Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
- Entries
- 95,912
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Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Whim'si-cal, a. p. 1509Full of whims; freakish; having odd fancies; capricious. My neighbors call me whimsical. Addison. 2. Hence, singular; curious; odd; fantastic. “A whimsical chair.” Evelyn. Syn.—Quaint; freakish…Whim'si-căl'i-ty, n. p. 1509The state or quality of being whimsical; whimsicalness.Whim'si-cal-ly, adv. p. 1509In a whimsical manner; freakishly.Whĭm'sĭ-cal-ness, n. p. 1509The state or quality of being whimsical; freakishness; whimsical disposition; odd temper.Whĭm'whăm, n. p. 1509A whimsical thing; a trifle; a trinket; a gimcrack. [Rare.] They'll pull you all to pieces for your whimwhams. Beau. & Fl. 2. A whim or whimsey; a freak.Whĭn, n. p. 1509(Bot.) Gorse; furze; — applied also to a leguminous plant, of the genus Genista, having yellow flowers. Lee.Whĭn, n. p. 1509The same as WHIN-STONE, q. v.Whĭn'ăx or Whĭn'ăxe, n. p. 1509An instrument used for extirpating whin from land. P. Cyc.Whĭn'-bruis'er, n. p. 1509A machine for cutting and bruising whin or furze to feed cattle on. Simmonds.Whĭn'chăt, n. p. 1509(Ornith.) A small singing-bird; a species of warbler, the Saxicola rubetra (Motacilla rubetra of Linnæus), common in Europe.Whīne, v. i. p. 1509To utter a plaintive cry; to moan with a childish noise; to complain in a shrill, long-drawn tone; hence, to complain in a mean, unmanly way; to moan basely. “The whining plover.” Spenser. They…Whīne, v. t. p. 1509To utter or express plaintively; to make complaint of, especially in a shrill, drawling tone, and unmanly way; as, to whine out grievances. [Rare.]Whīne, n. p. 1509A plaintive tone; the nasal-childish tone of mean complaint; mean or affected complaint.Whīn'er, n. p. 1509One who whines.Whĭng'er, n. p. 1509A cutlass or hanger; a whinyard. See WHINYARD. The chief acknowledged that he had corrected her with his whinger. W. Scott.Whīn'ing-ly, adv. p. 1509In a whining manner.Whĭn'ner or Whĭn'nōw, v. i. p. 1509To whinny. [Prov. Eng.]Whĭn'nōw, n. p. 1509A whinny. [Prov. Eng.]Whĭn'ny, v. i. p. 1509To utter the sound of a horse; to neigh.Whĭn'ny, n. p. 1509The cry or note of a horse; a gentle neigh. The stately horse . . . stooped With a low whinny. Tennyson.Whĭn'ny, a. p. 1509Abounding in whins, gorse, or furze-bushes. “A fine, large, whinny, unimproved common.” Sterne.Whĭn'ock, n. p. 1509The small pig of a litter. [Local U. S.]Whĭn'-stōne, n. p. 1509(Geol.) Trap or green-stone; — a provincial name given to basaltic rocks, and applied by miners to any kind of dark-colored and hard, unstratified rock, which resists the point of the pick. Veins of…Whĭn'yard, n. p. 1509A sword, or hanger; — so called in contempt. [Obs.]Whĭp, v. t. p. 1509To strike with a lash, a cord, a rod, or any thing lithe, which pains without bruising; to lash; to beat; as, to whip a horse. 2. To drive with lashes; to cause to rotate by lashing with a cord; as…Whip, v. i. p. 1509To move nimbly; to start suddenly and do any thing; as, the boy whipped away in an instant; he whipped round the corner; he whipped into the house, and was out of sight in a moment. Two friends…Whip, n. p. 1509An instrument for driving horses or other animals, or for correction, consisting of a lash tied to a handle or rod. In his right hand he holds a whip, with which he is supposed to drive the horses of…Whĭp'-côrd, n. p. 1509A kind of hard-twisted or braided cord, sometimes used for making lashes.Whip'graft, v. t. p. 1509To graft by cutting the cion and stock in a sloping direction, so as to fit each other, and by inserting a tongue on the cion into a slit in the stock. [See Illust. of Graft.]Whip'-hănd, n. p. 1509Advantage over; as, he has the whip-hand of her. [Rare.] Dryden.Whip'-lash, n. p. 1509The lash of a whip; — usually made of thongs of leather, braided, or of twisted cord, hide, or bark.Whip'per, n. p. 1509One who whips; especially, an officer who inflicts the penalty of legal whipping. 