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Glossary of Biographic Terms
beginning with letter W
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Wagner
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proper noun
  1. A common occupational surname of German origin. Widely known as the surname of the German composer w:Richard Wagner, Richard Wagner (1813-1883).
Wainwright
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proper noun
  1. an English occupational surname from someone who builds wagons
waldo
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noun
  1. A remote manipulation system in which a slave device mimics the motions of a master device manipulated directly by the operator.
    • 1940: Robert A. Heinlein, Waldo
    • : "Waldo flexed and extended his fingers gently; the two pairs of waldoes in the screen followed in exact, simultaneous parallelism."
Walker
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proper noun
  1. an northern English occupational surname from the occupation of treating cloth by "walking" it
Wallace
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proper noun
  1. A surname, notably of the Scottish patriot William Wallace.
  2. (given name, male), transferred use of the surname since the nineteenth century.
Wallis
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proper noun
  1. An alternative name (the German name) for Valais (the French name).
Walter
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proper noun
  1. (given name, male)
Ward
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proper noun
  1. An English occupational surname for a guard or watchman
Warner
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proper noun
  1. An English surname derived from a medieval given name, from Germanic war,warin "guard" + hari,heri "army", modern German Werner.
  2. An English surname, reduced from Warrener.
  3. (given name, male), occasional transferred use of the surnames.
Warren
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proper noun
  1. A surname.
  2. (given name, male) used in medieval England and revived in the nineteenth century, partly with reference to the surname.
Warwick
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proper noun
  1. The county town of Warwickshire, England
Washington
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proper noun
  1. w:George Washington, George Washington, the Commander in Chief of the Continental Army and first President of the United States of America, from 1789 to 1797.
  2. Washington, D.C., the federal capital of the United States since 1800.
  3. (context, by synecdoche) The government or administrative authority of the United States.
"Washington"s conclusion that Israel likely misused U.S.-made cluster munitions by firing them at civilian areas in Lebanon has brought new pressure on Israel to review its wartime practices." " http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/israel_cluster_bombs Cluster-bomb report weighs on Israel, Yahoo News, January 30, 2007.
  1. A (USstate) Capital: Olympia.
  2. A town in the county of Tyne and Wear in the Northeast of England.
  3. (given name, male) popular during the first century of American independence, also in the form George Washington.
waters
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noun
  1. (plural of, water)
verb
  1. (third-person singular of, water
    1. Verb, water
    )
Watson
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proper noun
  1. A northern English and Scottish patronymic surname derived from Wat
  2. w:Doctor Watson, Doctor Watson fictional character in, and narrator of the w:Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes stories
  3. Any character who performs as catalyst for the protagonist detective's mental processes in a mystery story; a consciousness that's privy to facts in the case without being in on the conclusions drawn from them until the proper time. After w:William L. DeAndrea?, William L. DeAndrea?, discussing Sir w:Arthur Conan Doyle, Arthur Conan Doyle.
Watt
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proper noun
  1. An English and Scottish surname derived from the given name Wat
watts
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noun
  1. (plural of, watt)
Wayne
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proper noun
  1. (given name, male), transferred use of the surname.
weaver
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noun
  1. One who weaves
Webb
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noun
  1. web, World Wide Web
proper noun
  1. an English and Scottish occupational surname for a weaver
weber
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noun
  1. In the International System of Units, the derived unit of magnetic flux; the flux linking a circuit of one turn that produces an electromotive force of one volt when reduced uniformly to zero in one second. Symbol: Wb
Webster
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proper noun
  1. An English surname.
weed
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noun
  1. (countable) Any plant growing in cultivated ground to the injury of the crop or desired vegetation, or to the disfigurement of the place; an unsightly, useless, or injurious plant.
If it isn't in a straight line or marked with a label, it's a .
  1. (context, uncountable, slang) marijuana, Marijuana.
  2. (context, obsolete, uncountable) tobacco, Tobacco.
  3. (context, obsolete, countable) A cigar.
  4. (context, obsolete, countable) A horse unfit to breed from.
  5. (context, countable, UK, informal) A puny person; one who has with little physical strength.
  6. (rfv-sense) (countable) A sudden illness or relapse, often attended with fever, which attacks women in childbed.
  7. (rfv-sense) (uncountable) Underbrush; low shrubs.
  8. (rfv-sense, figuratively, or something?) (context, countable, figuratively) Something unprofitable or troublesome; anything useless.
