Chapter 50

{ Wi*dal's", or Wi*dal", test or reaction } (?). [After Fernand Widal (b. 1862), French physician.] (Med.) A test for typhoid fever based on the fact that blood serum of one affected, in a bouillon culture of typhoid bacilli, causes the bacilli to agglutinate and lose their motility.

Wide (?), a. (Stock Exchanges) Having or showing a wide difference between the highest and lowest price, amount of supply, etc.; as, a wide opening; wide prices, where the prices bid and asked differ by several points.

Wide"-an`gle, a. (Photog. & Optics) Having or covering an angle wider than the ordinary; -- applied to certain lenses of relatively short focus. Lenses for ordinary purposes have an angle of 50° or less. Wide-angle lenses may cover as much as 100° and are useful for photographing at short range, but the pictures appear distorted.

Wid"ow (?), n. (Card Playing) In various games, any extra hand or part of a hand, as one dealt to the table.

||Wie"ner Schnit"zel (?). [G., Vienna cutlet.] A veal cutlet variously seasoned garnished, often with lemon, sardines, and capers.

Wig"wag` (?), v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Wigwagged (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Wigwagging (?).] To move to and fro, to wag.

Wig"wag`, n. [See Wigwag, v. t. & i.] Act or art of wigwagging; a message wigwagged; -- chiefly attributive; as, the wigwag code. - - Wig"wag`er (#), n.

Wik"i*up` (?), n. [Of North American Indian origin; cf. Dakota wakeya, wokeya.] The hut used by the nomadic Indian tribes of the arid regions of the west and southwest United States, typically elliptical in form, with a rough frame covered with reed mats or grass or brushwood.

Wil"fley ta`ble (?). (Ore Dressing) An inclined percussion table, usually with longitudinal grooves in its surface, agitated by side blows at right angles to the flow of the pulp; -- so called after the inventor.

Wind (?), n. (Boxing) The region of the pit of the stomach, where a blow may paralyze the diaphragm and cause temporary loss of breath or other injury; the mark. [Slang or Cant]

Wind"ing (?), n. The material, as wire or rope, wound or coiled about anything, or a single round or turn of the material; as (Elec.), a series winding, or one in which the armature coil, the field-magnet coil, and the external circuit form a continuous conductor; a shunt winding, or one of such a character that the armature current is divided, a portion of the current being led around the field-magnet coils.

Wind"jam`mer (?), n. 1. (Naut.) A sailing vessel or one of its crew; -- orig. so called contemptuously by sailors on steam vessels. [Colloq.]

2. An army bugler or trumpeter; any performer on a wind instrument. [Slang]

Wind"-shak`en (?), a. Shaken by the wind; specif. (Forestry), affected by wind shake, or anemosis (which see, above).

Wind signal. In general, any signal announcing information concerning winds, and esp. the expected approach of winds whose direction and force are dangerous to shipping, etc. The wind- signal system of the United States Weather Bureau consists of storm, information, hurricane, hot wind, and inland storm signals.

Wind"-up` (?), n. Act of winding up, or closing; a concluding act or part; the end.

Wine"sap` (?), n. [Wine + sap for sop.] A variety of winter apple of medium size, deep red color, and yellowish flesh of a rich, rather subacid flavor.

Wing, n. (Aëronautics) Any surface used primarily for supporting a flying machine in flight, whether by edge-on motion, or flapping, or rotation; specif., either of a pair of supporting planes of a flying machine.

Win"ter*kill`, v. i. To die as the result of exposure to the cold of winter; as, the tree winterkills easily.

Wire (?), n. 1. Chiefly in pl. The system of wires used to operate the puppets in a puppet show; hence (Chiefly Political Slang), the network of hidden influences controlling the action of a person or organization; as, to pull the wires for office.

2. One who picks women's pockets. [Thieves' Slang]

3. A knitting needle. [Scot.]

4. A wire stretching across over a race track at the judges' stand, to mark the line at which the races end. [Racing Cant]

Wire, v. t. (Croquet) To place (a ball) so that the wire of a wicket prevents a successful shot.

Wire gun. = Wire-wound gun.

