Wizardly Wiz"ard·ly adjective Resembling or becoming a wizard; wizardlike; weird.

Wizardry Wiz"ard·ry noun The character or practices o... wizards; sorcery; magic. "He acquired a reputation bordering on wizardry ." J. A. Symonds.

Wizen Wiz"en intransitive verb [ Middle English wisenen , Anglo-Saxon wisnian akin to weornian to decay, Old High German wesan...n to grow dry, G. ver wesen to rot, Icelandic visna to wither, Swedish vissna , Danish visne , and probably to Latin virus an offensive odor, poison. Confer Virus .] To wither; to dry. [ Prov. Eng. & Scot.]

Wizen Wiz"en adjective Wizened; thin; weazen; withered.

A little lonely, wizen , strangely clad boy.

Dickens.

Wizen Wiz"en noun The weasand. [ Prov. Eng. & Scot.]

Wizen-faced Wiz"en-faced` adjective Having a shriveled, thin, withered face.

Wizened Wiz"ened adjective Dried; shriveled; withered; shrunken; weazen; as, a wizened old man.

Wlatsome Wlat"some adjective [ Anglo-Saxon wlatian to disgust, irk, wl...tta loathing.] Loathsome; disgusting; hateful. [ Obsolete]

Murder is . . . wlatsom and abhominable to God.

Chaucer.

Wo Wo noun & adjective See Woe . [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Woad Woad noun [ Middle English wod , Anglo-Saxon wād ; akin to Dutch weede , German waid , Old High German weit , Danish vaid , veid , Swedish veide , Latin vitrum .] [ Written also wad , and wade .]

1. (Botany) An herbaceous cruciferous plant ( Isatis tinctoria ). It was formerly cultivated for the blue coloring matter derived from its leaves.

2. A blue dyestuff, or coloring matter, consisting of the powdered and fermented leaves of the Isatis tinctoria . It is now superseded by indigo, but is somewhat used with indigo as a ferment in dyeing.

Their bodies . . . painted with woad in sundry figures.

Milton.

Wild woad (Botany) , the weld ( Reseda luteola ). See Weld . -- Woad mill , a mill grinding and preparing woad.

Woad-waxen Woad"-wax`en noun [ Confer Wood-wax .] (Botany) A leguminous plant ( Genista tinctoria ) of Europe and Russian Asia, and adventitious in America; -- called also greenwood , greenweed , dyer's greenweed , and whin , wood-wash , wood-wax , and wood- waxen .

Woaded Woad"ed adjective Colored or stained with woad. "Man tattoed or woaded , winter-clad in skins." Tennyson.

Woald Woald noun See Weld .

Wobble Wob"ble intransitive verb See Wabble .

Wode Wode adjective [ Anglo-Saxon wōd .] Mad. See Wood , adjective [ Obsolete or Prov. Eng.] Chaucer.

Wode Wode noun Wood. Chaucer.

Wodegeld Wode"geld` noun [ See Wood , and Geld .] (O. Eng. Law) A geld, or payment, for wood. Burrill.

Woden Wo"den noun [ Anglo-Saxon Wōden ; akin to Old Saxon Wōdan , Old High German Wuotan , Icelandic Oðinn , and probably to English wood , adjective Confer Wednesday .] (Northern Myth.) A deity corresponding to Odin, the supreme deity of the Scandinavians. Wednesday is named for him. See Odin .

Woe Woe noun [ Middle English wo , wa , woo, Anglo-Saxon wā , interj.; akin to Dutch wee , Old Saxon & Old High German wē , German weh , Icelandic vei , Danish vee , Swedish ve , Goth. wai ; confer Latin vae , Greek .... √128. Confer Wail .] [ Formerly written also wo .]

1. Grief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity.

Thus saying, from her side the fatal key,
Sad instrument of all our woe , she took.

Milton.

[ They] weep each other's woe .

Pope.

2. A curse; a malediction.

Can there be a woe or curse in all the stores of vengeance equal to the malignity of such a practice?

South.

» Woe is used in denunciation, and in exclamations of sorrow. " Woe is me! for I am undone." Isa. vi. 5.

O! woe were us alive [ i.e., in life].

Chaucer.

Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker!

Isa. xlv. 9.

Woe worth , Woe be to. See Worth , intransitive verb

Woe worth the chase, woe worth the day,
That costs thy life, my gallant gray!

Sir W. Scott.

