White - Whither

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White (?), n.
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1. The color of pure snow; one of the natural colors of bodies, yet not strictly a color, but a composition of all colors; the opposite of black; whiteness. See the Note under , n., 1.
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Finely attired in a of white. Shak.
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2. Something having the color of snow; something white, or nearly so; as, the white of the eye.
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3. Specifically, the central part of the butt in archery, which was formerly painted white; the center of a mark at which a missile is shot.
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'T was I won the wager, though you hit the white. Shak.
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4. A person with a white skin; a member of the white, or Caucasian, races of men.
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5. A white pigment; as, Venice white.
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6. (Zoöl.) Any one of numerous species of butterflies belonging to Pieris, and allied genera in which the color is usually white. See Cabbage butterfly, under .
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Coloq. Black and white . See under . -- Coloq. Flake white , Coloq. Paris white , etc. See under , , etc. -- Coloq. White of a seed (Bot.), the albumen. See , 2. -- Coloq. White of egg , the viscous pellucid fluid which surrounds the yolk in an egg, particularly in the egg of a fowl. In a hen's egg it is alkaline, and contains about 86 per cent of water and 14 per cent of solid matter, the greater portion of which is egg albumin. It likewise contains a small amount of globulin, and traces of fats and sugar, with some inorganic matter. Heated above 60° C. it coagulates to a solid mass, owing to the albumin which it contains. Parr. -- Coloq. White of the eye (Anat.), the white part of the ball of the eye surrounding the transparent cornea.
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White, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Whited; p. pr. & vb. n. Whiting.] [AS. hwītan.] To make white; to whiten; to whitewash; to bleach.
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Whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of . . . uncleanness. Matt. xxiii. 27.
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So as no fuller on earth can white them. Mark. ix. 3.
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Whiteback (?), n. (Zoöl.) The canvasback.
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Whitebait (?), n. (Zoöl.) (a) The young of several species of herrings, especially of the common herring, esteemed a great delicacy by epicures in England. (b) A small translucent fish (Salanx Chinensis) abundant at certain seasons on the coasts of China and Japan, and used in the same manner as the European whitebait.
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Whitebeam (?), n. (Bot.) The common beam tree of England (Pyrus Aria); -- so called from the white, woolly under surface of the leaves.
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Whitebeard (?), n. An old man; a graybeard.
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Whitebelly (?), n. (Zoöl.) (a) The American widgeon, or baldpate. (b) The prairie chicken.
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Whitebill (?), n. (Zoöl.) The American coot.
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White-blaze (?), n. See .
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Whiteblow (?), n. (Bot.) Same as Whitlow grass, under .
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Whiteboy (?), n. 1. A favorite. [Obs.] See , a., 6. “One of God's whiteboys.” Bunyan.
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2. One of an association of poor Roman catholics which arose in Ireland about 1760, ostensibly to resist the collection of tithes, the members of which were so called from the white shirts they wore in their nocturnal raids.
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Whiteboyism (?), n. The conduct or principle of the Whiteboys.
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Whitecap (?), n. 1. (Zoöl.) (a) The European redstart; -- so called from its white forehead. (b) The whitethroat; -- so called from its gray head. (c) The European tree sparrow.
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2. A wave whose crest breaks into white foam, as when the wind is freshening.
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3. A member of a self-appointed vigilance committee attempting by lynch-law methods to drive away or coerce persons obnoxious to it. Some early ones wore white hoods or masks. [U. S.] -- Whitecap, v. -- Whitecapper (#), n.
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Whitecoat (?), n. The skin of a newborn seal; also, the seal itself. [Sealers' Cant]
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White-ear (?), n. (Zoöl.) The wheatear.
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White elephant. Something requiring much care and expense to maintain and yielding little profit, and often difficult to sell; any burdensome possession. [Slang]
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White-eye (?), n. (Zoöl.) Any one of several species of small Old World singing of the genus Zosterops, as Zosterops palpebrosus of India, and Zosterops cœrulescens of Australia. The eyes are encircled by a ring of white feathers, whence the name. Called also bush creeper, and white-eyed tit.
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White-face (?), n. A white mark in the forehead of a horse, descending almost to the nose; -- called also white-blaze.
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Whitefish (?), n. (Zoöl.) (a) Any one of several species of Coregonus, a genus of excellent food fishes allied to the salmons. They inhabit the lakes of the colder parts of North America, Asia, and Europe. The largest and most important American species (Coregonus clupeiformis) is abundant in the Great Lakes, and in other lakes farther north. Called also lake whitefish, and Oswego bass. (b) The menhaden. (c) The beluga, or white whale.
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☞ Various other fishes are locally called whitefish, as the silver salmon, the whiting (a), the yellowtail, and the young of the bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix).
