the twenty-third letter of the English alphabet, is usually a consonant, but sometimes it is a vowel, forming the second element of certain diphthongs, as in few, how. It takes its written form and its name from the repetition of a V, this being the original form of the Roman capital letter which we call U. Etymologically it is most related to v and u. See V, and U. Some of the uneducated classes in England, especially in London, confuse w and v, substituting the one for the other, as weal for veal, and veal for weal; wine for vine, and vine for wine, etc. See Guide to Pronunciation, §§ 266-268. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) The grivet. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Bot.) The burning bush; -- said to be called after a quack medicine made from it. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ Cf. Prov. G. wabbeln to wabble, and E. whap. Cf. Quaver. ] To move staggeringly or unsteadily from one side to the other; to vacillate; to move the manner of a rotating disk when the axis of rotation is inclined to that of the disk; -- said of a turning or whirling body; as, a top wabbles; a buzz saw wabbles. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A hobbling, unequal motion, as of a wheel unevenly hung; a staggering to and fro. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Inclined to wabble; wabbling. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. [ G. wacke, MHG. wacke a large stone, OHG. waggo a pebble. ] (Geol.) A soft, earthy, dark-colored rock or clay derived from the alteration of basalt. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Woad. ] Woad. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Probably of Scand. origin; cf. Sw. vadd wadding, Dan vat, D. & G. watte. Cf. Wadmol. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. A little mass, tuft, or bundle, as of hay or tow. Holland. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Specifically: A little mass of some soft or flexible material, such as hay, straw, tow, paper, or old rope yarn, used for retaining a charge of powder in a gun, or for keeping the powder and shot close; also, to diminish or avoid the effects of windage. Also, by extension, a dusk of felt, pasteboard, etc., serving a similar purpose. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A soft mass, especially of some loose, fibrous substance, used for various purposes, as for stopping an aperture, padding a garment, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

Wed hook, a rod with a screw or hook at the end, used for removing the wad from a gun. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Waded; p. pr. & vb. n. Wadding. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. To form into a mass, or wad, or into wadding; as, to wad tow or cotton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To insert or crowd a wad into; as, to wad a gun; also, to stuff or line with some soft substance, or wadding, like cotton; as, to wad a cloak. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. (Min.) (a) An earthy oxide of manganese, or mixture of different oxides and water, with some oxide of iron, and often silica, alumina, lime, or baryta; black ocher. There are several varieties. (b) Plumbago, or black lead. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. & v. See Waddy. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. [ See Wad a little mass. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. A wad, or the materials for wads; any pliable substance of which wads may be made. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Any soft stuff of loose texture, used for stuffing or padding garments; esp., sheets of carded cotton prepared for the purpose. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Waddled p. pr. & vb. n. Waddling ] [ Freq. of wade; cf. AS. wædlian to beg, from wadan to go. See Wade. ] To walk with short steps, swaying the body from one side to the other, like a duck or very fat person; to move clumsily and totteringly along; to toddle; to stumble; as, a child waddles when he begins to walk; a goose waddles. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

She drawls her words, and waddles in her pace. Young. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To trample or tread down, as high grass, by walking through it. [ R. ] Drayton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who, or that which, waddles. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a waddling manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Waddied p. pr. & vb. n. Waddying. ] To attack or beat with a waddy. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n.; pl. Waddies [ Written also waddie, whaddie. ] [ Native name. Thought by some to be a corrup. of E. wood. ] [ Australia ] 1. An aboriginal war club. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

2. A piece of wood; stick; peg; also, a walking stick. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. An Australian tree (Pittosporum bicolor); also, its wood, used in making waddies. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. Woad. [ Obs. ] Mortimer. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Waded; p. pr. & vb. n. Wading. ] [ OE. waden to wade, to go, AS. wadan; akin to OFries. wada, D. waden, OHG. watan, Icel. va&unr_;a, Sw. vada, Dan. vade, L. vadere to go, walk, vadum a ford. Cf. Evade, Invade, Pervade, Waddle. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. To go; to move forward. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

When might is joined unto cruelty,
Alas, too deep will the venom wade. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

Forbear, and wade no further in this speech. Old Play. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To walk in a substance that yields to the feet; to move, sinking at each step, as in water, mud, sand, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

So eagerly the fiend . . .
With head, hands, wings, or feet, pursues his way,
And swims, or sinks, or wades, or creeps, or flies. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Hence, to move with difficulty or labor; to proceed &unr_;lowly among objects or circumstances that constantly &unr_;inder or embarrass; as, to wade through a dull book. [ 1913 Webster ]

