WIRE, w[=i]r, _n._ a thread of metal: the metal thread used in telegraphy, &c.: the string of an instrument: the slender shaft of the plumage of certain birds: a telegram: (_slang_) a clever pickpocket: (_Shak._) the lash, scourge.--_adj._ formed of wire.--_v.t._ to bind, snare, or supply with wire: to keep the ends of a broken bone together with wire: to send by telegraph.--_v.i._ to telegraph.--_n._ WIRE'-BRIDGE, a suspension-bridge.--_adj._ WIRED, having wiry feathers.--_n._ WIRE'-DAN'CER, a performer on a tight wire.--_v.t._ WIRE'-DRAW, to draw into wire: to draw or spin out to a great length: to strain or stretch the meaning of anything.--_ns._ WIRE'DRAWER; WIRE'DRAWING.--_adj._ WIRE'DRAWN, spun out into needless fine distinctions.--_ns._ WIRE'-GAUZE, a kind of stiff close fabric made of fine wire; WIRE'-GRASS, a kind of fine meadow-grass; WIRE'-GUARD, wire-netting placed in front of a fire; WIRE'-HEEL, a defect or disease of the foot; WIRE'-MAN, one who puts up or takes care of wires; WIRE'-NET'TING, WIRE'WORK, a texture of wire woven in the form of a net; WIRE'-PULL'ER, one who exercises an influence felt but not seen, as if the actors were his puppets and he pulled the wires that move them: an intriguer; WIRE'-PULL'ING; W[=I]'RER, a snarer; WIRE'-ROPE, a rope of twisted iron or steel.--_adj._ WIRE'-SEWED, -STITCHED, sewed with wire instead of thread.--_ns._ WIRE'WAY, transportation by means of wires; WIRE'WORK, articles made of wire; WIRE'WORKER; WIRE'WORKING; WIRE'-WORM, a name given to the larvae of click-beetles, from their slenderness and uncommon hardness, very injurious to root, grain, and fodder crops.--_adj._ WIRE'WOVE, denoting a fine glazed quality of writing-paper.--_adv._ W[=I]'RILY.--_n._ W[=I]'RINESS, the state of being wiry.--_adj._ W[=I]'RY, made of, or like, wire: flexible and strong.--WIRE AWAY, or IN, to act with vigour.--PULL THE WIRES (see WIRE-PULLER above). [A.S. _wir_; Ice. _virr_; perh. conn. with L. _viriae_, bracelets.]
WIS, wis, v. (in the form _I wis_) erroneously used as 'I know.' [I wis is the M. E. adv. _i-wis_--A.S. _ge-wis_, certainly; cf. Ger. _ge-wiss_.]
WISARD, wiz'ard, _n._ Same as WIZARD.
WISDOM, wiz'dum, _n._ quality of being wise: judgment: right use of knowledge: learning: (_B._) skilfulness, speculation, spiritual perception: the apocryphal Book of the Wisdom of Solomon (see APOCRYPHA).--_n._ WIS'DOM-TOOTH, a large double back-tooth, so called because it appears late, when people are supposed to have arrived at the age of wisdom. [A.S.
_wisdom_, wisdom. Cf. _Wise_.]
WISE, w[=i]z, _adj._ having wit or knowledge: able to make use of knowledge well: judging rightly: discreet: learned: skilful: dictated by wisdom: containing wisdom: pious, godly.--_adjs._ WISE'-HEART'ED, having wisdom: prudent; WISE'-LIKE (_Scot._), sensible, judicious: looking as if capable of playing one's part well.--_n._ WISE'LING, one who pretends to be wise.--_adv._ WISE'LY.--_n._ WISE'NESS.--WISE WOMAN, a witch: (_Scot._) a midwife.--NEVER THE WISER, still in ignorance. [A.S. _wis_; Ger. _weise_; from root of _wit_.]
WISE, w[=i]z, _v.t._ (_Scot._) to guide in a certain direction, to incline.
WISE, w[=i]z, _n._ way, manner.--IN ANY WISE, IN NO WISE, in any way, in no way; ON THIS WISE, in this way. [A.S. _wise_, orig. wiseness; Ger. _weise_; akin to _wise_ (1) and _wit_. Doublet _guise_.]
WISEACRE, w[=i]'z[=a]-k[.e]r, _n._ one who pretends to wisdom without grounds, a simpleton quite unconscious of being such. [Perh. through the medium of Dutch from Ger. _weissager_, a soothsayer, _weissagen_, to foretell--Old High Ger. _w[=i]zago_, a prophet.]
