Wink - Wire

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Wink (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Winked (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Winking.] [OE. winken, AS. wincian; akin to D. wenken, G. winken to wink, nod, beckon, OHG. winchan, Sw. vinka, Dan. vinke, AS. wancol wavering, OHG. wanchal wavering, wanch�n to waver, G. wanken, and perhaps to E. weak; cf. AS. wincel a corner. Cf. , , v. i.]
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1. To nod; to sleep; to nap. [Obs.] “Although I wake or wink.” Chaucer.
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2. To shut the eyes quickly; to close the eyelids with a quick motion.
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He must wink, so loud he would cry. Chaucer.
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And I will wink, so shall the day seem night. Shak.
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They are not blind, but they wink. Tillotson.
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3. To close and open the eyelids quickly; to nictitate; to blink.
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A baby of some three months old, who winked, and turned aside its little face from the too vivid light of day. Hawthorne.
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4. To give a hint by a motion of the eyelids, often those of one eye only.
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Wink at the footman to leave him without a plate. Swift.
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5. To avoid taking notice, as if by shutting the eyes; to connive at anything; to be tolerant; -- generally with at.
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The times of this ignorance God winked at. Acts xvii. 30.
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And yet, as though he knew it not,
His knowledge winks, and lets his humors reign. Herbert.
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Obstinacy can not be winked at, but must be subdued. Locke.
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6. To be dim and flicker; as, the light winks.
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Coloq. Winking monkey (Zoöl.), the white-nosed monkey (Cersopithecus nictitans).
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Wink, v. t. To cause (the eyes) to wink.[Colloq.]
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Wink, n. 1. The act of closing, or closing and opening, the eyelids quickly; hence, the time necessary for such an act; a moment.
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I have not slept one wink. Shak.
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I could eclipse and cloud them with a wink. Donne.
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2. A hint given by shutting the eye with a significant cast. Sir. P. Sidney.
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The stockjobber thus from Change Alley goes down,
And tips you, the freeman, a wink. Swift.
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Winker (?), n. 1. One who winks. Pope.
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2. A horse's blinder; a blinker.
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Winkingly, adv. In a winking manner; with the eye almost closed. Peacham.
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Winkle (?), n. [AS. wincle.] (Zoöl.) (a) Any periwinkle. Holland. (b) Any one of various marine spiral gastropods, esp., in the United States, either of two species of Fulgar (Fulgar canaliculata, and Fulgar carica).
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☞ These are large mollusks which often destroy large numbers of oysters by drilling their shells and sucking their blood.
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Coloq. Sting winkle , a European spinose marine shell (Murex erinaceus). See Illust. of .
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Winkle-hawk (?), n. [D. winkel-haak a carpenter's square.] A rectangular rent made in cloth; -- called also winkle-hole. [Local, U. S.] Bartlett.
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Winnard 2, n. The redwing. [Prov. Eng.]
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Winnebagoes (?), n.; sing. Winnebago (�). (Ethnol.) A tribe of North American Indians who originally occupied the region about Green Bay, Lake Michigan, but were driven back from the lake and nearly exterminated in 1640 by the IIlinnois.
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Winner (?), n. One who wins, or gains by success in competition, contest, or gaming.
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Winning (?), a. Attracting; adapted to gain favor; charming; as, a winning address. “Each mild and winning note.” Keble.
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Winning, n. 1. The act of obtaining something, as in a contest or by competition.
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2. The money, etc., gained by success in competition or contest, esp, in gambling; -- usually in the plural.
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Ye seek land and sea for your winnings. Chaucer.
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3. (Mining) (a) A new opening. (b) The portion of a coal field out for working.
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Coloq. Winning headway (Mining), an excavation for exploration, in post-and-stall working. -- Coloq. Winning post , the post, or goal, at the end of a race.
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Winningly, adv. In a winning manner.
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Winningness, n. The quality or state of being winning. “Winningness in style.” J. Morley.
