Aw"ful*ness, n. 1. The quality of striking with awe, or with reverence; dreadfulness; solemnity; as, the awfulness of this sacred place.
The awfulness of grandeur.
Johnson.
2. The state of being struck with awe; a spirit of solemnity; profound reverence. [Obs.]
Producing in us reverence and awfulness.
Jer. Taylor.
A*whape" (&?;), v. t. [Cf. whap blow.] To confound; to terrify; to amaze. [Obs.] Spenser.
A*while" (&?;), adv. [Adj. a + while time, interval.] For a while; for some time; for a short time.
A*wing" (&?;), adv. [Pref. a- + wing.] On the wing; flying; fluttering. Wallace.
Awk (k), a. [OE. auk, awk (properly) turned away; (hence) contrary, wrong, from Icel. öfigr, öfugr, afigr, turning the wrong way, fr. af off, away; cf. OHG. abuh, Skr. apc turned away, fr. apa off, away + a root ak, ak, to bend, from which come also E. angle, anchor.] 1. Odd; out of order; perverse. [Obs.]
2. Wrong, or not commonly used; clumsy; sinister; as, the awk end of a rod (the but end). [Obs.] Golding.
3. Clumsy in performance or manners; unhandy; not dexterous; awkward. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]
Awk, adv. Perversely; in the wrong way. L'Estrange.
Awk"ly, adv. 1. In an unlucky (left-handed) or perverse manner. [Obs.] Holland.