WISH, wish, _v.i._ to have a desire: to long (so in B.): to be inclined.--_v.t._ to desire or long for: to ask: to invoke: (_Shak._) to recommend.--_n._ desire, longing: thing desired: expression of desire.--_n._ WISH'ER.--_adj._ WISH'FUL, having a wish or desire: eager.--_adv._ WISH'FULLY.--_ns._ WISH'FULNESS; WISH'ING-BONE, WISH'-BONE, the furcula or merrythought of a fowl; WISH'ING-CAP, a cap by wearing which one obtains everything he wishes. [A.S. _wscan_--_wusc_, a wish; Ger.
_wunschen_, Sw. _onska_.]
WISHTONWISH, wish'ton-wish, _n._ the North American prairie-dog. [Amer.
Ind.]
WISH-WASH, wish'-wosh, _n._ (_coll._) anything wishy-washy.--_adj._ WISH'Y-WASH'Y, thin and weak, diluted, feeble. [Formed from _wash_.]
WISKET, wis'ket, _n._ (_prov._) a basket.
WISP, wisp, _n._ a small bundle of straw or hay: a small broom: will-o'-the-wisp: a disease affecting the feet of cattle.--_v.t._ to rub down with a wisp.--_adj._ WIS'PY, like a wisp. [M. E. _wisp_, _wips_, conn.
with _wipe_; cf. Low Ger. _wiep_, Norw. _vippa_, a wisp.]
WIST, wist, _v.pa.t._ (_B._) knew. [A.S. _wiste_, _pa.t._ of _witan_, 3d pers. sing. pr.t. _wat_, to know. Cf. _Wit_.]
WISTARIA, wis-t[=a]'ri-a, _n._ a genus of leguminous plants, some of the species amongst the most magnificent ornamental climbers known in English gardens, named from the American anatomist, Caspar _Wistar_ (1761-1818).
WISTFUL, wist'f[=oo]l, _adj._ hushed: full of thought: thoughtful: earnest: eager, wishful, longing.--_adv._ WIST'FULLY.--_n._ WIST'FULNESS.--_adv._ WIST'LY (_Shak._), silently, earnestly. [Most prob. for _whistful_, _whistly_--i.e. silently; and not conn. with _wish_. Skeat, however, makes it a substitution for _wishful_, confused with _wisly_=certainly--Ice.
_viss_, certain (distinct from, yet allied to, _viss_, wise).]
WISTITI=_Ouistiti_ (q.v.)--WIS'TIT (_obs._).
WIT, wit, _v.i._ to know:--_pr.t._ 1st pers. sing. WOT; 2d, WOST (erroneously WOT'TEST); 3d, WOT (erroneously WOT'TETH):--_pl._ 1st, 2d, 3d, WOT; _pa.t._ WIST (erroneously WOT'TED); _pr.p._ WIT'TING, WEET'ING (erroneously WOT'TING); _pa.p._ WIST.--TO DO TO WIT, to cause to know; TO WIT, that is to say--the A.S. gerund _to witanne_. [A.S. _witan_, to know (pr.t. ic _wat_, u _wast_, he _wat_, pl. _witon_; pa.t. _wiste_--also _wisse_, pl. _wiston_, pa.p. _wist_); Goth. _witan_, Ger. _wissen_; cf. L.
_vid[=e]re_, Gr. _idein_.]
WIT, wit, _n._ understanding: a mental faculty (chiefly in _pl._): the power of combining ideas with a ludicrous effect, the result of this power: ingenuity: (_rare_) imagination: (_obs._) information.--_adj._ WIT'LESS, wanting wit or understanding: thoughtless.--_adv._ WIT'LESSLY.--_ns._ WIT'LESSNESS; WIT'LING, one who has little wit: a pretender to wit; WIT'-MONG'ER, a poor would-be wit; WIT'-SNAP'PER (_Shak._), one who affects wit or repartee.--_adj._ WIT'TED, having wit or understanding.--_n._ WITTICISM (wit'i-sizm), a witty remark: a sentence or phrase affectedly witty.--_adv._ WIT'TILY.--_n._ WIT'TINESS.--_adv._ WIT'TINGLY, knowingly: by design.--_adj._ WIT'TY, possessed of wit: amusing: droll: sarcastic: (_B._) ingenious: (_Shak._) wise, discreet.--_v.i._ WIT'WANTON, to indulge in irreverent wit.--AT ONE'S WITS' END, utterly perplexed; LIVE BY ONE'S WITS, to live in a haphazard manner by any shift; THE FIVE WITS, the five senses. [A.S. _wit_, from the verb above.]
