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.
With'-wine, n. p. 1521The same as WITH-VINE, q. v.With'y, n. p. 1521A large species of willow. [Prov. Eng.] 2. A withe. See WITHE.With'y, a. p. 1521Made of withes; like a withe; flexible and tough.Wit'less, a. p. 1521Destitute of wit or understanding; inconsiderate; wanting thought. “A witty mother, witless else her son.” Shak. 2. Hence, indiscreet; not under the guidance of judgment. “Witless bravery.” Shak.…Wit'less-ly, adv. p. 1521In a witless manner; without the exercise of judgment.Wit'less-ness, n. p. 1521The state or quality of being witless; want of judgment.Wĭt'ling, n. p. 1521A person who has little wit or understanding; a pretender to wit or smartness. A beau and witling perished in the throng. Pope.Wit'ness, n. p. 1521Attestation of a fact or event; testimony. If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. John v. 31. May we with . . . the witness of a good conscience pursue him with any further revenge?…Wit'ness, v. t. p. 1521To see or know by personal presence; to have direct cognizance of. This is but a faint sketch of the incalculable calamities and horrors we must expect, should we ever witness the triumphs of modern…Wit'ness, v. i. p. 1521To bear testimony; to give evidence; to testify. The men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth. I Kings xxi. 13. The witnessing of the truth was then so generally attended with this…Wit'ness-er, n. p. 1521One who witnesses.Wit'-snăp'per, n. p. 1521One who affects repartee. [Obs.] Shak.Wit'-stärved, a. p. 1521Barren of wit; destitute of genius. [Rare.] Examiner.Wit'ted, a. p. 1521Having wit or understanding;—used chiefly or only in composition; as, a quick-witted boy.Wit'ti-cism, n. p. 1521A sentence or phrase which is affectedly witty; an attempt at wit; a conceit. He is full of conceptions, points of epigram, and witticisms; all which are below the dignity of heroic verse. Addison.…Wit'ti-ly, adv. p. 1521In a witty manner; wisely; ingeniously; artfully; with wit; with a delicate turn or phrase, or with an ingenious association of ideas. “Who his own harm so wittily contrives.” Dryden.Wit'ti-ness, n. p. 1521The quality of being witty.Wit'ting-ly, adv. p. 1521Knowingly; with knowledge; by design. He knowingly and wittingly brought evil into the world. More.Wit'tol, n. p. 1521A man who knows his wife's infidelity and submits to it; a tame cuckold. [Obs.]Wit'tol-ly, adv. p. 1521Like a wittol, or tame cuckold. [Obs.] Shak.Wit'ty, a. p. 1521Possessed of wit; knowing; wise; judicious; inventive. [Obs.] “The deep-revolving, witty Buckingham.” Shak. 2. Especially, possessing wit or humor; good at repartee; amusing; droll; facetious…Wit'wal or Wit'wall, n. p. 1521(Ornith.) (a.) A bird, the golden oriole. (b.) The great spotted woodpecker. Eng. Cyc.Wĭt'-worm, n. p. 1521One who feeds on wit; that which feeds on or destroys wit; that which corrupts wit. [Obs.] B. Jonson.Wīve, v. i. p. 1521To marry, as a man; to take a wife.Wīve, v. t. p. 1521To match to a wife; to provide with a wife. If I could get me but a wife ... I were manned, horsed, and wived. Shak. 2. To take for a wife; to espouse or to wed, as a man. I have wived his sister. W.…Wīve'hŏŏd, n. p. 1521Behavior becoming a wife; wifehood. [Obs.] Spenser.Wive'less, a. p. 1521Not having a wife; wifeless. [Obs.]Wive'ly, a. p. 1521Pertaining to a wife; wifely. [Obs.]Wiv'er or Wiv'ern, n. p. 1521(Her.) A kind of heraldic dragon or serpent; a kind of two-legged dragon. “The jargon of heraldry, its griffins, its moldwarps, its wiverns, and its dragons.” W. Scott.Wives, n. p. 1521pl. of wife. See WIFE.Wiz'ard, n. p. 1521A wise man; a sage. [Obs.] See how from far upon the eastern road The star-led wizards haste with odors sweet. Milton. 