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Winninish (?), n. (Zoöl.) The land-locked variety of the common salmon. [Canada]
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Winnow (wĭnn�), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Winnowed (wĭnn�d); p. pr. & vb. n. Winnowing.] [OE. windewen, winewen, AS. windwian; akin to Goth. winpjan (in comp.), winpi-skauro a fan, L. ventilare to fan, to winnow; cf. L. wannus a fan for winnowing, G. wanne, OHG. wanna. √131. See moving air, and cf. ., n., .]
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1. To separate, and drive off, the chaff from by means of wind; to fan; as, to winnow grain.
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Ho winnoweth barley to-night in the threshing floor. Ruth. iii. 2.
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2. To sift, as for the purpose of separating falsehood from truth; to separate, as bad from good.
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Winnow well this thought, and you shall find
This light as chaff that flies before the wind. Dryden.
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3. To beat with wings, or as with wings.[Poetic]
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Now on the polar winds; then with quick fan
Winnows the buxom air. Milton.
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Winnow (?), v. i. To separate chaff from grain.
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Winnow not with every wind. Ecclus. v. 9.
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Winnower (?), n. One who, or that which, winnows; specifically, a winnowing machine.
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Winnowing, n. The act of one who, or that which, winnows.
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Winrow (?), n. A windrow.
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Winsing (?), a. Winsome. [Obs.] Chaucer.
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Winsome (?), a. [Compar. Winsomer (?); superl. Winsomest.] [AS. wynsum, fr. wynn joy; akin to OS. wunnia, OHG. wunna, wunni, G. wonne, Goth. wunan to rejoice (in unwunands sad), AS. wunian to dwell. ����. See , v. t., , a.]
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1. Cheerful; merry; gay; light-hearted.
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Misled by ill example, and a winsome nature. Jeffrey.
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2. Causing joy or pleasure; gladsome; pleasant.
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Still plotting how their hungry ear
That winsome voice again might hear. Emerson.
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Winsomeness, n. The characteristic of being winsome; attractiveness of manner. J. R. Green.
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Winter (?), n. [AS. winter; akin to OFries. & D. winter, OS. & OHG. wintar, G. winter, D. & Sw. vinter, Icel. vetr, Goth. wintrus; of uncertain origin; cf. Old Gallic vindo- white (in comp.), OIr. find white. ����.]
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1. The season of the year in which the sun shines most obliquely upon any region; the coldest season of the year. “Of thirty winter he was old.” Chaucer.
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And after summer evermore succeeds
Barren winter, with his wrathful nipping cold. Shak.
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Winter lingering chills the lap of May. Goldsmith.
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☞ North of the equator, winter is popularly taken to include the months of December, January, and February (see ). Astronomically, it may be considered to begin with the winter solstice, about December 21st, and to end with the vernal equinox, about March 21st.
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2. The period of decay, old age, death, or the like.
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Life's autumn past, I stand on winter's verge. Wordsworth.
