VOWEL, vow'el, _n._ a sound or tone produced by the unimpeded passage of the breath, when modified by the glottis into _voice_, through the tube of the mouth, which is made to assume different shapes by altering the form and position of the tongue and the lips--the letters _a_, _e_, _i_, _o_, _u_ are called vowels, as being able to be sounded by themselves, with a continuous passage of the breath; but there are thirteen simple vowel sounds in English.--_adj._ vocal: pertaining to a vowel.--_vs.t._ VOW'EL, VOW'ELISE, to insert vowel signs in words written primarily with consonants only.--_ns._ VOW'ELISM, the use of vowels; VOW'ELIST, one given to vowelism.--_adjs._ VOW'ELLED, furnished with vowels; VOW'ELLESS, without vowels; VOW'ELLY, full of vowels.--VOWEL POINTS, marks inserted in consonantal word to indicate vowels. [Fr. _voyelle_--L. _vocalis_--_vox_, _vocis_, the voice.]
VOX, voks, _n._ voice: a voice or song part.--VOX ANGELICA, or CaeLESTIS, in organ-building, a stop producing a wavy effect; VOX HUMANA, in organ-building, a reed-stop producing tones resembling those of the human voice. [L.]
VOYAGE, voi'[=a]j, _n._ passage by water: (_Shak._) an enterprise.--_v.i._ to make a voyage, or to pass by water.--_v.t._ to traverse, pass over.--_adj._ VOY'AGE-ABLE, navigable.--_n._ VOY'AGER, one who voyages.--_n.pl._ VOYAGEURS (vwo-ya-zher'), name given in Canada to the men who in their bark canoes kept up communication between the stations, and effected transportation of men and supplies, in the North-west and Hudson's Bay territory. [Fr.,--L. _viaticum_, travelling-money--L. _via_, a way.]
VRAISEMBLANCE, vr[=a]-song-blongs', _n._ verisimilitude. [Fr., _vrai_, true, _semblance_, appearance.]
VUG, vug, _n._ a Cornish miner's name for a cavity in a rock.--_adj._ VUG'GY.
VULCAN, vul'kan, _n._ (_Roman myth._) the god of fire.--_n._ VULCAN[=A]'LIA, an ancient Roman, festival in honour of VULCAN, held on 23d August.--_adjs._ VULC[=A]'NIAN, pertaining to VULCAN, or to one who works in iron; VULCAN'IC (same as VOLCANIC).--_n._ VULCANIC'ITY, volcanicity.--_adj._ VULCAN[=I]'SABLE.--_n._ VULCANIS[=A]'-TION.--_v.t._ VUL'CANISE, to combine with sulphur by heat, as caoutchouc--_v.i._ to admit of such treatment.--_ns._ VUL'CANISM, volcanism; VUL'CANIST, a supporter of the Huttonian theory in geology which asserted the igneous origin of such rocks as basalt; VUL'CANITE, the harder of the two kinds of vulcanised india-rubber or caoutchouc, the softer kind being called _soft-rubber_. [L.
_Vulcanus_.]
VULGAR, vul'gar, _adj._ pertaining to or used by the common people, native: public: common; national, vernacular: mean or low: rude.--_n._ the common people: the common language of a country.--_ns._ VULG[=A]'RIAN, a vulgar person: a rich unrefined person; VULGARIS[=A]'TION, a making widely known: a making coarse or common.--_v.t._ VUL'GARISE, to make vulgar or rude.--_ns._ VUL'GARISM, a vulgar phrase: coarseness; VULGAR'ITY, VUL'GARNESS, quality of being vulgar: mean condition of life: rudeness of manners.--_adv._ VUL'GARLY.--_n._ VUL'GATE, an ancient Latin version of the Scriptures, so called from its common use in the R.C. Church, prepared by Jerome in the fourth century, and pronounced 'authentic' by the Council of Trent.--VULGAR FRACTION, a fraction written in the common way.--THE VULGAR, the common people. [L. _vulgaris_--_vulgus_, the people.]
