WHOOPING n.
als, and consisting of several expirations, followed by a sonorous inspiration, or whoop; chin cough; hooping cough. Dunglison. -- Whooping crane (Zoöl.), a North American crane (Crus Americana) noted for the loud, whooplike note which it utters. -- Whooping swan (Zoöl.), the whooper swan. See the Note under Swan.…
WIMPLE n. 6 definitions
A covering of silk, linen, or other material, for the neck and chin, formerly worn by women as an outdoor protection, and still retained in the dress of nuns. Full seemly her wympel ipinched is. Chaucer. For she had laid her mournful stole aside, And widowlike sad wimple thrown away. Spenser. Then Vivian rose, And from…
WINDLASS n. 5 definitions
A machine for raising weights, consisting of a horizontal cylinder or roller moving on its axis, and turned by a crank, lever, or similar means, so as to wind up a rope or chain attached to the weight. In vessels the windlass is often used instead of the capstan for raising the anchor. It is usually set upon the foreca…
YAK n.
and bushy, often white, and is valued as an ornament and for other purposes in India and China. There are several domesticated varieties, some of which lack the mane and the long hair on the flanks. Called also chauri gua, grunting cow, grunting ox, sarlac, sarlik, and sarluc. Yak lace, a coarse pillow lace made from…
YUEN n.
The crowned gibbon (Hylobates pileatus), native of Siam, Southern China, and the Island of Hainan. It is entirely arboreal in its habits, and has very long arms. the males are dark brown or blackish, with a caplike mass of long dark hair, and usually with a white band around the face. The females are yellowish white, w…
ZEBU n.
A bovine mammal (Ros Indicus) extensively domesticated in India, China, the East Indies, and East Africa. It usually has short horns, large pendulous ears, slender legs, a large dewlap, and a large, prominent hump over the shoulders; but these characters vary in different domestic breeds, which range in size from that…