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Old or abandoned workings, whether left as vacant space or filled with refuse.

A goddess of any stream or other body of water, whether one of the Naiads, Nereids, or Oceanides.

The series of barbs implanted on each side of the shaft of a feather, whether stiff and united together by barbules, as in ordinary feathers, or soft and separate, as in downy feathers. See Feather.

A person transformed into a wolf in form and appetite, either temporarily or permanently, whether by supernatural influences, by witchcraft, or voluntarily; a lycanthrope. Belief in werewolves, formerly general, is not now extinct. The werwolf went about his prey. William of Palerne. The brutes that wear our form and f…

tears from me and wetted my paper." Burke. Ye mists and exhalations, that now rise . . . Whether to deck with clouds the uncolored sky, Or wet the thirsty earth with falling showers. Milton. To wet one's whistle, to moisten one's throat; to drink a dram of liquor. [Colloq.] Let us drink the other cup to wet our whistl…

er; whatsoever; what thing soever; -- used indefinitely. "What after so befall." Chaucer. Whether it were the shortness of his foresight, the strength of his will, . . . or what it was. Bacon.

Whether. [Obs.]

A circular frame turning about an axis; a rotating disk, whether solid, or a frame composed of an outer rim, spokes or radii, and a central hub or nave, in which is inserted the axle, -- used for supporting and conveying vehicles, in machinery, and for various purposes; as, the wheel of a wagon, of a locomotive, of a m…

Whether. [Sometimes written whe'r.] [Obs.] Piers Plowman. Men must enquire (this is mine assent), Wher she be wise or sober or dronkelewe. Chaucer.

Whether one or another; whether one or the other; which; that one (of two or more) which; as, whichever road you take, it will lead you to town.

Same as Whetile.

A tract of land, or a region, uncultivated and uninhabited by human beings, whether a forest or a wide, barren plain; a wild; a waste; a desert; a pathless waste of any kind. The wat'ry wilderness yields no supply. Waller.

g; to coil; to twine; to twist; to wreathe; as, to wind thread on a spool or into a ball. Whether to wind The woodbine round this arbor. Milton.

itch; to fascinate; to enchant. [I 'll] witch sweet ladies with my words and looks. Shak. Whether within us or without The spell of this illusion be That witches us to hear and see. Lowell.

A plain, or low hill; a country without wood, whether hilly or not. And from his further bank Ætolia's wolds espied. Byron. The wind that beats the mountain, blows More softly round the open wold. Tennyson.

dness Shak. Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you. Ex. v. 18. Whether we work or play, or sleep or wake, Our life doth pass. Sir J. Davies.

A man employed in labor, whether in tillage or manufactures; a worker.

Bad, evil, or pernicious, in the highest degree, whether in a physical or moral sense. See Worse. "Heard so oft in worst extremes." Milton. I have a wife, the worst that may be. Chaucer. If thou hadst not been born the worst of men, Thou hadst been a knave and flatterer. Shak.

Not according to the laws of good morals, whether divine or human; not suitable to the highest and best end; not morally right; deviating from rectitude or duty; not just or equitable; not true; not legal; as, a wrong practice; wrong ideas; wrong inclinations and desires.

Went; walked; proceeded. [Written also yede.] See Yede. Quer [whether] they rade [rode] or yoke. Cursor Mundi. Then into Cornhill anon I yode. Lydgate.