WHINGER, hwing'[.e]r, _n._ a dirk.--Also WHIN'IARD and WHIN'YARD. [Prob. a
corr. of _hanger_.]
WHINNOCK, hwin'ok, _n._ (_prov._) the smallest pig in a litter: a
milk-pail.
WHINNY, hwin'i, v.i, to neigh:--_pa.t._ and _pa.p._ whinn'ied.--_n._ a
neigh. [Freq. of _whine_.]
WHINSTONE, hwin'st[=o]n, _n._ a popular name in Scotland for any hard and
compact kind of stone, as distinguished from sandstone or freestone and
rocks of slaty structure.--Also WHIN. [Perh. corr. from _whernstone_,
_quernstone_, stone suitable for querns.]
WHINYARD. See WHINGER.
WHIP, hwip, _n._ that which whips: a lash with a handle for punishing or
driving: a driver, coachman: one who enforces the attendance of a political
party: a whipper-in, the person who manages the hounds: a call made on
members of parliament to be in their places against important divisions: a
simple form of hoisting apparatus, a small tackle consisting of a single
rope and block.--_v.t._ to strike with a lash: to drive or punish with
lashes: to lash with sarcasm: (_coll._) to beat, outdo: to beat into a
froth, as eggs, cream, &c.: to keep together, as a party: to fish with fly:
to overlay, as one cord with another, to enwrap, lay regularly on: to sew
lightly: to overcast, as a seam: to move quickly, snatch (with _up_,
_away_, _out_).--_v.i._ to move nimbly: to make a cast in fishing with
fly:--_pr.p._ whip'ping; _pa.t._ and _pa.p._ whipped, whipt.--_ns._
WHIP'-AND-DER'RY, a hoisting apparatus--same as _whip_ above; WHIP'CAT, a
tailor; WHIP'CORD, cord for making whips.--_adj._ WHIP'CORDY, tough like
whipcord.--_v.t._ WHIP'-GRAFT, to graft by fitting a tongue cut on the
scion to a slit cut slopingly in the stock.--_ns._ WHIP'-HAND, the hand
that holds the whip: advantage over; WHIP'-HAND'LE, the handle or stock of
a whip: an advantage; WHIP'JACK, a poor whining seaman who never was at
sea; WHIP'LASH, the lash of a whip; WHIP'PER, one who whips: an officer who
inflicts the penalty of whipping; WHIP'PER-IN, one who keeps the hounds
from wandering, and whips them in to the line of chase: one who enforces
the discipline of a party; WHIP'PER-SNAP'PER, a pretentious but
insignificant person; WHIP'PING, act of whipping: punishment with the whip
or lash: a defeat: a binding of twine, as at the end of a rope: in
bookbinding, the sewing of the edges of single leaves in sections by
overcasting the thread--also WHIP'-STITCH'ING; WHIP'PING-BOY, a boy
formerly educated along with a prince and bearing his punishments for him;
WHIP'PING-CHEER (_Shak._), chastisement; WHIP'PING-POST, a post to which
offenders are tied to be whipped: the punishment itself; WHIP'-SAW, a saw
usually set in a frame, for dividing timber lengthwise, and commonly worked
by two persons.--_v.t._ to cut with a whip-saw: to have the advantage of a
person at every point.--_ns._ WHIP'-SNAKE, a name given in North America to
various species of the genus _Masticophis_ (esp. _M. flagelliformis_, the
coach-whip snake, four to five feet long, slender, and harmless), as also
to species of _Philodryas_, of _Passerita_, &c.; WHIP'-SOCK'ET, a socket to
hold the butt of a whip; WHIP'-STAFF, the handle of a whip; WHIP'STER
(_Shak._), same as WHIPPER-SNAPPER; WHIP'-STITCH, a kind of
half-ploughing--_raftering_: a hasty composition: a tailor; WHIP'-STOCK,
the rod or handle of a whip.--_adjs._ WHIP'-TAIL, -TAILED, having a long,
slender tail.--WHIP AND SPUR, with great haste; WHIP THE CAT, to practise
small economies: to work by the day as a dressmaker going from house to
house. [M. E. _whippen_; prob. a form of _wippen_--Old Dut. _wippen_, to
shake, conn. with Old High Ger. _wipph_, swinging motion (Ger. _weifen_, to
move), and akin to L. _vibr[=a]re_, to tremble.]
