Weak (wek), a. [ Compar. Weaker (-er); superl. Weakest.] [OE. weik, Icel. veikr; akin to Sw. vek, Dan. veg soft, flexible, pliant, AS. wac weak, soft, pliant, D. week, G. weich, OHG. weih; all from the verb seen in Icel. vikja to turn, veer, recede, AS. wican to yield, give way, G. weichen, OHG. wihhan, akin to Skr. vij, and probably to E. week, L. vicis a change, turn, Gr. e’i•kein to yield, give way. rad.132. Cf. Week, Wink, v. i. Vicissitude.]
1. Wanting physical strength. Specifically: — (a) Deficient in strength of body; feeble; infirm; sickly; debilitated; enfeebled; exhausted.
"A poor, infirm, weak, and despised old man." Shak.
"Weak with hunger, mad with love." Dryden. (b) Not able to sustain a great weight, pressure, or strain; as a weak timber; a weak rope. (c) Not firmly united or adhesive; easily broken or separated into pieces; not compact; as a weak ship. (d) Not stiff; pliant; frail; soft; as the weak stalk of a plant. (e) Not able to resist external force or onset; easily subdued or overcome; as a weak barrier; as a weak fortress. (f) Lacking force of utterance or sound; not sonorous; low; small; feeble; faint.
"A voice not soft, weak, piping, and womanish." Ascham. (g) Not thoroughly or abundantly impregnated with the usual or required ingredients, or with stimulating and nourishing substances; of less than the usual strength; as weak tea, broth, or liquor; a weak decoction or solution; a weak dose of medicine. (h) Lacking ability for an appropriate function or office; as weak eyes; a weak stomach; a weak magistrate; a weak regiment, or army.
2. Not possessing or manifesting intellectual, logical, moral, or political strength, vigor, etc. Specifically: - (a) Feeble of mind; wanting discernment; lacking vigor; spiritless; as a weak king or magistrate.
"To think every thing disputable is a proof of a weak mind and captious temper." Beattie.
"Origen was never weak enough to imagine that there were two Gods." Waterland. (b) Resulting from, or indicating, lack of judgment, discernment, or firmness; unwise; hence, foolish.
"If evil thence ensue, She first his weak indulgence will accuse." Milton. (c) Not having full confidence or conviction; not decided or confirmed; vacillating; wavering.
"Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations." Rom. xiv. 1. (d) Not able to withstand temptation, urgency, persuasion, etc.; easily impressed, moved, or overcome; accessible; vulnerable; as weak resolutions; weak virtue.
"Guard thy heart On this weak side, where most our nature fails." Addison. (e) Wanting in power to influence or bind; as weak ties; a weak sense of honor of duty. (f) Not having power to convince; not supported by force of reason or truth; unsustained; as a weak argument or case. "Convinced of his weak arguing." Milton.
"A case so weak … hath much persisted in." Hooker. (g) Wanting in point or vigor of expression; as a weak sentence; a weak style. (h) Not prevalent or effective, or not felt to be prevalent; not potent; feeble. "Weak prayers." Shak. (i) Lacking in elements of political strength; not wielding or having authority or energy; deficient in the resources that are essential to a ruler or nation; as a weak monarch; a weak government or state.
"I must make fair weather yet awhile, Till Henry be more weak, and I more strong." Shak. (k) (Stock Exchange) Tending towards lower prices; as a weak market.
3. (Gram.) (a) Pertaining to, or designating, a verb which forms its preterit (imperfect) and past participle by adding to the present the suffix -ed, -d, or the variant form -t; as in the verbs abash, abashed; abate, abated; deny, denied; feel, felt. See Strong, 19 (a). (b) Pertaining to, or designating, a noun in Anglo- Saxon, etc., the stem of which ends in -n. See Strong, 19 (b). Weak is often used in the formation of self-explaining compounds; as weak-eyed, weak-handed, weak-hearted, weak-minded, weak-spirited, and the like. Weak conjugation (Gram.), the conjugation of weak verbs; — called also new, or regular, conjugation, and distinguished from the old, or irregular, conjugation. — Weak declension (Anglo- Saxon Gram.), the declension of weak nouns; also one of the declensions of adjectives. — Weak side, the side or aspect of a person’s character or disposition by which he is most easily affected or influenced; weakness; infirmity. — Weak sore or ulcer (Med.), a sore covered with pale, flabby, sluggish granulations.

Weak, v. t. & i. [Cf. AS. wcan. wacian. See Weak, a. ] To make or become weak; to weaken. [R.]
"Never to seek weaking variety." Marston.

Weak, a.
1. (Stock Exchange) Tending toward a lower price or lower prices; as wheat is weak; a weak market.
2. (Card Playing) Lacking in good cards; deficient as to number or strength; as a hand weak in trumps.
3. (Photog.) Lacking contrast; as a weak negative.

Weaken
Weak´en, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Weakened p. pr. & vb. n. Weakening.]
1. To make weak; to lessen the strength of; to deprive of strength; to debilitate; to enfeeble; to enervate; as to weaken the body or the mind; to weaken the hands of a magistrate; to weaken the force of an objection or an argument.
"Their hands shall be weakened from the work, that it be not done." Neh. vi. 9.
2. To reduce in quality, strength, or spirit; as to weaken tea; to weaken any solution or decoction.

Weaken
Weak´en, v. i. To become weak or weaker; to lose strength, spirit, or determination; to become less positive or resolute; as the patient weakened; the witness weakened on cross-examination. "His notion weakens, his discernings are lethargied." Shak.

Weakener
Weak´en•er, n. One who, or that which, weakens. "[Fastings] weakeners of sin." South.

Weakfish
Weak´fish, n. (Zoöl.) Any fish of the genus Cynoscion; a squeteague; — so called from its tender mouth. See Squeteague. Spotted weakfish (Zoöl.), the spotted squeteague.

Weakish
Weak´ish, a. Somewhat weak; rather weak.

Weakishness
Weak´ish•ness, n. Quality or state of being weakish.

Weak-kneed
Weak´-kneed, a. Having weak knees; hence, easily yielding; wanting resolution. H. James.

Weakling
Weak´ling, n. [ Weak + - ling.] A weak or feeble creature. Shak. "All looking on him as a weakling, which would post to the grave." Fuller.
"We may not be weaklings because we have a strong enemy." Latimer.

Weakling
Weak´ling, a. Weak; feeble. Sir T. North.

Weakly
Weak´ly, adv. In a weak manner; with little strength or vigor; feebly.

Weakly
Weak´ly, a. [ Compar. Weaklier superl. Weakliest.] Not strong of constitution; infirm; feeble; as a weakly woman; a man of a weakly constitution.

Weakness
Weak´ness, n.
1. The quality or state of being weak; want of strength or firmness; lack of vigor; want of resolution or of moral strength; feebleness.
2. That which is a mark of lack of strength or resolution; a fault; a defect.
"Many take pleasure in spreading abroad the weakness of an exalted character." Spectator.
Syn. — Feebleness; debility; languor; imbecility; infirmness; infirmity; decrepitude; frailty; faintness.

Weal, n. The mark of a stripe. See Wale.

Weal, v. t. To mark with stripes. See Wale.

Weal, n. [OE. wele, AS. wela, weola, wealth, from wel well. See Well, adv. , and cf. Wealth.]
1. A sound, healthy, or prosperous state of a person or thing; prosperity; happiness; welfare.
"God … grant you wele and prosperity." Chaucer.
"As we love the weal of our souls and bodies." Bacon.
"To him linked in weal or woe." Milton.
"Never was there a time when it more concerned the public weal that the character of the Parliament should stand high." Macaulay.
2. The body politic; the state; common wealth. [Obs.]
"The special watchmen of our English weal." Shak.

Weal, v. t. To promote the weal of; to cause to be prosperous. [Obs.] Beau. & Fl.

Weal-balanced
Weal´-bal•anced, a. Balanced or considered with reference to public weal. [Obs.] Shak.

Weald, n. [AS. See Wold.] A wood or forest; a wooded land or region; also an open country; — often used in place names.
"Fled all night long by glimmering waste and weald, And heard the spirits of the waste and weald Moan as she fled." Tennyson. Weald clay (Geol.), the uppermost member of the Wealden strata. See Wealden.

Wealdish
Weald´ish, a. Of or pertaining to a weald, esp. to the weald in the county of Kent, England. [Obs.] Fuller.

Wealful
Weal´ful, a. Weleful. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Wealsman
Weals´man, n. ; pl. Wealsmen (#). [ Weal + man.] A statesman; a politician. [R.] Shak.

Wealth, n. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
1. Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [Obs.] "Let no man seek his own, but every man another’s wealth." 1 Cor. x. 24.
2. Large possessions; a comparative abundance of things which are objects of human desire; esp., abundance of worldly estate; affluence; opulence; riches.
"I have little wealth to lose." Shak.
"Each day new wealth, without their care, provides." Dryden.
"Wealth comprises all articles of value and nothing else." F. A. Walker.Active wealth. See under Active.
Syn. — Riches; affluence; opulence; abundance.

Wealth, n. (Econ.) (a) In the private sense, all pooperty which has a money value. (b) In the public sense, all objects, esp. material objects, which have economic utility. (c) Specif. called personal wealth. Those energies, faculties, and habits directly contributing to make people industrially efficient.

Wealthful
Wealth´ful, a. Full of wealth; wealthy; prosperous. [R.] Sir T. More. — Wealth´ful•ly, adv. [R.]

Wealthily
Wealth´i•ly, adv. In a wealthy manner; richly.
"I come to wive it wealthily in Padua." Shak.

Wealthiness
Wealth´i•ness, n. The quality or state of being wealthy, or rich; richness; opulence.

Wealthy
Wealth´y, a. [ Compar. Wealthier superl. Wealthiest.]
1. Having wealth; having large possessions, or larger than most men, as lands, goods, money, or securities; opulent; affluent; rich.
"A wealthy Hebrew of my tribe." Shak.
"Thou broughtest us out into a wealthy place." Ps. lxvi. 12.
2. Hence, ample; full; satisfactory; abundant. [R.]
"The wealthy witness of my pen." B. Jonson.

Weanedness
Wean´ed•ness, n. Quality or state of being weaned.

Weanel
Wean´el, n. A weanling. [Obs.] Spenser.

