-signal system of the United States Weather Bureau consists of storm, information, hurricane, hot wind, and inland storm signals.

WINDSOR Wind"sor, n.

Defn: A town in Berkshire, England. Windsor bean. (Bot.) See under Bean. — Windsor chair, a kind of strong, plain, polished, wooden chair. Simmonds. — Windsor soap, a scented soap well known for its excellence.

WINDSTORM Wind"storm, n.

Defn: A storm characterized by high wind with little or no rain.

WIND-SUCKER Wind"-suck`er, n.

1. (Far.) A horse given to wind-sucking Law.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The kestrel. B. Jonson.

WIND-SUCKING Wind"-suck`ing, n. (Far.)

Defn: A vicious habit of a horse, consisting in the swallowing of air; — usually associated with crib-biting, or cribbing. See Cribbing, 4.

WINDTIGHT Wind"tight`, a.

Defn: So tight as to prevent the passing through of wind. Bp. Hall.

WIND-UP Wind"-up`, n.

Defn: Act of winding up, or closing; a concluding act or part; the end.

WINDWARD Wind"ward, n.

Defn: The point or side from which the wind blows; as, to ply to the windward; — opposed to Ant: leeward. To lay an anchor to the windward, a figurative expression, signifying to adopt precautionary or anticipatory measures for success or security.

WINDWARD Wind"ward, a.

Defn: Situated toward the point from which the wind blows; as, the Windward Islands.

WINDWARD Wind"ward, adv.

Defn: Toward the wind; in the direction from which the wind blows.

WINDY Wind"y, a. [Compar. Windier; superl. Windiest.] Etym: [AS. windig.]

1. Consisting of wind; accompanied or characterized by wind; exposed to wind. "The windy hill." M. Arnold. Blown with the windy tempest of my heart. Shak.

2. Next the wind; windward. It keeps on the windy side of care. Shak.

3. Tempestuous; boisterous; as, windy weather.

4. Serving to occasion wind or gas in the intestines; flatulent; as, windy food.

5. Attended or caused by wind, or gas, in the intestines. "A windy colic." Arbuthnot.

6. Fig.: Empty; airy. "Windy joy." Milton. Here's that windy applause, that poor, transitory pleasure, for which I was dishonored. South.

WINE Wine, n. Etym: [OE. win, AS. win, fr. L. vinum (cf. Icel. vin; all from the Latin); akin to Gr. o'i^nos, , and E. withy. Cf. Vine, Vineyard, Vinous, Withy.]

1. The expressed juice of grapes, esp. when fermented; a beverage or liquor prepared from grapes by squeezing out their juice, and (usually) allowing it to ferment. "Red wine of Gascoigne." Piers Plowman. Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging, and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. Prov. xx. 1. Bacchus, that first from out the purple grape Crushed the sweet poison of misused wine. Milton.

Note: Wine is essentially a dilute solution of ethyl alcohol, containing also certain small quantities of ethers and ethereal salts which give character and bouquet. According to their color, strength, taste, etc., wines are called red, white, spirituous, dry, light, still, etc.

2. A liquor or beverage prepared from the juice of any fruit or plant by a process similar to that for grape wine; as, currant wine; gooseberry wine; palm wine.

3. The effect of drinking wine in excess; intoxication. Noah awoke from his wine. Gen. ix. 24. Birch wine, Cape wine, etc. See under Birch, Cape, etc. — Spirit of wine. See under Spirit. — To have drunk wine of ape or wine ape, to be so drunk as to be foolish. [Obs.] Chaucer. — Wine acid. (Chem.) See Tartaric acid, under Tartaric. [Colloq.] - - Wine apple (Bot.), a large red apple, with firm flesh and a rich, vinous flavor. — Wine bag, a wine skin. — Wine biscuit, a kind of sweet biscuit served with wine. — Wine cask, a cask for holding wine, or which holds, or has held, wine. — Wine cellar, a cellar adapted or used for storing wine. — Wine cooler, a vessel of porous earthenware used to cool wine by the evaporation of water; also, a stand for wine bottles, containing ice.a drink composed of approximately equal parts of wine and some carbonated beverage (soda). Also called California cooler. — Wine fly (Zoöl.), small two-winged fly of the genus Piophila, whose larva lives in wine, cider, and other fermented liquors. — Wine grower, one who cultivates a vineyard and makes wine. — Wine measure, the measure by which wines and other spirits are sold, smaller than beer measure. — Wine merchant, a merchant who deals in wines. — Wine of opium (Pharm.), a solution of opium in aromatized sherry wine, having the same strength as ordinary laudanum; — also Sydenham's laudanum. — Wine press, a machine or apparatus in which grapes are pressed to extract their juice. — Wine skin, a bottle or bag of skin, used, in various countries, for carrying wine. — Wine stone, a kind of crust deposited in wine casks. See 1st Tartar, 1. — Wine vault. (a) A vault where wine is stored. (b) A place where wine is served at the bar, or at tables; a dramshop. Dickens. — Wine vinegar, vinegar made from wine. — Wine whey, whey made from milk coagulated by the use of wine.

WINEBERRY Wine"ber`ry, n. (Bot.) (a) The red currant. (b) The bilberry. (c) A peculiar New Zealand shrub (Coriaria ruscifolia), in which the petals ripen and afford an abundant purple juice from which a kind of wine is made. The plant also grows in Chili.

WINEBIBBER Wine"bib`ber, n.

Defn: One who drinks much wine. Prov. xxiii. 20. — Wine"bib`bing, n.

WINEGLASS Wine"glass`, n.

Defn: A small glass from to drink wine.

WINEGLASSFUL Wine"glass`ful;, n. pl. Wineglassfuls (.

Defn: As much as a wineglass will hold; enough to fill a wineglass. It is usually reckoned at two fluid ounces, or four tablespoonfuls.

WINELESS Wine"less, a.

Defn: destitute of wine; as, wineless life.

WINERY Win"er*y, n. Etym: [Cf. F. vinerie.]

Defn: A place where grapes are converted into wine.

WINESAP Wine"sap`, n. [Wine + sap for sop.]

Defn: A variety of winter apple of medium size, deep red color, and yellowish flesh of a rich, rather subacid flavor.

WING Wing, n. Etym: [OE. winge, wenge; probably of Scand. origin; cf. Dan. & Sw. vinge, Icel. vængr.]

1. One of the two anterior limbs of a bird, pterodactyl, or bat. They correspond to the arms of man, and are usually modified for flight, but in the case of a few species of birds, as the ostrich, auk, etc., the wings are used only as an assistance in running or swimming. As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings. Deut. xxxii. 11.

Note: In the wing of a bird the long quill feathers are in series. The primaries are those attached to the ulnar side of the hand; the secondaries, or wing coverts, those of the forearm: the scapulars, those that lie over the humerus; and the bastard feathers, those of the short outer digit. See Illust. of Bird, and Plumage.

2. Any similar member or instrument used for the purpose of flying. Specifically: (Zoöl.) (a) One of the two pairs of upper thoracic appendages of most hexapod insects. They are broad, fanlike organs formed of a double membrane and strengthened by chitinous veins or nervures. (b) One of the large pectoral fins of the flying fishes.

3. Passage by flying; flight; as, to take wing. Light thickens; and the crow Makes wing to the rooky wood. Shak.

4. Motive or instrument of flight; means of flight or of rapid motion. Fiery expedition be my wing. Shak.

5. Anything which agitates the air as a wing does, or which is put in winglike motion by the action of the air, as a fan or vane for winnowing grain, the vane or sail of a windmill, etc.

6. An ornament worn on the shoulder; a small epaulet or shoulder knot.

7. Any appendage resembling the wing of a bird or insect in shape or appearance. Specifically: (a) (Zoöl.)

Defn: One of the broad, thin, anterior lobes of the foot of a pteropod, used as an organ in swimming. (b) (Bot.) Any membranaceous expansion, as that along the sides of certain stems, or of a fruit of the kind called samara. (c) (Bot.) Either of the two side petals of a papilionaceous flower.

8. One of two corresponding appendages attached; a sidepiece. Hence: (a) (Arch.) A side building, less than the main edifice; as, one of the wings of a palace. (b) (Fort.) The longer side of crownworks, etc., connecting them with the main work. (c) (Hort.) A side shoot of a tree or plant; a branch growing up by the side of another. [Obs.] (d) (Mil.)

Defn: The right or left division of an army, regiment, etc. (e) (Naut.) That part of the hold or orlop of a vessel which is nearest the sides. In a fleet, one of the extremities when the ships are drawn up in line, or when forming the two sides of a triangle. Totten. (f) One of the sides of the stags in a theater. On the wing. (a) Supported by, or flying with, the wings another. — On the wings of the wind, with the utmost velocity. — Under the wing, or wings, of, under the care or protection of. — Wing and wing (Naut.), with sails hauled out on either side; — said of a schooner, or her sails, when going before the wind with the foresail on one side and the mainsail on the other; also said of a square-rigged vessel which has her studding sails set. Cf. Goosewinged. — Wing case (Zoöl.), one of the anterior wings of beetles, and of some other insects, when thickened and used to protect the hind wings; an elytron; — called also wing cover. — Wing covert (Zoöl.), one of the small feathers covering the bases of the wing quills. See Covert, n., 2. — Wing gudgeon (Mach.), an iron gudgeon for the end of a wooden axle, having thin, broad projections to prevent it from turning in the wood. See Illust. of Gudgeon. — Wing shell (Zoöl.), wing case of an insect. — Wing stroke, the stroke or sweep of a wing. — Wing transom (Naut.), the uppermost transom of the stern; — called also main transom. J. Knowles.