WHIPPET, hwip'et, _n._ (_obs._) a kind of dog, a cross between a greyhound
and spaniel.
WHIPPLETREE. See WHIFFLETREE.
WHIP-POOR-WILL, hwip'-p[=oo]r-wil', _n._ a species of goat-sucker, a native
of North America. [So named from the fancied resemblance of its notes to
the words _whip poor Will_.]
WHIPPY, hwip'i, _adj._ (_Scot._) active, nimble.--_n._ a pert young woman.
WHIR, hw[.e]r, _n._ a sound from rapid whirling.--_v.i._ to whirl round
with a noise.--_v.t._ (_Shak._) to hurry away with a whizzing
sound:--_pr.p._ whir'ring; _pa.t._ and _pa.p._ whirred.--_n._ WHIR'RING.
[Dan. _hvirre_, to whirl; ult. imit.]
WHIRL, hw[.e]rl, _n._ a turning with rapidity: anything that turns with
velocity.--_v.i._ to revolve rapidly.--_v.t._ to turn round rapidly: to
carry away rapidly, as on wheels.--_ns._ WHIRL'-ABOUT', anything that turns
round rapidly; WHIRL'-BAT (_obs._), the ancient cestus; WHIRL'-BLAST, a
whirling blast of wind; WHIRL'-BONE, the knee-cap; WHIRL'ER; WHIRL'IGIG, a
child's toy which is spun or whirled rapidly round: a merry-go-round:
anything that revolves rapidly: the water-beetle (_Gyrinus_): an ancient
instrument of punishment, consisting of a pivoted wooden cage in which the
prisoner was spun round; WHIRL'ING; WHIRL'ING-DER'VISH, one of an order of
Mohammedan devotees who dance or spin round--the Mevlevis or dancing
dervishes, founded in 1273; WHIRL'ING-T[=A]'BLE, -MACHINE', a machine
exhibiting the effects of centripetal and centrifugal forces: an instrument
used by potters; WHIRL'POOL, a circular current in a river or sea, produced
by opposing tides, winds, or currents: an eddy; WHIRL'WIND, a violent
aerial current, with a whirling, rotary, or spiral motion and wild circling
rush. [Skeat explains M. E. _whirlen_ as a contraction for an assumed
_whirf-le_, a freq. of Ice. _hvirfla_, to whirl, freq. of _hverfa_ (pa.t.
_hvarf_), to turn round; Ger. _wirbeln_, to whirl.]
WHIRRET, hwir'et, _n._ (_obs._) a blow.--_v.t._ to give a box on the ear
to: to vex.--Also WHIRR'ICK.
WHIRRY, hw[.e]r'i, _v.i._ (_Scot._) to fly rapidly.
WHISH, hwish, _v.i._ to move with the whizzing sound of rapid motion.
[Imit.]
WHISH, hwish, _interj._ hush!--also WHISHT.--_adj._ (_obs._) silent.
WHISK, hwisk, _v.t._ to move with a quick motion: to sweep or stir
rapidly.--_v.i._ to move nimbly and rapidly.--_n._ a rapid sweeping motion:
a small bunch of anything used for a brush: a small instrument for beating
or whisking, esp. eggs.--_ns._ WHIS'KER, he who, or that which, whisks: the
hair on the sides of a man's face (esp. in _pl._): the bristle on the face
of a cat, &c.; WHISKERAN'DO, a whiskered person, in allusion to Don Ferolo
_Whiskerandos_ in Sheridan's _Critic_.--_adjs._ WHISKERAN'DOED, WHIS'KERED,
WHIS'KERY, having whiskers; WHIS'KING, moving briskly; WHIS'KY-FRIS'KY,
flighty. [Scand., Ice. _visk_, a wisp of hay; Sw. _viska_, to wipe, Ger.
_wischen_; prob. conn. with _wash_.]
WHISK, hwisk, _n._ whist. [So called from the rapid action of sweeping the
cards off the table after a trick has been won.]
WHISKET, hwis'ket, _n._ (_prov._) a basket.
