Waiment Wai"ment v. & noun See Wayment . [ Obsolete]

Wain Wain noun [ Middle English wain , Anglo-Saxon wægn ; akin to D. & German wagen , Old High German wagan , Icelandic & Swedish vagn , Danish vogn , and English way . ... .......... See Way , Weigh , and confer Wagon .] 1. A four-wheeled vehicle for the transportation of goods, produce, etc.; a wagon.

The wardens see nothing but a wain of hay.

Jeffrey.

Driving in ponderous wains their household goods to the seashore.

Longfellow. 2. A chariot. [ Obsolete] The Wain . (Astron.) See Charles's Wain , in the Vocabulary. -- Wain rope , a cart rope. Shak.

Wainable Wain"a·ble adjective Capable of being plowed or cultivated; arable; tillable. [ Obsolete] Cowell.

Wainage Wain"age noun [ From Wain .] A finding of carriages, carts, etc., for the transportation of goods, produce, etc. Ainsworth.

Wainage Wain"age noun (O. Eng. Law) See Gainage , adjective

Wainbote Wain"bote` noun [ Wain + bote .] (O. Eng. Law) See Cartbote . See also the Note under Bote .

Wainscot Wain"scot noun [ OD. waeghe-schot , Dutch wagen-schot , a clapboard, from OD. waeg , weeg , a wall (akin to Anglo-Saxon wah ; confer Icelandic veggr ) + schot a covering of boards (akin to English shot , shoot ).] 1. Oaken timber or boarding. [ Obsolete]

A wedge wainscot is fittest and most proper for cleaving of an oaken tree.

Urquhart.

Inclosed in a chest of wainscot .

J. Dart. 2. (Architecture) A wooden lining or boarding of the walls of apartments, usually made in panels. 3. (Zoology) Any one of numerous species of European moths of the family Leucanidæ . » They are reddish or yellowish, streaked or lined with black and white. Their larvæ feed on grasses and sedges.

Wainscot Wain"scot transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Wainscoted ; present participle & verbal noun Wainscoting .] To line with boards or panelwork, or as if with panelwork; as, to wainscot a hall.

Music soundeth better in chambers wainscoted than hanged.

Bacon.

The other is wainscoted with looking- glass.

Addison.

Wainscoting Wain"scot·ing noun 1. The act or occupation of covering or lining with boards in panel. 2. The material used to wainscot a house, or the wainscot as a whole; panelwork.

Wainwright Wain"wright` noun Same as Wagonwright .

Wair Wair noun (Carp.) A piece of plank two yard... long and a foot broad. Bailey.

Waist Waist noun [ Middle English wast ; originally, growth, akin to Anglo-Saxon weaxan to grow; confer Anglo-Saxon wæstm growth. See Wax to grow.] 1. That part of the human body which is immediately below the ribs or thorax; the small part of the body between the thorax and hips. Chaucer.

I am in the waist two yards about.

Shak. 2. Hence, the middle part of other bodies; especially (Nautical) , that part of a vessel's deck, bulwarks, etc., which is between the quarter-deck and the forecastle; the middle part of the ship. 3. A garment, or part of a garment, which covers the body from the neck or shoulders to the waist line. 4. A girdle or belt for the waist. [ Obsolete] Shak. Waist anchor . See Sheet anchor , 1, in the Vocabulary.

Waistband Waist"band noun 1. The band which encompasses the waist; esp., one on the upper part of breeches, trousers, pantaloons, skirts, or the like. 2. A sash worn by women around the waist. [ R.]

Waistcloth Waist"cloth noun 1. A cloth or wrapper worn about the waist; by extension, such a garment worn about the hips and passing between the thighs. 2. (Nautical) A covering of canvas or tarpaulin for the hammocks, stowed on the nettings, between the quarterdeck and the forecastle.

Waistcoat Waist"coat noun (a) A short, sleeveless coat or garment for men, worn under the coat, extending no lower than the hips, and covering the waist; a vest. (b) A garment occasionally worn by women as a part of fashionable costume. » The waistcoat was a part of female attire as well as male . . . It was only when the waistcoat was worn without a gown or upper dress that it was considered the mark of a mad or profligate woman. Nares. Syn. -- See Vest .

