Webster's Unabridged Dictionary - Letter W - Page 29

Why (adv.) The reason or cause for which; that on account of which; on what account; as, I know not why he left town so suddenly; -- used as a compound relative.

Why (n.) A young heifer.

Whydah bird () Alt. of Whydah finch

Whydah finch () The whidah bird.

Why-not (n.) A violent and peremptory procedure without any assigned reason; a sudden conclusive happening.

Wich (n.) A variant of 1st Wick.

Wichitas (n. pl.) A tribe of Indians native of the region between the Arkansas and Red rivers. They are related to the Pawnees. See Pawnees.

Wick (n.) Alt. of Wich

Wich (n.) A street; a village; a castle; a dwelling; a place of work, or exercise of authority; -- now obsolete except in composition; as, bailiwick, Warwick, Greenwick.

Wich (n.) A narrow port or passage in the rink or course, flanked by the stones of previous players.

Wick (n.) A bundle of fibers, or a loosely twisted or braided cord, tape, or tube, usually made of soft spun cotton threads, which by capillary attraction draws up a steady supply of the oil in lamps, the melted tallow or wax in candles, or other material used for illumination, in small successive portions, to be burned.

Wick (v. i.) To strike a stone in an oblique direction.

Wicke (a.) Wicked.

Wicked (a.) Having a wick; -- used chiefly in composition; as, a two-wicked lamp.

Wicked (a.) Evil in principle or practice; deviating from morality; contrary to the moral or divine law; addicted to vice or sin; sinful; immoral; profligate; -- said of persons and things; as, a wicked king; a wicked woman; a wicked deed; wicked designs.

Wicked (a.) Cursed; baneful; hurtful; bad; pernicious; dangerous.

Wicked (a.) Ludicrously or sportively mischievous; disposed to mischief; roguish.

Wickedly (adv.) In a wicked manner; in a manner, or with motives and designs, contrary to the divine law or the law of morality; viciously; corruptly; immorally.

Wickedness (n.) The quality or state of being wicked; departure from the rules of the divine or the moral law; evil disposition or practices; immorality; depravity; sinfulness.

Wickedness (n.) A wicked thing or act; crime; sin; iniquity.

Wicken tree () Same as Quicken tree.

Wicker (n.) A small pliant twig or osier; a rod for making basketwork and the like; a withe.

Wicker (n.) Wickerwork; a piece of wickerwork, esp. a basket.

Wicker (n.) Same as 1st Wike.

Wicker (a.) Made of, or covered with, twigs or osiers, or wickerwork.

Wickered (a.) Made of, secured by, or covered with, wickers or wickerwork.

Wickerwork (n.) A texture of osiers, twigs, or rods; articles made of such a texture.

Wicket (n.) A small gate or door, especially one forming part of, or placed near, a larger door or gate; a narrow opening or entrance cut in or beside a door or gate, or the door which is used to close such entrance or aperture. Piers Plowman.

Wicket (n.) A small gate by which the chamber of canal locks is emptied, or by which the amount of water passing to a water wheel is regulated.

Wicket (n.) A small framework at which the ball is bowled. It consists of three rods, or stumps, set vertically in the ground, with one or two short rods, called bails, lying horizontally across the top.

Wicket (n.) The ground on which the wickets are set.

Wicket (n.) A place of shelter made of the boughs of trees, -- used by lumbermen, etc.

Wicket (n.) The space between the pillars, in postand-stall working.

Wicking (n.) the material of which wicks are made; esp., a loosely braided or twisted cord or tape of cotton.

Wiclifite (n.) Alt. of Wickliffite

Wickliffite (n.) See Wyclifite.

Wicopy (n.) See Leatherwood.

Widdy (n.) A rope or halter made of flexible twigs, or withes, as of birch.

Wide (superl.) Having considerable distance or extent between the sides; spacious across; much extended in a direction at right angles to that of length; not narrow; broad; as, wide cloth; a wide table; a wide highway; a wide bed; a wide hall or entry.

Wide (superl.) Having a great extent every way; extended; spacious; broad; vast; extensive; as, a wide plain; the wide ocean; a wide difference.

Wide (superl.) Of large scope; comprehensive; liberal; broad; as, wide views; a wide understanding.

Wide (superl.) Of a certain measure between the sides; measuring in a direction at right angles to that of length; as, a table three feet wide.

Wide (superl.) Remote; distant; far.

Wide (superl.) Far from truth, from propriety, from necessity, or the like.

Wide (superl.) On one side or the other of the mark; too far side-wise from the mark, the wicket, the batsman, etc.

