Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
- Entries
- 95,912
- Pages
- 1,538
- Illustrations
- 2,133
Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Wall, n. p. 1489<br><br>1. A work or structure of stone, brick, or other materials, raised to some height, and intended for a defense, security, or for an inclosure; a solid and permanent inclosing fence, as around…Wall, v. t. p. 1489To inclose with a wall, or as with a wall. “Seven walled towers of strength.” Shak. 2. To defend by walls, or as if by walls. And terror of his name that walls us in From danger. Denham. 3. To close…Wall'-creep'er, n. p. 1489(Ornith.) A small bird of the genus Tichodroma (T. muraria), which frequents rocks and walls, climbing over their vertical surfaces with great facility; the spider-catcher. It feeds on insects.Wall'-crĕss, n. p. 1489(Bot.) (a.) A cruciferous plant of the genus Arabis, the species of which, for the most part, grow on walls, and in dry, stony places. (b.) A plant of the genus Turritis.Wal'lach, n. p. 1489(Geog.) A Wallachian.Wal-lā'chi-an, a. p. 1489(Geog.) Of, or pertaining to, Wallachia, or to its inhabitants.Wal-lā'chi-an, n. p. 1489(Geog.) A native or inhabitant of Wallachia, in Northern Turkey; a Wallach.Wall'er, n. p. 1489One who builds walls.Wav'el-lite, n. p. 1489(Min.) A mineral, or variety of clay, found in small, compact masses, of the size of a nut, white and opaque, or yellowish and translucent. [Obs.] Cleveland.Wal'let, n. p. 1489A bag or sack for carrying about the person, as a bag for carrying the necessaries for a journey; a knapsack; a beggar's receptacle for charity; a peddler's pack; a bag-like purse; a pocket-book for…Wal'let-eer', n. p. 1489One who carries a wallet; a tramper. [Colloq.] Wright.Wall'-eye, n. p. 1489An eye in which the iris is of a very light gray or whitish color;—said usually of horses. Booth. Johnson has defined wall-eye to be “a disease in the crystalline humor of the eye; glaucoma.” But…Wall'-eyed (-īd), a. p. 1489Having an eye of a very light gray or whitish color. Booth. Shakespeare, in using wall-eyed as a term of reproach (as “wall-eyed rage,” a “wall-eyed wretch”), alludes probably to the idea of…Wall'-flow'er, n. p. 1489(Bot.) A cruciferous, evergreen plant of the genus Cheiranthus, which grows in old walls, &c.; a stock gillyflower.Wall'-fruit, n. p. 1489Fruit which, to be ripened, must be planted against a wall.Wall'-knŏt, n. p. 1489(Naut.) A knot made by untwisting the ends of a rope, and making a bight with the first strand, then passing the second over the end of the first, and the third over the end of the second, and…Wall'ing, n. p. 1489Walls in general; materials for walls.Walling-wax p. 1489a composition of wax and tallow used by etchers and engravers to make a bank or wall round the edge of a plate, so as to form a plate for holding the acid used in etching, and the like. Fairholt.Wall'-louse, n. p. 1489A certain insect or small bug. Ainsworth.Wall'-mōss, n. p. 1489(Bot.) A species of moss growing on walls.Wal-lōon’, a. p. 1489(Geog.) Of, or pertaining to, the part of Flanders between the Scheldt and the Lys.Wal-lōon', n. p. 1489(Geog.) A native or inhabitant of that part of Flanders between the Scheldt and the Lys. 2. The language spoken by this people. Walloon guard, the body-guard of the Spanish monarch;— so called…Wal’lop, v. i. p. 1489To boil with a continued bubbling or heaving and rolling of the liquor, with noise. Brockett. 2. To move in a rolling, cumbersome manner; to move with difficulty; to waddle. Halliwell. 3. To move…Wăl'lop, v. t. p. 1489To beat soundly; to flog; to whip. [Prov. Eng. and colloq. U. S.] 2. To wrap up temporarily. [Prov. Eng.] 3. To throw or tumble over. [Prov. Eng.]Wăl'lop, n. p. 1489A thick piece of fat. Halliwell. 2. A quick, rolling movement; a gallop. 