Wire"less, a. Having no wire; specif. (Elec.), designating, or pertaining to, a method of telegraphy, telephony, etc., in which the messages, etc., are transmitted through space by electric waves; as, a wireless message. -- Wireless telegraphy or telegraph (Elec.), any system of telegraphy employing no connecting wire or wires between the transmitting and receiving stations. Although more or less successful researchers were made on the subject by Joseph Henry, Hertz, Oliver Lodge, and others, the first commercially successful system was that of Guglielmo Marconi, patented in March, 1897. Marconi employed electric waves of high frequency set up by an induction coil in an oscillator, these waves being launched into space through a lofty antenna. The receiving apparatus consisted of another antenna in circuit with a coherer and small battery for operating through a relay the ordinary telegraphic receiver. This apparatus contains the essential features of all the systems now in use. -- Wireless telephone, an apparatus or contrivance for wireless telephony. -- Wireless telephony, telephony without wires, usually employing electric waves of high frequency emitted from an oscillator or generator, as in wireless telegraphy. A telephone transmitter causes fluctuations in these waves, it being the fluctuations only which affect the receiver.

Wire"less, n. Short for Wireless telegraphy, Wireless telephony, etc.; as, to send a message by wireless.

Wire tapper. One that taps, or cuts in on, telegraph wires and intercepts messages; hence (Slang), a swindler who pretends to tap wires or otherwise intercept advance telegraphic news for betting. -- Wire tapping.

Wire"-wound` gun. (Ordnance) A gun in the construction of which an inner tube (either entire or in segments) is wound with wire under tension to insure greater soundness and uniformity of resistance. In modern construction hoops and jackets are shrunk on over the wire.

Wir"ing (?), n. 1. The act of one that wires anything.

2. The wires or conductors employed in a system of electric distribution.

Wis"dom lit"er*a*ture. The class of ancient Hebrew writings which deal reflectively with general ethical and religious topics, as distinguished from the prophetic and liturgical literature, and from the law. It is comprised chiefly in the books of Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiasticus, Ecclesiastes, and Wisdom of Solomon. The "wisdom" (Hokhmah) of these writings consists in detached sage utterances on concrete issues of life, without the effort at philosophical system that appeared in the later Hellenistic reflective writing beginning with Philo Judæus.

Wit"an (?), n. pl. [AS., pl. of wita sage, councilor.] Lit., wise men; specif. (A.-S. Hist.), the members of the national, or king's, council which sat to assist the king in administrative and judicial matters; also, the council.

Wolf"hound` (?), n. (Zoöl.) Originally, a large hound used in hunting wolves; now, any one of certain breeds of large dogs, some of which are nearly identical with the great Danes.

Wol"fram steel. Same as Tungsten steel.

Wol"las*ton's dou"blet (?). [After W. H. Wollaston, English physicist.] (Optics) A magnifying glass consisting of two plano-convex lenses. It is designed to correct spherical aberration and chromatic dispersion.

Wol`ver*ene" State. Michigan; -- a nickname.

Woman's Christian Temperance Union. An association of women formed in the United States in 1874, for the advancement of temperance by organizing preventive, educational, evangelistic, social, and legal work.

Wood gum. (Chem.) Xylan.

Wood hyacinth. A European squill (Scilla nonscripta) having a scape bearing a raceme of drooping blue, purple, white, or sometimes pink, bell-shaped flowers.

Wood partridge. (a) Any of several small partridges of Java, Sumatra, Borneo, and neighboring regions belonging to the genera Caloperdix, Rollulus, and Melanoperdix. (b) The Canada grouse. [Local, U. S.]

Word method. (Education) A method of teaching reading in which words are first taken as single ideograms and later analyzed into their phonetic and alphabetic elements; -- contrasted with the alphabet and sentence methods.

Word"play` (?), n. A more or less subtle playing upon the meaning of words.

Work, n. 1. (Cricket) Break; twist. [Cant]

2. (Mech.) The causing of motion against a resisting force, measured by the product of the force into the component of the motion resolved along the direction of the force.

Energy is the capacity of doing work. . . . Work is the transference of energy from one system to another.

Clerk Maxwell.

3. (Mining) Ore before it is dressed.

Workmen's compensation act. (Law) A statute fixing the compensation that a workman may recover from an employer in case of accident, esp. the British act of 6 Edw. VII. c. 58 (1906) giving to a workman, except in certain cases of "serious and willful misconduct," a right against his employer to a certain compensation on the mere occurrence of an accident where the common law gives the right only for negligence of the employer.

{ Work"ways` (?), Work"wise` (?) }, adv. In a working position or manner; as, a T rail placed workwise, i.e., resting on its base.

