Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
- Entries
- 95,912
- Pages
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- Illustrations
- 2,133
Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Want, n. p. 1490A mole. [Obs.] She hath the ears of a want. Lyly.Want, n. p. 1490The state of not having; a being without any thing; destitution; 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…Want, v. t. p. 1490To be without; to be destitute of; not to have; to lack; as, to want knowledge; to want judgment; to want learning; to want food and clothing;—used impersonally; as, it wants ten minutes of four. Nor…Want, v. i. p. 1490To be deficient or lacking; to fail; not to be sufficient; to fall short. As in bodies, thus in souls, we find What wants in blood and spirits, swelled with wind. Pope. No time shall find me wanting…Wa’n’t p. 1490A vulgar contraction of was not, used in ‘colloquial language.Want'age, n. p. 1490That which is wanting; deficiency.Want'ing, p. a. p. 1490Absent; deficient; as, one of the twelve is wanting; we have the means, but the application is wanting. 2. Slack; deficient; as, I shall not be wanting in exertion.Wan'ton, a. p. 1490Moving or flying loosely; playing in the wind; hence, wandering or roving in gayety or sport; sportive; frolicsome. “Note a wild and wanton herd.” Shak. She, as a wail, down to the slender waist, Her…Wan'ton, n. p. 1490A roving, frolicsome thing; a trifler;—used rarely as a term of endearment. [Rare.] I am afraid you make a wanton of me. Shak. Peace, my wantons; he will do More than you can aim unto. B. Jonson. 2.…Wan'ton, v. i. p. 1490To rove and ramble without restraint, rule, or limit; to revel; to play loosely; to frolic. Nature here Wantoned as in her prime. Milton. How merrily we would sally forth into the fields, and strip…Wan'ton, v. t. p. 1490To cause to become wanton. [Obs.]Wan'ton-ize, v. i. p. 1490To behave wantonly. [Obs.]Wan'ton-ly, adv. p. 1490In a wanton manner; without regularity or restraint; loosely; sportively; gayly; playfully; lasciviously. 2. Unintentionally; accidentally. [Obs.] Dee.Wan'ton-ness, n. p. 1490The quality of being wanton; sportiveness; gayety; frolicsomeness; waggery. As sad as night Only for wantonness. Shak. 2. Licentiousness; negligence of restraint. The tumults threatened to abuse all…Wan'-trüst, n. p. 1490Failing or diminishing trust; want of trust or confidence. [Obs.] Chaucer.Want'-wit, n. p. 1490One destitute of wit or sense; a blockhead; a fool. [Obs.] Shak.Want'y, n. p. 1490A leather tie or rope; a short wagon-rope; a surcingle, or strap of leather, used for binding a load upon the back of a beast. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell. Tusser.Wāw'y, a. p. 1491Waning or diminished in some parts; not of uniform size throughout;—said especially of sawed boards or timber when tapering or uneven, from being cut too near the outside of the log. 2. Spoiled by…Wānze, v. i. p. 1491To wane, waste, or wither. [Obs.]Wap, v. t. p. 1491To beat; to whap. [Prov. Eng.]Wap, n. p. 1491A blow or beating; a whap. [Prov. Eng.]Wap'a-tōo', n. p. 1491The edible bulb of Sagittaria variabilis;—so called by the Indians of Oregon, by whom it is used as food. [Written also wappato.]Wap'a-cūt, n. p. 1491(Ornith.) The spotted owl of Hudson's Bay (Strix wapacuthu), a nocturnal accipitrine bird of prey, about two feet long.Wāped, a. p. 1491Cast down; crushed by misery; dejected. [Obs.] Shak.Wāp'en-tāke, n. p. 1491In some northern counties of England, a division or district, answering to the Hundred or Centred in other counties. Yorkshire is divided into wapentakes, instead of hundreds. The name was first…Wap'inschaw (-shaw), n. p. 1491An exhibition of arms, according to the rank of the individual, made at certain seasons in each district. [Scot.] Jamieson. W. Scott.Wäp'i-ti, n. p. 1491The American elk; Cervus Canadensis.Wāpp, n. p. 1491(Naut.) The rope with which the shrouds are set taut in wall-knots.Wap'pa-to, n. p. 1491See WAPATOO.Wăp'pe, n. p. 1491A cur;— said to be so called from his yelping notes.Wap'pened, a. p. 1491Having been subjected to sexual intercourse; also, wearied; fatigued. [Obs. and very rare.] “The wappened widow.” Shak.Wāp'per, n. p. 1491(Ichth.) A certain fish;—a name given by some to the smaller species of the river gudgeon.Wāp'ping, n. p. 1491The yelping of a dog. [Rare.] Fuller.Wār, n. p. 1491State of opposition or contest; act of opposition; inimical act or action; enmity; hostility. “Raised impious war in heaven.” Milton. The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in…War, v. i. p. 1491To contend; to strive violently; to fight. “Lusts which war against the soul.” 1 Pet. ii. 11. 