WIT, wit, _n._ a person of understanding or judgment, esp. a person who has a keen perception of the ludicrous and can express it neatly. [Perh. a use of the preceding word; others trace through A.S. _wita_, _gewita_, a counsellor--_witan_, to know.]
WITAN, wit'an, _n.pl._ members of the _Witenagemot_. [Pl. of A.S. _wita_, a man of knowledge. See preceding words.]
WITCH, wich, _n._ a woman regarded as having supernatural or magical power and knowledge through compact with the devil or some minor evil spirit: a hag, crone: (_coll._) a fascinating young girl: (_Shak._) a wizard.--_v.t._ to bewitch, to effect by means of witchcraft.--_ns._ WITCH'CRAFT, the craft or practice of witches: the black art, sorcery: supernatural power; WITCH'-DOC'TOR, a medicine-man; WITCH'ERY, witchcraft: fascination; WITCH'ES'-BROOM, a popular name for the broom-like tufts of branches developed on the silver-fir, birch, cherry, &c. by means of an uredineous fungus; WITCH'ES'-BUT'TER, a dark-brown fungus (see NOSTOC); WITCH'ES'-THIM'BLE, the sea-campion; WITCH'-FIND'ER, one whose business was to detect witches.--_adj._ WITCH'ING, weird: fascinating.--_adv._ WITCH'INGLY.--_ns._ WITCH'-KNOT, a knot, esp. in the hair, tied by means of witchcraft; WITCH'-MEAL, the inflammable pollen of the club-moss.--_adj._ WITCH'-RIDD'EN, ridden by witches.--_n._ WITCH'-WIFE, a woman who practises witchcraft. [M. E. _wicche_ (both masc. and fem.)--A.S. _wicca_ (masc.), wicce (fem.), wizard, witch; prob. reduced from _witega_, _witiga_, _witga_, a seer (Old High Ger. _w[=i]zago_)--a supposed adj. _witig_, seeing--_witan_, to see, allied to _witan_, to know. For the change, cf.
_Orchard_--A.S. _ortgeard_. Cf. _Wit_ and _Wicked_.]
WITCH, WITCH-ELM, wich, wich'-elm, _n._ the common wild elm--also WITCH'-H[=A]'ZEL.--_n._ WITCH'EN, the mountain-ash or rowan. [A.S. _wice_, the service-tree--_wican_, to bend.]
WIT-CRACKER, wit'-krak'[.e]r, _n._ (_Shak._) a joker, jester.
WITE, w[=i]t, _v.t._ (_Spens._) to blame, to reproach.--_n._ (_Spens._) blame, reproach.--_adj._ WITE'LESS (_Spens._), blameless. [A.S. _witan_, to punish, fine (Ice. _vita_); ult. conn. with _witan_, to know.]
WITENAGEMOT, wit'e-na-ge-m[=o]t', _n._ the supreme council of England in Anglo-Saxon times, composed of the bishops, the ealdormen of shires, and a number of the king's friends and dependents, the king's thanes. It was thus purely a council of royal officers and territorial magnates, not at all resembling the representative House of Commons. [A.S. _witena gemot_--_wita_, a wise man, _gemot_, a meeting.]
WITH, _n._ Same as WITHE.
WITH, wi_th_, _prep._ denoting nearness, agreement, or connection: by: in competition or contrast: on the side of: immediately after: among: possessing: in respect of, in the regard of: like: by, by means of, through: showing, using: from.--_adv._ WITHAL', with all or the rest: likewise: moreover.--_prep._ an emphatic form of with.--WITH THAT, thereupon. [A.S. _wi_; Ice. _vi_, Ger. _wider_. It absorbed the A.S.
_mid_, with (Ger. _mit_).]
WITHDRAW, with-draw', _v.t._ to draw back or away: to take back: to recall.--_v.i._ to retire: to go away.--_ns._ WITHDRAW'AL, WITHDRAW'MENT; WITHDRAW'ER; WITHDRAW'ING-ROOM, a room used to retire into: a drawing-room.
[Pfx. _with-_, against, and _draw_.]
WITHE, with, or w[=i]_th_, WITHY, with'y, _n._ a flexible twig, esp. of willow: a band of twisted twigs: an elastic handle to a tool to save the hand from the shock of blows: a boom-iron.--_adj._ WITHY (with'i or w[=i]'_th_i), made of withes: like withes, flexible. [A.S. _withthe_, a form of _withig_, a withy; Ice. _vidhir_, Ger. _weide_, willow.]
