Whip-tom-kelly 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 .

Whipster noun [ Whip + - ster .] A nimble little fellow; a whippersnapper.

Every puny whipster gets my sword.

Shak.

Whipstick noun Whip handle; whipstock.

Whipstitch noun

1. A tailor; -- so called in contempt.

2. Anything hastily put or stitched together; hence, a hasty composition. [ R.] Dryden.

3. (Agriculture) The act or process of whipstitching.

Whipstitch transitive verb (Agriculture) To rafter; to plow in ridges, as land. [ Eng.]

Whipstitch noun A small bit; esp., a small interval of time; an instant; a minute. [ Dial. or Colloq.]

Whipstitch transitive verb To sew by passing the thread over and over; to overcast; whip.

Whipstock noun The rod or handle to which the lash of a whip is fastened.

Whipt imperfect & past participle of Whip . Whipped.

Whipworm noun [ So called from its shape.] (Zoology) A nematode worm ( Trichocephalus dispar ) often found parasitic in the human intestine. Its body is thickened posteriorly, but is very long and threadlike anteriorly.

Whir intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Whirred ; present participle & verbal noun Whirring .] [ Perhaps of imitative origin; confer Dutch hvirre to whirl, and English hurr , hurry , whirl . ..........] To whirl round, or revolve, with a whizzing noise; to fly or more quickly with a buzzing or whizzing sound; to whiz.

The partridge bursts away on whirring wings.

Beattie.

Whir transitive verb [ See Whir to whiz.] To hurry a long with a whizzing sound. [ R.]

This world to me is like a lasting storm,
Whirring me from my friends.

Shak.

Whir noun A buzzing or whizzing sound produced by rapid or whirling motion; as, the whir of a partridge; the whir of a spinning wheel.

Whirl transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Whirled ; present participle & verbal noun Whirling .] [ Middle English whirlen , probably from the Scand.; confer Icelandic & Swedish hvirfla , Danish hvirvle ; akin to Dutch wervelen , German wirbeln , freq. of the verb seen in Icelandic hverfa to turn. √16. See Wharf , and confer Warble , Whorl .]

1. To turn round rapidly; to cause to rotate with velocity; to make to revolve.

He whirls his sword around without delay.

Dryden.

2. To remove or carry quickly with, or as with, a revolving motion; to snatch; to harry. Chaucer.

See, see the chariot, and those rushing wheels,
That whirled the prophet up at Chebar flood.

Milton.

The passionate heart of the poet is whirl'd into folly.

Tennyson.

Whirl intransitive verb

1. To be turned round rapidly; to move round with velocity; to revolve or rotate with great speed; to gyrate. "The whirling year vainly my dizzy eyes pursue." J. H. Newman.

The wooden engine flies and whirls about.

Dryden.

2. To move hastily or swiftly.

But whirled away to shun his hateful sight.

Dryden.

Whirl noun [ Confer Danish hvirvel , Swedish hvirfvel , Icelandic hvirfill the crown of the head, German wirbel whirl, crown of the head, Dutch wervel . See Whirl , transitive verb ]

1. A turning with rapidity or velocity; rapid rotation or circumvolution; quick gyration; rapid or confusing motion; as, the whirl of a top; the whirl of a wheel. "In no breathless whirl ." J. H. Newman.

The rapid . . . whirl of things here below interrupt not the inviolable rest and calmness of the noble beings above.

South.

2. Anything that moves with a whirling motion.

He saw Falmouth under gray, iron skies, and whirls of March dust.

Carlyle.

3. A revolving hook used in twisting, as the hooked spindle of a rope machine, to which the threads to be twisted are attached.

4. (Bot. & Zoology) A whorl. See Whorl .

Whirl-blast noun A whirling blast or wind.

A whirl-blast from behind the hill.

Wordsworth.

Whirlabout noun Something that whirls or turns about in a rapid manner; a whirligig.

Whirlbat noun Anything moved with a whirl, as preparatory for a blow, or to augment the force of it; -- applied by poets to the cestus of ancient boxers.

The whirlbat and the rapid race shall be
Reserved for Cæsar.

Dryden.

Whirlbone noun (Anat.) (a) The huckle bone. [ Obsolete] (b) The patella, or kneepan. [ Obsolete] Ainsworth.

Whirler noun One who, or that which, whirls.

Whirlicote noun An open car or chariot. [ Obsolete]

Of old time coaches were not known in this island, but chariots, or whirlicotes .