Weanling
Wean´ling, a. & n. from Wean, v.
"The weaning of the whelp is the great test of the skill of the kennel man." J. H. Walsh.Weaning brash. (Med.) See under Brash.

Weanling
Wean´ling, n. [ Wean + - ling.] A child or animal newly weaned; a wean.

Weanling
Wean´ling, a. Recently weaned. Milton.

Weapon
Weap´on ( 277), n. [OE. wepen, AS. wpen; akin to OS. wpan, OFries. wpin, wpen, D. wapen, G. waffe, OHG. waffan, wafan, Icel. vapn, Dan. vaaben, Sw. vapen, Goth. wpna, pl.; of uncertain origin. Cf. Wapentake.]
1. An instrument of offensive of defensive combat; something to fight with; anything used, or designed to be used, in destroying, defeating, or injuring an enemy, as a gun, a sword, etc.
"The weapons of our warfare are not carnal." 2 Cor. x. 4.
"They, astonished, all resistance lost, All courage; down their idle weapons dropped." Milton.
2. Fig.: The means or instrument with which one contends against another; as argument was his only weapon. "Woman’s weapons, water drops." Shak.
3. (Bot.) A thorn, prickle, or sting with which many plants are furnished. Concealed weapons. See under Concealed. — Weapon salve, a salve which was supposed to cure a wound by being applied to the weapon that made it. [Obs.] Boyle.

Weaponless
Weap´on•less, a. Having no weapon.

Weaponry
Weap´on•ry, n. Weapons, collectively; as an array of weaponry. [Poetic]

Wear ( 277), n. Same as Weir.

Wear, v. t. [Cf. Veer.] (Naut.) To cause to go about, as a vessel, by putting the helm up, instead of alee as in tacking, so that the vessel’s bow is turned away from, and her stern is presented to, the wind, and, as she turns still farther, her sails fill on the other side; to veer.

Wear, v. t. [ imp. Wore p. p. Worn p. pr. & vb. n. Wearing. Before the 15th century wear was a weak verb, the imp. & p. p. being Weared.] [OE. weren, werien, AS. werian to carry, to wear, as arms or clothes; akin to OHG. werien, weren, to clothe, Goth. wasjan, L. vestis clothing, vestire to clothe, Gr., Skr. vas. Cf. Vest.]
1. To carry or bear upon the person; to bear upon one’s self, as an article of clothing, decoration, warfare, bondage, etc.; to have appendant to one’s body; to have on; as to wear a coat; to wear a shackle.
"What compass will you wear your farthingale?" Shak.
"On her white breast a sparkling cross s wore, Which Jews might kiss, and infidels adore." Pope.
2. To have or exhibit an appearance of, as an aspect or manner; to bear; as she wears a smile on her countenance. "He wears the rose of youth upon him." Shak.
"His innocent gestures wear A meaning half divine." Keble.
3. To use up by carrying or having upon one’s self; hence, to consume by use; to waste; to use up; as to wear clothes rapidly.
4. To impair, waste, or diminish, by continual attrition, scraping, percussion, on the like; to consume gradually; to cause to lower or disappear; to spend.
"That wicked wight his days doth wear." Spenser.
"The waters wear the stones." Job xiv. 19.
5. To cause or make by friction or wasting; as to wear a channel; to wear a hole.
6. To form or shape by, or as by, attrition.
"Trials wear us into a liking of what, possibly, in the first essay, displeased us." Locke. To wear away, to consume; to impair, diminish, or destroy, by gradual attrition or decay. — To wear off, to diminish or remove by attrition or slow decay; as to wear off the nap of cloth. — To wear on or upon, to wear. [Obs.] "[I] weared upon my gay scarlet gites [gowns.]" Chaucer. — To wear out. (a) To consume, or render useless, by attrition or decay; as to wear out a coat or a book. (b) To consume tediously. "To wear out miserable days." Milton. (c) To harass; to tire. "[He] shall wear out the saints of the Most High." Dan vii. 25. (d) To waste the strength of; as an old man worn out in military service. — To wear the breeches. See under Breeches. [Colloq.]

Wear, v. i.
1. To endure or suffer use; to last under employment; to bear the consequences of use, as waste, consumption, or attrition; as a coat wears well or ill; - - hence, sometimes applied to character, qualifications, etc.; as a man wears well as an acquaintance.
2. To be wasted, consumed, or diminished, by being used; to suffer injury, loss, or extinction by use or time; to decay, or be spent, gradually. "Thus wore out night." Milton.
"Away, I say; time wears." Shak.
"Thou wilt surely wear away, both thou and this people that is with thee." Ex. xviii. 18.
"His stock of money began to wear very low." Sir W. Scott.
"The family … wore out in the earlier part of the century." Beaconsfield. To wear off, to pass away by degrees; as the follies of youth wear off with age. — To wear on, to pass on; as time wears on. G. Eliot. — To wear weary, to become weary, as by wear, long occupation, tedious employment, etc.

Wear, n.
1. The act of wearing, or the state of being worn; consumption by use; diminution by friction; as the wear of a garment.
2. The thing worn; style of dress; the fashion.
"Motley ’s the only wear." Shak. Wear and tear, the loss by wearing, as of machinery in use; the loss or injury to which anything is subjected by use, accident, etc.

Wear, n. The result of wearing or use; consumption, diminution, or impairment due to use, friction, or the like; as the wear of this coat has been good.

Wearable
Wear´a•ble, a. Capable of being worn; suitable to be worn.

Wearer
Wear´er, n.
1. One who wears or carries as appendant to the body; as the wearer of a cloak, a sword, a crown, a shackle, etc.
"Cowls, hoods, and habits, with their wearers, tossed, And fluttered into rags." Milton.
2. That which wastes or diminishes.

Weariable
Wea´ri•a•ble, a. That may be wearied.

Weariful
Wea´ri•ful, a. Abounding in qualities which cause weariness; wearisome. — Wea´ri•ful•ly, adv.

Weariless
Wea´ri•less, a. Incapable of being wearied.

Wearily
Wea´ri•ly, adv. In a weary manner.

Weariness
Wea´ri•ness, n. The quality or state of being weary or tried; lassitude; exhaustion of strength; fatigue.
"With weariness and wine oppressed." Dryden.
"A man would die, though he were neither valiant nor miserable, only upon a weariness to do the same thing so oft over and over." Bacon.

Wearing
Wear´ing, n.
1. The act of one who wears; the manner in which a thing wears; use; conduct; consumption.
"Belike he meant to ward, and there to see his wearing." Latimer.
2. That which is worn; clothes; garments. [Obs.]
"Give me my nightly wearing and adieu." Shak.

Wearing
Wear´ing, a. Pertaining to, or designed for, wear; as wearing apparel.

Wearish
Wear´ish, a. [Etymol. uncertain, but perhaps akin to weary.]
1. Weak; withered; shrunk. [Obs.] "A wearish hand." Ford.
"A little, wearish old man, very melancholy by nature." Burton.
2. Insipid; tasteless; unsavory. [Obs.]
"Wearish as meat is that is not well tasted." Palsgrave.

Wearisome
Wea´ri•some, a. Causing weariness; tiresome; tedious; weariful; as a wearisome march; a wearisome day’s work; a wearisome book.
"These high wild hills and rough uneven ways Draws out our miles, and makes them wearisome." Shak.
Syn. — Irksome; tiresome; tedious; fatiguing; annoying; vexatious. See Irksome. — Wea´ri•some•ly, adv. — Wea´ri•some•ness, n.

Weasand
Wea´sand, n. [OE. wesand, AS. wasend; akin to OFries. wasende, wasande; cf. OHG. weisunt.] The windpipe; — called also formerly, wesil. [Formerly, written also wesand, and wezand.]
"Cut his weasand with thy knife." Shak.

Weasel
Wea´sel, n. [OE. wesele, AS. wesle; akin to D. wezel, G. wiesel, OHG. wisala, Icel. hreyi visla, Dan. väsel, Sw. vessla; of uncertain origin; cf. Gr.,, cat, weasel.] (Zoöl.) Any one of various species of small carnivores belonging to the genus Putorius, as the ermine and ferret. They have a slender, elongated body, and are noted for the quickness of their movements and for their bloodthirsty habit in destroying poultry, rats, etc. The ermine and some other species are brown in summer, and turn white in winter; others are brown at all seasons. Malacca weasel, the rasse. — Weasel coot, a female or young male of the smew; — so called from the resemblance of the head to that of a weasel. Called also weasel duck. — Weasel lemur, a short-tailed lemur ( Lepilemur mustelinus). It is reddish brown above, grayish brown below, with the throat white.

Weasel-faced
Wea´sel-faced, a. Having a thin, sharp face, like a weasel.

Weaser
Wea´ser, n. (Zoöl.) The American merganser; — called also weaser sheldrake. [Local, U. S.]

Weasiness
Wea´si•ness, n. Quality or state of being weasy; full feeding; sensual indulgence. [Obs.] Joye.

Weasy
Wea´sy, a. [Cf. Weasand.] Given to sensual indulgence; gluttonous. [Obs.] Joye.

Weather map
Weath"er map. A map or chart showing the principal meteorological elements at a given hour and over an extended region. Such maps usually show the height of the barometer, the temperature of the air, the relative humidity, the state of the weather, and the direction and velocity of the wind. Isobars and isotherms outline the general distribution of temperature and pressure, while shaded areas indicate the sections over which rain has just fallen. Other lines inclose areas where the temperature has fallen or risen markedly. In tabular form are shown changes of pressure and of temperature, maximum and minimum temperatures, and total rain for each weather station since the last issue, usually 12 hours.

Weather signal. Any signal giving information about the weather. The system used by the United States Weather Bureau includes temperature, cold or hot wave, rain or snow, wind direction, storm, and hurricane signals.

Weather station. (Meteor.) A station for taking meteorological observations, making weather forecasts, or disseminating such information. Such stations are of the first order when they make observations of all the important elements either hourly or by self-registering instruments; of the second order when only important observations are taken; of the third order when simpler work is done, as to record rainfall and maximum and minimum temperatures. { Wedge gaugegage }. A wedge with a graduated edge, to measure the width of a space into which it is thrust.

Weather-beaten
Weath´er-beat•en, a. Beaten or harassed by the weather; worn by exposure to the weather, especially to severe weather. Shak.

Weatherbit
Weath´er•bit, v. t. (Naut.) To take another turn with, as a cable around a windlass. Totten.

