It behoveth our words to be wary and few.
Hooker.
Syn. — Cautious; circumspect; watchful. See Cautious.
War"ye (?), v. t. [AS. wergian, wyrgean. Cf. Worry.] To curse; to
curse; to execrate; to condemn; also, to vex. [Obs.] [Spelled also
warrie, warry, and wary.] "Whom I thus blame and warye." Chaucer.
Was (wz). [AS. wæs, 2d pers. wre, 3d pers. wæs, pl. wron, with the inf.
wesan to be; akin to D. wezen, imp. was, OHG. wesan, imp. was, G.
wesen, n., a being, essence, war was, Icel. vera to be, imp. var, Goth.
wisan to be, to dwell, to remain, imp. was, Skr. vas to remain, to
dwell. √148. Cf. Vernacular, Wassail, Were, v.] The first and third
persons singular of the verb be, in the indicative mood, preterit
(imperfect) tense; as, I was; he was.
Wase (ws), n. [Cf. Sw. vase a sheaf.] A bundle of straw, or other
material, to relieve the pressure of burdens carried upon the head.
[Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.
Wash (wsh), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Washed (wsht); p. pr. & vb. n.
Washing.] [OE. waschen, AS. wascan; akin to D. wasschen, G. waschen,
OHG. wascan, Icel. & Sw. vaska, Dan. vaske, and perhaps to E. water.
√150.] 1. To cleanse by ablution, or dipping or rubbing in water; to
apply water or other liquid to for the purpose of cleansing; to scrub
with water, etc., or as with water; as, to wash the hands or body; to
wash garments; to wash sheep or wool; to wash the pavement or floor; to
wash the bark of trees.
When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, . . . he took water and
washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the
blood of this just person.
Matt. xxvii. 24.
2. To cover with water or any liquid; to wet; to fall on and moisten;
hence, to overflow or dash against; as, waves wash the shore.
Fresh-blown roses washed with dew.
Milton.
[The landscape] washed with a cold, gray mist.
Longfellow.
3. To waste or abrade by the force of water in motion; as, heavy rains
wash a road or an embankment.
4. To remove by washing to take away by, or as by, the action of water;
to drag or draw off as by the tide; — often with away, off, out, etc.;
as, to wash dirt from the hands.
Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins.
Acts xxii. 16.
The tide will wash you off.
Shak.
5. To cover with a thin or watery coat of color; to tint lightly and
thinly.