Woe - Wonderly

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Woe (?), n. [OE. wo, wa, woo, AS. wā, interj.; akin to D. wee, OS. & OHG. wē, G. weh, Icel. vei, Dan. vee, Sw. ve, Goth. wai; cf. L. vae, Gr. �. √128. Cf. .] [Formerly written also wo.]
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1. Grief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity.
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Thus saying, from her side the fatal key,
Sad instrument of all our woe, she took. Milton.
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[They] weep each other's woe. Pope.
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2. A curse; a malediction.
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Can there be a woe or curse in all the stores of vengeance equal to the malignity of such a practice? South.
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☞ Woe is used in denunciation, and in exclamations of sorrow. “ Woe is me! for I am undone.” Isa. vi. 5.
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O! woe were us alive [i.e., in life]. Chaucer.
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Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Isa. xlv. 9.
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Coloq. Woe worth , Woe be to. See , v. i.
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Woe worth the chase, woe worth the day,
That costs thy life, my gallant gray! Sir W. Scott.
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Woe, a. Woeful; sorrowful. [Obs.]
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His clerk was woe to do that deed. Robert of Brunne.
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Woe was this knight and sorrowfully he sighed. Chaucer.
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And looking up he waxed wondrous woe. Spenser.
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Woe-begone (?), a. [OE. wo begon. See , and , p. p.] Beset or overwhelmed with woe; immersed in grief or sorrow; woeful. Chaucer.
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So woe-begone was he with pains of love. Fairfax.
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{ Woeful, Woful } (?), a. 1. Full of woe; sorrowful; distressed with grief or calamity; afflicted; wretched; unhappy; sad.
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How many woeful widows left to bow
To sad disgrace! Daniel.
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2. Bringing calamity, distress, or affliction; as, a woeful event; woeful want.
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O woeful day! O day of woe! Philips.
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3. Wretched; paltry; miserable; poor.
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What woeful stuff this madrigal would be! Pope.
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{ Woefully, Wofully, } adv. In a woeful manner; sorrowfully; mournfully; miserably; dolefully.
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{ Woefulness, Wofulness, } n. The quality or state of being woeful; misery; wretchedness.
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Woesome (?), a. Woeful. [Obs.] Langhorne.
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Woke (?), imp. & p. p. .
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Wol (?), v. t. & i. See 2d . [Obs.] Chaucer.
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Wold (?), n. [OE. wold, wald, AS. weald, wald, a wood, forest; akin to OFries. & OS. wald, D. woud, G. wald, Icel. völlr, a field, and probably to Gr. � a grove, Skr. vā�a a garden, inclosure. Cf. .]
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1. A wood; a forest.
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2. A plain, or low hill; a country without wood, whether hilly or not.
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And from his further bank Ætolia's wolds espied. Byron.
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The wind that beats the mountain, blows
More softly round the open wold. Tennyson.
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Wold, n. See .
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Wolde (?), obs. imp. of . See .
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Wolf (?), n.; pl. Wolves (#). [OE. wolf, wulf, AS. wulf; akin to OS. wulf, D. & G. wolf, Icel. ūlfr, Sw. ulf, Dan. ulv, Goth. wulfs, Lith. vilkas, Russ. volk', L. lupus, Gr. lykos, Skr. vṛka; also to Gr. elkein to draw, drag, tear in pieces. √286. Cf. , a., .]
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1. (Zoöl.) Any one of several species of wild and savage carnivores belonging to the genus Canis and closely allied to the common dog. The best-known and most destructive species are the European wolf (Canis lupus), the American gray, or timber, wolf (Canis occidentalis), and the prairie wolf, or coyote. Wolves often hunt in packs, and may thus attack large animals and even man.
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2. (Zoöl.) One of the destructive, and usually hairy, larvæ of several species of beetles and grain moths; as, the bee wolf.
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3. Fig.: Any very ravenous, rapacious, or destructive person or thing; especially, want; starvation; as, they toiled hard to keep the wolf from the door.
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4. A white worm, or maggot, which infests granaries.
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5. An eating ulcer or sore. Cf. . [Obs.]
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If God should send a cancer upon thy face, or a wolf into thy side. Jer. Taylor.
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6. (Mus.) (a) The harsh, howling sound of some of the chords on an organ or piano tuned by unequal temperament. (b) In bowed instruments, a harshness due to defective vibration in certain notes of the scale.
