Whopper Whop"per noun [ Confer Whapper .] 1. One who, or that which, whops. 2. Same as Whapper .

Whore Whore (hōr) noun [ Middle English hore , Anglo-Saxon hōre ; akin to Dutch hoer , hoere , German hure , Old High German huora , huorra , Icelandic hōra , Danish hore , Swedish hora , Goth. hōrs an adulterer, Anglo-Saxon hōr adultery, Old High German huor , and probably to Latin carus dear. Confer Charity .] A woman who practices unlawful sexual commerce with men, especially one who prostitutes her body for hire; a prostitute; a harlot. Wyclif. Syn. -- Harlot; courtesan; prostitute; strumpet.

Whore Whore intransitive verb [ imperfect & past participle Whored ; present participle & verbal noun Whoring .] [ Confer Icelandic h...ra . See Whore , noun ] 1. To have unlawful sexual intercourse; to practice lewdness. 2. (Script.) To worship false and impure gods.

Whore Whore transitive verb To corrupt by lewd intercourse; to make a whore of; to debauch. [ R.] Congreve.

Whoredom Whore"dom noun [ Middle English hordom ; confer Icelandic h...rd...mr .] 1. The practice of unlawful intercourse with the other sex; fornication; lewdness. 2. (Script.) The sin of worshiping idols; idolatry.

O Ephraim, thou committest whoredom , and Israel is defiled; they will not . . . turn unto their God.

Hos. v. 3, 4.

Whoremaster Whore"mas`ter noun 1. A man who practices lewdness; a lecher; a whoremonger. 2. One keeps or procures whores for others; a pimp; a procurer.

Whoremasterly Whore"mas`ter·ly adjective Having the character of a whoremaster; lecherous; libidinous.

Whoremonger Whore"mon`ger noun A whoremaster; a lecher; a man who frequents the society of whores.

Whoreson Whore"son noun A bastard; colloquially, a low, scurvy fellow; -- used generally in contempt, or in coarse humor. Also used adjectively. [ Archaic] Shak.

Whorish Whor"ish adjective Resembling a whore in character or conduct; addicted to unlawful pleasures; incontinent; lewd; unchaste. -- Whor"ish*ly , adverb -- Whor"ish*ness , noun

Whorl Whorl noun [ Middle English whorvil the whirl of a spindle; akin to Anglo-Saxon hweorfa the whirl of a spindle, hweorfan to turn; confer OD. worvel the whirl of a spindle. See Whirl , noun & v. ] 1. (Botany) A circle of two or more leaves, flowers, or other organs, about the same part or joint of a stem. 2. (Zoology) A volution, or turn, of the spire of a univalve shell. 3. (Spinning) The fly of a spindle.

Whorled Whorled adjective Furnished with whorls; arranged in the form of a whorl or whorls; verticillate; as, whorled leaves.

Whorler Whorl"er noun A potter's wheel.

Whort Whort noun [ See Whortleberry .] (Botany) The whortleberry, or bilberry. See Whortleberry (a) .

Whortle Whor"tle noun (Botany) The whortleberry, or bilberry.

[ He] looked ahead of him from behind a tump of whortles .

R. D. Blackmore.

Whortleberry Whor"tle·ber`ry noun [ Anglo-Saxon wyrtil a small shrub (dim. of wyrt wort) + English berry . See Wort , and confer Huckleberry , Hurtleberry .] (Botany) (a) In England, the fruit of Vaccinium Myrtillus ; also, the plant itself. See Bilberry , 1. (b) The fruit of several shrubby plants of the genus Gaylussacia ; also, any one of these plants. See Huckleberry .

Whose Whose (hōz) pron. [ Middle English whos , whas , Anglo-Saxon hwæs , gen. of hwā . See Who .] The possessive case of who or which . See Who , and Which .

Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee.

Gen. xxiv. 23.

The question whose solution I require.

Dryden.

Whosesoever Whose`so·ev"er (-so*ĕv"ẽr) pron. The possessive of whosoever . See Whosoever .

Whoso Who"so pron. Whosoever. Piers Plowman.

Whoso shrinks or falters now, . . .
Brand the craven on his brow!

Whittier.

Whosoever Who`so·ev"er (hō`so*ĕv"ẽr) pron. Whatsoever person; any person whatever that; whoever.

Whosoever will, let him take . . . freely.

Rev. xxii. 17.

