Wheat rust. A disease of wheat and other grasses caused by the rust fungus Puccinia graminis; also, the fungus itself.
Wheat sawfly. (a) A small European sawfly (Cephus pygmæus) whose larva does great injury to wheat by boring in the stalks. (b) Any of several small American sawflies of the genus Dolerus, as D. sericeus and D. arvensis, whose larvæ injure the stems or heads of wheat. (c) Pachynematus extensicornis, whose larvæ feed chiefly on the blades of wheat; -- called also grass sawfly.
Wheat"stone's rods. (Acoustics) Flexible rods the period of vibration of which in two planes at right angles are in some exact ratio to one another. When one end of such a rod is fixed, the free end describes in vibrating the corresponding Lissajous figure. So called because devised by Sir Charles Wheatstone.
Wheat"worm` (?), n. A small nematode worm (Tylenchus tritici) which attacks wheat, advancing through the stem to the grains in the air.
Wheel base. The figure inclosed by lines through the points contact of the wheels of a vehicle, etc., with the surface or rails on which they run; more esp., the length of this figure between the points of contact of the two extreme wheels on either side.
Wheel of fortune. A gambling or lottery device consisting of a wheel which is spun horizontally, articles or sums to which certain marks on its circumference point when it stops being distributed according to varying rules.
Wheft (?), n. (Naut.) A kind of streamer or flag used either as a signal, or at the masthead for ornament or to indicate the direction of the wind to aid in steering.
Whey cure. Treatment with whey as a drink and in baths.
Whip, n. 1. A whipping motion; a thrashing about; as, the whip of a tense rope or wire which has suddenly parted; also, the quality of being whiplike or flexible; flexibility; suppleness, as of the shaft of a golf club.
2. (Mech.) Any of various pieces that operate with a quick vibratory motion, as a spring in certain electrical devices for making a circuit, or a rocking certain piano actions.
Whip"saw` (?), n. A kind of narrow ripsaw, tapering from butt to point, with hook teeth and averaging from 5 to 7½ feet in length, used by one or two men.
Whip"saw`, v. t. 1. To saw with the whipsaw.
2. To defeat in, or cause to lose, two different bets at the same turn or in one play, as a player at faro who has made two bets at the same time, one that a card will lose and another that a different card will win; hence, to defeat in spite of every effort.
Whip"stitch`, n. A small bit; esp., a small interval of time; an instant; a minute. [Dial. or Colloq.]
Whip"stitch`, v. t. To sew by passing the thread over and over; to overcast; whip.
{ Whisky, or Whiskey, Ring }. (U. S. Hist.) A conspiracy of distillers and government officials during the administration of President Grant to defraud the government of the excise taxes. The frauds were detected in 1875 through the efforts of the Secretary of the Treasury. B. H. Bristow, and most of the offenders were convicted.
Whist, n. -- Bridge whist. See Bridge, n., above. -- Duplicate whist, a form of whist in playing which the hands are preserved as dealt and played again by other players, as when each side holds in the second round the cards played by the opposing side in the first round. -- Solo whist. See Solo whist, above.
White"cap` (?), n. A member of a self-appointed vigilance committee attempting by lynch-law methods to drive away or coerce persons obnoxious to it. Some early ones wore white hoods or masks. [U. S.] -- White"cap`, v. -- White"cap`per (#), n.
White elephant. Something requiring much care and expense and yielding little profit; any burdensome possession. [Slang]
White fly. Any one of numerous small injurious hemipterous insects of the genus Aleyrodes, allied to scale insects. They are usually covered with a white or gray powder.
{ White"head` tor*pe"do (?), or White"head` }, n. A form of self- propelling torpedo.
White horse. A large mass of tough sinewy substance in the head of sperm whales, just above the upper jaw and extending in streaks into the junk above it. It resembles blubber, but contains no oil. Also, the part of the head in which it occurs.
