W.

W (dŭb"'l ū), the twenty-third letter of the English alphabet, is usually a consonant, but sometimes it is a vowel, forming the second element of certain diphthongs, as in few, how. It takes its written form and its name from the repetition of a V, this being the original form of the Roman capital letter which we call U. Etymologically it is most related to v and u. See V, and U. Some of the uneducated classes in England, especially in London, confuse w and v, substituting the one for the other, as weal for veal, and veal for weal; wine for vine, and vine for wine, etc. See Guide to Pronunciation, §§ 266-268.

Waag (wäg), n. (Zoöl.) The grivet.

Waa*hoo" (wä*h&oomac;"), n. (Bot.) The burning bush; -- said to be called after a quack medicine made from it.

Wab"ble (w&obreve;b"b'l), v. i. [Cf. Prov. G. wabbeln to wabble, and E. whap. Cf. Quaver.] To move staggeringly or unsteadily from one side to the other; to vacillate; to move the manner of a rotating disk when the axis of rotation is inclined to that of the disk; -- said of a turning or whirling body; as, a top wabbles; a buzz saw wabbles.

Wab"ble, n. A hobbling, unequal motion, as of a wheel unevenly hung; a staggering to and fro.

Wab"bly (?), a. Inclined to wabble; wabbling.

{ Wack"e (?), Wack"y (?), } n. [G. wacke, MHG. wacke a large stone, OHG. waggo a pebble.] (Geol.) A soft, earthy, dark-colored rock or clay derived from the alteration of basalt.

Wad (?), n. [See Woad.] Woad. [Obs.]

Wad, n. [Probably of Scand. origin; cf. Sw. vadd wadding, Dan vat, D. & G. watte. Cf. Wadmol.]

1. A little mass, tuft, or bundle, as of hay or tow. Holland.

2. Specifically: A little mass of some soft or flexible material, such as hay, straw, tow, paper, or old rope yarn, used for retaining a charge of powder in a gun, or for keeping the powder and shot close; also, to diminish or avoid the effects of windage. Also, by extension, a dusk of felt, pasteboard, etc., serving a similar purpose.

3. A soft mass, especially of some loose, fibrous substance, used for various purposes, as for stopping an aperture, padding a garment, etc.

Wed hook, a rod with a screw or hook at the end, used for removing the wad from a gun.

Wad, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Waded; p. pr. & vb. n. Wadding.]

1. To form into a mass, or wad, or into wadding; as, to wad tow or cotton.

2. To insert or crowd a wad into; as, to wad a gun; also, to stuff or line with some soft substance, or wadding, like cotton; as, to wad a cloak.

{ Wad, Wadd, } n. (Min.) (a) An earthy oxide of manganese, or mixture of different oxides and water, with some oxide of iron, and often silica, alumina, lime, or baryta; black ocher. There are several varieties. (b) Plumbago, or black lead.

Wad"ding (?), n. [See Wad a little mass.]

1. A wad, or the materials for wads; any pliable substance of which wads may be made.

2. Any soft stuff of loose texture, used for stuffing or padding garments; esp., sheets of carded cotton prepared for the purpose.

Wad"dle (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Waddled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Waddling (?).] [Freq. of wade; cf. AS. wædlian to beg, from wadan to go. See Wade.] To walk with short steps, swaying the body from one side to the other, like a duck or very fat person; to move clumsily and totteringly along; to toddle; to stumble; as, a child waddles when he begins to walk; a goose waddles. Shak.

She drawls her words, and waddles in her pace.

Young.

Wad"dle, v. t. To trample or tread down, as high grass, by walking through it. [R.] Drayton.

Wad"dler (?), n. One who, or that which, waddles.

Wad"dling*ly, adv. In a waddling manner.

Wade (?), n. Woad. [Obs.] Mortimer.

Wade (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Waded; p. pr. & vb. n. Wading.] [OE. waden to wade, to go, AS. wadan; akin to OFries. wada, D. waden, OHG. watan, Icel. va&?;a, Sw. vada, Dan. vade, L. vadere to go, walk, vadum a ford. Cf. Evade, Invade, Pervade, Waddle.]

1. To go; to move forward. [Obs.]

When might is joined unto cruelty,
Alas, too deep will the venom wade.

Chaucer.

Forbear, and wade no further in this speech.

Old Play.

2. To walk in a substance that yields to the feet; to move, sinking at each step, as in water, mud, sand, etc.

So eagerly the fiend . . .
With head, hands, wings, or feet, pursues his way,
And swims, or sinks, or wades, or creeps, or flies.

Milton.

3. Hence, to move with difficulty or labor; to proceed &?;lowly among objects or circumstances that constantly &?;inder or embarrass; as, to wade through a dull book.

And wades through fumes, and gropes his way.

Dryden.

The king's admirable conduct has waded through all these difficulties.

Davenant.

Wade, v. t. To pass or cross by wading; as, he waded &?;he rivers and swamps.

Wade (?), n. The act of wading. [Colloq.]

Wad"er (?), n. 1. One who, or that which, wades.

2. (Zoöl.) Any long-legged bird that wades in the water in search of food, especially any species of limicoline or grallatorial birds; -- called also wading bird. See Illust. g, under Aves.

Wad"ing, a. & n. from Wade, v.

Wading bird. (Zoöl.) See Wader, 2.

Wad"mol (?), n. [Of Scand. origin; cf. Icel. va&?;māl a woollen stuff, Dan vadmel. Cf. Wad a small mass, and Woodmeil.] A coarse, hairy, woolen cloth, formerly used for garments by the poor, and for various other purposes. [Spelled also wadmal, wadmeal, wadmoll, wadmel, etc.] Beck (Draper's Dict.). Sir W. Scott.

Wad"set (?), n. [Scot. wad a pledge; akin to Sw. vad a wager. See Wed.] (Scots Law) A kind of pledge or mortgage. [Written also wadsett.]

Wad"set*ter (?), n. One who holds by a wadset.

Wad"y (?), n.; pl. Wadies (#). [Ar. wādī a valley, a channel of a river, a river.] A ravine through which a brook flows; the channel of a water course, which is dry except in the rainy season.

Wae (?), n. A wave. [Obs.] Spenser.

Waeg (?), n. (Zoöl.) The kittiwake. [Scot.]

Wa"fer (?), n. [OE. wafre, OF. waufre, qaufre, F. qaufre; of Teutonic origin; cf. LG. & D. wafel, G. waffel, Dan. vaffel, Sw. våffla; all akin to G. wabe a honeycomb, OHG. waba, being named from the resemblance to a honeycomb. G. wabe is probably akin to E. weave. See Weave, and cf. Waffle, Gauffer.]

1. (Cookery) A thin cake made of flour and other ingredients.

Wafers piping hot out of the gleed.

Chaucer.

The curious work in pastry, the fine cakes, wafers, and marchpanes.

Holland.

A woman's oaths are wafers -- break with making

B. Jonson.

2. (Eccl.) A thin cake or piece of bread (commonly unleavened, circular, and stamped with a crucifix or with the sacred monogram) used in the Eucharist, as in the Roman Catholic Church.

3. An adhesive disk of dried paste, made of flour, gelatin, isinglass, or the like, and coloring matter, -- used in sealing letters and other documents.

Wafer cake, a sweet, thin cake. Shak. -- Wafer irons, or Wafer tongs (Cookery), a pincher-shaped contrivance, having flat plates, or blades, between which wafers are baked. -- Wafer woman, a woman who sold wafer cakes; also, one employed in amorous intrigues. Beau. & Fl.

Wa"fer, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wafered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Wafering.] To seal or close with a wafer.

Wa"fer*er (?), n. A dealer in the cakes called wafers; a confectioner. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Waffle (?), n. [D. wafel. See Wafer.] 1. A thin cake baked and then rolled; a wafer.

2. A soft indented cake cooked in a waffle iron.

Waffle iron, an iron utensil or mold made in two parts shutting together, -- used for cooking waffles over a fire.

Waft (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wafted; p. pr. & vb. n. Wafting.] [Prob. originally imp. & p. p. of wave, v. t. See Wave to waver.] 1. To give notice to by waving something; to wave the hand to; to beckon. [Obs.]

But soft: who wafts us yonder?

Shak.

2. To cause to move or go in a wavy manner, or by the impulse of waves, as of water or air; to bear along on a buoyant medium; as, a balloon was wafted over the channel.

