Chapter 1881

5. Used adverbially, in part; partly; somewhat; -- with a following preposition, especially, with , and commonly with repetition.

What for lust [pleasure] and what for lore. Chaucer.

Thus, what with the war, what with the sweat, what with the gallows, and what with poverty, I am custom shrunk. Shak.

The year before he had so used the matter that what by force, what by policy, he had taken from the Christians above thirty small castles. Knolles.

&hand; In such phrases as I tell you what , what anticipates the following statement, being elliptical for what I think , what it is , how it is , etc. "I tell thee what , corporal Bardolph, I could tear her." Shak . Here what relates to the last clause, "I could tear her;" this is what I tell you.

What not is often used at the close of an enumeration of several particulars or articles, it being an abbreviated clause, the verb of which, being either the same as that of the principal clause or a general word, as be , say , mention , enumerate , etc., is omitted. "Men hunt, hawk, and what not ." Becon . "Some dead puppy, or log, or what not ." C. Kingsley . "Battles, tournaments, hunts, and what not ." De Quincey . Hence, the words are often used in a general sense with the force of a substantive, equivalent to anything you please , a miscellany , a variety , etc. From this arises the name whatnot , applied to an \'82tag\'8are , as being a piece of furniture intended for receiving miscellaneous articles of use or ornament. <-- also called a whatnot shelf -->

But what is used for but that , usually after a negative, and excludes everything contrary to the assertion in the following sentence. "Her needle is not so absolutely perfect in tent and cross stitch but what my superintendence is advisable." Sir W. Scott . "Never fear but what our kite shall fly as high." Ld. Lytton .

What ho! an exclamation of calling. -- What if , what will it matter if; what will happen or be the result if. " What if it be a poison?" Shak . -- What of this ? that? it? etc. , what follows from this, that, it, etc., often with the implication that it is of no consequence. "All this is so; but what of this , my lord?" Shak . "The night is spent, why, what of that ?" Shak . -- What though , even granting that; allowing that; supposing it true that. " What though the rose have prickles, yet't is plucked." Shak . -- What time , &or; What time as , when. [Obs. or Archaic] " What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee." Ps. lvi. 3 .

What time the morn mysterious visions brings. Pope.

What <Xpage=1643>

What (?) , n. Something; thing; stuff. [Obs.]

And gave him for to feed, Such homely what as serves the simple <?/lown. Spenser.

What <Xpage=1643>

What , interrog. adv. Why? For what purpose? On what account? [Obs.]

What should I tell the answer of the knight. Chaucer.

But what do I stand reckoning upon advantages and gains lost by the misrule and turbulency of the prelates? What do I pick up so thriftily their scatterings and diminishings of the meaner subject? Milton.

Whate'er <Xpage=1643>

What*e'er" (?) , pron. A contraction of what-ever ; -- used in poetry. " Whate'er is in his way."

Shak.

Whatever <Xpage=1643>

What*ev"er (?) , pron. Anything soever which; the thing or things of any kind; being this or that; of one nature or another; one thing or another; anything that may be; all that; the whole that; all particulars that; -- used both substantively and adjectively.

Whatever fortune stays from his word. Shak.

Whatever Earth, all-bearing mother, yields. Milton.

Whatever be its intrinsic value. J. H. Newman.

&hand; Whatever often follows a noun, being used elliptically. "There being no room for any physical discovery whatever " [ sc. it may be].

Whately.

Whatnot <Xpage=1643>

What"not (?) , n. [See the Note under What , pron ., 5.] A kind of stand, or piece of furniture, having shelves for books, ornaments, etc.; an \'82tag\'8are.

Whatso <Xpage=1643>

What"so (?) , indef. pron. Whatsoever; whosoever; whatever; anything that. [Obs.]

Whatso he were, of high or low estate. Chaucer.

Whatso the heaven in his wide vault contains. Spenser.

Whatsoe'er <Xpage=1643>

What`so*e'er" (?) , pron. A contraction of whatsoever ; -- used in poetry.

Shak.

Whatsoever <Xpage=1643>

What`so*ev"er (?) , pron. & a. Whatever. "In whatsoever shape he lurk."

Milton.

Whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do. Gen. xxxi. 16.

&hand; The word is sometimes divided by tmesis. " What things soever ye desire."

Mark xi. 24.

Whaul <Xpage=1643>

Whaul (?) , n. Same as Whall .

Whaup <Xpage=1643>

Whaup (?) , n. (Zo\'94l.) See Whaap . [Prov. Eng.]

