Webster's Unabridged Dictionary - Letter W - Page 29
Why (adv.) The reason or cause for which; that on account of which; on what account; as, I know not why he left town so suddenly; -- used as a compound relative.
Note: Why is sometimes used as an interjection or an expletive in expression of surprise or content at a turn of affairs; used also in calling. "Why, Jessica!" -- Shak.
If her chill heart I can not move, Why, I'll enjoy the very love. -- Cowley.
Sometimes, also, it is used as a noun.
The how and the why and the where. -- Goldsmith.
For why, because; why. See Forwhy. [Obs. or Colloq.]
Why (n.) A young heifer. [Prov. Eng.] -- Grose. Whydah bird
Why (n.) The cause or intention underlying an action or situation, especially in the phrase `the whys and wherefores' [syn: why, wherefore].
Whydah bird () Alt. of Whydah finch.
Whydah finch () The whidah bird.
Why-not (n.) A violent and peremptory procedure without any assigned reason; a sudden conclusive happening.
Wicca (prop. n.) [OE. wicche wizard, AS. wicce, fem., wicca, masc.; see also witch and wicked.] A religion derived from pre-Christian times, also called Witchcraft[4], which practices a benevolent reverence for nature, and recognizes two deities, variously viewed as Mother & Father, Goddess & God, Female & Male, etc.; its practitioners are called Wiccans, Wiccas, or witches.
Since there is no central authority to propagate dogma, the beliefs and practices of Wiccans vary significantly.
Encouraged by court rulings recognizing witchcraft as a legal religion, an increasing number of books related to the subject, and the continuing cultural concern for the environment, Wicca -- as contemporary witchcraft is often called -- has been growing in the United States and abroad. It is a major element in the expanding "neo-pagan" movement whose members regard nature itself as charged with divinity. -- Gustav Niebuhr (N. Y. Times, Oct. 31, 1999, p. 1)
"I don't worship Satan, who I don't think exists, but I do pray to the Goddess of Creation." said Margot S. Adler, a New York correspondent for National Public Radio and a Wiccan practitioner. "Wicca is not anti-Christian or pro-Christian, it's pre-Christian." -- Anthony Ramirez (N. Y. Times Aug. 22, 1999, p. wk 2)
Note: Wicca is a ditheistic religion, also called Witchcraft, founded on the beliefs and doctrines of pre-Roman Celts, including the reverence for nature and the belief in a universal balance. Though frequently practiced in covens, solitary practitioners do exist. The modern form of the religion was popularized in 1954 by Gerald Gardener's Witchcraft Today. It is viewed as a form of neo-paganism.
Wicca recognizes two deities, visualized as Mother & Father, Goddess & God, Female & Male, etc. These dieties are nameless, but many Wiccans adopt a name with which they refer to the two: Diana is a popular name for the Goddess to take, among others such as Artemis, Isis, Morrigan, etc. Some of her symbols are: the moon; the ocean; a cauldron; and the labrys (two-headed axe), among others. The God is of equal power to the Goddess, and takes on names such as Apollo, Odin, Lugh, etc. A small number of his symbols are: the sun; the sky; a horn (or two horns); and others.
Witchcraft is not a Christian denomination; there is no devil in its mythos, thus the devil cannot be worshiped, and the medieval view of Witches as Satan-worshipers is erroneous. Satanists are not Witches and Witches are not Satanists. Both have a tendency to be offended when the two are confused.
In the Wiccan religion male Witches are not "Warlocks".
The term Warlock comes from Scottish, meaning 'oathbreaker', 'traitor', or 'devil'. Its application to male witches is of uncertain origin.
The Wiccan Rede, "An it harm none, do what thou wilt" comes in many variations. All of them say the same thing, "Do as you wish, just don't do anything to harm anyone." It is implied that 'anyone' includes one's self.
Witches practice in groups called Covens or as solitary practitioners, and some practice "magic", which is to say, they pray. Since the one rule that Witches have requires that they can not do harm, harmful magic does not exist in Wicca. In Wicca, "magic" is simply subtly altering small things, to gain a desired effect.