A gentle wafting to immortal life.

Milton.

Speed the soft intercourse from soul to soul,
And waft a sigh from Indus to the pole.

Pope.

3. To cause to float; to keep from sinking; to buoy. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.

&fist; This verb is regular; but waft was formerly som&?;times used, as by Shakespeare, instead of wafted.

Waft, v. i. To be moved, or to pass, on a buoyant medium; to float.

And now the shouts waft near the citadel.

Dryden.

Waft, n. 1. A wave or current of wind. "Everywaft of the air." Longfellow.

In this dire season, oft the whirlwind's wing
Sweeps up the burden of whole wintry plains
In one wide waft.

Thomson.

2. A signal made by waving something, as a flag, in the air.

3. An unpleasant flavor. [Obs.]

4. (Naut.) A knot, or stop, in the middle of a flag. [Written also wheft.]

&fist; A flag with a waft in it, when hoisted at the staff, or half way to the gaff, means, a man overboard; at the peak, a desire to communicate; at the masthead, "Recall boats."

Waft"age (?), n. Conveyance on a buoyant medium, as air or water. Shak.

Boats prepared for waftage to and fro.

Drayton.

Waft"er (?), n. 1. One who, or that which, wafts.

O Charon,
Thou wafter of the soul to bliss or bane.

Beau. & FL.

2. A boat for passage. Ainsworth.

Waf"ture (?), n. The act of waving; a wavelike motion; a waft. R. Browning.

An angry wafture of your hand.

Shak.

Wag (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wagged (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Wagging.] [OE. waggen; probably of Scand. origin; cf. Sw. vagga to rock a cradle, vagga cradle, Icel. vagga, Dan. vugge; akin to AS. wagian to move, wag, wegan to bear, carry, G. & D. bewegen to move, and E. weigh. √136. See Weigh.] To move one way and the other with quick turns; to shake to and fro; to move vibratingly; to cause to vibrate, as a part of the body; as, to wag the head.

No discerner durst wag his tongue in censure.

Shak.

Every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and wag his head.

Jer. xviii. 16.

&fist; Wag expresses specifically the motion of the head and body used in buffoonery, mirth, derision, sport, and mockery.

Wag, v. i. 1. To move one way and the other; to be shaken to and fro; to vibrate.

The resty sieve wagged ne'er the more.

Dryden.

2. To be in action or motion; to move; to get along; to progress; to stir. [Colloq.]

"Thus we may see," quoth he, "how the world wags."

Shak.

3. To go; to depart; to pack oft. [R.]

I will provoke him to 't, or let him wag.

Shak.

Wag, n. [From Wag, v.]

1. The act of wagging; a shake; as, a wag of the head. [Colloq.]

2. [Perhaps shortened from wag-halter a rogue.] A man full of sport and humor; a ludicrous fellow; a humorist; a wit; a joker.

We wink at wags when they offend.

Dryden.

A counselor never pleaded without a piece of pack thread in his hand, which he used to twist about a finger all the while he was speaking; the wags used to call it the thread of his discourse.

Addison.

||Wa*ga"ti (?), n. (Zoöl.) A small East Indian wild cat (Felis wagati), regarded by some as a variety of the leopard cat.

Wage (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Waged (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Waging (?).] [OE. wagen, OF. wagier, gagier, to pledge, promise, F. gager to wager, lay, bet, fr. LL. wadium a pledge; of Teutonic origin; cf. Goth. wadi a pledge, gawadjōn to pledge, akin to E. wed, G. wette a wager. See Wed, and cf. Gage.]

1. To pledge; to hazard on the event of a contest; to stake; to bet, to lay; to wager; as, to wage a dollar. Hakluyt.

My life I never but as a pawn
To wage against thy enemies.

Shak.

2. To expose one's self to, as a risk; to incur, as a danger; to venture; to hazard. "Too weak to wage an instant trial with the king." Shak.

To wake and wage a danger profitless.

Shak.

3. To engage in, as a contest, as if by previous gage or pledge; to carry on, as a war.

[He pondered] which of all his sons was fit
To reign and wage immortal war with wit.

Dryden.

The two are waging war, and the one triumphs by the destruction of the other.

I. Taylor.

4. To adventure, or lay out, for hire or reward; to hire out. [Obs.] "Thou . . . must wage thy works for wealth." Spenser.

5. To put upon wages; to hire; to employ; to pay wages to. [Obs.]

Abundance of treasure which he had in store, wherewith he might wage soldiers.

Holinshed.

I would have them waged for their labor.

Latimer.

6. (O. Eng. Law) To give security for the performance of. Burrill.

To wage battle (O. Eng. Law), to give gage, or security, for joining in the duellum, or combat. See Wager of battel, under Wager, n. Burrill. - - To wage one's law (Law), to give security to make one's law. See Wager of law, under Wager, n.

Wage, v. i. To bind one's self; to engage. [Obs.]

Wage, n. [OF. wage, gage, guarantee, engagement. See Wage, v. t. ]

1. That which is staked or ventured; that for which one incurs risk or danger; prize; gage. [Obs.] "That warlike wage." Spenser.

2. That for which one labors; meed; reward; stipulated payment for service performed; hire; pay; compensation; -- at present generally used in the plural. See Wages. "My day's wage." Sir W. Scott. "At least I earned my wage." Thackeray. "Pay them a wage in advance." J. Morley. "The wages of virtue." Tennyson.

By Tom Thumb, a fairy page,
He sent it, and doth him engage,
By promise of a mighty wage,
It secretly to carry.

Drayton.

Our praises are our wages.

Shak.

Existing legislation on the subject of wages.

Encyc. Brit.

&fist; Wage is used adjectively and as the first part of compounds which are usually self-explaining; as, wage worker, or wage-worker; wage-earner, etc.

Board wages. See under 1st Board.

Syn. -- Hire; reward; stipend; salary; allowance; pay; compensation; remuneration; fruit.

Wag"el (?), n. (Zoöl.) See Waggel.

Wa"gen*boom` (?), n. [D., literally, wagon tree.] (Bot.) A south African proteaceous tree (Protea grandiflora); also, its tough wood, used for making wagon wheels.

Wa"ger (?), n. [OE. wager, wajour, OF. wagiere, or wageure, E. gageure. See Wage, v. t.]

1. Something deposited, laid, or hazarded on the event of a contest or an unsettled question; a bet; a stake; a pledge.

Besides these plates for horse races, the wagers may be as the persons please.

Sir W. Temple.

If any atheist can stake his soul for a wager against such an inexhaustible disproportion, let him never hereafter accuse others of credulity.

Bentley.

2. (Law) A contract by which two parties or more agree that a certain sum of money, or other thing, shall be paid or delivered to one of them, on the happening or not happening of an uncertain event. Bouvier.

&fist; At common law a wager is considered as a legal contract which the courts must enforce unless it be on a subject contrary to public policy, or immoral, or tending to the detriment of the public, or affecting the interest, feelings, or character of a third person. In many of the United States an action can not be sustained upon any wager or bet. Chitty. Bouvier.

3. That on which bets are laid; the subject of a bet.

Wager of battel, or Wager of battle (O. Eng. Law), the giving of gage, or pledge, for trying a cause by single combat, formerly allowed in military, criminal, and civil causes. In writs of right, where the trial was by champions, the tenant produced his champion, who, by throwing down his glove as a gage, thus waged, or stipulated, battle with the champion of the demandant, who, by taking up the glove, accepted the challenge. The wager of battel, which has been long in disuse, was abolished in England in 1819, by a statute passed in consequence of a defendant's having waged his battle in a case which arose about that period. See Battel. -- Wager of law (Law), the giving of gage, or sureties, by a defendant in an action of debt, that at a certain day assigned he would take a law, or oath, in open court, that he did not owe the debt, and at the same time bring with him eleven neighbors (called compurgators), who should avow upon their oaths that they believed in their consciences that he spoke the truth. -- Wager policy. (Insurance Law) See under Policy.

Wa"ger, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wagered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Wagering.] To hazard on the issue of a contest, or on some question that is to be decided, or on some casualty; to lay; to stake; to bet.

And wagered with him
Pieces of gold 'gainst this which he wore.

Shak.

Wa"ger, v. i. To make a bet; to lay a wager.

'T was merry when
You wagered on your angling.

Shak.

Wa"ger*er (?), n. One who wagers, or lays a bet.

Wa"ger*ing, a. Hazarding; pertaining to the act of one who wagers.

