Wil"ly*ing, n. The process of cleansing wool, cotton, or the like, with
a willy, or willow.
Willying machine. Same as 1st Willow, 2.
Wil"ly nil"ly (?). See Will I, nill I, etc., under 3d Will.
Wil"ne (?), v. t. [AS. wilnian.] To wish; to desire. [Obs.] "He
willneth no destruction." Chaucer.
Wilt (?), 2d pers. sing. of Will.
Wilt, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Wilting.] [Written also welt, a modification
of welk.] To begin to wither; to lose freshness and become flaccid, as
a plant when exposed when exposed to drought, or to great heat in a dry
day, or when separated from its root; to droop;. to wither. [Prov. Eng.
& U. S.]
Wilt, v. t. 1. To cause to begin to wither; to make flaccid, as a green
plant. [Prov. Eng. U. S.]
2. Hence, to cause to languish; to depress or destroy the vigor and
energy of. [Prov. Eng. & U. S.]
Despots have wilted the human race into sloth and imbecility.
Dr. T. Dwight.
Wil"ton car`pet (?). A kind of carpet woven with loops like the
Brussels, but differing from it in having the loops cut so as to form
an elastic velvet pile; — so called because made originally at Wilton,
England.
Wil"we (?), n. Willow. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Wil"y (?), a. [Compar. Wilier (?); superl. Wiliest.] [From Wile.] Full
of wiles, tricks, or stratagems; using craft or stratagem to accomplish
a purpose; mischievously artful; subtle. "Wily and wise." Chaucer. "The
wily snake." Milton.
This false, wily, doubling disposition of mind.
South.
Syn. — Cunning; artful; sly; crafty. See Cunning.
Wim"ble (?), n. [OE. wimbil; akin to Dan. vimmel, OD. wemelen to bore.
Cf. Gimlet.] An instrument for boring holes, turned by a handle.
Specifically: (a) A gimlet. " It is but like the little wimble, to let
in the greater auger." Selden. (b) A stonecutter's brace for boring
holes in stone. (c) An auger used for boring in earth.
Wim"ble (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wimbled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Wimbling
(?).] To bore or pierce, as with a wimble. "A foot soldier . . .
wimbled also a hole through said coffin." Wood.
Wim"ble (?), a. [Cf. Sw. vimmelkantig giddy, whimsical, dial. Sw.
vimmla to be giddy or skittish, and E. whim.] Active; nimble.[Obs.]
Spenser.
Wim"brel (?), n. (Zoöl.) The whimbrel.
Wim"ple (?), n. [OE. wimpel, AS. winpel; akin to D. & G. wimpel a
pennant, streamer, OHG. wimpal a veil, Icel. vimpill, Dan. & Sw. vimpel
a pennant, streamer; of uncertain origin. Cf. Gimp.]
1. A covering of silk, linen, or other material, for the neck and chin,
formerly worn by women as an outdoor protection, and still retained in
the dress of nuns.
Full seemly her wympel ipinched is.
Chaucer.
For she had laid her mournful stole aside, And widowlike sad wimple
thrown away.
Spenser.
Then Vivian rose, And from her brown-locked head the wimple throws.