Wicca, sometimes called Neo-Witchcraft, was revived in the 1950s, when the last laws against Witchcraft were repealed. Gerald Gardner founded Gardnerian Wicca sometime after his book, Witchcraft Today, was published in 1954. Raymond Buckland, in America, did much the same that Gardner did in Europe -- stood up to the misconceptions about Witchcraft.
Two other books describing the modern practice of Wicca are:
Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner, by Scott Cunningham, Llewellyn Publications, 1988.
Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft, by Raymond Buckland, Llewellyn Publications, 1975.
A Web site devoted to elucidation of modern witchcraft is: Witchvox -- Cody Scott.
2. A practitioner of Wicca, also commonly called a Wiccan, Wicca, or witch .
For at least one person who has seen "The Blair Witch Project", the surprise hit movie of the summer did not so much terrify as infuriate. One long slur against witches, said Selena Fox, a witch, or Wicca, as male and female American witches prefer to call themselves. -- Anthony Ramirez (N. Y. Times, Aug 22, 1999, p. wk 2).
Wicca (n.) A community of followers of the Wicca religion
Wicca (n.) The polytheistic nature religion of modern witchcraft whose central deity is a mother goddess; claims origins in pre-Christian pagan religions of western Europe.
Wich (n.) A variant of 1st Wick.
Wick (n.) Alt. of Wich.
Wich (n.) A street; a village; a castle; a dwelling; a place of work, or exercise of authority; -- now obsolete except in composition; as, bailiwick, Warwick, Greenwick.
Wich (n.) A narrow port or passage in the rink or course, flanked by the stones of previous players.
Wick (n.) A bundle of fibers, or a loosely twisted or braided cord, tape, or tube, usually made of soft spun cotton threads, which by capillary attraction draws up a steady supply of the oil in lamps, the melted tallow or wax in candles, or other material used for illumination, in small successive portions, to be burned.
Wick (v. i.) To strike a stone in an oblique direction.
Wicke (a.) Wicked.
Wicked (a.) Having a wick; -- used chiefly in composition; as, a two-wicked lamp.
Wicked (a.) Evil in principle or practice; deviating from morality; contrary to the moral or divine law; addicted to vice or sin; sinful; immoral; profligate; -- said of persons and things; as, a wicked king; a wicked woman; a wicked deed; wicked designs.
Wicked (a.) Cursed; baneful; hurtful; bad; pernicious; dangerous.
Wicked (a.) Ludicrously or sportively mischievous; disposed to mischief; roguish.
Wickedly (adv.) In a wicked manner; in a manner, or with motives and designs, contrary to the divine law or the law of morality; viciously; corruptly; immorally.
Wickedness (n.) The quality or state of being wicked; departure from the rules of the divine or the moral law; evil disposition or practices; immorality; depravity; sinfulness.
Wickedness (n.) A wicked thing or act; crime; sin; iniquity.
Wickedness (n.) [ U ] 邪惡，惡事，惡毒 The fact of being morally very wrong or bad.
// They would be punished for their wickedness.
Wicken tree () Same as Quicken tree.
Wicker (n.) A small pliant twig or osier; a rod for making basketwork and the like; a withe.
Wicker (n.) Wickerwork; a piece of wickerwork, esp. a basket.
Wicker (n.) Same as 1st Wike.
Wicker (a.) Made of, or covered with, twigs or osiers, or wickerwork.
Wickered (a.) Made of, secured by, or covered with, wickers or wickerwork.
Wickerwork (n.) 枝編物；枝條製品 A texture of osiers, twigs, or rods; articles made of such a texture.
Wickerwork (n.) Work made of interlaced slender branches (especially willow branches) [syn: wicker, wickerwork, caning].
Compare: Osier
Osier (n.) [C] 柳樹；柳條，柳枝 A small Eurasian willow which grows mostly in wet habitats. It is usually coppiced, being a major source of the long flexible shoots (withies) used in basketwork.
Salix viminalis, family Salicaceae.