WHISKY, WHISKEY, hwis'ki, _n._ a spirit made by the distillation of the
fermented extract from malted and unmalted cereals, potatoes, or any
starch-yielding material--the best qualities made either from malted barley
alone, or from a mixed grist of barley-malt and dried barley and
oats.--_adjs._ WHIS'KIFIED, WHIS'KEYFIED, intoxicated.--_n._
WHIS'KY-LIV'ER, cirrhosis of the liver, from too much whisky.--WHISKY
INSURRECTION, an outbreak against the excise regulations which occurred in
Western Pennsylvania in 1794; WHISKY TODDY, toddy having whisky for its
chief ingredient. [Gael. _uisge beatha_--_uisge_, water, _beatha_, life;
cf. L. _vita_, Gr. _bios_, life.]
WHISKY, WHISKEY, hwis'ki, _n._ a light gig.
WHISKY-JACK, hwis'ki-jak, _n._ the gray or Canada jay.--Also WHIS'KY-JOHN.
[Amer. Ind. _wiss-ka-tjan_.]
WHISPER, hwis'p[.e]r, _v.i._ to speak with a low sound: to speak very
softly: to plot secretly.--_v.t._ to utter in a low voice or under the
breath.--_n._ a low, hissing voice or sound: cautious or timorous speaking:
a secret hint: a low rustling sound.--_ns._ WHIS'PERER, one who whispers:
(_B._) a secret informer; WHIS'PERING, whispered talk: insinuation.--_adj._
like a whisper.--_n._ WHIS'PERING-GALL'ERY, a gallery or dome so
constructed that a whisper or slight sound is carried to an unusual
distance.--_advs._ WHIS'PERINGLY, in a whisper or low voice; WHIS'PEROUSLY,
in a whisper. [A.S. _hwisprian_; Ger. _wispern_, Ice. _hvískra_; allied to
_whistle_.]
WHIST, hwist, _adj._ hushed: silent.--_v.i._ to become silent.--_v.t._
(_Spens._) to hush or silence.--_interj._ hush! silence! be still! [Akin to
_hist!_]
WHIST, hwist, _n._ a well-known game at cards, played with the whole pack,
by two against two.--_ns._ WHIST'-PLAY, play in the game of whist;
WHIST'-PLAY'ER.--DUMMY WHIST (see Dummy); FIVE POINT WHIST, whist played
without counting honours; LONG WHIST, a game of ten points with honours
counting; SHORT WHIST, the game of five points, without honours. [Orig.
_whisk_. Cf. _Whisk_.]
WHISTLE, hwis'l, _v.i._ to make a shrill sound by forcing the breath
through the lips contracted: to make a like sound with an instrument: to
sound shrill: to inform by whistling, to become informer.--_v.t._ to form
or utter by whistling: to call by a whistle.--_n._ the sound made in
whistling: a small wind instrument: an instrument sounded by escaping
steam, used for signalling on railway-engines, steamships, &c.--_adj._
WHIS'TLE-DRUNK (_obs._), too drunk to whistle.--_ns._ WHIS'TLE-FISH, a
rockling; WHIS'TLER, one who, or that which, whistles: a kind of marmot: a
broken-winded horse; WHIS'TLING.--_adv._ WHIS'TLINGLY.--_n._
WHIS'TLING-SHOP (_slang_), a shebeen, the keeper being called a
_whistler_.--WHISTLE DOWN THE WIND, to talk to no purpose; WHISTLE FOR, to
summon by whistling; WHISTLE FOR A WIND, a superstitious practice of old
sailors during a calm; WHISTLE OFF, to send off by a whistle: (_Shak._)
turn loose.--GO WHISTLE (_Shak._), to go to the deuce; PAY FOR ONE'S
WHISTLE, to pay highly for one's caprice; PIGS AND WHISTLES, an exclamation
equivalent to 'The deuce!' or the like--also in phrase, 'To make pigs and
whistles of anything'=to make a sad mess of it; WET ONE'S WHISTLE
(_coll._), to take a drink of liquor; WORTH THE WHISTLE, worth the trouble
of calling for. [A.S. _hwistlian_; Sw. _hvissla_; cf. _Whisper_.]
WHIT, hwit, _n._ the smallest particle imaginable: a bit. [By-form of
_wight_, a creature.]