Weather-bit
Weath´er-bit, n. (Naut.) A turn of the cable about the end of the windlass, without the bits.

Weather-bitten
Weath´er-bit•ten, a. Eaten into, defaced, or worn, by exposure to the weather. Coleridge.

Weatherboard
Weath´er•board, n.
1. (Naut.) (a) That side of a vessel which is toward the wind; the windward side. (b) A piece of plank placed in a porthole, or other opening, to keep out water.
2. (a) (Arch.) A board extending from the ridge to the eaves along the slope of the gable, and forming a close junction between the shingling of a roof and the side of the building beneath. (b) A clapboard or feather-edged board used in weatherboarding.

Weather-board
Weath´er-board, v. t. (Arch.) To nail boards upon so as to lap one over another, in order to exclude rain, snow, etc. Gwilt.

Weatherboarding
Weath´er•board•ing, n. (Arch.) (a) The covering or siding of a building, formed of boards lapping over one another, to exclude rain, snow, etc. (b) Boards adapted or intended for such use.

Weather-bound
Weath´er-bound, a. Kept in port or at anchor by storms; delayed by bad weather; as a weather-bound vessel.

Weathercock
Weath´er•cock, n.
1. A vane, or weather vane; — so called because originally often in the figure of a cock, turning on the top of a spire with the wind, and showing its direction. "As a wedercok that turneth his face with every wind." Chaucer.
"Noisy weathercocks rattled and sang of mutation." Longfellow.
2. Hence, any thing or person that turns easily and frequently; one who veers with every change of current opinion; a fickle, inconstant person.

Weathercock
Weath´er•cock, v. t. To supply with a weathercock; to serve as a weathercock for.
"Whose blazing wyvern weathercock the spire." Tennyson.

Weather-driven
Weath´er-driv•en, a. Driven by winds or storms; forced by stress of weather. Carew.

Weathered
Weath´ered, a.
1. (Arch.) Made sloping, so as to throw off water; as a weathered cornice or window sill.
2. (Geol.) Having the surface altered in color, texture, or composition, or the edges rounded off by exposure to the elements.

Weather-fend
Weath´er-fend, v. t. To defend from the weather; to shelter. Shak.
"[We] barked the white spruce to weather-fend the roof." Emerson.

Weatherglass
Weath´er•glass, n. An instrument to indicate the state of the atmosphere, especially changes of atmospheric pressure, and hence changes of weather, as a barometer or baroscope. Poor man’s weatherglass. (Bot.) See under Poor.

Weatherliness
Weath´er•li•ness, n. (Naut.) The quality of being weatherly.

Weatherly
Weath´er•ly, a. (Naut.) Working, or able to sail, close to the wind; as a weatherly ship. Cooper.

Weathermost
Weath´er•most, a. (Naut.) Being farthest to the windward.

Weatherproof
Weath´er•proof, a. Proof against rough weather.

Weatherwise
Weath´er•wise, a. Skillful in forecasting the changes of the weather. Hakluyt.

Weatherwiser
Weath´er•wis•er, n. [Cf. Waywiser.] Something that foreshows the weather. [Obs.] Derham.

Weave, v. t. [ imp. Wove p. p. Woven, Wove; p. pr. & vb. n. Weaving. The regular imp. & p. p. Weaved, is rarely used.] [OE. weven, AS. wefan; akin to D. weven, G. weben, OHG. weban, Icel. vefa, Sw. väfva, Dan. vaeve, Gr., v., web, Skr. ravabhi spider, lit., wool weaver. Cf. Waper, Waffle, Web, Weevil, Weft, Woof.]
1. To unite, as threads of any kind, in such a manner as to form a texture; to entwine or interlace into a fabric; as to weave wool, silk, etc.; hence, to unite by close connection or intermixture; to unite intimately.
"This weaves itself, perforce, into my business." Shak.
"That in their green shops weave the smooth-haired silk To deck her sons." Milton.
"And for these words, thus woven into song." Byron.
2. To form, as cloth, by interlacing threads; to compose, as a texture of any kind, by putting together textile materials; as to weave broadcloth; to weave a carpet; hence, to form into a fabric; to compose; to fabricate; as to weave the plot of a story.
"When she weaved the sleided silk." Shak.
"Her starry wreaths the virgin jasmin weaves." Ld. Lytton.

Weave, v. i.
1. To practice weaving; to work with a loom.
2. To become woven or interwoven.

Weave, n. A particular method or pattern of weaving; as the cassimere weave.

Weaver
Weav´er, n.
1. One who weaves, or whose occupation is to weave. "Weavers of linen." P. Plowman.
2. (Zoöl.) A weaver bird.
3. (Zoöl.) An aquatic beetle of the genus Gyrinus. See Whirling. Weaver bird (Zoöl.), any one of numerous species of Asiatic, Fast Indian, and African birds belonging to Ploceus and allied genera of the family Ploceidae. Weaver birds resemble finches and sparrows in size, colors, and shape of the bill. They construct pensile nests composed of interlaced grass and other similar materials. In some of the species the nest is retort-shaped, with the opening at the bottom of the tube. — Weavers’ shuttle (Zoöl.), an East Indian marine univalve shell ( Radius volva); — so called from its shape. See Illust. of Shuttle shell, under Shuttle.

Weazand
Wea´zand, n. See Weasand. [Obs.]

Web, n. [OE. webbe, AS. webba. See Weave.] A weaver. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Web, n. [OE. web, AS. webb; akin to D. web, webbe, OHG. weppi, G. gewebe, Icel. vefr, Sw. väf, Dan. vaev. See Weave.]
1. That which is woven; a texture; textile fabric; esp., something woven in a loom.
"Penelope, for her Ulysses’ sake, Devised a web her wooers to deceive." Spenser.
"Not web might be woven, not a shuttle thrown, or penalty of exile." Bancroft.
2. A whole piece of linen cloth as woven.
3. The texture of very fine thread spun by a spider for catching insects at its prey; a cobweb. "The smallest spider’s web." Shak.
4. Fig.: Tissue; texture; complicated fabrication.
"The somber spirit of our forefathers, who wove their web of life with hardly a … thread of rose-color or gold." Hawthorne.
"Such has been the perplexing ingenuity of commentators that it is difficult to extricate the truth from the web of conjectures." W. Irving.
5. (Carriages) A band of webbing used to regulate the extension of the hood.
6. A thin metal sheet, plate, or strip, as of lead.
"And Christians slain roll up in webs of lead." Fairfax. Specifically: - (a) The blade of a sword. [Obs.]
"The sword, whereof the web was steel, Pommel rich stone, hilt gold." Fairfax. (b) The blade of a saw. (c) The thin, sharp part of a colter. (d) The bit of a key.
7. (Mach. & Engin.) A plate or thin portion, continuous or perforated, connecting stiffening ribs or flanges, or other parts of an object. Specifically: — (a) The thin vertical plate or portion connecting the upper and lower flanges of an lower flanges of an iron girder, rolled beam, or railroad rail. (b) A disk or solid construction serving, instead of spokes, for connecting the rim and hub, in some kinds of car wheels, sheaves, etc. (c) The arm of a crank between the shaft and the wrist. (d) The part of a blackmith’s anvil between the face and the foot.
8. (Med.) Pterygium; — called also webeye. Shak.
9. (Anat.) The membrane which unites the fingers or toes, either at their bases, as in man, or for a greater part of their length, as in many water birds and amphibians.
10. (Zoöl.) The series of barbs implanted on each side of the shaft of a feather, whether stiff and united together by barbules, as in ordinary feathers, or soft and separate, as in downy feathers. See Feather. Pin and web (Med.), two diseases of the eye, caligo and pterygium; — sometimes wrongly explained as one disease. See Pin, n. , 8, and Web, n. , 8. "He never yet had pinne or webbe, his sight for to decay." Gascoigne. — Web member (Engin.), one of the braces in a web system. — Web press, a printing press which takes paper from a roll instead of being fed with sheets. — Web system (Engin.), the system of braces connecting the flanges of a lattice girder, post, or the like.

Web, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Webbed p. pr. & vb. n. Webbing.] To unite or surround with a web, or as if with a web; to envelop; to entangle.

Webber
Web´ber, n. One who forms webs; a weaver; a webster. [Obs.]

Webbing
Web´bing, n. A woven band of cotton or flax, used for reins, girths, bed bottoms, etc.

Webby
Web´by, a. Of or pertaining to a web or webs; like a web; filled or covered with webs.
"Bats on their webby wings in darkness move." Crabbe.

Weber
We´ber, n. [From the name of Professor Weber, a German electrician.] (Elec.) The standard unit of electrical quantity, and also of current. See Coulomb, and Ampre. [Obs.]

Webfoot
Web´foot, n. ; pl. Webfeet .
1. A foot the toes of which are connected by a membrane.
2. (Zoöl.) Any web-footed bird.

Web-footed
Web´-foot•ed, a. Having webbed feet; palmiped; as a goose or a duck is a web-footed fowl.

Webster
Web´ster, n. [AS. webbestre. See Web, Weave, and -ster.] A weaver; originally, a female weaver. [Obs.] Brathwait.

Web-toed
Web´-toed, a. Having the toes united by a web for a considerable part of their length.

Webworm
Web´worm, n. (Zoöl.) Any one of various species of moths whose gregarious larvae eat the leaves of trees, and construct a large web to which they retreat when not feeding. The most destructive webworms belong to the family Bombycidae, as the fall webworm ( Hyphantria textor), which feeds on various fruit and forest trees, and the common tent caterpillar, which feeds on various fruit trees (see Tent caterpillar, under Tent.) The grapevine webworm is the larva of a geometrid moth (see Vine inchworm, under Vine).

Weddahs
Wed´dahs, n. pl. (Ethnol.) See Veddahs.

Wedder
Wed´der, n. See Wether. Sir W. Scott.

