Weet-weet noun [ So called from its piping cry when disturbed.] (Zoology) (a) The common European sandpiper. (b) The chaffinch. [ Prov. Eng.]

Weetweet noun [ Native name in Victoria.] A throwing toy, or implement, of the Australian aborigines, consisting of a cigar-shaped stick fastened at one end to a flexible twig. It weighs in all about two ounces, and is about two feet long.

Weever noun [ Probably from French vive , Old French vivre , a kind of fish, Latin vipera viper. Confer Viper .] (Zoology) Any one of several species of edible marine fishes belonging to the genus Trachinus , of the family Trachinidæ . They have a broad spinose head, with the eyes looking upward. The long dorsal fin is supported by numerous strong, sharp spines which cause painful wounds.

» The two British species are the great, or greater, weever ( Trachinus draco ), which becomes a foot long (called also gowdie , sea cat , stingbull , and weaverfish ), and the lesser weever ( T. vipera ), about half as large (called also otter pike , and stingfish ).

Weevil noun [ Middle English wivel , wevil , Anglo-Saxon wifel , wibil ; akin to OD. wevel , Old High German wibil , wibel , German wiebel , wibel , and probably to Lithuanian vabalas beetle, and English weave . See Weave .] (Zoology) Any one of numerous species of snout beetles, or Rhynchophora, in which the head is elongated and usually curved downward. Many of the species are very injurious to cultivated plants. The larvæ of some of the species live in nuts, fruit, and grain by eating out the interior, as the plum weevil, or curculio, the nut weevils, and the grain weevil (see under Plum , Nut , and Grain ). The larvæ of other species bore under the bark and into the pith of trees and various other plants, as the pine weevils (see under Pine ). See also Pea weevil , Rice weevil , Seed weevil , under Pea , Rice , and Seed .

Weeviled adjective Infested by weevils; as, weeviled grain. [ Written also weevilled .]

Weevily adjective Having weevils; weeviled. [ Written also weevilly .]

Weezel noun (Zoology) See Weasel .

Weft obsolete imperfect & past participle of Wave .

Weft noun [ Confer Waif .] A thing waved, waived, or cast away; a waif. [ Obsolete] "A forlorn weft ." Spenser.

Weft noun [ Anglo-Saxon weft , wefta , from wefan , to weave. See Weave .]

1. The woof of cloth; the threads that cross the warp from selvage to selvage; the thread carried by the shuttle in weaving.

2. A web; a thing woven.

Weftage noun Texture. [ Obsolete] Grew.

Wegotism noun [ From we , in imitation of egotism .] Excessive use of the pronoun we ; -- called also weism . [ Colloq. or Cant]

Wehrgeld, Wehrgelt noun (O. Eng. Law) See Weregild .

Wehrwolf noun See Werewolf .

Weigela, Weigelia noun [ New Latin So named after C. English Weigel , a German naturalist.] (Botany) A hardy garden shrub ( Diervilla Japonica ) belonging to the Honeysuckle family, with white or red flowers. It was introduced from China.

Weigh (wā) noun (Nautical) A corruption of Way , used only in the phrase under weigh .

An expedition was got under weigh from New York.

Thackeray.

The Athenians . . . hurried on board and with considerable difficulty got under weigh .

Jowett (Thucyd.).

Weigh transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Weighed ; present participle & verbal noun Weighing .] [ Middle English weien , weyen , weghen , Anglo-Saxon wegan to bear, move; akin to Dutch wegen to weigh, German wägen , wiegen , to weigh, be wegen to move, Old High German wegan , Icelandic vega to move, carry, lift, weigh, Swedish väga to weigh, Danish veie , Goth. ga wigan to shake, Latin vehere to carry, Sanskrit vah . ............. See Way , and confer Wey .]

1. To bear up; to raise; to lift into the air; to swing up; as, to weigh anchor. " Weigh the vessel up." Cowper.

2. To examine by the balance; to ascertain the weight of, that is, the force with which a thing tends to the center of the earth; to determine the heaviness, or quantity of matter of; as, to weigh sugar; to weigh gold.

Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting.

Dan. v. 27.

3. To be equivalent to in weight; to counterbalance; to have the heaviness of. "A body weighing divers ounces." Boyle.

4. To pay, allot, take, or give by weight.

They weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.

Zech. xi. 12.

5. To examine or test as if by the balance; to ponder in the mind; to consider or examine for the purpose of forming an opinion or coming to a conclusion; to estimate deliberately and maturely; to balance.