2. One devoted to the black art; a magician; a conjurer; a sorcerer. The wily…Wiz'ard, a. p. 1521Enchanting; charming. Collins. 2. Haunted by wizards. “Where Deva winds her wizard stream.” Milton.Wiz'ard-ly, a. p. 1521Resembling, or becoming, a wizard; wizard-like; weird.Wiz'ard-ry, n. p. 1521The character or practices of wizards; sorcery; magic.Wiz'en, v. i. p. 1521To wither; to dry. [Scot. and Prov. Eng.]Wĭz'en, a. p. 1521Thin; weazen. “A little lonely, wizen, strangely-clad boy, who could not, at the most, have been more than five years old.” Dickens.Wiz'en, n. p. 1521The weasand. [Scot.]Wiz'ened, a. p. 1521Dried; shriveled; shrunken; weazen.Wiz'en-fāçed, a. p. 1521Having a shriveled, thin, withered face.Wōad, n. p. 1521(Bot.) An herbaceous plant of the genus Isatis, of which one species (I. tinctoria) was formerly cultivated for the blue coloring matter derived from its leaves, but is now used only with indigo as a…Wōad'ed, a. p. 1521Colored or stained with woad. Then the man Tattooed or woaded, winter-clad in skins. Tennyson.Wōad'-mill, n. p. 1521A mill for bruising and preparing woad.Wōad'-wăx'en, n. p. 1522(Bot.) A plant of the genus Genista (G. tinctoria); dyer's-weed;—called also wood-wash and wood-wax, and wood-waxen.Wōald, n. p. 1522See WOAD and WELD.Wōde, a. p. 1522Mad. See Wood. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]Wōde'-gēld, n. p. 1522(O. Eng. Law.) A geld or payment for wood. Barrill.Wō'den, n. p. 1522(Northern Myth.) An Anglo-Saxon deity, supposed to correspond to Mercury of the ancients. Wednesday is named for him. See ODIN.Wōe, n. p. 1522Grief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity. Thus saying, from her side the fatal key, Sad instrument of all our woe, she took. Milton. They weep each other's woe. Pope. 2. A curse; malediction. Can there…Wōe, a. p. 1522Sorrowful; woeful; unhappy; miserable. [Obs. and rare.] And looking up he waxed wondrous woe. Spencer. Forthwith he waxeth woe and wan. Herbert.Wōe'-be-gōne', a. p. 1522Overwhelmed with woe; immersed in grief and sorrow. “So woe-begone was he with pains of love.” Fairfax.Wō'ful or Wōe'ful, a. p. 1522Full of woe; sorrowful; distressed with grief or calamity; afflicted; unhappy; sad. How many woeful widows left to bow To sad disgrace! Daniel. 2. Bringing calamity, distress, or affliction; as, a…Wō'ful-ly or Wōe'ful-ly, adv. p. 1522In a woeful manner; sorrowfully; mournfully. 2. Wretchedly; miserably; extremely; as, he will be woefully deceived.Wō'ful-ness or Wōe'ful-ness, n. p. 1522The quality of being woeful; misery; calamity.Wōe'-shāk'en, a. p. 1522Shaken by woe.Wōe'sōme, a. p. 1522Woeful. [Obs.]Wōld p. 1522A wood; a forest. 2. A plain, or open country; a country without wood, whether hilly or not. Nares. And from the further bank Ætolia’s wolds espied. Byron. The wind that beats the mountain blows More…Wōld, n. p. 1522See WOAD and WELD.Wōlf, n. p. 1522(Zoöl.) A carnivorous animal of the genus Canis, noted for killing sheep and other small domestic animals. The common wolf of Europe is Canis Lupus; the common American wolf is Canis occidentalis…Wōlf'-bēr'ry, n. p. 1522(Bot.) A plant of the genus Symphoricarpus (S. occidentalis), growing in the north-western parts of the United States, and bearing white berries. Gray.Wolf'-dŏg, n. p. 1522A dog of a large breed, kept to guard sheep; Canis Pomeranius. Tickell. Baird. 2. A sort of dog supposed to be bred between a dog and a wolf. Johnson.