WING Wing, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Winged; p. pr. & vb. n. Winging.]

1. To furnish with wings; to enable to fly, or to move with celerity. Who heaves old ocean, and whowings the storms. Pope. Living, to wing with mirth the weary hours. Longfellow.

2. To supply with wings or sidepieces. The main battle, whose puissance on either side Shall be well winged with our chiefest horse. Shak.

3. To transport by flight; to cause to fly. I, an old turtle, Will wing me to some withered bough. Shak.

4. To move through in flight; to fly through. There's not an arrow wings the sky But fancy turns its point to him. Moore.

5. To cut off the wings of; to wound in the wing; to disable a wing of; as, to wing a bird. To wing a flight, to exert the power of flying; to fly.

WINGED Winged, a.

1. Furnished with wings; transported by flying; having winglike expansions.

2. Soaring with wings, or as if with wings; hence, elevated; lofty; sublime. [R.] How winged the sentiment that virtue is to be followed for its own sake. J. S. Harford.

3. Swift; rapid. "Bear this sealed brief with winged haste to the lord marshal." Shak.

4. Wounded or hurt in the wing.

5. (Bot.)

Defn: Furnished with a leaflike appendage, as the fruit of the elm and the ash, or the stem in certain plants; alate.

6. (Her.)

Defn: Represented with wings, or having wings, of a different tincture from the body.

7. Fanned with wings; swarming with birds. "The winged air darked with plumes." Milton.

WINGER Wing"er, n. (Naut.)

Defn: One of the casks stowed in the wings of a vessel's hold, being smaller than such as are stowed more amidships. Totten.

WINGFISH Wing"fish`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A sea robin having large, winglike pectoral fins. See Sea robin, under Robin.

WING-FOOTED Wing"-foot`ed, a.

1. Having wings attached to the feet; as, wing-footed Mercury; hence, swift; moving with rapidity; fleet. Drayton.

2. (Zoöl.) (a) Having part or all of the feet adapted for flying. (b) Having the anterior lobes of the foot so modified as to form a pair of winglike swimming organs; — said of the pteropod mollusks.

WING-HANDED Wing"-hand`ed, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Having the anterior limbs or hands adapted for flight, as the bats and pterodactyls.

WING-LEAVED Wing"-leaved`, a. (Bot.)

Defn: Having pinnate or pinnately divided leaves.

WINGLESS Wing"less, a.

Defn: Having no wings; not able to ascend or fly. Wingless bird (Zoöl.), the apteryx.

WINGLET Wing"let, n.

1. A little wing; a very small wing.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A bastard wing, or alula.

WINGMANSHIP Wing"man*ship, n. Etym: [From Wing, in imitation of horsemanship.]

Defn: Power or skill in flying. [R.] Duke of Argyll.

WING-SHELL Wing"-shell`, n. (Zoöl.) (a) Any one of various species of marine bivalve shells belonging to the genus Avicula, in which the hinge border projects like a wing. (b) Any marine gastropod shell of the genus Strombus. See Strombus. (c) Any pteropod shell.

WINGY Wing"y, a.

1. Having wings; rapid. With wingy speed outstrip the eastern wind. Addison.

2. Soaring with wings, or as if with wings; volatile airy. [Obs. or R.] Those wingy mysteries in divinity. Sir T. Browne.

WINK Wink, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Winked; p. pr. & vb. n. Winking.] Etym: [OE. winken, AS. wincian; akin to D. wenken, G. winken to wink, nod, beckon, OHG. winchan, Sw. vinka, Dan. vinke, AS. wancol wavering, OHG. wanchal wavering, wanch to waver, G. wanken, and perhaps to E. weak; cf. AS. wincel a corner. Cf. Wench, Wince, v. i.]

1. To nod; to sleep; to nap. [Obs.] "Although I wake or wink." Chaucer.

2. To shut the eyes quickly; to close the eyelids with a quick motion. He must wink, so loud he would cry. Chaucer. And I will wink, so shall the day seem night. Shak. They are not blind, but they wink. Tillotson.

3. To close and open the eyelids quickly; to nictitate; to blink. A baby of some three months old, who winked, and turned aside its little face from the too vivid light of day. Hawthorne.

4. To give a hint by a motion of the eyelids, often those of one eye only. Wink at the footman to leave him without a plate. Swift.

5. To avoid taking notice, as if by shutting the eyes; to connive at anything; to be tolerant; — generally with at. The times of this ignorance God winked at. Acts xvii. 30. And yet, as though he knew it not, His knowledge winks, and lets his humors reign. Herbert. Obstinacy can not be winked at, but must be subdued. Locke.

6. To be dim and flicker; as, the light winks. Winking monkey (Zoöl.), the white-nosed monkey (Cersopithecus nictitans).

WINK Wink, v. t.

Defn: To cause (the eyes) to wink.[Colloq.]

WINK Wink, n.

1. The act of closing, or closing and opening, the eyelids quickly; hence, the time necessary for such an act; a moment. I have not slept one wink. Shak. I could eclipse and cloud them with a wink. Donne.

2. A hint given by shutting the eye with a significant cast. Sir. P. Sidney. The stockjobber thus from Change Alley goes down, And tips you, the freeman, a wink. Swift.

WINKER Wink"er, n.

1. One who winks. Pope.

2. A horse's blinder; a blinker.

WINKINGLY Wink"ing*ly, adv.

Defn: In a winking manner; with the eye almost closed. Peacham.

WINKLE Win"kle, n. Etym: [AS. wincle.] (Zoöl.) (a) Any periwinkle. Holland. (b) Any one of various marine spiral gastropods, esp., in the United States, either of two species of Fulgar (F. canaliculata, and F. carica).

Note: These are large mollusks which often destroy large numbers of oysters by drilling their shells and sucking their blood. Sting winkle, a European spinose marine shell (Murex erinaceus). See Illust. of Murex.

WINKLE-HAWK Win"kle-hawk`, n. Etym: [D. winkel-haak a carpenter's square.]

Defn: A rectangular rent made in cloth; — called also winkle-hole. [Local, U. S.] Bartlett.

WINNARD Win"nard, n.

Defn: The redwing. [Prov. Eng.]

WINNEBAGOES Win`ne*ba"goes, n.; sing. Winnebago (. (Ethnol.)

Defn: A tribe of North American Indians who originally occupied the region about Green Bay, Lake Michigan, but were driven back from the lake and nearly exterminated in 1640 by the IIlinnois.

WINNER Win"ner, n.

Defn: One who wins, or gains by success in competition, contest, or gaming.

WINNING Win"ning, a.

Defn: Attracting; adapted to gain favor; charming; as, a winning address. "Each mild and winning note." Keble.

WINNING Win"ning, n.

1. The act of obtaining something, as in a contest or by competition.

2. The money, etc., gained by success in competition or contest, esp, in gambling; — usually in the plural. Ye seek land and sea for your winnings. Chaucer.

3. (Mining) (a) A new opening. (b) The portion of a coal field out for working. Winning headway (Mining), an excavation for exploration, in post-and-stall working. — Winning post, the post, or goal, at the end of a race.

WINNINGLY Win"ning*ly, adv.

Defn: In a winning manner.

WINNINGNESS Win"ning*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being winning. "Winningness in style." J. Morley.

WINNINISH Win"nin*ish, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The land-locked variety of the common salmon. [Canada]

WINNOW Win"now, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Winnowed; p. pr. & vb. n. Winnowing.] Etym: [OE. windewen, winewen, AS. windwian; akin to Goth. winpjan (in comp.), winpi-skauro a fan, L. ventilare to fan, to winnow; cf. L. wannus a fan for winnowing, G. wanne, OHG. wanna. . See Wind moving air, and cf. Fan., n., Ventilate.]

1. To separate, and drive off, the chaff from by means of wind; to fan; as, to winnow grain. Ho winnoweth barley to-night in the threshing floor. Ruth. iii. 2.

2. To sift, as for the purpose of separating falsehood from truth; to separate, as had from good. Winnow well this thought, and you shall find This light as chaff that flies before the wind. Dryden.

3. To beat with wings, or as with wings.[Poetic] Now on the polar winds; then with quick fan Winnows the buxom air. Milton.

WINNOW Win"now, v. i.

Defn: To separate chaff from grain. Winnow not with every wind. Ecclus. v. 9.

WINNOWER Win"now*er, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, winnows; specifically, a winnowing machine.

WINNOWING Win"now*ing, n.

Defn: The act of one who, or that which, winnows.

WINROW Win"row`, n.

Defn: A windrow.

WINSING Win"sing, a.

Defn: Winsome. [Obs.] Chaucer.

WINSOME Win"some, a. [Compar. Winsomer; superl. Winsomest.] Etym: [AS. wynsum, fr. wynn joy; akin to OS. wunnia, OHG. wunna, wunni, G. wonne, Goth. wunan to rejoice (in unwunands sad), AS. wunian to dwell. Win, v. t., Wont, a.]

1. Cheerful; merry; gay; light-hearted. Misled by ill example, and a winsome nature. Jeffrey.

2. Causing joy or pleasure; gladsome; pleasant. Still plotting how their hungry ear That winsome voice again might hear. Emerson.

WINSOMENESS Win"some*ness, n.