(rfc, needs a rewrite)
verb
  1. To remove weeds (unwanted vegetation) from (a cultivated area).
I weeded my flower bed.
Welch
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proper noun
  1. An English surname, presumably originally a welshman.
  2. Archaic spelling of Welsh. Used in British regiment title w:Royal Welch Fusiliers, Royal Welch Fusiliers, spelling confirmed by Army order 1920.
Weld
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proper noun
  1. An old English surname, possibly deriving from the ancient word for woodland. The family is mainly located in the Southern regions of England.
Wellington
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noun
  1. A gumboot.
proper noun
  1. The capital of New Zealand.
  2. The Government of New Zealand
Wells
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proper noun
  1. a small cathedral city in Somerset, England; the smallest city in England.
Wentworth
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proper noun
  1. Any of several placenames in England and elsewhere
  2. The w:Wentworth Club, Wentworth Golf Club in Surrey
  3. An English habitational surname
Wesley
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proper noun
  1. An English habitational surname for someone who lived in one of several places containing the elements "west lea"
  2. w:John Wesley, John Wesley, founder of Methodism
  3. (given name, male), transferred use of the surname since the eighteenth century, today often without any religious connotations.
West
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proper noun (wikipedia, The_West) the West
  1. The western, Western world; the regions, primarily situated in the Western hemisphere, Hemisphere, whose culture is derived from Europe.
  2. The Western bloc; the countries of Western Europe.
  3. The Western United States in the 19th century era of terrestrial expansion; the Wild West.
  4. The western states of the United States.
  5. The western part of any region.
Weston
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proper noun
  1. Any of many placenames in England and Scotland
  2. An English and Scottish habitational surname.
Wheatley
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proper noun
  1. any of several place names
  2. an English surname derived from the place name
wheeler
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noun
  1. (italbrac, used in combination with a preceding whole number) A vehicle having the specified number of wheels.
Wheelwright
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proper noun
  1. a comparatively rare English occupational surname for someone who made wooden wheels
whistler
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noun (wikipedia, Whistler)
  1. someone or something that whistles
  2. the whistling marmot
  3. the goldeneye
  1. (physics) an audio-frequency electromagnetic wave produced by atmospheric disturbances such as lightning
White
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proper noun
  1. a British surname from a nickname for someone with white hair
whitehead
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noun
  1. A pimple formed by a clogged sebaceous gland, usually with a milky-white cap.
Ruth knew that the whiteheads of her teenage acne were a temporary state of affairs, but that did nothing to quell her distress when an eruption hit just before prom.
Whitney
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proper noun
  1. A habitational surname.
  2. (given name, female) derived from the surname, popular in the 1980s and 1990s.
whittle
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noun
  1. a large knife
verb (whittl, ing)
  1. (context, transitive, or, intransitive) To cut or shape wood with a knife.
  2. (transitive) To reduce or gradually eliminate something (such as a debt).
wiener
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noun
  1. , a sausage made from beef, chicken or pork, also a hot dog
  2. , a frankfurter
  3. , (colloquial) penis
  4. , someone who is nervous or afraid to partake in certain activities
wilder
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adjective
  1. (comparative of, wild)
Wilkinson
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proper noun
  1. An English patronymic surname derived from Wilkin
Williams
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proper noun
  1. An English and Welsh patronymic surname derived from the given name William
Wills
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noun
  1. (plural of, Will)
proper noun
  1. (given name, male). (form of, A diminutive, William)
Wilson
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proper noun (PersonalName?)
  1. An English, Scottish and northern Irish patronymic surname derived from the given name Will (short form of William)
  2. (given name, male) derived from the surname.
Windsor
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proper noun
  1. A town in Berkshire, England - famous for w:Windsor Castle, Windsor Castle
  2. Several other places in England, Australia, Canada and the United States
  3. An English habitational surname from the town in Berkshire
  4. A male given name transferred from the surname
  5. The Royal w:House of Windsor, House of Windsor
winters
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noun
  1. Plural of winter.
adverb
  1. In the winter.
wise
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noun wīse
  1. (archaic) way, manner
= verb (wis, es)
  1. To become wise.
  2. (transitive, slang) Usually with "up", to inform.
Mo wised him up about his situation.
  1. (intransitive, slang) Usually with "up", to learn.
''After Mo had a word with him, he wised up.
adjective (wiser, wisest)
  1. Showing good judgement or the benefit of experience.
Storing extra food for the winter was a wise decision.
They were considered the wise old men of the administration.