Waistcoateer Waist`coat·eer" noun One wearing a waistcoat; esp., a woman wearing one uncovered, or thought fit for such a habit; hence, a loose woman; strumpet. [ Obsolete]

Do you think you are here, sir,
Amongst your waistcoateers , your base wenches?

Beau. & Fl.

Waistcoating Waist"coat·ing noun A fabric designed for waistcoats; esp., one in which there is a pattern, differently colored yarns being used.

Waister Waist"er noun (Nautical) A seaman, usually a green hand or a broken-down man, stationed in the waist of a vessel of war. R. H. Dana, Jr.

Wait Wait intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Waited ; present participle & verbal noun Waiting .] [ Middle English waiten , Old French waitier , gaitier , to watch, attend, French guetter to watch, to wait for, from Old High German wahta a guard, watch, German wacht , from Old High German wahhēn to watch, be awake. √134. See Wake , intransitive verb ] 1. To watch; to observe; to take notice. [ Obsolete]

"But [ unless] ye wait well and be privy,
I wot right well, I am but dead," quoth she.

Chaucer. 2. To stay or rest in expectation; to stop or remain stationary till the arrival of some person or event; to rest in patience; to stay; not to depart.

All the days of my appointed time will I wait , till my change come.

Job xiv. 14.

They also serve who only stand and wait .

Milton.

Haste, my dear father; 't is no time to wait .

Dryden. To wait on or upon . (a) To attend, as a servant; to perform services for; as, to wait on a gentleman; to wait on the table. "Authority and reason on her wait ." Milton. "I must wait on myself, must I?" Shak. (b) To attend; to go to see; to visit on business or for ceremony. (c) To follow, as a consequence; to await. "That ruin that waits on such a supine temper." Dr. H. More. (d) To look watchfully at; to follow with the eye; to watch. [ R.] "It is a point of cunning to wait upon him with whom you speak with your eye." Bacon. (e) To attend to; to perform. "Aaron and his sons . . . shall wait on their priest's office." Num. iii. 10. (f) (Falconry) To fly above its master, waiting till game is sprung; -- said of a hawk. Encyc. Brit.

Wait Wait transitive verb 1. To stay for; to rest or remain stationary in expectation of; to await; as, to wait orders.

Awed with these words, in camps they still abide,
And wait with longing looks their promised guide.

Dryden. 2. To attend as a consequence; to follow upon; to accompany; to await. [ Obsolete] 3. To attend on; to accompany; especially, to attend with ceremony or respect. [ Obsolete]

He chose a thousand horse, the flower of all
His warlike troops, to wait the funeral.

Dryden.

Remorse and heaviness of heart shall wait thee,
And everlasting anguish be thy portion.

Rowe. 4. To cause to wait; to defer; to postpone; -- said of a meal; as, to wait dinner. [ Colloq.]

Wait Wait noun [ Old French waite , guaite , gaite , French guet watch, watching, guard, from Old High German wahta . See Wait , intransitive verb ] 1. The act of waiting; a delay; a halt.

There is a wait of three hours at the border Mexican town of El Paso.

S. B. Griffin. 2. Ambush. "An enemy in wait ." Milton. 3. One who watches; a watchman. [ Obsolete] 4. plural Hautboys, or oboes, played by town musicians; not used in the singular. [ Obsolete] Halliwell. 5. plural Musicians who sing or play at night or in the early morning, especially at Christmas time; serenaders; musical watchmen. [ Written formerly wayghtes .]

Hark! are the waits abroad?

Beau & Fl.

The sound of the waits , rude as may be their minstrelsy, breaks upon the mild watches of a winter night with the effect of perfect harmony.

W. Irving. To lay wait , to prepare an ambuscade. -- To lie in wait . See under 4th Lie .

Wait-a-bit Wait"-a-bit` noun Any of several plants bearing thorns or stiff hooked appendages, which catch and tear the clothing, as: (a) The greenbrier. (b) Any of various species of hawthorn. (c) In South Africa, one of numerous acacias and mimosas. (d) The grapple plant. (e) The prickly ash.

Wait-a-while Wait"-a-while` noun (a) One of the Australian wattle trees ( Acacia colletioides ), so called from the impenetrability of the thicket which it makes. (b) = Wait-a-bit .

Waiter Wait"er noun 1. One who, or that which, waits; an attendant; a servant in attendance, esp. at table.

