WEDGE. s. [cegge, Danish; wegge, Dutch.]
1. A body which, having a sharp edge con-
tinually growing thicker, is used to cleave
timber.
Spenser. Arbuthnot.
2. A mass of metal.
Spenser.
3. Any thing in the form of a wedge. Mat.
To WEDGE. v. a. [from the noun.]
1. To cleave with a wedge. Shakespeare,
2. To drive as a wedge is driven. Shakespeare.
3. To force as a wedge forces. Milton.
4. To fasten by wedges.
A. Philips.
5. To fix as a wedge.
Bentley.
WE'DLOCK. s. [web and lac, Sax. marriage
and gift.] Marriage; matrimony. Clearel.
WEDNESDAY. s. [wodensdag, Sax.] The
fourth day of the week, so named by the
Gothi.k nations from Woden or Odin.
WEE. a. [weeing, Dutch.] Little; small.
WEE CHELM. s. A species of elm.
WEED. s. (weod, Saxon, tares.]

1. An herb noxious or useless.
2. [Wada, Saxon; waed, Dutch.]
ment; clothes; habit; dress.
To WEED. v. a. [from the noun.]
1. To rid of noxious plants.

Bacon.

Mortimer.

A gar
Hooker.

To WEET. v. n. preterite wot or wote. [wizan,
Sax. weten, Dut.] To know; to be informed.
Obsolete.
Spenser.
WE'ETLESS. a. [from weet.] Unknowing.
WE'EVIL. s. [wepel, Sax. revel, Dut.] A grub.
WEFT. The old preterite and participle pas-
sive from to wave.
Spenser.
WEFT. s. [guaive, French; vofa, to wander,
Islandick; vagus, Latin.] That of which the
claim is generally waved; any thing wan
dering without an owner
Ben Jonson.
WEFT. s. [werta, Sax.] The woof of cloth.
WEFTAGE. s. (from weft.] Texture. Grew.
To WEIGH. v. a. [wœgan, Sax. weyhen, Dut.]
1. To examine by the balance. Milton.
2. To be equivalent to in weight. Boyle.
3. To pay, allot, or take by weight. Zech.
4. To raise; to take up the anchor. Knolles.
5. To examine; to balance in the mind; to
consider.

6. To compare by the scales.

Clarendon.

Pope

7. To regard; to consider as worthy of no-
tice.

Shakespeare.

8. To WEIGH down. To overbalance. Dan.
9. To WEIGH down. To overburden; to op-
press with weight; to depress.

Mortimer.

Shak.

Howel.

To WEIGH. v. n.

2. To take away as noxions plants.
3. To free from any thing hurtful.
4. To root out vice.
WE'EDER. s. [from weed.] One that takes
away any thing noxious.
Shakespeare.
WE'EDHOOK. s. [weed and hook. A hook
by which weeds are extirpated. Tusscr.
WEEDLESS. a. [from weed. Free from
weeds; free from any thing useless or noxi-
Donne.

ous.

2. To be considered as important.
3. To raise the anchor.

Addison.

Brown.

Addison.

Dryden.

Shak.
Bacon.

4. To bear heavily; to press hard.
5. To sink by its own weight.
WEIGHED. a. [from weigh.] Experienced.
WEIGHER. s. [from weigh.] He who weighs.
WEIGHT. 8. [wiht, Saxon.]

1. Quantity measured by the balance.

Arbuthnot
2. A mass by which, as the standard, other
bodies are examined.

3. Ponderous mass.c

Swift.
Bucon.

6. Importance; power; influence; effica-
cy; consequence; moment.
WEIGHTILY. ad. [from weighty.]
1. Heavily; ponderously.
2. Solidly; importantly.
WEIGHTINESS. s. [from weighty.]
1. Ponderosity; gravity; heaviness.
2. Solidity; force.

Broome.

3. Importance.
WEIGHTLESS. a. [from weight.] Light;
having no gravity.

WEIGHTY. a. [from weight]

1. Heavy; ponderous.

Locke.
Hayward

Sundys.

Dryden.

1. One who sheds tears; a mourner. Dryd.
2. A white border on the sleeve of a mouru-

ing coat.

WE'ERISH. a. See WEARISH.