WITHER, with'[.e]r, _v.i._ to fade or become dry: to lose freshness: to shrink: waste.--_v.t._ to cause to dry up: to cause to decay, perish, waste.--_adj._ WITH'ERED, dried up.--_n._ WITH'EREDNESS.--_adj._ WITH'ERING, blasting, blighting, scorching.--_n._ WITH'ERING-FLOOR, the drying-floor of a malt-house.--_adv._ WITH'ERINGLY. [A.S. _wedrian_, to expose to weather.]
WITHERS, wi_th_'[.e]rz, _n.pl._ the ridge between the shoulder-bones of a horse and behind the root of the neck.--_adj._ WITH'ER-WRUNG, injured in the withers. [A.S. _wither_, against, an extension of _with_, against.]
WITHERSHINS, WIDDERSHINS, with'-, wid'[.e]r-shinz, _adv._ (_Scot._) in the contrary direction--to the left, contrary to the course of the sun, in the wrong way.--Also WIDD'ERSINS, WIDD'ERSINNIS. Cf. the Gaelic _deiseil_, to the right, going round in the way of the sun. [_Widder-_ is the Ice.
_vithra_, against (A.S. _wither_, Ger. _wieder_, Dut. _weder_); _Sins_ is the adverbial genitive, from Ice. _sinni_, walk, movement, originally journey, cog. with A.S. _sith_, Goth. _sinths_, journey, Old High Ger.
_sind_.]
WITHHOLD, with-h[=o]ld', _v.t._ to hold back: to keep back.--_v.i._ to stay back:--_pa.t._ and _pa.p._ WITHHELD' (_arch. pa.p._ WITHHOL'DEN).--_ns._ WITHHOL'DER; WITHHOLD'MENT. [Pfx. _with-_, against, and _hold_.]
WITHIN, with-in', _prep._ in the inner part: inside: in the reach of: not going outside of.--_adv._ in the inner part: inwardly: at home.--WITHIN CALL, HAIL, not too far to hear a call, hail. [A.S. _wiinnan_--_wi_, against, with, _innan_, in.]
WITHOUT, with-owt', _prep._ outside or out of: beyond: not with: in absence of: not having: except: all but.--_adv._ on the outside: out of doors.--_conj._ except.--_adj._ WITHOUT'-DOOR (_Shak._), being out of doors.--_prep._ WITHOUT'EN (_Spens._), without.--WITHOUT BOOK, on no authority; WITHOUT DISTINCTION, indiscriminately.--FROM WITHOUT, from the outside. [A.S. _wiutan_--_wi_, against, _utan_, outside.]
WITHSTAND, with-stand', _v.t._ to stand against: to oppose or resist:--_pa.t._ and _pa.p._ WITHSTOOD'.--_n._ WITHSTAND'ER.
WITHWIND, with'w[=i]nd, _n._ the bindweed.
WITLOOF, wit'l[=o]f, _n._ a kind of chicory with large roots. [Dut.]
WITNESS, wit'nes, _n._ knowledge brought in proof: testimony of a fact: that which furnishes proof: one who sees or has personal knowledge of a thing: one who attests.--_v.t._ to have direct knowledge of: to see: to give testimony to: to show: (_Shak._) to foretell.--_v.i._ to give evidence.--_ns._ WIT'NESS-BOX, the enclosure in which a witness stands when giving evidence in a court of law; WIT'NESSER.--WITH A WITNESS (_Shak._), to a great degree. [A.S. _witnes_, testimony--_witan_, to know.]
WITTOL, wit'ol, _n._ one who knows his wife's faithlessness, and submits to it.--_adj._ WITT'OLLY (_Shak._), like a wittol or contented cuckold.
[Formerly also _wittal_, _wittold_, a particular use of _witwal_, the popinjay; cf. the similar allusions to the _cuckoo_, from which grew the word _cuckold_.]
WITWAL, wit'wawl, _n._ the popinjay, or green woodpecker, the greater spotted woodpecker. [Var. of _woodwale_, a woodpecker.]
WIVE, w[=i]v, _v.t._ to take for a wife: to provide with a wife.--_v.i._ to marry.--_n._ WIVE'HOOD (_Spens._), wifehood. [A.S. _wifian_--_wif_, wife.]
WIVERN, w[=i]'vern, _n._ Same as WYVERN.