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7. (Textile Manuf.) A willying machine. Knight.
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Coloq. Black wolf . (Zoöl.) (a) A black variety of the European wolf which is common in the Pyrenees. (b) A black variety of the American gray wolf. -- Coloq. Golden wolf (Zoöl.), the Thibetan wolf (Canis laniger); -- called also chanco. -- Coloq. Indian wolf (Zoöl.), an Asiatic wolf (Canis pallipes) which somewhat resembles a jackal. Called also landgak. -- Coloq. Prairie wolf (Zoöl.), the coyote. -- Coloq. Sea wolf . (Zoöl.) See in the Vocabulary. -- Coloq. Strand wolf (Zoöl.) the striped hyena. -- Coloq. Tasmanian wolf (Zoöl.), the zebra wolf. -- Coloq. Tiger wolf (Zoöl.), the spotted hyena. -- Coloq. To keep the wolf from the door , to keep away poverty; to prevent starvation. See , 3, above. Tennyson. -- Coloq. Wolf dog . (Zoöl.) (a) The mastiff, or shepherd dog, of the Pyrenees, supposed by some authors to be one of the ancestors of the St. Bernard dog. (b) The Irish greyhound, supposed to have been used formerly by the Danes for chasing wolves. (c) A dog bred between a dog and a wolf, as the Eskimo dog. -- Coloq. Wolf eel (Zoöl.), a wolf fish. -- Coloq. Wolf fish (Zoöl.), any one of several species of large, voracious marine fishes of the genus Anarrhichas, especially the common species (Anarrhichas lupus) of Europe and North America. These fishes have large teeth and powerful jaws. Called also catfish, sea cat, sea wolf, stone biter, and swinefish. -- Coloq. Wolf net , a kind of net used in fishing, which takes great numbers of fish. -- Coloq. Wolf's peach (Bot.), the tomato, or love apple (Lycopersicum esculentum). -- Coloq. Wolf spider (Zoöl.), any one of numerous species of running ground spiders belonging to the genus Lycosa, or family Lycosidæ. These spiders run about rapidly in search of their prey. Most of them are plain brown or blackish in color. See Illust. in App. -- Coloq. Zebra wolf (Zoöl.), a savage carnivorous marsupial (Thylacinus cynocephalus) native of Tasmania; -- called also Tasmanian wolf.
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Wolfberry (?), n. (Bot.) An American shrub (Symphoricarpus occidentalis) which bears soft white berries.
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Wolffian (?), a. (Anat.) Discovered, or first described, by Caspar Friedrich Wolff (1733-1794), the founder of modern embryology.
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Coloq. Wolffian body , the mesonephros. -- Coloq. Wolffian duct , the duct from the Wolffian body.
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Wolfhound (?), n. (Zoöl.) Originally, a large hound used in hunting wolves; now, any one of certain breeds of large dogs, some of which are nearly identical with the great Danes.
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Wolfish (?), a. Like a wolf; having the qualities or form of a wolf; as, a wolfish visage; wolfish designs.
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-- Wolfishly, adv. -- Wolfishness, n.
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Wolfkin (?), n. A little or young wolf. Tennyson.
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Wolfling (?), n. A young wolf. Carlyle.
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Wolfram (?), n. [G.] 1. (Min.) Same as .
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2. same as .
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Wolfram steel. Same as Tungsten steel.
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Wolframate (?), n. (Chem.) A salt of wolframic acid; a tungstate.
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Wolframic (?), a. (Chem.) Of or pertaining to wolframium. See .
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Wolframite (?), n. [G., wolframit, wolfram; wolf wolf + rahm cream, soot; cf. G. wolfsruss wolfram, lit., wolf's soot.] (Min.) Tungstate of iron and manganese, generally of a brownish or grayish black color, submetallic luster, and high specific gravity. It occurs in cleavable masses, and also crystallized. Called also wolfram.
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Wolframium (?), n. [NL. See .] (Chem.) The technical name of the element tungsten. See .
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Wolfsbane (?), n. (Bot.) A poisonous plant (Aconitum Lycoctonum), a kind of monkshood; also, by extension, any plant or species of the genus Aconitum. See .
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Wolf's-claw (?), n. (Bot.) A kind of club moss. See .
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Wolf's-foot (?), n. (Bot.) Club moss. See .
