Chapter V: Moth (2)

Defn: Causing vomiting; emetic; vomitive.

VOMITORY Vom"i*to*ry, n.; pl. Vomitories (.

1. An emetic; a vomit. Harvey.

2. Etym: [L. vomitorium.] (Arch.)

Defn: A principal door of a large ancient building, as of an amphitheater. Sixty-four vomitories . . . poured forth the immense multitude. Gibbon.

VOMITURITION Vom`i*tu*ri"tion, n. Etym: [Cf. F. vomiturition.] (Med.) (a) An ineffectual attempt to vomit. (b) The vomiting of but little matter; also, that vomiting which is effected with little effort. Dunglison.

VONDSIRA Vond*si"ra, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Same as Vansire.

VOODOO Voo"doo, n.

1. See Voodooism.

2. One who practices voodooism; a negro sorcerer.

VOODOO Voo"doo, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to voodooism, or a voodoo; as, voodoo incantations.

VOODOOISM Voo"doo*ism, n. Etym: [Probably (through Creole French vaudoux a negro sorcerer) fr. F. Vaudois Waldensian, because the Waldenses were accused of sorcery.]

Defn: A degraded form of superstition and sorcery, said to include human sacrifices and cannibalism in some of its rites. It is prevalent among the negroes of Hayti, and to some extent in the United States, and is regarded as a relic of African barbarism.

VOORTREKER Voor"trek`er, n. [D. (in South Africa).]

Defn: One who treks before or first; a pioneer. [South Africa]

VORACIOUS Vo*ra"cious, a. Etym: [L. vorax, -acis, fr. vorare to devour; akin to Gr. gar. Cf. Devour.]

Defn: Greedy in eating; very hungry; eager to devour or swallow; ravenous; gluttonous; edacious; rapacious; as, a voracious man or appetite; a voracious gulf or whirlpool. Dampier. -- Vo*ra"cious*ly, adv. -- Vo*ra"cious*ness, n.

VORACITY Vo*rac"i*ty, n. Etym: [L. voracitas: cf. F. voracité.]

Defn: The quality of being voracious; voraciousness.

VORAGINOUS Vo*rag"i*nous, a. Etym: [L. voraginosus, fr. vorago an abyss, fr. vorare to swallow up.]

Defn: Pertaining to a gulf; full of gulfs; hence, devouring. [R.] Mallet.

VORTEX Vor"tex, n.; pl. E. Vortexes, L. Vortices. Etym: [L. vortex, vertex, -icis, fr. vortere, vertere, to turn. See Vertex.]

1. A mass of fluid, especially of a liquid, having a whirling or circular motion tending to form a cavity or vacuum in the center of the circle, and to draw in towards the center bodies subject to its action; the form assumed by a fluid in such motion; a whirlpool; an eddy.

2. (Cartesian System)

Defn: A supposed collection of particles of very subtile matter, endowed with a rapid rotary motion around an axis which was also the axis of a sun or a planet. Descartes attempted to account for the formation of the universe, and the movements of the bodies composing it, by a theory of vortices.

3. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any one of numerous species of small Turbellaria belonging to Vortex and allied genera. See Illustration in Appendix. Vortex atom (Chem.), a hypothetical ring-shaped mass of elementary matter in continuous vortical motion. It is conveniently regarded in certain mathematical speculations as the typical form and structure of the chemical atom. -- Vortex wheel, a kind of turbine.

VORTEX FILAMENT Vor"tex fil"a*ment.

Defn: A vortex tube of infinitesimal cross section.

VORTEX FRINGE Vor"tex fringe.

Defn: The region immediately surrounding a disk moving flatwise through air; -- so called because the air has a cyclic motion as in vortex ring.

VORTEX LINE Vortex line.

Defn: A line, within a rotating fluid, whose tangent at every point is the instantaneous axis of rotation as that point of the fluid.

VORTEX RING Vortex ring. (Physics)

Defn: A ring-shaped mass of moving fluid which, by virtue of its motion of rotation around an axis disposed in circular form, attains a more or less distinct separation from the surrounding medium and has many of the properties of a solid.

VORTEX THEORY Vortex theory. (Chem. & Physics)

Defn: The theory, advanced by Thomson (Lord Kelvin) on the basis of investigation by Helmholtz, that the atoms are vortically moving ring-shaped masses (or masses of other forms having a similar internal motion) of a homogeneous, incompressible, frictionless fluid. Various properties of such atoms (vortex atoms) can be mathematically deduced.

VORTEX TUBE Vortex tube. (Physics)

Defn: An imaginary tube within a rotating fluid, formed by drawing the vortex lines through all points of a closed curve.

VORTICAL Vor"ti*cal, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to a vortex or vortexes; resembling a vortex in form or motion; whirling; as, a vortical motion. -- Vor"ti*cal*ly, adv.

VORTICEL Vor"ti*cel, n. Etym: [Cf. F. vorticelle. See Vortex.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A vorticella.

VORTICELLA Vor`ti*cel"la, n.; pl. E. Vorticellas (, L. Vorticellæ (. Etym: [NL., dim. fr. L. vortex. See Vortex.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any one of numerous species of ciliated Infusoria belonging to Vorticella and many other genera of the family Vorticellidæ. They have a more or less bell-shaped body with a circle of vibrating cilia around the oral disk. Most of the species have slender, contractile stems, either simple or branched.

VORTICOSE Vor"ti*cose`, a. Etym: [L. vorticosus.]

Defn: Vortical; whirling; as, a vorticose motion.

VORTIGINOUS Vor*tig"i*nous, a. Etym: [Cf. Vertiginous.]

Defn: Moving rapidly round a center; vortical. [R.] Cowper.

VOTARESS Vo"ta*ress, n. Etym: [See Votary, n.]

Defn: A woman who is a votary. Shak.

VOTARIST Vo"ta*rist, n. Etym: [See Votary.]

Defn: A votary. Like a sad votarist in palmer's weed. Milton.

VOTARY Vo"ta*ry, a. Etym: [From L. votus, p. p. vovere to vow, to devote. See Vote, Vow.]

Defn: Consecrated by a vow or promise; consequent on a vow; devoted; promised. Votary resolution is made equipollent to custom. Bacon.

VOTARY Vo"ta*ry, n.; pl. Votaries (.

Defn: One devoted, consecrated, or engaged by a vow or promise; hence, especially, one devoted, given, or addicted, to some particular service, worship, study, or state of life. "You are already love's firm votary." Shak. 'T was coldness of the votary, not the prayer, that was in fault. Bp. Fell. But thou, my votary, weepest thou Emerson.

VOTE Vote, n. Etym: [L. votum a vow, wish, will, fr. vovere, votum, to vow: cf. F. vote. See Vow.]

1. An ardent wish or desire; a vow; a prayer. [Obs.] Massinger.

2. A wish, choice, or opinion, of a person or a body of persons, expressed in some received and authorized way; the expression of a wish, desire, will, preference, or choice, in regard to any measure proposed, in which the person voting has an interest in common with others, either in electing a person to office, or in passing laws, rules, regulations, etc.; suffrage.

