Warren - Wasp

Prev Next
[ Webster]

Warren (wŏrrĕn), n. [OF. waresne, warenne, garene, F. garenne, from OF. warer, garer, to beware, to take care; of Teutonic origin; cf. OHG. warōn (in comp.), OS. warōn to take care, to observe, akin to E. wary. √142. See .]
[ Webster]

1. (Eng Law) (a) A place privileged, by prescription or grant the king, for keeping certain animals (as hares, conies, partridges, pheasants, etc.) called beasts and fowls of warren. Burrill. (b) A privilege which one has in his lands, by royal grant or prescription, of hunting and taking wild beasts and birds of warren, to the exclusion of any other person not entering by his permission. Spelman.
[ Webster]

They wend both warren and in waste. Piers Plowman.
[ Webster]

☞ The warren is the next franchise in degree to the park; and a forest, which is the highest in dignity, comprehends a chase, a park, and a free warren.
[ Webster]

2. A piece of ground for the breeding of rabbits.
[ Webster]

3. A place for keeping flash, in a river.
[ Webster]

Warrener (?), n. The keeper of a warren.
[ Webster]

Warriangle (?), n. (Zoöl.) See . [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]
[ Webster]

Warrie (?), v. t. See . [Obs.]
[ Webster]

Warrin (?), n. [From a native name.] (Zoöl.) An Australian lorikeet (Trichoglossus multicolor) remarkable for the variety and brilliancy of its colors; -- called also blue-bellied lorikeet, and blue-bellied parrot.
[ Webster]

Warrior (?; 277), n. [OE. werreour, OF. werreour, guerreor, from guerre, werre, war. See , and .] A man engaged or experienced in war, or in the military life; a soldier; a champion.
[ Webster]

Warriors old with ordered spear and shield. Milton.
[ Webster]

Coloq. Warrior ant (Zoöl.), a reddish ant (Formica sanguinea) native of Europe and America. It is one of the species which move in armies to capture and enslave other ants.
[ Webster]

Warrioress, n. A female warrior. [Obs.] Spenser.
[ Webster]

War room. 1. a room in a military headquarters to which the current status of military operations is reported from the field, and the situation is evaluated, as by use of maps showing the locations of all relevant military units, both friendly and hostile. The room may also be used to plan tactics or strategy.
[PJC]

2. A room at the center of operations of an organization, such as a large business enterprise, where the status of operations may be discussed, or plans made, and often containing special equipment, such as charts, maps, or computers, to assist such functions.
[PJC]

War story. A recounting of a memorable personal experience, especially one involving challenge, hardship, danger, or other interesting features.
[PJC]

Warry (?), v. t. See . [Obs.]
[ Webster]

Warsaw (?), n. (Zoöl.) (a) The black grouper (Epinephelus nigritus) of the southern coasts of the United States. (b) The jewfish; -- called also guasa.
[ Webster]

Wart (?), n. [OE. werte, AS. wearte; akin to D. wrat, G. warze, OHG. warza, Icel. varta, Sw. vårta, Dan. vorte; perh. orig., a growth, and akin to E. wort; or cf. L. verruca wart.]
[ Webster]

1. (Med.) A small, usually hard, tumor on the skin formed by enlargement of its vascular papillæ, and thickening of the epidermis which covers them.
[ Webster]

2. An excrescence or protuberance more or less resembling a true wart; specifically (Bot.), a glandular excrescence or hardened protuberance on plants.
[ Webster]

Coloq. Fig wart , Coloq. Moist wart (Med.), a soft, bright red, pointed or tufted tumor found about the genitals, often massed into groups of large size. It is a variety of condyloma. Called also pointed wart, venereal wart. L. A. Duhring. -- Coloq. Wart cress (Bot.), the swine's cress. See under . -- Coloq. Wart snake (Zoöl.), any one of several species of East Indian colubrine snakes of the genus Acrochordus, having the body covered with wartlike tubercles or spinose scales, and lacking cephalic plates and ventral scutes. -- Coloq. Wart spurge (Bot.), a kind of wartwort (Euphorbia Helioscopia).
[ Webster]

Warted, a. (Bot.) Having little knobs on the surface; verrucose; as, a warted capsule.
[ Webster]

Wart hog (?). (Zoöl.) Either one of two species of large, savage African wild hogs of the genus Phacochœrus. These animals have a pair of large, rough, fleshy tubercles behind the tusks and second pair behind the eyes. The tusks are large and strong, and both pairs curve upward. The body is scantily covered with bristles, but there is long dorsal mane. The South African species (Phacochœrus Æthiopicus) is the best known. Called also vlacke vark. The second species (Phacochœrus Æliani) is native of the coasts of the Red Sea.
[ Webster]

