Thomas Davidson

“ Waddy, wad′i, n. a native Australian wooden war-club, a walking-stick—also Wadd′ie.—v.t. to strike with a waddy.
Wade, wād, 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. Wā′der, one who wades: a bird that wades, e.g, the heron: (pl.) high waterproof boots used by fishermen for wading. ”

“ Hold water, to be correct or well-grounded, to stand investigation; Holy water, water used symbolically as a means of purification; Like water, with the quick, full flow of water: extravagantly, recklessly; Make the mouth water, to arouse in any one a strong desire for a thing—from the gathering of saliva in the mouth at the prospect of a savoury morsel; Make water, to micturate; Mineral water (see Mineral) ; Oil on troubled waters, anything that allays or assuages, from the effect of pouring oil on rough water; Tread water, to keep the head above water by an up-and-down movement of the feet ”

“ Wallaby, wol′ab-i, n. a small kangaroo.—On the wallaby, On the wallaby track, out of employment, a slang Australian phrase derived from the shy habits of the kangaroo.
Wallachian, wäl-ā′ki-an, adj. of or pertaining to Wallachia, a Danubian principality, since 1878 forming with Moldavia the kingdom of Roumania.—ns. Wall′ach, Wall′ack, a native or inhabitant of Wallachia. [From a Slavonic term represented by Pol. Wloch, an Italian, Woloch, a Wallach; all from Old High Ger. walh (A.S. wealh) , a foreigner.] ”

“ Wall′-spring, a spring of water running between stratified rocks; Wall′-tow′er, a tower built into and forming part of a line of fortification or a fortified city-wall; Wall′-tree, a tree trained against a wall; Wall′-wort, the European dwarf elder; Hang′ing-wall, that wall of the vein which is over the miner's head while working, the opposite wall being called the Foot′-wall.—Wall a rope, to make a wall-knot on the end of a rope.—Drive to the wall, to push to extremities; Go to the wall, to be hard pressed: to be pushed to extremes; Hang by the wall, to hang up neglected: to remain unused ”

“ Wash′-gild′ing, a gilding made with an amalgam of gold from which the mercury is driven off by heat, leaving a coating of gold; Wash′-house, Wash′ing-house, a house for washing clothes in; Wash′iness, state of being watery, weakness, worthlessness; Wash′ing, the act of cleansing by water: the clothes washed, esp. at one time: what is washed; Was′hing-machine′, a machine for washing clothes; Wash′ing-pow′der, a powdered preparation used in washing clothes; Wash′ing-up, Wash′-up, cleaning up ”

“ Wax′-wing, a genus of small Passerine birds, so named from most of the species having small red horny appendages, resembling red sealing-wax, on their wings; Wax′work, work made of wax, esp. figures or models formed of wax: (pl.) an exhibition of wax figures; Wax′worker.—adj. Wax′y, resembling wax: soft: pallid, pasty: adhesive: (slang) irate, incensed.—Waxy degeneration, a morbid process in which the healthy tissue of various organs is transformed into a peculiar waxy albuminous substance—also amyloid or lardaceous degeneration. ”

“ Walk the hospitals, to be a student under clinical instruction at a general hospital or infirmary; Walk with, to attend as a sweetheart.—Heel-and-toe walk, a mode of walking in which the heel of one foot is put on the ground before the toe of the other leaves it. ”

“ Wa′ter-line, the line on a ship to which the water rises: a water-mark.—adj. Wa′ter-logged, rendered log-like or unmanageable from being filled with water.—ns. Wa′ter-lot, a lot of ground which is under water; Wa′ter-main, a great subterranean pipe supplying water in cities; Wa′terman, a man who plies a boat on water for hire: a boatman: a ferryman: a neat oarsman; Wa′termanship, oarsmanship; Wa′termark, a mark showing the height to which water has risen: a tide-mark: a mark wrought into paper, denoting its size or its manufacturer.—v.t. to mark with water-marks.—ns. ”

“ Wapinschaw, wap′n-shaw, n. in ancient Scottish usage, a periodical gathering of the people within various areas for the purpose of seeing that each man was armed in accordance with his rank, and ready to take the field when required. The name is sometimes revived for volunteer meetings and shooting competitions.—v.i. to hold a wapinschaw.—ns. Wap′inschawing, Wap′enshawing. [Lit., 'weapon-show.']
Wapiti, wop′i-ti, n. a species of deer of large size, native to North America—often called elk and gray moose, though very different from the true elk or moose-deer. ”