Wedge, n. [OE. wegge, AS. wecg; akin to D. wig, wigge, OHG. wecki, G. weck a (wedge-shaped) loaf, Icel. veggr, Dan. vaegge, Sw. vigg, and probably to Lith. vagis a peg. Cf. Wigg.]
1. A piece of metal, or other hard material, thick at one end, and tapering to a thin edge at the other, used in splitting wood, rocks, etc., in raising heavy bodies, and the like. It is one of the six elementary machines called the mechanical powers. See Illust. of Mechanical powers, under Mechanical.
2. (Geom.) A solid of five sides, having a rectangular base, two rectangular or trapezoidal sides meeting in an edge, and two triangular ends.
3. A mass of metal, especially when of a wedgelike form. "Wedges of gold." Shak.
4. Anything in the form of a wedge, as a body of troops drawn up in such a form.
"In warlike muster they appear, In rhombs, and wedges, and half-moons, and wings." Milton.
5. The person whose name stands lowest on the list of the classical tripos; — so called after a person ( Wedgewood) who occupied this position on the first list of 1828. [Cant, Cambridge Univ., Eng.] C. A. Bristed.Fox wedge. (Mach. & Carpentry) See under Fox. — Spherical wedge (Geom.), the portion of a sphere included between two planes which intersect in a diameter.

Wedge, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Wedged p. pr. & vb. n. Wedging.]
1. To cleave or separate with a wedge or wedges, or as with a wedge; to rive. "My heart, as wedged with a sigh, would rive in twain." Shak.
2. To force or drive as a wedge is driven.
"Among the crowd in the abbey where a finger Could not be wedged in more." Shak.
"He ’s just the sort of man to wedge himself into a snug berth." Mrs. J. H. Ewing.
3. To force by crowding and pushing as a wedge does; as to wedge one’s way. Milton.
4. To press closely; to fix, or make fast, in the manner of a wedge that is driven into something.
"Wedged in the rocky shoals, and sticking fast." Dryden.
5. To fasten with a wedge, or with wedges; as to wedge a scythe on the snath; to wedge a rail or a piece of timber in its place.
6. (Pottery) To cut, as clay, into wedgelike masses, and work by dashing together, in order to expel air bubbles, etc. Tomlinson.

Wedgebill
Wedge´bill, n. (Zoöl.) An Australian crested insessorial bird ( Sphenostoma cristatum) having a wedge-shaped bill. Its color is dull brown, like the earth of the plains where it lives.

Wedge-formed
Wedge´-formed, a. Having the form of a wedge; cuneiform. Wedge-formed characters. See Arrow-headed characters, under Arrowheaded.

Wedge-shell
Wedge´-shell, n. (Zoöl.) Any one of numerous species of small marine bivalves belonging to Donax and allied genera in which the shell is wedge- shaped.

Wedge-tailed
Wedge´-tailed´, a. (Zoöl.) Having a tail which has the middle pair of feathers longest, the rest successively and decidedly shorter, and all more or less attenuate; — said of certain birds. See Illust. of Wood hoopoe, under Wood. Wedge-tailed eagle, an Australian eagle ( Aquila audax) which feeds on various small species of kangaroos, and on lambs; — called also mountain eagle, bold eagle, and eagle hawk. — Wedge-tailed gull, an arctic gull ( Rhodostethia rosea) in which the plumage is tinged with rose; — called also Ross’s gull.

Wedgwood ware
Wedg"wood• ware [From the name of the inventor, Josiah Wedgwood, of England.] A kind of fine pottery, the most remarkable being what is called jasper, either white, or colored throughout the body, and capable of being molded into the most delicate forms, so that fine and minute bas-reliefs like cameos were made of it, fit even for being set as jewels.

Wedgy
Wedg´y, a. Like a wedge; wedge- shaped.

Wedlock
Wed´lock, n. [AS. wedlac a pledge, be trothal; wedd a pledge + lac a gift, an offering. See Wed, n. , and cf. Lake, v. i., Knowledge.]
1. The ceremony, or the state, of marriage; matrimony. "That blissful yoke … that men clepeth [call] spousal, or wedlock." Chaucer.
"For what is wedlock forced but a hell, An age of discord or continual strife?" Shak.
2. A wife; a married woman. [Obs.] B. Jonson.
Syn. — See Marriage.

Wedlock
Wed´lock, v. t. To marry; to unite in marriage; to wed. [R.] "Man thus wedlocked." Milton.

Wednesday
Wednes´day ( 48), n. [OE. wednesdai, wodnesdei, AS. Wodnes daeg, i. e., Woden’s day (a translation of L. dies Mercurii); fr. Woden the highest god of the Teutonic peoples, but identified with the Roman god Mercury; akin to OS. Wodan, OHG. Wuotan, Icel. Oðinn, D. woensdag Wednesday, Icel. oðinsdagr, Dan. & Sw. onsdag. See Day, and cf. Woden, Wood, a. ] The fourth day of the week; the next day after Tuesday. Ash Wednesday. See in the Vocabulary.

Weech-elm
Weech´-elm, n. (Bot.) The wych-elm. [Obs.] Bacon.

Weed, n. [OE. wede, AS. wde, wd; akin to OS. wadi, giwadi, OFries, wde, wd, OD. wade, OHG. wat, Icel. v. , Zend vadh to clothe.]
1. A garment; clothing; especially, an upper or outer garment. "Lowly shepherd’s weeds." Spenser. "Woman’s weeds." Shak. "This beggar woman’s weed." Tennyson.
"He on his bed sat, the soft weeds he wore Put off." Chapman.
2. An article of dress worn in token of grief; a mourning garment or badge; as he wore a weed on his hat; especially, in the plural, mourning garb, as of a woman; as a widow’s weeds.
"In a mourning weed, with ashes upon her head, and tears abundantly flowing." Milton.

Weed, n. A sudden illness or relapse, often attended with fever, which attacks women in childbed. [Scot.]

Weed, n. [OE. weed, weod, AS. weód, wiód, akin to OS. wiod, LG. woden the stalks and leaves of vegetables D. wieden to weed, OS. wiodon.]
1. Underbrush; low shrubs. [Obs. or Archaic]
"One rushing forth out of the thickest weed." Spenser.
"A wild and wanton pard … Crouched fawning in the weed." Tennyson.
2. Any plant growing in cultivated ground to the injury of the crop or desired vegetation, or to the disfigurement of the place; an unsightly, useless, or injurious plant.
"Too much manuring filled that field with weeds." Denham. The word has no definite application to any particular plant, or species of plants. Whatever plants grow among corn or grass, in hedges, or elsewhere, and are useless to man, injurious to crops, or unsightly or out of place, are denominated weeds.
3. Fig.: Something unprofitable or troublesome; anything useless.
4. (Stock Breeding) An animal unfit to breed from.
5. Tobacco, or a cigar. [Slang] Weed hook, a hook used for cutting away or extirpating weeds. Tusser.

Weed, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Weeded; p. pr. & vb. n. Weeding.] [AS. weódian. See 3d Weed.]
1. To free from noxious plants; to clear of weeds; as to weed corn or onions; to weed a garden.
2. To take away, as noxious plants; to remove, as something hurtful; to extirpate. "Weed up thyme." Shak.
"Wise fathers … weeding from their children ill things." Ascham.
"Revenge is a kind of wild justice, which the more man’s nature runs to, the more ought law to weed it out." Bacon.
3. To free from anything hurtful or offensive.
"He weeded the kingdom of such as were devoted to Elaiana." Howell.
4. (Stock Breeding) To reject as unfit for breeding purposes.

Weedery
Weed´er•y, n. Weeds, collectively; also a place full of weeds or for growing weeds. [R.] Dr. H. More.

Weeding
Weed´ing, a. & n. from Weed, v. Weeding chisel, a tool with a divided chisel-like end, for cutting the roots of large weeds under ground. — Weeding forceps, an instrument for taking up some sorts of plants in weeding. — Weeding fork, a strong, three-pronged fork, used in clearing ground of weeds; — called also weeding iron. — Weeding hook. Same as Weed hook, under 3d Weed. — Weeding iron. See Weeding fork, above. — Weeding tongs. Same as Weeding forceps, above.

Weedless
Weed´less, a. Free from weeds or noxious matter.

Weedless
Weed´less, a. Free from weeds; — said of a kind of motor-boat propeller the blades of which curve backwardly, as respects the direction of rotation, so that they draw through the water, and so do not gather weeds with which they come in contact.

Weedy
Weed´y, a. [ Compar. Weedier superl. Weediest.]
1. Of or pertaining to weeds; consisting of weeds. "Weedy trophies." Shak.
2. Abounding with weeds; as weedy grounds; a weedy garden; weedy corn.
"See from the weedy earth a rivulet break." Bryant.
3. Scraggy; ill-shaped; ungainly; — said of colts or horses, and also of persons. [Colloq.]

Weedy
Weed´y, a. Dressed in weeds, or mourning garments. [R. or Colloq.]
"She was as weedy as in the early days of her mourning." Dickens.

Week, n. [OE. weke, wike, woke, wuke AS. weocu, wicu, wucu; akin to OS. wika, OFries. wike, D. week, G. woche, OHG. wohha, wehha, Icel. vika, Sw. vecka, Dan. uge, Goth. wik, probably originally meaning, a succession or change, and akin to G. wechsel change, L. vicis turn, alternation, and E. weak. Cf. Weak.] A period of seven days, usually that reckoned from one Sabbath or Sunday to the next.
"I fast twice in the week." Luke xviii. 12. Although it [the week] did not enter into the calendar of the Greeks, and was not introduced at Rome till after the reign of Theodesius, it has been employed from time immemorial in almost all Eastern countries. Encyc. Brit.Feast of Weeks. See Pentecost, 1. — Prophetic week, a week of years, or seven years. Dan. ix. 24. — Week day. See under Day.

Weekly
Week´ly, a.
1. Of or pertaining to a week, or week days; as weekly labor.
2. Coming, happening, or done once a week; hebdomadary; as a weekly payment; a weekly gazette.

Weekly
Week´ly, n. ; pl. Weeklies . A publication issued once in seven days, or appearing once a week.

Weekly
Week´ly, adv. Once a week; by hebdomadal periods; as each performs service weekly.

Weekwam
Week´wam, n. See Wigwam. [R.]

Ween, v. i. [OE. wenen, AS. wnan, fr. wn hope, expectation, opinion; akin to D. waan, OFries. wn, OS. & OHG. wan, G. wahn delusion, Icel. van hope, expectation, Goth. wns, and D. wanen to fancy, G. wähnen, Icel. vana to hope, Goth. wnjan, and perhaps to E. winsome, wish.] To think; to imagine; to fancy. [Obs. or Poetic] Spenser. Milton.
"I have lost more than thou wenest." Chaucer.
"For well I ween, Never before in the bowers of light Had the form of an earthly fay been seen." J. R. Drake.
"Though never a dream the roses sent Of science or love’s compliment, I ween they smelt as sweet." Mrs. Browning.