Wartless, a. Having no wart.
[ Webster]

Wartweed (?), n. (Bot.) Same as .
[ Webster]

Wartwort (?), n. (Bot.) A name given to several plants because they were thought to be a cure for warts, as a kind of spurge (Euphorbia Helioscopia), and the nipplewort (Lampsana communis).
[ Webster]

Warty (?), a. 1. Having warts; full of warts; overgrow with warts; as, a warty leaf.
[ Webster]

2. Of the nature of warts; as, a warty excrescence.
[ Webster]

Coloq. Warty egg (Zoöl.), a marine univalve shell (Ovulum verrucosum), having the surface covered with wartlike elevations.
[ Webster]

Warty-back, n. An American fresh-water mussel (Quadrula pustulosa). Its shell is used in making buttons.
[Webster Suppl.]

Warwickite (?), n. (Min.) A dark brown or black mineral, occurring in prismatic crystals imbedded in limestone near Warwick, New York. It consists of the borate and titanate of magnesia and iron.
[ Webster]

Warworn (?), a. Worn with military service; as, a warworn soldier; a warworn coat. Shak.
[ Webster]

Wary (?), a. [Compar. Warier (?); superl. Wariest.] [OE. war, AS. wær; akin to Icel. v�rr, Dan. & Sw. var, Goth. wars, G. gewahr aware, OHG. wara notice, attention, Gr. � to see. Cf. , , , , , , v. t. , a., .]
[ Webster]

1. Cautious of danger; carefully watching and guarding against deception, artifices, and dangers; timorously or suspiciously prudent; circumspect; scrupulous; careful. “Bear a wary eye.” Shak.
[ Webster]

We should be wary, therefore, what persecution we raise against the living labors of public men. Milton.
[ Webster]

2. Characterized by caution; guarded; careful.
[ Webster]

It behoveth our words to be wary and few. Hooker.
[ Webster]

Syn. -- Cautious; circumspect; watchful. See .
[ Webster]

Warye (?), v. t. [AS. wergian, wyrgean. Cf. .] To curse; to curse; to execrate; to condemn; also, to vex. [Obs.] [Spelled also warrie, warry, and wary.] “Whom I thus blame and warye.” Chaucer.
[ Webster]

Was (wŏz). [AS. wæs, 2d pers. wǣre, 3d pers. wæs, pl. wǣron, with the inf. wesan to be; akin to D. wezen, imp. was, OHG. wesan, imp. was, G. wesen, n., a being, essence, war was, Icel. vera to be, imp. var, Goth. wisan to be, to dwell, to remain, imp. was, Skr. vas to remain, to dwell. √148. Cf. , , , v.] The first and third persons singular of the verb be, in the indicative mood, preterit (imperfect) tense; as, I was; he was.
[ Webster]

Wase (wās), n. [Cf. Sw. vase a sheaf.] A bundle of straw, or other material, to relieve the pressure of burdens carried upon the head. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.
[ Webster]

Wash (wŏsh), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Washed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Washing.] [OE. waschen, AS. wascan; akin to D. wasschen, G. waschen, OHG. wascan, Icel. & Sw. vaska, Dan. vaske, and perhaps to E. water. √150.] 1. To cleanse by ablution, or dipping or rubbing in water; to apply water or other liquid to for the purpose of cleansing; to scrub with water, etc., or as with water; as, to wash the hands or body; to wash garments; to wash sheep or wool; to wash the pavement or floor; to wash the bark of trees.
[ Webster]

When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, . . . he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person. Matt. xxvii. 24.
[ Webster]

2. To cover with water or any liquid; to wet; to fall on and moisten; hence, to overflow or dash against; as, waves wash the shore.
[ Webster]

Fresh-blown roses washed with dew. Milton.
[ Webster]

[The landscape] washed with a cold, gray mist. Longfellow.
[ Webster]

3. To waste or abrade by the force of water in motion; as, heavy rains wash a road or an embankment.
[ Webster]

4. To remove by washing to take away by, or as by, the action of water; to drag or draw off as by the tide; -- often with away, off, out, etc.; as, to wash dirt from the hands.
[ Webster]

Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins. Acts xxii. 16.
[ Webster]

The tide will wash you off. Shak.
[ Webster]

5. To cover with a thin or watery coat of color; to tint lightly and thinly.
[ Webster]

6. To overlay with a thin coat of metal; as, steel washed with silver.
[ Webster]

7. To cause dephosphorisation of (molten pig iron) by adding substances containing iron oxide, and sometimes manganese oxide.
[Webster Suppl.]