A young man not weighed in state affairs.

Bacon.

Had no better weighed
The strength he was to cope with, or his own.

Milton.

Regard not who it is which speaketh, but weigh only what is spoken.

Hooker.

In nice balance, truth with gold she weighs .

Pope.

Without sufficiently weighing his expressions.

Sir W. Scott.

6. To consider as worthy of notice; to regard. [ Obsolete or Archaic] "I weigh not you." Shak.

All that she so dear did weigh .

Spenser.

To weigh down . (a) To overbalance. (b) To oppress with weight; to overburden; to depress. "To weigh thy spirits down ." Milton.

Weigh intransitive verb
1. To have weight; to be heavy. "They only weigh the heavier." Cowper.

2. To be considered as important; to have weight in the intellectual balance.

Your vows to her and me . . . will even weigh .

Shak.

This objection ought to weigh with those whose reading is designed for much talk and little knowledge.

Locke.

3. To bear heavily; to press hard.

Cleanse the stuffed bosom of that perilous stuff
Which weighs upon the heart.

Shak.

4. To judge; to estimate. [ R.]

Could not weigh of worthiness aright.

Spenser.

To weigh down , to sink by its own weight.

Weigh noun [ See Wey .] A certain quantity estimated by weight; an English measure of weight. See Wey .

Weigh-house noun ; plural Weigh-houses A building at or within which goods, and the like, are weighed.

Weighable adjective Capable of being weighed.

Weighage noun A duty or toil paid for weighing merchandise. Bouvier.

Weighbeam noun A kind of large steelyard for weighing merchandise; -- also called weighmaster's beam .

Weighboard noun (Mining) Clay intersecting a vein. Weale.

Weighbridge noun A weighing machine on which loaded carts may be weighed; platform scales.

Weigher noun One who weighs; specifically, an officer whose duty it is to weigh commodities.

Weighing adjective & noun from Weigh , v.

Weighing cage , a cage in which small living animals may be conveniently weighed. -- Weighing house . See Weigh-house . -- Weighing machine , any large machine or apparatus for weighing; especially, platform scales arranged for weighing heavy bodies, as loaded wagons.

Weighlock noun A lock, as on a canal, in which boats are weighed and their tonnage is settled.

Weighmaster noun One whose business it is to weigh ore, hay, merchandise, etc.; one licensed as a public weigher.

Weight noun [ Middle English weght , wight , Anglo-Saxon gewiht ; akin to Dutch gewigt , German gewicht , Icelandic vætt , Swedish vigt , Danish vægt . See Weigh , transitive verb ]

1. The quality of being heavy; that property of bodies by which they tend toward the center of the earth; the effect of gravitative force, especially when expressed in certain units or standards, as pounds, grams, etc.

» Weight differs from gravity in being the effect of gravity, or the downward pressure of a body under the influence of gravity; hence, it constitutes a measure of the force of gravity, and being the resultant of all the forces exerted by gravity upon the different particles of the body, it is proportional to the quantity of matter in the body.

2. The quantity of heaviness; comparative tendency to the center of the earth; the quantity of matter as estimated by the balance, or expressed numerically with reference to some standard unit; as, a mass of stone having the weight of five hundred pounds.

For sorrow, like a heavy-hanging bell,
Once set on ringing, with his own weight goes.

Shak.

3. Hence, pressure; burden; as, the weight of care or business. "The weight of this said time." Shak.

For the public all this weight he bears.

Milton.

[ He] who singly bore the world's sad weight .

Keble.

4. Importance; power; influence; efficacy; consequence; moment; impressiveness; as, a consideration of vast weight .

In such a point of weight , so near mine honor.

Shak.

5. A scale, or graduated standard, of heaviness; a mode of estimating weight; as, avoirdupois weight ; troy weight ; apothecaries' weight .

6. A ponderous mass; something heavy; as, a clock weight ; a paper weight .

A man leapeth better with weights in his hands.

Bacon.

7. A definite mass of iron, lead, brass, or other metal, to be used for ascertaining the weight of other bodies; as, an ounce weight .

8. (Mech.) The resistance against which a machine acts, as opposed to the power which moves it. [ Obsolete]

Atomic weight . (Chemistry) See under Atomic , and confer Element . -- Dead weight , Feather weight , Heavy weight , Light weight , etc. See under Dead , Feather , etc. -- Weight of observation (Astron. & Physics) , a number expressing the most probable relative value of each observation in determining the result of a series of observations of the same kind.