‘Similarly, when flooded, the common osier is able to aerate upper adventitious roots, while deeper roots rely on anoxia-tolerance for their survival.’
‘Reed-fringed dykes in the very centre of the vast Halvergate marshes harbour a few in winter; Fenland osier copses are equally attractive.’
Osier (n.) A shoot of a willow.
‘You play it by hitting the outside with a big wooden kiyak and the inside with a small osier which plays the part of the small drum, not used in Bulgarian folk music.’
‘The Lycians are cutting osiers by a pool and will not let her drink the water; indeed to make sure she cannot refresh herself, they stomp around in the mud, stirring up the silt on the bottom out of pure spite.’
Osier (n.) [Dated] Any willow tree.
‘You then discover the placidity of Berkshire: hawthorn, alder and osier hemming in the path; beyond them, water meadows where horses pad about.’
Wicket (n.) A small gate or door, especially one forming part of, or placed near, a larger door or gate; a narrow opening or entrance cut in or beside a door or gate, or the door which is used to close such entrance or aperture. Piers Plowman.
Wicket (n.) A small gate by which the chamber of canal locks is emptied, or by which the amount of water passing to a water wheel is regulated.
Wicket (n.) A small framework at which the ball is bowled. It consists of three rods, or stumps, set vertically in the ground, with one or two short rods, called bails, lying horizontally across the top.
Wicket (n.) The ground on which the wickets are set.
Wicket (n.) A place of shelter made of the boughs of trees, -- used by lumbermen, etc.
Wicket (n.) The space between the pillars, in postand-stall working.
Wicking (n.) the material of which wicks are made; esp., a loosely braided or twisted cord or tape of cotton.
Wiclifite (n.) Alt. of Wickliffite.
Wickliffite (n.) See Wyclifite.
Wicopy (n.) See Leatherwood.
Widdershins (Also Withershins) (adv.) (Scottish) 逆時鐘而行地；反向而行地 In a direction contrary to the sun's course, considered as unlucky; anticlockwise.
// She danced widdershins around him.
Widdy (n.) A rope or halter made of flexible twigs, or withes, as of birch.
Wide (a.) Having considerable distance or extent between the sides; spacious across; much extended in a direction at right angles to that of length; not narrow; broad; as, wide cloth; a wide table; a wide highway; a wide bed; a wide hall or entry.
Wide (a.) Having a great extent every way; extended; spacious; broad; vast; extensive; as, a wide plain; the wide ocean; a wide difference.
Wide (a.) Of large scope; comprehensive; liberal; broad; as, wide views; a wide understanding.
Wide (a.) Of a certain measure between the sides; measuring in a direction at right angles to that of length; as, a table three feet wide.
Wide (a.) Remote; distant; far.
Wide (a.) Far from truth, from propriety, from necessity, or the like.
Wide (a.) On one side or the other of the mark; too far side-wise from the mark, the wicket, the batsman, etc.
Wide (a.) (Phon.) Made, as a vowel, with a less tense, and more open and relaxed, condition of the mouth organs; -- opposed to primary as used by Mr. Bell, and to narrow as used by Mr. Sweet. The effect, as explained by Mr. Bell, is due to the relaxation or tension of the pharynx; as explained by Mr. Sweet and others, it is due to the action of the tongue. The wide of [=e] ([=e]ve) is [i^] ([i^]ll); of [=a] ([=a]te) is [e^] ([e^]nd), etc. See Guide to Pronunciation, [sect] 13-15.
Wide (adv.) To a distance; far; widely; to a great distance or extent; as, his fame was spread wide.
Wide (adv.) So as to leave or have a great space between the sides; so as to form a large opening.
Wide (adv.) So as to be or strike far from, or on one side of, an object or purpose; aside; astray.
Wide (n.) That which is wide; wide space; width; extent.
Wide (n.) That which goes wide, or to one side of the mark.
Wide-awake (a.) Fully awake; not drowsy or dull; hence, knowing; keen; alert.
Wide-awake (n.) A broad-brimmed, low-crowned felt hat.
Widegap (n.) The angler; -- called also widegab, and widegut.