Wagering policy. (Com.) See Wager policy, under Policy.

Wa"ges (?), n. plural in termination, but singular in signification. [Plural of wage; cf. F. gages, pl., wages, hire. See Wage, n.] A compensation given to a hired person for services; price paid for labor; recompense; hire. See Wage, n., 2.

The wages of sin is death.

Rom. vi. 23.

Wages fund (Polit. Econ.), the aggregate capital existing at any time in any country, which theoretically is unconditionally destined to be paid out in wages. It was formerly held, by Mill and other political economists, that the average rate of wages in any country at any time depended upon the relation of the wages fund to the number of laborers. This theory has been greatly modified by the discovery of other conditions affecting wages, which it does not take into account. Encyc. Brit.

Syn. -- See under Wage, n.

Wag"gel (wăg"g&ebreve;l), n. (Zoöl.) The young of the great black-backed gull (Larus marinus), formerly considered a distinct species. [Prov. Eng.]

Wag"ger*y (-g&etilde;r*&ybreve;), n.; pl. Waggeries (#). [From Wag.] The manner or action of a wag; mischievous merriment; sportive trick or gayety; good-humored sarcasm; pleasantry; jocularity; as, the waggery of a schoolboy. Locke.

A drollery and lurking waggery of expression.

W. Irving.

Wag"gie (-g&ibreve;), n. The pied wagtail. [Prov. Eng.]

Wag"gish (-g&ibreve;sh), a. 1. Like a wag; mischievous in sport; roguish in merriment or good humor; frolicsome. "A company of waggish boys." L'Estrange.

2. Done, made, or laid in waggery or for sport; sportive; humorous; as, a waggish trick.

-- Wag"gish*ly, adv. -- Wag"gish*ness, n.

Wag"gle (?), v. i. [Freq. of wag; cf. D. waggelen, G. wackeln.] To reel, sway, or move from side to side; to move with a wagging motion; to waddle.

Why do you go nodding and waggling so?

L'Estrange.

Wag"gle, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Waggled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Waggling (?).] To move frequently one way and the other; to wag; as, a bird waggles his tail.

Wag"-hal`ter (?), n. [Wag + halter.] One who moves or wears a halter; one likely to be hanged. [Colloq. & Obs.]

I can tell you, I am a mad wag-halter.

Marston.

Wag"ner*ite (?), n. (Min.) A fluophosphate of magnesia, occurring in yellowish crystals, and also in massive forms.

Wag"on (?), n. [D. wagen. √136. See Wain.]

1. A wheeled carriage; a vehicle on four wheels, and usually drawn by horses; especially, one used for carrying freight or merchandise.

&fist; In the United States, light wagons are used for the conveyance of persons and light commodities.

2. A freight car on a railway. [Eng.]

3. A chariot [Obs.] Spenser.

4. (Astron.) The Dipper, or Charles's Wain.

&fist; This word and its compounds are often written with two g's (waggon, waggonage, etc.), chiefly in England. The forms wagon, wagonage, etc., are, however, etymologically preferable, and in the United States are almost universally used.

Wagon boiler. See the Note under Boiler, 3. -- Wagon ceiling (Arch.), a semicircular, or wagon-headed, arch or ceiling; -- sometimes used also of a ceiling whose section is polygonal instead of semicircular. -- Wagon master, an officer or person in charge of one or more wagons, especially of those used for transporting freight, as the supplies of an army, and the like. -- Wagon shoe, a skid, or shoe, for retarding the motion of a wagon wheel; a drag. -- Wagon vault. (Arch.) See under 1st Vault.

Wag"on (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wagoned (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Wagoning.] To transport in a wagon or wagons; as, goods are wagoned from city to city.

Wag"on, v. i. To wagon goods as a business; as, the man wagons between Philadelphia and its suburbs.

Wag"on*age (?), n. 1. Money paid for carriage or conveyance in wagon.

2. A collection of wagons; wagons, collectively.

Wagonage, provender, and a piece or two of cannon.

Carlyle.

Wag"on*er (?), n. 1. One who conducts a wagon; one whose business it is to drive a wagon.

2. (Astron.) The constellation Charles's Wain, or Ursa Major. See Ursa major, under Ursa.

Wag`on*ette" (?), n. A kind of pleasure wagon, uncovered and with seats extended along the sides, designed to carry six or eight persons besides the driver.

Wag"on*ful (?), n.; pl. Wagonfuls (&?;). As much as a wagon will hold; enough to fill a wagon; a wagonload.

Wag"on-head`ed (?), a. Having a top, or head, shaped like the top of a covered wagon, or resembling in section or outline an inverted U, thus &?;; as, a wagonheaded ceiling.

Wag"on*load` (?), n. Same as Wagonful.

Wag"on-roofed` (?), a. Having a roof, or top, shaped like an inverted U; wagon- headed.

Wag"on*ry (?), n. Conveyance by means of a wagon or wagons. [Obs.] Milton.

Wag"on*wright` (?), n. One who makes wagons.

Wag"tail` (?), n. (Zoöl.) Any one of many species of Old World singing birds belonging to Motacilla and several allied genera of the family Motacillidæ. They have the habit of constantly jerking their long tails up and down, whence the name.

Field wagtail, any one of several species of wagtails of the genus Budytes having the tail shorter, the legs longer, and the hind claw longer and straighter, than do the water wagtails. Most of the species are yellow beneath. Called also yellow wagtail. -- Garden wagtail, the Indian black-breasted wagtail (Nemoricola Indica). -- Pied wagtail, the common European water wagtail (Motacilla lugubris). It is variegated with black and white. The name is applied also to other allied species having similar colors. Called also pied dishwasher. -- Wagtail flycatcher, a true flycatcher (Sauloprocta motacilloides) common in Southern Australia, where it is very tame, and frequents stock yards and gardens and often builds its nest about houses; -- called also black fantail. -- Water wagtail. (a) Any one of several species of wagtails of the restricted genus Motacilla. They live chiefly on the shores of ponds and streams. (b) The American water thrush. See Water thrush. -- Wood wagtail, an Asiatic wagtail; (Calobates sulphurea) having a slender bill and short legs.

Wah (wä), n. (Zoöl.) The panda.

Wa*ha"bee (?), n. [Ar. wahābi.] A follower of Abdel Wahab (b. 1691; d. 1787), a reformer of Mohammedanism. His doctrines prevail particularly among the Bedouins, and the sect, though checked in its influence, extends to most parts of Arabia, and also into India. [Written also Wahaby.]

Waid (?), a. [For weighed.] Oppressed with weight; crushed; weighed down. [Obs.] Tusser.

Waif (?), n. [OF. waif, gaif, as adj., lost, unclaimed, chose gaive a waif, LL. wayfium, res vaivae; of Scand. origin. See Waive.]

1. (Eng. Law.) Goods found of which the owner is not known; originally, such goods as a pursued thief threw away to prevent being apprehended, which belonged to the king unless the owner made pursuit of the felon, took him, and brought him to justice. Blackstone.

2. Hence, anything found, or without an owner; that which comes along, as it were, by chance. "Rolling in his mind old waifs of rhyme." Tennyson.

3. A wanderer; a castaway; a stray; a homeless child.

A waif
Desirous to return, and not received.

Cowper.

Waift (?), n. A waif. [Obs.] Spenser.

Wail (?), v. t. [Cf. Icel. val choice, velja to choose, akin to Goth. waljan, G. wählen.] To choose; to select. [Obs.] "Wailed wine and meats." Henryson.

Wail, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wailed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Wailing.] [OE. wailen, weilen, probably fr. Icel. væla; cf. Icel. væ, vei, woe, and E. wayment, also OE. wai, wei, woe. Cf. Woe.] To lament; to bewail; to grieve over; as, to wail one's death. Shak.

Wail, v. i. To express sorrow audibly; to make mournful outcry; to weep.

Therefore I will wail and howl.

Micah i. 8.

Wail, n. Loud weeping; violent lamentation; wailing. "The wail of the forest." Longfellow.

Wail"er (?), n. One who wails or laments.

Wail"er*ess (?), n. A woman who wails. [Obs.]

Wail"ful (?), a. Sorrowful; mournful. " Like wailful widows." Spenser. "Wailful sonnets." Shak.

Wail"ing*ly, adv. In a wailing manner.

Wail"ment (?), n. Lamentation; loud weeping; wailing. [Obs.] Bp. Hacket.

