Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
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Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Wēak'ly, adv. p. 1500In a weak manner; feebly; with little strength; faintly; timorously; as, a fortress weakly defended. 2. With want of efficacy. Was plighted faith so weakly sealed above? Dryden. 3. With feebleness of…Wēak'ly, a. p. 1500Not strong of constitution; infirm; as, a weakly woman; a man of a weakly constitution.Wēak'ness, n. p. 1500<br>1. The state or quality of being weak; want of physical strength; lack of force or vigor; feebleness; infirmity; debility; as, the weakness of a child; the weakness of an invalid; the weakness of…Wēal, n. p. 1500A sound, healthy, or prosperous state of a person or thing; prosperity; happiness. “As we love the weal of our souls and bodies.” Bacon. “To him linked in weal or woe.” Milton. Never was there a time…Wēal, v. t. p. 1500To promote the weal of; to cause to prosper. [Obs. and rare.] Beaum. & Fl.Wēal, n. p. 1500The mark of a stripe; a wale. See WALE.Wēal, v. t. p. 1500To mark with stripes; to wale. See WALE.Wēal'-băl'anced, a. p. 1500Balanced, weighed, or considered with reference to weal, or public good. [Obs.] Shak.Wēald, n. p. 1500A wood or forest; wooded land or region; also, an open country;—often found in the composition of names. Fled all night long by glimmering waste and weald, And heard the spirits of the waste and…Wēald'-clāy, n. p. 1500(Geol.) The uppermost member of the wealden strata.Wēald’en, a. p. 1500(Geol.) Of, or pertaining to, the upper part of the oölitic series. Mantell.Wēald'en, n. p. 1500(Geol.) The wealden group or strata.Wēald'ish, a. p. 1500(Geog.) Of, or pertaining to, the county of Kent, England, or to the wealds or woods in it. [Obs.] Fuller.Wēals'man, n. p. 1500A statesman; a politician. [Rare.] Shak.Wealth, n. p. 1500Weal; welfare; prosperity; external happiness. [Obs.] Let no man seek his own, but every man another’s wealth. 1 Cor. x. 24. 2. Large possessions of money, goods, or land; abundance of worldly…Wēalth'ful, a. p. 1500Full of wealth; wealthy; prosperous; happy. [Rare.] Sir T. More.Wēalth'ful-ly, adv. p. 1500In a wealthful manner; prosperously; happily. [Rare.]Wēalth'i-ly, adv. p. 1500In a wealthy manner; richly. I come to wive it wealthily in Padua. Shak.Wēalth'i-ness, n. p. 1500The state of being wealthy, or rich; richness.Wēalth'y, a. p. 1500Having great wealth, or large possessions in lands, goods, money, or securities, or larger than the generality of men; opulent; affluent; rich. “A wealthy Hebrew of my tribe.” Shak. Thou broughtest…Wēan, v. t. p. 1500To accustom and reconcile, as a child or other young animal, to a want or deprivation of the breast; to take from the breast or udder; to make no longer dependent on the mother for nourishment. And…Wēan, n. p. 1500A young or newly weaned child; a weanling. “I, being but a yearling wean.” Browning.Wēan'el, n. p. 1500A child or other animal newly weaned; a weanling. [Obs.] Milton.Wēan'ing-brāsh, n. p. 1500(Med.) A severe form of diarrhea, which supervenes, at times, on weaning. Dunglison.Wēan'ling, n. p. 1500A child or animal newly weaned; a weanel; a wean.Wēan'ling, a. p. 1500Recently weaned. “Weanling herds.” Milton.Wĕap'on, n. p. 1500An instrument of offensive or defensive combat; something to fight with; any thing used, or designed to be used, in destroying or annoying an enemy. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal. 2 Cor.…Wĕap'oned, a. p. 1500Furnished with weapons or arms; armed; equipped.Wĕap'on-less, a. p. 1500Having no weapon; unarmed.Wĕap'on-ry, n. p. 1500Weapons taken collectively; as, an array of weaponry. [Poet.]Wĕap'on-sälve, n. p. 1500A salve which was supposed to cure the wound by being applied to the weapon that made it. [Obs.] Boyle.Weâr (4), v. t. p. 1500To carry or bear upon the person; to bear upon one, as an article of clothing, decoration, warfare, or the like; to have appendant to one's body; to have on; as, to wear a coat or a robe; to wear a…Wear, v. i. p. 1500To endure or suffer use; to last under employment; to bear the consequences of use, as waste, consumption, or attrition; as, a coat wears well, or ill;—hence, sometimes applied to character…Weâr, n. p. 1500The act of wearing, or the state of being worn; consumption by use; diminution by friction; as, the wear of a garment. 