Wheal <Xpage=1643>

Wheal (?) , n. [OE. whele , AS. hwele putrefaction, hwelian to putrefy.] A pustule; a whelk.

Wiseman.

Wheal <Xpage=1643>

Wheal , n. [Cf. Wale .]

1. A more or less elongated mark raised by a stroke; also, a similar mark made by any cause; a weal; a wale.

2. Specifically (Med.) , a flat, burning or itching eminence on the skin, such as is produced by a mosquito bite, or in urticaria.

Wheal <Xpage=1643>

Wheal , n. [Cornish hwel .] (Mining) A mine.

Whealworm <Xpage=1643>

Wheal"worm` (?) , n. (Zo\'94l.) The harvest mite; -- so called from the wheals , caused by its bite.

Wheat <Xpage=1643>

Wheat (?) , n. [OE. whete , AS. hw <?/ te ; akin to OS. hw <?/ ti , D. weit , G. weizen , OHG. weizzi , Icel. hveiti , Sw. hvete , Dan. hvede , Goth. hwaiteis , and E. while . See White .] (Bot.) A cereal grass ( Triticum vulgare ) and its grain, which furnishes a white flour for bread, and, next to rice, is the grain most largely used by the human race.

&hand; Of this grain the varieties are numerous, as red wheat, white wheat, bald wheat, bearded wheat, winter wheat, summer wheat, and the like. Wheat is not known to exist as a wild native plant, and all statements as to its origin are either incorrect or at best only guesses.

Buck wheat . (Bot.) See Buckwheat . -- German wheat . (Bot.) See 2d Spelt . -- Guinea wheat (Bot.) , a name for Indian corn. -- Indian wheat , &or; Tartary wheat (Bot.) , a grain ( Fagopyrum Tartaricum ) much like buckwheat, but only half as large. -- Turkey wheat (Bot.) , a name for Indian corn. -- Wheat aphid , &or; Wheat aphis (Zo\'94l.) , any one of several species of Aphis and allied genera, which suck the sap of growing wheat. -- Wheat beetle . (Zo\'94l.) (a) A small, slender, rusty brown beetle ( Sylvanus Surinamensis ) whose larv\'91 feed upon wheat, rice, and other grains. (b) A very small, reddish brown, oval beetle ( Anobium paniceum ) whose larv\'91 eat the interior of grains of wheat. -- Wheat duck (Zo\'94l.) , the American widgeon. [Western U. S.] -- Wheat fly . (Zo\'94l.) Same as Wheat midge , below. -- Wheat grass (Bot.) , a kind of grass ( Agropyrum caninum ) somewhat resembling wheat. It grows in the northern parts of Europe and America. -- Wheat jointworm . (Zo\'94l.) See Jointworm . -- Wheat louse (Zo\'94l.) , any wheat aphid. -- Wheat maggot (Zo\'94l.) , the larva of a wheat midge. -- Wheat midge . (Zo\'94l.) (a) A small two-winged fly ( Diplosis tritici ) which is very destructive to growing wheat, both in Europe and America. The female lays her eggs in the flowers of wheat, and the larv\'91 suck the juice of the young kernels and when full grown change to pup\'91 in the earth. (b) The Hessian fly. See under Hessian . -- Wheat moth (Zo\'94l.) , any moth whose larv\'91 devour the grains of wheat, chiefly after it is harvested; a grain moth. See Angoumois Moth , also Grain moth , under Grain . -- Wheat thief (Bot.) , gromwell; -- so called because it is a troublesome weed in wheat fields. See Gromwell . -- Wheat thrips (Zo\'94l.) , a small brown thrips ( Thrips cerealium ) which is very injurious to the grains of growing wheat. -- Wheat weevil . (Zo\'94l.) (a) The grain weevil. (b) The rice weevil when found in wheat.

Wheatbird <Xpage=1643>

Wheat"bird` (?) , n. (Zo\'94l.) A bird that feeds on wheat, especially the chaffinch.

Wheatear <Xpage=1643>

Wheat"ear` (?) , n. (Zo\'94l.) A small European singing bird ( Saxicola &oe;nanthe ). The male is white beneath, bluish gray above, with black wings and a black stripe through each eye. The tail is black at the tip and in the middle, but white at the base and on each side. Called also checkbird , chickell , dykehopper , fallow chat , fallow finch , stonechat , and whitetail .

Wheaten <Xpage=1643>

Wheat"en (?) , a. [AS. hw\'91ten .] Made of wheat; as, wheaten bread .