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Whiteflaw (?), n. [See .] (Med.) A whitlow. [Obs.] Holland.
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White fly. Any one of numerous small injurious hemipterous insects of the genus Aleyrodes, allied to scale insects. They are usually covered with a white or gray powder.
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White-foot (?), n. (Far.) A white mark on the foot of a horse, between the fetlock and the coffin.
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White friar (?). (Eccl.) A mendicant monk of the Carmelite order, so called from the white cloaks worn by the order. See .
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White-fronted (?), a. Having a white front; as, the white-fronted lemur.
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Coloq. White-fronted goose (Zoöl.), the white brant, or snow goose. See Snow goose, under .
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Whitehead (?), n. (Zoöl.) (a) The blue-winged snow goose. (b) The surf scoter.
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{ Whitehead torpedo (?), or Whitehead }, n. A form of self-propelling torpedo.
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White-heart (?), n. (Bot.) A somewhat heart-shaped cherry with a whitish skin.
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whitehorse. a (the wave).
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White horse. A large mass of tough sinewy substance in the head of sperm whales, just above the upper jaw and extending in streaks into the junk above it. It resembles blubber, but contains no oil. Also, the part of the head in which it occurs.
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White-hot (?), a. White with heat; heated to whiteness, or incandescence.
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White-limed (?), a. Whitewashed or plastered with lime. “White-limed walls.” Shak.
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White list. (a) A list of business concerns regarded as worthy of patronage by reason of compliance with certain conditions, as in regard to treatment of employees; as, the white list of the Consumers' League. [Cant] (b) (New York Stock Exchange) The official list of all transactions, published daily on white paper, divided into sales from 10 to 12, 12 to 2, and 2 to 3.
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White-livered (?), a. Having a pale look; feeble; hence, cowardly; pusillanimous; dastardly.
Syn. -- lily-livered. [ Webster]

They must not be milksops, nor white-livered knights. Latimer.
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Whitely, a. Like, or coming near to, white. [Obs.]
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White mustard. A kind of mustard (Sinapis alba) with rough-hairy foliage, a long-beaked hispid pod, and pale seeds, which yield mustard and mustard oil. The plant is also grown for forage.
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Whiten (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Whitened (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Whitening.] [OE. whitenen; cf. Icel. hvītna.] To grow white; to turn or become white or whiter; as, the hair whitens with age; the sea whitens with foam; the trees in spring whiten with blossoms.
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Whiten, v. t. To make white; to bleach; to blanch; to whitewash; as, to whiten a wall; to whiten cloth.
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The broad stream of the Foyle then whitened by vast flocks of wild swans. Macaulay.
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Syn. -- See .
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Whitener (?), n. 1. One who, or that which, whitens; a bleaching agent; a bleach; a bleacher; a blancher; a whitewasher.
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2. A chemical used as an adjunct to laundering white cloth, which makes white cloth appear whiter. A bluing agent.
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Whiteness (?), n. [AS. hwītness.] 1. The quality or state of being white; white color, or freedom from darkness or obscurity on the surface. Chaucer.
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2. Want of a sanguineous tinge; paleness; as from terror, grief, etc. “The whiteness in thy cheek.” Shak.
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3. Freedom from stain or blemish; purity; cleanness.
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He had kept
The whiteness of his soul, and thus men o'er him wept. Byron.
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4. Nakedness. [Obs.] Chapman.
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5. (Zoöl.) A flock of swans.
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Whitening (?), n. 1. The act or process of making or becoming white.
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2. That which is used to render white; whiting. [R.]
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Coloq. Whitening stone , a sharpening and polishing stone used by cutlers; also, a finishing grindstone of fine texture.
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White person. A person of the Caucasian race (6 Fed. Rep. 256). In the time of slavery in the United States white person was generally construed as a person without admixture of colored blood. In various statutes and decisions in different States since 1865 white person is construed as in effect (as of ): one not having any negro blood (Ark., Okla.); one having less than one eighth of negro blood (Ala., Fla., Ga., Ind., Ky., Md., Minn., Miss., Mo., N.C., S.C., Tenn., Tex.); one having less than one fourth (Mich., Neb., Ore., Va.); one having less than one half (Ohio). Since the passage of civil rights legislation in the 1960's and 1970's, the term has little legal significance -- for some purposes, as in filling out questionnaires, a person's race is whatever the person claims it to be.
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White noise (?), n. a mixture or random noise sounds extending over the entire audible frequency spectrum with approximately equal intensity at all frequencies. It is used in certain experiments, as in psychology, to prevent subjects from hearing meaningful sounds.
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White plague. Tuberculosis, esp. of the lungs.
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White-pot (?), n. A kind of food made of milk or cream, eggs, sugar, bread, etc., baked in a pot. King.
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Whiterump (?), n. (Zoöl.) The American black-tailed godwit.