3. That by means of which will or preference is expressed in elections, or in deciding propositions; voice; a ballot; a ticket; as, a written vote. The freeman casting with unpurchased hand The vote that shakes the turrets of the land. Holmes.

4. Expression of judgment or will by a majority; legal decision by some expression of the minds of a number; as, the vote was unanimous; a vote of confidence.

5. Votes, collectively; as, the Tory vote; the labor vote. Casting vote, Cumulative vote, etc. See under Casting, Cumulative, etc.

VOTE Vote, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Voted; p. pr. & vb. n. Voting.] Etym: [Cf. F. voter.]

Defn: To express or signify the mind, will, or preference, either viva voce, or by ballot, or by other authorized means, as in electing persons to office, in passing laws, regulations, etc., or in deciding on any proposition in which one has an interest with others. The vote for a duelist is to assist in the prostration of justice, and, indirectly, to encourage the crime. L. Beecher. To vote on large principles, to vote honestly, requires a great amount of information. F. W. Robertson.

VOTE Vote, v. t.

1. To choose by suffrage; to elecas, to vote a candidate into office.

2. To enact, establish, grant, determine, etc., by a formal vote; as, the legislature voted the resolution. Parliament voted them one hundred thousand pounds. Swift.

3. To declare by general opinion or common consent, as if by a vote; as, he was voted a bore. [Colloq.]

4. To condemn; to devote; to doom. [Obs.] Glanvill.

VOTER Vot"er, n.

Defn: One who votes; one who has a legal right to vote, or give his suffrage; an elector; a suffragist; as, as, an independent voter.

VOTING Vot"ing,

Defn: a. & n. from Vote, v. Voting paper, a form of ballot containing the names of more candidates than there are offices to be filled, the voter making a mark against the preferred names. [Eng.]

VOTIST Vot"ist, n.

Defn: One who makes a vow. [Obs.] Chapman.

VOTIVE Vo"tive, a. Etym: [L. votivus, fr. votum a vow: cf. F. votif. See Vow.]

Defn: Given by vow, or in fulfillment of a vow; consecrated by a vow; devoted; as, votive offerings; a votive tablet. "Votive incense." Keble. We reached a votive stone, that bears the name Of Aloys Reding. Wordsworth. Embellishments of flowers and votive garlands. Motley. Votive medal, a medal struck in grateful commemoration of some auspicious event. -- Votive offering, an offering in fulfillment of a religious vow, as of one's person or property. -- Vo"tive*ly, adv. -- Vo"tive*ness, n.

VOTRESS Vo"tress, n.

Defn: A votaress. Dryden.

VOUCH Vouch, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Vouched; p. pr. & vb. n. Vouching.] Etym: [OE. vouchen, OF. vochier to call, fr. L. vocare to call, fr. vox, vocis, voice. See Voice, and cf. Avouch.]

1. To call; to summon. [Obs.] [They] vouch (as I might say) to their aid the authority of the writers. Sir T. Elyot.

2. To call upon to witness; to obtest. Vouch the silent stars and conscious moon. Dryden.

3. To warrant; to maintain by affirmations; to attest; to affirm; to avouch. They made him ashamed to vouch the truth of the relation, and afterwards to credit it. Atterbury.

4. To back; to support; to confirm; to establish. Me damp horror chilled At such bold words vouched with a deed so bold. Milton.

5. (Law)

Defn: To call into court to warrant and defend, or to make good a warranty of title. He vouches the tenant in tail, who vouches over the common vouchee. Blackstone.

Syn. -- To obtest; declare; affirm; attest; warrant; confirm; asseverate; aver; protest; assure.

VOUCH Vouch, v. i.

1. To bear witness; to give testimony or full attestation. He will not believe her until the elector of Hanover shall vouch for the truth of what she has . . . affirmed. Swift.

2. To assert; to aver; to declare. Shak.

VOUCH Vouch, n.

Defn: Warrant; attestation. [Obs.] The vouch of very malice itself. Shak.

VOUCHEE Vouch*ee", n. (Law)

Defn: The person who is vouched, or called into court to support or make good his warranty of title in the process of common recovery. Blackstone.

VOUCHER Vouch"er, n.

1. One who vouches, or gives witness or full attestation, to anything. Will his vouchers vouch him no more Shak. The great writers of that age stand up together as vouchers for one another's reputation. Spectator.

2. A book, paper, or document which serves to vouch the truth of accounts, or to confirm and establish facts of any kind; also, any acquittance or receipt showing the payment of a debt; as, the merchant's books are his vouchers for the correctness of his accounts; notes, bonds, receipts, and other writings, are used as vouchers in proving facts.

3. (Law) (a) The act of calling in a person to make good his warranty of title in the old form of action for the recovery of lands. (b) The tenant in a writ of right; one who calls in another to establish his warranty of title. In common recoveries, there may be a single voucher or double vouchers. Blackstone.

VOUCHMENT Vouch"ment, n.

Defn: A solemn assertion. [R.]

VOUCHOR Vouchor, n. (Law)

Defn: Same as Voucher, 3 (b).

VOUCHSAFE Vouch*safe", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Vouchsafed; p. pr. & vb. n. Vouchsafing.] Etym: [Vouch + safe, that is, to vouch or answer for safety.]

1. To condescend to grant; to concede; to bestow. If ye vouchsafe that it be so. Chaucer. Shall I vouchsafe your worship a word or two Shak. It is not said by the apostle that God vouchsafed to the heathens the means of salvation. South.

2. To receive or accept in condescension. [Obs.] Shak.

VOUCHSAFE Vouch*safe", v. i.

Defn: To condescend; to deign; to yield; to descend or stoop. Chaucer. Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this day without sin. Bk. of Com. Prayer. Vouchsafe, illustrious Ormond, to behold What power the charms of beauty had of old. Dryden.

VOUCHSAFEMENT Vouch*safe"ment, n.

Defn: The act of vouchsafing, or that which is vouchsafed; a gift or grant in condescension. Glanvill.

VOUSSOIR Vous`soir", n. Etym: [F., akin to voûte an arch, a vault.] (Arch.)

Defn: One of the wedgelike stones of which an arch is composed.

VOW Vow, n. Etym: [OE. vou, OF. vou, veu, vo, vu, F. v, from L. votum, from vovere, to vow. Cf. Avow, Devout, Vote.]

1. A solemn promise made to God, or to some deity; an act by which one consecrates or devotes himself, absolutely or conditionally, wholly or in part, for a longer or shorter time, to some act, service, or condition; a devotion of one's possessions; as, a baptismal vow; a vow of poverty. "Nothing . . . that may . . . stain my vow of Nazarite." Milton. I pray thee, let me go and pay my vow. 2 Sam. xv. 7. I am combined by a sacred vow. Shak.

2. Specifically, a promise of fidelity; a pledge of love or affection; as, the marriage vow. Knights of love, who never broke their vow; Firm to their plighted faith. Dryden.

VOW Vow, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Vowed; p. pr. & vb. n. Vowing.] Etym: [OE. vouen, OF. vouer, voer, F. vouer, LL. votare. See Vow, n.]

