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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)


A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
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Whimper Whim"per transitive verb To utter in alow, whining tone.

Whimper Whim"per noun A low, whining, broken cry; a low, whining sound, expressive of complaint or grief.

Whimperer Whim"perˇer noun One who whimpers.

Whimple Whim"ple transitive verb See Wimple .

Whimple Whim"ple intransitive verb [ Confer Whiffle .] To whiffle; to veer.

Whimsey Whim"sey transitive verb To fill with whimseys, or whims; to make fantastic; to craze. [ R.]

To have a man's brain whimsied with his wealth.
J. Fletcher.

Whimsey, Whimsy Whim"sey, Whimsy noun ; plural Whimseys or Whimsies . [ See Whim .]

1. A whim; a freak; a capricious notion, a fanciful or odd conceit. "The whimsies of poets and painters." Ray.

Men's folly, whimsies , and inconstancy.
Swift.

Mistaking the whimseys of a feverish brain for the calm revelation of truth.
Bancroft.

2. (Mining) A whim.

Whimsical Whim"siˇcal adjective [ From Whimsey .]

1. Full of, or characterized by, whims; actuated by a whim; having peculiar notions; queer; strange; freakish. "A whimsical insult." Macaulay.

My neighbors call me whimsical .
Addison.

2. Odd or fantastic in appearance; quaintly devised; fantastic. "A whimsical chair." Evelyn.

Syn. -- Quaint; capricious; fanciful; fantastic.

Whimsicality Whim`siˇcal"iˇty noun The quality or state of being whimsical; whimsicalness.

Whimsically Whim"siˇcalˇly adverb In a whimsical manner; freakishly.

Whimsicalness Whim"siˇcalˇness noun The quality or state of being whimsical; freakishness; whimsical disposition.

Whimsy Whim"sy noun A whimsey.

Whimwham Whim"wham noun [ Formed from whim by reduplication.]

1. A whimsical thing; an odd device; a trifle; a trinket; a gimcrack. [ R.]

They'll pull ye all to pieces for your whimwhams .
Bear. & Fl.

2. A whim, or whimsey; a freak.

Whin Whin noun [ W. chwyn weeds, a single weed.]

1. (Botany) (a) Gorse; furze. See Furze .

Through the whins , and by the cairn.
Burns.

(b) Woad-waxed. Gray.

2. Same as Whinstone . [ Prov. Eng.]

Moor whin or Petty whin (Botany) , a low prickly shrub ( Genista Anglica ) common in Western Europe. -- Whin bruiser , a machine for cutting and bruising whin, or furze, to feed cattle on. -- Whin Sparrow (Zoology) , the hedge sparrow. [ Prov. Eng.] -- Whin Thrush (Zoology) , the redwing. [ Prov. Eng.]

Whinberry Whin"berˇry noun (Botany) The English bilberry; -- so called because it grows on moors among the whins, or furze. Dr. Prior.

Whinchat Whin"chat` noun [ So called because it frequents whins .] (Zoology) A small warbler ( Pratincola rubetra ) common in Europe; -- called also whinchacker , whincheck , whin-clocharet .

Whine Whine intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Whined ; present participle & verbal noun Whining .] [ Middle English whinen , Anglo-Saxon hwīnan to make a whistling, whizzing sound; akin to Icelandic hvīna , Swedish hvina , Danish hvine , and probably to German wiehern to neigh, Old High German wihōn , hweijōn ; perhaps of imitative origin. Confer Whinny , intransitive verb ] To utter a plaintive cry, as some animals; to moan with a childish noise; to complain, or to tell of sorrow, distress, or the like, in a plaintive, nasal tone; hence, to complain or to beg in a mean, unmanly way; to moan basely. " Whining plovers." Spenser.

The hounds were . . . staying their coming, but with a whining accent, craving liberty.
Sir P. Sidney.

Dost thou come here to whine ?
Shak.

Whine Whine transitive verb To utter or express plaintively, or in a mean, unmanly way; as, to whine out an excuse.

Whine Whine noun A plaintive tone; the nasal, childish tone of mean complaint; mean or affected complaint.

Whiner Whin"er noun One who, or that which, whines.

Whinge Whinge intransitive verb To whine. [ Scot.] Burns.

Whinger Whing"er noun [ See Whinyard .] A kind of hanger or sword used as a knife at meals and as a weapon. [ Scot. & Prov. Eng.]

The chief acknowledged that he had corrected her with his whinger .
Sir W. Scott.

Whiningly Whin"ingˇly adverb In a whining manner; in a tone of mean complaint.

Whinner Whin"ner intransitive verb To whinny. [ Colloq.]

Whinny Whin"ny intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Whinnied ; present participle & verbal noun Whinnying .] [ From Whine ] To utter the ordinary call or cry of a horse; to neigh.

Whinny Whin"ny noun ; plural Whinnies The ordinary cry or call of a horse; a neigh. "The stately horse . . . stooped with a low whinny ." Tennyson.

