Wax - Weak

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Wax (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Waxed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Waxing.] To smear or rub with wax; to treat with wax; as, to wax a thread or a table.
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Coloq. Waxed cloth , cloth covered with a coating of wax, used as a cover, of tables and for other purposes; -- called also wax cloth. -- Coloq. Waxed end , a thread pointed with a bristle and covered with shoemaker's wax, used in sewing leather, as for boots, shoes, and the like; -- called also wax end. Brockett.
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Waxberry (?), n. (Bot.) The wax-covered fruit of the wax myrtle, or bayberry. See , and .
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Waxbill (?), n. (Zoöl.) Any one of numerous species of finchlike birds belonging to Estrelda and allied genera, native of Asia, Africa, and Australia. The bill is large, conical, and usually red in color, resembling sealing wax. Several of the species are often kept as cage birds.
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Waxbird (?), (Zoöl.) The waxwing.
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Waxen (?), a. 1. Made of wax. “The female bee, that . . . builds her waxen cells.” Milton.
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2. Covered with wax; waxed; as, a waxen tablet.
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3. Resembling wax; waxy; hence, soft; yielding.
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Men have marble, women waxen, minds. Shak.
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Coloq. Waxen chatterer (Zoöl.), the Bohemian chatterer.
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Waxiness (?), n. Quality or state of being waxy.
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Waxwing (?), n. (Zoöl.) Any one of several species of small birds of the genus Ampelis, in which some of the secondary quills are usually tipped with small horny ornaments resembling red sealing wax. The Bohemian waxwing (see under ) and the cedar bird are examples. Called also waxbird.
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Waxwork (?), n. 1. Work made of wax; especially, a figure or figures formed or partly of wax, in imitation of real beings.
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2. (Bot.) An American climbing shrub (Celastrus scandens). It bears a profusion of yellow berrylike pods, which open in the autumn, and display the scarlet coverings of the seeds.
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Waxworks (?), n. pl. An exhibition of wax figures, or the place of exhibition; as, Madame Toussaud's Waxworks.
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Waxworker (?), n. 1. One who works in wax; one who makes waxwork.
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2. A bee that makes or produces wax.
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Waxy (?), a. Resembling wax in appearance or consistency; viscid; adhesive; soft; hence, yielding; pliable; impressible. “Waxy to persuasion.” Bp. Hall.
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Coloq. Waxy degeneration (Med.), amyloid degeneration. See under . -- Coloq. Waxy kidney , Coloq. Waxy liver , etc. (Med.), a kidney or liver affected by waxy degeneration.
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Way (?), adv. [Aphetic form of away.] Away. [Obs. or Archaic] Chaucer.
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Coloq. To do way , to take away; to remove. [Obs.] “Do way your hands.” Chaucer. -- Coloq. To make way with , to make away with. See under . [Archaic]
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Way, n. [OE. wey, way, AS. weg; akin to OS., D., OHG., & G. weg, Icel. vegr, Sw. väg, Dan. vei, Goth. wigs, L. via, and AS. wegan to move, L. vehere to carry, Skr. vah. √136. Cf. , , , , , , , , , .]
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1. That by, upon, or along, which one passes or processes; opportunity or room to pass; place of passing; passage; road, street, track, or path of any kind; as, they built a way to the mine. “To find the way to heaven.” Shak.
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I shall him seek by way and eke by street. Chaucer.
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The way seems difficult, and steep to scale. Milton.
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The season and ways were very improper for his majesty's forces to march so great a distance. Evelyn.
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2. Length of space; distance; interval; as, a great way; a long way.
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And whenever the way seemed long,
Or his heart began to fail. Longfellow.
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3. A moving; passage; procession; journey.
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I prythee, now, lead the way. Shak.
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4. Course or direction of motion or process; tendency of action; advance.
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If that way be your walk, you have not far. Milton.
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And let eternal justice take the way. Dryden.
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5. The means by which anything is reached, or anything is accomplished; scheme; device; plan.
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My best way is to creep under his gaberdine. Shak.
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By noble ways we conquest will prepare. Dryden.
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What impious ways my wishes took! Prior.
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6. Manner; method; mode; fashion; style; as, the way of expressing one's ideas.
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7. Regular course; habitual method of life or action; plan of conduct; mode of dealing. “Having lost the way of nobleness.” Sir. P. Sidney.
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Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. Prov. iii. 17.
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When men lived in a grander way. Longfellow.
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8. Sphere or scope of observation. Jer. Taylor.
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The public ministers that fell in my way. Sir W. Temple.
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9. Determined course; resolved mode of action or conduct; as, to have one's way.