2. The thing worn; style of dress; the fashion. Motley's your only wear. Shak.…Wēar, n. p. 1500A dam in a river to stop and raise the water, for conducting it to a mill, for taking fish, and the like. 2. A fence of stakes or twigs set in a stream for catching fish.Weâr'a-ble, a. p. 1500Capable of being worn; suitable to be worn.Weâr'er, n. p. 1500One who wears or carries as appendant to the body; as, the wearer of a cloak, a sword, or a crown. Cowls, hoods, and habits, with their wearers tossed, And flutt'red into rags. Milton. 2. That which…Wēa'ri-a-ble, a. p. 1500Capable of being wearied or fatigued. [Rare.] R. Hall.Wēa'ri-ful, a. p. 1500Full of, or causing, weariness; tedious; tiresome; wearisome. [Rare.]Wēa'ri-ful-ly, adv. p. 1500In a weariful manner; wearisomely. [Rare.]Wēa'ri-less, a. p. 1500Incapable of being wearied.Wēa'ri-ly, adv. p. 1500In a weary manner.Wēa’ri-ness, n. p. 1500State of being weary or tired; lassitude; exhaustion of strength; fatigue. “With weariness and wine oppressed.” Dryden. A man would die, though he were neither valiant nor miserable, only upon a…Weâr'ing, p. a. p. 1500Pertaining to, or designed for, wear; as, wearing apparel.Weâr'ing, n. p. 1500That which is worn; clothes; garments. [Obs.] Give me my nightly wearing and adieu. Shak. 2. The manner in which any thing wears; use; conduct; consumption. Belike he meant to ward, and there to see…Wēar'ish, a. p. 1500Boggy; watery; washy; hence, insipid; tasteless; unsavory. “Wearish as meat that is not well tasted.” Palsgrave. 2. Weak; withered; shrunk. “A wearish hand.” Ford. “A little, wearish old man, very…Wea'ri-sōme, a. p. 1500Causing weariness; tiresome; tedious; fatiguing; as, a wearisome march; a wearisome day's work. These high, wild hills, and rough, uneven ways, Draw out our miles, and make them wearisome. Shak.…Wēa'ri-sōme-ly, adv. p. 1500In a wearisome manner; tediously.Wēa'ri-sōme-ness, n. p. 1500The state or quality of being wearisome; tiresomeness; tediousness; as, the wearisomeness of toil, or of waiting long in anxious expectation.Wea'ry, a. p. 1500Having the strength exhausted by toil or exertion; worn out in respect to strength, endurance, patience, or the like; tired; fatigued. I care not for my spirits if my legs were not so weary. Shak. 2.…Wēa'ry, v. t. p. 1500To reduce or exhaust the physical strength or endurance of; to tire; to fatigue; as, to weary one's self with labor or traveling. So shall he waste his means, weary his soldiers. Shak. 2. To make…Wēa'sand, n. p. 1501The windpipe or trachea; the canal through which air passes to and from the lungs; the throttle. [Formerly written also wesand, wezand, and wesil.] Cut his weasand with thy knife. Shak.Wēa'sel, n. p. 1501(Zoöl.) A small quadruped of the genus Mustela (M. vulgaris), about six inches in length, with a tail about two inches long. It is remarkable for its slender form and agile movements. It preys upon…Wēa'sel-cōot, n. p. 1501(Ornith.) The red-headed smew, or Mergus minutus.Wēa'sel-fā'ced, a. p. 1501Having a thin, sharp face, like a weasel.Wēa'si-ness, n. p. 1501The state or quality of being weasy; full feeding; sensual indulgence. [Obs.] Joye.Wea'sy, a. p. 1501Given to sensual indulgence; gluttonous. [Obs. and rare.] Joye.Weath'er, n. p. 1501The air or atmosphere with respect to its state as regards heat or cold, wetness or dryness, calm or storm, clearness or cloudiness, or any other meteorological phenomena; meteorological condition of…Wēath'er, v. t. p. 1501To expose to the air; to air; to season by exposure to air. Like to an eagle soaring To weather his broad sails. Spencer. This gear lacks weathering. Latimer. 2. (Naut.) To sail to the windward of…Wēath'er, v. i. p. 1501To undergo or endure the action of the atmosphere; to suffer meteorological influences; sometimes, to wear away or alter under atmospheric influences. The organisms . . . seem indestructible, while…