“ Walk′er, one who walks: (law) a forester: one who trains and walks young hounds: a gressorial bird; Walk′ing, the verbal noun of walk: pedestrianism; Walk′ing-beam, in a vertical engine, a horizontal beam, usually trussed, that transmits power to the crankshaft through the connecting-rod; Walk′ing dress, a dress for the street or for walking; Walk′ing-fan, a large fan used out of doors to protect the face from the sun; Walk′ing-leaf, a leaf-insect; Walk′ing-stick, -cane, -staff, a stick, cane, or staff used in walking; Walk′ing-stick, also a sort of long, slender-bodied bug ”

“ Walnut, wawl′nut, n. a genus (Juglans) comprising seven or eight species of beautiful trees of natural order Juglandaceæ—the wood of the common walnut is much used for furniture and gunstocks; its ripe fruit is one of the best of nuts, and yields an oil used by artists, &c.—Black walnut, a North American walnut, the timber of which is more valuable than that of common walnut, though the fruit is inferior. ”

“ Wa′ter-pot, a pot or vessel for holding water; Wa′ter-pow′er, the power of water, employed to move machinery, &c.; Wa′ter-pox, varicella; Wa′ter-priv′ilege, the right to the use of water, esp. for machinery.—adj. Wa′terproof, proof against water: not permitting water to enter.—n. anything with such qualities: a garment of some waterproof substance, like india-rubber.—ns. Wa′terproofing, the act of making any substance impervious to water: the material with which a thing is made waterproof, as caoutchouc; Wa′ter-pump, a pump for water, used humorously of the eyes; Wa′ter-pur′pie (Scot.) ”

“ Wax′-paint′ing, a kind of painting, the pigments for which are ground with wax and diluted with oil of turpentine; Wax′-palm, either of two South American palms yielding wax; Wax′-pā′per, paper prepared by spreading over its surface a thin coating made of white wax and other materials.—adj. Wax′-red (Shak.) , bright-red like sealing-wax.—ns. Wax′tree, a genus of plants of natural order Hypericaceæ, all whose species yield a yellow resinous juice when wounded, forming when dried the so-called American gamboge ”

“ Wa′ter-worn, worn by the action of water.—n. Wa′ter-wraith, a water-spirit supposed to portend death.—adj. Wa′tery, pertaining to or like water: thin or transparent: tasteless: weak, vapid: affecting water (of the moon, as governing the tide) : (Shak.) eager.—ns. High′-wa′ter, High′-wa′ter-mark (see High) ; Low′-wa′ter (see Low) ; Low′-wa′ter-mark, the limit of water at low tide: the lowest point of anything.—Water of life, spiritual refreshment: (Scot.) whisky; Water on the brain, knee, an accumulation of serous fluid in the cranial cavity, knee-joint ”

“ Waldenses, wol-den′sēz, n.pl. a famous Christian community of austere morality and devotion to the simplicity of the Gospel, which originally grew out of an anti-sacerdotal movement originated by Peter Waldo of Lyons in the second half of the 12th century—long cruelly persecuted, but still flourishing in the valleys of the Cottian Alps.—adj. ”

“ Wa′ter-mō′tor, any water-wheel or turbine, esp. any small motor driven by water under pressure; Wa′ter-nix′y, a spirit inhabiting water; Wa′ter-nymph, a Naiad; Wa′ter-ou′sel, the dipper; Wa′ter-pars′nip, a plant of the aquatic genus Sium—the skirret; Wa′ter-part′ing (same as Watershed) ; Wa′ter-phone, an instrument for detecting leaks in pipes; Wa′ter-pipe, a pipe for conveying water; Wa′ter-plane, a plane passing through a vessel when afloat; Wa′ter-plant, a plant which grows in water; Wa′ter-plate, a plate having a double bottom and a space for hot water, used to keep food warm ”

“ Waste time, to employ time unprofitably or not at all.—Run to waste, to become incapable or useless.—Utilisation of waste products, the putting to other use of such material as is rendered either wholly or partially useless in the manufacture of articles and products—e.g. waste-silk is now a valuable raw material for a large spun-silk industry. ”

“ Water, waw′tėr, n. in a state of purity, at ordinary temperatures, a clear transparent liquid, perfectly neutral in its reaction, and devoid of taste or smell: any collection of such, as the ocean, a lake, river, &c.: mineral water: tears: saliva: eye-water: urine: transparency, lustre, as of a diamond: (pl.) waves.—v.t. to wet, overflow, or supply with water: to wet and press so as to give a wavy appearance to: to increase the nominal capital of a company by the issue of new shares without a corresponding increase of actual capital.—v.i. ”

