Thomas Davidson

“ Wheel′er, one who wheels: the horse nearest the wheels of a carriage: a maker of wheels; Wheel′-horse, one of the horses next the wheels in a team; Wheel′-house, a box or small house erected over the steering-wheel in ships: a paddle-box; Wheel′ing, the act of moving or conveying on wheels: a turning or circular movement of troops; Wheel′-lock, a lock for firing a gun by means of a small steel wheel; Wheel′man, a steersman: a cyclist; Wheel′-plough, a plough the depth of whose furrow is regulated by a wheel; Wheel′-race, the part of a race in which the water-wheel is fixed ”

“ Weav′ing, the act or art of forming a web or cloth by the intersecting of two distinct sets of fibres, threads, or yarns—those passing longitudinally from end to end of the web forming the warp, those crossing and intersecting the warp at right angles forming the weft. ”

“ Weigh, wā, n. a very common misspelling of way in the phrase 'Under way,' through confusion with the phrase 'To weigh anchor.'
Weir, Wear, wēr, n. a dam across a river: a fence of stakes set in a stream for catching fish. [A.S. wer, an enclosure, allied to werian, to protect; cf. Ger. wehr, a dam, wehren, to ward.]
Weird, wērd, n. fate: that which comes to pass: a spell or charm.—adj. skilled in witchcraft: unearthly, uncanny.—v.t. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 ”

“ Go the way of all the earth, to die; Have one's way, to carry one's point or wish; In a small way, on a petty scale; In the family way (see Family) ; In the way, on the way: impeding, obstructing; In the way of, in a good position for effecting something: in respect of; Lead the way, to act as a guide in any movement; Make one's way, to push one's self forward; Make way, to give room: to advance; On the way, in progress; Out of the way, so as not to hinder or obstruct: away from the ordinary course: unusual: (Shak.) lost, hidden; Put one's self out of the way, to give one's self trouble ”

“ Weath′er-sym′bol, a conventional sign indicating some meteorological phenomenon.—adjs. Weath′er-wise, wise or skilful in foreseeing the changes or state of the weather; Weath′er-worn, worn by exposure to the weather.—Weather anchor, the anchor lying to windward; Weather a point, to gain an advantage or accomplish a purpose against opposition; Weather out (obs.) , to hold out against till the end.—Keep one's weather eye open, to be on one's guard, to have one's wits in readiness; Make fair weather (Shak.) ”

“ White, hwīt, 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 ”

“ Weath′er-driv′en, driven by winds or storms.—adj. Weath′ered (archit.) , made slightly sloping, so as to throw off water: (geol.) having the surface altered in colour, form, texture, or composition by the action of the elements.—n. Weath′er-eye, the eye considered as the means by which one forecasts the weather.—v.t. Weath′er-fend (Shak.) , to defend from the weather, to shelter.—ns. Weath′er-gage, the position of a ship to the windward of another: advantage of position; Weath′er-glass, a glass or instrument that indicates the changes of the weather: a barometer; Weath′er-gleam (prov.) ”

“ Web, web, n. that which is woven: anything resembling a web, as a roll of cloth, paper, &c.: a plot, scheme: in birds, the blade of a feather: (anat.) any connective tissue: the fine texture spun by the spider as a snare for flies: a film over the eye: the skin between the toes of water-fowls.—v.t. to envelop, to connect with a web.—adj. Webbed, having the toes united by a web or skin.—n. Web′bing, a narrow woven fabric of hemp, used for chairs, &c.: (zool.) the webs of the digits: (print.) tapes conducting webs of paper in a printing machine.—adj. Web′by.—n. ”

“ 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 ”

“ Weath′er-board′ing, thin boards placed overlapping to keep out rain: exterior covering of a wall or roof.—adj. Weath′er-bound, delayed by bad weather.—ns. Weath′er-box, -house, a toy constructed on the principle of a barometer, consisting of a house with the figures of a man and wife who come out alternately as the weather is respectively bad or good; Weath′er-cloth, a tarpaulin protecting boats, hammocks, &c.; Weath′ercock, a vane (often in the form of a cock) to show the direction of the wind: anything turning easily and often.—v.t. to act as a weathercock for.—p.adj. ”

“ Wentle-trap, wen′tl-trap, n. a genus of gasteropodous molluscs, having a spiral shell with many deep whorls, crossed by elevated ribs, and the aperture round and narrow. [Ger. wendel-treppe, a winding staircase.]
Wept, wept, pa.t. and pa.p. of weep.
Were, wer, v.i. the pl. of was, used as pa.t. of be. [A.S. wǽre; Ger. war, Ice. vera, to be. Cf. Was.]
Werewolf, Werwolf, wēr′woolf, n. a person supposed to be able by natural gift or magic art to change himself for a time into a wolf.—adjs. ”

“ Weak′-spir′ited, bearing wrong tamely, cowardly.—Weaker sex, women; Weaker vessel (see Vessel) .—Weak side, point, that side or point in which a person is most easily influenced or most liable to temptation. [A.S. wác, pliant—wican, to yield; Dut. week, Ice. veikr, Ger. weich.]
Weal, wēl, n. state of being well: a sound or prosperous state: welfare.—adj. Weal′-bal′anced (Shak.) , explained by Schmidt as kept in a state of just proportion by reasons of state.—n. Weals′man (Shak.) , a statesman.—The public, general, or common weal, the well-being, interest, and prosperity of the country. ”

“ Whim′my, Whim′sical, full of whims, odd, fantastical.—ns. Whimsical′ity, Whim′sicalness.—adv. Whim′sically.—ns. Whim′sy, Whim′sey, a whim, freak.—adj. full of whims, changeable.—n. Whim′-wham, a ridiculous notion or thing, a freak, an odd device. [Ice. hvima, to have the eyes wandering.]
Whimbrel, hwim′brel, n. a bird of the family Scolopacidæ, allied to the curlew and like it in form, plumage, and habits, but smaller, and having a shorter bill.—Also Wim′brel. [Prob. imit.] ”

“ 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. vibrāre, 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′-pōōr-wil′, n. a species of goat-sucker, a native of North America. ”

“ Wheat-ear, hwēt′-ēr, n. a bird of the genus Chat, a common summer visitant of Britain, abounding on downs and fallow fields. [Corr. from White-arse.]
Wheedle, hwēd′l, v.t. to entice by soft words: to flatter.—n. a coaxing person.—n. Wheed′ler.—adj. Wheed′lesome, coaxing.—n. Wheed′ling. [Perh. from Ger. wedeln, to wag the tail, as a dog—wedel, a fan, brush—Old High Ger. wehan, to blow.]
Wheel, hwēl, n. a circular frame turning on an axle: an old instrument of torture: a steering-wheel: (fig.) ”

“ Weel, wēl, adv. (Scot.) well.
Weem, wēm, n. (Scot.) a subterranean dwelling.
Ween, wēn, v.i. to think or fancy. [A.S. wénan—wén (Ger. wahn) , expectation, hope.]
Weep, wēp, v.i. to express grief by shedding tears: to wail or lament: to drip, rain: to be pendent, as a weeping willow.—v.t. to lament: to pour forth:—pa.t. and pa.p. wept.—n. Weep′er, one who weeps: a white border round the sleeve of a mourning dress: a crape hat-band: a widow's crape-veil: anything pendent.—adj. Weep′ing, drooping the branches (as it were through grief) .—ns. ”