Widely (adv.) In a wide manner; to a wide degree or extent; far; extensively; as, the gospel was widely disseminated by the apostles.
Widely (adv.) Very much; to a great degree or extent; as, to differ widely in opinion.
Widened (imp. & p. p.) of Widen.
Widening (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Widen.
Widen (v. t.) To make wide or wider; to extend in breadth; to increase the width of; as, to widen a field; to widen a breach; to widen a stocking.
Widen (v. i.) To grow wide or wider; to enlarge; to spread; to extend.
Wideness (n.) The quality or state of being wide; breadth; width; great extent from side to side; as, the wideness of a room.
Wideness (n.) Large extent in all directions; broadness; greatness; as, the wideness of the sea or ocean.
Widespread (a.) Spread to a great distance; widely extended; extending far and wide; as, widespread wings; a widespread movement.
Widewhere (adv.) Widely; far and wide.
Widgeon (n.) (Zool.) 【鳥】赤頸鴨 Any one of several species of fresh-water ducks, especially those belonging to the subgenus Mareca, of the genus Anas. The common European widgeon (Anas penelope) and the American widgeon (A. Americana) are the most important species. The latter is called also baldhead, baldpate, baldface, baldcrown, smoking duck, wheat, duck, and whitebelly.
Bald-faced widgeon, or Green-headed widgeon, The American widgeon.
Black widgeon, The European tufted duck.
Gray widgeon. (a) The gadwall.
Gray widgeon. (b) The pintail duck.
Great headed widgeon, The poachard.
Pied widgeon. (a) The poachard.
Pied widgeon. (b) The goosander.
Saw-billed widgeon, The merganser.
Sea widgeon. See in the Vocabulary.
Spear widgeon, The goosander. [Prov. Eng.]
Spoonbilled widgeon, The shoveler.
White widgeon, The smew.
Wood widgeon, The wood duck.
Widgeon (n.) Freshwater duck of Eurasia and northern Africa related to mallards and teals [syn: widgeon, wigeon, Anas penelope].
Widget (n.) [Informal]（作附件用的）小機械；（指工廠）未定名的主要新產品；【美】【俚】裝飾物 A small gadget or mechanical device, especially one whose name is unknown or unspecified.
Widget (n.) [Computing] An application, or a component of an interface, that enables a user to perform a function or access a service.
Widget (n.) Something unspecified whose name is either forgotten or not known; "she eased the ball-shaped doodad back into its socket"; "there may be some great new gizmo around the corner that you will want to use" [syn: doodad, doohickey, doojigger, gimmick, gizmo, gismo gubbins, thingamabob, thingumabob, thingmabob, thingamajig, thingumajig, thingmajig, thingummy, whatchamacallit, whatchamacallum, whatsis, widget]
Widget (n.) A device or control that is very useful for a particular job [syn: appliance, contraption, contrivance, convenience, gadget, gizmo, gismo, widget].
Widget (n.) A meta-thing. Used to stand for a real object in didactic examples (especially database tutorials). Legend has it that the original widgets were holders for buggy whips. ?But suppose the parts list for a widget has 52 entries....?
Widget (n.) A user interface object in X graphical user interfaces.
Widget () A placeholder term used to stand for a real object in didactic examples (especially database tutorials). Legend has it that the original widgets were holders for buggy whips. "But suppose the parts list for a widget has 52 entries..."
Widget () In a graphical user interface, a combination of a graphic symbol and some program code to perform a specific function. E.g. a scroll-bar or button. [possibly evoking "window gadget"] Windowing systems usually provide widget libraries containing commonly used widgets drawn in a certain style and with consistent behaviour.
In Microsoft Windows GUI programming, these are generally known as "controls". [{Jargon File]
Widish (a.) Moderately wide.
Widmanstatten figures () Certain figures appearing on etched meteoric iron; -- so called after A. B. Widmanstatten, of Vienna, who first described them in 1808. See the Note and Illust. under Meteorite.
Widow (n.) 寡婦，孀婦 A woman who has lost her husband by death, and has not married again; one living bereaved of a husband.
