Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
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.
White'-cāp, n. p. 1511A wave crested with white foam.White'-coat, n. p. 1511The skin of a young seal;—so called by fishermen. Simmonds.White'-ear, n. p. 1511(Ornith.) A bird, the fallow-finch or wheat-ear.White'-fāce, n. p. 1511A white mark in the forehead of a horse, descending almost to the nose; — called also white-blaze.Whīte'-fĭlm, n. p. 1511A disease of the eyes of sheep, causing blindness.Whīte'-flaw, n. p. 1511A whitlow. [Obs.] Holland.Whīte'-fo͝ot, n. p. 1511(Far.) A white mark on the foot of a horse, between the fetlock and the coffin.Whīte'-lănd, n. p. 1511A tough, clayey soil, of a whitish hue when dry, but blackish after rain. [Eng.]Whīte'-līmed, a. p. 1511Whitewashed or plastered with lime.Whīte'-lĭv'ered, a. p. 1511Having a pale look; feeble; cowardly. They need not be milk-sops, nor white-livered knights. Latimer. 2. Envious; malicious. [Obs.] Beau. & Fl.Whīte'ly, a. p. 1511Like, or coming near to, white. [Obs.] “A whitely wanton with a velvet brow.” Shak.Whīte'-mēat, n. p. 1511Meats made of milk, butter, cheese, eggs, and the like. Spenser. 2. Young or delicate flesh or food, as veal, poultry, rabbits, and the like. Simmonds.Whīt'en, v. t. p. 1511To make white; to bleach; to blanch; as, to whiten cloth. “The broad stream of the Foyle then whitened by vast flocks of wild swans.” Macaulay. Syn.—See BLANCH.Whit'en, v. i. p. 1511To grow white; to turn or become white, or whiter; as, the hair whitens with age; the sea whitens with foam; the trees in spring whiten with blossoms.Whit'en-er, n. p. 1511One who bleaches, or makes white.Whit'en-ing, n. p. 1511That which is used to render white; whiting. [Rare.]Whit'en-ing-stōne, n. p. 1511A sharpening and polishing stone used by cutlers;—applied also to a finishing grindstone of finer texture than those commonly employed. Simmonds.White'ness, n. p. 1511The state or quality of being white; white color, or freedom from any darkness or obscurity on the surface. 2. Want of a sanguineous tinge; paleness. “The whiteness in thy cheek.” Shak. 3. Freedom…White'-pôt, n. p. 1511A kind of food made of milk, cream, eggs, sugar, &c., baked in a pot. King.White'-rŏt, n. p. 1511(Bot.) A plant of the genus Hydrocotyle (H. vulgaris); pennyroyal; — so called because supposed, erroneously, to cause the rot in animals that feed upon it. Eng. Cyc.Whites, n. pl. p. 1511(Med.) A discharge of a white, yellowish, or greenish mucus from the vagina; leucorrhœa; fluor albus. Dunglison. 2. The finest flour made from white wheat.White'-smith, n. p. 1511One who works in tinned iron, or white iron. 2. A worker in iron who finishes or polishes the work, in distinction from those who forge it.White'ster, n. p. 1511A bleacher; a whitster.White'-stōne, n. p. 1511A kind of granite abounding in white feldspar. Brande.White'-tail, n. p. 1511(Ornith.) A bird; the white-ear. See WHITE-EAR.White'thrôat, n. p. 1511(Ornith.) One of two species of insessorial birds of the genus Curruca (C. cinerea and C. garrula), found in Europe and Siberia.White'wash, n. p. 1511A wash or liquid composition for whitening something; a wash for making the skin fair. 2. A composition of lime and water, or of whiting, size, and water, used for whitening the plaster of walls, and…White'wash, v. t. p. 1511To cover with a white liquid composition, as with lime and water, &c. 2. To make white; to give a fair external appearance to; hence, to clear, as an insolvent or bankrupt, of debts he owes; to clear…White'-wash-er, n. p. 1511One who whitewashes.White-wa-ter, n. p. 1511A disease of sheep, of a dangerous kind.White'-weed, n. p. 1511(Bot.) A plant of the genus Chrysanthemum (or Leucanthemum); the ox-eye daisy — so called from the color of its flowers.White'wood, n. p. 1511The