Wai"ment (?). v. & n. See Wayment. [Obs.]

Wain (?), n. [OE. wain, AS. wægn; akin to D. & G. wagen, OHG. wagan, Icel. & Sw. vagn, Dan. vogn, and E. way. &?;&?;&?;&?;. See Way, Weigh, and cf. 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. [Obs.]

The Wain. (Astron.) See Charles's Wain, in the Vocabulary. -- Wain rope, a cart rope. Shak.

Wain"a*ble (?), a. Capable of being plowed or cultivated; arable; tillable. [Obs.] Cowell.

Wain"age (?; 48), n. [From Wain.] A finding of carriages, carts, etc., for the transportation of goods, produce, etc. Ainsworth.

Wain"age, n. (O. Eng. Law) See Gainage, a.

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

Wain"scot (?), n. [OD. waeghe-schot, D. wagen-schot, a clapboard, fr. OD. waeg, weeg, a wall (akin to AS. wah; cf. Icel. veggr) + schot a covering of boards (akin to E. shot, shoot).]

1. Oaken timber or boarding. [Obs.]

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

Urquhart.

Inclosed in a chest of wainscot.

J. Dart.

2. (Arch.) A wooden lining or boarding of the walls of apartments, usually made in panels.

3. (Zoöl.) Any one of numerous species of European moths of the family Leucanidæ.

&fist; They are reddish or yellowish, streaked or lined with black and white. Their larvæ feed on grasses and sedges.

Wain"scot, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wainscoted; p. pr. & vb. n. 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.

Wain"scot*ing, n. 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.

Wain"wright` (?), n. Same as Wagonwright.

Wair (?), n. (Carp.) A piece of plank two yard&?; long and a foot broad. Bailey.

Waist (?), n. [OE. wast; originally, growth, akin to AS. weaxan to grow; cf. AS. 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 (Naut.), 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. [Obs.] Shak.

Waist anchor. See Sheet anchor, 1, in the Vocabulary.

Waist"band (?), n. 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.]

Waist"cloth (?), n. 1. A cloth or wrapper worn about the waist; by extension, such a garment worn about the hips and passing between the thighs.

2. (Naut.) A covering of canvas or tarpaulin for the hammocks, stowed on the nettings, between the quarterdeck and the forecastle.

Waist"coat (?), n. (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.

&fist; 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.

Waist`coat*eer" (?), n. One wearing a waistcoat; esp., a woman wearing one uncovered, or thought fit for such a habit; hence, a loose woman; strumpet. [Obs.]

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

Beau. & Fl.

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

Waist"er (?), n. (Naut.) 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 (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Waited; p. pr. & vb. n. Waiting.] [OE. waiten, OF. waitier, gaitier, to watch, attend, F. guetter to watch, to wait for, fr. OHG. wahta a guard, watch, G. wacht, from OHG. wahhēn to watch, be awake. √134. See Wake, v. i.]

1. To watch; to observe; to take notice. [Obs.]

"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 (?), v. t. 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. [Obs.]

3. To attend on; to accompany; especially, to attend with ceremony or respect. [Obs.]

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, n. [OF. waite, guaite, gaite, F. guet watch, watching, guard, from OHG. wahta. See Wait, v. i.]

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. [Obs.]

4. pl. Hautboys, or oboes, played by town musicians; not used in the singular. [Obs.] Halliwell.

5. pl. 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"er (?), n. 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, n.

Wait"ing, a. & n. 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.

Wait"ing*ly, adv. By waiting.

Wait"ress (?), n. A female waiter or attendant; a waiting maid or waiting woman.

Waive (?), n. [See Waive, v. t. ] 1. A waif; a castaway. [Obs.] Donne.

2. (O. Eng. Law) A woman put out of the protection of the law. See Waive, v. t., 3 (b), and the Note.

Waive, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Waived (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Waiving.] [OE. waiven, weiven, to set aside, remove, OF. weyver, quesver, to waive, of Scand. origin; cf. Icel. veifa to wave, to vibrate, akin to Skr. vip to tremble. Cf. 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.

&fist; 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, v. i. To turn aside; to recede. [Obs.]

To waive from the word of Solomon.

Chaucer.

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

Waiv"ure (?), n. See Waiver. [R.]

Wai"wode (?), n. See Waywode.

Wake (?), n. [Originally, an open space of water s&?;rrounded by ice, and then, the passage cut through ice for a vessel, probably of Scand. origin; cf. Icel. vök a hole, opening in ice, Sw. vak, Dan. vaage, perhaps akin to E. 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, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Waked (?) or Woke (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Waking.] [AS. wacan, wacian; akin to OFries. waka, OS. wak&?;n, D. waken, G. wachen, OHG. wahh&?;n, Icel. vaka, Sw. vaken, Dan. vaage, Goth. wakan, v. i., uswakjan, v. t., Skr. vājay to rouse, to impel. &?;&?;&?;&?;. Cf. Vigil, Wait, v. i., Watch, v. i.]

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 (?), v. t. 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, n. 1. The act of waking, or being awaked; also, the state of being awake. [Obs. 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, n., 3 (b), above. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Wake"ful (?), a. Not sleeping; indisposed to sleep; watchful; vigilant.

Dissembling sleep, but wakeful with the fright.

Dryden.

-- Wake"ful*ly, adv. -- Wake"ful*ness, n.

Wak"en (?), v. i. [imp. & p. pr. Wakened (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Wakening.] [OE. waknen, AS. wæcnan; akin to Goth. gawaknan. See Wake, v. i.] To wake; to cease to sleep; to be awakened.

Early, Turnus wakening with the light.

Dryden.

Wak"en, v. t. 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.

Wak"en*er (?), n. One who wakens.

Wak"en*ing, n. 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.

Wak"er (?), n. One who wakes.

Wake"-rob`in (?), n. (Bot.) Any plant of the genus Arum, especially, in England, the cuckoopint (Arum maculatum).

&fist; In America the name is given to several species of Trillium, and sometimes to the Jack-in-the-pulpit.

Wake"time` (?), n. Time during which one is awake. [R.] Mrs. Browning.

Wak"ing, n. 1. The act of waking, or the state or period of being awake.

2. A watch; a watching. [Obs.] "Bodily pain . . . standeth in prayer, in wakings, in fastings." Chaucer.

In the fourth waking of the night.

Wyclif (Matt. xiv. 25).

Wa"la*way (?), interj. See Welaway. [Obs.]

Wald (?), n. [AS. weald. See Wold.] A forest; -- used as a termination of names. See Weald.

Wal*den"ses (?; 277), n. pl. [So called from Petrus Waldus, or Peter Waldo, a merchant of Lyons, who founded this sect about a. d. 1170.] (Eccl. Hist.) A sect of dissenters from the ecclesiastical system of the Roman Catholic Church, who in the 13th century were driven by persecution to the valleys of Piedmont, where the sect survives. They profess substantially Protestant principles.

Wal*den"sian (?), a. Of or pertaining to the Waldenses. -- n. One Holding the Waldensian doctrines.

Wald"grave (?), n. [See Wald, and Margrave.] In the old German empire, the head forest keeper.

||Wald*hei"mi*a (?), n. [NL.] (Zoöl.) A genus of brachiopods of which many species are found in the fossil state. A few still exist in the deep sea.

Wale (?), n. [AS. walu a mark of stripes or blows, probably originally, a rod; akin to Icel. völr, Goth. walus a rod, staff. √146. Cf. Goal, Weal a wale.]

1. A streak or mark made on the skin by a rod or whip; a stripe; a wheal. See Wheal. Holland.

2. A ridge or streak rising above the surface, as of cloth; hence, the texture of cloth.

Thou 'rt rougher far,
And of a coarser wale, fuller of pride.

Beau & Fl.

3. (Carp.) A timber bolted to a row of piles to secure them together and in position. Knight.

4. (Naut.) (a) pl. Certain sets or strakes of the outside planking of a vessel; as, the main wales, or the strakes of planking under the port sills of the gun deck; channel wales, or those along the spar deck, etc. (b) A wale knot, or wall knot.

Wale knot. (Naut.) See Wall knot, under 1st Wall.

Wale, v. t. 1. To mark with wales, or stripes.

2. To choose; to select; specifically (Mining), to pick out the refuse of (coal) by hand, in order to clean it. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]

Wal*hal"la (?), n. [Cf. G. walhalla, See Valhalla.] See Valhalla.