Whot Whot adjective Hot. [ Obsolete] Spenser.

Whur Whur intransitive verb [ Probably of imitative origin. Confer Hurr , Hurry , Whir .] 1. To make a rough, humming sound, like one who pronounces the letter r with too much force; to whir; to birr. 2. To snarl or growl, as a dog. Halliwell.

Whur Whur noun A humming or whirring sound, like that of a body moving through the air with velocity; a whir.

Whurry Whur"ry transitive verb [ See Hurry .] To whisk along quickly; to hurry. [ R.]

Whurrying the chariot with them to the shore.

Vicars.

Whurt Whurt noun (Botany) See Whort .

Why Why adverb [ Middle English whi , why , Anglo-Saxon hwī , hw... , instrumental case of hwā , hwæt ; akin to Icelandic hvī why, Dan. & Swedish hvi ; confer Goth. hw... . .... See Who .] 1. For what cause, reason, or purpose; on what account; wherefore; -- used interrogatively. See the Note under What , pron ., 1.

Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

Ezek. xxxiii. 11. 2. For which; on account of which; -- used relatively.

No ground of enmity between us known
Why he should mean me ill or seek to harm.

Milton.

Turn the discourse; I have a reason why
I would not have you speak so tenderly.

Dryden. 3. The reason or cause for which; that on account of which; on what account; as, I know not why he left town so suddenly; -- used as a compound relative. » Why is sometimes used as an interjection or an expletive in expression of surprise or content at a turn of affairs; used also in calling. " Why , Jessica!" Shak.

If her chill heart I can not move,
Why , I'll enjoy the very love.

Cowley. Sometimes, also, it is used as a noun.

The how and the why and the where.

Goldsmith. For why , because; why. See Forwhy . [ Obsolete or Colloq.]

Why Why noun A young heifer. [ Prov. Eng.] Grose.

Why-not Why"-not` noun A violent and peremptory procedure without any assigned reason; a sudden conclusive happening. [ Obsolete]

When the church
Was taken with a why-not in the lurch.

Hudibras.

This game . . . was like to have been lost with a why- not .

Nugæ Antiq.

Whydah bird, Whydah finch Whyd"ah bird`, Whyd"ah finch` (Zoology) The whidah bird.

Wich Wich noun A variant of 1st Wick .

Wichitas Wich"i·tas noun plural ; sing. Wichita (Ethnol.) A tribe of Indians native of the region between the Arkansas and Red rivers. They are related to the Pawnees. See Pawnees .

Wick Wick noun [ Middle English wicke , weyke , weke , Anglo-Saxon weoca or wecca ; confer Dutch wiek a roll of lint, Prov. German wicke , and wieche , Old High German wiohha , Swedish veke , Danish væge ; of uncertain origin.] A bundle of fibers, or a loosely twisted or braided cord, tape, or tube, usually made of soft spun cotton threads, which by capillary attraction draws up a steady supply of the oil in lamps, the melted tallow or wax in candles, or other material used for illumination, in small successive portions, to be burned.

But true it is, that when the oil is spent
The light goes out, and wick is thrown away.

Spenser.

Wick Wick intransitive verb (Curling) To strike a stone in an oblique direction. Jamieson.

Wick, Wich Wick, Wich noun [ Anglo-Saxon wīc village, from Latin vicus . In some names of places, perhaps from Icelandic vīk an inlet, creek, bay. See Vicinity , and confer Villa .] 1. A street; a village; a castle; a dwelling; a place of work, or exercise of authority; -- now obsolete except in composition; as, baili wick , War wick , Green wick . Stow. 2. (Curling) A narrow port or passage in the rink or course, flanked by the stones of previous players.

Wicke Wick"e adjective Wicked. [ Obsolete] Piers Plowman. "With full wikke intent." Chaucer.

Wicked Wicked adjective Having a wick; -- used chiefly in composition; as, a two- wicked lamp.

Wicked Wick"ed adjective [ Middle English wicked , from wicke wicked; probably originally the same word as wicche wizard, witch. See Witch .] 1. Evil in principle or practice; deviating from morality; contrary to the moral or divine law; addicted to vice or sin; sinful; immoral; profligate; -- said of persons and things; as, a wicked king; a wicked woman; a wicked deed; wicked designs.

Hence, then, and evil go with thee along,
Thy offspring, to the place of evil, hell,
Thou and thy wicked crew!