  1. (colloquial) Disrespectful.
Don't get wise with me!
wither
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verb
  1. (intransitive) To shrivel, droop or dry up, especially from lack of water
  2. (intransitive) To become helpless due to emotion
  3. (transitive) To cause to shrivel or dry up
  4. (transitive) To make helpless due to emotion
wolf
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noun (wolves)
  1. A large wild canid (member of the dog family), closely related to, and at times consanguineous to the domestic dog, which is considered a subspecies of the wolf.
  2. (the Wolf) The constellation w:Lupus, Lupus.
  3. A man who makes amorous advances on many women.
verb (wolfs, wolfing, wolfed, wolfed)
  1. (transitive) To devour; to gobble; to eat (something) voraciously.
Wood
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proper noun
  1. An English topographic surname for someone who lived in or near a wood
  2. An English occupational surname for a woodsman
woodruff
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noun
  1. (herb) an herb used for flavouring wines and liqueurs.
Worcester
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proper noun
  1. A city in Worcestershire, England
Wordsworth
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proper noun
  1. w: William Wordsworth, William Wordsworth (1770 " 1850); a major English romantic poet who helped launch the Romantic Age in English literature. Wordsworth was England's Poet Laureate from 1843 until his death in 1850.
work
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noun
  1. (uncountable) labour, Labour, employment, occupation, job.
I go to everyday.
  1. (uncountable) effort, Effort expended on a particular task.
Holding a brick over your head is hard .
It takes a lot of to write a dictionary.
  1. (uncountable) (context, Physics) A measure of energy expended in moving an object; most commonly, force
    • distance. No work is done if the object does not move.
Work is done against friction to drag a bag along the ground.
  1. (uncountable) (Thermodynamics) A nonthermal First Law energy in transit between one form or repository and another. Also, a means of accomplishing such transit.http://arxiv.org/pdf/physics/0004055.
  2. (countable) A literary, artistic, or intellectual production.
It is a of art.
  1. (uncountable) The place where one is employed.
He hasn"t come home yet, he"s still at .
  1. (countable) A fortification.
William the Conqueror fortified many castles, throwing up new ramparts, bastions and all manner of works.
verb (works, working, worked or rarely, wrought)
  1. (intransitive) To do a specific task by employing physical or mental powers.
He"s working in a bar.
  1. (transitive) To effect by gradual degrees.
He worked his way through the crowd.
The dye worked its way through.
  1. (transitive) To embroider with thread.
  2. (transitive) To set into action.
He worked the levers.
  1. (transitive) (context, Zymurgy) To cause to ferment.
  2. (transitive) To exhaust, by working (as a mine).
  3. (transitive) To shape, form, or improve a material (as stone or metal).
  4. (transitive) To operate in a certain place, area, or speciality.
She works the night clubs.
The salesman works the Midwest.
This artist works mostly in acrylics.
  1. (transitive) To operate in or through; as, to work the phones.
  2. (transitive) To provoke or excite; to influence.
The rock musician worked the crowd of young girls into a frenzy.
  1. (transitive) To use or manipulate to one"s advantage.
She knows how to the system.
  1. (transitive) To cause to happen or to occur as a consequence.
I cannot a miracle.
  1. (transitive) To cause to work.
He is working his servants hard.
  1. (intransitive) To function correctly; to act as intended; to achieve the goal designed for.
He pointed at the car and asked, "Does it "?
He looked at the bottle of pain pills, wondering if they would .
My plan didn"t .
  1. (intransitive) (figuratively) To influence.
They worked on her to join the group.
  1. (intransitive) To effect by gradual degrees; as, to work into the earth.
  2. (intransitive) To move in an agitated manner.
His fingers worked with tension.
  1. (intransitive) To behave in a certain way when handled;
This dough does not easily.
The soft metal works well.
wren
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noun (plural wrens)
  1. Members of a mainly New World passerine bird family Troglodytidae.
  2. Small bird of similar appearance to a true wren.
Wright
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proper noun
  1. a British occupational surname from a maker of machinery; found in many combinations such as Cartwright
  2. an American surname; a confused anglicization of the French le droit
wynn
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noun
  1. a letter of the Old English alphabet, borrowed from the futhark and used to represent the sound of w; replaced in Middle English times by the digraph uu, which later developed into the letter w.
wythe
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noun
  1. A unit of thickness in masonry construction defined by the quantity of masonry units 4" or greater.
That wall has to be at least three wythes of brick to support your load.
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