3. A blow or beating.Wăl'lōw, v. i. p. 1489To roll one's self about, as in mire or on other substance; to tumble and roll about; to move lazily or heavily in any medium; to flounder; as, swine wallow in the mire. I may wallow in the…Wäl'lōw, v. t. p. 1489To roll or tumble in any thing defiling or unclean. Wallow thyself in ashes. Jer. vi. 26.Wal'lōw, n. p. 1489A kind of rolling walk. One taught the toss, and one the French new wallow. Dryden.Wăl'lōw-er, n. p. 1489One who wallows. 2. (Mach.) A lantern-wheel; a trundle.Wallow-ish, a. p. 1489Flat; insipid. [Obs.] “As unwelcome . . . as sluttish morsels or wallowish potions to a nice stomach.” Overbury.Wåll'-pā'per, n. p. 1489Paper for covering the walls of rooms; paper-hangings. See PAPER-HANGINGS.Wall'-piece, n. p. 1489A gun planted on a wall. W. Scott.Wăll'-pĕl'li-to-ry, n. p. 1489(Bot.) A European plant (Parietaria officinalis), growing on old walls, &c., and formerly esteemed medicinal.Wăll'-pĕn'ny-wort, n. p. 1489(Bot.) A plant of the genus Cotyledon (C. umbilicus).Wăll'-pep'per, n. p. 1489(Bot.) A plant of the genus Sedum (S. acre), having a pungent, biting taste, and growing upon walls, rocks, and the like.Wăll'-pīe, n. p. 1489(Bot.) A plant; a species of Asplenium. Lee.Wall'-plāte, n. p. 1489(Arch.) A piece of timber placed horizontally upon a wall, on which rest joists and the like. [See Illust. of Timber.]Wall'-rŏck, n. p. 1489Granular limestone, used in building walls. [U. S.] Bartlett.Wāll'-rue, n. p. 1489(Bot.) A species of fern growing on walls, rocks, and the like; Asplenium ruta-muraria.Wăll'-sid'ed, a. p. 1489(Naut.) Having sides nearly perpendicular, as a ship;—opposed to tumbling in or tumbling home, and flaring out.Wĕll'-spring, n. p. 1489A spring of water issuing from stratified rocks.Wåll'-wort, n. p. 1489(Bot.) A plant of the genus Sambucus; the dwarf elder or danewort.Walm, v. i. p. 1489To roll; to spout; to boil up. [Obs.] Holland.Wăl'nut, n. p. 1489(Bot.) A tree, and its fruit, of the genus Juglans. This genus comprehends several species, of which some are natives of the United States, as Juglans nigra, or black walnut; J. cinerea, or…Wal'rus, n. p. 1489(Zoöl.) An aquatic mammal (Trichechus rosmarus), resembling the seal, and allied to it;—called also morse, and sea-cow. It has long canine teeth, used for locomotion and defense, and feeds upon…Wălt, n. p. 1489A forest;—used as a termination of names. See WEALD and WOLD.Wăl'ter, v. i. p. 1489To roll or wallow; to welter. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]Wal'tron, n. p. 1489The walrus. [Rare.] Woodward.Wălt'y, a. p. 1489Liable to roll over; crank; as, a walty ship. [R.] Longfellow.Waltz, n. p. 1489A dance performed by two persons in circular figures with a whirling motion; also, a piece of music composed for this kind of dance.Waltz, v. i. p. 1489To dance a waltz.Waltz'er, n. p. 1489A person who waltzes.Wā'ly, interj. p. 1489An exclamation of woe or grief. [Obs.]Wam'ble, v. i. p. 1489To be disturbed with nausea; as, a wambling stomach. [Vulgar.] L’Estrange. 2. To move irregularly to and fro; to roll.Wam'ble, n. p. 1489Disturbance of the stomach; nausea. [Vulgar.]Wam'ble-crōpped, a. p. 1489Sick at the stomach; also, crest-fallen; dejected. [Vulgar.]Wam'mel, v. i. p. 1489To move irregularly or awkwardly; to wamble or wabble;—chiefly used with reference to mechanical movements or operations. [Prov. Eng.]Wam-pee′, n. p. 1489(Bot.) A tree of the genus Cookia (C. punctata), growing in China and the East Indies, and its fruit. The fruit, which is about the size of a pigeon’s egg, and grows in bunches, is much esteemed in…Wam’pum, n. p. 1490Small beads made of shells, used by the North American Indians as money, and also wrought into belts, &c., as an ornament. The wampum was of two kinds, one kind being white, and the other black or of…Wan, a. p. 1490Having a pale or sickly hue; languid of look; pale. “Sad to view, his visage pale and wan.” Spenser. Why so pale and wan, fond lover? Suckling.