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Coloq. Winter apple , an apple that keeps well in winter, or that does not ripen until winter. -- Coloq. Winter barley , a kind of barley that is sown in autumn. -- Coloq. Winter berry (Bot.), the name of several American shrubs (Ilex verticillata, Ilex lævigata, etc.) of the Holly family, having bright red berries conspicuous in winter. -- Coloq. Winter bloom . (Bot.) (a) A plant of the genus Azalea. (b) A plant of the genus Hamamelis (Hamamelis Viginica); witch-hazel; -- so called from its flowers appearing late in autumn, while the leaves are falling. -- Coloq. Winter bud (Zoöl.), a statoblast. -- Coloq. Winter cherry (Bot.), a plant (Physalis Alkekengi) of the Nightshade family, which has, a red berry inclosed in the inflated and persistent calyx. See . -- Coloq. Winter cough (Med.), a form of chronic bronchitis marked by a cough recurring each winter. -- Coloq. Winter cress (Bot.), a yellow-flowered cruciferous plant (Barbarea vulgaris). -- Coloq. Winter crop , a crop which will bear the winter, or which may be converted into fodder during the winter. -- Coloq. Winter duck . (Zoöl.) (a) The pintail. (b) The old squaw. -- Coloq. Winter egg (Zoöl.), an egg produced in the autumn by many invertebrates, and destined to survive the winter. Such eggs usually differ from the summer eggs in having a thicker shell, and often in being enveloped in a protective case. They sometimes develop in a manner different from that of the summer eggs. -- Coloq. Winter fallow , ground that is fallowed in winter. -- Coloq. Winter fat . (Bot.) Same as White sage, under . -- Coloq. Winter fever (Med.), pneumonia. [Colloq.] -- Coloq. Winter flounder . (Zoöl.) See the Note under . -- Coloq. Winter gull (Zoöl.), the common European gull; -- called also winter mew. [Prov. Eng.] -- Coloq. Winter itch . (Med.) See Prarie itch, under . -- Coloq. Winter lodge , or Coloq. Winter lodgment . (Bot.) Same as . -- Coloq. Winter mew . (Zoöl.) Same as Winter gull, above. [Prov. Eng.] -- Coloq. Winter moth (Zoöl.), any one of several species of geometrid moths which come forth in winter, as the European species (Cheimatobia brumata). These moths have rudimentary mouth organs, and eat no food in the imago state. The female of some of the species is wingless. -- Coloq. Winter oil , oil prepared so as not to solidify in moderately cold weather. -- Coloq. Winter pear , a kind of pear that keeps well in winter, or that does not ripen until winter. -- Coloq. Winter quarters , the quarters of troops during the winter; a winter residence or station. -- Coloq. Winter rye , a kind of rye that is sown in autumn. -- Coloq. Winter shad (Zoöl.), the gizzard shad. -- Coloq. Winter sheldrake (Zoöl.), the goosander. [Local, U. S.] -- Coloq. Winter sleep (Zoöl.), hibernation. -- Coloq. Winter snipe (Zoöl.), the dunlin. -- Coloq. Winter solstice . (Astron.) See , 2. -- Coloq. Winter teal (Zoöl.), the green-winged teal. -- Coloq. Winter wagtail (Zoöl.), the gray wagtail (Motacilla melanope). [Prov. Eng.] -- Coloq. Winter wheat , wheat sown in autumn, which lives during the winter, and ripens in the following summer. -- Coloq. Winter wren (Zoöl.), a small American wren (Troglodytes hiemalis) closely resembling the common wren.
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Winter, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Wintered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Wintering.] To pass the winter; to hibernate; as, to winter in Florida.
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Because the haven was not commodious to winter in, the more part advised to depart thence. Acts xxvii. 12.
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Winter, v. i. To keep, feed or manage, during the winter; as, to winter young cattle on straw.
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Winter-beaten (?), a. Beaten or harassed by the severe weather of winter. Spenser.
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Wintergreen (?), n. (Bot.) A plant which keeps its leaves green through the winter.
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☞ In England, the name wintergreen is applied to the species of Pyrola which in America are called English wintergreen, and shin leaf (see Shin leaf, under .) In America, the name wintergreen is given to Gaultheria procumbens, a low evergreen aromatic plant with oval leaves clustered at the top of a short stem, and bearing small white flowers followed by red berries; -- called also checkerberry, and sometimes, though improperly, partridge berry.
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Coloq. Chickweed wintergreen , a low perennial primulaceous herb (Trientalis Americana); -- also called star flower. -- Coloq. Flowering wintergreen , a low plant (Polygala paucifolia) with leaves somewhat like those of the wintergreen (Gaultheria), and bearing a few showy, rose-purple blossoms. -- Coloq. Spotted wintergreen , a low evergreen plant (Chimaphila maculata) with ovate, white-spotted leaves.
