VYING, v[=i]'ing, _pr.p._ of _vie_.
* * * * *
W the twenty-third letter of our alphabet, like _æ_, a ligature rather than
a letter, with a double value, as consonant and as vowel--when the sound is
voiced we have _w_, as in 'we' or 'wen,' the corresponding unvoiced sound
being _wh_, as in 'when,' 'what.' A final _w_ is vocalic, as in 'few.' The
A.S. _hw_ has become _wh_; _cw_ has become _qu_ as in _queen_, from A.S.
_cwén_; while _w_ is occasionally intrusive, as in _whole_, from A.S.
_hál_.
WABBLE, WOBBLE, wob'l, _v.i._ to incline alternately to one side and the
other: to rock, to vacillate.--_n._ a hobbling, unequal motion.--_ns._
WABB'LER, WOBB'LER, one who or that which wabbles: a boiled leg of
mutton.--_adjs._ WABB'LY, WOBB'LY, shaky, given to wabbling.--_adj._ and
_n._ WOBB'LING, vacillating. [Low Ger. _wabbeln_, to wabble; cog. with Eng.
_waver_.]
WABSTER, wab'st[.e]r, _n._ (_Scot._) a webster, weaver.
WACKE, wak'e, _n._ German miners' term for a soft, grayish kind of
trap-rock.
WAD, wod, _n._ a mass of loose matter thrust close together for packing,
&c., as hay, tow, &c.: a little mass of paper, tow, or the like to keep the
charge in a gun.--_v.t._ to form into a mass: to pad, stuff out: to stuff a
wad into:--_pr.p._ wad'ding; _pa.t._ and _pa.p._ wad'ded.--_n._ WAD'DING, a
wad, or the materials for wads: a soft stuff, also sheets of carded cotton
for stuffing garments, &c. [Skeat refers to Scand., Sw. _vadd_, wadding;
cf. Ger. _watte_, wadding, _wat_, cloth (whence Fr. _ouate_); ult. allied
to _weed_.]
WAD, wad, a Scotch form of _wed_, also of _would_.
WAD, WADD, wod, _n._ an earthy ore of manganese.
WADDLE, wod'l, _v.i._ to take short steps and move from side to side in
walking.--_n._ a clumsy, rocking gait.--_n._ WADD'LER.--_adv._ WADD'LINGLY,
with a waddling gait. [Perh. _wade_.]
WADDY, wad'i, _n._ a native Australian wooden war-club, a
walking-stick--also WADD'IE.--_v.t._ to strike with a waddy.
WADE, w[=a]d, _v.i._ to walk through any substance that yields to the feet,
as water: to pass with difficulty or labour.--_n._ (_coll._) a ford.--_n._
W[=A]'DER, one who wades: a bird that wades, e.g, the heron: (_pl._) high
waterproof boots used by fishermen for wading. [A.S. _wadan_, to move; Ger.
_waten_.]
WADI, WADY, wod'i, _n._ the dry bed of a torrent: a river-valley. [Ar.
_wad[=i]_, a ravine (Sp. _guad-_, first syllable of many river-names).]
WADMAL, wod'mal, _n._ (_Scot._) a thick woollen cloth.--Also WAD'MOLL.
[Ice. _vadhmál_--_vadhr_, cloth, _mál_, a measure.]
WADSET, wod'set, _n._ a mortgage--also WAD'SETT.--_n._ WAD'SETTER, a
mortgagee. [_Wad_=_wed_, _set_.]
WAE, w[=a], _n._ (_Spens._) woe.--_adj._ (_Scot._) sorrowful.--_adjs._
WAE'FUL, WAE'SOME, woeful, pitiful.--_n._ WAE'NESS, sadness.--_interj._
WAE'SUCKS, alas!
WAFER, w[=a]'f[.e]r, _n._ a thin round cake of unleavened bread, usually
stamped with a cross, an Agnus Dei, the letters I.H.S., &c., used in the
Eucharist in the R.C. Church: a thin leaf of coloured paste for sealing
letters, &c.: a thin cake of paste used to facilitate the swallowing of
powders.--_v.t._ to close with a wafer.--_n._ W[=A]'FER-CAKE.--_adj._
W[=A]'FERY, like a wafer. [O. Fr. _waufre_ (Fr. _gaufre_)--Old Dut.
_waefel_, a cake of wax; Ger. _wabe_, a honeycomb.]
WAFF, waf, _adj._ (_Scot._) weak, worthless, paltry.--_n._ a worthless
person. [_Waif_.]
WAFF, waf, _n._ (_Scot._) a slight hasty motion: a quick light blow: a
sudden ailment: a faint but disagreeable odour: a ghost.
WAFF, waf, _n._ an obsolete form of _wave_.
WAFF, waf, _v.i._ (_prov._) to bark.--Also WAUGH.
WAFFLE, wof'l, _n._ a kind of batter-cake, baked over the fire in an iron
utensil of hinged halves called a WAFF'LE-[=I]'RON. [Dut. _wafel_, wafer.]