Whinny Whin"ny adjective Abounding in whin, gorse, or furze.

A fine, large, whinny , . . . unimproved common.
Sterne.

Whinock Whin"ock (hwĭn"ŭk) noun [ Confer Scot. whin , quhene , a few, Anglo-Saxon hwēne , hwǣne , a little, hwōn little, few. Confer Wheen .] The small pig of a litter. [ Local, U. S.]

Whinstone Whin"stone" noun [ Whin + stone ; confer Scot. quhynstane .] A provincial name given in England to basaltic rocks, and applied by miners to other kind of dark- colored unstratified rocks which resist the point of the pick. -- for example, to masses of chert. Whin-dikes , and whin-sills , are names sometimes given to veins or beds of basalt.

Whinyard Whin"yard noun [ Confer Prov. E. & Scot. whingar , whinger ; perhaps from Anglo-Saxon winn contention, war + geard , gyrd , a staff, rod, yard; or confer Anglo-Saxon hwīnan to whistle, English whine .] 1. A sword, or hanger. [ Obsolete]

2. [ From the shape of the bill.] (Zoöl) (a) The shoveler. [ Prov. Eng.] (b) The poachard. [ Prov. Eng.]

Whip Whip transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Whipped ; present participle & verbal noun Whipping .] [ Middle English whippen to overlay, as a cord, with other cords, probably akin to G. & Dutch wippen to shake, to move up and down, Swedish vippa , Danish vippe to swing to and fro, to shake, to toss up, and Latin vibrare to shake. Confer Vibrate .]

1. To strike with a lash, a cord, a rod, or anything slender and lithe; to lash; to beat; as, to whip a horse, or a carpet.

2. To drive with lashes or strokes of a whip; to cause to rotate by lashing with a cord; as, to whip a top.

3. To punish with a whip, scourge, or rod; to flog; to beat; as, to whip a vagrant; to whip one with thirty nine lashes; to whip a perverse boy.

Who, for false quantities, was whipped at school.
Dryden.

4. To apply that which hurts keenly to; to lash, as with sarcasm, abuse, or the like; to apply cutting language to.

They would whip me with their fine wits.
Shak.

5. To thrash; to beat out, as grain, by striking; as, to whip wheat.

6. To beat (eggs, cream, or the like) into a froth, as with a whisk, fork, or the like.

7. To conquer; to defeat, as in a contest or game; to beat; to surpass. [ Slang, U. S.]

8. To overlay (a cord, rope, or the like) with other cords going round and round it; to overcast, as the edge of a seam; to wrap; -- often with about , around , or over .

Its string is firmly whipped about with small gut.
Moxon.

9. To sew lightly; specifically, to form (a fabric) into gathers by loosely overcasting the rolled edge and drawing up the thread; as, to whip a ruffle.

In half- whipped muslin needles useless lie.
Gay.

10. To take or move by a sudden motion; to jerk; to snatch; -- with into , out , up , off , and the like.

She, in a hurry, whips up her darling under her arm.
L'Estrange.

He whips out his pocketbook every moment, and writes descriptions of everything he sees.
Walpole.

11. (Nautical) (a) To hoist or purchase by means of a whip. (b) To secure the end of (a rope, or the like) from untwisting by overcasting it with small stuff.

12. To fish (a body of water) with a rod and artificial fly, the motion being that employed in using a whip.

Whipping their rough surface for a trout.
Emerson.

To whip in , to drive in, or keep from scattering, as hounds in a hurt; hence, to collect, or to keep together, as member of a party, or the like. -- To whip the cat . (a) To practice extreme parsimony. [ Prov. Eng.] Forby. (b) To go from house to house working by the day, as itinerant tailors and carpenters do. [ Prov. & U. S.]

Whip Whip intransitive verb To move nimbly; to start or turn suddenly and do something; to whisk; as, he whipped around the corner.

With speed from thence he whipped .
Sackville.

Two friends, traveling, met a bear upon the way; the one whips up a tree, and the other throws himself flat upon the ground.
L'Estrange.

Whip Whip noun [ Middle English whippe . See Whip , transitive verb ]

1. An instrument or driving horses or other animals, or for correction, consisting usually of a lash attached to a handle, or of a handle and lash so combined as to form a flexible rod. "[ A] whip's lash." Chaucer.

In his right hand he holds a whip , with which he is supposed to drive the horses of the sun.
Addison.

2. A coachman; a driver of a carriage; as, a good whip . Beaconsfield.

3. (Machinery) (a) One of the arms or frames of a windmill, on which the sails are spread. (b) The length of the arm reckoned from the shaft.

4. (Nautical) (a) A small tackle with a single rope, used to hoist light bodies. (b) The long pennant. See Pennant (a)

5. A huntsman who whips in the hounds; whipper- in.

6. (Eng. Politics) (a) A person (as a member of Parliament) appointed to enforce party discipline, and secure the attendance of the members of a Parliament party at any important session, especially when their votes are needed. (b) A call made upon members of a Parliament party to be in their places at a given time, as when a vote is to be taken.