8. To pass (a gas or gaseous mixture) through or over a liquid for the purpose of purifying it, esp. by removing soluble constituents.
[Webster Suppl.]

Coloq. To wash gold , etc., to treat earth or gravel, or crushed ore, with water, in order to separate the gold or other metal, or metallic ore, through their higher density. -- Coloq. To wash the hands of . See under .
[ Webster]

Wash, v. i. 1. To perform the act of ablution.
[ Webster]

Wash in Jordan seven times. 2 Kings v. 10.
[ Webster]

2. To clean anything by rubbing or dipping it in water; to perform the business of cleansing clothes, ore, etc., in water. “She can wash and scour.” Shak.
[ Webster]

3. To bear without injury the operation of being washed; as, some calicoes do not wash. [Colloq.]
[ Webster]

4. To be wasted or worn away by the action of water, as by a running or overflowing stream, or by the dashing of the sea; -- said of road, a beach, etc.
[ Webster]

5. To use washes, as for the face or hair.
[Webster Suppl.]

6. To move with a lapping or swashing sound, or the like; to lap; splash; as, to hear the water washing.
[Webster Suppl.]

7. to be accepted as true or valid; to be proven true by subsequent evidence; -- usually used in the negative; as, his alibi won't wash. [informal]
[PJC]

Wash, n. 1. The act of washing; an ablution; a cleansing, wetting, or dashing with water; hence, a quantity, as of clothes, washed at once.
[ Webster]

2. A piece of ground washed by the action of a sea or river, or sometimes covered and sometimes left dry; the shallowest part of a river, or arm of the sea; also, a bog; a marsh; a fen; as, the washes in Lincolnshire. “The Wash of Edmonton so gay.” Cowper.
[ Webster]

These Lincoln washes have devoured them. Shak.
[ Webster]

3. Substances collected and deposited by the action of water; as, the wash of a sewer, of a river, etc.
[ Webster]

The wash of pastures, fields, commons, and roads, where rain water hath a long time settled. Mortimer.
[ Webster]

4. Waste liquid, the refuse of food, the collection from washed dishes, etc., from a kitchen, often used as food for pigs. Shak.
[ Webster]

5. (Distilling) (a) The fermented wort before the spirit is extracted. (b) A mixture of dunder, molasses, water, and scummings, used in the West Indies for distillation. B. Edwards.
[ Webster]

6. That with which anything is washed, or wetted, smeared, tinted, etc., upon the surface. Specifically: --
[ Webster]

(a) A liquid cosmetic for the complexion.
[ Webster]

(b) A liquid dentifrice.
[ Webster]

(c) A liquid preparation for the hair; as, a hair wash.
[ Webster]

(d) A medical preparation in a liquid form for external application; a lotion.
[ Webster]

(e) (Painting) A thin coat of color, esp. water color.
[ Webster]

(j) A thin coat of metal applied in a liquid form on any object, for beauty or preservation; -- called also washing.
[ Webster +PJC]

7. (Naut.) (a) The blade of an oar, or the thin part which enters the water. (b) The backward current or disturbed water caused by the action of oars, or of a steamer's screw or paddles, etc.
[ Webster]

8. The flow, swash, or breaking of a body of water, as a wave; also, the sound of it.
[ Webster]

9. Ten strikes, or bushels, of oysters. [Prov. Eng.]
[ Webster]

10. [Western U. S.] (Geol.) (a) Gravel and other rock débris transported and deposited by running water; coarse alluvium. (b) An alluvial cone formed by a stream at the base of a mountain.
[Webster Suppl.]

11. The dry bed of an intermittent stream, sometimes at the bottom of a cañon; as, the Amargosa wash, Diamond wash; -- called also dry wash. [Western U. S.]
[Webster Suppl.]

12. (Arch.) The upper surface of a member or material when given a slope to shed water. Hence, a structure or receptacle shaped so as to receive and carry off water, as a carriage wash in a stable.
[Webster Suppl.]