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Wolf's-milk (?), n. (Bot.) Any kind of spurge (Euphorbia); -- so called from its acrid milky juice.
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Woll (?), v. t. & i. See 2d . [Obs.]
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Wollastonite (?), n. [After Dr. W. H. Wollaston, an English chemist, who died in 1828.] (Min.) A silicate of lime of a white to gray, red, or yellow color, occurring generally in cleavable masses, rarely in tabular crystals; tabular spar.
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Wollaston's doublet (?). [After W. H. Wollaston, English physicist.] (Optics) A magnifying glass consisting of two plano-convex lenses. It is designed to correct spherical aberration and chromatic dispersion. Under wollastonite the eponymous inventor is described as a chemist.
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Wolle (?), n. Wool. [Obs.] Chaucer.
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{ Wolverene, Wolverine } (?), n. [From , with a dim suffix; prob. so called from its supposed wolfish qualities.] 1. (Zoöl.) A carnivorous mammal (Gulo gulo formerly Gulo luscus), of the weasel family Mustelidæ, about the size of a large badger; called also glutton and carcajou. It is a native of the northern parts of America, Europe, and Asia.
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2. A nickname for an inhabitant of Michigan. [U. S.]
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Wolverine State. Michigan; -- a nickname.
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Wolves (?), n., pl. of .
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Wolvish (?), a. Wolfish. Shak.
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Woman (?), n.; pl. Women (#). [OE. woman, womman, wumman, wimman, wifmon, AS. wīfmann, wīmmann; wīf woman, wife + mann a man. See , and .]
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1. An adult female person; a grown-up female person, as distinguished from a man or a child; sometimes, any female person.
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Women are soft, mild pitiful, and flexible. Shak.
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And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman. Gen. ii. 22.
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I have observed among all nations that the women ornament themselves more than the men; that, wherever found, they are the same kind, civil, obliging, humane, tender beings, inclined to be gay and cheerful, timorous and modest. J. Ledyard.
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2. The female part of the human race; womankind.
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Man is destined to be a prey to woman. Thackeray.
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3. A female attendant or servant. “ By her woman I sent your message.” Shak.
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Coloq. Woman hater , one who hates women; one who has an aversion to the female sex; a misogynist. Swift.
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Woman, v. t. 1. To act the part of a woman in; -- with indefinite it. Daniel.
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2. To make effeminate or womanish. [R.] Shak.
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3. To furnish with, or unite to, a woman. [R.] “To have him see me woman'd.” Shak.
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{Womanhead (?), Womanhede (?)}, n. Womanhood. [Obs.] Chaucer.
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Womanhood (?), n. 1. The state of being a woman; the distinguishing character or qualities of a woman, or of womankind.
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Unspotted faith, and comely womanhood. Spenser.
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Perhaps the smile and the tender tone
Came out of her pitying womanhood. Tennyson.
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2. Women, collectively; womankind.
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womanise (?), v. i. Same as . [Chiefly Brit.]
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Womanish (?), a. Suitable to a woman, having the qualities of a woman; effeminate; not becoming a man; -- usually in a reproachful sense. See the Note under . “ Thy tears are womanish.” Shak. “ Womanish entreaties.” Macaulay.
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A voice not soft, weak, piping, and womanish, but audible, strong, and manlike. Ascham.
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-- Womanishly, adv. -- Womanishness, n.
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Womanize (?), v. t. To make like a woman; to make effeminate. [Obs.] V. Knox.
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womanize (?), v. i. To seek the company of women with unusual frequency, especially for purposes of sexual intimacy.
Syn. -- womanise.
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womanizer (?), n. One who womanizes; a philanderer.
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Womankind (?), n. The females of the human race; women, collectively.
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A sanctuary into which womankind, with her tools of magic, the broom and mop, has very infrequent access. Hawthorne.
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Womanless, a. Without a woman or women.
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Womanlike (?), a. Like a woman; womanly.
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Womanlike, taking revenge too deep. Tennyson.
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Womanliness (?), n. The quality or state of being womanly.
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There is nothing wherein their womanliness is more honestly garnished than with silence. Udall.
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Womanly, a. Becoming a woman; feminine; as, womanly behavior. Arbuthnot.
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A blushing, womanly discovering grace. Donne.
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Womanly, adv. In the manner of a woman; with the grace, tenderness, or affection of a woman. Gascoigne.
