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.
Whap'per, n. p. 1506Something uncommonly large of the kind;—applied especially to a bold lie. [Scot. Colloq. and vulgar, Eng. and U. S.]Whap'ping, a. p. 1506Very large; monstrous; extraordinary; as, a whapping story. [Colloq. and low.]Wharf, n. p. 1506A perpendicular bank or mound of timber or stone and earth, raised on the shore of a harbor, river, canal, or the like, or extending some distance into the water, for the convenience of lading and…Wharf, v. t. p. 1506To guard or secure by a wharf or firm wall of timber or stone; to furnish with a wharf or wharves. 2. To place upon a wharf; to bring to a wharf.Wharf'age, n. p. 1506The fee or duty paid for the privilege of using a wharf for loading or unloading goods. 2. A wharf, or wharves in general; wharfing.Wharf'-boat, n. p. 1506A kind of boat moored at the side of a river, &c., and used for a wharf, in places where the height of the water is so variable that a fixed wharf would be useless. [U. S.] Bartlett.Wharf'ing, n. p. 1506Wharfs in general.Wharf'in-ger, n. p. 1506A man who has the care of a wharf, or the proprietor of a wharf.Wharl, n. p. 1506Inability to pronounce the letter r, and the sound produced by trying to do so. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.] They have all a strange, uncouth wharling in their speech. Fuller.Wharp, n. p. 1506A kind of fine sand from the banks of the Trent, used as a polishing powder. [Eng.]What, pron. p. 1506An interrogative pronoun, employed in asking questions as to things, inanimate objects, or creatures other than man, corresponding thus to who, which is used for persons; as, what is this? what did…What, n. p. 1506Something; thing; stuff. [Obs.] And gave him for to feed, Such homely what as serves the simple clown. Spenser.What p. 1506interrog. adv. Why? for what purpose? [Obs. and rare.] But what do I stand reckoning upon advantages and gains lost by the misrule and turbulency of the prelates? What do I pick up so thriftily their…What-ēv’er, pron. p. 1506Any thing soever which; the thing or things of any kind; being this or that; of one nature or another; one thing or another; any thing that may be; all that; the whole that; all particulars that.…What'-nŏt, n. p. 1506A kind of stand or piece of household furniture, having shelves for books, ornaments, and the like; an étagère.What’so p. 1506indef. pron. Whatsoever; whatever; any thing that. [Obs.] Whatso the heaven in his wide vault contains. Spenser.What'so-ev'er, a. p. 1506Whatever. “In whatsoever shape to lurk.” Milton.Whaul, n. p. 1506The same as WHALL, q. v.Whēal, n. p. 1506A pustule. [Obs.] Wiseman. 2. A mark raised by a stroke; a weal; a wale.Wheal, n. p. 1506(Mining.) A mine. Weale.Wheat, n. p. 1506(Bot.) A plant of the genus Triticum, and the seed of the plant, which furnishes a white flour for bread, and, next to rice, is the grain most generally used by the human race. Common Wheat (Triticum…Wheat'-bĭrd, n. p. 1506A bird that feeds on wheat.Wheat'-ēar, n. p. 1506An ear of wheat. 2. (Syn. op., §130.) (Ornith.) A small bird, common in Europe, and found in Greenland; Saxicola œnanthe; fallow-chat, or fallow-finch. See FALLOW-FINCH.Wheat'en, a. p. 1506Made of wheat; as, wheaten bread. 2. Made of, or adorned with, wheat. [Obs.]Wheat'-fly, n. p. 1506(Entom.) One of several insects injurious to wheat, including the Hessian-fly, wheat-moth, and others;—applied especially to a small insect of the genus Cecidomyia (C. tritici).Wheat'-grass, n. p. 1506(Bot.) A grassy plant of the genus Triticum (T. caninum), growing in the northern parts of the United States. Gray.Wheat'-moth, n. p. 1506(Entom.) An insect whose grubs devour the grains of wheat, chiefly after it is harvested; grain-moth. ¶ The name is chiefly applied to two lepidopterous insects, the moths of which are also called…Wheat'-plūm, n. p. 1506A sort of plum.Whee'dle, v. t. p. 1506To entice by soft words; to cajole; to flatter. “The unlucky art of wheedling fools.” Dryden. 