Weep, n. (Zoöl.) The lapwing; the wipe; — so called from its cry.

Weep, obs. imp. of Weep, for wept. Chaucer.

Weep, v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Wept p. pr. & vb. n. Weeping.] [OE. wepen, AS. wpan, from wp lamentation; akin to OFries. wpa to lament, OS. wp lamentation, OHG. wuof, Icel. p a shouting, crying, OS. wpian to lament, OHG. wuoffan, wuoffen, Icel. pa, Goth. wpjan. .]
1. Formerly, to express sorrow, grief, or anguish, by outcry, or by other manifest signs; in modern use, to show grief or other passions by shedding tears; to shed tears; to cry.
"And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul’s neck." Acts xx. 37.
"Phocion was rarely seen to weep or to laugh." Mitford.
"And eyes that wake to weep." Mrs. Hemans.
"And they wept together in silence." Longfellow.
2. To lament; to complain. "They weep unto me, saying, Give us flesh, that we may eat." Num. xi. 13.
3. To flow in drops; to run in drops.
"The blood weeps from my heart." Shak.
4. To drop water, or the like; to drip; to be soaked.
5. To hang the branches, as if in sorrow; to be pendent; to droop; — said of a plant or its branches.

Weep, v. t.
1. To lament; to bewail; to bemoan. "I weep bitterly the dead." A. S. Hardy.
"We wandering go Through dreary wastes, and weep each other’s woe." Pope.
2. To shed, or pour forth, as tears; to shed drop by drop, as if tears; as to weep tears of joy.
"Tears, such as angels weep, burst forth." Milton.
"Groves whose rich trees wept odorous gums and balm." Milton.

Weeper
Weep´er, n.
1. One who weeps; esp., one who sheds tears.
2. A white band or border worn on the sleeve as a badge of mourning. Goldsmith.
3. (Zoöl.) The capuchin. See Capuchin, 3 (a).

Weeping
Weep´ing, n. The act of one who weeps; lamentation with tears; shedding of tears.

Weeping
Weep´ing, a.
1. Grieving; lamenting; shedding tears. "Weeping eyes." I. Watts.
2. Discharging water, or other liquid, in drops or very slowly; surcharged with water. "Weeping grounds." Mortimer.
3. Having slender, pendent branches; — said of trees; as weeping willow; a weeping ash.
4. Pertaining to lamentation, or those who weep. Weeping cross, a cross erected on or by the highway, especially for the devotions of penitents; hence, to return by the weeping cross, to return from some undertaking in humiliation or penitence. — Weeping rock, a porous rock from which water gradually issues. — Weeping sinew, a ganglion. See Ganglion, n. , 2. [Colloq.] — Weeping spring, a spring that discharges water slowly. — Weeping willow (Bot.), a species of willow ( Salix Babylonica) whose branches grow very long and slender, and hang down almost perpendicularly.

Weepingly
Weep´ing•ly, adv. In a weeping manner.

Weeping-ripe
Weep´ing-ripe, a. Ripe for weeping; ready to weep. [Obs.] Shak.

Weerish
Weer´ish, a. See Wearish. [Obs.]

Weetingly
Weet´ing•ly, adv. Knowingly. [Obs.] Spenser.

Weetless
Weet´less, a. Unknowing; also unknown; unmeaning. [Obs.] Spenser.

Weetweet
Weet´•weet, n. [Native name in Victoria.] A throwing toy, or implement, of the Australian aborigines, consisting of a cigar-shaped stick fastened at one end to a flexible twig. It weighs in all about two ounces, and is about two feet long.

Weet-weet
Weet´-weet, n. [So called from its piping cry when disturbed.] (Zoöl.) (a) The common European sandpiper. (b) The chaffinch. [Prov. Eng.]

Weever
Wee´ver, n. [Probably from F. vive, OF. vivre, a kind of fish, L. vipera viper. Cf. Viper.] (Zoöl.) Any one of several species of edible marine fishes belonging to the genus Trachinus, of the family Trachinidae. They have a broad spinose head, with the eyes looking upward. The long dorsal fin is supported by numerous strong, sharp spines which cause painful wounds. The two British species are the great, or greater, weever ( Trachinus draco), which becomes a foot long (called also gowdie, sea cat, stingbull, and weaverfish), and the lesser weever ( T. vipera), about half as large (called also otter pike, and stingfish).

Weevily
Wee´vil•y, a. Having weevils; weeviled. [Written also weevilly.]

Weezel
Wee´zel, n. (Zoöl.) See Weasel.

Wegotism
We´go•tism, n. [From we, in imitation of egotism.] Excessive use of the pronoun we; — called also weism. [Colloq. or Cant] { Wehr´geld•, Wehr´gelt• } n. (O. Eng. Law) See Weregild.

Weighage
Weigh´age ( 48), n. A duty or toil paid for weighing merchandise. Bouvier.

Weighbeam
Weigh´beam, n. A kind of large steelyard for weighing merchandise; — also called weighmaster’s beam.

Weighboard
Weigh´board, n. (Mining) Clay intersecting a vein. Weale.

Weighbridge
Weigh´bridge, n. A weighing machine on which loaded carts may be weighed; platform scales.

Weigher
Weigh´er, n. One who weighs; specifically, an officer whose duty it is to weigh commodities.

Weigh-house
Weigh´-house, n. ; pl. Weigh-houses . A building at or within which goods, and the like, are weighed.

Weighing
Weigh´ing, a. & n. from Weigh, v. Weighing cage, a cage in which small living animals may be conveniently weighed. — Weighing house. See Weigh-house. — Weighing machine, any large machine or apparatus for weighing; especially, platform scales arranged for weighing heavy bodies, as loaded wagons.

Weighmaster
Weigh´mas•ter, n. One whose business it is to weigh ore, hay, merchandise, etc.; one licensed as a public weigher.

Weight, n. [OE. weght, wight, AS. gewiht; akin to D. gewigt, G. gewicht, Icel. vaett, Sw. vigt, Dan. vaegt. See Weigh, v. t.]
1. The quality of being heavy; that property of bodies by which they tend toward the center of the earth; the effect of gravitative force, especially when expressed in certain units or standards, as pounds, grams, etc. Weight differs from gravity in being the effect of gravity, or the downward pressure of a body under the influence of gravity; hence, it constitutes a measure of the force of gravity, and being the resultant of all the forces exerted by gravity upon the different particles of the body, it is proportional to the quantity of matter in the body.
2. The quantity of heaviness; comparative tendency to the center of the earth; the quantity of matter as estimated by the balance, or expressed numerically with reference to some standard unit; as a mass of stone having the weight of five hundred pounds.
"For sorrow, like a heavy-hanging bell, Once set on ringing, with his own weight goes." Shak.
3. Hence, pressure; burden; as the weight of care or business. "The weight of this said time." Shak.
"For the public all this weight he bears." Milton.
"[He] who singly bore the world’s sad weight." Keble.
4. Importance; power; influence; efficacy; consequence; moment; impressiveness; as a consideration of vast weight.
"In such a point of weight, so near mine honor." Shak.
5. A scale, or graduated standard, of heaviness; a mode of estimating weight; as avoirdupois weight; troy weight; apothecaries’ weight.
6. A ponderous mass; something heavy; as a clock weight; a paper weight.
"A man leapeth better with weights in his hands." Bacon.
7. A definite mass of iron, lead, brass, or other metal, to be used for ascertaining the weight of other bodies; as an ounce weight.
8. (Mech.) The resistance against which a machine acts, as opposed to the power which moves it. [Obs.] Atomic weight. (Chem.) See under Atomic, and cf. Element. — Dead weight, Feather weight, Heavy weight, Light weight, etc. See under Dead, Feather, etc. — Weight of observation (Astron. & Physics), a number expressing the most probable relative value of each observation in determining the result of a series of observations of the same kind.
Syn. — Ponderousness; gravity; heaviness; pressure; burden; load; importance; power; influence; efficacy; consequence; moment; impressiveness.

Weight, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Weighted; p. pr. & vb. n. Weighting.]
1. To load with a weight or weights; to load down; to make heavy; to attach weights to; as to weight a horse or a jockey at a race; to weight a whip handle.
"The arrows of satire, … weighted with sense." Coleridge.
2. (Astron. & Physics) To assign a weight to; to express by a number the probable accuracy of, as an observation. See Weight of observations, under Weight.

Weight, v. t. (Dyeing) To load (fabrics) as with barite, to increase the weight, etc.

Weightily
Weight´i•ly, adv. In a weighty manner.

Weightiness
Weight´i•ness, n. The quality or state of being weighty; weight; force; importance; impressiveness.

Weightless
Weight´less, a. Having no weight; imponderable; hence, light. Shak.

Weighty
Weight´y, a. [ Compar. Weightier superl. Weightiest.]
1. Having weight; heavy; ponderous; as a weighty body.
2. Adapted to turn the balance in the mind, or to convince; important; forcible; serious; momentous. "For sundry weighty reasons." Shak.
"Let me have your advice in a weighty affair." Swift.
3. Rigorous; severe; afflictive. [R.] "Attend our weightier judgment." Shak.
Syn. — Heavy; ponderous; burdensome; onerous; forcible; momentous; efficacious; impressive; cogent. { Weir (wer), Wear,} n. [OE. wer, AS. wer; akin to G. wehr, AS. werian to defend, protect, hinder, G. wehren, Goth. warjan; and perhaps to E. wary; or cf. Skr. v. to check, hinder. rad.142. Cf. Garret.]
1. A dam in a river to stop and raise the water, for the purpose of conducting it to a mill, forming a fish pond, or the like.
2. A fence of stakes, brushwood, or the like, set in a stream, tideway, or inlet of the sea, for taking fish.
3. A long notch with a horizontal edge, as in the top of a vertical plate or plank, through which water flows, — used in measuring the quantity of flowing water.

Weird (werd), n. [OE. wirde, werde, AS. wyrd fate, fortune, one of the Fates, fr. weorðan to be, to become; akin to OS. wurd fate, OHG. wurt, Icel. urðr. rad.143. See Worth to become.]
1. Fate; destiny; one of the Fates, or Norns; also a prediction. [Obs. or Scot.]
2. A spell or charm. [Obs. or Scot.] Sir W. Scott.