The waiters stand in ranks; the yeomen cry,
"Make room," as if a duke were passing by.

Swift. 2. A vessel or tray on which something is carried, as dishes, etc.; a salver. Coast waiter . See under Coast , noun

Waiting Wait"ing adjective & noun from Wait , v. In waiting , in attendance; as, lords in waiting . [ Eng.] -- Waiting gentlewoman , a woman who waits upon a person of rank. -- Waiting maid , Waiting woman , a maid or woman who waits upon another as a personal servant.

Waitingly Wait"ing·ly adverb By waiting.

Waitress Wait"ress noun A female waiter or attendant; a waiting maid or waiting woman.

Waive Waive noun [ See Waive , transitive verb ] 1. A waif; a castaway. [ Obsolete] Donne. 2. (O. Eng. Law) A woman put out of the protection of the law. See Waive , transitive verb , 3 (b) , and the Note.

Waive Waive transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Waived ; present participle & verbal noun Waiving .] [ Middle English waiven , weiven , to set aside, remove, Old French weyver , quesver , to waive, of Scand. origin; confer Icelandic veifa to wave, to vibrate, akin to Sanskrit vip to tremble. Confer Vibrate , Waif .] [ Written also wave .] 1. To relinquish; to give up claim to; not to insist on or claim; to refuse; to forego.

He waiveth milk, and flesh, and all.

Chaucer.

We absolutely do renounce or waive our own opinions, absolutely yielding to the direction of others.

Barrow. 2. To throw away; to cast off; to reject; to desert. 3. (Law) (a) To throw away; to relinquish voluntarily, as a right which one may enforce if he chooses. (b) (O. Eng. Law) To desert; to abandon. Burrill. » The term was applied to a woman, in the same sense as outlaw to a man. A woman could not be outlawed , in the proper sense of the word, because, according to Bracton, she was never in law , that is, in a frankpledge or decennary; but she might be waived , and held as abandoned. Burrill.

Waive Waive intransitive verb To turn aside; to recede. [ Obsolete]

To waive from the word of Solomon.

Chaucer.

Waiver Waiv"er noun (Law) The act of waiving, or not insisting on, some right, claim, or privilege.

Waivure Waiv"ure noun See Waiver . [ R.]

Waiwode Wai"wode noun See Waywode .

Wake Wake noun [ Originally, an open space of water s...rrounded by ice, and then, the passage cut through ice for a vessel, probably of Scand. origin; confer Icelandic vök a hole, opening in ice, Swedish vak , Danish vaage , perhaps akin to English humid .] The track left by a vessel in the water; by extension, any track; as, the wake of an army.

This effect followed immediately in the wake of his earliest exertions.

De Quincey.

Several humbler persons . . . formed quite a procession in the dusty wake of his chariot wheels.

Thackeray.

Wake Wake intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Waked or Woke ; present participle & verbal noun Waking .] [ Anglo-Saxon wacan , wacian ; akin to OFries. waka , Old Saxon wak...n , Dutch waken , German wachen , Old High German wahh...n , Icelandic vaka , Swedish vaken , Danish vaage , Goth. wakan , intransitive verb , us wakjan , transitive verb , Sanskrit vājay to rouse, to impel. ............. Confer Vigil , Wait , intransitive verb , Watch , intransitive verb ] 1. To be or to continue awake; to watch; not to sleep.

The father waketh for the daughter.

Ecclus. xlii. 9.

Though wisdom wake , suspicion sleeps.

Milton.

I can not think any time, waking or sleeping, without being sensible of it.

Locke. 2. To sit up late festive purposes; to hold a night revel.

The king doth wake to-night, and takes his rouse,
Keeps wassail, and the swaggering upspring reels.

Shak. 3. To be excited or roused from sleep; to awake; to be awakened; to cease to sleep; -- often with up .

He infallibly woke up at the sound of the concluding doxology.

G. Eliot. 4. To be exited or roused up; to be stirred up from a dormant, torpid, or inactive state; to be active.

Gentle airs due at their hour
To fan the earth now waked .

Milton.

Then wake , my soul, to high desires.

Keble.

Wake Wake transitive verb 1. To rouse from sleep; to awake.

The angel . . . came again and waked me.

