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.
Wrāng'ler, n. p. 1528An angry disputant; one who disputes with heat or peevishness. “Noisy, contentious wranglers.” Watts. Senior wrangler (Cambridge University, Eng.), the student who passes the best examination in…Wrăng'ler-ship, n. p. 1528The honor or position of being a wrangler at Cambridge, England.Wrăng'gle-sōme, a. p. 1528Contentious; quarrelsome. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.] Moore.Wrăp (răp), v. t. p. 1528To wind or fold together. Then cometh Simon Peter, . . . and seeth . . . the napkin that was about his head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. John xx. 6…Wrāp, v. t. p. 1528To snatch up; to transport.Wräp, n. p. 1528A wrapper; — often used in the plural, for blankets, furs, shawls, &c., used in riding or traveling. Melville.Wrăp'page, n. p. 1528The act of wrapping. 2. That which wraps; envelope; covering.Wrăp'per, n. p. 1528One who, or that which, wraps. 2. That in which any thing is wrapped or inclosed; envelope; covering. 3. Specifically, a loose outer garment; an article of dress intended to be wrapped round the…Wrāp'rās-cal, n. p. 1528A coarse upper coat. [Cant.] Smart.Wrässe, n. p. 1528(Ichth.) A fish of several species of the genus Labrus, inhabiting the Mediterranean and Atlantic. It is a prickly-spined, hard-boned fish, with an oblong, scaly body, and a single dorsal fin. About…Wrāth, n. p. 1528Violent anger; vehement exasperation; indignation; rage; fury; ire. “When the wrath of king Ahasuerus was appeased.” Esth. ii. 1. Wrath is a fire, and jealousy a weed. Spencer. Now smoking and…Wrāth'ful, a. p. 1528Full of wrath; very angry; greatly incensed; ireful; as, a wrathful man. 2. Springing from, or expressing, wrath; as, a wrathful countenance. “Vehement and wrathful passions.” Spratt. Syn.—Furious…Wrāth'ful-ly, adv. p. 1528In a wrathful manner; with anger; angrily. Let us kill him boldly, but not wrathfully. Shak.Wrāth′ful-ness, n. p. 1528The state or quality of being wrathful; vehement anger.Wrāth'i-ly, adv. p. 1528In a wrathy manner; very angrily.Wrāth'less, a. p. 1528Free from anger. Waller.Wrāth'y, a. p. 1528Very angry. [Colloq.].Wraw, a. p. 1528Rueful; sad. [Obs.] Chaucer.Wrawl, v. i. p. 1528To cry, as a cat; to waul. [Obs.] Spenser.Wraw'ness, n. p. 1528The state or quality of being wraw; ruefulness; regret. [Obs.] Chaucer.Wreak, v. t. p. 1528To revenge; to avenge. [Obs. or obsolescent.] “Another's wrongs to wreak upon thyself.” Spenser. Come wreak his loss, whom bootless ye complain. Fairfax. 2. To execute in vengeance or passion; to…Wrēak, v. i. p. 1528To reck. [Obs.] Shak. What wreaked I of wintery ages past. Spencer.Wrēak, n. p. 1528Revenge; vengeance; furious passion; infliction; distress. [Obs.] Shak. Spenser.Wrēak'ful, a. p. 1528Revengeful; angry. [Obs.]Wrēak′ful-ly, adv. p. 1528In a wreakful manner; revengefully; angrily; furiously. [Obs.]Wrēak'less, a. p. 1528Unrevengeful; unrevenged; weak. So flies the wreakless shepherd from the wolf. Shak.Wrēath, n. p. 1528Something twisted or curled; as, a wreath of smoke; a wreath of flowers. He of his tortuous train Curled many a wanton wreath. Milton. 2. A garland; a chaplet, especially one given to a victor.…Wrēathe, v. t. p. 1528To cause to revolve or writhe; to twist about; to turn. [Obs. and rare.] And from so heavy sight his head did wreathe. Chapman. 2. To twist; to convolve; to wind one about another; to entwine. “Each…Wrēathe, v. i. p. 1528To be interwoven or entwined; as, a bower of wreathing trees. Dryden.Wreath'less, a. p. 1528Destitute of a wreath.Wrēath'-shĕll, n. p. 1528(Zoöl.) The spiral shell of a mollusk of the genus Turbo; screw-shell.Wreath'y p. 1528— Twisted; curled; spiral. “Wreathy spires.” Browne.Wrĕck, n. p. 1528Destruction; ruin; desolation. “The wreck of matter and the crush of worlds.” Addison. 