Stow.

Whirligig noun [ Whirl + gig .]

1. A child's toy, spun or whirled around like a wheel upon an axis, or like a top. Johnson.

2. Anything which whirls around, or in which persons or things are whirled about, as a frame with seats or wooden horses.

With a whirligig of jubilant mosquitoes spinning about each head.

G. W. Cable.

3. A mediæval instrument for punishing petty offenders, being a kind of wooden cage turning on a pivot, in which the offender was whirled round with great velocity.

4. (Zoology) Any one of numerous species of beetles belonging to Gyrinus and allied genera. The body is firm, oval or boatlike in form, and usually dark colored with a bronzelike luster. These beetles live mostly on the surface of water, and move about with great celerity in a gyrating, or circular, manner, but they are also able to dive and swim rapidly. The larva is aquatic. Called also weaver , whirlwig , and whirlwig beetle .

Whirling adjective & noun from Whirl , transitive verb

Whirling table . (a) (Physics) An apparatus provided with one or more revolving disks, with weights, pulleys, and other attachments, for illustrating the phenomena and laws of centrifugal force, and the like. (b) A potter's wheel.

Whirlpit noun A whirlpool. [ Obsolete] "Raging whirlpits ." Sandys.

Whirlpool noun

1. An eddy or vortex of water; a place in a body of water where the water moves round in a circle so as to produce a depression or cavity in the center, into which floating objects may be drawn; any body of water having a more or less circular motion caused by its flowing in an irregular channel, by the coming together of opposing currents, or the like.

2. A sea monster of the whale kind. [ Obsolete] Spenser.

The Indian Sea breedeth the most and the biggest fishes that are; among which the whales and whirlpools , called "balænæ," take up in length as much as four . . . arpents of land.

Holland.

Whirlwig noun [ Confer Earwig .] (Zoology) A whirligig.

Whirlwind noun [ Confer Icelandic hvirfilvindr , Swedish hvirfvelvind , Danish hvirvelvind , German wirbelwind . See Whirl , and Wind , noun ]

1. A violent windstorm of limited extent, as the tornado, characterized by an inward spiral motion of the air with an upward current in the center; a vortex of air. It usually has a rapid progressive motion.

The swift dark whirlwind that uproots the woods.
And drowns the villages.

Bryant.

» Some meteorologists apply the word whirlwind to the larger rotary storm also, such as cyclones.

2. Fig.: A body of objects sweeping violently onward. "The whirlwind of hounds and hunters." Macaulay.

Whirry intransitive verb To whir. [ Obsolete]

Whirtle noun (Mech.) A perforated steel die through which wires or tubes are drawn to form them.

Whisk noun [ See Whist , noun ] A game at cards; whist. [ Obsolete] Taylor (1630).

Whisk noun [ Probably for wisk , and of Scand. origin; confer Icelandic visk a wisp; akin to Danish visk , Swedish viska , Dutch wisch , Old High German wisc , German wisch . See Wisp .]

1. The act of whisking; a rapid, sweeping motion, as of something light; a sudden motion or quick puff.

This first sad whisk
Takes off thy dukedom; thou art but an earl.

J. Fletcher.

2. A small bunch of grass, straw, twigs, hair, or the like, used for a brush; hence, a brush or small besom, as of broom corn.

3. A small culinary instrument made of wire, or the like, for whisking or beating eggs, cream, etc. Boyle.

4. A kind of cape, forming part of a woman's dress.

My wife in her new lace whisk .

Pepys.

5. An impertinent fellow. [ Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

6. A plane used by coopers for evening chines.

Whisk transitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Whisked ; present participle & verbal noun Whisking .] [ Confer Danish viske , Swedish viska , German wischen , Dutch wisschen . See Whisk , noun ]

1. To sweep, brush, or agitate, with a light, rapid motion; as, to whisk dust from a table; to whisk the white of eggs into a froth.

2. To move with a quick, sweeping motion.

He that walks in gray, whisking his riding rod.

J. Fletcher.

I beg she would not impale worms, nor whisk carp out of one element into another.

Walpole.

Whisk intransitive verb To move nimbly at with velocity; to make a sudden agile movement.

Whisker noun

1. One who, or that which, whisks, or moves with a quick, sweeping motion.

2. Formerly, the hair of the upper lip; a mustache; -- usually in the plural.

Hoary whiskers and a forky beard.

Pope.

3. plural That part of the beard which grows upon the sides of the face, or upon the chin, or upon both; as, side whiskers ; chin whiskers .