2. One who raises coal with a tackle from a ship's hold. Simmonds. 3. (Spinning.) A kind of simple willow, or willy.Whip'per-in, n. p. 1509A huntsman who keeps the hounds from wandering, and whips them in, if necessary, to the line of chase. 2. Hence, one who enforces the discipline of a party, and urges the attendance of the members on…Whip′per-snäp′per, n. p. 1509A diminutive, insignificant person. [Colloq.] Brockett.Whīp'ping-pōst, n. p. 1509A post to which offenders are tied to be whipped.Whĭp'ple-tree, n. p. 1509The bar to which the traces or tugs of a harness are fastened, and by which a carriage, a plow, a harrow, or other implement, is drawn; a swing-bar; a whiffletree. Forby.Whip'po-wïll, n. p. 1509See WHIP-POOR-WILL.Whip'-poor-will, n. p. 1509(Ornith.) An American bird, allied to the nighthawk and nightjar, so called from its note, or the sounds of its voice; a species of Caprimulgus (C. vociferus).Whip'saw, n. p. 1509A Whip-poor-will (Caprimulgus vociferus). A saw usually set in a frame, for dividing timber lengthwise, and commonly worked by two persons.Whĭp'-shāped, a. p. 1509(Bot.) Shaped like the lash of a whip; long, slender, and tapering; — said especially of roots and stems.Whĭp'-snāke, n. p. 1509(Zoöl.) A kind of venomous snake found in the East, having a long, slender body, resembling the lash of a whip.Whip'-stăff, n. p. 1509(Naut.) A bar by which the rudder is turned; a tiller.Whip'-stalk, n. p. 1509The rod or stalk to which the lash of a whip is fastened; a whip-stock.Whip'ster, n. p. 1509A nimble little fellow. Every puny whipster gets my sword. Shak.Whip'-stick, n. p. 1509The stick or handle of a whip; whip-stock.Whip'-stitch, n. p. 1509A tailor; — so called in contempt. 2. Any thing hastily put or stitched together; hence, a hasty composition. [Rare.] Dryden. 3. (Agric.) The act of whip-stitching, or raftering land.Whip'-stitch, v. t. p. 1509(Agric.) To half-plow, or to rafter, as land; to plow in ridges. [Eng.]Whĭp'-stŏck, n. p. 1509The rod or staff to which the lash of a whip is fastened; sometimes, the whole whip.Whipt, imp. & p. p. p. 1509of whip, for whipped.Whir, v. i. p. 1509To whirl round with noise; to fly with a buzzing or whizzing sound. “The partridge bursts away on whirring wings.” Beattie.Whĭr, v. t. p. 1510To hurry. [Rare.] This world is to me like a lasting storm, Whirring me from my friends. Shak.Whĭr, n. p. 1510A buzzing or whizzing sound produced by the rapid or whirling motion of any thing; as, the whir of a partridge; the whir of a spinning-wheel.Whirl, v. t. p. 1510To turn round rapidly; to cause to rotate with velocity; to make to revolve. He whirls his sword around without delay. Dryden. 2. To remove quickly with a revolving motion; to snatch. See, see the…Whirl, v. i. p. 1510To be turned round rapidly; to move round with velocity; to revolve or rotate with great motion; to gyrate. The wooden engine flies and whirls about. Dryden. 2. To move hastily. “But whirled away to…Whirl, n. p. 1510A turning with rapidity or velocity; rapid rotation or circumvolution; quick gyration; as, the whirl of a top; the whirl of a wheel. The rapid motion and whirl of things here below interrupts not the…Whirl'-a-bout, n. p. 1510Something that turns about in a rapid manner; a whirligig.Whirl'-băt, n. p. 1510Any thing moved with a whirl as preparatory for a blow, or to augment the force of it; — applied by poets to the ancient cestus. The whirl-bat and the rapid race shall be Reserved for Cesar. Dryden.Whirl'-blāst, n. p. 1510A whirling blast of wind. “A whirl-blast from behind the hill.” Wordsworth.Whirl'-bōne, n. p. 1510The patella; the cap of the knee; the knee-pan. Ainsworth.Whirl'er, n. p. 1510One who, or that which, whirls.