wifely ely (wifli)

[ Yit is it bet for me For to be deed in wyfly honestee Than be a trait our living in my shame. Chaucer, Good Women, 1. 2701. tremble, L. vibrare, vibrate, quiver, OHG. wei bōn, waver, be inspired, be irresolute, and suppose that the word orig. meant 'something inspired' (the Germans orig. seeing in woman sanctum a liquid, et providum ), or that it orig. meant 'trembling,' with ref. to the timidity of a bride. Some connect it with Goth. waibjan, wind, twine, in bi - waibjan, wind about, clothe, wife-ridden (wif'rid"n), a. Unduly influenced envelop, en because of a woman's 'enveloping by a wife; ruled or tyrannized over by a wife; clothing,' or because she is the 'one who binds henpecked. or unites herself.' These are all vagaries. The With all the tenderne of wifely love. Dryden, A mph i try on, iii. earlier Teut. word, the one with other Indo-Eu-the is ten sent to those sages who advise you always to scorn rope an cognates, is that represented by queen, quean. The neuter or inadequate significance of the word is prob. indicated also by the formation in AS. of the appar. more distinctive word wifman, whence ult. E. woman.] 1. A woman: now only in rural or provincial use, especially in Scotland, and usually with an adjective, or in composition with a noun, implying a woman of humble position: as, old wives ' tales; a fishwife. On the grene he saugh sittynge a wyf ; A fouler wight ther may no man devise. IMG:content-2373.png:[blocks in formation] King Horn (E. E. T. S.), p. 21. The Soudan hat he 4 Wyfes , on Cristene and 3 Sara zines; of the whiche on dwellethe at Jerusalem, and another at wielder (wēl'dér), n. [ weldere , po e or ( G.walter Icel. valdari , valdr , ruler); wield Damasce, and another at Ascalon. + -er1.] One who wields, employs, manages, or po e es. IMG:content-2374.png:[blocks in formation] A good wife is heaven's last best gift to man, his angel and minister of graces innumerable, his gem of many virtues, his casket of jewels. Jer . Taylor . All the world and his wife. See world. - Auld wives' tongues. See auld. - Deceased Wife's Sister Bill. See bills. - Dutch wife. See Dutch. - Inhibition against a wife. See inhibition. Old wife. See old. Old wives' tale. See tale1. - Plural wives, consorts or concubines of the same man under a polygamous union. - Ratification by a wife. See ratification. - Wife's equity, in law, the general rule established by courts of equity that where a husband resorted to a court of equity to enforce his common law marital right to take his wife's property, that court would, in general, oblige him to make a reasonable provision out of the fund for the benefit of his wife and children. This doctrine has been extended or superseded by acts which secure the whole property of a wife to her self. [Early mod. E. weeld- wifet (wif), v. i. [ That with the weight of his owne weeldle e might He falleth nigh to ground, and scarse recover eth flight. Spenser, F. Q., IV. iii. 19. wield someł (wēld's um), a . [ wield + -some. Cf. (for the form) G. gewaltsam , violent, pow An't you weary of wifcing ? marry. Eu. Po. I am so weary of it that, if this Eighth should die to Day I would marry the Ninth to-Morrow. N. Bailey , tr. of Colloquies of Erasmus, I. 348. wife-bound (wif'bound), a. Devoted or tied down to a wife; wife-ridden. [Rare.] quests pronounce you wife - ridden. Mrs. Piozzi. wiflet, n. [Origin obscure.) A kind of ax. xj. crosbowes whereof iij. of stele, and v wynd as. Item, 1. borespere. Item, vj. wifles. Paston Letters, L. 487. wifmant, n. A Middle English form of woman. wiglt, n. [ Ac theh he [were] alre louerdes louerd, and alre kingene ki[n]g, natheles he sende after the alre unwurtheste wig one to riden, and that is a e. Old Eng. Homilies , 2d ser., p. 89. wig2 (wig), n. [Also wigg (and erroneously whig ); early mod. E. wygge ; = D. wig , wigge , a wedge, = G. weck , wecke , a sort of bread: see wedge1.] A sort of cake. [Obsolete or local.] Home to the only Lenten supper I have had of wiggs and ale. Pepys , Diary, II. 117. You may make wigs of the biscuit dough, by adding... Coll. of Receipts, p. 2. ( Jamie son .) [Abbr. of periwig : see periwig IMG:content-2375.png:[blocks in formation] peruke.] 1. An artificial covering of hair for the head, used generally to conceal baldne , but formerly worn fashionable head-dre . Wigs are usually made to imitate the natural hair, but formal curled wigs are worn as part of their profe ional costume by judges and lawyers in Great Britain. Wigs are much used on the stage. See peruke. I have often wanted him to throw off his great flaxen wig;... with his usual Gothic vivacity, he said I only wanted to convert it into a tête for my own wearing. Goldsmith, She Stoops [to Conquer, ii. I never believe anything that a lawyer says when he has a wig on his head and a fee in his hand. Trollope, Phineas Re[dux, lxi. 2. The full-grown male fur-seal of Alaska, Call or hin us ursinus. See cut ununder fur - seal.-3. The head. [Colloq.]-Allonge wig. IMG:content-2376.png:[blocks in formation] Forms of Wig worn in Great Britain in the 17th and 18th centuries. 1, Time of James I.; 2, time of Charles I.: 3, 4, 5, Restoration, Charles 11.; 6.7 time of James II. and Anne; 8, 9, time of William and Mary; to, campaign wig, 1684; 11, Ramilie wig, 1736; 12, bob-wig, 1742: 13, 14, the Macaronis wig, 1772; 15, 16, wigs of 1774-80; 17. 