13. an action or situation in which the gains and losses are equal, or closely compensate each other.
[PJC]

14. (Aeronautics) the disturbance of the air left behind in the wake of a moving airplane or one of its parts.
[PJC]

Coloq. Wash ball , a ball of soap to be used in washing the hands or face. Swift. -- Coloq. Wash barrel (Fisheries), a barrel nearly full of split mackerel, loosely put in, and afterward filled with salt water in order to soak the blood from the fish before salting. -- Coloq. Wash bottle . (Chem.) (a) A bottle partially filled with some liquid through which gases are passed for the purpose of purifying them, especially by removing soluble constituents. (b) A washing bottle. See under . -- Coloq. Wash gilding . See . -- Coloq. Wash leather , split sheepskin dressed with oil, in imitation of chamois, or shammy, and used for dusting, cleaning glass or plate, etc.; also, alumed, or buff, leather for soldiers' belts.
[ Webster]

Wash, a. 1. Washy; weak. [Obs.]
[ Webster]

Their bodies of so weak and wash a temper. Beau. & Fl.
[ Webster]

2. Capable of being washed without injury; washable; as, wash goods. [Colloq.]
[ Webster]

Washable (?), a. Capable of being washed without damage to fabric or color.
[ Webster]

Washboard (?), n. 1. A fluted, or ribbed, board on which clothes are rubbed in washing them.
[ Webster]

2. A board running round, and serving as a facing for, the walls of a room, next to the floor; a mopboard.
[ Webster]

3. (Naut.) A broad, thin plank, fixed along the gunwale of boat to keep the sea from breaking inboard; also, a plank on the sill of a lower deck port, for the same purpose; -- called also wasteboard. Mar. Dict.
[ Webster]

Washbowl (?), n. A basin, or bowl, to hold water for washing one's hands, face, etc.
[ Webster]

Washdish (?), n. 1. A washbowl.
[ Webster]

2. (Zoöl.) Same as , 2. [Prov. Eng.]
[ Webster]

Wash drawing. (Art) In water-color painting, work in, or a work done chiefly in, washes, as distinguished from that done in stipple, in body color, etc.
[Webster Suppl.]

Washed (?), a. (Zoöl.) Appearing as if overlaid with a thin layer of different color; -- said of the colors of certain birds and insects.
[ Webster]

Washed sale. Same as .
[Webster Suppl.]

Washen (?), obs. p. p. of . Chaucer.
[ Webster]

Washer (?), n. [AS. wæscere.] 1. One who, or that which, washes.
[ Webster]

2. A ring of metal, leather, or other material, or a perforated plate, used for various purposes, as around a bolt or screw to form a seat for the head or nut, or around a wagon axle to prevent endwise motion of the hub of the wheel and relieve friction, or in a joint to form a packing, etc.
[ Webster]

3. (Plumbing) A fitting, usually having a plug, applied to a cistern, tub, sink, or the like, and forming the outlet opening.
[ Webster]

4. (Zoöl.) The common raccoon.
[ Webster]

5. (Zoöl.) Same as , 2. [Prov. Eng.]
[ Webster]

Washerman (?), n.; pl. Washermen (�). A man who washes clothes, esp. for hire, or for others.
[ Webster]

Washerwoman (?), n.; pl. Washerwomen (�).
[ Webster]

1. A woman who washes clothes, especially for hire, or for others.
[ Webster]

2. (Zoöl.) The pied wagtail; -- so called in allusion to its beating the water with its tail while tripping along the leaves of water plants. [Prov. Eng.]
[ Webster]

Washhouse (?), n. An outbuilding for washing, esp. one for washing clothes; a laundry.
[ Webster]

Washiness (?), n. The quality or state of being washy, watery, or weak.
[ Webster]

Washing, n. 1. The act of one who washes; the act of cleansing with water; ablution.
[ Webster]

2. The clothes washed, esp. at one time; a wash.
[ Webster]

3. (Mining) Gold dust procured by washing; also, a place where this is done; a washery.
[Webster Suppl.]

4. A thin covering or coat; as, a washing of silver.
[Webster Suppl.]

5. (Stock Exchanges) The operation of simultaneously buying and selling the same stock for the purpose of manipulating the market. The transaction is fictitious, and is prohibited by stock-exchange rules.
[Webster Suppl.]

6. (Pottery) The covering of a piece with an infusible powder, which prevents it from sticking to its supports, while receiving the glaze.
[Webster Suppl.]