And wades through fumes, and gropes his way. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

The king's admirable conduct has waded through all these difficulties. Davenant. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To pass or cross by wading; as, he waded &unr_;he rivers and swamps. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act of wading. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who, or that which, wades. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Zool.) Any long-legged bird that wades in the water in search of food, especially any species of limicoline or grallatorial birds; -- called also wading bird. See Illust. g, under Aves. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. & n. from Wade, v. [ 1913 Webster ]

Wading bird. (Zool.) See Wader, 2. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Of Scand. origin; cf. Icel. va&unr_;māl a woollen stuff, Dan vadmel. Cf. Wad a small mass, and Woodmeil. ] A coarse, hairy, woolen cloth, formerly used for garments by the poor, and for various other purposes. [ Spelled also wadmal, wadmeal, wadmoll, wadmel, etc. ] Beck (Draper's Dict.). Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Scot. wad a pledge; akin to Sw. vad a wager. See Wed. ] (Scots Law) A kind of pledge or mortgage. [ Written also wadsett. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who holds by a wadset. [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Wadies [ Ar. wādī a valley, a channel of a river, a river. ] A ravine through which a brook flows; the channel of a water course, which is dry except in the rainy season. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A wave. [ Obs. ] Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) The kittiwake. [ Scot. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. wafre, OF. waufre, qaufre, F. qaufre; of Teutonic origin; cf. LG. & D. wafel, G. waffel, Dan. vaffel, Sw. våffla; all akin to G. wabe a honeycomb, OHG. waba, being named from the resemblance to a honeycomb. G. wabe is probably akin to E. weave. See Weave, and cf. Waffle, Gauffer. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. (Cookery) A thin cake made of flour and other ingredients. [ 1913 Webster ]

Wafers piping hot out of the gleed. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

The curious work in pastry, the fine cakes, wafers, and marchpanes. Holland. [ 1913 Webster ]

A woman's oaths are wafers -- break with making B. Jonson. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Eccl.) A thin cake or piece of bread (commonly unleavened, circular, and stamped with a crucifix or with the sacred monogram) used in the Eucharist, as in the Roman Catholic Church. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. An adhesive disk of dried paste, made of flour, gelatin, isinglass, or the like, and coloring matter, -- used in sealing letters and other documents. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Any thin but rigid plate of solid material, esp. of discoidal shape; -- a term used commonly to refer to the thin slices of silicon used as starting material for the manufacture of integrated circuits. [ PJC ]

Wafer cake, a sweet, thin cake. Shak. --
Wafer irons, or
Wafer tongs (Cookery), a pincher-shaped contrivance, having flat plates, or blades, between which wafers are baked. --
Wafer woman, a woman who sold wafer cakes; also, one employed in amorous intrigues. Beau. & Fl. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Wafered p. pr. & vb. n. Wafering. ] To seal or close with a wafer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A dealer in the cakes called wafers; a confectioner. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ D. wafel. See Wafer. ] 1. A thin cake baked and then rolled; a wafer. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A soft indented cake cooked in a waffle iron. [ 1913 Webster ]

Waffle iron, an iron utensil or mold made in two parts shutting together, -- used for cooking waffles over a fire. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Wafted; p. pr. & vb. n. Wafting. ] [ Prob. originally imp. & p. p. of wave, v. t. See Wave to waver. ] 1. To give notice to by waving something; to wave the hand to; to beckon. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

But soft: who wafts us yonder? Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To cause to move or go in a wavy manner, or by the impulse of waves, as of water or air; to bear along on a buoyant medium; as, a balloon was wafted over the channel. [ 1913 Webster ]

A gentle wafting to immortal life. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Speed the soft intercourse from soul to soul,
And waft a sigh from Indus to the pole. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To cause to float; to keep from sinking; to buoy. [ Obs. ] Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ This verb is regular; but waft was formerly som&unr_;times used, as by Shakespeare, instead of wafted. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To be moved, or to pass, on a buoyant medium; to float. [ 1913 Webster ]

And now the shouts waft near the citadel. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A wave or current of wind. “Everywaft of the air.” Longfellow. [ 1913 Webster ]

In this dire season, oft the whirlwind's wing
Sweeps up the burden of whole wintry plains
In one wide waft. Thomson. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A signal made by waving something, as a flag, in the air. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. An unpleasant flavor. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Naut.) A knot, or stop, in the middle of a flag. [ Written also wheft. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ A flag with a waft in it, when hoisted at the staff, or half way to the gaff, means, a man overboard; at the peak, a desire to communicate; at the masthead, “Recall boats.” [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Conveyance on a buoyant medium, as air or water. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Boats prepared for waftage to and fro. Drayton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who, or that which, wafts. [ 1913 Webster ]

