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An American Dictionary of the English Language

by Noah Webster

Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)

Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865

Entries
95,912
Pages
1,538
Illustrations
2,133

Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.

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  1. Vāne, n.p. 1461A fixture attached to some elevated object for the purpose of showing which way the wind blows; usually a plate or strip of metal, or other material, often cut into some fanciful form, and placed…
  2. Va-nĕs'să, n.p. 1461(Entom.) A genus of lepidopterous insects, including many beautiful species of butterflies. The larvæ of some species are injurious to trees, vines, and the like.
  3. Vān'fōss, n.p. 1461(Fort.) A ditch on the outside of the counterscarp.
  4. Vāng, n.p. 1461(Naut.) A sort of brace to steady the peak of a gaff. Totten.
  5. Vāṅ'glo, n.p. 1461(Bot.) The Sesamum orientale, or its seeds; bene; teel-seed;—so called in the West Indies. Simmonds.
  6. Vān'-guārd, n.p. 1461(Mil.) The troops who march in front of an army; the first line.
  7. Va-nil'la, n.p. 1461(Bot.) (a.) A genus of orchidaceous plants, natives of tropical America. (b.) The capsule of Vanilla planifolia, and V. claviculata, remarkable for its delicate and agreeable odor, and for the…
  8. Va-nĭl'o-quence, n.p. 1461Vain or foolish talk. [Obs.]
  9. Va-nil'o-quent, a.p. 1461Talking foolishly. [Obs.]
  10. Văn'ish, v. i.p. 1461To pass from a visible to an invisible state; to go out of sight; to be lost to view; to disappear; hence, to disappear gradually; as, vapor vanishes from the sight by being dissipated; a ship…
  11. Văn'ish, n.p. 1461(Elocution.) The final or closing portion of a syllable, or of a vocal element. Rush.
  12. Vān'ish-ment, n.p. 1461A vanishing. [Obs.]
  13. Vān'i-ty, n.p. 1461The state or quality of being vain; want of substance to satisfy desire; emptiness; unsubstantialness; unrealness; falsity. Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity. Eccles. i. 2. Here I…
  14. Vān'quish, v. t.p. 1461To conquer; to overcome; to subdue in battle, as an enemy. They vanquished the rebels in all encounters. Clarendon. 2. Hence, to defeat in any contest; to get the better of; to put down; to refute in…
  15. Văn'guish, n.p. 1462A disease in sheep, in which they pine away. [Written also vinquish.]
  16. Vān'quish-a-ble, a.p. 1462Capable of being vanquished or conquered.
  17. Văn'quish-er, n.p. 1462One who vanquishes; a conqueror; a victor.
  18. Văn'quish-ment, n.p. 1462The act of vanquishing, or the state of being vanquished or subdued. Bp. Hall.
  19. Vāna'sire, n.p. 1462(Zoöl.) The Mangusta galera, a small, digitigrade, carnivorous mammal, somewhat resembling a weasel, of a deep-brown color, speckled with yellow, inhabiting Madagascar and the Isle of France.
  20. Vänt, v. i.p. 1462To vaunt. See VAUNT.
  21. Văn'-tage, n.p. 1462Superior or more favorable situation or opportunity; gain; profit; advantage. [Rare.] O, happy vantage of a kneeling knee. Shak. To have at vantage, to have the advantage of; to be in a more…
  22. Vān'-tage, v. t.p. 1462To profit. [Obs.] Spenser.
  23. Vănt'braçe or Vănt'brăss, n.p. 1462Armor for the arm; vambrace. [Obs.] Milton.
  24. Vănt'-cou'ri-er, n.p. 1462An avant-courier. [Obs.]
  25. Văp, n.p. 1462That which is vapid, insipid, or lifeless; dead or inert matter; scum or dregs. [Obs. and rare.] In vain it is to wash a goblet, if you mean to put into it nothing but the dead lees and vap of wine.…
  26. Văp'id, a.p. 1462Having lost its life and spirit; dead; spiritless; insipid; flat; dull; unanimated; as, vapid beer; a vapid state of the blood. A cheap, bloodless reformation, a guiltless liberty, appear flat and…
  27. Văp'id-ly, adv.p. 1462In a vapid manner.
