Emily Dickinson Lexicon

WHOR'ISH-NESS, n.

The practice of lewdness; the character of a lewd woman. Hale.

WHORL, or WHORLE, v. [or n. See WHIRL.]

WHORT, n.

The fruit of the whortleberry; or the shrub.

WHOR-TLE-BER-RY, n. [Sax. heort-berg, hart-berry. The Germans call it heidel-beere, heath-berry.]

A plant or shrub and its fruit, of the genus Vaccinium.

WHOSE, pron. [hooz.]

The possessive or genitive case of who or which; applied to persons or things. We say, the person whose merits are known; the garment whose color is admired.

WHOSE-SO-EV'ER, pron. [whose and soever.]

Of any person whatever. John xx.

WHO'SO, pron. [hooso.]

Any person whatever. [Obs.]

WHO-SO-EV'ER, pron. [who, so, and ever.]

Any one; any person whatever. Whatsoever win, let him take of the water of life freely. Rev. xxii.

WHUR, n.

The sound of a body moving through the air with velocity. [See Whir.]

WHUR, v.i.

To pronounce the letter r with too much force.

WHURT, n.

A whortleberry or bilberry. [See Whort.]

WHY, adv. [Sax. hwi, and for hwi, or for hwig, for why. Hwi, whig, coincides in elements with which. So pourquoi in French, is the same; pour and L. quid, quod; for what. The original phrase is for what, for why.]

1. For what cause or reason, interrogatively. Turn ye, turn ye, for why will ye die? Jer. xxvii.
2. For which reason or cause, relatively. No ground of enmity, Why he should mean me ill.
3. For what reason or cause; for which; relatively. Turn the discourse; I have a reason why I would not have you speak so tenderly. Dryden.
4. It is used sometimes emphatically, or rather as an expletive. If her chill heart I can not move, / Why, I'll enjoy the very love. Cowley.

WI, adj.

from the Gothic weiha, signifies holy. It is found in some names, as in Wibert, holy-bright, or bright-holy, eminent for sanctity; Dan. vier, to consecrate, Sw. viga.

WIC, or WICK, n.

A termination, denotes jurisdiction, as in bailiwick. Its primary sense is a village or mansion, L. vicus; Sax. wic or wyc; hence it occurs in Berwick, Harwich, Norwich, &c. It signifies also a bay or a castle. Gibson.

WICK, n. [Sax. weoc; Sw. veke, a wick or match; Ir. buaie, Qu. from twisting.]

A number of threads of cotton or some similar substance, loosely twisted into a string, round which wax or tallow is applied by means of melting and running in a mold, and thus forming a candle or torch.

WICK'ED, a. [Sw. vika, to decline, to err, to deviate, also to fold; Sax. wican, to recede, to slide, to fall away; wicelian, to vacillate, to stumble. It seems to be connected in origin with wag, and Sax. wicca, witch. The primary sense is to wind and turn, or to depart, to fall away.]

1. Evil in principle or practice; deviating from the divine law; addicted to vice; sinful; immoral. This is a word of comprehensive signification, extending to every thing that is contrary to the moral law, and both to persons and nations. We say, a wicked man, a wicked deed, wicked ways, wicked lives, a wicked heart, wicked designs, wicked works. No man was ever wicked without secret discontent. Rambler.
2. A word of slight blame; as, the wicked urchin.
3. Cursed; baneful; pernicious; as, wicked words, worth pernicious in their effects. [Obs.] [This last signification may throw some light on the ward witch.] The wicked, in Scripture, persons who live in sin; transgressors of the divine law; all who are unreconciled to God, unsanctified or impenitent.

WICK'ED-LY, adv.

In a manner or with motives and designs contrary to the divine law; viciously; corruptly immorally. All that do wickedly shall be stubble. Mal. iv. I have sinned, and I have done wickedly. 2 Sam. xxiv.

WICK'ED-NESS, n.

Departure from the rules of the divine law; evil disposition or practices; immorality; crime; sin sinfulness; corrupt manners. Wickedness generally signifies evil practices. What wickedness is this that is done among you. Judge xx. But wickedness expresses also the corrupt dispositions of the heart. Their inward part is very, wickedness. Ps. v. In heart, ye work wickedness. Ps. lviii.

WICK'EN, or WICK'EN-TREE, n.

The Sorbus aucuparia, mountain ash, or roan-tree. Lee.

WICK'ER, a. [Dan. vien, probably contracted from vigen. The Eng. twig, G. zweig, D. twyg, are probably formed on the simple word wig, from the root of L. vigeo, to grow. The word signifies a shoot.]

Made of twigs or osiers; as, a wicker basket; a wicker chair. Spenser. Peacham.

WICK'ET, n. [Fr. guichet; W. gwiced, a little door, from gwig, a narrow place, a corner.]

1. A small gate. The wicket, often open'd, knew the key. Dryden.
2. A small gate by which the chamber of canal locks emptied.
3. A bar or rod used in playing cricket.

WIC'LIF-ITE, n.

A follower of Wiclif, the English reformer.

WIDE, a. [Sax. wid, wide; D. wyd; G. weit; Sw. and Dan. vid; Sans. vidi, breadth; Ar. بَدً badda, to separate; allied to void, divide, widow, Ir. feadh, &c. See Class Bd, No. 1.]

1. Broad; having a great or considerable distance or extent between the sides; opposed to narrow; as, wide cloth; wide table; a wide highway; a wide bed; a wide hall of entry. In this use, wide is distinguished from long, which refers to the extent or distance between the ends.
2. Broad; having a great extent each way; as, a wide plain the wide ocean.
3. Remote; distant. This position is very wide from the truth. Hammond.
4. Broad to a certain degree; as, three feet wide.

WIDE, adv.

1. At a distance; far. His fame was spread wide.
2. With great extent; used chiefly in composition; as, wide-skirted meads; wide-waving swords; wide-wasting pestilence; wide-spreading evil.

WIDE'-BRANCH-ED, a.

Having spreading branches.