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10. (Naut.) (a) Progress; as, a ship has way. (b) pl. The timbers on which a ship is launched.
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11. pl. (Mach.) The longitudinal guides, or guiding surfaces, on the bed of a planer, lathe, or the like, along which a table or carriage moves.
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12. (Law) Right of way. See below.
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Coloq. By the way , in passing; apropos; aside; apart from, though connected with, the main object or subject of discourse. -- Coloq. By way of , for the purpose of; as being; in character of. -- Coloq. Covert way . (Fort.) See Covered way, under . -- Coloq. In the family way . See under . -- Coloq. In the way , so as to meet, fall in with, obstruct, hinder, etc. -- Coloq. In the way with , traveling or going with; meeting or being with; in the presence of. -- Coloq. Milky way . (Astron.) See , 1. -- Coloq. No way , Coloq. No ways . See , , in the Vocabulary. -- Coloq. On the way , traveling or going; hence, in process; advancing toward completion; as, on the way to this country; on the way to success. -- Coloq. Out of the way . See under . -- Coloq. Right of way (Law), a right of private passage over another's ground. It may arise either by grant or prescription. It may be attached to a house, entry, gate, well, or city lot, as well as to a country farm. Kent. -- Coloq. To be under way , or Coloq. To have way (Naut.), to be in motion, as when a ship begins to move. -- Coloq. To give way . See under . -- Coloq. To go one's way , or Coloq. To come one's way , to go or come; to depart or come along. Shak. -- Coloq. To go one's way to proceed in a manner favorable to one; -- of events. -- Coloq. To come one's way to come into one's possession (of objects) or to become available, as an opportunity; as, good things will come your way. -- Coloq. To go the way of all the earth or Coloq. to go the way of all flesh to die. -- Coloq. To make one's way , to advance in life by one's personal efforts. -- Coloq. To make way . See under , v. t. -- Coloq. Ways and means . (a) Methods; resources; facilities. (b) (Legislation) Means for raising money; resources for revenue. -- Coloq. Way leave , permission to cross, or a right of way across, land; also, rent paid for such right. [Eng] -- Coloq. Way of the cross (Eccl.), the course taken in visiting in rotation the stations of the cross. See , n., 7 (c). -- Coloq. Way of the rounds (Fort.), a space left for the passage of the rounds between a rampart and the wall of a fortified town. -- Coloq. Way pane , a pane for cartage in irrigated land. See , n., 4. [Prov. Eng.] -- Coloq. Way passenger , a passenger taken up, or set down, at some intermediate place between the principal stations on a line of travel. -- Coloq. Ways of God , his providential government, or his works. -- Coloq. Way station , an intermediate station between principal stations on a line of travel, especially on a railroad. -- Coloq. Way train , a train which stops at the intermediate, or way, stations; an accommodation train. -- Coloq. Way warden , the surveyor of a road.
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Syn. -- Street; highway; road. -- , , , . Way is generic, denoting any line for passage or conveyance; a highway is literally one raised for the sake of dryness and convenience in traveling; a road is, strictly, a way for horses and carriages; a street is, etymologically, a paved way, as early made in towns and cities; and, hence, the word is distinctively applied to roads or highways in compact settlements.
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All keep the broad highway, and take delight
With many rather for to go astray. Spenser.
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There is but one road by which to climb up. Addison.
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When night
Darkens the streets, then wander forth the sons
Of Belial, flown with insolence and wine. Milton.
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Way (?), v. t. To go or travel to; to go in, as a way or path. [Obs.] “In land not wayed.” Wyclif.
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Way, v. i. To move; to progress; to go. [R.]
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On a time as they together wayed. Spenser.
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Waybill (?), n. A list of passengers in a public vehicle, or of the baggage or gods transported by a common carrier on a land route. When the goods are transported by water, the list is called a bill of lading.
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Waybread (?), n. [AS. wegbr�de. See , and .] (Bot.) The common dooryard plantain (Plantago major).
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Waybung (?), n. (Zoöl.) An Australian insessorial bird (Corcorax melanorhamphus) noted for the curious actions of the male during the breeding season. It is black with a white patch on each wing.
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Wayed (?), a. Used to the way; broken. [R.]
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A horse that is not well wayed; he starts at every bird that flies out the hedge. Selden.
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Wayfare (?), v. i. [Way + fare to go.] To journey; to travel; to go to and fro. [Obs.]
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A certain Laconian, as he wayfared, came unto a place where there dwelt an old friend of his. Holland.
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Wayfare, n. The act of journeying; travel; passage. [Obs.] Holland.
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Wayfarer (?), n. One who travels; a traveler; a passenger.