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Winter-ground (?), v. t. To coved over in the season of winter, as for protection or shelter; as, to winter-ground the roods of a plant.
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The ruddock would . . . bring thee all this,
Yea, and furred moss besides, when flowers are none
To winter-ground thy corse. Shak.
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Winterkill (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Winterkilled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Winterkilling.] To kill by the cold, or exposure to the inclemency of winter; as, the wheat was winterkilled. [U. S.]
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Winterkill, v. i. To die as the result of exposure to the cold of winter; as, the tree winterkills easily.
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Winterly, a. Like winter; wintry; cold; hence, disagreeable, cheerless; as, winterly news. [R.] Shak.
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The sir growing more winterly in the month of April. Camden.
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Winter-proud (?), a. Having too rank or forward a growth for winter.
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When either corn is winter-proud, or other plants put forth and bud too early. Holland.
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Winter-rig (?), v. t. [See and .] To fallow or till in winter. [Prov. Eng.]
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Winter's bark (?). (Bot.) The aromatic bark of tree (Drimys Winteri syn. Drymis Winteri) of the Magnolia family, which is found in Southern Chile. It was first used as a cure for scurvy by its discoverer, Captain John Winter, vice admiral to sir Francis Drake, in 1577.
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Wintertide (?), n. Winter time. Tennyson.
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Winterweed (?), n. (Bot.) A kind of speedwell (Veronica hederifolia) which spreads chiefly in winter. Dr. Prior.
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Wintery (?), a. Wintry.
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Wintry (?), a. [AS. wintrig.] Suitable to winter; resembling winter, or what belongs to winter; brumal; hyemal; cold; stormy; wintery.
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Touch our chilled hearts with vernal smile,
Our wintry course do thou beguile. Keble.
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Winy (?), a. Having the taste or qualities of wine; vinous; as, grapes of a winy taste. Dampier.
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Winze (?), n. (Mining.) A small shaft sunk from one level to another, as for the purpose of ventilation.
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Wipe (?), n. [Cf. Sw. vipa, Dan. vibe, the lapwing.] (Zoöl.) The lapwing. [Prov. Eng.]
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Wipe, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wiped (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Wiping.] [OE. vipen, AS. wīpian; cf. LG. wiep a wisp of straw, Sw. vepa to wrap up, to cuddle one's self up, vepa a blanket; perhaps akin to E. whip.]
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1. To rub with something soft for cleaning; to clean or dry by rubbing; as, to wipe the hands or face with a towel.
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Let me wipe thy face. Shak.
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I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down. 2 Kings xxi. 13.
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2. To remove by rubbing; to rub off; to obliterate; -- usually followed by away, off or out. Also used figuratively. “To wipe out our ingratitude.” Shak.
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Some natural tears they dropped, but wiped them soon. Milton.
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3. To cheat; to defraud; to trick; -- usually followed by out. [Obs.] Spenser.
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If they by coveyne [covin] or gile be wiped beside their goods. Robynson (More's Utopia)
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Coloq. To wipe a joint (Plumbing), to make a joint, as between pieces of lead pipe, by surrounding the junction with a mass of solder, applied in a plastic condition by means of a rag with which the solder is shaped by rubbing. -- Coloq. To wipe the nose of , to cheat. [Old Slang]
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Wipe, n. 1. Act of rubbing, esp. in order to clean.
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2. A blow; a stroke; a hit; a swipe. [Low]
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3. A gibe; a jeer; a severe sarcasm. Swift.
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4. A handkerchief. [Thieves' Cant or Slang]
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5. Stain; brand. [Obs.] “Slavish wipe.” Shak.
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Wiper (?), n. 1. One who, or that which, wipes.
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2. Something used for wiping, as a towel or rag.
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3. (Mach.) A piece generally projecting from a rotating or swinging piece, as an axle or rock shaft, for the purpose of raising stampers, lifting rods, or the like, and leaving them to fall by their own weight; a kind of cam.
