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.
Wil'lōw-er, n. p. 1515A willow or willy. See WILLOW.Wil'lōw-gall, n. p. 1515A protuberance on the leaves of willows.Wi'lōw-hĕrb, n. p. 1515(Bot.) A dicotyledonous plant of the genus Epilobium, including several species, some of which are cultivated for their ornamental qualities. E. angustifolium is the French willow-herb; E. hirsutum…Will'lōw-ish, a. p. 1515Having the color of the willow; resembling the willow. Walton.Wĭl'lōw-lārk, n. p. 1515(Ornith.) The sedge-warbler, or sedge-bird. See SEDGE-WARBLER.Wil'low-weed, n. p. 1515(Bot.) (a.) A weed growing on wet, light lands, with a seed like buckwheat; the Polygonum lapathifolium. (b.) A species of Lysimachia, or loose-strife.Wĭl'lōw-wort, n. p. 1515A certain plant. Miller.Wĭl'lōw-y, a. p. 1515Abounding with willows. Gray. 2. Resembling a willow; pliant; flexible; pendent; drooping; graceful.Will'sōme, a. p. 1515Willful; obstinate. [Obs.] 2. Fat; indolent. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell. 3. Doubtful; uncertain. Halliwell.Will'sōme-ness, n. p. 1515The state or quality of being willsome; obstinacy. [Obs.] Wycliffe.Wĭl'ly, n. p. 1515A large wicker basket. [Prov. Eng.] 2. A machine for opening and cleansing wool, similar to the willow used in cotton manufactures; — called also twilly, twilly-devil, and devil. ‡‡ In this sense…Wĭl'ly-ing, n. p. 1516The process of cleansing wool with a willy.Wĭl'ly-ing-ma-çhïne', n. p. 1516The same as WILLY.Wĭlt, v. p. 1516The second person singular of will. See WILL.Wĭlt, v. i. p. 1516To begin to wither; to lose freshness and become flaccid, as a plant when exposed to great heat in a dry day, or when separated from its root; to droop. [Am. and Prov. Eng.]Wĭlt, v. t. p. 1516To cause to begin to wither; to make flaccid, as a green plant. 2. Hence, to cause to languish; to depress or destroy the vigor and energy of. Despots have wilted the human race into sloth and…Wil'ton Cär'pet p. 1516A kind of carpet woven with loops like the Brussels, and only differing from it in having the loops cut open into an elastic velvet pile; — so called because made originally at Wilton, England.…Wil'y, a. p. 1516Full of wiles, tricks, or stratagems; using craft or stratagem to accomplish a purpose; mischievously artful; subtle; as, a wily adversary. Syn.—Cunning; artful; sly; crafty; subtle. See CUNNING.Wim'ble, n. p. 1516An instrument for boring holes, turned by a handle; a gimlet. It is but like the little wimble, to let in the greatest auger. Selden.Wim’ble, v. t. p. 1516To bore or pierce, as with a wimble. “Wimbled a hole through said coffin.” Wood.Wīm'ble, a. p. 1516Active; nimble. [Obs.] Spenser.Wĭm'brel, n. p. 1516A bird of the curlew kind. See WHIMBREL.Wĭm'ple, n. p. 1516A covering of silk, linen, or other material, laid in folds, for the neck, chin, and sides of the face, formerly worn by women as an out-door covering, and still retained in the dress of nuns in…Wĭm'ple, v. t. p. 1516To draw down, as a vail; to lay in folds or plaits, as a vail; to cover as with a vail; hence, to hoodwink. With a vail, that wimpled every where, Her head and face was hid. Spenser. A domineering…Wĭm'ple, v. i. p. 1516To appear as if laid in folds or plaits; to ripple; to undulate. “The wimpling waves of their margin.” Longfellow. With me through . . . meadows stray, Where wimpling waters make their way. Ramsay.Win, v. t. p. 1516To gain by success in competition or contest; to obtain by victory over competitors or rivals; as, to win the prize in a game; to win money; to win a battle, or to win a country. “Who thus shall…Win, v. i. p. 1516To gain the victory; to be successful. Nor is it aught but just That he, who in debate of truth hath won, Should win in arms. Milton. To win of, to be conqueror over. [Obs.] Shak. — To win on or…Wince, v. i. p. 1516To shrink, as from a blow, or from pain; to flinch; to start back. I will not stir, nor wince. Shak. 2. To kick or flounce when unsteady, or impatient of a rider; as, a horse winces. Let the galled…Winge, n. p. 1516See WINCING-MACHINE.Wince'-pit, n. p. 1516A pit where