White list. (a) A list of business concerns regarded as worthy of patronage by reason of compliance with certain conditions, as in regard to treatment of employees; as, the white list of the Consumers' League. [Cant] (b) (New York Stock Exchange) The official list of all transactions, published daily on white paper, divided into sales from 10 to 12, 12 to 2, and 2 to 3.
White mustard. A kind of mustard (Sinapis alba) with rough-hairy foliage, a long-beaked hispid pod, and pale seeds, which yield mustard and mustard oil. The plant is also grown for forage.
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White person. A person of the Caucasian race (6 Fed. Rep. 256). In the time of slavery in the United States white person was generally construed as a person without admixture of colored blood. In various statutes and decisions in different States since 1865 white person is construed as in effect: one not having any negro blood (Ark., Okla.); one having less than one eighth of negro blood (Ala., Fla., Ga., Ind., Ky., Md., Minn., Miss., Mo., N.C., S.C., Tenn., Tex.); one having less than one fourth (Mich., Neb., Ore., Va.); one having less than one half (Ohio).
White plague. Tuberculosis, esp. of the lungs.
White slave. A woman held in involuntary confinement for purposes of prostitution; loosely, any woman forced into unwilling prostitution.
White slaver. A person engaged in procuring or holding a woman or women for unwilling prostitution.
White slaving. The action of one who procures or holds a woman or women for unwilling prostitution.
White"wash`, v. t. In various games, to defeat (an opponent) so that he fails to score, or to reach a certain point in the game; to skunk. [Colloq., U. S.]
{ Wick"i*up Wick"y*up } (?), n. Vars of Wikiup.
{ Wi*dal's", or Wi*dal", test or reaction } (?). [After Fernand Widal (b. 1862), French physician.] (Med.) A test for typhoid fever based on the fact that blood serum of one affected, in a bouillon culture of typhoid bacilli, causes the bacilli to agglutinate and lose their motility.
Wide (?), a. (Stock Exchanges) Having or showing a wide difference between the highest and lowest price, amount of supply, etc.; as, a wide opening; wide prices, where the prices bid and asked differ by several points.
Wide"-an`gle, a. (Photog. & Optics) Having or covering an angle wider than the ordinary; -- applied to certain lenses of relatively short focus. Lenses for ordinary purposes have an angle of 50° or less. Wide-angle lenses may cover as much as 100° and are useful for photographing at short range, but the pictures appear distorted.
Wid"ow (?), n. (Card Playing) In various games, any extra hand or part of a hand, as one dealt to the table.
||Wie"ner Schnit"zel (?). [G., Vienna cutlet.] A veal cutlet variously seasoned garnished, often with lemon, sardines, and capers.
Wig"wag` (?), v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Wigwagged (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Wigwagging (?).] To move to and fro, to wag.
Wig"wag`, n. [See Wigwag, v. t. & i.] Act or art of wigwagging; a message wigwagged; -- chiefly attributive; as, the wigwag code. - - Wig"wag`er (#), n.
Wik"i*up` (?), n. [Of North American Indian origin; cf. Dakota wakeya, wokeya.] The hut used by the nomadic Indian tribes of the arid regions of the west and southwest United States, typically elliptical in form, with a rough frame covered with reed mats or grass or brushwood.
Wil"fley ta`ble (?). (Ore Dressing) An inclined percussion table, usually with longitudinal grooves in its surface, agitated by side blows at right angles to the flow of the pulp; -- so called after the inventor.
Wind (?), n. (Boxing) The region of the pit of the stomach, where a blow may paralyze the diaphragm and cause temporary loss of breath or other injury; the mark. [Slang or Cant]
Wind"ing (?), n. The material, as wire or rope, wound or coiled about anything, or a single round or turn of the material; as (Elec.), a series winding, or one in which the armature coil, the field-magnet coil, and the external circuit form a continuous conductor; a shunt winding, or one of such a character that the armature current is divided, a portion of the current being led around the field-magnet coils.
Wind"jam`mer (?), n. 1. (Naut.) A sailing vessel or one of its crew; -- orig. so called contemptuously by sailors on steam vessels. [Colloq.]