WHITE, hw[=i]t, _adj._ of the colour of pure snow: pale, pallid:
colourless: pure: unblemished: purified from sin: bright: burnished without
ornament: transparent and colourless, as of wine: pertaining to the
Carmelite monks: gracious, favourable: (_U.S._) reliable, honest.--_n._ the
colour of snow: anything white, as a white man, the mark at which an arrow
is shot, the albuminous part of an egg.--_v.t._ to make white.--_ns._
WHITE'-ALLOY', a cheap alloy used to imitate silver; WHITE'-ANT, a
termite.--_adj._ WHITE'-BACKED, having the back white or marked with
white.--_ns._ WHITE'BAIT, the name by which the fry of the herring and
sprat are known in the market, and when served for the table, esp. in
London; WHITE'-BASS, a silvery serranoid fish of the American Great Lake
region.--_adj._ WHITE'-BEAKED, having a white beak.--_ns._ WHITE'-BEAR, the
polar bear; WHITE'-BEARD, an old man.-_adjs._ WHITE'-BEARD'ED;
WHITE'-BELL'IED; WHITE'-BILLED.--_ns._ WHITE'BOY, a member of an
association of Irish peasants first formed in County Tipperary about
1761--wearing white shirts--long noted for agrarian outrages; WHITE'BOYISM,
the principles of the Whiteboys; WHITE'-BRASS, an alloy of copper and
zinc.--_adj._ WHITE'-BREAST'ED.--_n.pl._ WHITE'CAPS (_U.S._), the name
given to a self-constituted committee of persons who generally commit
outrageous acts under the guise of serving the community.--_ns._
WHITE'CHAPEL-CART, a light two-wheeled spring-cart much used by London
butchers, grocers, &c.; WHITE'-COPP'ER, a light-coloured alloy of
copper.--_adjs._ WHITE'-CREST'ED, -CROWNED, having the crest or crown
white--of birds.--_n.pl._ WHITE'-CROPS, grain, as barley, rye,
wheat.--_ns._ WHITE'-DAMP, carbonic oxide, a poisonous but not inflammable
gas found in coal-mines in the after-damp; WHITE'-EL'EPHANT (see
ELEPHANT).--_adjs._ WHITE'-FACED, having a face pale with fear or from
illness: with white front, forehead--also WHITE'-FRONT'ED;
WHITE'-F[=A]'VOURED, wearing white favours.--_ns._ WHITE'-FEATH'ER (see
FEATHER); WHITE'FISH, a general name for such fish as the whiting, haddock,
menhaden, &c.: the largest of all the _Coregoni_ or American lake
whitefish; WHITE'FRIAR, one of the Carmelite order of friars, so called
from their white dress.--_adj._ WHITE'-HAND'ED, having white hands
unstained with guilt.--_ns._ WHITE'-HASS (_Scot._), an oatmeal and suet
pudding; WHITE'HEAD, the blue-winged snow-goose: a breed of domestic
pigeons, a white-tailed monk; WHITE'-HEAT, the degree of heat at which
bodies become white; WHITE'-HERR'ING, a fresh or uncured herring;
WHITE'-HON'EYSUCKLE, the clammy azalea; WHITE'-HORSE, the name applied to a
figure of a horse on a hillside, formed by removing the turf so as to show
the underlying chalk--the most famous in Berkshire, at Uffington,
traditionally supposed to commemorate Alfred the Great's victory of Ashdown
(871)--periodically 'scoured' or cleaned from turf, &c.--_adj._
WHITE'-HOT.--_ns._ WHITE'-[=I]RON, pig-iron in which the carbon is almost
entirely in chemical combination with the iron; WHITE'-L[=A]'DY, a spectral
figure which appears in many of the castles of Germany, as at Ansbach,
Baireuth, Altenburg, &c., by night as well as by day, particularly when the
death of any member of the family is imminent; WHITE'-LAND, land with a
stiff clayey soil white when dry; WHITE'LEAD, a carbonate of lead used in
painting white; WHITE'-LEATH'ER (see LEATHER); WHITE'-LEG, an ailment of
women after parturition--also _Milk-leg_; WHITE'-LIE (see LIE);
WHITE'-LIGHT, ordinary sunlight; WHITE'-LIME, whitewash.--_adjs._
WHITE'-LIMED, whitewashed; WHITE'-LIST'ED, having white lists or stripes on
a darker ground; WHITE'-LIV'ERED, having a pale look, so called because