Defn: The characteristic of being winsome; attractiveness of manner. J. R. Green.

WINTER Win"ter, n. Etym: [AS. winter; akin to OFries. & D. winter, OS. & OHG. wintar, G. winter, D. & Sw. vinter, Icel. vetr, Goth. wintrus; of uncertain origin; cf. Old Gallic vindo- white (in comp.), OIr. find white.

1. The season of the year in which the sun shines most obliquely upon any region; the coldest season of the year. "Of thirty winter he was old." Chaucer. And after summer evermore succeeds Barren winter, with his wrathful nipping cold. Shak. Winter lingering chills the lap of May. Goldsmith.

Note: North of the equator, winter is popularly taken to include the months of December, January, and February (see Season). Astronomically, it may be considered to begin with the winter solstice, about December 21st, and to end with the vernal equinox, about March 21st.

2. The period of decay, old age, death, or the like. Life's autumn past, I stand on winter's verge. Wordsworth. Winter apple, an apple that keeps well in winter, or that does not ripen until winter. — Winter barley, a kind of barley that is sown in autumn. — Winter berry (Bot.), the name of several American shrubs (Ilex verticillata, I. lævigata, etc.) of the Holly family, having bright red berries conspicuous in winter. — Winter bloom. (Bot.) (a) A plant of the genus Azalea. (b) A plant of the genus Hamamelis (H. Viginica); witch-hazel; — so called from its flowers appearing late in autumn, while the leaves are falling. — Winter bud (Zoöl.), a statoblast. — Winter cherry (Bot.), a plant (Physalis Alkekengi) of the Nightshade family, which has, a red berry inclosed in the inflated and persistent calyx. See Alkekengi. — Winter cough (Med.), a form of chronic bronchitis marked by a cough recurring each winter. — Winter cress (Bot.), a yellow-flowered cruciferous plant (Barbarea vulgaris). — Winter crop, a crop which will bear the winter, or which may be converted into fodder during the winter. — Winter duck. (Zoöl.) (a) The pintail. (b) The old squaw. — Winter egg (Zoöl.), an egg produced in the autumn by many invertebrates, and destined to survive the winter. Such eggs usually differ from the summer eggs in having a thicker shell, and often in being enveloped in a protective case. They sometimes develop in a manner different from that of the summer eggs. — Winter fallow, ground that is fallowed in winter. — Winter fat. (Bot.) Same as White sage, under White. — Winter fever (Med.), pneumonia. [Colloq.] — Winter flounder. (Zoöl.) See the Note under Flounder. — Winter gull (Zoöl.), the common European gull; — called also winter mew. [Prov. Eng.] — Winter itch. (Med.) See Prarie itch, under Prairie. — Winter lodge, or Winter lodgment. (Bot.) Same as Hibernaculum. — Winter mew. (Zoöl.) Same as Winter gull, above. [Prov. Eng.] — Winter moth (Zoöl.), any one of several species of geometrid moths which come forth in winter, as the European species (Cheimatobia brumata). These moths have rudimentary mouth organs, and eat no food in the imago state. The female of some of the species is wingless. — Winter oil, oil prepared so as not to solidify in moderately cold weather. — Winter pear, a kind of pear that keeps well in winter, or that does not ripen until winter. — Winter quarters, the quarters of troops during the winter; a winter residence or station. — Winter rye, a kind of rye that is sown in autumn. — Winter shad (Zoöl.), the gizzard shad. — Winter sheldrake (Zoöl.), the goosander. [Local, U.S.] — Winter sleep (Zoöl.), hibernation. — Winter snipe (Zoöl.), the dunlin. — Winter solstice. (Astron.) See Solstice, 2. — Winter teal (Zoöl.), the green-winged teal. — Winter wagtail (Zoöl.), the gray wagtail (Motacilla melanope). [Prov. Eng.] — Winter wheat, wheat sown in autumn, which lives during the winter, and ripens in the following summer. — Winter wren (Zoöl.), a small American wren (Troglodytes hiemalis) closely resembling the common wren.

WINTER Win"ter, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Wintered; p. pr. & vb. n. Wintering.]

Defn: To pass the winter; to hibernate; as, to winter in Florida. Because the haven was not commodious to winter in, the more part advised to depart thence. Acts xxvii. 12.

WINTER Win"ter, v. i.

Defn: To keep, feed or manage, during the winter; as, to winter young cattle on straw.

WINTER-BEATEN Win"ter-beat`en, a.

Defn: Beaten or harassed by the severe weather of winter. Spenser.

WINTERGREEN Win"ter*green`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A plant which keeps its leaves green through the winter.

Note: In England, the name wintergreen is applied to the species of Pyrola which in America are called English wintergreen, and shin leaf (see Shin leaf, under Shin.) In America, the name wintergreen is given to Gaultheria procumbens, a low evergreen aromatic plant with oval leaves clustered at the top of a short stem, and bearing small white flowers followed by red berries; — called also checkerberry, and sometimes, though improperly, partridge berry. Chickweed wintergreen, a low perennial primulaceous herb (Trientalis Americana); — also called star flower. — Flowering wintergreen, a low plant (Polygala paucifolia) with leaves somewhat like those of the wintergreen (Gaultheria), and bearing a few showy, rose-purple blossoms. — Spotted wintergreen, a low evergreen plant (Chimaphila maculata) with ovate, white-spotted leaves.

WINTER-GROUND Win"ter-ground`, v. t.

Defn: To coved over in the season of winter, as for protection or shelter; as, to winter-ground the roods of a plant. The ruddock would . . . bring thee all this, Yea, and furred moss besides, when flowers are none To winter-ground thy corse. Shak.

WINTERKILL Win"ter*kill`, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Winterkilled; p. pr. & vb. n. Winterkilling.]

Defn: To kill by the cold, or exposure to the inclemency of winter; as, the wheat was winterkilled. [U. S.]

WINTERLY Win"ter*ly, a.

Defn: Like winter; wintry; cold; hence, disagreeable, cheerless; as, winterly news. [R.] Shak. The sir growing more winterly in the month of April. Camden.

WINTER-PROUD Win"ter-proud`, a.

Defn: Having too rank or forward a growth for winter. When either corn is winter-proud, or other plants put forth and bud too early. Holland.

WINTER-RIG Win"ter-rig`, v. t. Etym: [See Winter and Ridge.]

Defn: To fallow or till in winter. [Prov. Eng.]

WINTER'S BARK Win"ter's bark`. (Bot.)

Defn: The aromatic bark of tree (Drimys, or Drymis, Winteri) of the Magnolia family, which is found in Southern Chili. It was first used as a cure for scurvy by its discoverer, Captain John Winter, vice admiral to sir Francis Drake, in 1577.

WINTERTIDE Win"ter*tide`, n.

Defn: Winter time. Tennyson.

WINTERWEED Win"ter*weed`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A kind of speedwell (Veronica hederifolia) which spreads chiefly in winter. Dr. Prior.

WINTERY Win"ter*y, a.

Defn: Wintry.

WINTRY Win"try, a. Etym: [AS. wintrig.]

Defn: Suitable to winter; resembling winter, or what belongs to winter; brumal; hyemal; cold; stormy; wintery. Touch our chilled hearts with vernal smile, Our wintry course do thou beguile. Keble.

WINY Win"y, a.

Defn: Having the taste or qualities of wine; vinous; as, grapes of a winy taste. Dampier.

WINZE Winze, n. (Mining.)

Defn: A small shaft sunk from one level to another, as for the purpose of ventilation.

WIPE Wipe, n. Etym: [Cf. Sw. vipa, Dan. vibe, the lapwing.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The lapwing. [Prov. Eng.]

WIPE Wipe, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wiped; p. pr. & vb. n. Wiping.] Etym: [OE. vipen, AS. wipian; cf. LG. wiep a wisp of straw, Sw. vepa to wrap up, to cuddle one's self up, vepa a blanket; perhaps akin to E. whip.]

1. To rub with something soft for cleaning; to clean or dry by rubbing; as, to wipe the hands or face with a towel. Let me wipe thy face. Shak. I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down. 2 Kings xxi. 13.

2. To remove by rubbing; to rub off; to obliterate; — usually followed by away, off or out. Also used figuratively. "To wipe out our ingratitude." Shak. Some natural tears they dropped, but wiped them soon. Milton.

3. To cheat; to defraud; to trick; — usually followed by out. [Obs.] Spenser. If they by coveyne [covin] or gile be wiped beside their goods. Robynson (More's Utopia) To wipe a joint (Plumbing), to make a joint, as between pieces of lead pipe, by surrounding the junction with a mass of solder, applied in a plastic condition by means of a rag with which the solder is shaped by rubbing. — To wipe the nose of, to cheat. [Old Slang]

WIPE Wipe, n.

1. Act of rubbing, esp. in order to clean.

2. A blow; a stroke; a hit; a swipe. [Low]

3. A gibe; a jeer; a severe sarcasm. Swift.

4. A handkerchief. [Thieves' Cant or Slang]

5. Stain; brand. [Obs.] "Slavish wipe." Shak.

WIPER Wip"er, n.

1. One who, or that which, wipes.

2. Something used for wiping, as a towel or rag.

3. (Mach.)

Defn: A piece generally projecting from a rotating or swinging piece, as an axle or rock shaft, for the purpose of raising stampers, lifting rods, or the like, and leaving them to fall by their own weight; a kind of cam.