Wal"ing (?), n. (Naut.) Same as Wale, n., 4.

Walk (w&add;k), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Walked (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Walking.] [OE. walken, probably from AS. wealcan to roll, turn, revolve, akin to D. walken to felt hats, to work a hat, G. walken to full, OHG. walchan to beat, to full, Icel. vālka to roll, to stamp, Sw. valka to full, to roll, Dan. valke to full; cf. Skr. valg to spring; but cf. also AS. weallian to roam, ramble, G. wallen. √130.]

1. To move along on foot; to advance by steps; to go on at a moderate pace; specifically, of two-legged creatures, to proceed at a slower or faster rate, but without running, or lifting one foot entirely before the other touches the ground.

At the end of twelve months, he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon.

Dan. iv. 29.

When Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.

Matt. xiv. 29.

&fist; In the walk of quadrupeds, there are always two, and for a brief space there are three, feet on the ground at once, but never four.

2. To move or go on the feet for exercise or amusement; to take one's exercise; to ramble.

3. To be stirring; to be abroad; to go restlessly about; -- said of things or persons expected to remain quiet, as a sleeping person, or the spirit of a dead person; to go about as a somnambulist or a specter.

I have heard, but not believed, the spirits of the dead
May walk again.

Shak.

When was it she last walked?

Shak.

4. To be in motion; to act; to move; to wag. [Obs.] "Her tongue did walk in foul reproach." Spenser.

Do you think I'd walk in any plot?

B. Jonson.

I heard a pen walking in the chimney behind the cloth.

Latimer.

5. To behave; to pursue a course of life; to conduct one's self.

We walk perversely with God, and he will walk crookedly toward us.

Jer. Taylor.

6. To move off; to depart. [Obs. or Colloq.]

He will make their cows and garrans to walk.

Spenser.

To walk in, to go in; to enter, as into a house. -- To walk after the flesh (Script.), to indulge sensual appetites, and to live in sin. Rom. viii. 1. -- To walk after the Spirit (Script.), to be guided by the counsels and influences of the Spirit, and by the word of God. Rom. viii. 1. -- To walk by faith (Script.), to live in the firm belief of the gospel and its promises, and to rely on Christ for salvation. 2 Cor. v. 7. -- To walk in darkness (Script.), to live in ignorance, error, and sin. 1 John i. 6. -- To walk in the flesh (Script.), to live this natural life, which is subject to infirmities and calamities. 2 Cor. x. 3. -- To walk in the light (Script.), to live in the practice of religion, and to enjoy its consolations. 1 John i. 7. -- To walk over, in racing, to go over a course at a walk; -- said of a horse when there is no other entry; hence, colloquially, to gain an easy victory in any contest. -- To walk through the fire (Script.), to be exercised with severe afflictions. Isa. xliii. 2. -- To walk with God (Script.), to live in obedience to his commands, and have communion with him.

Walk, v. t. 1. To pass through, over, or upon; to traverse; to perambulate; as, to walk the streets.

As we walk our earthly round.

Keble.

2. To cause to walk; to lead, drive, or ride with a slow pace; as to walk one's horses. " I will rather trust . . . a thief to walk my ambling gelding." Shak.

3. [AS. wealcan to roll. See Walk to move on foot.] To subject, as cloth or yarn, to the fulling process; to full. [Obs. or Scot.]

To walk the plank, to walk off the plank into the water and be drowned; -- an expression derived from the practice of pirates who extended a plank from the side of a ship, and compelled those whom they would drown to walk off into the water; figuratively, to vacate an office by compulsion. Bartlett.

Walk, n. 1. The act of walking, or moving on the feet with a slow pace; advance without running or leaping.

2. The act of walking for recreation or exercise; as, a morning walk; an evening walk.

3. Manner of walking; gait; step; as, we often know a person at a distance by his walk.

4. That in or through which one walks; place or distance walked over; a place for walking; a path or avenue prepared for foot passengers, or for taking air and exercise; way; road; hence, a place or region in which animals may graze; place of wandering; range; as, a sheep walk.

A woody mountain . . . with goodliest trees
Planted, with walks and bowers.

Milton.

He had walk for a hundred sheep.

Latimer.

Amid the sound of steps that beat
The murmuring walks like rain.

Bryant.

5. A frequented track; habitual place of action; sphere; as, the walk of the historian.

The mountains are his walks.

Sandys.

He opened a boundless walk for his imagination.

Pope.

6. Conduct; course of action; behavior.

7. The route or district regularly served by a vender; as, a milkman's walk. [Eng.]

Walk"a*ble (?), a. Fit to be walked on; capable of being walked on or over. [R.] Swift.

Walk"er (?), n. 1. One who walks; a pedestrian.

2. That with which one walks; a foot. [Obs.]

Lame Mulciber, his walkers quite misgrown.

Chapman.

3. (Law) A forest officer appointed to walk over a certain space for inspection; a forester.

4. [AS. wealcere. See Walk, v. t., 3.] A fuller of cloth. [Obs. or Prov. Eng. & Scot.]

She cursed the weaver and the walker
The cloth that had wrought.

Percy's Reliques.

5. (Zoöl.) Any ambulatorial orthopterous insect, as a stick insect.

Walk"ing, a. & n. from Walk, v.

Walking beam. See Beam, 10. -- Walking crane, a kind of traveling crane. See under Crane. -- Walking fern. (Bot.) See Walking leaf, below. -- Walking fish (Zoöl.), any one of numerous species of Asiatic fishes of the genus Ophiocephalus, some of which, as O. marulius, become over four feet long. They have a special cavity over the gills lined with a membrane adapted to retain moisture to aid in respiration, and are thus able to travel considerable distances over the land at night, whence the name. They construct a curious nest for their young. Called also langya. -- Walking gentleman (Theater), an actor who usually fills subordinate parts which require a gentlemanly appearance but few words. [Cant] -- Walking lady (Theater), an actress who usually fills such parts as require only a ladylike appearance on the stage. [Cant] -- Walking leaf. (a) (Bot.) A little American fern (Camptosorus rhizophyllus); -- so called because the fronds taper into slender prolongations which often root at the apex, thus producing new plants. (b) (Zoöl.) A leaf insect. See under Leaf. -- Walking papers, or Walking ticket, an order to leave; dismissal, as from office. [Colloq.] Bartlett. -- Walking stick. (a) A stick or staff carried in the hand for hand for support or amusement when walking; a cane. (b) (Zoöl.) A stick insect; -- called also walking straw. See Illust. of Stick insect, under Stick. -- Walking wheel (Mach.), a prime mover consisting of a wheel driven by the weight of men or animals walking either in it or on it; a treadwheel.

Walk"-mill` (?), n. [Walk to Walking Leaf, or full + mill.] A fulling mill. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

Walk"-o`ver (?), n. In racing, the going over a course by a horse which has no competitor for the prize; hence, colloquially, a one-sided contest; an uncontested, or an easy, victory.

Wal"kyr, n. (Scand. Myth.) See Valkyria.

Wall (?), n. (Naut.) A kind of knot often used at the end of a rope; a wall knot; a wale.

Wall knot, a knot made by unlaying the strands of a rope, and making a bight with the first strand, then passing the second over the end of the first, and the third over the end of the second and through the bight of the first; a wale knot. Wall knots may be single or double, crowned or double- crowned.

Wall (?), n. [AS. weall, from L. vallum a wall, vallus a stake, pale, palisade; akin to Gr. &?; a nail. Cf. Interval.]

1. A work or structure of stone, brick, or other materials, raised to some height, and intended for defense or security, solid and permanent inclosing fence, as around a field, a park, a town, etc., also, one of the upright inclosing parts of a building or a room.

The plaster of the wall of the King's palace.

Dan. v. 5.

2. A defense; a rampart; a means of protection; in the plural, fortifications, in general; works for defense.

The waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.

Ex. xiv. 22.

In such a night,
Troilus, methinks, mounted the Troyan walls.

Shak.

To rush undaunted to defend the walls.

Dryden.

3. An inclosing part of a receptacle or vessel; as, the walls of a steam-engine cylinder.

4. (Mining) (a) The side of a level or drift. (b) The country rock bounding a vein laterally. Raymond.

&fist; Wall is often used adjectively, and also in the formation of compounds, usually of obvious signification; as in wall paper, or wall-paper; wall fruit, or wall-fruit; wallflower, etc.