Whip and spur , with the utmost haste. -- Whip crane , or Whip purchase , a simple form of crane having a small drum from which the load is suspended, turned by pulling on a rope wound around larger drum on the same axle. -- Whip gin . See Gin block , under 5th Gin . -- Whip grafting . See under Grafting . -- Whip hand , the hand with which the whip is used; hence, advantage; mastery; as, to have or get the whip hand of a person. Dryden. -- Whip ray (Zoology) , the European eagle ray. See under Ray . -- Whip roll (Weaving) , a roll or bar, behind the reeds in a loom, on which the warp threads rest. -- Whip scorpion (Zoology) , any one of numerous species of arachnids belonging to Thelyphonus and allied genera. They somewhat resemble true scorpions, but have a long, slender bristle, or lashlike organ, at the end of the body, instead of a sting. -- Whip snake (Zoology) , any one of various species of slender snakes. Specifically: (a) A bright green South American tree snake ( Philodryas viridissimus ) having a long and slender body. It is not venomous. Called also emerald whip snake . (b) The coachwhip snake.

Whip Whip noun 1. A whipping motion; a thrashing about; as, the whip of a tense rope or wire which has suddenly parted; also, the quality of being whiplike or flexible; flexibility; suppleness, as of the shaft of a golf club.

2. (Mech.) Any of various pieces that operate with a quick vibratory motion, as a spring in certain electrical devices for making a circuit, or a rocking certain piano actions.

Whip-poor-will Whip"-poor-will` noun (Zoology) An American bird ( Antrostomus vociferus ) allied to the nighthawk and goatsucker; -- so called in imitation of the peculiar notes which it utters in the evening. [ Written also whippowil .]

Whip-shaped Whip"-shaped` adjective Shaped like the lash of a whip; long, slender, round, and tapering; as, a whip- shaped root or stem.

Whip-tom-kelly Whip"-tom`-kel"ly noun [ So called in imitation of its notes.] (Zoology) A vireo ( Vireo altiloquus ) native of the West Indies and Florida; -- called also black-whiskered vireo .

Whipcord Whip"cord` noun A kind of hard- twisted or braided cord, sometimes used for making whiplashes.

Whipgraft Whip"graft` transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Whipgrafted ; present participle & verbal noun Whipgrafting .] To graft by cutting the scion and stock in a certain manner. See Whip grafting , under Grafting .

Whiplash Whip"lash` noun The lash of a whip, - - usually made of thongs of leather, or of cords, braided or twisted.

Whipparee Whip`paˇree" noun (Zoology) (a) A large sting ray ( Dasybatis, or Trygon, Sayi ) native of the Southern United States. It is destitute of large spines on the body and tail. (b) A large sting ray ( Rhinoptera bonasus , or R. quadriloba ) of the Atlantic coast of the United States. Its snout appears to be four-lobed when viewed in front, whence it is also called cow-nosed ray .

Whipper Whip"per noun

1. One who whips; especially, an officer who inflicts the penalty of legal whipping.

2. One who raises coal or merchandise with a tackle from a chip's hold. [ Eng.]

3. (Spinning) A kind of simple willow.

Whipperin Whip"perˇin` noun

1. A huntsman who keeps the hounds from wandering, and whips them in, if necessary, to the of chase.

2. Hence, one who enforces the discipline of a party, and urges the attendance and support of the members on all necessary occasions.

Whippersnapper Whip"perˇsnap`per noun A diminutive, insignificant, or presumptuous person. [ Colloq.] "Little whippersnappers like you." T. Hughes.

Whipping Whip"ping a & noun from Whip , v.

Whipping post , a post to which offenders are tied, to be legally whipped.

Whippletree Whip"pleˇtree` noun [ See Whip , and confer Whiffletree .]

1. The pivoted or swinging bar to which the traces, or tugs, of a harness are fastened, and by which a carriage, a plow, or other implement or vehicle, is drawn; a whiffletree; a swingletree; a singletree. See Singletree .

[ People] cut their own whippletree in the woodlot.
Emerson.

2. (Botany) The cornel tree. Chaucer.

Whipsaw Whip"saw` noun A saw for dividing timber lengthwise, usually set in a frame, and worked by two persons; also, a fret saw.

Whipsaw Whip"saw` noun A kind of narrow ripsaw, tapering from butt to point, with hook teeth and averaging from 5 to 7½ feet in length, used by one or two men.

Whipsaw Whip"saw` transitive verb 1. To saw with the whipsaw.

2. To defeat in, or cause to lose, two different bets at the same turn or in one play, as a player at faro who has made two bets at the same time, one that a card will lose and another that a different card will win; hence, to defeat in spite of every effort.

Whipstaff Whip"staff` noun (Nautical) A bar attached to the tiller, for convenience in steering.

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