Woe Woe adjective Woeful; sorrowful. [ Obsolete]

His clerk was woe to do that deed.

Robert of Brunne.

Woe was this knight and sorrowfully he sighed.

Chaucer.

And looking up he waxed wondrous woe .

Spenser.

Woe-begone Woe"-be·gone` adjective [ Middle English wo begon . See Woe , and Begone , past participle ] Beset or overwhelmed with woe; immersed in grief or sorrow; woeful. Chaucer.

So woe-begone was he with pains of love.

Fairfax.

Woeful, Woful Woe"ful, Wo"ful adjective 1. Full of woe; sorrowful; distressed with grief or calamity; afflicted; wretched; unhappy; sad.

How many woeful widows left to bow
To sad disgrace!

Daniel.

2. Bringing calamity, distress, or affliction; as, a woeful event; woeful want.

O woeful day! O day of woe!

Philips.

3. Wretched; paltry; miserable; poor.

What woeful stuff this madrigal would be!

Pope.

Woefully, Wofully Woe"ful·ly, Wo"ful·ly adverb In a woeful manner; sorrowfully; mournfully; miserably; dolefully.

Woefulness, Wofulness Woe"ful·ness, Wo"ful·ness noun The quality or state of being woeful; misery; wretchedness.

Woesome Woe"some adjective Woeful. [ Obsolete] Langhorne.

Woke Woke imperfect & past participle Wake .

Wol Wol transitive verb & i. See 2d Will . [ Obsolete] Chaucer.

Wold Wold noun [ Middle English wold , wald , Anglo-Saxon weald , wald , a wood, forest; akin to OFries. & Old Saxon wald , Dutch woud , German wald , Icelandic völlr , a field, and probably to Greek ... a grove, Sanskrit vā...a a garden, inclosure. Confer Weald .]

1. A wood; a forest.

2. A plain, or low hill; a country without wood, whether hilly or not.

And from his further bank Ætolia's wolds espied.

Byron.

The wind that beats the mountain, blows
More softly round the open wold .

Tennyson.

Wold Wold noun See Weld .

Wolde Wolde obsolete imperfect of Will . See Would .

Wolf Wolf noun ; plural Wolves . [ Middle English wolf , wulf , Anglo-Saxon wulf ; akin to Old Saxon wulf , D. & German wolf , Icelandic ūlfr , Swedish ulf , Danish ulv , Goth. wulfs , Lithuanian vilkas , Russian volk' , Latin lupus , Greek ly`kos , Sanskrit vrka ; also to Greek "e`lkein to draw, drag, tear in pieces. √286. Confer Lupine , adjective , Lyceum .]

1. (Zoology) Any one of several species of wild and savage carnivores belonging to the genus Canis and closely allied to the common dog. The best-known and most destructive species are the European wolf ( Canis lupus ), the American gray, or timber, wolf ( C. occidentalis ), and the prairie wolf, or coyote. Wolves often hunt in packs, and may thus attack large animals and even man.

2. (Zoology) One of the destructive, and usually hairy, larvæ of several species of beetles and grain moths; as, the bee wolf .

3. Fig.: Any very ravenous, rapacious, or destructive person or thing; especially, want; starvation; as, they toiled hard to keep the wolf from the door.

4. A white worm, or maggot, which infests granaries.

5. An eating ulcer or sore. Confer Lupus . [ Obsolete]

If God should send a cancer upon thy face, or a wolf into thy side.

Jer. Taylor.

6. (Mus.) (a) The harsh, howling sound of some of the chords on an organ or piano tuned by unequal temperament. (b) In bowed instruments, a harshness due to defective vibration in certain notes of the scale.

7. (Textile Manuf.) A willying machine. Knight.