4. (Firearms)

Defn: A rod, or an attachment for a rod, for holding a rag with which to wipe out the bore of the barrel.

WIRBLE Wir"ble, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Wirbled; p. pr. & vb. n. Wirbling.] Etym: [Cf. Warble, Whirl.]

Defn: To whirl; to eddy. [R.] The waters went wirbling above and around. Owen. Meredith.

WIRCHE Wirche, v. i. & t.

Defn: To work [Obs.] Chaucer.

WIRE Wire, n. Etym: [OE. wir, AS. wir; akin to Icel. virr, Dan. vire, LG. wir, wire; cf. OHG. wiara fine gold; perhaps akin to E. withy. .]

1. A thread or slender rod of metal; a metallic substance formed to an even thread by being passed between grooved rollers, or drawn through holes in a plate of steel.

Note: Wire is made of any desired form, as round, square, triangular, etc., by giving this shape to the hole in the drawplate, or between the rollers.

2. A telegraph wire or cable; hence, an electric telegraph; as, to send a message by wire. [Colloq.] Wire bed, Wire mattress, an elastic bed bottom or mattress made of wires interwoven or looped together in various ways. — Wire bridge, a bridge suspended from wires, or cables made of wire. — Wire cartridge, a shot cartridge having the shot inclosed in a wire cage. — Wire cloth, a coarse cloth made of woven metallic wire, — used for strainers, and for various other purposes. — Wire edge, the thin, wirelike thread of metal sometimes formed on the edge of a tool by the stone in sharpening it. — Wire fence, a fence consisting of posts with strained horizontal wires, wire netting, or other wirework, between. — Wire gauge or gage. (a) A gauge for measuring the diameter of wire, thickness of sheet metal, etc., often consisting of a metal plate with a series of notches of various widths in its edge. (b) A standard series of sizes arbitrarily indicated, as by numbers, to which the diameter of wire or the thickness of sheet metal in usually made, and which is used in describing the size or thickness. There are many different standards for wire gauges, as in different countries, or for different kinds of metal, the Birmingham wire gauges and the American wire gauge being often used and designated by the abbreviations B. W.G. and A. W.G. respectively. — Wire gauze, a texture of finely interwoven wire, resembling gauze. — Wire grass (Bot.), either of the two common grasses Eleusine Indica, valuable for hay and pasture, and Poa compressa, or blue grass. See Blue grass. — Wire grub (Zoöl.), a wireworm. — Wire iron, wire rods of iron. — Wire lathing, wire cloth or wire netting applied in the place of wooden lathing for holding plastering. — Wire mattress. See Wire bed, above. — Wire micrometer, a micrometer having spider lines, or fine wires, across the field of the instrument. — Wire nail, a nail formed of a piece of wire which is headed and pointed. — Wire netting, a texture of woven wire coarser than ordinary wire gauze. — Wire rod, a metal rod from which wire is formed by drawing. — Wire rope, a rope formed wholly, or in great part, of wires.

WIRE Wire, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wired; p. pr. & vb. n. Wiring.]

1. To bind with wire; to attach with wires; to apply wire to; as, to wire corks in bottling liquors.

2. To put upon a wire; as, to wire beads.

3. To snare by means of a wire or wires.

4. To send (a message) by telegraph. [Colloq.]

WIRE Wire, v. i.

1. To pass like a wire; to flow in a wirelike form, or in a tenuous stream. [R.] P. Fletcher.

2. To send a telegraphic message. [Colloq.]

WIREDRAW Wire"draw`, v. t. [imp. Wiredrew; p. p. Wiredrawn; p. pr. & vb. n. Wiredrawing.]

1. To form (a piece of metal) into wire, by drawing it through a hole in a plate of steel.

2. Hence, to draw by art or violence. My sense has been wiredrawn into blasphemy. Dryden.

3. Hence, also, to draw or spin out to great length and tenuity; as, to wiredraw an argument. Such twisting, such wiredrawing, was never seen in a court of justice. Macaulay.

4. (Steam Engine)

Defn: To pass, or to draw off, (as steam) through narrow ports, or the like, thus reducing its pressure or force by friction.

WIRE-DRAWER Wire"-draw`er, n.

Defn: One who draws metal into wire.

WIRE GUN Wire gun.

Defn: = Wire-wound gun.

WIRE-HEEL Wire"-heel`, n. (Far.)

Defn: A disease in the feet of a horse or other beast.

WIRELESS Wire"less, a.

Defn: Having no wire; specif. (Elec.),

Defn: designating, or pertaining to, a method of telegraphy, telephony, etc., in which the messages, etc., are transmitted through space by electric waves; as, a wireless message. — Wireless telegraphy or telegraph (Elec.), any system of telegraphy employing no connecting wire or wires between the transmitting and receiving stations. Although more or less successful researchers were made on the subject by Joseph Henry, Hertz, Oliver Lodge, and others, the first commercially successful system was that of Guglielmo Marconi, patented in March, 1897. Marconi employed electric waves of high frequency set up by an induction coil in an oscillator, these waves being launched into space through a lofty antenna. The receiving apparatus consisted of another antenna in circuit with a coherer and small battery for operating through a relay the ordinary telegraphic receiver. This apparatus contains the essential features of all the systems now in use. — Wireless telephone, an apparatus or contrivance for wireless telephony. —Wireless telephony, telephony without wires, usually employing electric waves of high frequency emitted from an oscillator or generator, as in wireless telegraphy. A telephone transmitter causes fluctuations in these waves, it being the fluctuations only which affect the receiver.

WIRELESS Wire"less, n.

Defn: Short for Wireless telegraphy, Wireless telephony, etc.; as, to send a message by wireless.

WIRE-PULLER Wire"-pull`er, n.

Defn: One who pulls the wires, as of a puppet; hence, one who operates by secret means; an intriguer. Political wire-pullers and convention packers. Lowell.

WIRE-PULLING Wire"-pull`ing, n.

Defn: The act of pulling the wires, as of a puppet; hence, secret influence or management, especially in politics; intrigue.

WIRE-TAILED Wire"-tailed`, a. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Having some or all of the tail quills terminated in a long, slender, pointed shaft, without a web or barbules.

WIRE TAPPER Wire tapper.

Defn: One that taps, or cuts in on, telegraph wires and intercepts messages; hence (Slang),

Defn: a swindler who pretends to tap wires or otherwise intercept advance telegraphic news for betting. — Wire tapping.

WIREWORK Wire"work`, n.

Defn: Work, especially openwork, formed of wires.

WIRE-WORKER Wire"-work`er, n.

Defn: One who manufactures articles from wire.

WIREWORM Wire"worm`, n. (Zoöl.) (a) One of the larvæ of various species of snapping beetles, or elaters; — so called from their slenderness and the uncommon hardness of the integument. Wireworms are sometimes very destructive to the roots of plants. Called also wire grub. (b) A galleyworm.

WIRE-WOUND GUN Wire"-wound` gun. (Ordnance)

Defn: A gun in the construction of which an inner tube (either entire or in segments) is wound with wire under tension to insure greater soundness and uniformity of resistance. In modern construction hoops and jackets are shrunk on over the wire.

WIRINESS Wir"i*ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being wiry.

WIRING Wir"ing, n.

1. The act of one that wires anything.

2. The wires or conductors employed in a system of electric distribution.

WIRY Wir"y, a. Etym: [Written also wiery.]

1. Made of wire; like wire; drawn out like wire.

2. Capable of endurance; tough; sinewy; as, a wiry frame or constitution. "A little wiry sergeant of meek demeanor and strong sense." Dickens. He bore his age well, and seemed to retain a wiry vigor and alertness. Hawthorne.

WIS Wis, adv. Etym: [Aphetic form of iwis, ywis; or fr. Icel. viss certain. See Ywis.]

Defn: Certainly; really; indeed. [Obs.] "As wis God helpe me." Chaucer.

WIS Wis, v. t. Etym: [Due to mistaking OE. iwis certain, AS. gewiss, for I wis. See Ywis.]

Defn: To think; to suppose; to imagine; — used chiefly in the first person sing. present tense, I wis. See the Note under Ywis. [Obs. or Poetic] "Howe'er you wis." R. Browning. Nor do I know how long it is (For I have lain entranced, I wis). Coleridge.

WISARD Wis"ard, n.

Defn: See Wizard.

WISDOM Wis"dom (-dûm), n. Etym: [AS. wisdom. See Wise, a., and -dom.]

1. The quality of being wise; knowledge, and the capacity to make due use of it; knowledge of the best ends and the best means; discernment and judgment; discretion; sagacity; skill; dexterity. We speak also not in wise words of man's wisdom, but in the doctrine of the spirit. Wyclif (1 Cor. ii. 13). Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding. Job xxviii. 28. It is hoped that our rulers will act with dignity and wisdom that they will yield everything to reason, and refuse everything to force. Ames. Common sense in an uncommon degree is what the world calls wisdom. Coleridge.

2. The results of wise judgments; scientific or practical truth; acquired knowledge; erudition. Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds. Acts vii. 22.