18, wigs of 1785-95 wig See allonge. - Blenheim wigt, a periwig: so named in honor of the battle of Blenheim (1704) Campaign wig, a wig used in traveling, with twisted nd curled forehead. See 10 in cut on on preceding page. Cauliflower wig, a variety of peruke in the eighteenth century, close curled, and covered with powder: so named from its supposed resemblance to a head of cauliflower when served at the table.-Welsh wig, a worsted cap. Simmonds . wig3 (wig), v. t.; pret. and pp. wigged, ppr. wig ging. [ wig3, n., the orig. sense being perhaps to put a wig on, i. e. to set right without ceremony, or 'to snatch at (one's) wig,' to ruffle or handle (one) without ceremony. Compare wig ging, where the ref. to ear - wigging in the quot. is prob. humorous, the term meaning 'wigging into one's private ear, but alluding to earwig, an annoying insect.] To rate or scold severely. [Colloq.] If you wish to 'scape wigging , a dumb wife's the dandy! Barham , In golds by Legends, II. 386. 6923 vätter, vätt = Dan. vætte, an elf, = Goth. waihts, f., waiht, neut., a thing; prob. orig. 'something moving' (a moving object indistinctly seen at a distance, whether man, child, animal, elf, or demon), There schulle the i fynde no Wight that will selle hem ony Vitaille or ony thing. Mandeville , Travels, p. 130. To you, my purse, and to non other wight Compleyne I, for ye be my lady dere. Chaucer , Complaint to his Purse, 1. 1. She was a wight , if ever such wight were,... To suckle fools and chronicle small beer. wild II. n. 1. A rubbing instrument used by watchmakers. It is attached by a crank to a wheel of a lathe, which gives it a longitudinal movement of reciprocation. E. H. Knight. 2. Signaling by the movements of flags: as, to practise the wigwag. [Colloq.] In the army wig - wag system, a flag moved to right and left during the day, and a white light moved over a stationary red one at night, are readily made to answer Sci. Amer ., LIV. 16. the same purpose. No living wight , save the Ladye alone, Had dared to cro the threshold stone. wigan (wig'an), n. [Prob. from the town of Wigan in Lancashire, Eng.] A stiff, open can- vas-like fabric, used for stiffening and protect- ing the lower inside surface of skirts, etc. Wig and i a (wi-gan'di-ä), п. [NL. (Kunth, 1818), named after J. H. Wigand (1769-1817), a physician in Hamburg.] A genus of gamo- 3t. A space of time; a whit; a while. Scott , L. of L. M., i. 1. 21. A preternatural, unearthly, or uncanny creature; an elf, sprite, witch, or the like. "I crouche thee from elves and fro wightes ," Therwith the nyght-spel, seyde he anonrightes. Chaucer, Miller's Tale, 1. 293. petalous plants, of the order Hydrophyllaceæ and tribe Nameæ. It is characterized by a broadly bell-shaped corolla, commonly exserted stamens, and a two-valved capsule. There are 3 or 4 closely related cies, widely dispersed through mountain regions of tropical America. They are tall, coarse, rough hairy herbs, with large rugose alternate leaves and conspicuous forking scorpioid cymes. They are sometimes cultivated for ornament IMG:content-2377.jpg:[graphic] leaf. or as curiosities. W. urens has been called Caracas big wig-block (wig'blok), n. A block shaped like the top of the head, designed to support a wig in the proce of making or when not in use. wigeon, n. See widgeon. wigged (wigd), a. [ Moore , Twopenny Post-bag. At one end of this aisle is raised the Speaker's chair, below and in front of which, invading the spaces of the aisle, are the desks of the wigged and gowned clerks. W. Wilson, Congre ional Government, ii. wiggen-tree, wiggin-tree (wig'en-tre, wig'intrē), n. Same as wicken - tree. Britten and Holland. [Prov. Eng.] wiggert, a. An obsolete form of wicker1. She was falle aslepe a litle wight. Chaucer, Reeve's Tale, 1. 363. wight2 (wit), a. [ wight , wyght, wicht , wyte, wiht , wizt , nimble, active, strong, vigr (neut. vigt ), serviceable for war, in fighting condition (= Sw. vig (neut. vigt ), nimble, active, agile), vig (= AS. wig ), war; cf. vega , fight, smite, Goth. weihan , fight, strive, contend, L. vincere, conquer: see victor , vincible. Cf. wie , wye , a warrior.] Having warlike prowe ; valiant; courageous; strong and active; agile; nimble; swift. (Archaic.] He was a knight full kant, the kynges son of Lice, And a wight mon in wer, wild of his dedis. Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), 1. 6085. I is ful wight, God wat, as is a ra. Chaucer, Reeve's Tale, 1. 166. Wigwam. laid over poles (called lodge - poles ) stacked on the ground and converging at the top, where is left an opening for the escape of smoke. departed from their wigwames. Bradford, Plymouth Plantation, p. 428. Finch, of Water town, had his wigwam burnt and all his Winthrop, Hist. New England, I. 43. Ye In deans.. Le Balafré roared out for fair play, adding "that he would venture his nephew on him were he as wight as Wallace." Scott , Quentin Durward, xxxvii. wight3t, n. A Middle English form of weight1. wight4+, n. See witel . wightlyt (wit'li), adv . [ wightly , wihtliche , goods. wiztliche, wiztli; -ly2 .] Swiftly; false hair. [Rare.] IMG:content-2378.jpg:[blocks in formation] 2. Exce of formality; red-tapism. There is yet in venerable wigged Justice some wisdom amid such mountains of wiggeries and folly. Carlyle , Past and Present, ii. 17. ( Davies . ) wigging (wig'ing), n. A scolding. See wigs , v. [Colloq.] If the head of a firm calls a clerk into the parlour and rebukes him, it is an earwigging ; if done before the other clerks, it is a wigging . Hotten's Slang Dict.