Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
- Entries
- 95,912
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- 2,133
Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Vȳ'ing, p. pr. p. 1485of vie. See VIE.W p. 1486W, the twenty-third letter of the English alphabet, takes its written form and its name from the repetition of a V, this being the form of the Roman capital letter which we call U. Most of the modern…Wab'ble, v. i. p. 1486To move staggeringly from one side to the other; to vacillate; to move in the manner of a rotating disk when its plane vibrates from side to side;—said of a turning or whirling body; as, a top…Wab'ble, n. p. 1486A hobbling, unequal motion, as of a wheel unevenly hung.Wäck'e or Wäck'y, n. p. 1486(Geol.) A rock nearly allied to basalt, of which it may be regarded as a more soft and earthy variety. Its color is a greenish-gray, brown, or black. It is opaque, yields easily to the knife, and has…Graywacke p. 1486a kind of conglomerate grit-rock, composed of rounded pebbles and sand;—applied to certain hard sandstones, or grit-rocks, and the associated strata, occurring below the coal formation. Dana.Wad, n. p. 1486A little mass, tuft, or bundle, as of hay or tow. 2. Especially, a little mass of some soft or flexible material, such as hay, straw, tow, paper, or old rope-yarn, used for stopping the charge of…Wad, n. p. 1486Woad. See WOAD. [Obs.]Wăd, v. t. p. 1486To form into a mass or wad, or into wadding; as, to wad tow or cotton. 2. To insert or crowd a wad into; as, to wad a gun; also, to stuff or line with some soft substance, or wadding, like cotton…Wad or Wadd, n. p. 1486(Min.) An earthy oxide of manganese, or mixture of different oxides and water, with some oxide of iron, and often silica, alumina, lime, or baryta, and including several varieties;—sometimes applied…Wăd'ding, n. p. 1486A wad, or the materials for wads; any pliable substance of which wads may be made. 2. A kind of soft stuff of loose texture, used for stuffing garments; also, sheets of carded cotton prepared for the…Wăd'dle, v. i. p. 1486To walk with short steps, throwing the body to one side and the other, like a duck, or a very fat person; to move clumsily and totteringly along; to stumble; as, a child waddles when he begins to…Wăd'dle, v. t. p. 1486To wade or walk through; to trample or tread down, as high grass, by walking through it. [Rare.] They tread and waddle all the goodly grass. Drayton.Wad'dler, n. p. 1486One who, or that which, waddles.Wăd'dling-ly, adv. p. 1486In a waddling manner; with a vacillating gait.Wāde, v. i. p. 1486To go; to move forward. [Obs. and rare.] Forbear, and wade no further in this speech. O. Play. 2. To walk through any substance that yields to the feet; to move about, sinking at each step, as in…Wāde, v. t. p. 1486To pass or cross by walking in or through a liquid, or other yielding substance. A bridge was made for the transporting of his army, for that the river was not to be waded over. Knolles.Wā'der, n. p. 1486One who, or that which, wades. 2. (Ornith.) One of an order of long-legged birds that wade in the water in search of food.Wād'-hōok, n. p. 1486A screw or hook to draw wadding out from a gun, &c.Wād'ing-bird, n. p. 1486(Ornith.) A wader. See WADER, 2.Wad'mal or Wad'moil, n. p. 1486A coarse, hairy, woolly cloth, used in the sixteenth century for garments. Strutt. W. Scott.Wad'sett, n. p. 1486(Scots Law.) A kind of pledge or mortgage.Wād'sett-er, n. p. 1486One who holds by wadsett.Wād'y, n. p. 1486A ravine through which a brook flows; the channel of a watercourse, which is dry except in the rainy season. Robinson.Wāe, n. p. 1486A wave. [Obs.] Spenser.Wā'fer, n. p. 1486A thin cake or leaf of flour and other ingredients. “The curious work in pastry, the fine cakes, wafers, and marchpanes.” Holland. A woman's oaths are wafers—break with making. B. Jon. 2. A thin…Wā'fer, v. t. p. 1486To seal or close with a wafer.Waf'fle, n. p. 1486A thin cake baked hard and rolled, or a soft indented cake baked in an iron utensil on coals.Waf'fle-ī'ron, n. p. 1486A utensil for baking waffles.Wāft, v. t. p. 1486To bear through a fluid or buoyant medium; to convey through water or air; as, a balloon was wafted over the channel. “A gentle wafting to immortal life.” Milton. Speed the soft intercourse from soul…Wāft, v. i. p. 1486To be moved or to pass in a buoyant medium; to float. And now the shouts waft near the citadel. Dryden.Wāft, n. p. 1486A current of wind. [Rare.] “One wide waft.” Thomson. 