Weird, a.
1. Of or pertaining to fate; concerned with destiny.
2. Of or pertaining to witchcraft; caused by, or suggesting, magical influence; supernatural; unearthly; wild; as a weird appearance, look, sound, etc.
"Myself too had weird seizures." Tennyson.
"Those sweet, low tones, that seemed like a weird incantation." Longfellow. Weird sisters, the Fates. [Scot.] G. Douglas. Shakespeare uses the term for the three witches in Macbeth.
"The weird sisters, hand in hand, Posters of the sea and land." Shak.

Weird, v. t. To foretell the fate of; to predict; to destine to. [Scot.] Jamieson.

Weirdness
Weird´ness, n. The quality or state of being weird.

Weism
We´ism, n. Same as Wegotism.

Weiss beer [G. weissbier white beer.] A light-colored highly effervescent beer made by the top-fermentation process.

Weive, v. t. See Waive. [Obs.] Gower.

Wekau
We´kau, n. (Zoöl.) A small New Zealand owl ( Sceloglaux albifacies). It has short wings and long legs, and lives chiefly on the ground.

Wekeen
We•keen´, n. (Zoöl.) The meadow pipit. [Prov. Eng.]

Welaway
Wel´a•way, interj. [OE. welaway, walaway, weilawey; wei wo! (Icel. vei) + la lo! (AS. la) + wei wo!; cf. AS. wa la wa. See Woe.] Alas! [Obs.]
"Then welaway, for she undone was clean." Wyatt.

Welcomeness
Wel´come•ness, n. The quality or state of being welcome; gratefulness; agreeableness; kind reception.

Welcomer
Wel´com•er, n. One who welcomes; one who salutes, or receives kindly, a newcomer. Shak.

Weld, v. t. To wield. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Weld, n. [OE. welde; akin to Scot. wald, Prov. G. waude, G. wau, Dan. & Sw. vau, D. wouw.]
1. (Bot.) An herb ( Reseda luteola) related to mignonette, growing in Europe, and to some extent in America; dyer’s broom; dyer’s rocket; dyer’s weed; wild woad. It is used by dyers to give a yellow color. [Written also woald, wold, and would.]
2. Coloring matter or dye extracted from this plant.

Weld, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Welded; p. pr. & vb. n. Welding.] [Probably originally the same word as well to spring up, to gush; perhaps from the Scand.; cf. Sw. välla to weld, uppvälla to boil up, to spring up, Dan. vaelde to gush, G. wellen to weld. See Well to spring.]
1. To press or beat into intimate and permanent union, as two pieces of iron when heated almost to fusion. Very few of the metals, besides iron and platinum. are capable of being welded. Horn and tortoise shell possess this useful property.
2. Fig.: To unite closely or intimately.
"Two women faster welded in one love." Tennyson.

Weld, n. The state of being welded; the joint made by welding. Butt weld. See under Butt. — Scarf weld, a joint made by overlapping, and welding together, the scarfed ends of two pieces.

Weldable
Weld´a•ble, a. Capable of being welded.

Welder
Weld´er, n. One who welds, or unites pieces of iron, etc., by welding.

Welder
Weld´er, n.
1. One who welds, or wields. [Obs.]
2. A manager; an actual occupant. [Ireland. Obs.] "The welder … who … lives miserably." Swift.

Weldon’s process
Wel"don’s proc"ess, (Chem.) A process for the recovery or regeneration of manganese dioxide in the manufacture of chlorine, by means of milk of lime and the oxygen of the air; — so called after the inventor.

Wele, n. [See Weal prosperity.] Prosperity; happiness; well-being; weal. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Welew
We´lew, v. t. To welk, or wither. [Obs.]

Welfare
Wel´fare, n. [ Well + fare to go, to proceed, to happen.] Well-doing or well-being in any respect; the enjoyment of health and the common blessings of life; exemption from any evil or calamity; prosperity; happiness.
"How to study for the people’s welfare." Shak.
"In whose deep eyes Men read the welfare of the times to come." Emerson.

Welfaring
Wel´far•ing, a. Faring well; prosperous; thriving. [Obs.] "A welfaring person." Chaucer.

Welk, v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Welked p. pr. & vb. n. Welking.] [OE. welken; cf. D. & G. welken to wither, G. welk withered, OHG. welc moist. See Welkin, and cf. Wilt.] To wither; to fade; also to decay; to decline; to wane. [Obs.]
"When ruddy Phbus ’gins to welk in west." Spenser.
"The church, that before by insensible degrees welked and impaired, now with large steps went down hill decaying." Milton.

Welk, v. t.
1. To cause to wither; to wilt. [Obs.]
"Mot thy welked neck be to-broke [broken]." Chaucer.
2. To contract; to shorten. [Obs.]
"Now sad winter welked hath the day." Spenser.
3. To soak; also to beat severely. [Prov. Eng.]

Welk, n. A pustule. See 2d Whelk.

Welk, n. (Zoöl.) A whelk. [R.]

Welked, v. t. See Whelked.

Well, n. [OE. welle, AS. wella, wylla, from weallan to well up, surge, boil; akin to D. wel a spring or fountain. . See Well, v. i.]
1. An issue of water from the earth; a spring; a fountain.
"Begin, then, sisters of the sacred well." Milton.
2. A pit or hole sunk into the earth to such a depth as to reach a supply of water, generally of a cylindrical form, and often walled with stone or bricks to prevent the earth from caving in.
"The woman said unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep." John iv. 11.
3. A shaft made in the earth to obtain oil or brine.
4. Fig.: A source of supply; fountain; wellspring. "This well of mercy." Chaucer.
"Dan Chaucer, well of English undefiled." Spenser.
"A well of serious thought and pure." Keble.
5. (Naut.) (a) An inclosure in the middle of a vessel’s hold, around the pumps, from the bottom to the lower deck, to preserve the pumps from damage and facilitate their inspection. (b) A compartment in the middle of the hold of a fishing vessel, made tight at the sides, but having holes perforated in the bottom to let in water for the preservation of fish alive while they are transported to market. (c) A vertical passage in the stern into which an auxiliary screw propeller may be drawn up out of water. (d) A depressed space in the after part of the deck; — often called the cockpit.
6. (Mil.) A hole or excavation in the earth, in mining, from which run branches or galleries.
7. (Arch.) An opening through the floors of a building, as for a staircase or an elevator; a wellhole.
8. (Metal.) The lower part of a furnace, into which the metal falls. Artesian well, Driven well. See under Artesian, and Driven. — Pump well. (Naut.) See Well, 5 (a), above. — Well boring, the art or process of boring an artesian well. — Well drain. (a) A drain or vent for water, somewhat like a well or pit, serving to discharge the water of wet land. (b) A drain conducting to a well or pit. — Well room. (a) A room where a well or spring is situated; especially, one built over a mineral spring. (b) (Naut.) A depression in the bottom of a boat, into which water may run, and whence it is thrown out with a scoop. — Well sinker, one who sinks or digs wells. — Well sinking, the art or process of sinking or digging wells. — Well staircase (Arch.), a staircase having a wellhole (see Wellhole (b)), as distinguished from one which occupies the whole of the space left for it in the floor. — Well sweep. Same as Sweep, n. , 12. — Well water, the water that flows into a well from subterraneous springs; the water drawn from a well.

Well, v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Welled p. pr. & vb. n. Welling.] [OE. wellen, AS. wyllan, wellan, fr. weallan; akin to OFries. walla, OS. & OHG. wallan, G. wallen, Icel. vella, G. welle, wave, OHG. wella, walm, AS. wylm; cf. L. volvere to roll, Gr. to inwrap, to roll. Cf. Voluble, Wallop to boil, Wallow, Weld of metal.] To issue forth, as water from the earth; to flow; to spring. "[Blood] welled from out the wound." Dryden. "[Yon spring] wells softly forth." Bryant.
"From his two springs in Gojam’s sunny realm, Pure welling out, he through the lucid lake Of fair Dambea rolls his infant streams." Thomson.

Well, v. t. To pour forth, as from a well. Spenser.

Well, adv. [ Compar. and superl. wanting, the deficiency being supplied by better and best, from another root.] [OE. wel, AS. wel; akin to OS., OFries., & D. wel, G. wohl, OHG. wola, wela, Icel. & Dan. vel, Sw. väl, Goth. waíla; originally meaning, according to one’s will or wish. See Will, v. t., and cf. Wealth.]
1. In a good or proper manner; justly; rightly; not ill or wickedly.
"If thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door." Gen. iv. 7.
2. Suitably to one’s condition, to the occasion, or to a proposed end or use; suitably; abundantly; fully; adequately; thoroughly.
"Lot … beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere." Gen. xiii. 10.
"WE are wellable to overcome it." Num. xiii. 30.
"She looketh well to the ways of her household." Prov. xxxi. 27.
"Servant of God, well done! well hast thou fought The better fight." Milton.
3. Fully or about; — used with numbers. [Obs.] "Well a ten or twelve." Chaucer.
"Well nine and twenty in a company." Chaucer.
4. In such manner as is desirable; so as one could wish; satisfactorily; favorably; advantageously; conveniently. "It boded well to you." Dryden.
"Know In measure what the mind may well contain." Milton.
"All the world speaks well of you." Pope.
5. Considerably; not a little; far.
"Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age." Gen. xviii. 11. Well is sometimes used elliptically for it is well, as an expression of satisfaction with what has been said or done, and sometimes it expresses concession, or is merely expletive; as well, the work is done; well, let us go; well, well, be it so. Well, like above, ill, and so, is used before many participial adjectives in its usual adverbial senses, and subject to the same custom with regard to the use of the hyphen (see the Note under Ill, adv. ); as a well-affected supporter; he was well affected toward the project; a well- trained speaker; he was well trained in speaking; well- educated, or well educated; well-dressed, or well dressed; well-appearing; well-behaved; well- controlled; well-designed; well-directed; well-formed; well-meant; well-minded; well-ordered; well- performed; well-pleased; well-pleasing; well-seasoned; well-steered; well-tasted; well-told, etc. Such compound epithets usually have an obvious meaning, and since they may be formed at will, only a few of this class are given in the Vocabulary. As well. See under As. — As well as, and also; together with; not less than; one as much as the other; as a sickness long, as well as severe; London is the largest city in England, as well as the capital. — Well enough, well or good in a moderate degree; so as to give satisfaction, or so as to require no alteration. — Well off, in good condition; especially, in good condition as to property or any advantages; thriving; prosperous. — Well to do, well off; prosperous; — used also adjectively. "The class well to do in the world." J. H. Newman. — Well to live, in easy circumstances; well off; well to do. Shak.