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4. (Firearms) A rod, or an attachment for a rod, for holding a rag with which to wipe out the bore of the barrel.
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Wirble (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Wirbled (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Wirbling (?).] [Cf. , .] To whirl; to eddy. [R.]
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The waters went wirbling above and around. Owen. Meredith.
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Wirche (?), v. i. & t. To work [Obs.] Chaucer.
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Wire (wīr), n. [OE. wir, AS. wir; akin to Icel. vīrr, Dan. vire, LG. wir, wire; cf. OHG. wiara fine gold; perhaps akin to E. withy. √141.]
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1. A thread or slender rod of metal; a metallic substance formed to an even thread by being passed between grooved rollers, or drawn through holes in a plate of steel.
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☞ Wire is made of any desired form, as round, square, triangular, etc., by giving this shape to the hole in the drawplate, or between the rollers.
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2. A telegraph wire or cable; hence, an electric telegraph; as, to send a message by wire. [Colloq.]
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3. Chiefly in pl. The system of wires used to operate the puppets in a puppet show; hence (Chiefly Political Slang), the network of hidden influences controlling the action of a person or organization; as, to pull the wires for office; -- in this sense, synonymous with strings.
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4. One who picks women's pockets. [Thieves' Slang]
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5. A knitting needle. [Scot.]
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6. A wire stretching across over a race track at the judges' stand, to mark the line at which the races end. [Racing Cant]
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Coloq. Wire bed , Coloq. Wire mattress , an elastic bed bottom or mattress made of wires interwoven or looped together in various ways. -- Coloq. Wire bridge , a bridge suspended from wires, or cables made of wire. -- Coloq. Wire cartridge , a shot cartridge having the shot inclosed in a wire cage. -- Coloq. Wire cloth , a coarse cloth made of woven metallic wire, -- used for strainers, and for various other purposes. -- Coloq. Wire edge , the thin, wirelike thread of metal sometimes formed on the edge of a tool by the stone in sharpening it. -- Coloq. Wire fence , a fence consisting of posts with strained horizontal wires, wire netting, or other wirework, between. -- Coloq. Wire gauge or Coloq. Wire gage . (a) A gauge for measuring the diameter of wire, thickness of sheet metal, etc., often consisting of a metal plate with a series of notches of various widths in its edge. (b) A standard series of sizes arbitrarily indicated, as by numbers, to which the diameter of wire or the thickness of sheet metal in usually made, and which is used in describing the size or thickness. There are many different standards for wire gauges, as in different countries, or for different kinds of metal, the Birmingham wire gauges and the American wire gauge being often used and designated by the abbreviations B. W. G. and A. W. G. respectively. -- Coloq. Wire gauze , a texture of finely interwoven wire, resembling gauze. -- Coloq. Wire grass (Bot.), either of the two common grasses Eleusine Indica, valuable for hay and pasture, and Poa compressa, or blue grass. See . -- Coloq. Wire grub (Zoöl.), a wireworm. -- Coloq. Wire iron , wire rods of iron. -- Coloq. Wire lathing , wire cloth or wire netting applied in the place of wooden lathing for holding plastering. -- Coloq. Wire mattress . See Wire bed, above. -- Coloq. Wire micrometer , a micrometer having spider lines, or fine wires, across the field of the instrument. -- Coloq. Wire nail , a nail formed of a piece of wire which is headed and pointed. -- Coloq. Wire netting , a texture of woven wire coarser than ordinary wire gauze. -- Coloq. Wire rod , a metal rod from which wire is formed by drawing. -- Coloq. Wire rope , a rope formed wholly, or in great part, of wires. -- Coloq. down to the wire , up to the last moment, as in a race or competition; as, the two front runners were neck-and-neck down to the wire. From . -- Coloq. under the wire , just in time; shortly before the deadline; as, to file an application just under the wire.
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