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Whites (?), n. pl.
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1. (Med.) Leucorrh�a.
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2. The finest flour made from white wheat.
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3. Cloth or garments of a plain white color.
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Whiteside (?), n. (Zoöl.) The golden-eye.
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White slave. A woman held in involuntary confinement for purposes of prostitution; loosely, any woman forced into unwilling prostitution.
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White slaver. A person engaged in procuring or holding a woman or women for unwilling prostitution.
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White slaving. The action of one who procures or holds a woman or women for unwilling prostitution.
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Whitesmith (?), n. 1. One who works in tinned or galvanized iron, or white iron; a tinsmith.
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2. A worker in iron who finishes or polishes the work, in distinction from one who forges it.
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Whitester (?), n. [White + -ster.] A bleacher of linen; a whitener; a whitster. [Prov. Eng.]
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Whitetail (?), n. 1. (Zoöl.) The Virginia deer.
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2. (Zoöl.) The wheatear. [Prov. Eng.]
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Whitethorn (?), n. (Bot.) The hawthorn.
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Whitethroat (?), n. (Zoöl.) Any one of several species of Old World warblers, esp. the common European species (Sylvia cinerea), called also strawsmear, nettlebird, muff, and whitecap, the garden whitethroat, or golden warbler (Sylvia hortensis), and the lesser whitethroat (Sylvia curruca).
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White-tie (?), a. requiring formal evening clothes, usually interpreted as a white bow tie and a tailcoat for men, and a formal evening dress for women; -- as, a white-tie reception at the embassy. Contrasting with black-tie and informal.
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Whitetop (?), n. (Bot.) Fiorin.
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Whitewall (?), n. (Zoöl.) The spotted flycatcher; -- so called from the white color of the under parts. [Prov. Eng.]
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Whitewash (�), n.
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1. Any wash or liquid composition for whitening something, as a wash for making the skin fair. Addison.
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2. A composition of line and water, or of whiting size, and water, or the like, used for whitening walls, ceilings, etc.; milk of lime.
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3. a glossing over or cover up (of crimes or misfeasance).
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Whitewash, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Whitewashed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Whitewashing.]
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1. To apply a white liquid composition to; to whiten with whitewash.
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2. To make white; to give a fair external appearance to; to clear from imputations or disgrace; hence, to clear (a bankrupt) from obligation to pay debts.
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3. In various games, to defeat (an opponent) so that he fails to score, or to reach a certain point in the game; to skunk. [Colloq., U. S.]
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4. to gloss over or cover up (crimes or misfeasance).
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Whitewasher (?), n. One who whitewashes.
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White-water (?), n. (Far.) A dangerous disease of sheep.
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Whiteweed (?), n. (Bot.) A perennial composite herb (Chrysanthemum Leucanthemum) with conspicuous white rays and a yellow disk, a common weed in grass lands and pastures; -- called also oxeye daisy.
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Whitewing (?), n. (Zoöl.) (a) The chaffinch; -- so called from the white bands on the wing. (b) The velvet duck.
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Whitewood (?), n. The soft and easily-worked wood of the tulip tree (Liriodendron). It is much used in cabinetwork, carriage building, etc.
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☞ Several other kinds of light-colored wood are called whitewood in various countries, as the wood of Bignonia leucoxylon in the West Indies, of Pittosporum bicolor in Tasmania, etc.
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Coloq. Whitewood bark . See the Note under .
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Whitewort (?), n. (Bot.) (a) Wild camomile. (b) A kind of Solomon's seal (Polygonum officinale).
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Whitflaw (?), n. [See .] Whitlow. [Obs.] “The nails fallen off by whitflaws.” Herrick.
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Whither (?), adv. [OE. whider. AS. hwider; akin to E. where, who; cf. Goth. hvadrē whither. See , and cf. , .]
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1. To what place; -- used interrogatively; as, whither goest thou? “Whider may I flee?” Chaucer.
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Sir Valentine, whither away so fast? Shak.
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2. To what or which place; -- used relatively.
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That no man should know . . . whither that he went. Chaucer.
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We came unto the land whither thou sentest us. Num. xiii. 27.
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3. To what point, degree, end, conclusion, or design; whereunto; whereto; -- used in a sense not physical.
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Nor have I . . . whither to appeal. Milton.
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Coloq. Any whither , to any place; anywhere. [Obs.] “Any whither, in hope of life eternal.” Jer. Taylor. -- Coloq. No whither , to no place; nowhere. [Obs.] 2 Kings v. 25.
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Syn. -- Where. -- , . Whither properly implies motion to place, and where rest in a place. Whither is now, however, to a great extent, obsolete, except in poetry, or in compositions of a grave and serious character and in language where precision is required. Where has taken its place, as in the question, “Where are you going?”
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