2. A signal made by moving something, as a flag, in the air. 3. An unpleasant flavor. [Obs. and rare.]Wāft'age, n. p. 1486Conveyance through a buoyant medium, as air or water; transportation; carriage. “Boats prepared for waftage to and fro.” Drayton.Wāft'er, n. p. 1486One who wafts. O Charon, Thou wafter of the soul to bliss or bane. Beau. & Fl. 2. A boat for passage. 3. A wafture. [Obs.]Wăft'ŭre, n. p. 1486The act of waving; wave-like motion. [Obs.] “An angry wafture of your hand.” Shak.Wāg, v. t. p. 1486To move one way and the other with quick turns; to shake to and fro; to move vibratingly; to cause to vibrate, as a part of the body; as, to wag the head. Every one that passeth thereby shall be…Wāg, v. i. p. 1486To move one way and the other; to be shaken to and fro; to vibrate. “Tremble and start at wagging of a straw.” Shak. The resty sieve wagged ne’er the more. Dryden. 2. To be in action or motion; to…Wāg, n. p. 1486A man full of sport and humor; a ludicrous fellow; a humorist; a wit. We wink at wags when they offend. Dryden. The counselor never pleaded without a piece of packthread in his hand, which he used to…Wāge, v. t. p. 1486To pledge; to hazard on the event of a contest; to stake; to bet; to lay; to wager; as, to wage a dollar. 2. To expose one's self to, as a risk; to incur, as a danger; to venture; to hazard. “To…Wāge, v. i. p. 1486To bind or pledge one's self; to engage. [Obs.]Wāge, n. p. 1486That which is staked or ventured; that for which one incurs risk or danger; prize; meed; gage. [Obs.] Spenser. 2. That for which one labors; meed; reward; stipulated payment for service performed…Wā'g'el, n. p. 1487See WAGGEL.Wā'ger, n. p. 1487Something deposited, laid, or hazarded, on the event of a contest or some unsettled question; a bet; a stake; a pledge. Besides these plates for horse-races, the wagers may be as the persons please.…Wā'ger, v. t. p. 1487To hazard on the issue of a contest, or on some question that is to be decided, or on some casualty; to lay; to bet. “And wagered with him pieces of gold.” Shak.Wā'ger, v. i. p. 1487To make a bet; to lay a wager. 'Twas merry when you wagered on your angling. Shak.Wā'ger-er, n. p. 1487One who wages, or lays a bet.Wā'ger-ing, p. a. p. 1487Hazarding; pertaining to that which is hazarded. Wagering policy (Com.), a policy of insurance, insuring a sum of money when no property is at hazard; as a policy to insure money on a ship when no…Wā'ges, n. p. 1487A compensation given to a hired person for his or her services. See WAGE.Wāg'gel, n. p. 1487(Ornith.) The young of the great black-backed gull (Larus marinus), formerly considered a distinct species, and called Larus nævius. [Written also wagel.] Jardine.Wāg'ger-y, n. p. 1487The manner or action of a wag; mischievous merriment; sportive trick or gayety; sarcasm in good humor; pleasantry; as, the waggery of a school-boy.Wāg'gish, n. p. 1487Like a wag; mischievous in sport; roguish in merriment or good humor; frolicsome. “A company of waggish boys.” D'Estrange. 2. Done, made, or laid in waggery or for sport; as, a waggish trick.Wāg'gish-ly, adv. p. 1487In a waggish manner; in sport.Wāg'gish-ness, n. p. 1487State or quality of being waggish; mischievous sport; frolicsome merriment.Wāg'gle, v. i. p. 1487To reel or move from side to side; to waddle. Why do you go nodding and waggling so? D'Estrange.Wāg'gle, v. t. p. 1487To move one way and the other; to wag; as, a bird waggles his tail.Wāg'-hāl/ter, n. p. 1487One who moves or wears a halter; — a comic term coined to suit a thief, or such personage. [Obs.] I can tell you, I am a mad wag-halter. Marston.Wāg'ner-ite, n. p. 1487(Min.) A phosphate of magnesia, resembling the Brazilian topaz. Paine.Wāg'on, n. p. 1487A wheeled carriage; a vehicle on four wheels, and usually drawn by horses; especially, one used for carrying freight. ☞ In the U. S., light wagons are used for the conveyance of persons, and for…Wāg'on, v. t. p. 1487To transport in a wagon; as goods are wagoned from London to the interior.Wāg'on, v. t. p. 1487To practice the transportation of goods in a wagon; as, the man wagons between Philadelphia and Pittsburg.