Cowper.

Wheatsel bird <Xpage=1643>

Wheat"sel bird` (?) . (Zo\'94l.) The male of the chaffinch. [Prov. Eng.]

Wheatstone's bridge <Xpage=1643>

Wheat"stone's bridge` (?) . (Elec.) See under Bridge .

Wheatworm <Xpage=1643>

Wheat"worm` (?) , n. (Zo\'94l.) A small nematode worm ( Anguillula tritici ) which attacks the grains of wheat in the ear. It is found in wheat affected with smut, each of the diseased grains containing a large number of the minute young of the worm.

Wheder <Xpage=1643>

Whed"er (?) pron. & conj. Whether. [Obs.]

Wheedle <Xpage=1643>

Whee"dle (?) , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Wheedled (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Wheedling (?) .] [Cf. G. wedeln to wag with the tail, as a dog, wedel a fan, tail, brush, OHG. wadal ; akin to G. wehen to blow, and E. wind , n.]

1. To entice by soft words; to cajole; to flatter; to coax.

The unlucky art of wheedling fools. Dryden.

And wheedle a world that loves him not. Tennyson.

2. To grain, or get away, by flattery.

A deed of settlement of the best part of her estate, which I wheedled out of her. Congreve.

Wheedle <Xpage=1643>

Whee"dle , v. i. To flatter; to coax; to cajole.

Wheel <Xpage=1643>

Wheel (?) , n. [OE. wheel , hweol , AS. hwe\'a2l , hweogul , hweowol ; akin to D. wiel , Icel. hv \'c7 l , Gr. <?/, Skr. cakra ; cf. Icel. hj \'d3 l , Dan. hiul , Sw. hjul . \'fb218 Cf. Cycle , Cyclopedia .]

1. A circular frame turning about an axis; a rotating disk, whether solid, or a frame composed of an outer rim, spokes or radii, and a central hub or nave, in which is inserted the axle, -- used for supporting and conveying vehicles, in machinery, and for various purposes; as, the wheel of a wagon, of a locomotive, of a mill, of a watch, etc .

The gasping charioteer beneath the wheel Of his own car. Dryden.

2. Any instrument having the form of, or chiefly consisting of, a wheel. Specifically: --

(a) A spinning wheel. See under Spinning .

(b) An instrument of torture formerly used.

His examination is like that which is made by the rack and wheel . Addison.

&hand; This mode of torture is said to have been first employed in Germany, in the fourteenth century. The criminal was laid on a cart wheel with his legs and arms extended, and his limbs in that posture were fractured with an iron bar. In France, where its use was restricted to the most atrocious crimes, the criminal was first laid on a frame of wood in the form of a St. Andrew's cross, with grooves cut transversely in it above and below the knees and elbows, and the executioner struck eight blows with an iron bar, so as to break the limbs in those places, sometimes finishing by two or three blows on the chest or stomach, which usually put an end to the life of the criminal, and were hence called coups-de-grace -- blows of mercy. The criminal was then unbound, and laid on a small wheel, with his face upward, and his arms and legs doubled under him, there to expire, if he had survived the previous treatment.

Brande.

(c) (Naut.) A circular frame having handles on the periphery, and an axle which is so connected with the tiller as to form a means of controlling the rudder for the purpose of steering.

(d) (Pottery) A potter's wheel. See under Potter .

Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels . Jer. xviii. 3.

Turn, turn, my wheel ! This earthen jar A touch can make, a touch can mar. Longfellow.

(e) (Pyrotechny) A firework which, while burning, is caused to revolve on an axis by the reaction of the escaping gases.

(f) (Poetry) The burden or refrain of a song.

&hand; "This meaning has a low degree of authority, but is supposed from the context in the few cases where the word is found."

Nares.

You must sing a-down a-down, An you call him a-down-a. O, how the wheel becomes it! Shak.

<page="1644"> Page 1644

3. A bicycle or a tricycle; a velocipede.

4. A rolling or revolving body; anything of a circular form; a disk; an orb.

Milton.

5. A turn revolution; rotation; compass.

According to the common vicissitude and wheel of things, the proud and the insolent, after long trampling upon others, come at length to be trampled upon themselves. South.

[He] throws his steep flight in many an a\'89ry wheel . Milton.