Black wolf . (Zoology) (a) A black variety of the European wolf which is common in the Pyrenees. (b) A black variety of the American gray wolf. -- Golden wolf (Zoology) , the Thibetan wolf ( Canis laniger ); -- called also chanco . -- Indian wolf (Zoology) , an Asiatic wolf ( Canis pallipes ) which somewhat resembles a jackal. Called also landgak . -- Prairie wolf (Zoology) , the coyote. -- Sea wolf . (Zoology) See in the Vocabulary. -- Strand wolf (Zoology) the striped hyena. -- Tasmanian wolf (Zoology) , the zebra wolf. -- Tiger wolf (Zoology) , the spotted hyena. -- To keep the wolf from the door , to keep away poverty; to prevent starvation. See Wolf , 3, above. Tennyson. -- Wolf dog . (Zoology) (a) The mastiff, or shepherd dog, of the Pyrenees, supposed by some authors to be one of the ancestors of the St. Bernard dog. (b) The Irish greyhound, supposed to have been used formerly by the Danes for chasing wolves. (c) A dog bred between a dog and a wolf, as the Eskimo dog. -- Wolf eel (Zoology) , a wolf fish. -- Wolf fish (Zoology) , any one of several species of large, voracious marine fishes of the genus Anarrhichas , especially the common species ( A. lupus ) of Europe and North America. These fishes have large teeth and powerful jaws. Called also catfish , sea cat , sea wolf , stone biter , and swinefish . -- Wolf net , a kind of net used in fishing, which takes great numbers of fish. -- Wolf's peach (Botany) , the tomato, or love apple ( Lycopersicum esculentum ). -- Wolf spider (Zoology) , any one of numerous species of running ground spiders belonging to the genus Lycosa , or family Lycosidæ . These spiders run about rapidly in search of their prey. Most of them are plain brown or blackish in color. See Illust. in App. -- Zebra wolf (Zoology) , a savage carnivorous marsupial ( Thylacinus cynocephalus ) native of Tasmania; -- called also Tasmanian wolf .

Wolf's-claw Wolf's"-claw` noun (Botany) A kind of club moss. See Lycopodium .

Wolf's-foot Wolf's"-foot` noun (Botany) Club moss. See Lycopodium .

Wolf's-milk Wolf's"-milk` noun (Botany) Any kind of spurge ( Euphorbia ); -- so called from its acrid milky juice.

Wolfberry Wolf"ber`ry noun (Botany) An American shrub ( Symphoricarpus occidentalis ) which bears soft white berries.

Wolffian Wolff"i·an adjective (Anat.) Discovered, or first described, by Caspar Friedrich Wolff (1733-1794), the founder of modern embryology.

Wolffian body , the mesonephros. -- Wolffian duct , the duct from the Wolffian body.

Wolfhound Wolf"hound` noun (Zoology) Originally, a large hound used in hunting wolves; now, any one of certain breeds of large dogs, some of which are nearly identical with the great Danes.

Wolfish Wolf"ish adjective Like a wolf; having the qualities or form of a wolf; as, a wolfish visage; wolfish designs.

-- Wolf"ish*ly , adverb -- Wolf"ish*ness , noun

Wolfkin Wolf"kin noun A little or young wolf. Tennyson.

Wolfling Wolf"ling noun A young wolf. Carlyle.

Wolfram Wol"fram noun [ G.] (Min.) Same as Wolframite .

Wolfram steel Wol"fram steel Same as Tungsten steel .

Wolframate Wol"fram·ate noun (Chemistry) A salt of wolframic acid; a tungstate.

Wolframic Wol·fram"ic adjective (Chemistry) Of or pertaining to wolframium. See Tungstic .

Wolframite Wol"fram·ite noun [ G., wolframit , wolfram ; wolf wolf + rahm cream, soot; confer German wolfsruss wolfram, lit., wolf's soot.] (Min.) Tungstate of iron and manganese, generally of a brownish or grayish black color, submetallic luster, and high specific gravity. It occurs in cleavable masses, and also crystallized. Called also wolfram .

Wolframium Wol·fra"mi·um noun [ New Latin See Wolfram .] (Chemistry) The technical name of the element tungsten. See Tungsten .

Wolfsbane Wolfs"bane` noun (Botany) A poisonous plant ( Aconitum Lycoctonum ), a kind of monkshood; also, by extension, any plant or species of the genus Aconitum . See Aconite .

Woll Woll transitive verb & i. See 2d Will . [ Obsolete]

Wollaston's doublet Wol"las·ton's dou"blet [ After W. H. Wollaston , English physicist.] (Optics) A magnifying glass consisting of two plano-convex lenses. It is designed to correct spherical aberration and chromatic dispersion.

Wollastonite Wol"las·ton·ite noun [ After Dr. W. H. Wollaston , an English chemist, who died in 1828.] (Min.) A silicate of lime of a white to gray, red, or yellow color, occurring generally in cleavable masses, rarely in tabular crystals; tabular spar.

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
You are here: Webster > Letter W > Page 46 of 56.
« Previous ¦38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 ¦ Next »