Blank wall, Blind wall, etc. See under Blank, Blind, etc. -- To drive to the wall, to bring to extremities; to push to extremes; to get the advantage of, or mastery over. -- To go to the wall, to be hard pressed or driven; to be the weaker party; to be pushed to extremes. -- To take the wall. to take the inner side of a walk, that is, the side next the wall; hence, to take the precedence. "I will take the wall of any man or maid of Montague's." Shak. -- Wall barley (Bot.), a kind of grass (Hordeum murinum) much resembling barley; squirrel grass. See under Squirrel. -- Wall box. (Mach.) See Wall frame, below. -- Wall creeper (Zoöl.), a small bright- colored bird (Tichodroma muraria) native of Asia and Southern Europe. It climbs about over old walls and cliffs in search of insects and spiders. Its body is ash-gray above, the wing coverts are carmine-red, the primary quills are mostly red at the base and black distally, some of them with white spots, and the tail is blackish. Called also spider catcher. -- Wall cress (Bot.), a name given to several low cruciferous herbs, especially to the mouse-ear cress. See under Mouse-ear. -- Wall frame (Mach.), a frame set in a wall to receive a pillow block or bearing for a shaft passing through the wall; -- called also wall box. -- Wall fruit, fruit borne by trees trained against a wall. -- Wall gecko (Zoöl.), any one of several species of Old World geckos which live in or about buildings and run over the vertical surfaces of walls, to which they cling by means of suckers on the feet. -- Wall lizard (Zoöl.), a common European lizard (Lacerta muralis) which frequents houses, and lives in the chinks and crevices of walls; -- called also wall newt. -- Wall louse, a wood louse. -- Wall moss (Bot.), any species of moss growing on walls. -- Wall newt (Zoöl.), the wall lizard. Shak. -- Wall paper, paper for covering the walls of rooms; paper hangings. -- Wall pellitory (Bot.), a European plant (Parictaria officinalis) growing on old walls, and formerly esteemed medicinal. -- Wall pennywort (Bot.), a plant (Cotyledon Umbilicus) having rounded fleshy leaves. It is found on walls in Western Europe. -- Wall pepper (Bot.), a low mosslike plant (Sedum acre) with small fleshy leaves having a pungent taste and bearing yellow flowers. It is common on walls and rocks in Europe, and is sometimes seen in America. -- Wall pie (Bot.), a kind of fern; wall rue. -- Wall piece, a gun planted on a wall. H. L. Scott. -- Wall plate (Arch.), a piece of timber placed horizontally upon a wall, and supporting posts, joists, and the like. See Illust. of Roof. -- Wall rock, granular limestone used in building walls. [U. S.] Bartlett. -- Wall rue (Bot.), a species of small fern (Asplenium Ruta-muraria) growing on walls, rocks, and the like. -- Wall spring, a spring of water issuing from stratified rocks. -- Wall tent, a tent with upright cloth sides corresponding to the walls of a house. -- Wall wasp (Zoöl.), a common European solitary wasp (Odynerus parietus) which makes its nest in the crevices of walls.

Wall (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Walled (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Walling.] 1. To inclose with a wall, or as with a wall. "Seven walled towns of strength." Shak.

The king of Thebes, Amphion,
That with his singing walled that city.

Chaucer.

2. To defend by walls, or as if by walls; to fortify.

The terror of his name that walls us in.

Denham.

3. To close or fill with a wall, as a doorway.

Wal"la*ba (?), n. (Bot.) A leguminous tree (Eperua falcata) of Demerara, with pinnate leaves and clusters of red flowers. The reddish brown wood is used for palings and shingles. J. Smith (Dict. Econ. Plants).

Wal"la*by (?), n.; pl. Wallabies (#). [From a native name.] (Zoöl.) Any one of numerous species of kangaroos belonging to the genus Halmaturus, native of Australia and Tasmania, especially the smaller species, as the brush kangaroo (H. Bennettii) and the pademelon (H. thetidis). The wallabies chiefly inhabit the wooded district and bushy plains. [Written also wallabee, and whallabee.]

Wal"lah (?), n. (Zoöl.) A black variety of the jaguar; -- called also tapir tiger. [Written also walla.]

Wal`la*roo" (?), n. (Zoöl.) Any one of several species of kangaroos of the genus Macropus, especially M. robustus, sometimes called the great wallaroo.

Wall"bird` (?), n. (Zoöl.) The spotted flycatcher. [Prov. Eng.]

Wall"er (?), n. One who builds walls.

Wall"er, n. [G.] (Zoöl.) The wels.

Wal*le"ri*an de*gen`er*a"tion (?). (Med.) A form of degeneration occurring in nerve fibers as a result of their division; -- so called from Dr. Waller, who published an account of it in 1850.

Wal"let (?), n. [OE. walet, probably the same word as OE. watel a bag. See Wattle.] 1. A bag or sack for carrying about the person, as a bag for carrying the necessaries for a journey; a knapsack; a beggar's receptacle for charity; a peddler's pack.

[His hood] was trussed up in his walet.

Chaucer.

2. A pocketbook for keeping money about the person.

3. Anything protuberant and swagging. "Wallets of flesh." Shak.

Wal`let*eer" (?), n. One who carries a wallet; a foot traveler; a tramping beggar. [Colloq.] Wright.

Wall"-eye` (?), n. [See Wall- eyed.]

1. An eye in which the iris is of a very light gray or whitish color; -- said usually of horses. Booth.

&fist; Jonson has defined wall-eye to be "a disease in the crystalline humor of the eye; glaucoma." But glaucoma is not a disease of the crystalline humor, nor is wall-eye a disease at all, but merely a natural blemish. Tully. In the north of England, as Brockett states, persons are said to be wall-eyed when the white of the eye is very large and distorted, or on one side.

2. (Zoöl.) (a) An American fresh-water food fish (Stizostedion vitreum) having large and prominent eyes; -- called also glasseye, pike perch, yellow pike, and wall-eyed perch. (b) A California surf fish (Holconotus argenteus). (c) The alewife; -- called also wall-eyed herring.

Wall"-eyed` (?), a. [Icel. valdeygðr, or vagleygr; fr. vagl a beam, a beam in the eye (akin to Sw. vagel a roost, a perch, a sty in the eye) + eygr having eyes (from auga eye). See Eye.] Having an eye of a very light gray or whitish color. Booth.

&fist; Shakespeare, in using wall-eyed as a term of reproach (as "wall-eyed rage," a "wall-eyed wretch"), alludes probably to the idea of unnatural or distorted vision. See the Note under Wall- eye. It is an eye which is utterly and incurably perverted, an eye that knows no pity.

Wall"flow`er (?), n.

1. (Bot.) A perennial, cruciferous plant (Cheiranthus Cheiri), with sweet-scented flowers varying in color from yellow to orange and deep red. In Europe it very common on old walls.

&fist; The name is sometimes extended to other species of Cheiranthus and of the related genus Erysimum, especially the American Western wallflower (Erysimum asperum), a biennial herb with orange-yellow flowers.

2. A lady at a ball, who, either from choice, or because not asked to dance, remains a spectator. [Colloq.]

Wall"hick` (?), n. (Zoöl.) The lesser spotted woodpecker (Dryobates minor). [Prov. Eng.]

Wall"ing, n. 1. The act of making a wall or walls.

2. Walls, in general; material for walls.

Walling wax, a composition of wax and tallow used by etchers and engravers to make a bank, or wall, round the edge of a plate, so as to form a trough for holding the acid used in etching, and the like. Fairholt.

Wal*loons" (?), n. pl.; sing. Walloon (&?;). [Cf. F. wallon.] A Romanic people inhabiting that part of Belgium which comprises the provinces of Hainaut, Namur, Liége, and Luxembourg, and about one third of Brabant; also, the language spoken by this people. Used also adjectively. [Written also Wallons.] "A base Walloon . . . thrust Talbot with a spear." Shak.

Walloon guard, the bodyguard of the Spanish monarch; -- so called because formerly consisting of Walloons.

Wal"lop (?), v. i. [Cf. OFlem. walop a gallop; of uncertain origin. Cf. Gallop.] To move quickly, but with great effort; to gallop. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]

Wal"lop, n. A quick, rolling movement; a gallop. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]

Wal"lop, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Walloped (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Walloping.] [Probably fr. AS. weallan to spring up, to boil or bubble. √147. See Well, n. & v. i.]