2. To make war; to invade or attack a nation or state with force of arms; to carry on hostilities; or to…War, v. t. p. 1491To make war upon; to fight. “To war the Scot, and borders to defend.” Daniel. 2. To carry on, as a contest. That thou mightest war a good warfare. 1 Tim. i. 18.War'-bēat or War'-bēat'en, a. p. 1491Worn down in war.Wăr'ble, v. t. p. 1491To sing in a trilling, quavering, or vibratory manner; to modulate with turns or variations; to trill; as, certain birds are remarkable for warbling their songs. 2. To utter musically; to modulate…War'ble, v. i. p. 1491To be quavered or modulated; to be uttered melodiously. Such strains ne'er warble in the linnet's throat. Gay. 2. To sing in a trilling manner, or with many turns and variations. “Birds on the…War'-ble, n. p. 1491A quavering modulation of the voice; a song.War'-ble, n. p. 1491(Far.) (a.) A small, hard tumor on the backs of horses, occasioned by the heat of the saddle in traveling, or by the uneasiness of its situation. (b.) A small tumor produced by the larvæ of the…War'-bler, n. p. 1491One who, or that which, warbles; a singer; a songster; — applied chiefly to birds. In lulling strains the feathered warblers woo. Tickell. 2. (Ornith.) One of the Silviidæ, a family of small singing…War'-bling-ly, adv. p. 1491In a warbling manner.War'-cry, n. p. 1491A cry or signal used in war; as, the Indian war-cry.War'-dance, n. p. 1491A dance among savages preliminary to going to war. Among the North American Indians, it is begun by some distinguished chief, and whoever joins in it thereby enlists as one of the party engaged in a…Ward p. 1491An affix used in the composition of a large class of words, and denoting direction or tendency to, motion toward, and the like; as, in upward.Ward, v. t. p. 1491To keep in safety; to watch; to guard. Whose gates be found fast shut, no living wight To ward the same. Spenser. 2. To defend; to protect. Tell him it was a hand that warded him From thousand…Ward, v. i. p. 1491To be vigilant; to keep guard. [Obs.] 2. To act on the defensive with a weapon. She drove the stranger to no other shift than to ward and go back. Sidney.Ward, n. p. 1491The act of guarding; watch; guard; guardianship. Still, when she slept, he kept both watch and ward. Spenser. This word was formerly used in distinction from watch, to denote a guarding or watching…Ward'-côrn, n. p. 1491(O. Eng. Law.) The duty of keeping watch and ward, with a horn to blow upon any occasion of surprise. Burrill.Ward'en, n. p. 1491A keeper; a guardian. He called to the wardens on the outside battlements. W. Scott. 2. An officer who keeps or guards; a keeper; as, the warden of the Fleet or Fleet prison. 3. A large, hard pear…Ward'en-ry or Ward'en-ship, n. p. 1491The office or jurisdiction of a warden.Ward'er, n. p. 1491One who wards or keeps; a keeper; a guard. “The warders of the gate.” Dryden. 2. A truncheon or staff of command carried by a king or any commander-in-chief, the throwing down of which seems to have…Ward'i-an, a. p. 1491Pertaining to, or characterized as, a glass inclosure for keeping ferns, or for transporting growing plants from a distance;—so named from the inventor. [Eng.] Simmonds.Ward'-mōte, n. p. 1491A meeting of the ward; also, a court of the ward, whose province it is to present defaults in matters relating to the watch, police, and the like. [London, Eng.] P. Cyc. Brande.Ward'-pĕn'ny, n. p. 1491(O. Eng. Law.) Money paid to the sheriff or castellans for the duty of watching and warding a castle. Burrill.Ward'rōbe, n. p. 1491A room or apartment where clothes are kept, or wearing apparel is stored; a portable closet for hanging up clothes. 2. Wearing apparel in general; articles of dress or decoration. Or frost to flowers…Ward'room, n. p. 1492(Naut.) A room occupied as a mess-room by the commissioned officers of a war-vessel. Totten.Ward'ship, n. p. 1492The office of a ward or keeper; care and protection of a ward; guardianship; right of guardianship. Wardship is incident to tenure in socage. Blackstone. 2. The state of being under a guardian…Wards'man, n. p. 1492A man who keeps watch or ward; a guard. [Rare.] Sydney Smith.