A deed of settlement of the best part of her estate, which I wheedled
out of her.
Congreve.
Whee"dle, v. i. To flatter; to coax; to cajole.
Wheel (?), n. [OE. wheel, hweol, AS. hweól, hweogul, hweowol; akin to
D. wiel, Icel. hvl, Gr. ky`klos, Skr. cakra; cf. Icel. hjl, Dan. hiul,
Sw. hjul. √218. Cf. Cycle, Cyclopedia.]
1. A circular frame turning about an axis; a rotating disk, whether
solid, or a frame composed of an outer rim, spokes or radii, and a
central hub or nave, in which is inserted the axle, — used for
supporting and conveying vehicles, in machinery, and for various
purposes; as, the wheel of a wagon, of a locomotive, of a mill, of a
watch, etc.
The gasping charioteer beneath the wheel Of his own car.
Dryden.
2. Any instrument having the form of, or chiefly consisting of, a
wheel. Specifically: —
(a) A spinning wheel. See under Spinning.
(b) An instrument of torture formerly used.
His examination is like that which is made by the rack and wheel.
Addison.
This mode of torture is said to have been first employed in Germany, in
the fourteenth century. The criminal was laid on a cart wheel with his
legs and arms extended, and his limbs in that posture were fractured
with an iron bar. In France, where its use was restricted to the most
atrocious crimes, the criminal was first laid on a frame of wood in the
form of a St. Andrew's cross, with grooves cut transversely in it above
and below the knees and elbows, and the executioner struck eight blows
with an iron bar, so as to break the limbs in those places, sometimes
finishing by two or three blows on the chest or stomach, which usually
put an end to the life of the criminal, and were hence called
coups-de-grace — blows of mercy. The criminal was then unbound, and
laid on a small wheel, with his face upward, and his arms and legs
doubled under him, there to expire, if he had survived the previous
treatment. Brande.
(c) (Naut.) A circular frame having handles on the periphery, and an
axle which is so connected with the tiller as to form a means of
controlling the rudder for the purpose of steering.
(d) (Pottery) A potter's wheel. See under Potter.
Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work
on the wheels.
Jer. xviii. 3.
Turn, turn, my wheel! This earthen jar A touch can make, a touch can
mar.
Longfellow.
(e) (Pyrotechny) A firework which, while burning, is caused to revolve
on an axis by the reaction of the escaping gases.
(f) (Poetry) The burden or refrain of a song.
"This meaning has a low degree of authority, but is supposed from the
context in the few cases where the word is found." Nares.
You must sing a-down a-down, An you call him a-down-a. O, how the wheel
becomes it!
Shak.
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