VULNERABLE, vul'ne-ra-bl, _adj._ capable of being wounded: liable to injury.--_v.t._ VULN (_her._), to wound.--_adj._ VULNED (_her._).--_ns._ VULNERABIL'ITY, VUL'NERABLENESS.--_adj._ VUL'NERARY, pertaining to wounds: useful in healing wounds.--_n._ anything useful in curing wounds.--_adj._ VUL'NEROSE, with many wounds. [L. _vulnerabilis_--_vulner[=a]re_, to wound--_vulnus_, _vulneris_, a wound.]
VULPINE, vul'pin, _adj._ relating to or like the fox: cunning.--_adj._ VULPEC'[=U]LAR, vulpine.--_ns._ VUL'PICIDE, the killing of a fox: a fox-killer; VUL'PINISM, craftiness. [L.,--_vulpes_, a fox.]
VULSELLA, vul-sel'a, _n._ a forceps with toothed or clawed blades:--_pl._ VULSELL'ae (-[=e]). [L.]
VULTURE, vul't[=u]r, _n._ a large rapacious bird of prey, feeding largely on carrion: one who or that which resembles a vulture.--_adjs._ VUL'T[=U]RINE, VUL'T[=U]RISH, VUL'T[=U]ROUS, like the vulture: rapacious.--_ns._ VUL'TURISM, rapacity; VUL'TURN, the Australian brush-turkey. [O. Fr. _voutour_ (Fr. _vautour_)--L. _vultur_; perh. from _vell[)e]re_, to pluck, to tear.]
VULVA, vul'va, _n._ the orifice of the external organs of generation of the female.--_adjs._ VUL'VAR, VUL'VATE; VUL'VIFORM, oval.--_ns._ VULVIS'MUS, vaginismus; VULV[=I]'TIS, inflammation of the vulva.--_adjs._ VULVO-[=U]'TERINE, pertaining to the vulva and the uterus; VULVOVAG'INAL, pertaining to the vulva and the vagina.--_n._ VULVOVAGIN[=I]'TIS, inflammation of both the vulva and the vagina.
VUM, vum, _v.i._ (_U.S._) a corruption of _vow_, in phrase 'I vum.'
VYING, v[=i]'ing, _pr.p._ of _vie_.
W the twenty-third letter of our alphabet, like _ae_, a ligature rather than a letter, with a double value, as consonant and as vowel--when the sound is voiced we have _w_, as in 'we' or 'wen,' the corresponding unvoiced sound being _wh_, as in 'when,' 'what.' A final _w_ is vocalic, as in 'few.' The A.S. _hw_ has become _wh_; _cw_ has become _qu_ as in _queen_, from A.S.
_cwen_; while _w_ is occasionally intrusive, as in _whole_, from A.S.
_hal_.
WABBLE, WOBBLE, wob'l, _v.i._ to incline alternately to one side and the other: to rock, to vacillate.--_n._ a hobbling, unequal motion.--_ns._ WABB'LER, WOBB'LER, one who or that which wabbles: a boiled leg of mutton.--_adjs._ WABB'LY, WOBB'LY, shaky, given to wabbling.--_adj._ and _n._ WOBB'LING, vacillating. [Low Ger. _wabbeln_, to wabble; cog. with Eng.
_waver_.]
WABSTER, wab'st[.e]r, _n._ (_Scot._) a webster, weaver.
WACKE, wak'e, _n._ German miners' term for a soft, grayish kind of trap-rock.
WAD, wod, _n._ a mass of loose matter thrust close together for packing, &c., as hay, tow, &c.: a little mass of paper, tow, or the like to keep the charge in a gun.--_v.t._ to form into a mass: to pad, stuff out: to stuff a wad into:--_pr.p._ wad'ding; _pa.t._ and _pa.p._ wad'ded.--_n._ WAD'DING, a wad, or the materials for wads: a soft stuff, also sheets of carded cotton for stuffing garments, &c. [Skeat refers to Scand., Sw. _vadd_, wadding; cf. Ger. _watte_, wadding, _wat_, cloth (whence Fr. _ouate_); ult. allied to _weed_.]