Milton.

Never, never, wicked man was wise.

Pope. 2. Cursed; baneful; hurtful; bad; pernicious; dangerous. [ Obsolete] " Wicked dew." Shak.

This were a wicked way, but whoso had a guide.

P. Plowman. 3. Ludicrously or sportively mischievous; disposed to mischief; roguish. [ Colloq.]

Pen looked uncommonly wicked .

Thackeray. Syn. -- Iniquitous; sinful; criminal; guilty; immoral; unjust; unrighteous; unholy; irreligious; ungodly; profane; vicious; pernicious; atrocious; nefarious; heinous; flagrant; flagitious; abandoned. See Iniquitous .

Wickedly Wick"ed·ly adverb In a wicked manner; in a manner, or with motives and designs, contrary to the divine law or the law of morality; viciously; corruptly; immorally.

I have sinned, and I have done wickedly .

2 Sam. xxiv. 17.

Wickedness Wick"ed·ness noun 1. The quality or state of being wicked; departure from the rules of the divine or the moral law; evil disposition or practices; immorality; depravity; sinfulness.

God saw that the wickedness of man was great.

Gen. vi. 5.

Their inward part is very wickedness .

Ps. v. 9. 2. A wicked thing or act; crime; sin; iniquity.

I'll never care what wickedness I do,
If this man comes to good.

Shak.

Wicken tree Wick"en tree` Same as Quicken tree .

Wicker Wick"er noun [ Middle English wiker , wikir , osier, probably akin to Anglo-Saxon wīcan to give way. Confer Weak .] 1. A small pliant twig or osier; a rod for making basketwork and the like; a withe. 2. Wickerwork; a piece of wickerwork, esp. a basket.

Then quick did dress
His half milk up for cheese, and in a press
Of wicker pressed it.

Chapman. 3. Same as 1st Wike . [ Prov. Eng.]

Wicker Wick"er adjective Made of, or covered with, twigs or osiers, or wickerwork.

Each one a little wicker basket had,
Made of fine twigs, entrailéd curiously.

Spenser.

Wickered Wick"ered adjective Made of, secured by, or covered with, wickers or wickerwork.

Ships of light timber, wickered with osier between, and covered over with leather.

Milton.

Wickerwork Wick"er·work` noun A texture of osiers, twigs, or rods; articles made of such a texture.

Wicket Wick"et noun [ Middle English wiket , Old French wiket , guichet , French quichet ; probably of Scand. origin; confer Icelandic v...k a small creek, inlet, bay, vik a corner.] 1. A small gate or door, especially one forming part of, or placed near, a larger door or gate; a narrow opening or entrance cut in or beside a door or gate, or the door which is used to close such entrance or aperture. Piers Plowman . "Heaven's wicket ." Milton.

And so went to the high street, . . . and came to the great tower, but the gate and wicket was fast closed.

Ld. Berners.

The wicket , often opened, knew the key.

Dryden. 2. A small gate by which the chamber of canal locks is emptied, or by which the amount of water passing to a water wheel is regulated. 3. (Cricket) (a) A small framework at which the ball is bowled. It consists of three rods, or stumps, set vertically in the ground, with one or two short rods, called bails , lying horizontally across the top. (b) The ground on which the wickets are set. 4. A place of shelter made of the boughs of trees, -- used by lumbermen, etc. [ Local, U. S.] Bartlett. 5. (Mining) The space between the pillars, in postand-stall working. Raymond. Wicket door , Wicket gate , a small door or gate; a wicket. See def. 1, above. Bunyan. -- Wicket keeper (Cricket) , the player who stands behind the wicket to catch the balls and endeavor to put the batsman out.

Wicking Wick"ing noun the material of which wicks are made; esp., a loosely braided or twisted cord or tape of cotton.

Wickiup Wickyup Wick"i·up Wick"y·up noun Vars of Wikiup .

Wiclifite, Wickliffite Wic"lif·ite, Wick"liff·ite noun See Wyclifite .

Wicopy Wic"o·py noun (Botany) See Leatherwood .

Widal's, Widal, test Wi·dal's", Wi·dal", test or reaction [ After Fernand Widal (b. 1862), French physician.] (Medicine) A test for typhoid fever based on the fact that blood serum of one affected, in a bouillon culture of typhoid bacilli, causes the bacilli to agglutinate and lose their motility.