Wres"tling (?), n. Act of one who wrestles; specif., the sport consisting of the hand-to-hand combat between two unarmed contestants who seek to throw each other. The various styles of wrestling differ in their definition of a fall and in the governing rules. In Greco-Roman wrestling, tripping and taking hold of the legs are forbidden, and a fall is gained (that is, the bout is won), by the contestant who pins both his opponent's shoulders to the ground. In catch-as-catch-can wrestling, all holds are permitted except such as may be barred by mutual consent, and a fall is defined as in Greco-Roman style. Lancashire style wrestling is essentially the same as catch-as-catch- can. In Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling the contestants stand chest to chest, grasping each other around the body. The one first losing his hold, or touching the ground with any part of his body except his feet, loses the bout. If both fall to the ground at the same time, it is a dogfall, and must be wrestled over. In the Cornwall and Devon wrestling, the wrestlers complete in strong loose linen jackets, catching hold of the jacket, or anywhere above the waist. Two shoulders and one hip, or two hips and one shoulder, must touch the ground to constitute a fall, and if a man is thrown otherwise than on his back the contestants get upon their feet and the bout recommences.

Wrig"gle, n. Act of wriggling; a short or quick writhing motion or contortion.

{ Wyn, Wynn (?), n. Also Wen (?) }. [AS. wn.] One of the runes (&?;) adopted into the Anglo-Saxon, or Old English, alphabet. It had the value of modern English w, and was replaced from about a. d. 1280 at first by uu, later by w.

X.

{ Xan"thine (?), n. Also Xan"thin }. [Gr. xanqo`s yellow.] (Physiol. Chem.) A white microcrystalline nitrogenous compound, C5H4O2N4, present in muscle tissue, in the liver, spleen, pancreas, and other organs, and also in urine (in small quantities) and some urinary calculi, and in the juices of certain plants; -- so called because it leaves a yellow residue when evaporated to dryness with nitric acid. Xanthine is closely related to uric acid.

Xan"tho*chroid (?), a. [See under Xanthrochroic, -oid.] (Ethnol.) Having a yellowish or fair complexion. -- n. A person having xanthochroid traits.

Xan*thoch"ro*ism (?), n. Abnormal coloration of feathers in which yellow replaces the normal color, as in certain parrots. It is commonly due to lack of the dark pigment which with yellow forms green.

Xan*thom"a*tous (?), a. (Med.) Of or pertaining to xanthoma.

Xan`tho*mel"a*nous (?), a. [Pref. xantho- + Gr. &?;, &?;, black.] (Ethnol.) Of or pertaining to the lighter division of the Melanochroi, or those races having an olive or yellow complexion and black hair.

Xen"on (?), n. [Gr. &?;, neut. of &?; strange.] (Chem.) A very heavy, inert gaseous element occurring in the atmosphere in the proportion of one volume is about 20 millions. It was discovered by Ramsay and Travers in 1898. It can be condensed to a liquid boiling at -109° C., and to a solid which volatilizes without melting. Symbol Xe or X; atomic weight 130.2.

XP (?). [Belongs here in appearance only.] The first two letters of the Greek word XRISTOS, Christ; -- an abbreviation used with the letters separate or, oftener, in a monogram, often inclosed in a circle, as a symbol or emblem of Christ. It use as an emblem was introduced by Constantine the Great, whence it is known as the Constantinian symbol, or monogram. See Labarum.

{ X rays, or X"-rays` (?) }, n. pl. The Röntgen rays; -- so called by their discoverer because of their enigmatical character.

X"-ray" tube. (Physics) A vacuum tube suitable for producing Röntgen rays.

Xy"lan (?), n. (Chem.) A gummy substance of the pentosan class, present in woody tissue, and yielding xylose on hydrolysis; wood gum.

Xy*lol"o*gy (?), n. [Pref. xylo- + -logy.] The branch of dendrology treating of the gross and minute structure of wood.

Xy"lose (?), n. [Pref. xylo- + -ose.] (Chem.) An unfermentable sugar of the pentose class, C5H10O5, formed by the hydrolysis of xylan; wood sugar.

Xy*lot"o*mist (?), n. One versed or engaged in xylotomy.

Xy*lot"o*mous (?), a. [Pref. xylo- + root of Gr. &?; to cut.] (Zoöl.) Capable of boring or cutting wood; -- said of many insects.

Xy*lot"o*my (?), n. [Pref. xylo- + -tomy.] Art of preparing sections (transverse, tangential, or radial) of wood, esp. by means of a microtome, for microscopic examination.

<! p. 2026 !>

Y.

Ya"hoo (?), n. 1. One of a race of filthy brutes in Swift's "Gulliver's Travels." See in the Dictionary of Noted Names in Fiction.