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Wayfaring, a. Traveling; passing; being on a journey. “A wayfaring man.” Judg. xix. 17.
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Coloq. Wayfaring tree (Bot.), a European shrub (Viburnum lantana) having large ovate leaves and dense cymes of small white flowers. -- Coloq. American wayfaring tree (Bot.), the (Viburnum lantanoides).
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Waygate (?), n. The tailrace of a mill. Knight.
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Way-going (?), a. Going away; departing; of or pertaining to one who goes away.
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Coloq. Way-going crop (Law of Leases), a crop of grain to which tenants for years are sometimes entitled by custom; grain sown in the fall to be reaped at the next harvest; a crop which will not ripen until after the termination of the lease. Burrill.
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Way-goose (?), n. See , n., 2. [Eng.]
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Wayk (?), a. Weak. [Obs.] Chaucer.
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Waylay (?; 277), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Waylaid (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Waylaying.] [Way + lay.] To lie in wait for; to meet or encounter in the way; especially, to watch for the passing of, with a view to seize, rob, or slay; to beset in ambush.
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Falstaff, Bardolph, Peto, and Gadshill shall rob those men that we have already waylaid. Shak.
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She often contrived to waylay him in his walks. Sir W. Scott.
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Waylayer (?), n. One who waylays another.
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Wayless, a. Having no road or path; pathless.
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Wayleway (?), interj. See . [Obs.]
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Waymaker (?), n. One who makes a way; a precursor. [R.] Bacon.
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Waymark (?), n. A mark to guide in traveling.
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Wayment (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Waymented; p. pr. & vb. n. Waymenting.] [OE. waymenten, OF. waimenter, gaimenter, guaimenter, from wai, guai, woe! (of Teutonic origin; see ) and L. lamentari to lament. See .] To lament; to grieve; to wail. [Written also waiment.] [Obs.]
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Thilke science . . . maketh a man to waymenten. Chaucer.
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For what boots it to weep and wayment,
When ill is chanced? Spenser.
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Wayment, n. Grief; lamentation; mourning. [Written also waiment.] [Obs.] Spenser.
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-ways (?). A suffix formed from way by the addition of the adverbial -s (see ). It is often used interchangeably with wise; as, endways or endwise; noways or nowise, etc.
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Way shaft (?). 1. (Mach.) A rock shaft.
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2. (Mining) An interior shaft, usually one connecting two levels. Raymond.
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Wayside (?), n. The side of the way; the edge or border of a road or path.
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Wayside, a. Of or pertaining to the wayside; as, wayside flowers. “A wayside inn.” Longfellow.
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Wayward (?), a. [OE. weiward, for aweiward, i. e., turned away. See , and .] Taking one's own way; disobedient; froward; perverse; willful.
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My wife is in a wayward mood. Shak.
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Wayward beauty doth not fancy move. Fairfax.
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Wilt thou forgive the wayward thought? Keble.
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-- Waywardly, adv. -- Waywardness, n.
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Way-wise (?), a. Skillful in finding the way; well acquainted with the way or route; wise from having traveled.
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Waywiser (?), n. [Cf. G. wegweiser a waymark, a guide; weg way + weisen to show, direct.] An instrument for measuring the distance which one has traveled on the road; an odometer, pedometer, or perambulator.
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The waywiser to a coach, exactly measuring the miles, and showing them by an index. Evelyn.
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Waywode (?), n. [Russ. voevoda, or Pol. woiewoda; properly, a leader of an army, a leader in war. Cf. .] Originally, the title of a military commander in various Slavonic countries; afterwards applied to governors of towns or provinces. It was assumed for a time by the rulers of Moldavia and Wallachia, who were afterwards called hospodars, and has also been given to some inferior Turkish officers. [Written also vaivode, voivode, waiwode, and woiwode.]
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Waywodeship, n. The office, province, or jurisdiction of a waywode.
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Wayworn (?), a. Wearied by traveling.
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Wayz-goose (?), n. [Wase stubble + goose.]
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1. A stubble goose. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]
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2. An annual feast of the persons employed in a printing office. [Written also way-goose.] [Eng.]
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We (wē), pron.; pl. of I. [Poss. Our (our) or Ours (ourz); obj. Us (ŭs). See .] [As. wē; akin to OS. wī, OFries. & LG. wi, D. wij, G. wir, Icel. vēr, Sw. & Dan. vi, Goth. weis, Skr. vayam. √190.] The plural nominative case of the pronoun of the first person; the word with which a person in speaking or writing denotes a number or company of which he is one, as the subject of an action expressed by a verb.