“ War′ble-fly, a fly causing warbles. [Other forms are wormil, wornal; ety. dub.]
Ward, wawrd, v.t. to guard or take care of: to keep in safety: to keep away, fend off (with off) .—v.i. to act on the defensive.—n. act of warding, watch: those whose business is to ward or defend: state of being guarded: means of guarding: one who is under a guardian: a division of a city, hospital, county, (B.) army, &c.: that which guards a lock or hinders any but the right key from opening it: (B.) guard, prison: a defensive movement in fencing.—ns. ”

“ Wa′ter-col′ourist, a painter in water-colours; Wa′ter-cool′er, a machine for cooling water or for keeping water cool; Wa′ter-core, an apple with watery-looking core: in founding, a hollow core through which water may be passed; Wa′tercourse, a course or channel for water; Wa′ter-craft, boats plying on the water; Wa′ter-crane, a crane for turning water from a railway-tank into a locomotive tender; Wa′ter-cress, a small plant growing in watery places, much esteemed as a salad, and used as a preventive of scurvy; Wa′ter-cure, medical treatment by means of water ”

“ Wa′ter-el′evator, a device for raising water to a level: a lift that works by water; Wa′ter-en′gine, an engine for raising water: an engine for extinguishing fires; Wa′terer, one who waters: a vessel for watering with; Wa′terfall, a fall or perpendicular descent of a body of water: a cataract or cascade: (coll.) a neck-tie, a chignon; Wa′ter-flag, the yellow iris; Wa′ter-flea, the common name for minute aquatic crustaceans; Wa′ter-flood, an inundation; Wa′ter-flow, current of water.—adj. Wa′ter-flow′ing, streaming.—ns. Wa′ter-fly, an aquatic insect: (Shak.) an insignificant, troublesome person ”

“ Wa′ter-doc′tor, a hydropathist: one who divines diseases from the urine; Wa′ter-dog, a dog accustomed to the water: a variety of the common dog valuable to sportsmen in hunting water-fowl on account of its aquatic habits: (coll.) an experienced sailor: (pl.) small irregular floating clouds supposed to indicate rain; Wa′ter-drain, a channel through which water runs; Wa′ter-drain′age; Wa′ter-drink′er, a drinker of water: a teetotaler; Wa′ter-drop, a drop of water: a tear; Wa′ter-drop′wort, a genus of umbelliferous plants.—adj. ”

“ Wa′ter-lil′y, a name commonly given to the different species of Nymphæa and Nuphar, and also of Nelumbium, all genera of the natural order Nymphæaceæ, and indeed often extended to all the plants of that order—of the three British species all have heart-shaped leaves, floating on the water ”

“ Waist′cloth, a piece of cloth worn around the waist, and hanging below it, in India; Waist′coat, a short coat worn immediately under the coat, and fitting the waist tightly; Waistcoateer′ (obs.) , a strumpet; Waist′coating, material for men's waistcoats, usually of a fancy pattern and containing silk.—adjs. Waist′-deep, -high, as deep, high, as to reach up to the waist.—n. Waist′er, a green-hand on a whaler: an old man-of-war's-man who has not risen. [A.S. wæxt, growth (Ice. vöxtr) ; conn, with wæstme, growth, weaxen, to grow.] ”

“ Wa′ter-gilding=Wash-gilding; Wa′ter-glass, a water-clock: an instrument for making observations beneath the surface of water: soluble glass; Wa′ter-god, a deity presiding over some tract of water; Wa′ter-gru′el, gruel made of water and meal, &c., eaten without milk; Wa′ter-guard, river, harbour, or coast police; Wa′ter-hamm′er, the noise made by the sudden stoppage of moving water in a pipe: an air vacuum containing some water: (med.) a metal hammer heated in water and applied to the skin as a counter-irritant; Wa′ter-hen, the moorhen; Wa′ter-hole, a reservoir for water, a water-pool ”

“ Washingtonia, wosh-ing-tō′ni-a, n. a Californian genus of palms, valued for ornament in lawns—from George Washington (1732-99) .
Wasp, wosp, n. a popular name for Hymenopterous insects belonging to the family Vespidæ, or to closely related families— (Wasps are generally more slender and much less hairy than bees, and their stinging organ—an ovipositor—resembles that of bees in structure and mode of action) : a petulant and spiteful person.—adjs. Was′pish, like a wasp: having a slender waist like a wasp: quick to resent an affront ”

“ Ware′room, a room where goods are exposed for sale.—Warehousing system, the plan of allowing importers of dutiable goods to store them in a government warehouse without payment of duties until ready to bring the goods into market.—Benares ware, a fine ornamental metal-work made at Benares and other places in India; Delft ware (see Delf) ; Small ware, wares, textile articles of a small kind—e.g. tape, bindings and braids of cotton, silk, &c.; buttons, hooks, &c.: trifles; Tunbridge ware, inlaid or mosaic wood-work manufactured at Tunbridge ”