Syn. -- Ponderousness; gravity; heaviness; pressure; burden; load; importance; power; influence; efficacy; consequence; moment; impressiveness.

Weight transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Weighted ; present participle & verbal noun Weighting .]

1. To load with a weight or weights; to load down; to make heavy; to attach weights to; as, to weight a horse or a jockey at a race; to weight a whip handle.

The arrows of satire, . . . weighted with sense.

Coleridge.

2. (Astron. & Physics) To assign a weight to; to express by a number the probable accuracy of, as an observation. See Weight of observations , under Weight .

Weight transitive verb (Dyeing) To load (fabrics) as with barite, to increase the weight, etc.

Weightily adverb In a weighty manner.

Weightiness noun The quality or state of being weighty; weight; force; importance; impressiveness.

Weightless adjective Having no weight; imponderable; hence, light. Shak.

Weighty adjective [ Compar. Weightier ; superl. Weightiest .]

1. Having weight; heavy; ponderous; as, a weighty body.

2. Adapted to turn the balance in the mind, or to convince; important; forcible; serious; momentous. "For sundry weighty reasons." Shak.

Let me have your advice in a weighty affair.

Swift.

3. Rigorous; severe; afflictive. [ R.] "Attend our weightier judgment." Shak.

Syn. -- Heavy; ponderous; burdensome; onerous; forcible; momentous; efficacious; impressive; cogent.

Weil's disease (Medicine) An acute infectious febrile disease, resembling typhoid fever, with muscular pains, disturbance of the digestive organs, jaundice, etc.

Weir (wēr), Wear noun [ Middle English wer , Anglo-Saxon wer ; akin to German wehr , Anglo-Saxon werian to defend, protect, hinder, German wehren , Goth. warjan ; and perhaps to English wary ; or confer Sanskrit vr to check, hinder. √142. Confer Garret .]
1. A dam in a river to stop and raise the water, for the purpose of conducting it to a mill, forming a fish pond, or the like.

2. A fence of stakes, brushwood, or the like, set in a stream, tideway, or inlet of the sea, for taking fish.

3. A long notch with a horizontal edge, as in the top of a vertical plate or plank, through which water flows, -- used in measuring the quantity of flowing water.

Weird (wērd) noun [ Middle English wirde , werde , Anglo-Saxon wyrd fate, fortune, one of the Fates, from weorðan to be, to become; akin to Old Saxon wurd fate, Old High German wurt , Icelandic urðr . √143. See Worth to become.]

1. Fate; destiny; one of the Fates, or Norns; also, a prediction. [ Obsolete or Scot.]

2. A spell or charm. [ Obsolete or Scot.] Sir W. Scott.

Weird adjective

1. Of or pertaining to fate; concerned with destiny.

2. Of or pertaining to witchcraft; caused by, or suggesting, magical influence; supernatural; unearthly; wild; as, a weird appearance, look, sound, etc.

Myself too had weird seizures.

Tennyson.

Those sweet, low tones, that seemed like a weird incantation.

Longfellow.

Weird sisters , the Fates. [ Scot.] G. Douglas.

» Shakespeare uses the term for the three witches in Macbeth.

The weird sisters , hand in hand,
Posters of the sea and land.

Shak.

Weird transitive verb To foretell the fate of; to predict; to destine to. [ Scot.] Jamieson.

Weirdness noun The quality or state of being weird.

Weism noun Same as Wegotism .

Weismannism noun (Biol.) The theories and teachings in regard to heredity propounded by the German biologist August Weismann , esp. in regard to germ plasm as the basis of heredity and the impossibility of transmitting acquired characteristics; -- often called neo- Darwinism .

Weiss beer [ German weissbier white beer.] A light-colored highly effervescent beer made by the top-fermentation process.

Weive transitive verb See Waive . [ Obsolete] Gower.

Weka noun (Zoology) A New Zealand rail ( Ocydromus australis ) which has wings so short as to be incapable of flight.

Wekau noun (Zoology) A small New Zealand owl ( Sceloglaux albifacies ). It has short wings and long legs, and lives chiefly on the ground.

Wekeen noun (Zoology) The meadow pipit. [ Prov. Eng.]

Welaway interj. [ Middle English welaway , walaway , weilawey ; wei wo! (Icel. vei ) + la lo! (AS. lā ) + wei wo!; confer Anglo-Saxon wā lā wā . See Woe .] Alas! [ Obsolete]

Then welaway , for she undone was clean.

Wyatt.