thought to be caused by a white liver: cowardly: malicious; WHITE'LY
(_Shak._), coming near to white, white-faced.--_ns._ WHITE'-MEAT, food made
of milk, butter, eggs, &c.: the flesh of poultry, rabbits, veal, &c.;
WHITE'-MET'AL, a general name for alloys of light colour.--_v.t._
WH[=I]'TEN, to make white: to bleach.--_v.i._ to become or turn
white.--_ns._ WH[=I]T'ENER; WHITE'NESS; WHITE'-POT, a Devonshire dish of
sliced rolls, milk, eggs, sugar, &c. baked; WHITE'-PRECIP'ITATE, a white
mercurial preparation used externally; WHITE'-PYR[=I]'TES, marcasite;
WHITE'-RENT, the tinner's poll-tax of eightpence to the Duke of Cornwall:
rent paid in silver.--_adj._ WHITE'-RUMPED.--_ns._ WHITES (see
LEUCORRHOEA); WHITE'-SALT, salt dried and calcined; WHITE'SMITH, a worker
in tinned or white iron: a tinsmith; WHITE'-SQUALL (see SQUALL);
WHITE'STONE, granulite; WHITE'-SWELL'ING, a disease of the joints, esp. the
knee, in which the synovial membrane passes into pulpy degeneration;
WHITE'THORN, the common hawthorn; WHITE'THROAT, a bird of the same genus as
the Blackcap, having the breast and belly of a brownish-white;
WHITE'-VIT'RIOL, sulphate of zinc; WHITE'WASH, slaked quicklime, reduced to
the consistency of milk by means of water, used for colouring walls and as
a disinfectant: a wash for the skin: false colouring.--_v.t._ to cover with
whitewash: to give a fair appearance to.--_ns._ WHITE'WASHER, one who
whitewashes; WHITE'-WA'TER, shoal water near the shore, breakers: the
foaming water in rapids, &c.; WHITE'-WAX, bleached beeswax: Chinese wax, or
pela; WHITE'-WINE, any wine of clear transparent colour, as hock, &c.;
WHITE'WING, the velvet scoter, scurf-duck: the chaffinch.--_adj._
WHITE'-WINGED.--_ns._ WHITE'WOOD, a name applied to a large number of trees
or their timber--the American tulip-tree, white-wood cedar, cheesewood,
&c.; WH[=I]'TING, a small sea-fish allied to the cod, so called from its
white colour: ground chalk free from stony matter and other impurities,
extensively used as a size-colour, &c.--also WHITE'NING, and SPANISH WHITE,
PARIS WHITE (the finest); WH[=I]'TING-TIME (_Shak._),
bleaching-time.--_adj._ WH[=I]'TISH, somewhat white.--_ns._
WH[=I]'TISHNESS; WH[=I]T'STER (_Shak._), a bleacher of cloth or
clothes.--_adjs._ WH[=I]'TY, whitish; WH[=I]'TY-BROWN, white with a tinge
of brown.--WHITE-HEADED EAGLE, the North American bald eagle; WHITE HORSE,
a white-topped wave; WHITE HOUSE, a popular name of the official residence
of the President of the United States at Washington; WHITE OF AN EGG, the
albumen, the pellucid viscous fluid surrounding the yolk; WHITE OF THE EYE,
that part of the ball of the eye which surrounds the iris or coloured
part.--CHINA WHITE, a very pure variety of whitelead--also SILVER WHITE and
FRENCH WHITE; PEARL WHITE, the basic nitrate of bismuth used as a cosmetic;
ZINC WHITE, impure oxide of zinc.--MARK WITH A WHITE STONE (see STONE);
SHOW THE WHITE FEATHER (see FEATHER). [A.S. _hwít_; Ice. _hvitr_, Ger.
_weiss_.]
WHITHER, hwith'[.e]r, _adv._ to what place? to which place: to what:
whithersoever.--_adv._ WHITHERSOEV'ER, to whatever place.--NO WHITHER, to
no place. [A.S. _hwider_, from the stem of _who_. Cf. _Thither_, _There_.]
WHITLEATHER, hwit'leth-[.e]r, _n._ leather dressed with alum, white
leather: the paxwax or nuchal ligament of the ox.
WHITLOW, hwit'l[=o], _n._ a painful inflammatory affection of the fingers,
almost always proceeding to suppuration, paronychia.--_n._ WHIT'LOW-GRASS,
a small British saxifrage: the small _Draba verna_ of America. [A corr. of
_whick-flaw_=quick-flaw. Cf. _Quick_ and _Flaw_.]
WHIT-MONDAY, hwit'-mun'd[=a], _n._ the Monday following Whitsunday.
WHITSOUR, hwit'sowr, _n._ a kind of summer apple.
