Search the Dictionary

Having a weak mind, either naturally or by reason of disease; feebleminded; foolish; idiotic. -- Weak"-mind`ed*ness, n.

stations are of the first order when they make observations of all the important elements either hourly or by self-registering instruments; of the second order when only important observations are taken; of the third order when simpler work is done, as to record rainfall and maximum and minimum temperatures.…

The membrane which unites the fingers or toes, either at their bases, as in man, or for a greater part of their length, as in many water birds and amphibians.

A kind of fine pottery, the most remarkable being what is called jasper, either white, or colored throughout the body, and capable of being molded into the most delicate forms, so that fine and minute bas-reliefs like cameos were made of it, fit even for being set as jewels.

Good in condition or circumstances; desirable, either in a natural or moral sense; fortunate; convenient; advantageous; happy; as, it is well for the country that the crops did not fail; it is well that the mistake was discovered. It was well with us in Egypt. Num. xi. 18.

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…

As an interrogative pronoun, used in asking questions regarding either persons or things; as, what is this what did you say what poem is this what child is lost What see'st thou in the ground Shak. What is man, that thou art mindful of him Ps. viii. 4. What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey hi…

barometer. (Physics) See under Barometer. -- Wheel boat, a boat with wheels, to be used either on water or upon inclined planes or railways. -- Wheel bug (Zoöl.), a large North American hemipterous insect (Prionidus cristatus) which sucks the blood of other insects. So named from the curious shape of the prothorax.…

sp., the length of this figure between the points of contact of the two extreme wheels on either side.

se on the sun, . . . Solicit not thy thoughts with matters hid. Milton. Whether or no, in either case; in any case; as, I will go whether or no. -- Whether that, whether. Shak.

Full of whims; whimsical. The study of Rabbinical literature either finds a man whimmy or makes him so. Coleridge.

Iron rods extending on either side of the bowsprit, to spread, or guy out, the stays, etc.

White-ribbon Army. -- White rope (Naut.), untarred hemp rope. -- White rot. (Bot.) (a) Either of several plants, as marsh pennywort and butterwort, which were thought to produce the disease called rot in sheep. (b) A disease of grapes. See White rot, under Rot. -- White sage (Bot.), a white, woolly undershrub (Euro…

Either of two shrubs (Viburnum Lantana, and V. Opulus), so called on account of their whitish branches.

interrogative pronoun, later, a relative pronoun also; -- used always substantively, and either as singular or plural. See the Note under What, pron., 1. As interrogative pronouns, who and whom ask the question: What or which person or persons Who and whom, as relative pronouns (in the sense of that), are properly use…

A covering for the head, consisting of hair interwoven or united by a kind of network, either in imitation of the natural growth, or in abundant and flowing curls, worn to supply a deficiency of natural hair, or for ornament, or according to traditional usage, as a part of an official or professional dress, the latter…

The young, either larva or pupa, of the mosquito; -- called also wiggletail.

A human being; a person, either male or female; -- now used chiefly in irony or burlesque, or in humorous language. "Worst of all wightes." Chaucer. Every wight that hath discretion. Chaucer. Oh, say me true if thou wert mortal wight. Milton.

ed over the division wall between two wince pits so as to allow the cloth to descend into either compartment. at will. Wince pit, Wince pot, a tank or a pit where cloth in the process of dyeing or manufacture is washed, dipped in a mordant, or the like.

of, under the care or protection of. -- Wing and wing (Naut.), with sails hauled out on either side; -- said of a schooner, or her sails, when going before the wind with the foresail on one side and the mainsail on the other; also said of a square-rigged vessel which has her studding sails set. Cf. Goosewinged. -- W…