1. To give, consecrate, or dedicate to God, or to some deity, by a solemn promise; to devote; to promise solemnly. "When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it." Eccl. v. 4. [Men] that vow a long and weary pilgrimage. Shak.

2. To assert solemnly; to asseverate.

VOW Vow, v. i.

Defn: To make a vow, or solemn promise. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. Eccl. v. 5.

VOWEL Vow"el, n. Etym: [F. voyelle, or an OF. form without y, L. vocalis (sc. littera), from vocalis sounding, from vox, vocis, a voice, sound. See Vocal.] (Phon.)

Defn: A vocal, or sometimes a whispered, sound modified by resonance in the oral passage, the peculiar resonance in each case giving to each several vowel its distinctive character or quality as a sound of speech; -- distinguished from a consonant in that the latter, whether made with or without vocality, derives its character in every case from some kind of obstructive action by the mouth organs. Also, a letter or character which represents such a sound. See Guide to Pronunciation, §§ 5, 146-149.

Note: In the English language, the written vowels are a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes w and y. The spoken vowels are much more numerous. Close vowel. See under Close, a. -- Vowel point. See under Point, n.

VOWEL Vow"el, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to a vowel; vocal.

VOWELED Vow"eled, a.

Defn: Furnished with vowels. [Written also vowelled.] Dryden.

VOWELISH Vow"el*ish, a.

Defn: Of the nature of a vowel. [R.] "The power [of w] is always vowelish." B. Jonson.

VOWELISM Vow"el*ism, n.

Defn: The use of vowels. [R.]

VOWELIZE Vow"el*ize, v. t.

Defn: To give the quality, sound, or office of a vowel to.

VOWER Vow"er, n.

Defn: One who makes a vow. Bale.

VOW-FELLOW Vow"-fel`low, n.

Defn: One bound by the same vow as another. [R.] Shak.

VOX Vox, n. Etym: [L. See Voice.]

Defn: A voice. Vox humana ( Etym: [L., human voice] (Mus.), a reed stop in an organ, made to imitate the human voice.

VOX ANGELICA Vox` an*gel"i*ca. [L. angelica angelic.] (Music)

Defn: An organ stop of delicate stringlike quality, having for each finger key a pair of pipes, of which one is tuned slightly sharp to give a wavy effect to their joint tone.

VOYAGE Voy"age (; 48), n. Etym: [OE. veage, viage, OF. veage, viage, veiage, voiage, F. voyage, LL. viaticum, fr. L. viaticum traveling money, provision for a journey, from viaticus belonging to a road or journey, fr. via way, akin to E. way. See Way, n., and cf. Convey, Deviate, Devious, Envoy, Trivial, Viaduct, Viaticum.]

1. Formerly, a passage either by sea or land; a journey, in general; but not chiefly limited to a passing by sea or water from one place, port, or country, to another; especially, a passing or journey by water to a distant place or country. I love a sea voyage and a blustering tempest. J. Fletcher. So steers the prudent crane Her annual voyage, borne on winds. Milton. All the voyage of their life Is bound in shallows and in miseries. Shak.

2. The act or practice of traveling. [Obs.] Nations have interknowledge of one another by voyage into foreign parts, or strangers that come to them. Bacon.

3. Course; way. [Obs.] Shak.

VOYAGE Voy"age, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Voyaged; p. pr. & vb. n. Voyaging.] Etym: [Cf. F. voyager.]

Defn: To take a voyage; especially, to sail or pass by water. A mind forever Voyaging through strange seas of thought alone. Wordsworth.

VOYAGE Voy"age, v. t.

Defn: To travel; to pass over; to traverse. With what pain [I] voyaged the unreal, vast, unbounded deep. Milton.

VOYAGEABLE Voy"age*a*ble, a. Etym: [Cf. F. voyageable.]

Defn: That may be sailed over, as water or air; navigable.

VOYAGER Voy"a*ger, n. Etym: [Cf. F. voyager traveling.]

Defn: One who voyages; one who sails or passes by sea or water.

VOYAGEUR Voy`a`geur", n. Etym: [F., fr. voyager to travel. See Voyage.]

Defn: A traveler; -- applied in Canada to a man employed by the fur companies in transporting goods by the rivers and across the land, to and from the remote stations in the Northwest.

VOYOL Voy"ol, n. (Naut.) (a) See Viol, 2. (b) The block through which a messenger passes. [Written also viol, and voyal.]

VRAISEMBLANCE Vrai`sem`blance", n. Etym: [F.]

Defn: The appearance of truth; verisimilitude.

VUGG; VUGH Vugg, Vugh, n. (Mining)

Defn: A cavity in a lode; -- called also vogle.

VULCAN Vul"can, n. Etym: [L. Vulcanus, Volcanus: cf. Skr. ulka a firebrand, meteor. Cf. Volcano.] (Rom. Myth.)

Defn: The god of fire, who presided over the working of metals; -- answering to the Greek Hephæstus.

VULCANIAN Vul*ca"ni*an, a. Etym: [L. Vulcanius.]

1. Of or pertaining to Vulcan; made by Vulcan; hence, of or pertaining to works in iron or other metals. Ingenious allusions to the Vulcanian panoply which Achilles lent to his feebler friend. Macaulay.

2. (Geol.)

Defn: Volcanic.

VULCANIC Vul*can"ic, a.

1. Of or pertaining to Vulcan; made by Vulcan; Vulcanian.

2. Of or pertaining to volcanoes; specifically, relating to the geological theory of the Vulcanists, or Plutonists.

VULCANICITY Vul`can*ic"i*ty, n.

Defn: Volcanicity.

VULCANISM Vul"can*ism, n.

Defn: Volcanism.

VULCANIST Vul"can*ist, n.

Defn: A volcanist.

VULCANITE Vul"can*ite, n.

Defn: Hard rubber produced by vulcanizing with a large proportion of sulphur.

VULCANIZATION Vul`can*i*za"tion, n. Etym: [See Vulcan.]

Defn: The act or process of imparting to caoutchouc, gutta-percha, or the like, greater elasticity, durability, or hardness by heating with sulphur under pressure.

VULCANIZE Vul"can*ize, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Vulcanized; p. pr. & vb. n. Vulcanizing.]

Defn: To change the properties of, as caoutchouc, or India rubber, by the process of vulcanization. Vulcanized fiber, paper, paper pulp, or other fiber, chemically treated, as with metallic chlorides, so as to form a substance resembling ebonite in texture, hardness, etc. Knight. -- Vulcanized rubber, India rubber, vulcanized.

VULCANIZER Vul"can*i`zer, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, vulcanizes; esp., an apparatus for vulcanizing caoutchouc.

VULCANO Vul*ca"no, n.

Defn: A volcano. [Obs.]

VULCANOLOGY Vul`can*ol"o*gy, n. Etym: [See Vulcan, and -logy.]

Defn: The science which treats of phenomena due to plutonic action, as in volcanoes, hot springs, etc. [R.]

VULCAN POWDER Vul"can pow"der.