2. Hence, any brutish or vicious character.

3. A raw countryman; a lout; a greenhorn. [U. S.]

{ Yah"weh (?), Yah"we, n. Also Jah"veh (?), Jah"ve, etc. } A modern transliteration of the Hebrew word translated Jehovah in the Bible; -- used by some critics to discriminate the tribal god of the ancient Hebrews from the Christian Jehovah. Yahweh or Yahwe is the spelling now generally adopted by scholars.

{ Yah"wism (?), n. Also Jah"vism (?) }. 1. The religion or worship of Yahweh (Jehovah), or the system of doctrines, etc., connected with it.

2. Use of Yahweh as a name of God.

Yah"wist (?), n. Also Jah"vist (&?;), Jah"wist, older Je*ho"vist. The author of the passages of the Old Testament, esp. those of the Hexateuch, in which God is styled Yahweh, or Jehovah; the author of the Yahwistic, or Jehovistic, Prophetic Document (J); also, the document itself.

Ya*kut" (?), n. The Turkish language of the Yakuts, a Mongolian people of northeastern Siberia, which is lingua franca over much of eastern Siberia.

Yam, n. (Bot.) Any one of several cultural varieties of the sweet potato. [U. S.]

Ya"men (?), n. [Chin. ya a civil or military court + men a gate.] In China, the official headquarters or residence of a mandarin, including court rooms, offices, gardens, prisons, etc.; the place where the business of any public department is transcated.

Yard (?), n. (Zoöl.) A place where moose or deer herd together in winter for pasture, protection, etc.

Yau*ti"a (?), n. [Native name in the Antilles.] In Porto Rico, any of several araceous plants or their starchy edible roots, which are cooked and eaten like yams or potatoes, as the taro.

Yawi (?), n. A fore-and-aft-rigged vessel with a mainmast stepped a little farther forward than in a sloop and carrying a mainsail and jibs, with a jigger mast far aft, usually placed abaft the rudder post.

Yaz"oo Fraud (?). (U. S. Hist.) The grant by the State of Georgia, by Act of Jan. 7, 1795, of 35,000,000 acres of her western territory, for $500,000, to four companies known as the Yazoo Companies from the region granted ; -- commonly so called, the act being known as the Yazoo Frauds Act, because of alleged corruption of the legislature, every member but one being a shareholder in one or more of the companies. The act granting the land was repealed in 1796 by a new legislature, and the repealing provision was incorporated in the State constitution in 1798. In 1802 the territory was ceded to the United States. The claims of the purchasers, whom Georgia had refused to compensate, were sustained by the United States Supreme Court, which (1810) declared the repealing act of 1796 unconstitutional. Congress in 1814 ordered the lands sold and appropriated $5,000,000 to pay the claims.

Y current. (Elec.) The current through one branch of the star arrangement of a three-phase circuit.

Year's purchase (?). The amount that is yielded by the annual income of property; -- used in expressing the value of a thing in the number of years required for its income to yield its purchase price, in reckoning the amount to be paid for annuities, etc.

Yel"low, a. 1. Cowardly; hence, dishonorable; mean; contemptible; as, he has a yellow streak. [Slang]

2. Sensational; -- said of some newspapers, their makers, etc.; as, yellow journal, journalism, etc. [Colloq.]

Yellow Book. [F. livre jaune.] In France, an official government publication bound in yellow covers.

Yel"ting (?), n. [Orig. uncert.] The Florida and West Indian red snapper (Lutianus aya); also, sometimes, one of certain other allied species, as L. caxis.

Yeo"man*ry, n. A British volunteer cavalry force, growing out of a royal regiment of fox hunters raised by Yorkshire gentlemen in 1745 to fight the Pretender, Charles Edward. The members furnish their own horses, have fourteen days' annual camp training, and receive pay and allowance when on duty. In 1901 the name was altered to imperial yeomanry in recognition of the services of the force in the Boer war. See Army organization, above.

Yid (?), n. [See Yiddish.] A Jew. [Slang or Colloq.] "Almost any young Yid who goes out from among her people." John Corbin.

Yid"dish (?), n. [G. jüdisch, prop., Jewish, fr. Jude Jew. See Jew, Jewish.] A language used by German and other Jews, being a Middle German dialect developed under Hebrew and Slavic influence. It is written in Hebrew characters.

Yid"dish*er (?), n. [See Yiddish.] A Yid. [Slang]

Y*lang`-y*lang" (?), n. See Ihlang-ihlang.

Yo"gism (?), n. Yoga, or its practice.

Yoke (?), n. (Chiefly Mach.) A clamp or similar piece that embraces two other parts to hold or unite them in their respective or relative positions, as a strap connecting a slide valve to the valve stem, or the soft iron block or bar permanently connecting the pole pieces of an electromagnet, as in a dynamo.

