2. (Hydraul. Engin.) A mode of facing sea walls and embankments with
planks driven as piles and secured by ties. Knight.
Wharf"in*ger (?), n. [For wharfager.] A man who owns, or has the care
of, a wharf.
{ Wharl (?), Wharl"ing, } n. A guttural pronunciation of the letter r;
a burr. See Burr, n., 6.
A strange, uncouth wharling in their speech.
Fuller.
Wharp (?), n. A kind of fine sand from the banks of the Trent, used as
a polishing powder. [Eng.]
What (?), pron., a., & adv. [AS. hwæt, neuter of hw who; akin to OS.
hwat what, OFries. hwet, D. & LG. wat, G. was, OHG. waz, hwaz, Icel.
hvat, Sw. & Dan. hvad, Goth. hwa. √182. See Who.]
1. As an interrogative pronoun, used in asking questions regarding
either persons or things; as, what is this? what did you say? what poem
is this? what child is lost?
What see'st thou in the ground?
Shak.
What is man, that thou art mindful of him?
Ps. viii. 4.
What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!
Matt. viii. 27.
Originally, what, when, where, which, who, why, etc., were
interrogatives only, and it is often difficult to determine whether
they are used as interrogatives or relatives.
What in this sense, when it refers to things, may be used either
substantively or adjectively; when it refers to persons, it is used
only adjectively with a noun expressed, who being the pronoun used
substantively.
2. As an exclamatory word: — (a) Used absolutely or independently; —
often with a question following. "What welcome be thou." Chaucer.
What, could ye not watch with me one hour?
Matt. xxvi. 40.
(b) Used adjectively, meaning how remarkable, or how great; as, what
folly! what eloquence! what courage!
What a piece of work is man!
Shak.
O what a riddle of absurdity!
Young.
What in this use has a or an between itself and its noun if the
qualitative or quantitative importance of the object is emphasized.
(c) Sometimes prefixed to adjectives in an adverbial sense, as nearly
equivalent to how; as, what happy boys!
What partial judges are our love and hate!
Dryden.