Zech. iv. 1. 2. To put in motion or action; to arouse; to excite. "I shall waken all this company." Chaucer.

Lest fierce remembrance wake my sudden rage.

Milton.

Even Richard's crusade woke little interest in his island realm.

J. R. Green. 3. To bring to life again, as if from the sleep of death; to reanimate; to revive.

To second life
Waked in the renovation of the just.

Milton. 4. To watch, or sit up with, at night, as a dead body.

Wake Wake noun 1. The act of waking, or being awaked; also, the state of being awake. [ Obsolete or Poetic]

Making such difference 'twixt wake and sleep.

Shak.

Singing her flatteries to my morning wake .

Dryden. 2. The state of forbearing sleep, especially for solemn or festive purposes; a vigil.

The warlike wakes continued all the night,
And funeral games played at new returning light.

Dryden.

The wood nymphs, decked with daises trim,
Their merry wakes and pastimes keep.

Milton. 3. Specifically: (a) (Ch. of Eng.) An annual parish festival formerly held in commemoration of the dedication of a church. Originally, prayers were said on the evening preceding, and hymns were sung during the night, in the church; subsequently, these vigils were discontinued, and the day itself, often with succeeding days, was occupied in rural pastimes and exercises, attended by eating and drinking, often to excess.

Great solemnities were made in all churches, and great fairs and wakes throughout all England.

Ld. Berners.

And every village smokes at wakes with lusty cheer.

Drayton. (b) The sitting up of persons with a dead body, often attended with a degree of festivity, chiefly among the Irish. "Blithe as shepherd at a wake ." Cowper. Wake play , the ceremonies and pastimes connected with a wake. See Wake , noun , 3 (b) , above. [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Wake-robin Wake"-rob`in noun (Botany) Any plant of the genus Arum , especially, in England, the cuckoopint ( Arum maculatum ). » In America the name is given to several species of Trillium, and sometimes to the Jack-in-the-pulpit.

Wakeful Wake"ful adjective Not sleeping; indisposed to sleep; watchful; vigilant.

Dissembling sleep, but wakeful with the fright.

Dryden. -- Wake"ful*ly , adverb -- Wake"ful*ness , noun

Waken Wak"en intransitive verb [ imperfect & present participle Wakened ; present participle & verbal noun Wakening .] [ Middle English waknen , Anglo-Saxon wæcnan ; akin to Goth. ga waknan . See Wake , intransitive verb ] To wake; to cease to sleep; to be awakened.

Early, Turnus wakening with the light.

Dryden.

Waken Wak"en transitive verb 1. To excite or rouse from sleep; to wake; to awake; to awaken. "Go, waken Eve." Milton. 2. To excite; to rouse; to move to action; to awaken.

Then Homer's and Tyrtæus' martial muse
Wakened the world.

Roscommon.

Venus now wakes, and wakens love.

Milton.

They introduce
Their sacred song, and waken raptures high.

Milton.

Wakener Wak"en·er noun One who wakens.

Wakening Wak"en·ing noun 1. The act of one who wakens; esp., the act of ceasing to sleep; an awakening. 2. (Scots Law) The revival of an action. Burrill.

They were too much ashamed to bring any wakening of the process against Janet.

Sir W. Scott.

Waker Wak"er noun One who wakes.

Waketime Wake"time` noun Time during which one is awake. [ R.] Mrs. Browning.

Wakf Wakf (wŭkf) noun [ Arabic waqf .] (Moham. Law) The granting or dedication of property in trust for a pious purpose, that is, to some object that tends to the good of mankind, as to support a mosque or caravansary, to provide for support of one's family, kin, or neighbors, to benefit some particular person or persons and afterward the poor, etc.; also, the trust so created, or the property in trust.

Wakif Wa"kif (wä"kĭf) noun [ Arabic wāqif .] (Moham. Law) The person creating a wakf.

Waking Wak"ing noun 1. The act of waking, or the state or period of being awake. 2. A watch; a watching. [ Obsolete] "Bodily pain . . . standeth in prayer, in wakings , in fastings." Chaucer.

In the fourth waking of the night.

Wyclif (Matt. xiv. 25).

Walaway Wa"la·way interj. See Welaway . [ Obsolete]

Wald Wald noun [ Anglo-Saxon weald . See Wold .] A forest; -- used as a termination of names. See Weald .