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.
Worse, a. p. 1526Bad, ill, evil, or corrupt, in a higher degree; more bad or evil; less good; in poorer health; more sick;—used both in a physical and moral sense. Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse. 2…Worse, adv. p. 1526In a manner more evil or bad. Now will we deal worse with thee than with them. Gen. xix. 9.Worse, v. t. p. 1526To make worse; to put to disadvantage; to discomfit; to worst. See WORST. Weapons more violent, when next we meet, May serve to better us and worse our foes. Milton.Wors'en, v. t. p. 1526To make worse; to deteriorate; to impair. It is apparent that, in the particular point of which we have been conversing, their condition is greatly worsened. Southey. 2. To get the better of; to…Wors'en, v. i. p. 1526To grow or become worse. [Rare.] De Quincey.Wors'er, a. p. 1526Worse. [Rare.] A dreadful quiet felt, and, worser far Than arms, a sullen interval of war. Dryden. Thou dost deserve a worser end. Beau. & Fl. This old and redundant form of the comparative occurs…Wor'ship (wûr'ship), n. p. 1526Excellence of character; dignity; worth; worthiness. [Obs. and rare.] Elfin, born of noble state, And muckle worship in his native land. Spenser. 2. Honor; respect; civil deference. [Obs.] Then shalt…Wor'ship, v. t. p. 1527To respect; to honor; to treat with civil reverence. Our grave . . . shall have a tongueless mouth, Not worshiped with a waxen epitaph. Shak. 2. To pay divine honors to; to reverence with supreme…Wor'ship, v. i. p. 1527To perform acts of adoration. 2. To perform religious service. Our fathers worshiped in this mountain; and ye say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. John iv. 20.Wor'ship-a-ble, a. p. 1527Capable of being worshiped; worthy of worship. [Rare.] Carlyle.Wor'ship-er, n. p. 1527One who worships; one who pays divine honors to any being; one who adores. [Written also, but incorrectly, worship-per.]Wor'ship-ful, a. p. 1527Entitled to worship, reverence, or high respect; claiming respect; worthy of honor; — often used as a term of respect, sometimes ironically. This is worshipful society. Shak.Wor'ship-ful-ly, adv. p. 1527In a worshipful manner; respectfully.Wor'ship-ful-ness, n. p. 1527The state or quality of being worshipful.Worst, a. p. 1527superl. of worse, q. v. [A-S. wyrsest, wirrest, wirst, a., wyrst, adv. See WORSE.] Bad, evil, or pernicious, in the highest degree, whether in a physical or moral sense. “In worst extremes.” Milton.…Worst, n. p. 1527That which is most bad or evil; the most severe, pernicious, calamitous, or wicked, state or degree. The worst is not So long as we can say, This is the worst. Shak. He is always sure of finding…Worst, v. t. p. 1527To gain advantage over in contest; to get the better of; to defeat; to overthrow. The Philistines were worsted by the captivated ark. South.Worst'ed, n. p. 1527Well-twisted yarn, spun of long-staple wool which has been combed to lay the fibers parallel, used for carpets, hosiery, gloves, and the like.Wort, n. p. 1527A plant; an herb; — now used chiefly or wholly in compounds; as, in mug-wort, liver-wort, spleen-wort. 2. Specifically, a plant of the cabbage kind.Wort, n. p. 1527New beer unfermented, or in the act of fermentation; the sweet infusion of malt. Bacon.Worth, v. i. p. 1527To be; to become; to betide; — now used only in the phrases, woe worth the day, woe worth the man, and the like, in which the verb is in the imperative mode, and the noun in the dative; woe be to the…Worth, n. p. 1527That quality of a thing which renders it valuable or useful; sum of valuable qualities which render any thing useful and sought; value; hence, often, value as expressed in a standard, as money…Worth, a. p. 1527Equal in value to; furnishing an equivalent for; proper to be exchanged for. A ring he hath of mine worth forty ducats. Shak. If your arguments produce no conviction, they are worth nothing to me.