WHITSUN, hwit'sun, _adj._ pertaining to, or observed at,
_Whitsuntide_.--_ns._ WHIT'SUN-ALE, a festival formerly held at
WHITSUNTIDE; WHIT'SUNDAY, WHIT'SUNTIDE, the seventh Sunday after Easter,
commemorating the day of Pentecost, when the converts in the primitive
Church wore white robes: in Scotland, one of the term-days (May 15) on
which rents, annuities, &c. are payable, the Whitsunday removal terms in
towns being fixed as May 28; WHIT'SUNTIDE, the season of Pentecost,
comprising the week following Pentecost Sunday; WHIT'SUN-WEEK, the week
beginning with Whitsunday.
WHITTAW, hwit'aw, _n._ (_prov._) a saddler.--Also WHITT'AWER.
WHITTIE-WHATTIE, hwit'i-hwot'i, _v.i._ (_Scot._) to mutter, whisper.--_n._
language intended to deceive.
WHITTLE, hwit'l, _v.t._ to pare or cut with a knife: to cut to an
edge.--_v.i._ to cut wood aimlessly: (_obs. slang_) to confess at the
gallows.--_n._ a small pocket-knife. [M. E. _thwitel_--A.S. _thwítan_, to
cut.]
WHITTLE, hwit'l, _n._ (_prov._) a woollen shawl: a blanket. [A.S. _hwítel_,
a white mantle--_hwít_, white.]
WHIZ, hwiz, _v.i._ to make a hissing sound, like an arrow or ball flying
through the air:--_pr.p._ whiz'zing; _pa.t._ and _pa.p._ whizzed.--_n._ a
hissing sound.--_ns._ WHIZ'ZER; WHIZ'ZING.--_adv._ WHIZ'ZINGLY. [Imit.; cf.
_Wheeze_, _Whist_, and _Hiss_.]
WHO, h[=oo], _pron._ (both _rel._ and _interrog._) what person? which
person.--_pron._ WHOEV'ER, every one who: whatever person.--WHO BUT HE, who
else? he only.--AS WHO SHOULD SAY, as if one should say.--THE WHO
(_Shak._), who. [A.S. _hwá_; cog. with Goth. _hwas_, Ice. _hver_, Ger.
_wer_; also with Sans. _kas_, Gr. _pos_, L. _quis_.]
WHOA, hw[=o], _interj._ stop!
WHOLE, h[=o]l, _adj._ sound, as in health (so in _B._): unimpaired:
containing the total amount, number, &c.: all: not defective: complete: in
mining, as yet unworked.--_n._ the entire thing: a system or combination of
parts.--_adv._ wholly.--_adjs._ WHOLE'-COL'OURED, all of one colour;
WHOLE'-FOOT'ED (_coll._) unreserved; WHOLE'-HEART'ED, -SOULED, noble:
hearty, generous; WHOLE'-HOOFED, having undivided hoof; WHOLE'-LENGTH,
giving the whole figure, as a portrait: full-length.--_n._ a portrait or
statue giving the whole figure.--_ns._ WHOLE'NESS; WHOLE'S[=A]LE, sale of
goods by the whole piece or large quantity.--_adj._ buying and selling in
large quantities: extensive.--_n._ WHOLE'S[=A]LER, one who sells by
wholesale.--_adjs._ WHOLE'-SKINNED, having an unbroken skin: unhurt: safe
in reputation; WHOLE'SOME, healthy: sound: salutary: (_Shak._)
prosperous.--_adv._ WHOLE'SOMELY.--_ns._ WHOLE'SOMENESS; WHOLE'-STITCH, a
lace-making stitch used in filling.--_adv._ WHOLLY (h[=o]'li), completely,
altogether.--_n._ WHOLTH, wholeness, soundness.--WHOLE NUMBER, a unit, or a
number composed of units, an integral number.--UPON, ON, THE WHOLE,
generally speaking, to sum up.--WITH WHOLE SKIN, safe, unscathed. [A.S.
_hál_, healthy; Ice. _heill_, Ger. _heil_. By-form _hale_ (1).]
WHOM, h[=oo]m, _pron._ objective case of _who_.--_prons._ WHOMEV'ER,
WHOMSOEV'ER, objective case of _whoever_, _whosoever_. [A.S. _hwám_, which
was orig. dat. of _hwá_, who, and replaced in the 12th and 13th centuries
the older accus. _hwone_.]