2. To gain or get away by flattery.Whee'dle, v. t. p. 1506To flatter; to coax.Wheel, n. p. 1506Dan. hvel, hvíl, the axle of a spinning-wheel; allied to Goth. valjan, to roll.] 1. A circular frame turning on an axis; a rotating disk, whether solid, or composed of an outer rim, spokes, or radii…Wheel, v. t. p. 1507To convey on wheels; as, to wheel a load of hay or wood. 2. To put into a rotatory motion; to cause to turn or revolve; to cause to gyrate; to make or perform in a circle. “In many a whistling circle…Wheel, v. i. p. 1507To turn on an axis, or as on an axis; to revolve; to move about; to rotate. The moon . . . always shows the same face to us, not once wheeling upon her own center. Bentley. 2. To change direction, as…Wheel'-ăn'i-mal or Wheel'-ăn'i-māl/ēule, n. p. 1507(Zoöl.) One of a class of animalcules, with arms for taking their prey resembling wheels; a rotifer.Wheel'-ba-ròm'e-ter, n. p. 1507A barometer having its scale on a circular dial, the index of which is moved by a thread passing over a pulley on its axis from an iron float, which rests on the mercury in an open, vertical branch…Wheel'bār-rōw, n. p. 1507A light frame with a box for conveying articles, having two handles and one wheel, and rolled by a single person.Wheel'-bōat, n. p. 1507A boat with wheels, to be used either on water or upon inclined planes or railways.Wheel'-cār'riage, n. p. 1507A carriage moved on wheels.Wheeled, p. a. p. 1507Having wheels; — used chiefly in composition; as, a four-wheeled carriage.Wheel'er, n. p. 1507One who wheels or turns. 2. A maker of wheels; a wheelwright. [Obs.] 3. A wheel-horse. See WHEEL-HORSE. 4. A worker on sewed muslin. [Eng.] Simmonds.Wheel'-hôrse, n. p. 1507One of the hindmost horses in a carriage, or those nearest to the wheels, as opposed to the leaders, or forward horses;—called also wheeler.Wheel'-house, n. p. 1507(Naut.) (a.) A small house or shelter on deck, which contains the steering-wheel. (b.) The paddle-box of steam-vessels.Wheel'ing, n. p. 1507The act of conveying on wheels. 2. Adaptation to wheel-carriages; convenience for passing on wheels; as, it is good wheeling, or bad wheeling, according to the state of the roads. 3. A turning, or…Wheel'-lŏck, n. p. 1507A kind of lock formerly used in some kinds of fire-arms, having a wheel which revolved against a flint fixed in the lock, thus communicating fire to the priming.Wheel'-ōre, n. p. 1507(Min.) An opaque mineral of a steel-gray or black color, and metallic luster, consisting chiefly of sulphur, antimony, lead, and copper. Dana.Wheel'-rāce, n. p. 1507The place in which a water-wheel is fixed.Wheel'-rōpe, n. p. 1507(Naut.) A rope which connects the steering wheel and the rudder.Wheel'-shāped, a. p. 1507Shaped like a wheel. 2. (Bot.) Expanding into a flat border at top, with scarcely any tube; as, a wheel-shaped corol.Wheel'-swarf, n. p. 1507A clayey cement or putty made from the dust obtained from the abrasion of grind-stones, and used, in furnaces for making steel, to cover the layers of iron and charcoal. [Prov. Eng.]Wheel'-work, n. p. 1507A combination of wheels, and their connection in a machine.Wheel'-wōrn, a. p. 1507Worn by the action of wheels.Wheel’wright, n. p. 1507A man whose occupation it is to make wheels and wheel-carriages, as carts and wagons.Wheel'y, a. p. 1507Circular; suitable to rotation. [Obs.]Wheeze, v. i. p. 1507To breathe hard, and with an audible sound, as persons affected with asthma. “Wheezing lungs.” Shak.Wheez'y, a. p. 1507Breathing with difficulty and with a sound; wheezing.Whĕlk, n. p. 1507A wrinkle; an inequality on the surface; a protuberance; a pustule. 2. A stripe or mark; a streak; a wale. 3. [Cf. WHILK and WILK.] (Zool.) A mollusk (the Buccinum undatum) having a univalvular…Whelked, p. a. p. 1507Having whelks or ridges; welked. See WELK.Whelk'y, a. p. 1507Having whelks, ridges, or protuberances; hence, streaked; striated. “Whelky pearls.” Spenser.Whĕlm, v. t. p. 1507To cover with water or other fluid; to cover by immersion in something that envelops on all sides; to overwhelm. “The whelming billow and the faithless oar.” Gay. She is my prize, or ocean whelm them…Whĕlp, n. p. 1507The young of the canine species, and also of beasts of prey; a puppy; a cub; as, a bear robbed of her whelps; lions’ whelps. 2. A child; a youth;—jocosely or contemptuously so called. That awkward…