Emily Dickinson Lexicon

whistle, n. [OE hwistle, wistle, whistlian, wistlian.]

Small wind instrument made of wood, metal, or another hard substance, the purpose of which might be to amuse, announce, or alarm.

whistle (-d, whistling), v. [OE hwis(t)lian, wistlian.] (webplay: air, furrowed, tune).

1. Warble; sing; [fig.] brag; announce; assert life, as a poet.
2. Make a lighthearted sound by pursing the lips.
3. Produce an eerie noise as do natural forces, as the wind does through trees or crevices; rustle.

white (-r), adj. [OE hwít.] (webplay: age, color, corn, dark, eye, face, fear, hair, leaves, lilies, man, rising, robe, snow, trees).

1. Pure; clean; untainted; unblemished; [fig.] sinless; spotless; of clear conscience.
2. Glorious; heavenly; celestial; divine; angelic.
3. Elect; called to be a bride; chosen as a candidate; [fig.] resurrected; glorified; sanctified; redeemed.
4. Virginal; innocent; chaste; clothed in traditional immaculate bridal garments.
5. Lovely; delightful; radiant.
6. Pale; pallid; translucent; waxen; colorless; bloodless; [like a candle made from sperm whale oil; see sperm.]
7. Spiritual; intangible; incorporeal; invisible; pertaining to the spirit, thoughts, emotions, consciousness of a person.
8. Supernatural; ghostly; eerie; frightening; spectral; other worldly.
9. Unknown; unknowable; final; ultimate; crowning; supreme.
10. Snowy; frosty; frozen; icy; cold; chilling; winter-colored; blank; [fig.] empty; deathly; reminiscent of death.
11. Lily-colored; snowy-covered.
12. Delicate; fragile; ethereal; airy; bleak; insipid; subdued in color.
13. Phrase. “Lady white”: lily; fragrant flower; internal portion of the Easter lily bulb which nourishes the germinating embryo of the plant during the winter, never rising from the ground itself, but enabling the lily to sprout in the spring; [fig.] death; snow; entity awaiting or enabling resurrection.
14. Phrase. “White flag”: sign of truce; token of peaceful intention; signal that a deadly battle is over.
15. Phrase. “White foot”: underpart of a ship; part of the hull of a boat that is underwater; a small sailing vessel resembling a brig.
16. Phrase. “White Sustenance”: manna (see Exodus 16; Numbers 11); monotonous diet; tiresome nourishment; food perceived as being insufficient; [fig.] emptiness; blankness; despair; dolor; melancholy; substitute for the physical presence of a loved one.
17. Phrase. “White heat”: refiner's fire; intense trial; most intense moment of spiritual purification; point in the metallurgy process when heated metal glows brightly.
18. Phrase. “White Election”: sanctification; justification by Christ's sacrifice; white robes worn by candidates for an election in ancient Rome; worthy status of those who are nominated for membership in the Congregational Church.

white (-s), n. [see white, adj.] (webplay: eyes, face, fear, palms, snow, spring).

1. Winter; cold season; part of the year when snow covers the ground.
2. Blank; paleness; absence of color.
3. Shroud; ceremonial robes; burial garments; [fig.] pallor; bloodless color of the body after death.
4. Angelic robes; glorious garments of people chosen by God; immaculate raiment of one dedicated to the Lord; spotless clothing worn by the faithful followers of Christ (see Revelation 3:4-5, 3:18, 4:4, 6:11, 7:9, 7:13-14, 15:6, 19:8).
5. Clear thread; translucent fibers; delicate woven strands; pearly fibers; iridescent threads spun by a spider.
6. Purity; virtue; goodness; worthiness; collection of good qualities.
7. Phrase. “Whites of wheels”: lines on measuring instruments that mark the level of rising water; foam on the waves of rising water as marked on the wheels of vehicles.

whither, adv. [OE hwider < huidir.]

To what place; to what extent.

whittle, v. [OE hwettan.]

Pare; cut; shape; make the surface of something smaller; do something habitually.

whizzing, n. [Echoic of hizz.] (webplay: ball).

Humming or hissing sound; fast action.

who, pron. [OE; interrogative or relative pronoun.]

whole, adj. [OE hál < IE *qoilos, complete, health, omen.] (webplay: faith, hand, life, restored, thing, total, world).

1. Complete; total; entire; full; all-encompassing.
2. Saintly; pious; faithful; righteous; virtuous; guiltless; holy; physically resurrected and spiritually saved; redeemed from infirmity, death, and sin (see John 5:6).
3. Simple; uncomplicated; honest; integral; guileless; genuine.
4. Enormous; huge; gigantic; immense; massive; vast.
5. Only; sole; lone. (1038/987)
6. Pure; perfect; clean; pristine; undefiled.

whole, adv. [see whole, adj.]

Completely; fully.