Widow (n.) (Card Playing) In various games (such as "hearts"), any extra hand or part of a hand, as one dealt to the table. It may be taken by one of the players under certain circumstances.
Widow (a.) Widowed.
Widowed (imp. & p. p.) of Widow.
Widowing (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Widow.
Widow (v. t.) 使成寡婦 To reduce to the condition of a widow; to bereave of a husband; -- rarely used except in the past participle.
Widow (v. t.) To deprive of one who is loved; to strip of anything beloved or highly esteemed; to make desolate or bare; to bereave.
Widow (v. t.) To endow with a widow's right.
Widow (v. t.) To become, or survive as, the widow of.
Widow (n.) A woman whose husband is dead especially one who has not remarried [syn: {widow}, {widow woman}].
Widow (v.) Cause to be without a spouse; "The war widowed many women in the former Yugoslavia".
Compare:
Grass widow (n.) [ C ] (Humorous) （因為丈夫在外地工作）長期與丈夫分居的女人，留守女性；離了婚或與夫分居的女子；守活寡的女子 A woman who spends a lot of time apart from her partner, often because he or she is working in a different place.
Widow bird (n.) See Whidan bird.
Widowed (a.) 寡居的；成寡婦的；widow的動詞過去式、過去分詞 Single because of death of the spouse.
Widower (n.) A man who has lost his wife by death, and has not married again.
Widowerhood (n.) The state of being a widower.
Widowhood (n.) The state of being a widow; the time during which a woman is widow; also, rarely, the state of being a widower.
Widowhood (n.) Estate settled on a widow.
Widow-hunter (n.) One who courts widows, seeking to marry one with a fortune.
Widowly (a.) Becoming or like a widow.
Widow-maker (n.) One who makes widows by destroying husbands.
Widow-wail (n.) A low, narrowleaved evergreen shrub (Cneorum tricoccon) found in Southern Europe.
Width (n.) The quality of being wide; extent from side to side; breadth; wideness; as, the width of cloth; the width of a door.
Widual (a.) Of or pertaining to a widow; vidual.
Widwe (n.) A widow.
Wielded (imp. & p. p.) of Wield.
Wielding (p. pr. & vb. n.) of Wield.
Wield (v. t.) 揮舞（劍等）；使用（工具等）；行使（權力）；施加（影響） To govern; to rule; to keep, or have in charge; also, to possess. [Obs.]
When a strong armed man keepeth his house, all things that he wieldeth ben in peace. -- Wyclif (Luke xi. 21).
Wile [ne will] ye wield gold neither silver ne money in your girdles. -- Wyclif (Matt. x. 9.)
Wield (v. t.) To direct or regulate by influence or authority; to manage; to control; to sway.
The famous orators . . . whose resistless eloquence Wielded at will that fierce democraty. -- Milton.
Her newborn power was wielded from the first by unprincipled and ambitions men. -- De Quincey.
Wield (v. t.) To use with full command or power, as a thing not too heavy for the holder; to manage; to handle; hence, to use or employ; as, to wield a sword; to wield the scepter.
Base Hungarian wight! wilt thou the spigot wield! -- Shak.
Part wield their arms, part curb the foaming steed. -- Milton.
Nothing but the influence of a civilized power could induce a savage to wield a spade. -- S. S. Smith.
To wield the scepter, To govern with supreme command.
Wield (v.) Have and exercise; "wield power and authority" [syn: wield, exert, maintain].
Wield (v.) Handle effectively; "The burglar wielded an axe"; "The young violinist didn't manage her bow very well" [syn: wield, handle, manage].
Wieldable (a.) Capable of being wielded.
Wieldance (n.) The act or power of wielding.
Wielder (n.) One who wields or employs; a manager; a controller.
Wielding (n.) Power; authority; rule.
Wieldless (a.) Not to be wielded; unmanageable; unwieldy.
Wieldsome (a.) Admitting of being easily wielded or managed.
Wieldy (a.) Capable of being wielded; manageable; wieldable; -- opposed to unwieldy.
Wier (n.) Same as Weir.