same as BASS-wood, q. v.White'wort, n. p. 1511(Bot.) A certain plant.Whit'flaw, n. p. 1511The same as WHITLOW, q. v. [Obs.] “The nails fain off by whitflaws.” Herrick.Whith'er, adv. p. 1511To what place; — used interrogatively; as, whither goest thou? Whither away so fast? Shak. 2. To what or which place; — used relatively. I strayed I knew not whither. Milton. Whither, when as they…Whith'er-so-ēv'er, adv. p. 1511To whatever place; as, I will go whithersoever you lead.Whith'er-ward, adv. p. 1511In what direction; toward what place. Whitherward to turn for a good course of life was by no means apparent. W. Scott.Whit'ing, n. p. 1511(Ichth.) A sea-fish, allied to the cod; the Merlangus vulgaris, valued on account of its delicacy and lightness as an article of food. 2. Ground chalk, carefully cleaned from all stony matter…Whît'ing-mŏp, n. p. 1511A young whiting. 2. A fair lass; a nice young woman. “This pretty whiting-mop.” Massinger.Whit'ing-pout, n. p. 1511(Ichth.) A fish of the genus Morrhua (M. fusca), allied to the cod.Whit'ish, a. p. 1511Somewhat white; white in a moderate degree. 2. (Bot.) (a.) Having a color like white somewhat soiled. (b.) Covered with an opaque white powder. Lindley.Whit'ish-ness, n. p. 1511The quality of being whitish or somewhat white.Whit'leath-er, n. p. 1512Leather dressed with alum, salt, &c., remarkable for its pliability and toughness. 2. A broad, tough, white ligament on the neck of quadrupeds, which supports the weight of the head; pax-wax.Whit'ling, n. p. 1512The young of the bull-trout in its first year. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.Whit'lōw, n. p. 1512(Med.) An inflammation of the fingers or toes, generally of the last phalanx, terminating usually in suppuration. The inflammation may occupy any seat between the skin and the bone. 2. (Far.) A…Whit'lōw-grāss, n. p. 1512(Bot.) (a.) Mountain knot-grass, a species of Illecebrum (I. paronychia). (b.) A certain herbaceous plant of the genus Draba. Rue-leaved whitlow-grass, a species of Saxifraga. Lee.Whit’sour, n. p. 1512A sort of apple.Whit’ster, n. p. 1512A whitener; a bleacher; a whitester. [Obs.] “The whitsters at Datchet mead.” Shak.Whit’sul, n. p. 1512A dish of milk; sour milk, cheese, curds, and butter. [Prov. Eng.] Carew.Whit’sun, a. p. 1512Of, pertaining to, or observed at, Whitsuntide.Whit’sun-day or Whit’sun-tide, n. p. 1512(Eccl.) The seventh Sunday after Easter; a festival of the church in commemoration of the descent of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost;—so called, it is said, because, in the primitive church…Whit'ten-tree, n. p. 1512A sort of tree. Ainsworth.Whit'tle, n. p. 1512A knife; a pocket, sheath, or clasp-knife. “A butcher's whittle.” Dryden. A Sheffield whittle in his hose. Betterton. 2. [A-S. hwitel, a cloak.] A grayish, coarse double blanket worn by west…Whit'tle, v. t. p. 1512To pare or cut off the surface of with a small knife; to cut or shape, as a piece of wood held in the hand, with a clasp or pocket-knife. 2. To edge; to sharpen; to render eager or excited…Whit'tle, v. i. p. 1512To cut or shape a piece of wood with a small knife. Dexterity with the pocket-knife is a part of a Nantucket education; but I am inclined to think the propensity is national. Americans must and will…Whĭt'tle-shawl, n. p. 1512A kind of fine kerseymere fringed at the edge.Whit'tret, n. p. 1512A weasel. [Scot.] Jamieson.Whit'worth Ball p. 1512A peculiar projectile for rifled fire-arms, invented by Mr. Whitworth, of Manchester, England. ☞ In Mr. Whitworth's system, the bore of the gun has an hexagonal section, and the twist is much more…Whit'y-brown, a. p. 1512Of a color between white and brown. Pegge.Whĭz, v. i. p. 1512To make a humming or hissing sound, like an arrow or ball flying through the air. It flew, and, whizzing, cut the liquid way. Dryden.