Syn. — Prudence; knowledge. Wisdom, Prudence, Knowledge. Wisdom has been defined to be "the use of the best means for attaining the best ends." "We conceive," says Whewell, " prudence as the virtue by which we select right means for given ends, while wisdom implies the selection of right ends as well as of right means." Hence, wisdom implies the union of high mental and moral excellence. Prudence (that is, providence, or forecast) is of a more negative character; it rather consists in avoiding danger than in taking decisive measures for the accomplishment of an object. Sir Robert Walpole was in many respects a prudent statesman, but he was far from being a wise one. Burke has said that prudence, when carried too far, degenerates into a "reptile virtue," which is the more dangerous for its plausible appearance. Knowledge, a more comprehensive term, signifies the simple apprehension of facts or relations. "In strictness of language," says Paley, " there is a difference between knowledge and wisdom; wisdom always supposing action, and action directed by it." Knowledge and wisdom, far from being one, Have ofttimes no connection. Knowledge dwells In heads replete with thoughts of other men; Wisdom, in minds attentive to their own. Knowledge, a rude, unprofitable mass, The mere materials with which wisdom builds, Till smoothed, and squared, and fitted to its place, Does but encumber whom it seems to enrich. Knowledge is proud that he has learned so much; Wisdom is humble that he knows no more. Cowper. Wisdom tooth, the last, or back, tooth of the full set on each half of each jaw in man; — familiarly so called, because appearing comparatively late, after the person may be supposed to have arrived at the age of wisdom. See the Note under Tooth, 1.

WISDOM LITERATURE Wis"dom lit"er*a*ture.

Defn: The class of ancient Hebrew writings which deal reflectively with general ethical and religious topics, as distinguished from the prophetic and liturgical literature, and from the law. It is comprised chiefly in the books of Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiasticus, Ecclesiastes, and Wisdom of Solomon. The "wisdom" (Hokhmah) of these writings consists in detached sage utterances on concrete issues of life, without the effort at philosophical system that appeared in the later Hellenistic reflective writing beginning with Philo Judæus.

WISE Wise, a. [Compar. Wiser; superl. Wisest.] Etym: [OE. wis, AS. wis; akin to OS. & OFries. wis, D. wijs, G. weise, OHG. wis, wisi, Icel. viss, Sw. vis, Dan. viis, Goth. weis; akin to wit, v. i. See Wit, v., and cf. Righteous, Wisdom.]

1. Having knowledge; knowing; enlightened; of extensive information; erudite; learned. They are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge. Jer. iv. 22.

2. Hence, especially, making due use of knowledge; discerning and judging soundly concerning what is true or false, proper or improper; choosing the best ends and the best means for accomplishing them; sagacious. When clouds appear, wise men put their cloaks. Shak. From a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation. 2 Tim. iii. 15.

3. Versed in art or science; skillful; dexterous; specifically, skilled in divination. Fal. There was, mine host, an old fat woman even now with me; but she's gone. Sim. Pray you, sir, was't not the wise woman of Brentford Shak.

4. Hence, prudent; calculating; shrewd; wary; subtle; crafty. [R.] "Thou art . . . no novice, but a governor wily and wise." Chaucer. Nor, on the other side, Will I be penuriously wise As to make money, that's my slave, my idol. Beau. & Fl. Lords do not care for me: I am too wise to die yet. Ford.

5. Dictated or guided by wisdom; containing or exhibiting wisdom; well adapted to produce good effects; judicious; discreet; as, a wise saying; a wise scheme or plan; wise conduct or management; a wise determination. "Eminent in wise deport." Milton. To make it wise, to make it a matter of deliberation. [Obs.] " We thought it was not worth to make it wise." Chaucer. — Wise in years, old enough to be wise; wise from age and experience; hence, aged; old. [Obs.] A very grave, state bachelor, my dainty one; He's wise in years, and of a temperate warmth. Ford. You are too wise in years, too full of counsel, For my green experience. Ford.

WISE Wise, a. Etym: [OE. wise, AS. wise; akin to OS. wisa, OFries. wis, D. wijs, wijze, OHG. wisa, G. weise, Sw. vis, Dan. viis, Icel. övis otherwise; from the root of E. wit; hence, originally, knowledge, skill. See Wit, v., and cf. Guise.]

Defn: Way of being or acting; manner; mode; fashion. "All armed in complete wise." Spenser. To love her in my beste wyse. Chaucer. This song she sings in most commanding wise. Sir P. Sidney. Let not these blessings then, sent from above, Abused be, or spilt in profane wise. Fairfax.

Note: This word is nearly obsolete, except in such phrases as in any wise, in no wise, on this wise, etc. " Fret not thyself in any wise to do evil." Ps. xxxvii. 8. "He shall in no wise lose his reward." Matt. x. 42. " On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel." Num. vi. 23.

Note: Wise is often used as a suffix in composition, as in likewise, nowise, lengthwise, etc., in which words -ways is often substituted with the same sense; as, noways, lengthways, etc.

WISEACRE Wise"a*cre, n. Etym: [OD. wijssegger or G. weissager a foreteller, prophet, from weissagen to foretell, to prophesy, OHG. wissag, corrupted (as if compounded of the words for wise and say) fr. wizzag, fr. wizzag a prophet, akin to AS. witiga, witga, from the root of E. wit. See Wit, v.]

1. A learned or wise man. [Obs.] Pythagoras learned much . . . becoming a mighty wiseacre. Leland.

2. One who makes undue pretensions to wisdom; a would-be-wise person; hence, in contempt, a simpleton; a dunce.

WISE-HEARTED Wise"-heart`ed, a.

Defn: Wise; knowing; skillful; sapient; erudite; prudent. Ex. xxviii. 3.

WISE-LIKE Wise"-like`, a.

Defn: Resembling that which is wise or sensible; judicious. The only wise-like thing I heard anybody say. Sir W. Scott.

WISELING Wise"ling, n.

Defn: One who pretends to be wise; a wiseacre; a witling. Donne.

WISELY Wise"ly, adv.

Defn: In a wise manner; prudently; judiciously; discreetly; with wisdom. And wisely learn to curb thy sorrows wild. Milton.

WISENESS Wise"ness, n.

Defn: Wisdom. [Obs.] Spenser.

WISH Wish, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Wished; p. pr. & vb. n. Wishing.] Etym: [OE. wischen, weschen, wuschen, AS. w; akin to D. wenschen, G. wünschen, Icel. æeskja, Dan. önske, Sw. önska; from AS. w a wish; akin to OD. & G. wunsch, OHG. wunsc, Icel. , Skr. va a wish, va to wish; also to Skr. van to like, to wish. Winsome, Win, v. t., and cf. Wistful.]

1. To have a desire or yearning; to long; to hanker. They cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day. Acts xxvii. 29. This is as good an argument as an antiquary could wish for. Arbuthnot.

WISH Wish, v. t.

1. To desire; to long for; to hanker after; to have a mind or disposition toward. I would not wish Any companion in the world but you. Shak. I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper. 3. John 2.

2. To frame or express desires concerning; to invoke in favor of, or against, any one; to attribute, or cal down, in desire; to invoke; to imprecate. I would not wish them to a fairer death. Shak. I wish it may not prove some ominous foretoken of misfortune to have met with such a miser as I am. Sir P. Sidney. Let them be driven backward, and put to shame, that wish me evil. Ps. xl. 14.

3. To recommend; to seek confidence or favor in behalf of. [Obs.] Shak. I would be glad to thrive, sir, And I was wished to your worship by a gentleman. B. Jonson.

Syn. — See Desire.

WISH Wish, n.

1. Desire; eager desire; longing. Behold, I am according to thy wish in God a stead. Job xxxiii. 6.

2. Expression of desire; request; petition; hence, invocation or imprecation. Blistered be thy tongue for such a wish. Shak.

3. A thing desired; an object of desire. Will he, wise, let loose at once his ire . . . To give his enemies their wish! Milton.

WISHABLE Wish"a*ble, a.

Defn: Capable or worthy of being wished for; desirable. Udall.

WISHBONE Wish"bone`, n.

Defn: The forked bone in front of the breastbone in birds; — called also merrythought, and wishing bone. See Merrythought, and Furculum.

WISHEDLY Wish"ed*ly, adv.

Defn: According to wish; conformably to desire. [Obs.] Chapman.

WISHER Wish"er, n.

Defn: One who wishes or desires; one who expresses a wish. Shak.

WISHFUL Wish"ful, a. Etym: [Cf. Wistful.]

1. Having desire, or ardent desire; longing.

2. Showing desire; as, wishful eyes. From Scotland am I stolen, even of pure love To greet mine own land with my wishful sight. Shak.

3. Desirable; exciting wishes. [R.] Chapman. — Wish"ful*ly, adv. — Wish"ful*ness, n.

WISHING Wish"ing,

Defn: a. & n. from Wish, v. t. Wishing bone. See Wishbone. — Wishing cap, a cap fabled to give one whatever he wishes for when wearing it.

WISHLY Wish"ly, adv.

Defn: According to desire; longingly; with wishes. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.] Chapman.

WISHTONWISH Wish"ton*wish, n. Etym: [Probably of American Indian origin.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: The prairie dog.

WISH-WASH Wish"-wash`, n.

Defn: Any weak, thin drink.

WISHY-WASHY Wish"y-wash`y, a. Etym: [See Wash.]

Defn: Thin and pale; weak; without strength or substance; — originally said of liquids. Fig., weak-minded; spiritless. A weak wishy-washy man who had hardly any mind of his own. A. Trollope.

WISHY-WASHY Wish"y-wash`y, n.

Defn: A weak or thin drink or liquor; wish-wash.

WISKET Wis"ket, n.

Defn: A whisket, or basket. [Prov. Eng.] Ainsworth.

WISLY Wis"ly, adv. Etym: [See Wis, adv.]