Defn: A dynamite composed of nitroglycerin (30 parts), sodium nitrate (52.5), charcoal (10.5), and sulphur (7), used in mining and blasting.

VULGAR Vul"gar, a. Etym: [L. vulgaris, from vulgus the multitude, the common people; of uncertain origin: cf. F. vulgaire. Cf. Divulge.]

1. Of or pertaining to the mass, or multitude, of people; common; general; ordinary; public; hence, in general use; vernacular. "As common as any the most vulgar thing to sense. " Shak. Things vulgar, and well-weighed, scarce worth the praise. Milton. It might be more useful to the English reader . . . to write in our vulgar language. Bp. Fell. The mechanical process of multiplying books had brought the New Testament in the vulgar tongue within the reach of every class. Bancroft.

2. Belonging or relating to the common people, as distinguished from the cultivated or educated; pertaining to common life; plebeian; not select or distinguished; hence, sometimes, of little or no value. "Like the vulgar sort of market men." Shak. Men who have passed all their time in low and vulgar life. Addison. In reading an account of a battle, we follow the hero with our whole attention, but seldom reflect on the vulgar heaps of slaughter. Rambler.

3. Hence, lacking cultivation or refinement; rustic; boorish; also, offensive to good taste or refined feelings; low; coarse; mean; base; as, vulgar men, minds, language, or manners. Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar. Shak. Vulgar fraction. (Arith.) See under Fraction.

VULGAR Vul"gar, n. Etym: [Cf. F. vulgaire.]

1. One of the common people; a vulgar person. [Obs.] These vile vulgars are extremely proud. Chapman.

2. The vernacular, or common language. [Obs.]

VULGARIAN Vul*ga"ri*an, n.

Defn: A vulgar person; one who has vulgar ideas. Used also adjectively.

VULGARISM Vul"gar*ism, n. Etym: [Cf. F. vulgarisme.]

1. Grossness; rudeness; vulgarity.

2. A vulgar phrase or expression. A fastidious taste will find offense in the occasional vulgarisms, or what we now call "slang," which not a few of our writers seem to have affected. Coleridge.

VULGARITY Vul*gar"i*ty, n. Etym: [Cf. F. vulgarité, L. vulgaritas the multitude.]

1. The quality or state of being vulgar; mean condition of life; the state of the lower classes of society. Sir T. Browne.

2. Grossness or clownishness of manners of language; absence of refinement; coarseness. The reprobate vulgarity of the frequenters of Bartholomew Fair. B. Jonson.

VULGARIZATION Vul`gar*i*za"tion, n.

Defn: The act or process of making vulgar, or common.

VULGARIZE Vul"gar*ize, v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Vulgarized; p. pr. & vb. n. Vulgarizing.] Etym: [Cf. F. vulgariser, LL. vulgarizare.]

Defn: To make vulgar, or common. Exhortation vulgarized by low wit. V. Knox.

VULGARLY Vul"gar*ly, adv.

Defn: In a vulgar manner.

VULGARNESS Vul"gar*ness, n.

Defn: The quality of being vulgar.

VULGATE Vul"gate, n. Etym: [NL. vulgata, from L. vulgatus usual, common, p. p. of vulgare to make general, or common, fr. vulgus the multitude: cf. F. vulgate. See Vulgar, a.]

Defn: An ancient Latin version of the Scripture, and the only version which the Roman Church admits to be authentic; -- so called from its common use in the Latin Church.

Note: The Vulgate was made by Jerome at the close of the 4th century. The Old Testament he translated mostly from the Hebrew and Chaldaic, and the New Testament he revised from an older Latin version. The Douay version, so called, is an English translation from the Vulgate. See Douay Bible.

VULGATE Vul"gate, a.

Defn: Of or pertaining to the Vulgate, or the old Latin version of the Scriptures.

VULNERABILITY Vul`ner*a*bil"i*ty, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being vulnerable; vulnerableness.

VULNERABLE Vul"ner*a*ble, a. Etym: [L. vulnerabilis wounding, injurious, from vulnerare to wound, vulnus a wound; akin to Skr. vra: cf. F. vulnérable.]

1. Capable of being wounded; susceptible of wounds or external injuries; as, a vulnerable body. Achilles was vulnerable in his heel; and there will be wanting a Paris to infix the dart. Dr. T. Dwight.

2. Liable to injury; subject to be affected injuriously; assailable; as, a vulnerable reputation. His skill in finding out the vulnerable parts of strong minds was consummate. Macaulay.

VULNERABLENESS Vul"ner*a*ble*ness, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being vulnerable; vulnerability.

VULNERARY Vul"ner*a*ry, a. Etym: [L. vulnearius: cf. F. vulnéraire.]

Defn: Useful in healing wounds; adapted to the cure of external injuries; as, vulnerary plants or potions. "Such vulnerary remedies." Sir W. Scott. -- n. Etym: [Cf. F. vulnéraire.] (Med.)

Defn: A vulnerary remedy.

VULNERATE Vul"ner*ate, v. t. Etym: [L. vulneratus, p. p. of vulnerare to wound.]

Defn: To wound; to hurt. [Obs.]

VULNERATION Vul`ner*a"tion, n. Etym: [L. vulneratio.]

Defn: The act of wounding, or the state of being wounded. [Obs.]

VULNEROSE Vul"ner*ose`, a.

Defn: Full of wounds; wounded.

VULNIFIC; VULNIFICAL Vul*nif"ic, Vul*nif"ic*al, a. Etym: [L. vulnificus; vulnus a wound + facere to make.]

Defn: Causing wounds; inflicting wounds; wounding.

VULNOSE Vul*nose", a.

Defn: Having wounds; vulnerose. [R.]

VULPES Vul"pes, n. Etym: [L., a fox.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: A genus of Carnivora including the foxes.

VULPIC Vul"pic, a. (Chem.)

Defn: Pertaining to, derived from, or designating, an acid obtained from a lichen (Cetraria vulpina) as a yellow or red crystalline substance which on decomposition yields pulvinic acid.

VULPICIDE Vul"pi*cide, n. Etym: [L. vulpes a fox + caedere to kill.]

Defn: One who kills a fox, except in hunting; also, the act of so killing a fox. [Written also vulpecide.]

VULPINE Vul"pine, a. Etym: [L. vulpinus, from vulpes a fox.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to the fox; resembling the fox; foxy; cunning; crafty; artful. Vulpine phalangist (Zoöl.), an Australian carnivorous marsupial (Phalangista, or Trichosurus, vulpina); -- called also vulpine phalanger, and vulpine opossum.

VULPINIC Vul*pin"ic, a. (Chem.)

Defn: Same as Vulpic.

VULPINISM Vul"pin*ism, n.

Defn: The quality of being cunning like the fox; craft; artfulness. [R.] He was without guile, and had no vulpinism at all. Carlyle.

VULPINITE Vul"pi*nite, n. Etym: [So called after Vulpino, in Italy.] (Min.)

Defn: A scaly granular variety of anhydrite of a grayish white color, used for ornamental purposes.

VULTERN Vul"tern, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The brush turkey (Talegallus Lathami) of Australia. See Brush turkey.