1. To boil with a continued bubbling or heaving and rolling, with noise. [Prov. Eng.] Brockett.

2. To move in a rolling, cumbersome manner; to waddle. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

3. To be slatternly. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

Wal"lop, v. t. 1. To beat soundly; to flog; to whip. [Prov. Eng., Scot., & Colloq. U. S.]

2. To wrap up temporarily. [Prov. Eng.]

3. To throw or tumble over. [Prov. Eng.]

Wal"lop, n. 1. A thick piece of fat. Halliwell.

2. A blow. [Prov. Eng., Scot., & Colloq. U. S.]

Wal"low (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Wallowed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Wallowing.] [OE. walwen, AS. wealwian; akin to Goth. walwjan (in comp.) to roll, L. volvere; cf. Skr. val to turn. √147. Cf. Voluble Well, n.]

1. To roll one's self about, as in mire; to tumble and roll about; to move lazily or heavily in any medium; to flounder; as, swine wallow in the mire.

I may wallow in the lily beds.

Shak.

2. To live in filth or gross vice; to disport one's self in a beastly and unworthy manner.

God sees a man wallowing in his native impurity.

South.

3. To wither; to fade. [Prov. Eng. & Scot.]

Wal"low, v. t. To roll; esp., to roll in anything defiling or unclean. "Wallow thyself in ashes." Jer. vi. 26.

Wal"low, n. A kind of rolling walk.

One taught the toss, and one the new French wallow.

Dryden.

Wal"low*er (?), n. 1. One who, or that which, wallows.

2. (Mach.) A lantern wheel; a trundle.

Wal"low*ish, a. [Scot. wallow to fade or wither.] Flat; insipid. [Obs.] Overbury.

Wall"-plat` (?), n. (Zoöl.) The spotted flycatcher. It builds its nest on walls. [Prov. Eng.]

Wall"-sid`ed (?), a. (Naut.) Having sides nearly perpendicular; -- said of certain vessels to distinguish them from those having flaring sides, or sides tumbling home (see under Tumble, v. i.).

Wall"wort` (?), n. (Bot.) The dwarf elder, or danewort (Sambucus Ebulus).

Walm (?), v. i. [AS. weallan; cf. wælm, billow. √147.] To roll; to spout; to boil up. [Obs.] Holland.

Wal"nut (?), n. [OE. walnot, AS. wealh-hnutu a Welsh or foreign nut, a walnut; wealh foreign, strange, n., a Welshman, Celt (akin to OHG. Walh, properly, a Celt, from the name of a Celtic tribe, in L. Volcae) + hnutu a nut; akin to D. walnoot, G. walnuss, Icel. valhnot, Sw. valnöt, Dan valnöd. See Nut, and cf. Welsh.] (Bot.) The fruit or nut of any tree of the genus Juglans; also, the tree, and its timber. The seven or eight known species are all natives of the north temperate zone.

&fist; In some parts of America, especially in New England, the name walnut is given to several species of hickory (Carya), and their fruit.

Ash-leaved walnut, a tree (Juglans fraxinifolia), native in Transcaucasia. -- Black walnut, a North American tree (J. nigra) valuable for its purplish brown wood, which is extensively used in cabinetwork and for gunstocks. The nuts are thick-shelled, and nearly globular. -- English, or European, walnut, a tree (J. regia), native of Asia from the Caucasus to Japan, valuable for its timber and for its excellent nuts, which are also called Madeira nuts. -- Walnut brown, a deep warm brown color, like that of the heartwood of the black walnut. -- Walnut oil, oil extracted from walnut meats. It is used in cooking, making soap, etc. -- White walnut, a North American tree (J. cinerea), bearing long, oval, thick-shelled, oily nuts, commonly called butternuts. See Butternut.

Wal"rus (?), n. [D. walrus; of Scand. origin; cf. Dan valros, Sw. vallross, Norw. hvalros; literally, whale horse; akin to Icel. hrosshvalr, AS. horshwæl. See Whale, and Horse.] (Zoöl.) A very large marine mammal (Trichecus rosmarus) of the Seal family, native of the Arctic Ocean. The male has long and powerful tusks descending from the upper jaw. It uses these in procuring food and in fighting. It is hunted for its oil, ivory, and skin. It feeds largely on mollusks. Called also morse.

&fist; The walrus of the North Pacific and Behring Strait (Trichecus obesus) is regarded by some as a distinct species, by others as a variety of the common walrus.

Wal"ter (?), v. i. [See Welter.] To roll or wallow; to welter. [Obs. or Prov. Eng. & Scot.]

Wal"tron (?), n. A walrus. [Obs.] Woodward.

Wal"ty (?), a. [Cf. Walter to roll.] Liable to roll over; crank; as, a walty ship. [R.] Longfellow.

Waltz (?), n. [G. walzer, from walzen to roll, revolve, dance, OHG. walzan to roll; akin to AS. wealtan. See Welter.] A dance performed by two persons in circular figures with a whirling motion; also, a piece of music composed in triple measure for this kind of dance.

Waltz, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Waltzed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Waltzing.] To dance a waltz.

Waltz"er (?), n. A person who waltzes.

Wal"we (?), v. To wallow. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Wa"ly (?), interj. [Cf. Welaway.] An exclamation of grief. [Obs. or Prov. Eng. & Scot.]

Wam"ble (?), v. i. [Cf. Dan. vamle, and vammel squeamish, ready to vomit, Icel. væma to feel nausea, væminn nauseous.] 1. To heave; to be disturbed by nausea; -- said of the stomach. L'Estrange.

2. To move irregularly to and fro; to roll.

Wam"ble, n. Disturbance of the stomach; a feeling of nausea. Holland.

Wam"ble-cropped` (?), a. Sick at the stomach; also, crestfallen; dejected. [Slang]

Wam"mel (?), v. i. To move irregularly or awkwardly; to wamble, or wabble. [Prov. Eng.]

Wamp (?), n. [From the North American Indian name.] (Zoöl.) The common American eider.

Wam*pee" (?), n. (Bot.) (a) A tree (Cookia punctata) of the Orange family, growing in China and the East Indies; also, its fruit, which is about the size of a large grape, and has a hard rind and a peculiar flavor. (b) The pickerel weed. [Southern U. S.]

Wam"pum (?), n. [North American Indian wampum, wompam, from the Mass. wómpi, Del. wāpe, white.] Beads made of shells, used by the North American Indians as money, and also wrought into belts, etc., as an ornament.

Round his waist his belt of wampum.

Longfellow.

Girded with his wampum braid.

Whittier.

&fist; These beads were of two kinds, one white, and the other black or dark purple. The term wampum is properly applied only to the white; the dark purple ones are called suckanhock. See Seawan. "It [wampum] consisted of cylindrical pieces of the shells of testaceous fishes, a quarter of an inch long, and in diameter less than a pipestem, drilled . . . so as to be strung upon a thread. The beads of a white color, rated at half the value of the black or violet, passed each as the equivalent of a farthing in transactions between the natives and the planters." Palfrey.

Wan (?), obs. imp. of Win. Won. Chaucer.

Wan (&?;), a. [AS. wann, wonn, wan, won, dark, lurid, livid, perhaps originally, worn out by toil, from winnan to labor, strive. See Win.] Having a pale or sickly hue; languid of look; pale; pallid. "Sad to view, his visage pale and wan." Spenser.

My color . . . [is] wan and of a leaden hue.

Chaucer.

Why so pale and wan, fond lover?

Suckling.

With the wan moon overhead.

Longfellow.

Wan, n. The quality of being wan; wanness. [R.]

Tinged with wan from lack of sleep.

Tennyson.

Wan (?), v. i. To grow wan; to become pale or sickly in looks. "All his visage wanned." Shak.

And ever he mutter'd and madden'd, and ever wann'd with despair.

Tennyson.

Wand (?), n. [Of Scand. origin; cf. Icel. vöndr, akin to Dan. vaand, Goth. wandus; perhaps originally, a pliant twig, and akin to E. wind to turn.] 1. A small stick; a rod; a verge.

With good smart blows of a wand on his back.

Locke.

2. Specifically: (a) A staff of authority.

Though he had both spurs and wand, they seemed rather marks of sovereignty than instruments of punishment.

Sir P. Sidney.

(b) A rod used by conjurers, diviners, magicians, etc.

Picus bore a buckler in his hand;
His other waved a long divining wand.

