Dictionary
An American Dictionary of the English Language
Revised and enlarged (Goodrich & Porter)
Springfield, Mass. · G. & C. Merriam · 1865
- Entries
- 95,912
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Look up a word as the writers of the time used it.
Writ'er, n. p. 1529One who writes, or has written; a scribe; a clerk. Out of Zebulon [came] they that handle the pen of the writer. Judg. v. 14. 2. An author. This pitch, as ancient writers do report, doth defile.…Writ'er-ship, n. p. 1530The office of a writer.Writhe (rĭth), v. t. p. 1530To twist with violence; to distort; to wring. His features seem writhen as by a palsy-stroke. Spenser. A writhen staff his step unstable guides. Fairfax. Then Satan first knew pain, And writhed him…Writhe, v. i. p. 1530To twist; to be distorted; as, to writhe with agony. After every attempt, he felt that he had failed, and writhed with shame and vexation. Macaulay.Writh'le, v. t. p. 1530To wrinkle. [Obs. and rare.] Spenser.Writ'ing, n. p. 1530The act or art of forming letters and characters on paper, wood, stone, or other material, for the purpose of recording the ideas which characters and words express, or of communicating them to…Writ'ing-bōok, n. p. 1530A book for practice in penmanship.Writ'ing-dēsk, n. p. 1530A desk with a sloping top for writing upon; also, a case containing writing materials, and used in a similar manner.Writ'ing-mas'ter, n. p. 1530One who teaches the art of penmanship.Writ'ing-pā/per, n. p. 1530Paper finished with a smooth surface, sized, and fitted for writing upon.Writ'ing-school, n. p. 1530A school for instruction in penmanship.Writ'ing-tā'ble, n. p. 1530A table fitted or used for writing upon.Wri'z'le, v. t. p. 1530To wrinkle; to writhle. [Obs.]Wrōk'en, p. p. p. 1530of wreak. [Obs.] Spenser.Wrōng, a. p. 1530Not fit or suitable to an end or object; not appropriate for use; not according to rule; unsuitable; improper; mistaken; incorrect; as, the wrong side of a garment; to hold a book with the wrong end…Wrŏng, n. p. 1530That which is not right; whatever deviates from moral rectitude; usually, an act that involves evil consequences, as one which inflicts injury on a person; any injury done to another; a trespass; a…Wrŏng, adv. p. 1530Not rightly; amiss; morally ill; erroneously. Ten censure wrong for one that writes amiss. Pope.Wrŏng, v. t. p. 1530To treat with injustice; to deprive of some right, or to withhold some act of justice from; to do undeserved harm to; to injure. He that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul. Prov. viii. 36. 2.…Wrŏng'-dŏ'er, n. p. 1530One who injures another, or does wrong. 2. (Law.) One who commits a tort or trespass. Bouvier.Wrŏng'-dŏ'ing, n. p. 1530Evil or wicked act or action.Wrŏng'er, n. p. 1530One who wrongs or injures another.Wrōng’ful, a. p. 1530Full of wrong; injurious; unjust; unfair; as, a wrongful taking of property; wrongful dealing.Wrŏng'ful-ly, adv. p. 1530In a wrong manner; unjustly; in a manner contrary to the moral law, or to justice; as, to accuse one wrongfully; to suffer wrongfully.Wrŏng'hĕad, n. p. 1530A person of a perverse understanding.Wrŏng'hēad, a. p. 1530Wrongheaded.Wrŏng'hēad-ed, a. p. 1530Wrong in opinion or principle; having a perverse understanding; perverse.Wrŏng'hĕad-ed-ness, n. p. 1530The state or quality of being wrongheaded; perverseness; erroneousness.Wrŏng'less, a. p. 1530Not wrong; free from wrong. [Obs.]Wrŏng'less-ly, adv. p. 1530Without injury to any one. [Obs.] Sidney.Wrŏng'ly, adv. p. 1530In a wrong manner; unjustly; amiss; as, he judges wrongly of my motives. “And yet wouldst wrongly win.” Shak.Wrŏng'ness, n. p. 1530The quality or state of being wrong; error.Wrŏng'oŭs, a. p. 1530(Scots Law.) Not right; illegal; as, wrongous imprisonment. Craig.Wrŏng'-timed, a. p. 1530Done at an improper time; ill-timed.Wrōte, imp. p. 1530of write. See WRITE.Wrōth, a. p. 1530Full of wrath; angry; incensed; much exasperated; wrathful. “Wroth to see his kingdom fail.” Milton. Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. Gen. iv. 5.Wrôught, imp. & p. p. p. 1530of work. [A-S. wrohte, wroht, gewroht, and worhte, worht, geworht, from wyrcan, wyrcéan, to work.] See WORK. Wrought iron. See IRON.Wrŭng, imp. & p. p. p. 1530of wring. See WRING.Wrȳ, a. p. 1530Turned to one side; twisted; distorted; as, a wry neck; a wry mouth. 2. Hence, deviating from the right direction; as, wry words. Not according to the wry rigor of our neighbors, who never take up an…Wrȳ, v. i. p. 1530To deviate from the right way; to go away or astray. [Obs.] Must murder wives much better than themselves For wrying but a little. Shak.Wrȳ, v. t. p. 1530To distort; to wrest; to vex; to worry. [Obs.] B. Jonson.Wrȳ'neck, n. p. 1530A twisted or distorted neck; a deformity in which the neck is drawn to one side, and at the same time somewhat forward. 2. (Ornith.) A small bird of the eastern continent, allied to the woodpecker…Wrȳ'nēcked, a. p. 1530Having a distorted neck.Wrȳ'ness, n. p. 1530The state of being wry or distorted. [Rare.] Mountague.Wŭll, v. i. p. 1530The same as WILL. [Obs. or Scot.]Wȳch'-hā'zel, n. p. 1530The same as WITCH-HAZEL, q. v.Wȳch'-ĕlm, n. p. 1530(Bot.) A variety of the elm (Ulmus montana), called also Scotch elm, a native of Great Britain; witch-elm.Wȳe'liff-ite, n. p. 1530A follower or adherent of Wycliffe, the English reformer; a Lollard.Wȳe, n. p. 1530One of the two pieces or bearings resembling the letter Y in shape, in the opening or notch of which rest the ends of the axis supporting the telescope in a theodolite or level, the pivots in a…Wȳnd, n. p. 1530A narrow lane or alley. [Scot.]Wȳnn, n. p. 1530A kind of timber truck or carriage. Simmonds.Wȳ'vern, n. p. 1530(Her.) A kind of flying serpent, sometimes represented in coats of arms; a two-legged dragon.X p. 1531the twenty-fourth letter of the English alphabet, is borrowed, as to its form, from the Greek X. At the end of words, it has the sound of ks, as in wax, lax; in the middle, the sound of ks, or…Xăn’the-īne, n. p. 1531(Chem.) A yellow substance, soluble in water, which forms the coloring matter of some yellow flowers. Miller.Xăn’thi-an, a. p. 1531(Anc. Geog.) Of, or pertaining to, Xanthus, an ancient town of Asia Minor;—applied especially to certain marbles found near that place. P. Cyc.Xăn’thic, a. p. 1531Tending toward a yellow color, or to one of those colors, green being excepted, in which yellow is a constituent, as scarlet, orange, and the like. 2. (Chem.) (a.) Of, or pertaining to, a certain…Xăn’thīd, n. p. 1531(Chem.) A supposed compound of xanthogen with some basifiable or acidifiable element. [Obs.] See XANTHOGEN.Xan-thīd'i-ūm, n. p. 1531(Zoöl.) A microscopic plant or proto-phyte, having a globular, flattened shape, and bristled with spiracules. It is found fossil in flint or hornstone, and is common, also, as a living creature.Xăn’thīne, n. p. 1531(Chem.) The yellow, insoluble coloring matter contained in certain plants and the petals of certain flowers, as those of the sunflower.Xăn’thīte, n. p. 1531(Min.) A mineral occurring in rounded grains and foliated masses, of a yellow color, and translucent, consisting chiefly of silica, alumina, lime, oxide of iron, oxide of manganese, and magnesia.…Xăn’thi-ŭm, n. p. 1531(Bot.) A genus of plants, of which one species (X. spinosum) yields a yellow dye.