4. A hair of the beard.

5. One of the long, projecting hairs growing at the sides of the mouth of a cat, or other animal.

6. plural (Nautical) Iron rods extending on either side of the bowsprit, to spread, or guy out, the stays, etc.

Whiskered adjective

1. Formed into whiskers; furnished with whiskers; having or wearing whiskers.

Our forefathers, a grave, whiskered race.

Cowper.

2. (Zoology) Having elongated hairs, feathers, or bristles on the cheeks.

The whiskered vermin race.

Grainger.

Whiskerless adjective Being without whiskers.

Whisket noun [ Confer Wisket .]

1. A basket; esp., a straw provender basket. [ Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

2. (Machinery) A small lathe for turning wooden pins.

Whiskey noun Same as Whisky , a liquor.

Whiskey, Whisky noun ; plural Whiskeys or Whiskies . [ See Whisk , transitive verb & noun ] A light carriage built for rapid motion; -- called also tim- whiskey .

Whiskin noun A shallow drinking bowl. [ Prov. Eng.] Ray.

Whisking adjective

1. Sweeping along lightly.

2. Large; great. [ Prov. Eng.]

Whisky, Whiskey noun [ Ir. or Gael. uisge water (perhaps akin to English wash , water ) in uisgebeatha whiskey, properly, water of life. Confer Usquebaugh .] An intoxicating liquor distilled from grain, potatoes, etc., especially in Scotland, Ireland, and the United States. In the United States, whisky is generally distilled from maize, rye, or wheat, but in Scotland and Ireland it is often made from malted barley.

Bourbon whisky , corn whisky made in Bourbon County, Kentucky. -- Crooked whisky . See under Crooked . -- Whisky Jack (Zoology) , the Canada jay ( Perisoreus Canadensis ). It is noted for its fearless and familiar habits when it frequents the camps of lumbermen in the winter season. Its color is dull grayish blue, lighter beneath. Called also moose bird .

Whisky, Whiskey, Ring (U. S. Hist.) A conspiracy of distillers and government officials during the administration of President Grant to defraud the government of the excise taxes. The frauds were detected in 1875 through the efforts of the Secretary of the Treasury. B. H. Bristow, and most of the offenders were convicted.

Whiskyfied, Whiskeyfied adjective [ Whisky + -fy .] Drunk with whisky; intoxicated. [ Humorous] Thackeray.

Whisp noun See Wisp .

Whisp noun (Zoology) A flock of snipe.

Whisper intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Whispered ; present participle & verbal noun Whispering .] [ Anglo-Saxon hwisprian ; akin to German wispern , wispeln , Old High German hwispal...n , Icelandic hvīskra , Swedish hviska , Danish hviske ; of imitative origin. Confer Whistle .]

1. To speak softly, or under the breath, so as to be heard only by one near at hand; to utter words without sonant breath; to talk without that vibration in the larynx which gives sonorous, or vocal, sound. See Whisper , noun

2. To make a low, sibilant sound or noise.

The hollow, whispering breeze.

Thomson.

3. To speak with suspicion, or timorous caution; to converse in whispers, as in secret plotting.

All that hate me whisper together against me.

Ps. xli. 7.

Whisper transitive verb

1. To utter in a low and nonvocal tone; to say under the breath; hence, to mention privately and confidentially, or in a whisper.

They might buzz and whisper it one to another.

Bentley.

2. To address in a whisper, or low voice. [ Archaic]

And whisper one another in the ear.

Shak.

Where gentlest breezes whisper souls distressed.

Keble.

3. To prompt secretly or cautiously; to inform privately. [ Obsolete] "He came to whisper Wolsey." Shak.

Whisper noun

1. A low, soft, sibilant voice or utterance, which can be heard only by those near at hand; voice or utterance that employs only breath sound without tone, friction against the edges of the vocal cords and arytenoid cartilages taking the place of the vibration of the cords that produces tone; sometimes, in a limited sense, the sound produced by such friction as distinguished from breath sound made by friction against parts of the mouth. See Voice , noun , 2, and Guide to Pronunciation , §§ 5, 153, 154.

The inward voice or whisper can not give a tone.

Bacon.

Soft whispers through the assembly went.

Dryden.

2. A cautious or timorous speech. South.

3. Something communicated in secret or by whispering; a suggestion or insinuation.

4. A low, sibilant sound. "The whispers of the leaves." Tennyson.