A wheel within a wheel , &or; Wheels within wheels , a complication of circumstances, motives, etc. -- Balance wheel . See in the Vocab. -- Bevel wheel , Brake wheel , Cam wheel , Fifth wheel , Overshot wheel , Spinning wheel , etc. See under Bevel , Brake , etc. -- Core wheel . (Mach.) (a) A mortise gear. (b) A wheel having a rim perforated to receive wooden cogs; the skeleton of a mortise gear. -- Measuring wheel , an odometer, or perambulator. -- Wheel and axle (Mech.) , one of the elementary machines or mechanical powers, consisting of a wheel fixed to an axle, and used for raising great weights, by applying the power to the circumference of the wheel, and attaching the weight, by a rope or chain, to that of the axle. Called also axis in peritrochio , and perpetual lever , -- the principle of equilibrium involved being the same as in the lever, while its action is continuous. See Mechanical powers , under Mechanical . -- Wheel animal , &or; Wheel animalcule (Zo\'94l.) , any one of numerous species of rotifers having a ciliated disk at the anterior end. -- Wheel 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 (Zo\'94l.) , a large North American hemipterous insect ( Prionidus cristatus ) which sucks the blood of other insects. So named from the curious shape of the prothorax. -- Wheel carriage , a carriage moving on wheels. -- Wheel chains , &or; Wheel ropes (Naut.) , the chains or ropes connecting the wheel and rudder. -- Wheel cutter , a machine for shaping the cogs of gear wheels; a gear cutter. -- Wheel horse , one of the horses nearest to the wheels, as opposed to a leader, or forward horse; -- called also wheeler . -- Wheel lathe , a lathe for turning railway-car wheels. -- Wheel lock . (a) A letter lock. See under Letter . (b) A kind of gunlock in which sparks were struck from a flint, or piece of iron pyrites, by a revolving wheel. (c) A kind of brake a carriage. -- Wheel ore (Min.) , a variety of bournonite so named from the shape of its twin crystals. See Bournonite . -- Wheel pit (Steam Engine) , a pit in the ground, in which the lower part of the fly wheel runs. -- Wheel plow , &or; Wheel plough , a plow having one or two wheels attached, to render it more steady, and to regulate the depth of the furrow. -- Wheel press , a press by which railway-car wheels are forced on, or off, their axles. -- Wheel race , the place in which a water wheel is set. -- Wheel rope (Naut.) , a tiller rope. See under Tiller . -- Wheel stitch (Needlework) , a stitch resembling a spider's web, worked into the material, and not over an open space. Caulfeild & S. (Dict. of Needlework) . -- Wheel tree (Bot.) , a tree ( Aspidosperma excelsum ) of Guiana, which has a trunk so curiously fluted that a transverse section resembles the hub and spokes of a coarsely made wheel. See Paddlewood . -- Wheel urchin (Zo\'94l.) , any sea urchin of the genus Rotula having a round, flat shell. -- Wheel window (Arch.) , a circular window having radiating mullions arranged like the spokes of a wheel. Cf. Rose window , under Rose .

Wheel <Xpage=1644>

Wheel (?) , v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Wheeled (?) ; p. pr. & vb. n. Wheeling .]

1. To convey on wheels, or in a wheeled vehicle; as, to wheel a load of hay or wood .

2. To put into a rotatory motion; to cause to turn or revolve; to cause to gyrate; to make or perform in a circle. "The beetle wheels her droning flight."

Gray.

Now heaven, in all her glory, shone, and rolled Her motions, as the great first mover's hand First wheeled their course. Milton.

Wheel <Xpage=1644>

Wheel , v. i.

1. To turn on an axis, or as on an axis; to revolve; to more about; to rotate; to gyrate.

The moon carried about the earth always shows the same face to us, not once wheeling upon her own center. Bentley.

2. To change direction, as if revolving upon an axis or pivot; to turn; as, the troops wheeled to the right .

Being able to advance no further, they are in a fair way to wheel about to the other extreme. South.

3. To go round in a circuit; to fetch a compass.

Then wheeling down the steep of heaven he flies. Pope.

4. To roll forward.

Thunder mixed with hail, Hail mixed with fire, must rend the Egyptian sky, And wheel on the earth, devouring where it rolls. Milton.

Wheelband <Xpage=1644>

Wheel"band` (?) , n. The tire of a wheel.

Wheelbarrow <Xpage=1644>

Wheel"bar`row (?) , n. A light vehicle for conveying small loads. It has two handles and one wheel, and is rolled by a single person.

Wheelbird <Xpage=1644>

Wheel"bird` (?) , n. (Zo\'94l.) The European goatsucker. [Prov. Eng.]

Wheeled <Xpage=1644>