Defn: Certainly. [Obs.] "God so wisly have mercy on me." Chaucer.

WISP Wisp, n. Etym: [OE. wisp, wips; probably akin to D. & G. wisch, Icel. visk, and perhaps to L. virga a twig, rod. Cf. Verge a rod, Whisk, n.]

1. A small bundle, as of straw or other like substance. In a small basket, on a wisp of hay. Dryden.

2. A whisk, or small broom.

3. A Will-o'-the-wisp; an ignis fatuus. The wisp that flickers where no foot can tread. Tennyson.

WISP Wisp, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wisped; p. pr. & vb. n. Wisping.]

1. To brush or dress, an with a wisp.

2. To rumple. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

WISPEN Wisp"en, a.

Defn: Formed of a wisp, or of wisp; as, a wispen broom. [Obs.]

WISSE Wis"se, v. t. Etym: [AS. wisian. See Wise, a.]

Defn: To show; to teach; to inform; to guide; to direct. [Obs.] Ere we depart I shall thee so well wisse That of mine house ne shalt thou never misse. Chaucer.

WIST Wist, archaic imp. & p. p. of Wit, v.

Defn: Knew.

WISTARIA Wis*ta"ri*a, n. Etym: [NL.] Etym: [So named after Caspar Wistar, an American anatomist.] (Bot.)

Defn: A genus of climbing leguminous plants bearing long, pendulous clusters of pale bluish flowers.

Note: The species commonest in cultivation is the Wistaria Sinensis from Eastern Asia. W. fruticosa grows wild in the southern parts of the United States.

WISTFUL Wist"ful, a. Etym: [For wishful; perhaps influenced by wistly, which is probably corrupted from OE. wisly certainly (from Icel. viss certain, akin to E. wit). See Wish.]

1. Longing; wishful; desirous. Lifting up one of my sashes, I cast many a wistful, melancholy look towards the sea. Swift.

2. Full of thought; eagerly attentive; meditative; musing; pensive; contemplative. That he who there at such an hour hath been, Will wistful linger on that hallowed spot. Byron. — Wist"ful*ly, adv. — Wist"ful*ness, n.

WISTIT Wis"tit, n. Etym: [Prob. from native name: cf. F. ouistiti.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A small South American monkey; a marmoset. [Written also wistiti, and ouistiti.]

WISTLY Wist"ly, adv. Etym: [See Wistful.]

Defn: Attentively; observingly. [Obs.] Shak.

WISTONWISH Wis"ton*wish, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: See Wishtonwish.

WIT Wit, v. t. & i. [inf. (To) Wit; pres. sing. Wot; pl. Wite; imp. Wist(e); p. p. Wist; p. pr. & vb. n. Wit(t)ing. See the Note below.] Etym: [OE. witen, pres. ich wot, wat, I know (wot), imp. wiste, AS. witan, pres. wat, imp. wiste, wisse; akin to OFries. wita, OS. witan, D. weten, G. wissen, OHG. wizzan, Icel. vita, Sw. veta, Dan. vide, Goth. witan to observe, wait I know, Russ. vidiete to see, L. videre, Gr. vid to know, learn; cf. Skr. vid to find. History, Idea, Idol, - oid, Twit, Veda, Vision, Wise, a. & n., Wot.]

Defn: To know; to learn. "I wot and wist alway." Chaucer.

Note: The present tense was inflected as follows; sing. 1st pers. wot; 2d pers. wost, or wot(t)est; 3d pers. wot, or wot(t)eth; pl. witen, or wite. The following variant forms also occur; pres. sing. 1st & 3d pers. wat, woot; pres. pl. wyten, or wyte, weete, wote, wot; imp. wuste (Southern dialect); p. pr. wotting. Later, other variant or corrupt forms are found, as, in Shakespeare, 3d pers. sing. pres. wots. Brethren, we do you to wit [make you to know] of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia. 2 Cor. viii. 1. Thou wost full little what thou meanest. Chaucer. We witen not what thing we prayen here. Chaucer. When that the sooth in wist. Chaucer.

Note: This verb is now used only in the infinitive, to wit, which is employed, especially in legal language, to call attention to a particular thing, or to a more particular specification of what has preceded, and is equivalent to namely, that is to say.

WIT Wit, n. Etym: [AS. witt, wit; akin to OFries. wit, G. witz, OHG. wizzi, Icel. vit, Dan. vid, Sw. vett. sq. root133. See Wit, v.]

1. Mind; intellect; understanding; sense. Who knew the wit of the Lord or who was his counselor Wyclif (Rom. xi. 34). A prince most prudent, of an excellent And unmatched wit and judgment. Shak. Will puts in practice what wit deviseth. Sir J. Davies. He wants not wit the dander to decline. Dryden.

2. A mental faculty, or power of the mind; — used in this sense chiefly in the plural, and in certain phrases; as, to lose one's wits; at one's wits' end, and the like. "Men's wittes ben so dull." Chaucer. I will stare him out of his wits. Shak.

3. Felicitous association of objects not usually connected, so as to produce a pleasant surprise; also. the power of readily combining objects in such a manner. The definition of wit is only this, that it is a propriety of thoughts and words; or, in other terms, thoughts and words elegantly adapted to the subject. Dryden. Wit which discovers partial likeness hidden in general diversity. Coleridge. Wit lying most in the assemblage of ideas, and putting those together with quickness and variety wherein can be found any resemblance or congruity, thereby to make up pleasant pictures in the fancy. Locke.

4. A person of eminent sense or knowledge; a man of genius, fancy, or humor; one distinguished for bright or amusing sayings, for repartee, and the like. In Athens, where books and wits were ever busier than in any other part of Greece, I find but only two sorts of writings which the magistrate cared to take notice of; those either blasphemous and atheistical, or libelous. Milton. Intemperate wits will spare neither friend nor foe. L'Estrange. A wit herself, Amelia weds a wit. Young. The five wits, the five senses; also, sometimes, the five qualities or faculties, common wit, imagination, fantasy, estimation, and memory. Chaucer. Nares. But my five wits nor my five senses can Dissuade one foolish heart from serving thee. Shak.

Syn. — Ingenuity; humor; satire; sarcasm; irony; burlesque. — Wit, Humor. Wit primarily meant mind; and now denotes the power of seizing on some thought or occurrence, and, by a sudden turn, presenting it under aspects wholly new and unexpected — apparently natural and admissible, if not perfectly just, and bearing on the subject, or the parties concerned, with a laughable keenness and force. "What I want," said a pompous orator, aiming at his antagonist, "is common sense." "Exactly!" was the whispered reply. The pleasure we find in wit arises from the ingenuity of the turn, the sudden surprise it brings, and the patness of its application to the case, in the new and ludicrous relations thus flashed upon the view. Humor is a quality more congenial to the English mind than wit. It consists primarily in taking up the peculiarities of a humorist (or eccentric person) and drawing them out, as Addison did those of Sir Roger de Coverley, so that we enjoy a hearty, good-natured laugh at his unconscious manifestation of whims and oddities. From this original sense the term has been widened to embrace other sources of kindly mirth of the same general character. In a well-known caricature of English reserve, an Oxford student is represented as standing on the brink of a river, greatly agitated at the sight of a drowning man before him, and crying out, "O that I had been introduced to this gentleman, that I might save his life! The, "Silent Woman" of Ben Jonson is one of the most humorous productions, in the original sense of the term, which we have in our language.

WITAN Wit"an, n. pl. [AS., pl. of wita sage, councilor.]

Defn: Lit., wise men; specif. (A.-S. Hist.),

Defn: the members of the national, or king's, council which sat to assist the king in administrative and judicial matters; also, the council.

WITCH Witch, n. Etym: [Cf. Wick of a lamp.]

Defn: A cone of paper which is placed in a vessel of lard or other fat, and used as a taper. [Prov. Eng.]

WITCH Witch, n. Etym: [OE. wicche, AS. wicce, fem., wicca, masc.; perhaps the same word as AS. witiga, witga, a soothsayer (cf. Wiseacre); cf. Fries. wikke, a witch, LG. wikken to predict, Icel. vitki a wizard, vitka to bewitch.]

1. One who practices the black art, or magic; one regarded as possessing supernatural or magical power by compact with an evil spirit, esp. with the Devil; a sorcerer or sorceress; — now applied chiefly or only to women, but formerly used of men as well. There was a man in that city whose name was Simon, a witch. Wyclif (Acts viii. 9). He can not abide the old woman of Brentford; he swears she's a witch. Shak.

2. An ugly old woman; a hag. Shak.

3. One who exercises more than common power of attraction; a charming or bewitching person; also, one given to mischief; — said especially of a woman or child. [Colloq.]

4. (Geom.)

Defn: A certain curve of the third order, described by Maria Agnesi under the name versiera.

5. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The stormy petrel. Witch balls, a name applied to the interwoven rolling masses of the stems of herbs, which are driven by the winds over the steppes of Tartary. Cf. Tumbleweed. Maunder (Treas. of Bot.) — Witches' besoms (Bot.), tufted and distorted branches of the silver fir, caused by the attack of some fungus. Maunder (Treas. of Bot.) — Witches' butter (Bot.), a name of several gelatinous cryptogamous plants, as Nostoc commune, and Exidia glandulosa. See Nostoc. — Witch grass (Bot.), a kind of grass (Panicum capillare) with minute spikelets on long, slender pedicels forming a light, open panicle. — Witch meal (Bot.), vegetable sulphur. See under Vegetable.