Well, a.
1. Good in condition or circumstances; desirable, either in a natural or moral sense; fortunate; convenient; advantageous; happy; as it is well for the country that the crops did not fail; it is well that the mistake was discovered.
"It was well with us in Egypt." Num. xi. 18.
2. Being in health; sound in body; not ailing, diseased, or sick; healthy; as a well man; the patient is perfectly well. "Your friends are well." Shak.
"Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake?" Gen. xliii. 27.
3. Being in favor; favored; fortunate.
"He followed the fortunes of that family, and was well with Henry the Fourth." Dryden.
4. (Marine Insurance) Safe; as a chip warranted well at a certain day and place. Burrill.

Welladay
Well´a•day, interj. [Corrupted from wela way.] Alas! Welaway! Shak.

Wellat
Wel´lat, n. (Zoöl.) The king parrakeet See under King.

Well-born
Well´-born, a. Born of a noble or respect able family; not of mean birth.

Well-bred
Well´-bred, a. Having good breeding; refined in manners; polite; cultivated.
"I am as well-bred as the earl’s granddaughter." Thackera.

Welldoer
Well´do•er, n. One who does well; one who does good to another; a benefactor.

Welldoing
Well´do•ing, n. A doing well; right performance of duties. Also used adjectively.

Welldrain
Well´drain, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Welldrained p. pr. & vb. n. Well-draining.] To drain, as land; by means of wells, or pits, which receive the water, and from which it is discharged by machinery.

Wellhead
Well´head, n. A source, spring, or fountain.
"At the wellhead the purest streams arise." Spenser.
"Our public-school and university life is a great wellhead of new and irresponsible words." Earle.

Wellhole
Well´hole, n.
1. (Arch.) (a) The open space in a floor, to accommodate a staircase. (b) The open space left beyond the ends of the steps of a staircase.
2. A cavity which receives a counterbalancing weight in certain mechanical contrivances, and is adapted also for other purposes. W. M. Buchanan.

Well-informed
Well•-in•formed´, a. Correctly informed; provided with information; well furnished with authentic knowledge; intelligent.

Wellington boot
Wel"ling•ton boot. [After the Duke of Wellington.] A riding boot for men, the front of which came above the knee; also a similar shorter boot worn under the trousers.

Wellingtonia
Wel•ling•to´ni•a, n. [NL. So named after the Duke of Wellington.] (Bot.) A name given to the "big trees" ( Sequoia gigantea) of California, and still used in England. See Sequoia.

Well-intentioned
Well•-in•ten´tioned, a. Having upright intentions or honorable purposes.
"Dutchmen who had sold themselves to France, as the wellintentioned party." Macaulay.

Well-known
Well´-known, a. Fully known; generally known or acknowledged.
"A church well known with a well-known rite." M. Arnold.

Well-liking
Well´-lik•ing, a. Being in good condition. [Obs. or Archaic]
"They also shall bring forth more fruit in their age, and shall be fat and well-liking." Bk. of Com. Prayer (Ps. xcii.).

Well-mannered
Well•-man´nered, a. Polite; well- bred; complaisant; courteous. Dryden.

Well-meaner
Well´-mean•er, n. One whose intention is good. "Well-meaners think no harm." Dryden.

Well-meaning
Well´-mean•ing, a. Having a good intention.

Well-natured
Well•-na´tured, a. Good-natured; kind.
"Well-natured, temperate, and wise." Denham.

Well-nigh
Well´-nigh, adv. Almost; nearly. Chaucer.

Well-plighted
Well´-plight•ed, a. Being well folded. [Obs.] "Her well-plighted frock." Spenser.

Well-read
Well´-read, a. Of extensive reading; deeply versed; — often followed by in.

Well-seen
Well´-seen, a. Having seen much; hence, accomplished; experienced. [Obs.] Beau. & Fl.
"Well-seen in arms and proved in many a fight." Spenser.

Well-set
Well´-set, a.
1. Properly or firmly set.
2. Well put together; having symmetry of parts.

Well-sped
Well´-sped, a. Having good success.

Well-spoken
Well´-spo•ken, a. [ Well + speak.]
1. Speaking well; speaking with fitness or grace; speaking kindly. "A knight well-spoken." Shak.
2. Spoken with propriety; as well-spoken words.

Wellspring
Well´spring, n. A fountain; a spring; a source of continual supply.
"Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him that hath it; but the instruction of fools is folly." Prov. xvi. 22.

Well-willer
Well´-will•er, n. One who wishes well, or means kindly. [R.] "A well-willer of yours." Brydges.

Well-wish
Well´-wish, n. A wish of happiness. "A well-wish for his friends." Addison.

Wellwisher
Well´wish•er, n. One who wishes another well; one who is benevolently or friendlily inclined.

Wels, n. [G.] (Zoöl.) The sheatfish; — called also waller.

Welsbach
Wels´bach, a. Of or pertaining to Auer von Welsbach or the incandescent gas burner invented by him. — Welsbach burner, a burner in which the combustion of a mixture of air and gas or vapor is employed to heat to incandescence a mantle composed of thoria and ceria. The mantle is made by soaking a "stocking" in a solution of nitrates of thorium and cerium (approx. 99 : 1), drying, and, for use, igniting to burn the thread and convert the nitrates into oxides, which remain as a fragile ash. The light far exceeds that obtained from the same amount of gas with the ordinary fishtail burner, but has a slight greenish hue.

Welsh, a. [AS. waelisc, welisc, from wealh a stranger, foreigner, not of Saxon origin, a Welshman, a Celt, Gael; akin to OHG. walh, whence G. wälsch or welsch, Celtic, Welsh, Italian, French, Foreign, strange, OHG. walhisc; from the name of a Celtic tribe. See Walnut.] Of or pertaining to Wales, or its inhabitants. [Sometimes written also Welch.] Welsh flannel, a fine kind of flannel made from the fleece of the flocks of the Welsh mountains, and largely manufactured by hand. — Welsh glaive, or Welsh hook, a weapon of war used in former times by the Welsh, commonly regarded as a kind of poleax. Fairholt. Craig. — Welsh mortgage (O. Eng. Law), a species of mortgage, being a conveyance of an estate, redeemable at any time on payment of the principal, with an understanding that the profits in the mean time shall be received by the mortgagee without account, in satisfaction of interest. Burrill. — Welsh mutton, a choice and delicate kind of mutton obtained from a breed of small sheep in Wales. — Welsh onion (Bot.), a kind of onion ( Allium fistulosum) having hollow inflated stalks and leaves, but scarcely any bulb, a native of Siberia. It is said to have been introduced from Germany, and is supposed to have derived its name from the German term wälsch foreign. — Welsh parsley, hemp, or halters made from hemp. [Obs. & Jocular] J. Fletcher. — Welsh rabbit. See under Rabbit.

Welsh, n.
1. The language of Wales, or of the Welsh people.
2. pl. The natives or inhabitants of Wales. The Welsh call themselves Cymry, in the plural, and a Welshman Cymro, and their country Cymru, of which the adjective is Cymreig, and the name of their language Cymraeg. They are a branch of the Celtic family, and a relic of the earliest known population of England, driven into the mountains of Wales by the Anglo- Saxon invaders.

Welsh, v. t. & i. (a) To cheat by avoiding payment of bets; — said esp. of an absconding bookmaker at a race track. [Slang] (b) To avoid dishonorably the fulfillment of a pecuniary obligation. [Slang]

Welsher
Welsh´er, n. One who cheats at a horse race; one who bets, without a chance of being able to pay; one who receives money to back certain horses and absconds with it. [Written also welcher.] [Slang, Eng.]

Welshman
Welsh´man, n. ; pl. Welshmen .
1. A native or inhabitant of Wales; one of the Welsh.
2. (Zoöl.) (a) A squirrel fish. (b) The large-mouthed black bass. See Black bass. [Southern U. S.]

Welt, n. [OE. welte, probably fr. W. gwald a hem, a welt, gwaldu to welt or to hem.]
1. That which, being sewed or otherwise fastened to an edge or border, serves to guard, strengthen, or adorn it; as; (a) A small cord covered with cloth and sewed on a seam or border to strengthen it; an edge of cloth folded on itself, usually over a cord, and sewed down. (b) A hem, border, or fringe. [Obs.] (c) In shoemaking, a narrow strip of leather around a shoe, between the upper leather and sole. (d) In steam boilers and sheet-iron work, a strip riveted upon the edges of plates that form a butt joint. (e) In carpentry, a strip of wood fastened over a flush seam or joint, or an angle, to strengthen it. (f) In machine-made stockings, a strip, or flap, of which the heel is formed.
2. (Her.) A narrow border, as of an ordinary, but not extending around the ends. Welt joint, a joint, as of plates, made with a welt, instead of by overlapping the edges. See Weld, n. , 1 (d).

Welt, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Welted; p. pr. & vb. n. Welting.] To furnish with a welt; to sew or fasten a welt on; as to welt a boot or a shoe; to welt a sleeve.

Welt, v. t. To wilt. [R.]

Weltanschauung
Welt´an´schau•ung, n. ; pl. Weltanschauungen (#). [G.] Lit., world view; a conception of the course of events in, and of the purpose of, the world as a whole, forming a philosophical view or apprehension of the universe; the general idea embodied in a cosmology.

Welte, obs. imp. of Weld, to wield. Chaucer.

Welterweight
Wel´ter•weight, n.
1. (Horse Racing) A weight of 28 pounds (one of 40 pounds is called a heavy welterweight) sometimes imposed in addition to weight for age, chiefly in steeplechases and hurdle races.
2. A boxer or wrestler whose weight is intermediate between that of a lightweight and that of a middleweight.

Weltschmertz
Welt´schmertz, n. [G., fr. welt world + schmertz pain. See World; Smart, v. i.] Sorrow or sadness over the present or future evils or woes of the world in general; sentimental pessimism.

Wem, n. [Cf. Womb.] The abdomen; the uterus; the womb. [Obs.]