Yom (?), n. [Heb. ym.] Day; -- a Hebrew word used in the names of various Jewish feast days; as, Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement; Yom Teruah (lit., day of shouting), the Feast of Trumpets.

York rite (?). (Freemasonry) The rite or ceremonial observed by one of the Masonic systems, deriving its name from the city of York, in England; also, the system itself, which, in England, confers only the first three degrees.

Young Men's Christian Association. An organization for promoting the spiritual, intellectual, social, and physical welfare of young men, founded, June 6, 1844, by George Williams (knighted therefor by Queen Victoria) in London. In 1851 it extended to the United States and Canada, and in 1855 representatives of similar organizations throughout Europe and America formed an international body. The movement has successfully expanded not only among young men in general, but also specifically among railroad men, in the army and navy, with provision for Indians and negroes, and a full duplication of all the various lines of oepration in the boys' departments.

Young one. A young human being; a child; also, a young animal, as a colt.

Young Women's Christian Association. An organization for promoting the spiritual, intellectual, social, and economic welfare of young women, originating in 1855 with Lady Kinnaird's home for young women, and Miss Emma Robert's prayer union for young women,in England, which were combined in the year 1884 as a national association. Now nearly all the civilized countries, and esp. the United States, have local, national, and international organizations.

Yuc"ca bor`er. (a) A California boring weevil (Yuccaborus frontalis). (b) A large mothlike butterfly (Megathymus yuccæ) of the family Megatimidæ, whose larva bores in yucca roots.

Yu"man (?), a. Designating, or pertaining to, an important linguistic stock of North American Indians of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, nearly all agriculturists and adept potters and basket makers. Their usual dwelling is the brush wikiup, and in their native state they wear little clothing. The Yuma, Maricopa, Mohave, Walapi, and Yavapai are among the chief tribes, all of fine physique.

Yun"ca (y"k), n. An Indian of a linguistic stock of tribes of the Peruvian coast who had a developed agricultural civilization at the advent of the Spaniards, before which they had been conquered by the Incas. They constructed irrigation canals which are still in use, adorned their buildings with bas-reliefs and frescoes, and were skilled goldsmiths and silversmiths. -- Yun"can (#), a.

Z.

||Za*pas" (?), n. [Russ.] See Army organization, above.

Za`pa*te"ra (?), n. [Sp. aceituna zapatera.] (Olive trade) A cured olive which has spoiled or is on the verge of decomposition; loosely, an olive defective because of bruises, wormholes, or the like.

Zarf (?), n. [Ar.] (Art) A metallic cuplike stand used for holding a finjan.

Zas*tru"gi (?), n. pl.; sing. - ga (#). [Russ. zastruga furrow made on the shore by water.] Grooves or furrows formed in snow by the action of the wind, and running parallel with the direction of the wind. This formation results from the erosion of transverse waves previously formed.

Ze*brin"ny (?), n.; pl. - nies (&?;). A cross between a male horse and a female zebra.

{ Ze"bru*la (?), Ze"brule (?) }, n. A cross between a male zebra and a female horse.

Zee"man ef*fect" (?). (Physics) The widening and duplication, triplication, etc., of spectral lines when the radiations emanate in a strong magnetic field, first observed in 1896 by P. Zeeman, a Dutch physicist, and regarded as an important confirmation of the electromagnetic theory of light.

||Zeit"geist` (?), n. [G.; zeit time + geist spirit. See Tide, n.; Ghost, n.] The spirit of the time; the general intellectual and moral state or temper characteristic of any period of time.

Zem"stvo (?), n. [Russ., fr. zemlya land.] In Russia, an elective local district and provincial administrative assembly. Originally it was composed of representatives elected by the peasantry, the householders of the towns, and the landed proprietors. In the reign of Alexander III. the power of the noble landowners was increased, the peasants allowed only to elect candidates from whom the governor of the province nominated the deputy, and all acts of the zemstvo subjected to the approval of the governor. Theoretically the zemstvo has large powers relating to taxation, education, public health, etc., but practically these powers are in most cases limited to the adjustment of the state taxation.

Zep`pe*lin" (tsp`p*l"; Angl. zp"p*ln), n. A dirigible balloon of the rigid type, consisting of a cylindrical trussed and covered frame supported by internal gas cells, and provided with means of propulsion and control. It was first successfully used by Ferdinand Count von Zeppelin.

Zik"ku*rat (?), n. A temple tower of the Babylonians or Assyrians, consisting of a lofty pyramidal structure, built in successive stages, with outside staircases, and a shrine at the top.