1. Insipid; weak; washy.

2. Sour; surly.

Ascham.

Locke.

2. To bid WELCOME. To receive with pro-
fessions of kindness.
Bucon.

WELCOME. interj. A form of salutation used
to a new comer, elliptically used for you are
welcome.
Dryden.

WETHER. s. [weden, Sax. weder, Dut.] A ram castrated. Graunt. WETNESS. s. [from wet.] The state of being wet; moisture; humidity. Mortimer. To WEX, for to wax Spenser. Dryden. WE'ZAND. s. See WEASAND. Brown. WHALE. s. [hwale, Sax.] The largest of fish; the largest of the animals that inhabit this globe. Genesis. Swift. WHA'LY. a. See WEAL. Markea in streaks; properly wealy. WHAME. s. Burrel-fly. WHARF. s. [warf, Swedish; werf, Dutch.] A perpendicular bank or mole, raised for the convenience of lading or emptying vessels; a quay, or key. Child. WHA'RFAGE. s. [from wharf.] Dues for landing at a wharf.

Spenser. Derham.

WHA'RFINGER. s. [from wharf.] One who attends a wharf.

To WHURR. v. n. To pronounce the letter r with too much force. WHAT. pronoun. [hwær, Sax. wat, Dutch.]

Locke.

1. That which; what he thinks he speaks. 2. Which part; in ore the metallist marks what is metal and what is earth. 3. Something that is in one's mind indefi. nitely, I'll tell thee what. Shakespeare. 4. Which of several; he is in doubt what purchase to make first. Arbuthnot.

5. An interjection by way of surprise or question; What! are you there? Dryden. 6. WHAT though? What imports it though? notwithstanding. Hooker.

7. WHAT time. What day. At the time when; on the day when. Pope.

e. Which of many; interrogatively; what colour do you like?

Spenser.

9. To how great a degree; what wise men were the counsellors.

Dryden.

10. It is used adverbially for partly in part; he is overcome what with hunger, what with weuriness. Norris. 11. WHAT ho! An interjection of calling. Dryden. pronouns. [from what and soeter. Whatso is not now in use.

WHATEVER. WHATSO'. WHATSOEVER.

art.

}

1. Having one nature or another; being one or another either generically, specifically, or numerically; I'll catch thee whatsoever thou Denham. 2. Any thing, be it what it will; whatsoever I lose, I win. Hooker. 3. The same, be it this or that; whatsoever it was, it is still. Pope. 4. All that; the whole that; all particulars that; whatsoever the moen beholds is perishable. Shakespeare.

WHEAL. s. See WEAL. A pustule; a small swelling filled with matter. Wiseman.

Peucham.

Arbuthnot.

WHEAT. s. [hweare, Saxon.] The grain of which bread is chiefly made. WHEATEN. a. Made of wheat. WHEATEAR. s. [ocuanthe, Latin.] A small bird, very delicate. Swift. WHEATPLUM. s. A sort of plum. Ainsw. To WHE'EDLE. v. a. To entice by soft words; to flatter; to persuade by kind words. Rowe."

To WHEEL. v a. To put into a rotatory motion; to make to whal round. Milton. WHEELBARROW. s. [wheel and barrow] A carriage driven forward on one wheel. Bacon. WHEELER. s. [from wheel] A maker of wheels. Camden. WHEELWRIGHT. s. [wheel and wright.] A maker of wheel carriages. Mortimer. WHEELY. a. [from wheel.] Circular; suitable to rotation. Philips. To WHEEZE. r. n. [hweoron, Saxon.] To breathe with noise. Floyer. WHELK. s. An inequality; a protuberance. Shakespeare,

To WHELM. v. a. [awhilfan, Saxon; wilma, Islandick.]

1. 1o cover with something not to be thrown off; to bury. Pope.

2. To throw upon something so as to cover or bury it. Millon. WHELP. s. (welp, Dutch.]

1. The young of a dog; a puppy. Brown. 2. The young of any beast of prey. Donne. 3. A son, in contempt. Shakespeare. 4. A young man, in contempt. Ben Jonson. To WHELP. v. n. To bring young; applied to beasts, generally beasts of prey. Milton. WHEN. ad. [whan, Gothick; hwænne, Sax.] 1. At the time that. Camden. 2. At what time? interrogatively. Addison. 3. Which time. Shakespeare.