VULTURE Vul"ture, n. Etym: [OE. vultur, L. vultur: cf. OF. voltour, F. vautour.] (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any one of numerous species of rapacious birds belonging to Vultur, Cathartes, Catharista, and various other genera of the family Vulturidæ.

Note: In most of the species the head and neck are naked or nearly so. They feed chiefly on carrion. The condor, king vulture, turkey buzzard, and black vulture (Catharista atrata) are well known American species. The griffin, lammergeir, and Pharaoh's chicken, or Egyptian vulture, are common Old World vultures.

VULTURINE Vul"tur*ine, a. Etym: [L. vulturinus.]

Defn: Of or pertaining to a vulture; resembling a vulture in qualities or looks; as, the vulturine sea eagle (Gypohierax Angolensis); vulturine rapacity. The vulturine nose, which smells nothing but corruption, is no credit to its possessor. C. Kingsley.

VULTURISH Vul"tur*ish, a.

Defn: Vulturous.

VULTURISM Vul"tur*ism, n.

Defn: The quality or state of being like a vulture; rapaciousness.

VULTUROUS Vul"tur*ous, a.

Defn: Like a vulture; rapacious.

VULVA Vul"va, n. Etym: [L. vulva, volva, from volvere to roll.]

1. (Anat.)

Defn: The external parts of the female genital organs; sometimes, the opening between the projecting parts of the external organs.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The orifice of the oviduct of an insect or other invertebrate.

VULVIFORM Vul"vi*form, a. Etym: [L. vulva, volva, a wrapper + -form.] (Bot.)

Defn: Like a cleft with projecting edges.

VULVITIS Vul*vi"tis, n. Etym: [NL. See Vulva, and -itis.] (Med.)

Defn: Inflammation of the vulva.

VULVO-UTERINE Vul`vo-u"ter*ine, a. (Anat.)

Defn: Pertaining both to the vulva and the uterus.

VULVOVAGINAL Vul`vo*vag"i*nal, a. (Anat.)

Defn: Pertaining both to the vulva and the vagina.

VYCE Vyce, n. Etym: [Cf. Vise.] (Coopering)

Defn: A kind of clamp with gimlet points for holding a barrel head while the staves are being closed around it. Knight.

VYING Vy"ing,

Defn: a. & n. from Vie. -- Vy"ing*ly, adv.

W

Defn: W, the twenty-third letter of the English alphabet, is usually a consonant, but sometimes it is a vowel, forming the second element of certain diphthongs, as in few, how. It takes its written form and its name from the repetition of a V, this being the original form of the Roman capital letter which we call U. Etymologically it is most related to v and u. See V, and U. Some of the uneducated classes in England, especially in London, confuse w and v, substituting the one for the other, as weal for veal, and veal for weal; wine for vine, and vine for wine, etc. See Guide to Pronunciation, §§ 266-268.

WAAG Waag, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The grivet.

WAAHOO Waa*hoo", n. (Bot.)

Defn: The burning bush; -- said to be called after a quack medicine made from it.

WABBLE Wab"ble, v. i. Etym: [Cf. Prov. G. wabbeln to wabble, and E. whap. Cf. Quaver.]

Defn: To move staggeringly or unsteadily from one side to the other; to vacillate; to move the manner of a rotating disk when the axis of rotation is inclined to that of the disk; -- said of a turning or whirling body; as, a top wabbles; a buzz saw wabbles. wobble.

WABBLE Wab"ble, n.

Defn: A hobbling, unequal motion, as of a wheel unevenly hung; a staggering to and fro.

WABBLY Wab"bly, a.

Defn: Inclined to wabble; wabbling.

WACKE; WACKY Wack"e, Wack"y, n. Etym: [G. wacke, MHG.wacke a large stone, OHG. waggo a pebble.] (Geol.)

Defn: A soft, earthy, dark-colored rock or clay derived from the alteration of basalt.

WAD Wad, n. Etym: [See Woad.]

Defn: Woad. [Obs.]

WAD Wad, n. Etym: [Probably of Scand. origin; cf. Sw. vadd wadding, Dan vat, D. & G. watte. Cf. Wadmol.]

1. A little mass, tuft, or bundle, as of hay or tow. Holland.

2. Specifically: A little mass of some soft or flexible material, such as hay, straw, tow, paper, or old rope yarn, used for retaining a charge of powder in a gun, or for keeping the powder and shot close; also, to diminish or avoid the effects of windage. Also, by extension, a dusk of felt, pasteboard, etc., serving a similar purpose.

3. A soft mass, especially of some loose, fibrous substance, used for various purposes, as for stopping an aperture, padding a garment, etc. Wed hook, a rod with a screw or hook at the end, used for removing the wad from a gun.

WAD Wad, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Waded; p. pr. & vb. n. Wadding.]

1. To form into a mass, or wad, or into wadding; as, to wad tow or cotton.

2. To insert or crowd a wad into; as, to wad a gun; also, to stuff or line with some soft substance, or wadding, like cotton; as, to wad a cloak.

WAD; WADD Wad, Wadd, n. (Min.) (a) An earthy oxide of manganese, or mixture of different oxides and water, with some oxide of iron, and often silica, alumina, lime, or baryta; black ocher. There are several varieties. (b) Plumbago, or black lead.

WADDIE Wad"die, n. & v.

Defn: See Waddy.

WADDING Wad"ding, n. Etym: [See Wad a little mass.]

1. A wad, or the materials for wads; any pliable substance of which wads may be made.

2. Any soft stuff of loose texture, used for stuffing or padding garments; esp., sheets of carded cotton prepared for the purpose.

WADDLE Wad"dle, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Waddled; p. pr. & vb. n. Waddling.] Etym: [Freq. of wade; cf. AS. wædlian to beg, from wadan to go. See Wade.]

Defn: To walk with short steps, swaying the body from one side to the other, like a duck or very fat person; to move clumsily and totteringly along; to toddle; to stumble; as, a child waddles when he begins to walk; a goose waddles. Shak. She drawls her words, and waddles in her pace. Young.

WADDLE Wad"dle, v. t.

Defn: To trample or tread down, as high grass, by walking through it. [R.] Drayton.

WADDLER Wad"dler, n.

Defn: One who, or that which, waddles.

WADDLINGLY Wad"dling*ly, adv.

Defn: In a waddling manner.

WADDY Wad"dy, n.; pl. Waddies. [Written also waddie, whaddie.] [Native name. Thought by some to be a corrup. of E. wood.] [Australia]

1. An aboriginal war club.

2. A piece of wood; stick; peg; also, a walking stick.

WADDY Wad"dy, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Waddied; p. pr. & vb. n. Waddying.]

Defn: To attack or beat with a waddy.

WADDYWOOD Wad"dy*wood`, n.

Defn: An Australian tree (Pittosporum bicolor); also, its wood, used in making waddies.

WADE Wade, n.

Defn: Woad. [Obs.] Mortimer.