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Woman's Christian Temperance Union. An association of women formed in the United States in 1874, for the advancement of temperance by organizing preventive, educational, evangelistic, social, and legal work. It is also known as the Women's Christian Temperance Union and by its acronym WCTU or W.C.T.U.. It was one of the political forces leading to passage of the constitutional amendment, later repealed, which prohibited the sale of alcoholic beverages.
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Womb (w�m), n. [OE. wombe, wambe, AS. wamb, womb; akin to D. wam belly, OS. & OHG. wamba, G. wamme, wampe, Icel. vömb, Sw. våmb, Dan. vom, Goth. wamba.] 1. The belly; the abdomen. [Obs.] Chaucer.
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And he coveted to fill his woman of the cods that the hogs eat, and no man gave him. Wyclif (Luke xv. 16).
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An I had but a belly of any indifferency, I were simply the most active fellow in Europe. My womb, my womb, my womb undoes me. Shak.
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2. (Anat.) The uterus. See .
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3. The place where anything is generated or produced.
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The womb of earth the genial seed receives. Dryden.
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4. Any cavity containing and enveloping anything.
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The center spike of gold
Which burns deep in the bluebell's womb. R. Browning.
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Womb, v. t. To inclose in a womb, or as in a womb; to breed or hold in secret. [Obs.] Shak.
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Wombat (?), n. [From the native name, womback, wombach, in Australia.] (Zoöl.) Any one of three species of Australian burrowing marsupials of the genus Phascolomys, especially the common species (Phascolomys ursinus). They are nocturnal in their habits, and feed mostly on roots.
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Womby (?), a. Capacious. [Obs.] Shak.
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Women (?), n., pl. of .
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Won (?), imp. & p. p. of .
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Won, v. i. [See 1st .] To dwell or abide. [Obs. or Scot.] “ Where he wans in forest wild.” Milton.
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This land where I have woned thus long. Spenser.
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Won, n. Dwelling; wone. [Obs.] Spenser.
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Wonder (?), n. [OE. wonder, wunder, AS. wundor; akin to D. wonder, OS. wundar, OHG. wuntar, G. wunder, Icel. undr, Sw. & Dan. under, and perhaps to Gr. � to gaze at.]
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1. That emotion which is excited by novelty, or the presentation to the sight or mind of something new, unusual, strange, great, extraordinary, or not well understood; surprise; astonishment; admiration; amazement.
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They were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him. Acts iii. 10.
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Wonder is the effect of novelty upon ignorance. Johnson.
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☞ Wonder expresses less than astonishment, and much less than amazement. It differs from admiration, as now used, in not being necessarily accompanied with love, esteem, or approbation.
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2. A cause of wonder; that which excites surprise; a strange thing; a prodigy; a miracle. “ Babylon, the wonder of all tongues.” Milton.
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To try things oft, and never to give over, doth wonders. Bacon.
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I am as a wonder unto many. Ps. lxxi. 7.
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Coloq. Seven wonders of the world . See in the Dictionary of Noted Names in Fiction.
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Wonder, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Wondered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Wondering.] [AS. wundrian.]
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1. To be affected with surprise or admiration; to be struck with astonishment; to be amazed; to marvel.
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I could not sufficiently wonder at the intrepidity of these diminutive mortals. Swift.
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We cease to wonder at what we understand. Johnson.
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2. To feel doubt and curiosity; to wait with uncertain expectation; to query in the mind; as, he wondered why they came.
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I wonder, in my soul,
What you would ask me, that I should deny. Shak.
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Wonder, a. Wonderful. [Obs.] Gower.
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After that he said a wonder thing. Chaucer.
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Wonder, adv. Wonderfully. [Obs.] Chaucer.
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Wondered (?), a. Having performed wonders; able to perform wonderful things. [Obs.] Shak.
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Wonderer (?), n. One who wonders.
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Wonderful (?), a. Adapted to excite wonder or admiration; surprising; strange; astonishing.
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Syn. -- Marvelous; amazing. See .
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-- Wonderfully, adv. -- Wonderfulness, n.
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Wonderingly, adv. In a wondering manner.
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Wonderland (?), n. A land full of wonders, or marvels. M. Arnold.
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Wonderly, adv. [AS. wundorlice.] Wonderfully; wondrously. [Obs.] Chaucer.
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