Coloq. Washing bear (Zoöl.), the raccoon. -- Coloq. Washing bottle (Chem.), a bottle fitted with glass tubes passing through the cork, so that on blowing into one of the tubes a stream of water issuing from the other may be directed upon anything to be washed or rinsed, as a precipitate upon a filter, etc. -- Coloq. Washing fluid , a liquid used as a cleanser, and consisting usually of alkaline salts resembling soaps in their action. -- Coloq. Washing machine , a machine for washing; specifically, a machine for washing clothes. -- Coloq. Washing soda . (Chem.) See Sodium carbonate, under . -- Coloq. Washing stuff , any earthy deposit containing gold enough to pay for washing it; -- so called among gold miners.
[ Webster]

Washingtonian (?), a. 1. Pertaining to, or characteristic of, George Washington; as, a Washingtonian policy. Lowell.
[ Webster]

2. Designating, or pertaining to, a temperance society and movement started in Baltimore in 1840 on the principle of total abstinence. -- n. A member of the Washingtonian Society.
[ Webster]

Washoe process (?). [From the Washoe district, Nevada.] The process of treating silver ores by grinding in pans or tubs with the addition of mercury, and sometimes of chemicals such as blue vitriol and salt.
[Webster Suppl.]

Wash-off (?), a. (Calico Printing) Capable of being washed off; not permanent or durable; -- said of colors not fixed by steaming or otherwise.
[ Webster]

Washout (?), n. 1. The washing out or away of earth, etc., especially of a portion of the bed of a road or railroad by a fall of rain or a freshet; also, a place, especially in the bed of a road or railroad, where the earth has been washed away.
[ Webster]

2. a complete failure; -- of an enterprise.
[PJC]

3. a person who has failed a course of study or training, leaving the program before its completion.
[PJC]

Wash out (?), v. i. & t. 1. to be removed by washing; -- of spots and stains, especially on clothing.
[PJC]

2. to be removed, broken, or destroyed by the action of flowing water; as, the bridge was washed out by the flood.
[PJC]

3. to fail in a course of study or training, especially to leave before completion of the course.
[PJC]

Washpot (?), n. 1. A pot or vessel in which anything is washed.
[ Webster]

2. (Tin-Plate Manuf.) A pot containing melted tin into which the plates are dipped to be coated.
[ Webster]

Wash sale. (Stock Exchange) A sale made in washing. See , n., 3, above.
[Webster Suppl.]

Washstand (?), n. A piece of furniture holding the ewer or pitcher, basin, and other requisites for washing the person.
[ Webster]

Wash stand. In a stable or garage, a place in the floor prepared so that carriages or automobiles may be washed there and the water run off. [Cant]
[Webster Suppl.]

Washtub (?), n. A tub in which clothes are washed.
[ Webster]

Washy (?), a. [From .] 1. Watery; damp; soft. “Washy ooze.” Milton.
[ Webster]

2. Lacking substance or strength; weak; thin; dilute; feeble; as, washy tea; washy resolutions.
[ Webster]

A polish . . . not over thin and washy. Sir H. Wotton.
[ Webster]

3. Not firm or hardy; liable to sweat profusely with labor; as, a washy horse. [Local, U. S.]
[ Webster]

Wasite (?), n. [See .] (Min.) A variety of allanite from Sweden supposed to contain wasium.
[ Webster]

Wasium (?), n. [NL. So called from Wasa, or Vasa, the name of a former royal family of Sweden.] (Chem.) A rare element supposed by Bahr to have been extracted from wasite, but now identified with thorium.
[ Webster]

Wasp (?), n. [OE. waspe, AS. wæps, wæfs; akin to D. wesp, G. wespe, OHG. wafsa, wefsa, Lith. vapsa gadfly, Russ. osa wasp, L. vespa, and perhaps to E. weave.] (Zoöl.) Any one of numerous species of stinging hymenopterous insects, esp. any of the numerous species of the genus Vespa, which includes the true, or social, wasps, some of which are called yellow jackets.
[ Webster]

☞ The social wasps make a complex series of combs, of a substance like stiff paper, often of large size, and protect them by a paperlike covering. The larvæ are reared in the cells of the combs, and eat insects and insect larvæ brought to them by the adults, but the latter feed mainly on the honey and pollen of flowers, and on the sweet juices of fruit. See Illust. in Appendix.
[ Webster]

Coloq. Digger wasp , any one of numerous species of solitary wasps that make their nests in burrows which they dig in the ground, as the sand wasps. See Sand wasp, under . -- Coloq. Mud wasp . See under . -- Coloq. Potter wasp . See under . -- Coloq. Wasp fly , a species of fly resembling a wasp, but without a sting.
[ Webster]

Prev Next

Concept Explore Home

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z