WHOMMLE, hwom'l, WHOMBLE, hwomb'l, _v.t._ (_prov._). Same as WHEMMLE.
WHOOBUB, h[=oo]'bub, _n._ (_Shak._). Same as HUBBUB.
WHOOP, hw[=oo]p, or h[=oo]p, _n._ a loud eager cry.--_v.i._ to give a
clear, sharp cry: to shout in scorn, eagerness, &c.--_v.t._ to insult with
shouts.--_interj._ (_Shak._) ho!--_ns._ WHOOP'ER, one who whoops: a species
of swan; WHOOP'ING-COUGH, HOOPING-COUGH, an infectious and epidemic
disease, mostly attacking children under ten, esp. in spring and autumn,
its characteristic sign a cough occurring in paroxysms consisting of a
series of short expiratory puffs followed by a deep inspiration of air
through the contracted cleft of the glottis. [O. Fr. _houper_, to shout;
cf. _Houp!_ _Houp-la!_ Perh. of Teut. origin, cog. with Goth. _w[=o]pjan_,
to crow.]
WHOOT. See HOOT.
WHOP, WHAP, hwop, _v.t._ (_coll._) to whip.--_v.i._ to flop on the
ground.--_n._ WHOP'PER, one who whops: anything very large, esp. a
monstrous lie.--_adj._ WHOP'PING (_slang_), very large. [_Whip_.]
WHORE, h[=o]r, _n._ a woman who prostitutes her body for hire, a
prostitute, harlot, strumpet, hence any unchaste woman.--_v.i._ to practise
lewdness.--_v.t._ to corrupt by lewd commerce.--_ns._ WHORE'DOM, unlawful
sexual intercourse: idolatry; WHORE'HOUSE, a brothel; WHORE'MASTER
(_Shak._), a pimp.--_adj._ WHORE'MASTERLY, libidinous.--_ns._ WHORE'MONGER,
a lecher: a pander; WHORE'SON (_Shak._), a bastard.--_adj._ mean,
scurvy.--_adj._ WH[=O]'RISH.--_adv._ WH[=O]'RISHLY.--_n._ WH[=O]'RISHNESS.
[Ice. _hóra_, an adulteress, fem. of _hórr_, an adulterer. The word was
confused with A.S. _horu_ (Old High Ger. _horo_), dirt. There is no
connection with _hire_.]
WHORL, hworl, _n._ a number of leaves in a circle round the stem: a turn in
a spiral shell: a volution--e.g. in the ear: the fly of a
spindle.--_p.adj._ WHORLED, having whorls: arranged in the form of a whorl
or whorls. [By-form of _whirl_.]
WHORTLEBERRY, hwor'tl-ber-i, _n._ a widely-spread health plant with a
purple edible berry, called also the _Bilberry_--in Scotland,
_Blaeberry_--sometimes abbrev. WHORT. [A.S. _wyrtil_, a shrub (Ger.
_wurzel_, root), dim. of _wyrt_, root, and _berie_, berry; confused rather
than conn. with A.S. _heort berge_, berry of the buckthorn.]
WHOSE, h[=oo]z, _pron._ the possessive case of _who_ or _which_.--_pron._
WHOSESOEV'ER (_B._), of whomsoever. [M. E. _hwas_--A.S. _hwæs_, gen. of
_hwá_, who.]
WHOSO, h[=oo]'so, WHOSOEVER, h[=oo]-so-ev'[.e]r, _indef. rel. pron._ every
one who: whoever.
WHOT, hwot, _adj._ (_Spens._). Same as HOT.
WHUMMLE, a form of _whemmle_.
WHUNSTANE, a form of _whinstone_.
WHY, hw[=i], _adv._ and _conj._ for what cause or reason? on which account:
wherefore.--_interj._ used us an expletive or exclamation.--_n._ WHY'-NOT
(_obs._), a dilemma.--WHY, SO (_Shak._), an expression of unwilling
consent.--THE CAUSE WHY, THE REASON WHY, the reason why a thing is, or is
to be done; THE WHY AND WHEREFORE, the whole reason. [A.S. _hwí_, _hwý_,
instrumental case of _hwá_, who.]
WHYDAH, WHIDAH, hwid'a, _n._ a genus of birds of the Weaver family, natives
of the tropical parts of Africa, often brought to Britain as cage-birds.
[From the country of _Whydah_ in Dahomey.]