Dryden.

Wand of peace (Scots Law), a wand, or staff, carried by the messenger of a court, which he breaks when deforced (that is, hindered from executing process), as a symbol of the deforcement, and protest for remedy of law. Burrill.

Wan"der (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Wandered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Wandering.] [OE. wandren, wandrien, AS. wandrian; akin to G. wandern to wander; fr. AS. windan to turn. See Wind to turn.]

1. To ramble here and there without any certain course or with no definite object in view; to range about; to stroll; to rove; as, to wander over the fields.

They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins.

Heb. xi. 37.

He wandereth abroad for bread.

Job xv. 23.

2. To go away; to depart; to stray off; to deviate; to go astray; as, a writer wanders from his subject.

When God caused me to wander from my father's house.

Gen. xx. 13.

O, let me not wander from thy commandments.

Ps. cxix. 10.

3. To be delirious; not to be under the guidance of reason; to rave; as, the mind wanders.

Syn. -- To roam; rove; range; stroll; gad; stray; straggly; err; swerve; deviate; depart.

Wan"der, v. t. To travel over without a certain course; to traverse; to stroll through. [R.] "[Elijah] wandered this barren waste." Milton.

Wan"der*er (?), n. One who wanders; a rambler; one who roves; hence, one who deviates from duty.

Wan"der*ing, a. & n. from Wander, v.

Wandering albatross (Zoöl.), the great white albatross. See Illust. of Albatross. -- Wandering cell (Physiol.), an animal cell which possesses the power of spontaneous movement, as one of the white corpuscles of the blood. -- Wandering Jew (Bot.), any one of several creeping species of Tradescantia, which have alternate, pointed leaves, and a soft, herbaceous stem which roots freely at the joints. They are commonly cultivated in hanging baskets, window boxes, etc. -- Wandering kidney (Med.), a morbid condition in which one kidney, or, rarely, both kidneys, can be moved in certain directions; -- called also floating kidney, movable kidney. -- Wandering liver (Med.), a morbid condition of the liver, similar to wandering kidney. -- Wandering mouse (Zoöl.), the whitefooted, or deer, mouse. See Illust. of Mouse. -- Wandering spider (Zoöl.), any one of a tribe of spiders that wander about in search of their prey.

Wan"der*ing*ly, adv. In a wandering manner.

Wan"der*ment (?), n. The act of wandering, or roaming. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.

Wan`der*oo" (?), n. [Cingalese wanderu a monkey.] (Zoöl.) A large monkey (Macacus silenus) native of Malabar. It is black, or nearly so, but has a long white or gray beard encircling the face. Called also maha, silenus, neelbhunder, lion-tailed baboon, and great wanderoo. [Written also ouanderoo.]

&fist; The name is sometimes applied also to other allied species.

Wand"y (?), a. Long and flexible, like a wand. [Prov. Eng.] Brockett.

Wane (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Waned (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Waning.] [OE. wanien, AS. wanian, wonian, from wan, won, deficient, wanting; akin to D. wan-, G. wahnsinn, insanity, OHG. wan, wana-, lacking, wan&?;n to lessen, Icel. vanr lacking, Goth. vans; cf. Gr. &?; bereaved, Skr. &?;na wanting, inferior. &?;&?;&?;&?;. Cf. Want lack, and Wanton.]

1. To be diminished; to decrease; -- contrasted with wax, and especially applied to the illuminated part of the moon.

Like the moon, aye wax ye and wane.
Waning moons their settled periods keep.

Addison.

2. To decline; to fail; to sink.

You saw but sorrow in its waning form.

Dryden.

Land and trade ever will wax and wane together.

Sir J. Child.

Wane, v. t. To cause to decrease. [Obs.] B. Jonson.

Wane, n. 1. The decrease of the illuminated part of the moon to the eye of a spectator.

2. Decline; failure; diminution; decrease; declension.

An age in which the church is in its wane.

South.

Though the year be on the wane.

Keble.

3. An inequality in a board. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

Wan"ey (?), n. A sharp or uneven edge on a board that is cut from a log not perfectly squared, or that is made in the process of squaring. See Wany, a.

Wang (?), n. [OE. wange, AS. wange, wonge, cheek, jaw; akin to D. wang, OS. & OHG. wanga, G. wange.]

1. The jaw, jawbone, or cheek bone. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]

So work aye the wangs in his head.

Chaucer.

2. A slap; a blow. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

Wang tooth, a cheek tooth; a molar. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Wang (?), n. See Whang. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]

Wan"gan (?), n. [American Indian.] A boat for conveying provisions, tools, etc.; -- so called by Maine lumbermen. [Written also wangun.] Bartlett.

Wang"er (?), n. [AS. wangere. See 1st Wang.] A pillow for the cheek; a pillow. [Obs. & R.]

His bright helm was his wanger.

Chaucer.

Wang*hee" (?), n. [Chin. wang yellow + he&?; a root.] (Bot.) The Chinese name of one or two species of bamboo, or jointed cane, of the genus Phyllostachys. The slender stems are much used for walking sticks. [Written also whanghee.]

Wang"o (?), n. A boomerang.

Wan"hope` (?), n. [AS. wan, won, deficient, wanting + hopa hope: cf. D. wanhoop. &?;&?;&?;&?;. See Wane, and Hope.] Want of hope; despair; also, faint or delusive hope; delusion. [Obs.] Piers Plowman. "Wanhope and distress." Chaucer.

Wan"horn` (?), n. [Corruption fr. Siamese wanhom.] (Bot.) An East Indian plant (Kæmpferia Galanga) of the Ginger family. See Galanga.

Wan"i*and (?), n. [See Wanion.] The wane of the moon. [Obs.] Halliwell.

Wan"ing (?), n. The act or process of waning, or decreasing.

This earthly moon, the Church, hath fulls and wanings, and sometimes her eclipses.

Bp. Hall.

Wan"ion (?), n. [Probably for OE. waniand waning, p. pr. of wanien; hence, used of the waning of the moon, supposed to be an unlucky time. See Wane.] A word of uncertain signification, used only in the phrase with a wanion, apparently equivalent to with a vengeance, with a plague, or with misfortune. [Obs.] B. Jonson. Latimer.

Wan"kle (?), a. [AS. wancol.] Not to be depended on; weak; unstable. [Prov. Eng.] Grose.

Wan"ly (?), adv. In a wan, or pale, manner.

Wanned (?), a. Made wan, or pale.

Wan"ness (?), n. The quality or state of being wan; a sallow, dead, pale color; paleness; pallor; as, the wanness of the cheeks after a fever.

Wan"nish, a. Somewhat wan; of a pale hue.

No sun, but a wannish glare,
In fold upon fold of hueless cloud.

Tennyson.

Want (277), n. [Originally an adj., from Icel. vant, neuter of vanr lacking, deficient. √139. See Wane, v. i.]

1. The state of not having; the condition of being without anything; absence or scarcity of what is needed or desired; deficiency; lack; as, a want of power or knowledge for any purpose; want of food and clothing.

And me, his parent, would full soon devour
For want of other prey.

Milton.

From having wishes in consequence of our wants, we often feel wants in consequence of our wishes.

Rambler.

Pride is as loud a beggar as want, and more saucy.

Franklin.

2. Specifically, absence or lack of necessaries; destitution; poverty; penury; indigence; need.

Nothing is so hard for those who abound in riches, as to conceive how others can be in want.

Swift.

3. That which is needed or desired; a thing of which the loss is felt; what is not possessed, and is necessary for use or pleasure.

Habitual superfluities become actual wants.

Paley.

4. (Mining) A depression in coal strata, hollowed out before the subsequent deposition took place. [Eng.]

Syn. -- Indigence; deficiency; defect; destitution; lack; failure; dearth; scarceness.

Want, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wanted; p. pr. & vb. n. Wanting.]

1. To be without; to be destitute of, or deficient in; not to have; to lack; as, to want knowledge; to want judgment; to want learning; to want food and clothing.

They that want honesty, want anything.

Beau. & Fl.

Nor think, though men were none,
That heaven would want spectators, God want praise.

Milton.

The unhappy never want enemies.

Richardson.

2. To have occasion for, as useful, proper, or requisite; to require; to need; as, in winter we want a fire; in summer we want cooling breezes.

3. To feel need of; to wish or long for; to desire; to crave. " What wants my son?" Addison.

I want to speak to you about something.

A. Trollope.