Wide (superl.) Made, as a vowel, with a less tense, and more open and relaxed, condition of the mouth organs; -- opposed to primary as used by Mr. Bell, and to narrow as used by Mr. Sweet. The effect, as explained by Mr. Bell, is due to the relaxation or tension of the pharynx; as explained by Mr. Sweet and others, it is due to the action of the tongue. The wide of / (/ve) is / (/ll); of a (ate) is / (/nd), etc. See Guide to Pronunciation, / 13-15.

Wide (adv.) To a distance; far; widely; to a great distance or extent; as, his fame was spread wide.

Wide (adv.) So as to leave or have a great space between the sides; so as to form a large opening.

Wide (adv.) So as to be or strike far from, or on one side of, an object or purpose; aside; astray.

Wide (n.) That which is wide; wide space; width; extent.

Wide (n.) That which goes wide, or to one side of the mark.

Wide-awake (a.) Fully awake; not drowsy or dull; hence, knowing; keen; alert.

Wide-awake (n.) A broad-brimmed, low-crowned felt hat.

Widegap (n.) The angler; -- called also widegab, and widegut.

Widely (adv.) In a wide manner; to a wide degree or extent; far; extensively; as, the gospel was widely disseminated by the apostles.

Widely (adv.) Very much; to a great degree or extent; as, to differ widely in opinion.

Widened (imp. & p. p.) of Widen

Widening (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Widen

Widen (v. t.) To make wide or wider; to extend in breadth; to increase the width of; as, to widen a field; to widen a breach; to widen a stocking.

Widen (v. i.) To grow wide or wider; to enlarge; to spread; to extend.

Wideness (n.) The quality or state of being wide; breadth; width; great extent from side to side; as, the wideness of a room.

Wideness (n.) Large extent in all directions; broadness; greatness; as, the wideness of the sea or ocean.

Widespread (a.) Spread to a great distance; widely extended; extending far and wide; as, widespread wings; a widespread movement.

Widewhere (adv.) Widely; far and wide.

Widgeon (n.) Any one of several species of fresh-water ducks, especially those belonging to the subgenus Mareca, of the genus Anas. The common European widgeon (Anas penelope) and the American widgeon (A. Americana) are the most important species. The latter is called also baldhead, baldpate, baldface, baldcrown, smoking duck, wheat, duck, and whitebelly.

Widish (a.) Moderately wide.

Widmanstatten figures () Certain figures appearing on etched meteoric iron; -- so called after A. B. Widmanstatten, of Vienna, who first described them in 1808. See the Note and Illust. under Meteorite.

Widow (n.) A woman who has lost her husband by death, and has not married again; one living bereaved of a husband.

Widow (a.) Widowed.

Widowed (imp. & p. p.) of Widow

Widowing (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Widow

Widow (v. t.) To reduce to the condition of a widow; to bereave of a husband; -- rarely used except in the past participle.

Widow (v. t.) To deprive of one who is loved; to strip of anything beloved or highly esteemed; to make desolate or bare; to bereave.

Widow (v. t.) To endow with a widow's right.

Widow (v. t.) To become, or survive as, the widow of.

Widow bird () See Whidan bird.

Widower (n.) A man who has lost his wife by death, and has not married again.

Widowerhood (n.) The state of being a widower.

Widowhood (n.) The state of being a widow; the time during which a woman is widow; also, rarely, the state of being a widower.

Widowhood (n.) Estate settled on a widow.

Widow-hunter (n.) One who courts widows, seeking to marry one with a fortune.

Widowly (a.) Becoming or like a widow.

Widow-maker (n.) One who makes widows by destroying husbands.

Widow-wail (n.) A low, narrowleaved evergreen shrub (Cneorum tricoccon) found in Southern Europe.

Width (n.) The quality of being wide; extent from side to side; breadth; wideness; as, the width of cloth; the width of a door.

Widual (a.) Of or pertaining to a widow; vidual.

Widwe (n.) A widow.

Wielded (imp. & p. p.) of Wield

Wielding (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Wield

Wield (v. t.) To govern; to rule; to keep, or have in charge; also, to possess.

Wield (v. t.) To direct or regulate by influence or authority; to manage; to control; to sway.

Wield (v. t.) To use with full command or power, as a thing not too heavy for the holder; to manage; to handle; hence, to use or employ; as, to wield a sword; to wield the scepter.

Wieldable (a.) Capable of being wielded.

Wieldance (n.) The act or power of wielding.

Wielder (n.) One who wields or employs; a manager; a controller.

Wielding (n.) Power; authority; rule.

Wieldless (a.) Not to be wielded; unmanageable; unwieldy.

Wieldsome (a.) Admitting of being easily wielded or managed.

Wieldy (a.) Capable of being wielded; manageable; wieldable; -- opposed to unwieldy.

Wier (n.) Same as Weir.

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