WAD, wad, a Scotch form of _wed_, also of _would_.
WAD, WADD, wod, _n._ an earthy ore of manganese.
WADDLE, wod'l, _v.i._ to take short steps and move from side to side in walking.--_n._ a clumsy, rocking gait.--_n._ WADD'LER.--_adv._ WADD'LINGLY, with a waddling gait. [Perh. _wade_.]
WADDY, wad'i, _n._ a native Australian wooden war-club, a walking-stick--also WADD'IE.--_v.t._ to strike with a waddy.
WADE, w[=a]d, _v.i._ to walk through any substance that yields to the feet, as water: to pass with difficulty or labour.--_n._ (_coll._) a ford.--_n._ W[=A]'DER, one who wades: a bird that wades, e.g, the heron: (_pl._) high waterproof boots used by fishermen for wading. [A.S. _wadan_, to move; Ger.
_waten_.]
WADI, WADY, wod'i, _n._ the dry bed of a torrent: a river-valley. [Ar.
_wad[=i]_, a ravine (Sp. _guad-_, first syllable of many river-names).]
WADMAL, wod'mal, _n._ (_Scot._) a thick woollen cloth.--Also WAD'MOLL.
[Ice. _vadhmal_--_vadhr_, cloth, _mal_, a measure.]
WADSET, wod'set, _n._ a mortgage--also WAD'SETT.--_n._ WAD'SETTER, a mortgagee. [_Wad_=_wed_, _set_.]
WAE, w[=a], _n._ (_Spens._) woe.--_adj._ (_Scot._) sorrowful.--_adjs._ WAE'FUL, WAE'SOME, woeful, pitiful.--_n._ WAE'NESS, sadness.--_interj._ WAE'SUCKS, alas!
WAFER, w[=a]'f[.e]r, _n._ a thin round cake of unleavened bread, usually stamped with a cross, an Agnus Dei, the letters I.H.S., &c., used in the Eucharist in the R.C. Church: a thin leaf of coloured paste for sealing letters, &c.: a thin cake of paste used to facilitate the swallowing of powders.--_v.t._ to close with a wafer.--_n._ W[=A]'FER-CAKE.--_adj._ W[=A]'FERY, like a wafer. [O. Fr. _waufre_ (Fr. _gaufre_)--Old Dut.
_waefel_, a cake of wax; Ger. _wabe_, a honeycomb.]
WAFF, waf, _adj._ (_Scot._) weak, worthless, paltry.--_n._ a worthless person. [_Waif_.]
WAFF, waf, _n._ (_Scot._) a slight hasty motion: a quick light blow: a sudden ailment: a faint but disagreeable odour: a ghost.
WAFF, waf, _n._ an obsolete form of _wave_.
WAFF, waf, _v.i._ (_prov._) to bark.--Also WAUGH.
WAFFLE, wof'l, _n._ a kind of batter-cake, baked over the fire in an iron utensil of hinged halves called a WAFF'LE-[=I]'RON. [Dut. _wafel_, wafer.]
WAFFLE, wof'l, _v.i._ (_prov._) to wave. [_Waff_ (3).]
WAFT, waft, _v.t._ to bear through a fluid medium, as air or water: (_Shak._) to wave the hand, beckon, to turn.--_v.i._ to float.--_n._ a floating body: a signal made by moving something in the air, esp. an ensign, stopped together at the head and middle portions, slightly rolled up lengthwise, and hoisted at different positions at the after-part of a ship: a breath, puff, slight odour.--_ns._ WAF'T[=A]GE, act of wafting, transportation in air or water; WAF'TER, one who or that which wafts; WAF'T[=U]RE (_Shak._), act of wafting or of waving, waving motion, beckoning. [_Wave_.]