Wem, n. [AS. wam, wamm.] Spot; blemish; harm; hurt. [Obs.] Wyclif.
"Withouten wem of you, through foul and fair." Chaucer.

Wem, v. t. [AS. wemman.] To stain; to blemish; to harm; to corrupt. [Obs.]

Wemless
Wem´less, a. Having no wem, or blemish; spotless. [Obs.] "Virgin wemless." Chaucer.

Wen (wen), n. [AS. wenn; akin to D. wen, LG. wenne.] (Med.) An indolent, encysted tumor of the skin; especially, a sebaceous cyst.

Wench (wench), n. [OE. wenche, for older wenchel a child, originally, weak, tottering; cf. AS. wencle a maid, a daughter, wencel a pupil, orphan, wincel, winclu, children, offspring, wencel weak, wancol unstable, OHG. wanchol; perhaps akin to E. wink. See Wink.]
1. A young woman; a girl; a maiden. Shak.
"Lord and lady, groom and wench." Chaucer.
"That they may send again My most sweet wench, and gifts to boot." Chapman.
"He was received by the daughter of the house, a pretty, buxom, blue-eyed little wench." W. Black.
2. A low, vicious young woman; a drab; a strumpet.
"She shall be called his wench or his leman." Chaucer.
"It is not a digression to talk of bawds in a discourse upon wenches." Spectator.
3. A colored woman; a negress. [U. S.]

Wench (wench), v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Wenched (wencht); p. pr. & vb. n. Wenching.] To frequent the company of wenches, or women of ill fame.

Wenchless
Wench´less, a. Being without a wench. Shak.

Wend (wend), obs. p. p. of Wene. Chaucer.

Wend, v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Wended, Obs. Went; p. pr. & vb. n. Wending.] [AS. wendan to turn, to go, caus. of windan to wind; akin to OS. wendian, OFries. wenda, D. wenden to turn, G. wenden, Icel. venda, Sw. vända, Dan. vende, Goth. wandjan. See Wind to turn, and cf. Went.]
1. To go; to pass; to betake one’s self. "To Canterbury they wend." Chaucer.
"To Athens shall the lovers wend." Shak.
2. To turn round. [Obs.] Sir W. Raleigh.

Wend, v. t. To direct; to betake; — used chiefly in the phrase to wend one’s way. Also used reflexively. "Great voyages to wend." Surrey.

Wend, n. (O. Eng. Law) A large extent of ground; a perambulation; a circuit. [Obs.] Burrill.

Wende, obs. imp. of Wene. Chaucer. { Wend´ic, Wend´ish } a. Of or pertaining the Wends, or their language.

Wends, n. pl.; sing. Wend. (Ethnol.) A Slavic tribe which once occupied the northern and eastern parts of Germany, of which a small remnant exists.

Wene, v. i. To ween. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Wenlock group
Wen"lock group, (Geol.) The middle subdivision of the Upper Silurian in Great Britain; — so named from the typical locality in Shropshire.

Wennel
Wen´nel, n. See Weanel. [Obs.] Tusser. { Wen´nish, Wen´ny }, a. [From Wen.] Having the nature of a wen; resembling a wen; as a wennish excrescence.

Went, imp. & p. p. of Wend; - - now obsolete except as the imperfect of go, with which it has no etymological connection. See Go.
"To the church both be they went." Chaucer.

Went, n. Course; way; path; journey; direction. [Obs.] "At a turning of a wente." Chaucer.
"But here my weary team, nigh overspent, Shall breathe itself awhile after so long a went." Spenser.
"He knew the diverse went of mortal ways." Spenser.

Wentletrap
Wen´tle•trap, n. [D. wenteltrap a winding staircase; cf. G. wendeltreppe.] [Obs.] Any one of numerous species of elegant, usually white, marine shells of the genus Scalaria, especially Scalaria pretiosa, which was formerly highly valued; — called also staircase shell. See Scalaria.

Wept, imp. & p. p. of Weep.

Were, v. t. & i. To wear. See 3d Wear. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Were, n. A weir. See Weir. [Obs.] Chaucer. Sir P. Sidney.

Were, v. t. [AS. werian.] To guard; to protect. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Were (wer; 277). [AS. waere (thou) wast, waeron (we, you, they) were, waere imp. subj. See Was.] The imperfect indicative plural, and imperfect subjunctive singular and plural, of the verb be. See Be.

Were (wer), n. [AS. wer; akin to OS. & OHG. wer, Goth. waír, L. vir, Skr. vira. Cf. Weregild, and Werewolf.]
1. A man. [Obs.]
2. A fine for slaying a man; the money value set upon a man’s life; weregild. [Obs.]
"Every man was valued at a certain sum, which was called his were." Bosworth.

Wernerite
Wer´ner•ite, n. [See Wernerian.] (Min.) The common grayish or white variety of soapolite.

Werre, n. War. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Werrey
Wer´rey (wer"ra), v. t. To warray. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Werst (werst), n. See Verst.

Weryangle
Wer•y•an´gle, n. See Wariangle. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Wesleyanism
Wes´ley•an•ism, n. (Eccl.) The system of doctrines and church polity inculcated by John Wesley (b. 1703; d. 1791), the founder of the religious sect called Methodist; Methodism. See Methodist, n. , 2.

West Indian
West• In"di•an. A native of, or a dweller in, the West Indies.

Westering
West´er•ing, a. Passing to the west.
"Toward heaven’s descent had sloped his westering wheel." Milton.

Westerly
West´er•ly, a. Of or pertaining to the west; toward the west; coming from the west; western.

Westerly
West´er•ly, adv. Toward the west; westward.

Western
West´ern, a.
1. Of or pertaining to the west; situated in the west, or in the region nearly in the direction of west; being in that quarter where the sun sets; as the western shore of France; the western ocean.
"Far o’er the glowing western main." Keble.
2. Moving toward the west; as a ship makes a western course; coming from the west; as a western breeze. Western Church. See Latin Church, under Latin. — Western empire (Hist.), the western portion of the Roman empire, as divided, by the will of Theodosius the Great, between his sons Honorius and Arcadius, a. d. 395.

Westernmost
West´ern•most, a. Situated the farthest towards the west; most western. { West• In"di•a, West• In"di•an } Belonging or relating to the West Indies. West India tea (Bot.), a shrubby plant ( Capraria biflora) having oblanceolate toothed leaves which are sometimes used in the West Indies as a substitute for tea.

Westing
West´ing, n. (Naut. & Surv.) The distance, reckoned toward the west, between the two meridians passing through the extremities of a course, or portion of a ship’s path; the departure of a course which lies to the west of north.

Westling
West´ling, n. A westerner. [R.]

Westminster Assembly
West"min•ster As•sem"bly See under Assembly.

Westwardly
West´ward•ly, adv. In a westward direction.

Westy
West´y, a. Dizzy; giddy. [Prov. Eng.]

Wet (wet), a. [ Compar. Wetter superl. Wettest.] [OE. wet, weet, AS. waet; akin to OFries. wet, Icel. vatr, Sw. våt, Dan. vaad, and E. water. rad.137. See Water.]
1. Containing, or consisting of, water or other liquid; moist; soaked with a liquid; having water or other liquid upon the surface; as wet land; a wet cloth; a wet table. "Wet cheeks." Shak.
2. Very damp; rainy; as wet weather; a wet season. "Wet October’s torrent flood." Milton.
3. (Chem.) Employing, or done by means of, water or some other liquid; as the wet extraction of copper, in distinction from dry extraction in which dry heat or fusion is employed.
4. Refreshed with liquor; drunk. [Slang] Prior. Wet blanket, Wet dock, etc. See under Blanket, Dock, etc. — Wet goods, intoxicating liquors. [Slang]
Syn. — Nasty; humid; damp; moist. See Nasty.

Wet, n. [AS. waeta. See Wet, a. ]
1. Water or wetness; moisture or humidity in considerable degree.
"Have here a cloth and wipe away the wet." Chaucer.
"Now the sun, with more effectual beams, Had cheered the face of earth, and dried the wet From drooping plant." Milton.
2. Rainy weather; foggy or misty weather.
3. A dram; a drink. [Slang]

Wet, v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Wet (rarely Wetted); p. pr. & vb. n. Wetting.] [AS. waetan.] To fill or moisten with water or other liquid; to sprinkle; to cause to have water or other fluid adherent to the surface; to dip or soak in a liquid; as to wet a sponge; to wet the hands; to wet cloth. "[The scene] did draw tears from me and wetted my paper." Burke.
"Ye mists and exhalations, that now rise … Whether to deck with clouds the uncolored sky, Or wet the thirsty earth with falling showers." Milton. To wet one’s whistle, to moisten one’s throat; to drink a dram of liquor. [Colloq.]
"Let us drink the other cup to wet our whistles." Walton.

Wetbird
Wet´bird, n. (Zoöl.) The chaffinch, whose cry is thought to foretell rain. [Prov. Eng.]

Wet-bulb thermometer. (Physics) That one of the two similar thermometers of a psychrometer the bulb of which is moistened; also the entire instrument.

Wether
Weth´er, n. [OE. wether, AS. weðer; akin to OS. wethar, withar, a ram, D. weder, G. widder, OHG. widar, Icel. veðr, Sw. vädur, Dan. vaedder, Goth. wiþrus a lamb, L. vitulus calf, Skr. vatsa, L. vetus old, Gr. ’e•tos year; — originally meaning, a yearling. Cf. Veal, Veteran.] A castrated ram.

Wet-shod
Wet´-shod, a. Having the feet, or the shoes on the feet, wet.

Wettish
Wet´tish, a. Somewhat wet; moist; humid.

Wevil
We´vil, n. See Weevil.

Wey, n. Way; road; path. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Wey, v. t. & i. To weigh. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Wey, n. [OE. weye, AS. wge weight. . See Weight.] A certain measure of weight. [Eng.] "A weye of Essex cheese." Piers Plowman. A wey is 6 tods, or 182 pounds, of wool; a load, or five quarters, of wheat, 40 bushels of salt, each weighing 56 pounds; 32 cloves of cheese, each weighing seven pounds; 48 bushels of oats and barley; and from two cwt. to three cwt. of butter. Simmonds.

Weyleway
Wey´le•way, interj. See Welaway. [Obs.]

Wezand
We´zand, n. See Weasand. [Obs.]