WADE Wade, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Waded; p. pr. & vb. n. Wading.] Etym: [OE. waden to wade, to go, AS. wadan; akin to OFries. wada, D. waden, OHG. watan, Icel. va, Sw. vada, Dan. vade, L. vadere to go, walk, vadum a ford. Cf. Evade, Invade, Pervade, Waddle.]

1. To go; to move forward. [Obs.] When might is joined unto cruelty, Alas, too deep will the venom wade. Chaucer. Forbear, and wade no further in this speech. Old Play.

2. To walk in a substance that yields to the feet; to move, sinking at each step, as in water, mud, sand, etc. So eagerly the fiend . . . With head, hands, wings, or feet, pursues his way, And swims, or sinks, or wades, or creeps, or flies. Milton.

3. Hence, to move with difficulty or labor; to proceed as, to wade through a dull book. And wades through fumes, and gropes his way. Dryden. The king's admirable conduct has waded through all these difficulties. Davenant.

WADE Wade, v. t.

Defn: To pass or cross by wading; as, he waded .

WADE Wade, n.

Defn: The act of wading. [Colloq.]

WADER Wad"er, n.

1. One who, or that which, wades.

2. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any long-legged bird that wades in the water in search of food, especially any species of limicoline or grallatorial birds; -- called also wading bird. See Illust. g, under Aves.

WADING Wad"ing,

Defn: a. & n. from Wade, v. Wading bird. (Zoöl.) See Wader, 2.

WADMOL Wad"mol, n. Etym: [Of Scand. origin; cf. Icel.va a woollen stuff, Dan vadmel. Cf. Wad a small mass, and Woodmeil.]

Defn: A coarse, hairy, woolen cloth, formerly used for garments by the poor, and for various other purposes. [Spelled also wadmal, wadmeal, wadmoll, wadmel, etc.] Beck (Draper's Dict.). Sir W. Scott.

WADSET Wad"set, n. Etym: [Scot. wad a pledge; akin to Sw. vad a wager. See Wed.] (Scots Law)

Defn: A kind of pledge or mortgage. [Written also wadsett.]

WADSETTER Wad"set*ter, n.

Defn: One who holds by a wadset.

WADY Wad"y, n.; pl. Wadies. Etym: [Ar. wadi a valley, a channel of a river, a river.]

Defn: A ravine through which a brook flows; the channel of a water course, which is dry except in the rainy season.

WAE Wae, n.

Defn: A wave. [Obs.] Spenser.

WAEG Waeg, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The kittiwake. [Scot.]

WAFER Wa"fer, n. Etym: [OE. wafre, OF. waufre, qaufre, F. qaufre; of Teutonic origin; cf. LG. & D. wafel, G. waffel, Dan. vaffel, Sw. våffla; all akin to G. wabe a honeycomb, OHG. waba, being named from the resemblance to a honeycomb. G. wabe is probably akin to E. weave. See Weave, and cf. Waffle, Gauffer.]

1. (Cookery)

Defn: A thin cake made of flour and other ingredients. Wafers piping hot out of the gleed. Chaucer. The curious work in pastry, the fine cakes, wafers, and marchpanes. Holland. A woman's oaths are wafers -- break with making B. Jonson.

2. (Eccl.)

Defn: A thin cake or piece of bread (commonly unleavened, circular, and stamped with a crucifix or with the sacred monogram) used in the Eucharist, as in the Roman Catholic Church.

3. An adhesive disk of dried paste, made of flour, gelatin, isinglass, or the like, and coloring matter, -- used in sealing letters and other documents. Wafer cake, a sweet, thin cake. Shak. -- Wafer irons, or Wafer tongs (Cookery), a pincher-shaped contrivance, having flat plates, or blades, between which wafers are baked. -- Wafer woman, a woman who sold wafer cakes; also, one employed in amorous intrigues. Beau. & Fl.

WAFER Wa"fer, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wafered; p. pr. & vb. n. Wafering.]

Defn: To seal or close with a wafer.

WAFERER Wa"fer*er, n.

Defn: A dealer in the cakes called wafers; a confectioner. [Obs.] Chaucer.

WAFFLE Waffle, n. Etym: [D. wafel. See Wafer.]

1. A thin cake baked and then rolled; a wafer.

2. A soft indented cake cooked in a waffle iron. Waffle iron, an iron utensil or mold made in two parts shutting together, -- used for cooking waffles over a fire.

WAFT Waft, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wafted; p. pr. & vb. n. Wafting.] Etym: [Prob. originally imp. & p. p. of wave, v. t. See Wave to waver.]

1. To give notice to by waving something; to wave the hand to; to beckon. [Obs.] But soft: who wafts us yonder Shak.

2. To cause to move or go in a wavy manner, or by the impulse of waves, as of water or air; to bear along on a buoyant medium; as, a balloon was wafted over the channel. A gentle wafting to immortal life. Milton. Speed the soft intercourse from soul to soul, And waft a sigh from Indus to the pole. Pope.

3. To cause to float; to keep from sinking; to buoy. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.

Note: This verb is regular; but waft was formerly somwafted.

WAFT Waft, v. i.

Defn: To be moved, or to pass, on a buoyant medium; to float. And now the shouts waft near the citadel. Dryden.

WAFT Waft, n.

1. A wave or current of wind. "Everywaft of the air." Longfellow. In this dire season, oft the whirlwind's wing Sweeps up the burden of whole wintry plains In one wide waft. Thomson.

2. A signal made by waving something, as a flag, in the air.

3. An unpleasant flavor. [Obs.]

4. (Naut.)

Defn: A knot, or stop, in the middle of a flag. [Written also wheft.]

Note: A flag with a waft in it, when hoisted at the staff, or half way to the gaff, means, a man overboard; at the peak, a desire to communicate; at the masthead, "Recall boats."

WAFTAGE Waft"age, n.

Defn: Conveyance on a buoyant medium, as air or water. Shak. Boats prepared for waftage to and fro. Drayton.

WAFTER Waft"er, n.

1. One who, or that which, wafts. O Charon, Thou wafter of the soul to bliss or bane. Beau. & FL.

2. A boat for passage. Ainsworth.

WAFTURE Waf"ture, n.

Defn: The act of waving; a wavelike motion; a waft. R. Browning. An angry wafture of your hand. Shak.

WAG Wag, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wagged; p. pr. & vb. n. Wagging.] Etym: [OE. waggen; probably of Scand. origin; cf. Sw. vagga to rock a cradle, vagga cradle, Icel. vagga, Dan. vugge; akin to AS. wagian to move, wag, wegan to bear, carry, G. & D. bewegen to move, and E. weigh. *136. See Weigh.]

Defn: To move one way and the other with quick turns; to shake to and fro; to move vibratingly; to cause to vibrate, as a part of the body; as, to wag the head. No discerner durst wag his tongue in censure. Shak. Every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and wag his head. Jer. xviii. 16.

Note: Wag expresses specifically the motion of the head and body used in buffoonery, mirth, derision, sport, and mockery.

WAG Wag, v. i.

1. To move one way and the other; to be shaken to and fro; to vibrate. The resty sieve wagged ne'er the more. Dryden.

2. To be in action or motion; to move; to get along; to progress; to stir. [Colloq.] "Thus we may see," quoth he, "how the world wags." Shak.