WITCH Witch, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Witched; p. pr. & vb. n. Witching.] Etym: [AS. wiccian.]

Defn: To bewitch; to fascinate; to enchant. [I 'll] witch sweet ladies with my words and looks. Shak. Whether within us or without The spell of this illusion be That witches us to hear and see. Lowell.

WITCHCRAFT Witch"craft`, n. Etym: [AS. wiccecræft.]

1. The practices or art of witches; sorcery; enchantments; intercourse with evil spirits.

2. Power more than natural; irresistible influence. He hath a witchcraft Over the king in 's tongue. Shak.

WITCH-ELM Witch"-elm`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: See Wych-elm.

WITCHERY Witch"er*y, n; pl. Witcheries (.

1. Sorcery; enchantment; witchcraft. Great Comus, Deep skilled in all his mother's witcheries. Milton. A woman infamous . . . for witcheries. Sir W. Scott.

2. Fascination; irresistible influence; enchantment. He never felt The witchery of the soft blue sky. Wordsworth. The dear, dear witchery of song. Bryant.

WITCH-HAZEL Witch"-ha`zel, n. Etym: [See Wych-elm, and Hazel.] (Bot.)

Defn: The wych-elm. (b) An American shrub or small tree (Hamamelis Virginica), which blossoms late in autumn.

WITCHING Witch"ing, a.

Defn: That witches or enchants; suited to enchantment or witchcraft; bewitching. "The very witching time of night." Shak. — Witch"ing*ly, adv.

WITCH-TREE Witch"-tree`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: The witch-hazel.

WITCHUCK Wit"chuck`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The sand martin, or bank swallow. [Prov. Eng.]

WIT-CRACKER Wit"-crack`er, n.

Defn: One who breaks jests; a joker. [Obs.] Shak.

WITCRAFT Wit"craft`, n.

1. Art or skill of the mind; contrivance; invention; wit. [Obs.] Camden.

2. The art of reasoning; logic. [R.]

WITE Wite, v. t. Etym: [AS. witan; akin to D. wijten, G. verweisen, Icel. vita to mulct, and E. wit; cf. AS. witan to see, L. animadvertere to observe, to punish. Wit, v.]

Defn: To reproach; to blame; to censure; also, to impute as blame. [Obs. or Scot.] Spenser. Though that I be jealous, wite me not. Chaucer. There if that I misspeak or say, Wite it the ale of Southwark, I you pray. Chaucer.

WITE Wite, n. Etym: [AS. wite punishment. Wite, v.]

Defn: Blame; reproach. [Obs. or Scot.] Chaucer.

WITELESS Wite"less, a.

Defn: Blameless. [Obs.] Spenser.

WITEN Wit"en, obs.

Defn: pl. pres. of Wit. Chaucer.

WITENAGEMOTE Wit"e*na*ge*mote`, n. Etym: [AS. witena gemot an assembly of the wise; wita a wise man + gemot assembly.] (AS. Hist.)

Defn: A meeting of wise men; the national council, or legislature, of England in the days of the Anglo-Saxons, before the Norman Conquest.

WITFISH Wit"fish`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The ladyfish (a).

WITFUL Wit"ful, a.

Defn: Wise; sensible. [R.] Chapman.

WITH With, n.

Defn: See Withe.

WITH With, prep. Etym: [OE. with, AS. wi with, against; akin to AS. wi against, OFries. with, OS. wi, wi, D. weder, weêr (in comp.), G. wider against, wieder gain, OHG. widar again, against, Icel. vi against, with, by, at, Sw. vid at, by, Dan. ved, Goth. wipra against, Skr. vi asunder. Cf. Withdraw, Withers, Withstand.]

Defn: With denotes or expresses some situation or relation of nearness, proximity, association, connection, or the like. It is used especially: —

1. To denote a close or direct relation of opposition or hostility; - - equivalent to against. Thy servant will . . . fight with this Philistine. 1 Sam. xvii. 32.

Note: In this sense, common in Old English, it is now obsolete except in a few compounds; as, withhold; withstand; and after the verbs fight, contend, struggle, and the like.

2. To denote association in respect of situation or environment; hence, among; in the company of. I will buy with you, talk with you, walk with you, and so following; but I will not eat with you, drink with you, nor pray with you. Shak. Pity your own, or pity our estate, Nor twist our fortunes with your sinking fate. Dryden. See where on earth the flowery glories lie; With her they flourished, and with her they die. Pope. There is no living with thee nor without thee. Tatler. Such arguments had invincible force with those pagan philosophers. Addison.

3. To denote a connection of friendship, support, alliance, assistance, countenance, etc.; hence, on the side of. Fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee. Gen. xxvi. 24.

4. To denote the accomplishment of cause, means, instrument, etc; — sometimes equivalent to by. That with these fowls I be all to-rent. Chaucer. Thou wilt be like a lover presently, And tire the hearer with a book of words. Shak. [He] entertained a coffeehouse with the following narrative. Addison. With receiving your friends within and amusing them without, you lead a good, pleasant, bustling life of it. Goldsmith.

5. To denote association in thought, as for comparison or contrast. Can blazing carbuncles with her compare. Sandys.

6. To denote simultaneous happening, or immediate succession or consequence. With that she told me . . . that she would hide no truth from me. Sir P. Sidney. With her they flourished, and with her they die. Pope. With this he pointed to his face. Dryden.

7. To denote having as a possession or an appendage; as, the firmament with its stars; a bride with a large fortune. "A maid with clean hands." Shak.

Note: With and by are closely allied in many of their uses, and it is not easy to lay down a rule by which to distinguish their uses. See the Note under By.

WITHAL With*al", adv. Etym: [With + all.]

1. With this; with that. [Obs.] He will scarce be pleased withal. Shak.

2. Together with this; likewise; at the same time; in addition; also. [Archaic] Fy on possession But if a man be virtuous withal. Chaucer. If you choose that, then I am yours withal. Shak. How modest in exception, and withal How terrible in constant resolution. Shak.

WITHAL With*al", prep.

Defn: With; — put after its object, at the end of sentence or clause in which it stands. [Obs.] This diamond he greets your wife withal. Shak. Whatsoever uncleanness it be that a man shall be defiled withal. Lev. v. 3.

WITHAMITE With"am*ite, n. Etym: [From its discoverer, H. Witham.] (Min.)

Defn: A variety of epidote, of a reddish color, found in Scotland.

WITHDRAW With*draw", v. t. [imp. Withdrew; p. p. Withdrawn; p. pr. & vb. n. Withdrawing.] Etym: [With against + draw.]

1. To take back or away, as what has been bestowed or enjoyed; to draw back; to cause to move away or retire; as, to withdraw aid, favor, capital, or the like. Impossible it is that God should withdraw his presence from anything. Hooker.

2. To take back; to recall or retract; as, to withdraw false charges.

WITHDRAW With*draw", v. i.

Defn: To retire; to retreat; to quit a company or place; to go away; as, he withdrew from the company. "When the sea withdrew." King Horn.

Syn. — To recede; retrograde; go back.

WITHDRAWAL With*draw"al, n.

Defn: The act of withdrawing; withdrawment; retreat; retraction. Fielding.

WITHDRAWER With*draw"er, n.

Defn: One who withdraws; one who takes back, or retracts.

WITHDRAWING-ROOM With*draw"ing-room`, n. Etym: [See Withdraw, and cf. Drawing-room.]

Defn: A room for retirement from another room, as from a dining room; a drawing-room. A door in the middle leading to a parlor and withdrawing-room. Sir W. Scott.

WITHDRAWMENT With*draw"ment, n.

Defn: The act of withdrawing; withdrawal. W. Belsham.

WITHE Withe, n. Etym: [OE. withe. Withy, n.] [Written also with.]

1. A flexible, slender twig or branch used as a band; a willow or osier twig; a withy.

2. A band consisting of a twig twisted.

3. (Naut.)

Defn: An iron attachment on one end of a mast or boom, with a ring, through which another mast or boom is rigged out and secured; a wythe. R. H. Dana, Jr.

4. (Arch.)

Defn: A partition between flues in a chimney.

WITHE Withe, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Withed; p. pr. & vb. n. Withing.]

Defn: To bind or fasten with withes. You shall see him withed, and haltered, and staked, and baited to death. Bp. Hall.

WITHER With"er, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Withered; p. pr. & vb. n. Withering.] Etym: [OE. wideren; probably the same word as wederen to weather (see Weather, v. & n.); or cf. G. verwittern to decay, to be weather- beaten, Lith. vysti to wither.]

1. To fade; to lose freshness; to become sapless; to become sapless; to dry or shrivel up. Shall he hot pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof, that it wither Ezek. xvii. 9.

2. To lose or want animal moisture; to waste; to pin This is man, old, wrinkled, faded, withered. Shak. There was a man which had his hand withered. Matt. xii. 10. Now warm in love, now with'ring in the grave. Dryden.

3. To lose vigor or power; to languish; to pass away. "Names that must not wither." Byron. States thrive or wither as moons wax and wane. Cowper.

WITHER With"er, v. t.

1. To cause to fade, and become dry. The sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth. James i. 11.

2. To cause to shrink, wrinkle, or decay, for want of animal moisture. "Age can not wither her." Shak. Shot forth pernicious fire Among the accursed, that withered all their strength. Milton.

3. To cause to languish, perish, or pass away; to blight; as, a reputation withered by calumny. The passions and the cares that wither life. Bryant.