calico in the process of manufacture is washed. Tomlinson.Win'cer, n. p. 1516One who, or that which, winces, shrinks, or kicks.Win'cey, n. p. 1516Linsey-woolsey. Simmonds.Winch, n. p. 1516A lever having a projecting handle at one end, and the other end fixed to an axle of a machine for giving motion to it, as in the grindstone, windlass, and the like. 2. An instrument with which to…Winçh, v. i. p. 1516To wince; to shrink; to kick with impatience or uneasiness. [Obs.] Skelton.Wĭn'ches-ter Bush'el p. 1516See BUSHEL.Wĭn'çing-ma-çhïne', n. p. 1516A dyer's reel suspended in an horizontal position over the bath, so as to allow the cloth to descend into either compartment, according to the direction in which it is made to revolve;—called also…Wine'o-pipe, n. p. 1516A little red flower, which, when it opens in the morning, is supposed to bode a fair day. There is a small red flower in the stubble-fields which country people call the wineopipe, which if it opens…Wind, n. p. 1516Air naturally in motion with any degree of velocity; a current of air. “Winds were soft, and woods were green.” Longfellow. Except wind stands as never it stood, It is an ill wind that turns none to…Wind, v. t. p. 1516To expose to the wind; to winnow; to ventilate. 2. To perceive or follow by the scent; to nose; as, hounds wind an animal. 3. (Man.) (a.) To drive hard, as a horse, so as to render scant of wind.…Wind, v. t. p. 1516To blow; to sound by blowing; especially, to sound so that the notes shall be prolonged and mutually involved. “Hunters who wound their horns.” Pennant. Ye vigorous swains, while youth ferments your…Wind, v. t. p. 1516To turn completely, or with repeated turns; especially, to turn about something fixed; to cause to form convolutions about any thing; to coil; to twine; to twist; to wreathe; as, to wind thread on a…Wind, v. i. p. 1516To turn completely or repeatedly; to become coiled about any thing; to assume a convolved or spiral form; as, vines wind round a pole. So swift your judgments turn and wind. Dryden. 2. To have a…Wind, n. p. 1516The act of winding or turning; a turn; a bend; a winding. [Rare.]Wind'age, n. p. 1516(Gun.) The difference between the diameter of the bore of a gun and that of the shot fired from it.Wind'bōre, n. p. 1516The lower or bottom pipe in a lift of pumps in a mine. Ansted.Wind'bound, a. p. 1517(Naut.) Prevented from sailing by a contrary wind.Wind'-break, v. t. p. 1517To break the wind of; to cause to lose breath; to exhaust. [Rare.] 'Twould wind-break a mule to vie burdens with her. Ford.Wind'-brōk'en, a. p. 1517Diseased in the power of breathing by the rupture, dilatation, or running together of some of the air-cells, so that while the inspiration is by one effort, the expiration is by two. Youatt.Wind'-chĕst, n. p. 1517(Mus.) A chest or reservoir of wind in an organ.Wind'-drŏp'sy, n. p. 1517(Med.) (a.) A swelling of the abdomen from wind in the intestines; tympanites. (b.) A white, crepitant, shining, elastic, indolent tumor of the integuments, caused by the introduction of air into the…Wind'-ègg, n. p. 1517An addle egg.Wind'er, n. p. 1517One who, or that which, winds; hence, a creeping or winding plant. 2. A reel or swift for winding silk, cotton, or the like, upon. 3. One of the steps of a winding staircase.Wind'er, v. t. or i. p. 1517To fan; to clean grain with a fan. [Prov. Eng.]Wind'er, v. i. p. 1517To wither; to fail. [Obs.] Holland.Wind'er-mēw, n. p. 1517(Ornith.) A bird of the genus Larus, of the gull kind.Wind'fall, n. p. 1517Any thing blown down or off by the wind, as fruit from a tree, or the tree itself, or a portion of a forest prostrated by a violent wind, and the like. 2. An unexpected legacy, or other gain.Wind'fallen, a. p. 1517Blown down by the wind.Wind'-flow'er, n. p. 1517The anemone;—so called because formerly supposed to open only when the wind was blowing.Wind'-fur'nace, n. p. 1517A furnace in which the air is supplied by an artificial current, as from a bellows.Wind'-gail, n. p. 1517(Far.) A soft tumor on the fetlock joints of a horse;—so called from having formerly been supposed to contain air.