3. To go; to depart; to pack oft. [R.] I will provoke him to 't, or let him wag. Shak.

WAG Wag, n. Etym: [From Wag, v.]

1. The act of wagging; a shake; as, a wag of the head. [Colloq.]

2. Etym: [Perhaps shortened from wag-halter a rogue.]

Defn: A man full of sport and humor; a ludicrous fellow; a humorist; a wit; a joker. We wink at wags when they offend. Dryden. A counselor never pleaded without a piece of pack thread in his hand, which he used to twist about a finger all the while he was speaking; the wags used to call it the thread of his discourse. Addison.

WAGATI Wa*ga"ti, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: A small East Indian wild cat (Felis wagati), regarded by some as a variety of the leopard cat.

WAGE Wage, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Waged; p. pr. & vb. n. Waging.] Etym: [OE. wagen, OF. wagier, gagier, to pledge, promise, F. gager to wager, lay, bet, fr. LL. wadium a pledge; of Teutonic origin; cf. Goth. wadi a pledge, gawadjon to pledge, akin to E. wed, G. wette a wager. See Wed, and cf. Gage.]

1. To pledge; to hazard on the event of a contest; to stake; to bet, to lay; to wager; as, to wage a dollar. Hakluyt. My life I never but as a pawn To wage against thy enemies. Shak.

2. To expose one's self to, as a risk; to incur, as a danger; to venture; to hazard. "Too weak to wage an instant trial with the king." Shak. To wake and wage a danger profitless. Shak.

3. To engage in, as a contest, as if by previous gage or pledge; to carry on, as a war. [He pondered] which of all his sons was fit To reign and wage immortal war with wit. Dryden. The two are waging war, and the one triumphs by the destruction of the other. I. Taylor.

4. To adventure, or lay out, for hire or reward; to hire out. [Obs.] "Thou . . . must wage thy works for wealth." Spenser.

5. To put upon wages; to hire; to employ; to pay wages to. [Obs.] Abundance of treasure which he had in store, wherewith he might wage soldiers. Holinshed. I would have them waged for their labor. Latimer.

6. (O. Eng. Law)

Defn: To give security for the performance of. Burrill. To wage battle (O. Eng. Law), to give gage, or security, for joining in the duellum, or combat. See Wager of battel, under Wager, n. Burrill. -- To wage one's law (Law), to give security to make one's law. See Wager of law, under Wager, n.

WAGE Wage, v. i.

Defn: To bind one's self; to engage. [Obs.]

WAGE Wage, n. Etym: [OF. wage, gage, guarantee, engagement. See Wage, v. t. ]

1. That which is staked or ventured; that for which one incurs risk or danger; prize; gage. [Obs.] "That warlike wage." Spenser.

2. That for which one labors; meed; reward; stipulated payment for service performed; hire; pay; compensation; -- at present generally used in the plural. See Wages. "My day's wage." Sir W. Scott. "At least I earned my wage." Thackeray. "Pay them a wage in advance." J. Morley. "The wages of virtue." Tennyson. By Tom Thumb, a fairy page, He sent it, and doth him engage, By promise of a mighty wage, It secretly to carry. Drayton. Our praises are our wages. Shak. Existing legislation on the subject of wages. Encyc. Brit.

Note: Wage is used adjectively and as the first part of compounds which are usually self-explaining; as, wage worker, or wage-worker; wage-earner, etc. Board wages. See under 1st Board.

Syn. -- Hire; reward; stipend; salary; allowance; pay; compensation; remuneration; fruit.

WAGEL Wag"el, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: See Waggel.

WAGENBOOM Wa"gen*boom`, n. Etym: [D., literally, wagon tree.] (Bot.)

Defn: A south African proteaceous tree (Protea grandiflora); also, its tough wood, used for making wagon wheels.

WAGER Wa"ger, n. Etym: [OE. wager, wajour, OF. wagiere, or wageure, E. gageure. See Wage, v. t.]

1. Something deposited, laid, or hazarded on the event of a contest or an unsettled question; a bet; a stake; a pledge. Besides these plates for horse races, the wagers may be as the persons please. Sir W. Temple. If any atheist can stake his soul for a wager against such an inexhaustible disproportion, let him never hereafter accuse others of credulity. Bentley.

2. (Law)

Defn: A contract by which two parties or more agree that a certain sum of money, or other thing, shall be paid or delivered to one of them, on the happening or not happening of an uncertain event. Bouvier.

Note: At common law a wager is considered as a legal contract which the courts must enforce unless it be on a subject contrary to public policy, or immoral, or tending to the detriment of the public, or affecting the interest, feelings, or character of a third person. In many of the United States an action can not be sustained upon any wager or bet. Chitty. Bouvier.

3. That on which bets are laid; the subject of a bet. Wager of battel, or Wager of battle (O. Eng. Law), the giving of gage, or pledge, for trying a cause by single combat, formerly allowed in military, criminal, and civil causes. In writs of right, where the trial was by champions, the tenant produced his champion, who, by throwing down his glove as a gage, thus waged, or stipulated, battle with the champion of the demandant, who, by taking up the glove, accepted the challenge. The wager of battel, which has been long in disuse, was abolished in England in 1819, by a statute passed in consequence of a defendant's having waged his battle in a case which arose about that period. See Battel. -- Wager of law (Law), the giving of gage, or sureties, by a defendant in an action of debt, that at a certain day assigned he would take a law, or oath, in open court, that he did not owe the debt, and at the same time bring with him eleven neighbors (called compurgators), who should avow upon their oaths that they believed in their consciences that he spoke the truth. -- Wager policy. (Insurance Law) See under Policy.

WAGER Wa"ger, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wagered; p. pr. & vb. n. Wagering.]

Defn: To hazard on the issue of a contest, or on some question that is to be decided, or on some casualty; to lay; to stake; to bet. And wagered with him Pieces of gold 'gainst this which he wore. Shak.

WAGER Wa"ger, v. i.

Defn: To make a bet; to lay a wager. 'T was merry when You wagered on your angling. Shak.

WAGERER Wa"ger*er, n.

Defn: One who wagers, or lays a bet.

WAGERING Wa"ger*ing, a.

Defn: Hazarding; pertaining to the act of one who wagers. Wagering policy. (Com.) See Wager policy, under Policy.

WAGES Wa"ges, n. plural in termination, but singular in signification. Etym: [Plural of wage; cf. F. gages, pl., wages, hire. See Wage, n.]

Defn: A compensation given to a hired person for services; price paid for labor; recompense; hire. See Wage, n., 2. The wages of sin is death. Rom. vi. 23. Wages fund (Polit. Econ.), the aggregate capital existing at any time in any country, which theoretically is unconditionally destined to be paid out in wages. It was formerly held, by Mill and other political economists, that the average rate of wages in any country at any time depended upon the relation of the wages fund to the number of laborers. This theory has been greatly modified by the discovery of other conditions affecting wages, which it does not take into account. Encyc. Brit.

Syn. -- See under Wage, n.