4. After the time that. Gov. of the Tongue. 5. At what time.

6. At what particular time.

Daniel.

Milton.

7. WHEN as. At the time when; what time. Obsolete.

WHENCE. ad. [formed from where, same analogy with hence from here.] 1. From what place.

2. From what person.

3. From what cause.

4. From which premises.

6. For which cause.

6. From what source. 7. From which cause.

Milton.

by the

Milton.

Prior Fenton.

Dryden. Arbuthnot.

Locke. Blackmore.

8. From WHENCE. A vitious mode of speech. Milton. 9. Of WHENCE. Another barbarism. Dryd WHENCESOE'VER. ad. [whence and ever.} From what place soever; from what cause Locke

soever.

WHETHER. ad. [hwaben, Sax.] A particle expressing one part of a disjunctive ques tion in opposition to the other; answered by or. Tillotson. WHETHER. pronoun. Which of two. Bentley. WHETSTONE. [whet and stone] Stone on which any thing is whetted, or rubbed to make it sharp. Fairfax. WHETTER. s. [from whet.] One that whets or sharpens. More

WHEY. s [hpaz, Sax. wey, Dutch ] 1.The thin or serous part of milk, from which the oleose or grumous part is separated. 2. It is used of any thing white and thin. Shakespeare. WHE'YEY.a. [from wkey.] Partaking of WHEYISH. whey; resembling whey. Bacon. Philips. WHICH pronoun. [hpilc, Sax. welk, Dutch.] 1. The pronoun relative, relating to things. South.

2. It formerly was used for who, and related likewise to persons; as in the first words of the Lord's Praver. Shakespeare. WHICHSOEVER. pronoun. [which and soever.] Whether one or the other. Locke. WHIFF. s. [chwyth, Welsh.] A blast; a puff Shakespeare. To WHIFFLE. v. n. [from whiff.] To move inconstantly, as if driven by a puff of wind. L'Estrange. WHIFFLER. s. [from whiffle]

of wind.

1. A harbinger; probably one with a horn or trumpet

2. One of no consequence; one moved with a whiff or puff.

WHIG. s. [hpaz, Saxon.]

Shakespeare,

Spectator.

BROW DIMES Milton.

2. Of what indefinitely. 3. Of what? interrogatively. WHEREO'N. ad. [where and on.] 1. On which.

whigs.

Swift.

WHI'GGISM. s. [from whig.] The notions of a whig.

Swift.

WHILE. s. [weil, Germ. hpile, Saxon.] Time; Ben Jonson.

Milton.

space of time.

WHILE.

2. On what? as, whereon did he sit? WHE'RESO. ad. [where and soever.] WHERESOEVER. In what place soever. Whereso is obsolete. Spenser. Shakespeare. WHERETO'. 2ad. [where and to, or WHEREUNTO'. S unto.]

1. To which.

Hooker.

2. To what? to what end? TOWA WHEREUPO'N. ad. [where and upon.] Upon which. Clarendon Davies. WHEREWITH. ad. [where and with, or WHEREWITHA'L. 1. With which.

2. With what?

To WHE'RRET. v. a.

withal.]

Wycherley.

1. To hurry; to trouble; to tease. 2. To give a box on the ear. Ainsworth. WHERRY. s. [of uncertain derivation.] A light boat used in rivers. Drayton.

To WHET. v. a. [hperran, Sax. wetlen, Dut] 1. To sharpen by attrition. Boyle.

2. To edge; to make angry or acrimonious. WHET. s. [from the verb ]

1. The act of sharpening.

2. Any thing that makes hungry, as a dram.

WHILES. WHILST.

1. During the time that. 2. As long as.

3. At the same time that. To WHILE. v. n. [from the noun.] To loiter.

Spectator. WHILE'RE. ad. [while and ere, or before.] A little while ago Not in use. Raleigh. WHI'LOM. ad. hwilom, Saxon.] Formerly; once; of old. Not in use.

TAM Milton. WHIM. s. A freak; an odd fancy; a caprice; an irregular motion of desire. Swift. To WHIMPER. v. n. [wimmeren, German.] To cry without any lond noise. WHI'MPLED a.