…Worth'ful, a. p. 1527Full of worth; worthy; deserving. [Obs.] Marston.Wor'thi-ly, adv. p. 1527In a worthy manner; deservedly; according to merit; justly; suitably; becomingly. You worthily succeed not only to the honors of your ancestors, but also to their virtues. Dryden. I affirm that some…Wor'thi-ness, n. p. 1527The state or quality of being worthy; desert; merit; excellence; dignity; virtue; worth. Who is sure he hath a soul, unless It see, and judge, and follow worthiness? Donne. She is not worthy to be…Worth'less, a. p. 1527Destitute of worth; having no value, virtue, excellence, dignity, or the like; undeserving; valueless; useless; vile; bare; mean; as, a worthless garment; a worthless ship; a worthless man or woman…Worth'less-ly, adv. p. 1527In a worthless manner.Worth'less-ness, n. p. 1527The quality of being worthless; want of value, excellence, dignity, and the like; as, the worthlessness of an old garment, or of barren land; the worthlessness of a person.Wor’thy, a. p. 1527Having worth or excellence; possessing merit; valuable; deserving; estimable; excellent; virtuous. These banished men, that I have kept withal, Are men endued with worthy qualities. Shak. Happier…Wor'thy, n. p. 1527A man of eminent worth or value; one distinguished for useful and estimable qualities; a person of conspicuous desert;—much used in the plural; as, the worthies of the church; political worthies…Wor'thy, v. t. p. 1527To render worthy; to exalt. [Obs.] Shak.Wŏt, v. i. p. 1527To know; to be aware. [Obs.] Spenser. He wotteth neither what he babbleth, nor what he meneth. Tyndale. I wot well where he is. Shak.Wŏt, imp. p. 1527of weet. [Obs.] See WEET.Wŏte, v. t. & i. p. 1527The same as WŏT, q. v. [Obs.]Woul, v. i. p. 1527To howl. [Obs. and rare.] Wycliffe.Would, imp. p. 1527of will. [O. Eng. & A-S. wolde, O. H. Ger. wolta, M. H. Ger. wolte, N. H. Ger. wollte, O. Sax. welda, O. Fries. welde, wilde, wolde, Icel. vildi, Goth. vilda. See WILL.] See WILL. ☞ For the…Would, n. p. 1527See WOAD and WELD.Would'-bē, a. p. 1527Desiring or professing to be; as, a would-be poet. Campbell.Would'ing, n. p. 1527Emotion of desire; inclination; velleity. [Obs. and rare.] Hammond.Would'ing-ness, n. p. 1527Willingness; desire; inclination. [Obs.]Wound, n. p. 1527A breach of the skin and flesh of an animal, or in the substance of any creature or living thing, caused by violence; a cut, stab, bruise, rent, or the like; a hurt; an injury. Showers of blood…Wound, v. t. p. 1527To hurt by violence; to produce a breach or separation of parts in, as by a cut, stab, bruise, and the like; to injure; to damage; hence, often, to hurt the feelings of; to pain by disrespect…Wound, imp. & p. p. p. 1527of wind.Wound'a-ble, a. p. 1527Capable of being wounded. [Rare.] Fuller.Wound'er, n. p. 1527One who, or that which, wounds.Wound'i-ly, adv. p. 1527In a woundy manner; excessively; woundy. [Vulgar, and obs. or rare.]Wound'less, a. p. 1527Free from wound, hurt, or injury; exempt from being wounded; not vulnerable. “Knights whose woundless armor rusts.” Spenser. For, haply, slander . . . may miss our name, And hit the woundless air.…Wound'wort, n. p. 1527(Bot.) (a.) A plant of the genus Stachys, especially S. arvensis; a species of hedge-nettle. Gray. (b.) A plant of the genus Anthyllis (A. vulneraria). Craig.Wound'y, a. p. 1527Excessive. [Low, and obs. or rare.] “A woundy hindrance to a poor man that lives by his labor.” L'Estrange.Wound'y, adv. p. 1527Excessively; extremely. [Low.] I am woundy cold. Ford.Wour'a-li, n. p. 1527A virulent poison made in Guiana from several plants, and used to poison arrows. [Written also woorali.] Simmonds.Wōve, imp. p. 1527and rarely p. p. of weave. See WEAVE.Wōv'en, p. p. p. 1527of weave. See WEAVE. Woven paper, or wove paper, writing paper having an even, uniform surface, without lines or water-marks. Tomlinson.Wowf, a. p. 1527Wayward; disordered or unsettled in intellect. [Scot.] W. Scott.Wow'-wow, n. p. 1527(Zoöl.) A species of long-armed ape of the genus Hylobates (H. agilis);—so called from its cry. Baird.Wōx or Wōx'en, imp. & p. p. p. 1527of wax. [Obs.] See WAX.Wrăck, n. p. 1527A marine plant (Zostera marina), out of which kelp is made, and which is also of great utility as a manure;—sometimes called sea-wrack or sea-wreck, sea-oak, and sea-tangle. It is found on rocks left…Wrăck, n. p. 1528Wreck. [Obs.] “A world devote to universal wrack.” Shak. 2. A thin, flying cloud; a rack. See RACK.Wräck, v. t. p. 1528To wreck. [Obs.] Milton. 2. To rack. [Rare.] Cowley.