WAG, wag, _v.t._ and _v.i._ to move from side to side: to shake to and fro: (_coll._) to depart: (_Shak._) to move on, make progress:--_pr.p._ wag'ging; _pa.t._ and _pa.p._ wagged.--_n._ a shaking, moving to and fro.
[Referred by Skeat to Old Sw. _wagga_, to wag (Ice. _vagga_, a cradle); allied to A.S. _wagian_, to wag, Old High Ger. _wag[=o]n_, to shake, A.S.
_wegan_, to carry, move.]
WAG, wag, _n._ a droll, mischievous fellow: a man full of sport and humour: a wit: a fellow generally.--_n._ WAG'GERY, mischievous merriment.--_adjs._ WAG'GISH--(_rare_) WAG'SOME.--_adv._ WAG'GISHLY.--_ns._ WAG'GISHNESS; WAG'-WIT, a would-be wit. [Prob. _waghalter_, one who deserves hanging.]
WAGE, w[=a]j, _v.t._ to pledge: to engage in as if by pledge: to carry on, esp. of war: to venture: (_prov._) to hire for pay: (_Shak._) to pay wages to: (_Spens._) to let out for pay.--_v.i._ (_Shak._) to be equal in value, to contend, battle (_with_).--_n._ a gage or stake: that for which one labours: wages.--_ns._ WAGE'-EARN'ER, one receiving pay for work done; WAGE'-FUND, W[=A]'GES-FUND THEORY, the theory that there is at any given time in a country a determinate amount of capital available for the payment of labour, therefore the average wage depends on the proportion of this fund to the number of persons who have to share in it; W[=A]'GER, that which is waged or pledged: something staked on the issue of anything: a bet: that on which bets are laid: (_law_) an offer to make oath.--_v.t._ to hazard on the issue of anything.--_v.i._ to lay a wager.--_n._ W[=A]'GERER.--_n.pl._ W[=A]'GES (used as _sing._), wage: that which is paid for services.--_n._ WAGE'-WORK, work done for wages.--WAGER OF BATTLE, trial by combat, an ancient usage which permitted the accused and accuser, in defect of sufficient direct evidence, to challenge each other to mortal combat, for issue of the dispute.--LIVING WAGE (see LIVING). [O. Fr.
_wager_ (Fr. _gager_), to pledge.]
WAGGLE, wag'l, _v.i._ and _v.t._ to wag or move from side to side. [Freq.
of _wag_ (1).]
WAGMOIRE, wag'moir, _n._ (_Spens._) a quagmire.
WAGNERIAN, vag-n[=e]'ri-an, _adj._ pertaining to or characterised by the ideas or style of Richard _Wagner_ (1813-83), a famous German composer of music-dramas: pertaining to Rudolf _Wagner_ (1805-64), a famous physiologist.--_ns._ WAG'NERISM, WAGNE'RIANISM, the art theory of Richard Wagner, its main object being the freeing of opera from traditional and conventional forms, and its one canon, dramatic fitness; WAG'NERIST, an adherent of Wagner's musical methods.
WAGON, WAGGON, wag'un, _n._ a four-wheeled vehicle for carrying heavy goods: (_Shak._) a chariot.--_v.t._ to transport by wagon.--_ns._ WAG'ONAGE, money, paid for conveyance by wagon; WAG'ON-BOX, -BED, the carrying part of a wagon; WAG'ONER, WAG'GONER, one who conducts a wagon: (_Shak._) a charioteer: (_Spens._) the constellation Auriga; WAGONETTE', a kind of open carriage built to carry six or eight persons, with one or two seats crosswise in front, and two back seats arranged lengthwise and facing inwards; WAG'ONFUL, as much as a wagon will hold; WAG'ON-LOAD, the load carried by a wagon: a great amount; WAG'ON-LOCK, a kind of iron shoe which is placed on the rear-wheel of a wagon to retard motion in going downhill; WAG'ON-TRAIN, the machines used by an army for the conveyance of ammunition, provisions, sick, &c.; WAG'ON-WRIGHT, a maker of wagons. [Dut.