WAGGEL Wag"gel, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The young of the great black-backed gull (Larus marinus), formerly considered a distinct species. [Prov. Eng.]

WAGGERY Wag"ger*y, n.; pl. Waggeries. Etym: [From Wag.]

Defn: The manner or action of a wag; mischievous merriment; sportive trick or gayety; good-humored sarcasm; pleasantry; jocularity; as, the waggery of a schoolboy. Locke. A drollery and lurking waggery of expression. W. Irving.

WAGGIE Wag"gie, n.

Defn: The pied wagtail. [Prov. Eng.]

WAGGISH Wag"gish, a.

1. Like a wag; mischievous in sport; roguish in merriment or good humor; frolicsome. "A company of waggish boys." L'Estrange.

2. Done, made, or laid in waggery or for sport; sportive; humorous; as, a waggish trick. -- Wag"gish*ly, adv. -- Wag"gish*ness, n.

WAGGLE Wag"gle, v. i. Etym: [Freq. of wag; cf. D. waggelen, G. wackeln.]

Defn: To reel, sway, or move from side to side; to move with a wagging motion; to waddle. Why do you go nodding and waggling so L'Estrange.

WAGGLE Wag"gle, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Waggled; p. pr. & vb. n. Waggling.]

Defn: To move frequently one way and the other; to wag; as, a bird waggles his tail.

WAG-HALTER Wag"-hal`ter, n. Etym: [Wag + halter.]

Defn: One who moves or wears a halter; one likely to be hanged. [Colloq. & Obs.] I can tell you, I am a mad wag-halter. Marston.

WAGNERIAN Wag*ne"ri*an, a.

Defn: Of, pertaining to, or resembling the style of, Richard Wagner, the German musical composer.

WAGNERITE Wag"ner*ite, n. (Min.)

Defn: A fluophosphate of magnesia, occurring in yellowish crystals, and also in massive forms.

WAGON Wag"on, n. Etym: [D. wagen. sq. root136. See Wain.]

1. A wheeled carriage; a vehicle on four wheels, and usually drawn by horses; especially, one used for carrying freight or merchandise.

Note: In the United States, light wagons are used for the conveyance of persons and light commodities.

2. A freight car on a railway. [Eng.]

3. A chariot [Obs.] Spenser.

4. (Astron.)

Defn: The Dipper, or Charles's Wain.

Note: This word and its compounds are often written with two g's (waggon, waggonage, etc.), chiefly in England. The forms wagon, wagonage, etc., are, however, etymologically preferable, and in the United States are almost universally used. Wagon boiler. See the Note under Boiler, 3. -- Wagon ceiling (Arch.), a semicircular, or wagon-headed, arch or ceiling; -- sometimes used also of a ceiling whose section is polygonal instead of semicircular. -- Wagon master, an officer or person in charge of one or more wagons, especially of those used for transporting freight, as the supplies of an army, and the like. -- Wagon shoe, a skid, or shoe, for retarding the motion of a wagon wheel; a drag. -- Wagon vault. (Arch.) See under 1st Vault.

WAGON Wag"on, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wagoned; p. pr. & vb. n. Wagoning.]

Defn: To transport in a wagon or wagons; as, goods are wagoned from city to city.

WAGON Wag"on, v. i.

Defn: To wagon goods as a business; as, the man wagons between Philadelphia and its suburbs.

WAGONAGE Wag"on*age, n.

1. Money paid for carriage or conveyance in wagon.

2. A collection of wagons; wagons, collectively. Wagonage, provender, and a piece or two of cannon. Carlyle.

WAGONER Wag"on*er, n.

1. One who conducts a wagon; one whose business it is to drive a wagon.

2. (Astron.)

Defn: The constellation Charles's Wain, or Ursa Major. See Ursa major, under Ursa.

WAGONETTE Wag`on*ette", n.

Defn: A kind of pleasure wagon, uncovered and with seats extended along the sides, designed to carry six or eight persons besides the driver.

WAGONFUL Wag"on*ful, n.; pl. Wagonfuls (.

Defn: As much as a wagon will hold; enough to fill a wagon; a wagonload.

WAGON-HEADED Wag"on-head`ed, a.

Defn: Having a top, or head, shaped like the top of a covered wagon, or resembling in section or outline an inverted U, thus as, a wagonheaded ceiling.

WAGONLOAD Wag"on*load`, n.

Defn: Same as Wagonful.

WAGON-ROOFED Wag"on-roofed`, a.

Defn: Having a roof, or top, shaped like an inverted U; wagon-headed.

WAGONRY Wag"on*ry, n.

Defn: Conveyance by means of a wagon or wagons. [Obs.] Milton.

WAGONWRIGHT Wag"on*wright`, n.

Defn: One who makes wagons.

WAGTAIL Wag"tail`, n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: Any one of many species of Old World singing birds belonging to Motacilla and several allied genera of the family Motacillidæ. They have the habit of constantly jerking their long tails up and down, whence the name. Field wagtail, any one of several species of wagtails of the genus Budytes having the tail shorter, the legs longer, and the hind claw longer and straighter, than do the water wagtails. Most of the species are yellow beneath. Called also yellow wagtail. -- Garden wagtail, the Indian black-breasted wagtail (Nemoricola Indica). -- Pied wagtail, the common European water wagtail (Motacilla lugubris). It is variegated with black and white. The name is applied also to other allied species having similar colors. Called also pied dishwasher. -- Wagtail flycatcher, a true flycatcher (Sauloprocta motacilloides) common in Southern Australia, where it is very tame, and frequents stock yards and gardens and often builds its nest about houses; -- called also black fantail. -- Water wagtail. (a) Any one of several species of wagtails of the restricted genus Motacilla. They live chiefly on the shores of ponds and streams. (b) The American water thrush. See Water thrush. -- Wood wagtail, an Asiatic wagtail; (Calobates sulphurea) having a slender bill and short legs.

WAH Wah (wä), n. (Zoöl.)

Defn: The panda.

WAHABEE Wa*ha"bee, n. Etym: [Ar. wahabi.]

Defn: A follower of Abdel Wahab (b. 1691; d. 1787), a reformer of Mohammedanism. His doctrines prevail particularly among the Bedouins, and the sect, though checked in its influence, extends to most parts of Arabia, and also into India. [Written also Wahaby.]

WAHOO Wa*hoo", n. Any of various American trees or shrubs; specif.: (a) A certain shrub (Evonymus atropurpureus) having purple capsules which in dehiscence expose the scarlet-ariled seeds; -- called also burning bush. (b) Cascara buckthorn. (c) Basswood.

WAHOO Wa*hoo", n.

Defn: A dark blue scombroid food fish (Acanthocibium solandri or petus) of Florida and the West Indies.

WAID Waid, a. Etym: [For weighed.]

Defn: Oppressed with weight; crushed; weighed down. [Obs.] Tusser.

WAIF Waif, n. Etym: [OF. waif, gaif, as adj., lost, unclaimed, chose gaive a waif, LL. wayfium, res vaivae; of Scand. origin. See Waive.]

1. (Eng. Law.)