2. Specifically, the destruction or injury of a vessel by being cast on shore, or on rocks, or by being disabled…Wrĕck, n. p. 1528Wreak. [Obs.] Spenser.Wrĕck, v. t. p. 1528To destroy, disable, or seriously damage, as a vessel, by driving against the shore or on rocks, by causing to become unseaworthy, to founder, or the like; to cause to suffer shipwreck. “Supposing…Wrĕck, v. i. p. 1528To suffer wreck or ruin; to be wrecked. [Rare.] Milton.Wrĕck, v. t. p. 1528To wreak. [Obs.]Wrĕck'age, n. p. 1528The act of wrecking. 2. That which has been wrecked.Wrĕck'er, n. p. 1528One who causes a wreck, as by false lights, and the like. 2. One who searches for the wrecks of vessels; as, (a.) One who visits a wreck for the purpose of plunder. (b.) One who is employed in saving…Wrĕck'ful, a. p. 1528Causing wreck; involving ruin. [Obs.]Wrĕck'-más'ter, n. p. 1528A person appointed by law to take charge of goods, &c., thrown on shore after a shipwreck.Wrēn, n. p. 1528(Ornith.) A small insessorial bird of the genus Troglodytes. Wrens feed on insects, &c., and are often very familiar with man.Wrĕnch, v. t. p. 1528To pull with a twist; to wrest, twist, or force by violence. Wrench his sword from him. Shak. Forthwith this frame of mine was wrenched With a woeful agony. Coleridge. 2. To strain; to sprain; to…Wrĕnch, n. p. 1528A violent twist, or a pull with twisting. The injurious effect upon biographic literature of all such wrenches to the truth, is diffused every where. De Quincey. 2. A sprain; an injury by twisting…Wrĕnch'-hăm'mer, n. p. 1528A wrench with the end shaped so as to admit of being used as a hammer.Wrĕst, v. t. p. 1529To turn; to twist; especially, to twist or extort by violence; to pull or force away by violent wringing or twisting. “The secret wrested from me.” Milton. Our country's cause. That drew our swords…Wrĕst, n. p. 1529Violent pulling and twisting; distortion; perversion. Hooker. 2. Active or moving power. [Obs.] Spenser. 3. A key to tune a stringed instrument of music, as a harp. The minstrel . . . wore round his…Wrĕst'er, n. p. 1529One who wrests or perverts.Wrĕs'tle, v. i. p. 1529To contend, as two persons, by grappling together, and each striving to throw the other down. To-morrow, sir, I wrestle for my credit, and he that escapes me without some broken limb shall acquit him…Wrĕs'tle, n. p. 1529A struggle between two to see which will throw the other down; a bout at wrestling; a struggle. Whom, in a wrestle, the giant catching aloft, with a terrible hug broke three of his ribs. Milton.Wrĕs'tle, v. t. p. 1529To wrestle with; to seek to throw down as in wrestling.Wrĕs'tler, n. p. 1529One who wrestles; one who is skillful in wrestling; a professed gymnast.Wretch (rĕtch), n. p. 1529A miserable person; one profoundly unhappy. “The wretch that lies in woe.” Shak. Hoverèd thy spirit o’er thy sorrowing son, Wretch even then, life’s journey just begun? Cooper. 2. One sunk in vice or…Wrĕtch'ed, a. p. 1529Very miserable; sunk in deep affliction or distress, either from want, anxiety, or grief; calamitous; very afflicting. “To what wretched state reserved!” Milton. O cruel Death! to those you are more…Wrĕtch'ed-ly, adv. p. 1529In a wretched manner; miserably; poorly; unhappily; afflictively; meanly; despicably. “Two wars, so wretchedly entered into.” Clarendon.Wrĕtch'ed-ness, n. p. 1529The quality or state of being wretched; extreme misery or unhappiness, either from want or sorrow; as, the wretchedness of poor mendicants. We have, with the feeling, lost the very memory of such…Wrĕtch'ful, a. p. 1529Wretched; miserable. [Obs.] Wycliffe.Wrĕtch'less, a. p. 1529Reckless; hence, disregarded. [Obs.] Your deaf ears should listen Unto the wretchless clamors of the poor. Webster, 1654.Wrĕtch'less-ness, n. p. 1529Recklessness. [Obs.] Bp. Taylor.Wrig, v. i. p. 1529To wriggle. [Obs.]