  28. Vāp'id-ness or Va-pĭd'i-ty, n.p. 1462The state or quality of being vapid; deadness; flatness; dullness; want of life or spirit; as, the vapidness of ale or cider; the vapidness of a dull person's conversation.
  29. Vā'por, n.p. 1462(Physics.) Any substance in the gaseous or aëriform state, the condition of which is ordinarily that of a liquid or solid. ☞ The term vapor is sometimes used in a more extended sense, as identical…
  30. Vā'por, v. i.p. 1462To pass off in fumes, or a moist, floating substance; to steam; to be exhaled; to evaporate. 2. To emit vapor or fumes. [Rare.] Running waters vapor not so much as standing waters. Bacon. 3. To boast…
  31. Vā'por, v. t.p. 1462To emit, cast off, or scatter, in vapor or fumes; as, to vapor away a heated fluid; to send off in vapor, or as if in vapor. Another, sighing, vapors forth his soul. B. Jonson.
  32. Vāp'o-ra-bil'i-ty, n.p. 1462The quality of being vaporable.
  33. Vāp'o-ra-ble, a.p. 1462Capable of being converted into vapor by the agency of heat.
  34. Vāp'o-rāte, v. i.p. 1462To emit vapor; to evaporate. [Obs.]
  35. Văp'o-rā'tion, n.p. 1462The act or process of converting into vapor, or of passing off in vapor; evaporation. [Rare.]
  36. Vā'por-bàth, n.p. 1462A bath in vapor; the application of vapor to the body in a close place; also, the place itself. 2. (Chem.) An apparatus for heating bodies by the vapor of water.
  37. Vā'pored, p. a.p. 1462Wet with vapors; moist. 2. Affected with the vapors; splenetic; dejected and peevish. Green.
  38. Vā′por-er, n.p. 1462One who vapors, or makes a vaunting display of his prowess or worth; a braggart; a boaster.
  39. Vā'por-er-mōth, n.p. 1462(Entom.) A moth of the genus Orgyia.
  40. Vāp'o-rīf'er-ōūs, a.p. 1462Conveying or producing vapor.
  41. Vāp'o-rĭf'ic, a.p. 1462Forming into vapor; converting into steam, or expelling in a volatile form, as fluids.
  42. Vā'por-ing-ly, adv.p. 1462In a vaporing or boasting manner.
  43. Vā'pōr-ish, a.p. 1462Full of vapors; hypochondriacal; splenetic; affected by hysterics. Syn. — Splenetic; peevish; humorsome.
  44. Vāp'o-rīz/a-ble, a.p. 1462Capable of being vaporized, or converted into vapor.
  45. Vāp'o-ri-zā'tion, n.p. 1462The act of vaporizing, or the state of being converted into vapor; the artificial formation of vapor.
  46. Văp’or-ize, v. t.p. 1462– [Fr. vaporiser.] To convert into vapor by the application of heat, whether naturally or artificially.
  47. Vaporizing surfacep. 1462the part of the heating surface actually in contact with water.
  48. Vāp'or-īze, v. i.p. 1462To pass off in vapor.
  49. Vāp'o-rīz'er, n.p. 1462One who, or that which, vapors, or converts into vapor.
  50. Vā'pōr-ōse', a.p. 1462Full of vapor; vaporous.
  51. Vā'por-ōus, a.p. 1462Full of vapors or exhalations. “The more vaporous air of valleys.” Derham. 2. Windy; flatulent. “Beans, or such vaporous food.” Bacon. The food which is most vaporous and perspirable is the most…
  52. Vā'pōr-ōs-ness, n.p. 1462The state or the quality of being vaporous.
  53. Vā'pōr-y, a.p. 1462Full of vapors; vaporous. 2. Hypochondriacal; splenetic; peevish.
  54. Văp-ū-lā'tion, n.p. 1462The act of beating or whipping. [Obs.]
  55. Vā-rā'nas, n.p. 1462(Zoöl.) A genus of large, strong reptiles, which acquire a size only inferior to the crocodiles. Baird.
  56. Vāre, n.p. 1462A wand or staff of justice. [Obs.] Howell.
  57. Vār'ee, n.p. 1462Kelp or incinerated sea-weed; wrack; Fucus vesiculosus. Ure.
  58. Vā'rē, n.p. 1462(Zoöl.) A quadrumanous mammal found in Madagascar; the ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta), a quadruped having its tail marked with rings of black and white.
  59. Vā'ri-a-bĭl'i-ty, n.p. 1462The state or quality of being variable; variableness.
  60. Vā'ri-a-ble, a.p. 1462Having the capacity of varying or changing; capable of alteration in any manner; changeable; as, variable winds or seasons; variable colors. 2. Over-susceptible of change; liable to change; mutable…