O Charon,
Thou wafter of the soul to bliss or bane. Beau. & FL. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A boat for passage. Ainsworth. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act of waving; a wavelike motion; a waft. R. Browning. [ 1913 Webster ]

An angry wafture of your hand. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Wagged p. pr. & vb. n. Wagging. ] [ OE. waggen; probably of Scand. origin; cf. Sw. vagga to rock a cradle, vagga cradle, Icel. vagga, Dan. vugge; akin to AS. wagian to move, wag, wegan to bear, carry, G. & D. bewegen to move, and E. weigh. √136. See Weigh. ] To move one way and the other with quick turns; to shake to and fro; to move vibratingly; to cause to vibrate, as a part of the body; as, to wag the head. [ 1913 Webster ]

No discerner durst wag his tongue in censure. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and wag his head. Jer. xviii. 16. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Wag expresses specifically the motion of the head and body used in buffoonery, mirth, derision, sport, and mockery. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To move one way and the other; to be shaken to and fro; to vibrate. [ 1913 Webster ]

The resty sieve wagged ne'er the more. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To be in action or motion; to move; to get along; to progress; to stir. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

“Thus we may see, ” quoth he, “how the world wags.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To go; to depart; to pack oft. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

I will provoke him to 't, or let him wag. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ From Wag, v. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. The act of wagging; a shake; as, a wag of the head. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. [ Perhaps shortened from wag-halter a rogue. ] A man full of sport and humor; a ludicrous fellow; a humorist; a wit; a joker. [ 1913 Webster ]

We wink at wags when they offend. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

A counselor never pleaded without a piece of pack thread in his hand, which he used to twist about a finger all the while he was speaking; the wags used to call it the thread of his discourse. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. (Zool.) A small East Indian wild cat (Felis wagati), regarded by some as a variety of the leopard cat. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Waged p. pr. & vb. n. Waging ] [ OE. wagen, OF. wagier, gagier, to pledge, promise, F. gager to wager, lay, bet, fr. LL. wadium a pledge; of Teutonic origin; cf. Goth. wadi a pledge, gawadjōn to pledge, akin to E. wed, G. wette a wager. See Wed, and cf. Gage. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. To pledge; to hazard on the event of a contest; to stake; to bet, to lay; to wager; as, to wage a dollar. Hakluyt. [ 1913 Webster ]

My life I never but as a pawn
To wage against thy enemies. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To expose one's self to, as a risk; to incur, as a danger; to venture; to hazard. “Too weak to wage an instant trial with the king.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

To wake and wage a danger profitless. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To engage in, as a contest, as if by previous gage or pledge; to carry on, as a war. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ He pondered ] which of all his sons was fit
To reign and wage immortal war with wit. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

The two are waging war, and the one triumphs by the destruction of the other. I. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To adventure, or lay out, for hire or reward; to hire out. [ Obs. ] “Thou . . . must wage thy works for wealth.” Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To put upon wages; to hire; to employ; to pay wages to. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Abundance of treasure which he had in store, wherewith he might wage soldiers. Holinshed. [ 1913 Webster ]

I would have them waged for their labor. Latimer. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. (O. Eng. Law) To give security for the performance of. Burrill. [ 1913 Webster ]

To wage battle (O. Eng. Law), to give gage, or security, for joining in the duellum, or combat. See Wager of battel, under Wager, n. Burrill. --
To wage one's law (Law), to give security to make one's law. See Wager of law, under Wager, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To bind one's self; to engage. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. wage, gage, guarantee, engagement. See Wage, v. t. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. That which is staked or ventured; that for which one incurs risk or danger; prize; gage. [ Obs. ] “That warlike wage.” Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. That for which one labors; meed; reward; stipulated payment for service performed; hire; pay; compensation; -- at present generally used in the plural. See Wages. “My day's wage.” Sir W. Scott. “At least I earned my wage.” Thackeray. “Pay them a wage in advance.” J. Morley. “The wages of virtue.” Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

By Tom Thumb, a fairy page,
He sent it, and doth him engage,
By promise of a mighty wage,
It secretly to carry. Drayton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Our praises are our wages. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Existing legislation on the subject of wages. Encyc. Brit. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Wage is used adjectively and as the first part of compounds which are usually self-explaining; as, wage worker, or wage-worker; wage-earner, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

Board wages. See under 1st Board. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Hire; reward; stipend; salary; allowance; pay; compensation; remuneration; fruit. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) See Waggel. [ 1913 Webster ]