WITHERBAND With"er*band`, n. Etym: [Withers + band.] (Far.)

Defn: A piece of iron in a saddle near a horse's withers, to strengthen the bow.

WITHERED With"ered, a.

Defn: Faded; dried up; shriveled; wilted; wasted; wasted away. — With"ered*ness, n. Bp. Hall.

WITHERING With"er*ing, a.

Defn: Tending to wither; causing to shrink or fade. — With"er*ing*ly, adv.

WITHERITE With"er*ite, n. Etym: [So called after Dr. W. Withering.] (Min.)

Defn: Barium carbonate occurring in white or gray six-sided twin crystals, and also in columnar or granular masses.

WITHERLING With"er*ling, n. Etym: [Wither + -ling.]

Defn: A withered person; one who is decrepit. [Obs.] Chapman.

WITHERNAM With"er*nam, n. Etym: [AS. withernam; wither against + nam a seizure, fr. niman to take.] (Law)

Defn: A second or reciprocal distress of other goods in lieu of goods which were taken by a first distress and have been eloigned; a taking by way of reprisal; — chiefly used in the expression capias in withernam, which is the name of a writ used in connection with the action of replevin (sometimes called a writ of reprisal), which issues to a defendant in replevin when he has obtained judgment for a return of the chattels replevied, and fails to obtain them on the writ of return. Blackstone.

WITHE-ROD Withe"-rod`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: A North American shrub (Viburnum nudum) whose tough osierlike shoots are sometimes used for binding sheaves.

WITHERS With"ers, n. pl. Etym: [Properly, the parts which resist the pull or strain in drawing a load; fr. OE. wither resistance, AS. withre, fr. wither against; akin to G. widerrist withers. See With, prep.]

Defn: The ridge between the shoulder bones of a horse, at the base of the neck. See Illust. of Horse. Let the galled jade wince; our withers are unwrung. Shak.

WITHER-WRUNG With"er-wrung`, a.

Defn: Injured or hurt in the withers, as a horse.

WITHHOLD With*hold", v. t. [imp. Withheld; p. p. Withheld, Obs. or Archaic Withholden (; p. pr. & vb. n. Withholding.] Etym: [With again, against, back + hold.]

1. To hold back; to restrain; to keep from action. Withhold, O sovereign prince, your hasty hand From knitting league with him. Spenser.

2. To retain; to keep back; not to grant; as, to withhold assent to a proposition. Forbid who will, none shall from me withhold Longer thy offered good. Milton.

3. To keep; to maintain; to retain. [Obs.] To withhold it the more easily in heart. Chaucer.

WITHHOLDER With*hold"er, n.

Defn: One who withholds.

WITHHOLDMENT With*hold"ment, n.

Defn: The act of withholding.

WITHIN With*in", prep. Etym: [OE. withinne, withinnen, AS. withinnan; with with, against, toward + innan in, inwardly, within, from in in. See With, prep., In, prep.]

1. In the inner or interior part of; inside of; not without; as, within doors. O, unhappy youth! Come not within these doors; within this roof The enemy of all your graces lives. Shak. Till this be cured by religion, it is as impossible for a man to be happy — that is, pleased and contented within himself — as it is for a sick man to be at ease. Tillotson.

2. In the limits or compass of; not further in length than; as, within five miles; not longer in time than; as, within an hour; not exceeding in quantity; as, expenses kept within one's income. "That he repair should again within a little while." Chaucer. Within these five hours lived Lord Hastings, Untainted, unexamined, free, at liberty. Shak.

3. Hence, inside the limits, reach, or influence of; not going outside of; not beyond, overstepping, exceeding, or the like. Both he and she are still within my power. Dryden. Within himself The danger lies, yet lies within his power. Milton. Were every action concluded within itself, and drew no consequence after it, we should, undoubtedly, never err in our choice of good. Locke.

WITHIN With*in", adv.

1. In the inner part; inwardly; internally. "The wound festers within." Carew. Ills from within thy reason must prevent. Dryden.

2. In the house; in doors; as, the master is within.

WITHINFORTH With*in"forth`, adv.

Defn: Within; inside; inwardly. [Obs.] Wyclif. [It is much greater] labor for to withinforth call into mind, without sight of the eye withoutforth upon images, what he before knew and thought upon. Bp. Peacock.

WITHINSIDE With*in"side`, adv.

Defn: In the inner parts; inside. [Obs.] Graves.

WITHOUT With*out", prep. Etym: [OE. withoute, withouten, AS. with; with with, against, toward + outside, fr. out. See With, prep., Out.]

1. On or at the outside of; out of; not within; as, without doors. Without the gate Some drive the cars, and some the coursers rein. Dryden.

2. Out of the limits of; out of reach of; beyond. Eternity, before the world and after, is without our reach. T. Burnet.

3. Not with; otherwise than with; in absence of, separation from, or destitution of; not with use or employment of; independently of; exclusively of; with omission; as, without labor; without damage. I wolde it do withouten negligence. Chaucer. Wise men will do it without a law. Bacon. Without the separation of the two monarchies, the most advantageous terms . . . must end in our destruction. Addison. There is no living with thee nor without thee. Tatler. To do without. See under Do. — Without day Etym: [a translation of L. sine die], without the appointment of a day to appear or assemble again; finally; as, the Fortieth Congress then adjourned without day. — Without recourse. See under Recourse.

WITHOUT With*out", conj.

Defn: Unless; except; — introducing a clause. You will never live to my age without you keep yourselves in breath with exercise, and in heart with joyfulness. Sir P. Sidney.

Note: Now rarely used by good writers or speakers.

WITHOUT With*out", adv.

1. On or art the outside; not on the inside; not within; outwardly; externally. Without were fightings, within were fears. 2 Cor. vii. 5.

2. Outside of the house; out of doors. The people came unto the house without. Chaucer.

WITHOUT-DOOR With*out"-door`, a.

Defn: Outdoor; exterior. [Obs.] "Her without-door form." Shak.

WITHOUTEN With*out"en, prep.

Defn: Without. [Obs.] Chaucer.

WITHOUTFORTH With*out"forth`, adv.

Defn: Without; outside' outwardly. Cf. Withinforth. [Obs.] Chaucer.

WITHSAY With*say", v. t.

Defn: To contradict; to gainsay; to deny; to renounce. [Obs.] Gower. If that he his Christendom withsay. Chaucer.

WITHSET With*set", v. t.

Defn: To set against; to oppose. [Obs.] "Their way he them withset." R. of Brunne.

WITHSTAND With*stand", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Withstood; p. pr. & vb. n. Withstanding.] Etym: [AS. wiedhstandan. See With, prep., and Stand.]

Defn: To stand against; to oppose; to resist, either with physical or moral force; as, to withstand an attack of troops; to withstand eloquence or arguments. Piers Plowman. I withstood him to the face. Gal. ii. 11. Some village Hampden, that, with dauntless breast. The little tyrant of his fields withstood. Gray.

WITHSTANDER With*stand"er, n.

Defn: One who withstands, or opposes; an opponent; a resisting power.

WITHSTOOD With*stood", imp. & p. p.

Defn: oWithstand.

WITHVINE With"vine`, n. Etym: [Withe + vine.] (Bot.)

Defn: Quitch grass.

WITHWIND With"wind`, n. Etym: [AS. wiedhowinde.] (Bot.)

Defn: A kind of bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis). He bare a burden ybound with a broad list, In a withewyndes wise ybounden about. Piers Plowman.

WITHWINE With"wine`, n. (Bot.)

Defn: Same as Withvine.

WITHY With"y, n.; pl. Withies. Etym: [OE. withe, wipi, AS. wi a willow, willow twig; akin to G. weide willow, OHG. wida, Icel. vi, a withy, Sw. vide a willow twig, Dan. vidie a willow, osier, Gr. vitis a vine, viere to plait, Russ. vite. sq. root141. Cf. Wine, Withe.]

1. (Bot.)

Defn: The osier willow (Salix viminalis). See Osier, n. (a).

2. A withe. See Withe, 1.

WITHY With"y, a.

Defn: Made of withes; like a withe; flexible and tough; also, abounding in withes. The stream is brimful now, and lies high in this little withy plantation. G. Eliot.

WITING Wit"ing, n. Etym: [See Wit, v.]

Defn: Knowledge. [Obs.] "Withouten witing of any other wight." Chaucer.

WITLESS Wit"less, a.

Defn: Destitute of wit or understanding; wanting thought; hence, indiscreet; not under the guidance of judgment. "Witless bravery." Shak. A witty mother! witless else her son. Shak. Witless pity breedeth fruitless love. Fairfax. — Wit"less*ly, adv. — Wit"less*ness, n.

WITLING Wit"ling, n. Etym: [Wit + -ling; cf. G. witzling.]

Defn: A person who has little wit or understanding; a pretender to wit or smartness. A beau and witing perished in the forming. Pope. Ye newspaper witlings! ye pert scribbling folks! Goldsmith.

WITNESS Wit"ness, n. Etym: [AS. witness, gewitnes, from witan to know. sq. root133. See Wit, v. i.]

1. Attestation of a fact or an event; testimony. May we with . . . the witness of a good conscience, pursue him with any further revenge Shak. If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. John v. 31.

2. That which furnishes evidence or proof. Laban said to Jacob, . . . This heap be witness, and this pillar be witness. Gen. xxxi. 51, 52.