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☞ We is frequently used to express men in general, including the speaker. We is also often used by individuals, as authors, editors, etc., in speaking of themselves, in order to avoid the appearance of egotism in the too frequent repetition of the pronoun I. The plural style is also in use among kings and other sovereigns, and is said to have been begun by King John of England. Before that time, monarchs used the singular number in their edicts. The German and the French sovereigns followed the example of King John in a. d. 1200.
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Weak (wēk), a. [Compar. Weaker (wēkẽr); superl. Weakest.] [OE. weik, Icel. veikr; akin to Sw. vek, Dan. veg soft, flexible, pliant, AS. wāc weak, soft, pliant, D. week, G. weich, OHG. weih; all from the verb seen in Icel. vīkja to turn, veer, recede, AS. wīcan to yield, give way, G. weichen, OHG. wīhhan, akin to Skr. vij, and probably to E. week, L. vicis a change, turn, Gr. e'ikein to yield, give way. √132. Cf. , , v. i. .]
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1. Wanting physical strength. Specifically: --
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(a) Deficient in strength of body; feeble; infirm; sickly; debilitated; enfeebled; exhausted.
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A poor, infirm, weak, and despised old man. Shak.
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Weak with hunger, mad with love. Dryden.
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(b) Not able to sustain a great weight, pressure, or strain; as, a weak timber; a weak rope.
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(c) Not firmly united or adhesive; easily broken or separated into pieces; not compact; as, a weak ship.
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(d) Not stiff; pliant; frail; soft; as, the weak stalk of a plant.
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(e) Not able to resist external force or onset; easily subdued or overcome; as, a weak barrier; as, a weak fortress.
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(f) Lacking force of utterance or sound; not sonorous; low; small; feeble; faint.
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A voice not soft, weak, piping, and womanish. Ascham.
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(g) Not thoroughly or abundantly impregnated with the usual or required ingredients, or with stimulating and nourishing substances; of less than the usual strength; as, weak tea, broth, or liquor; a weak decoction or solution; a weak dose of medicine.
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(h) Lacking ability for an appropriate function or office; as, weak eyes; a weak stomach; a weak magistrate; a weak regiment, or army.
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2. Not possessing or manifesting intellectual, logical, moral, or political strength, vigor, etc. Specifically: -
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(a) Feeble of mind; wanting discernment; lacking vigor; spiritless; as, a weak king or magistrate.
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To think every thing disputable is a proof of a weak mind and captious temper. Beattie.
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Origen was never weak enough to imagine that there were two Gods. Waterland.
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(b) Resulting from, or indicating, lack of judgment, discernment, or firmness; unwise; hence, foolish.
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If evil thence ensue,
She first his weak indulgence will accuse. Milton.
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(c) Not having full confidence or conviction; not decided or confirmed; vacillating; wavering.
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Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. Rom. xiv. 1.
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(d) Not able to withstand temptation, urgency, persuasion, etc.; easily impressed, moved, or overcome; accessible; vulnerable; as, weak resolutions; weak virtue.
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Guard thy heart
On this weak side, where most our nature fails. Addison.
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(e) Wanting in power to influence or bind; as, weak ties; a weak sense of honor of duty.
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(f) Not having power to convince; not supported by force of reason or truth; unsustained; as, a weak argument or case. “Convinced of his weak arguing.” Milton.
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A case so weak . . . hath much persisted in. Hooker.
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(g) Wanting in point or vigor of expression; as, a weak sentence; a weak style.
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(h) Not prevalent or effective, or not felt to be prevalent; not potent; feeble. “Weak prayers.” Shak.
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(i) Lacking in elements of political strength; not wielding or having authority or energy; deficient in the resources that are essential to a ruler or nation; as, a weak monarch; a weak government or state.
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I must make fair weather yet awhile,
Till Henry be more weak, and I more strong. Shak.
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(k) (Stock Exchange) Tending towards lower prices; as, a weak market.
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3. (Gram.) (a) Pertaining to, or designating, a verb which forms its preterit (imperfect) and past participle by adding to the present the suffix -ed, -d, or the variant form -t; as in the verbs abash, abashed; abate, abated; deny, denied; feel, felt. See , 19 (a). (b) Pertaining to, or designating, a noun in Anglo-Saxon, etc., the stem of which ends in -n. See , 19 (b).
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4. (Stock Exchange) Tending toward a lower price or lower prices; as, wheat is weak; a weak market.
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5. (Card Playing) Lacking in good cards; deficient as to number or strength; as, a hand weak in trumps.
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6. (Photog.) Lacking contrast; as, a weak negative.
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☞ Weak is often used in the formation of self-explaining compounds; as, weak-eyed, weak-handed, weak-hearted, weak-minded, weak-spirited, and the like.
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