Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913 + 1828)


Page 1649

White

White (?), n.

1. The color of pure snow; one of the natural colors of bodies, yet not strictly a color, but a composition of all colors; the opposite of black; whiteness. See the Note under Color, n., 1.

Finely attired in a of white. Shak.

2. Something having the color of snow; something white, or nearly so; as, the white of the eye.

3. Specifically, the central part of the butt in archery, which was formerly painted white; the center of a mark at which a missile is shot.

'T was I won the wager, though you hit the white. Shak.

4. A person with a white skin; a member of the white, or Caucasian, races of men.

5. A white pigment; as, Venice white.

6. (Zoöl.) Any one of numerous species of butterflies belonging to Pieris, and allied genera in which the color is usually white. See Cabbage butterfly, under Cabbage. Black and white. See under Black. -- Flake white, Paris white, etc. See under Flack, Paris, etc. -- White of a seed (Bot.), the albumen. See Albumen, 2. -- White of egg, the viscous pellucid fluid which surrounds the yolk in an egg, particularly in the egg of a fowl. In a hen's egg it is alkaline, and contains about 86 per cent of water and 14 per cent of solid matter, the greater portion of which is egg albumin. It likewise contains a small amount of globulin, and traces of fats and sugar, with some inorganic matter. Heated above 60° C. it coagulates to a solid mass, owing to the albumin which it contains. Parr. -- White of the eye (Anat.), the white part of the ball of the eye surrounding the transparent cornea.

White

White, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Whited; p. pr. & vb. n. Whiting.] [AS. hwītan.] To make white; to whiten; to whitewash; to bleach.
Whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of . . . uncleanness. Matt. xxiii. 27.
So as no fuller on earth can white them. Mark. ix. 3.

Whiteback

White"back` (?), n. (Zoöl.) The canvasback.

Whitebait

White"bait` (?), n. (Zoöl.) (a) The young of several species of herrings, especially of the common herring, esteemed a great delicacy by epicures in England. (b) A small translucent fish (Salanx Chinensis) abundant at certain seasons on the coasts of China and Japan, and used in the same manner as the European whitebait.

Whitebeam

White"beam` (?), n. (Bot.) The common beam tree of England (Pyrus Aria); -- so called from the white, woolly under surface of the leaves.

Whitebeard

White"beard` (?), n. An old man; a graybeard.

Whitebelly

White"bel`ly (?), n. (Zoöl.) (a) The American widgeon, or baldpate. (b) The prairie chicken.

Whitebill

White"bill` (?), n. (Zoöl.) The American coot.

White-blaze

White"-blaze` (?), n. See White-face.

Whiteblow

White"blow` (?), n. (Bot.) Same as Whitlow grass, under Whitlow.

Whiteboy

White"boy` (?), n.

1. A favorite. [Obs.] See White, a., 6. One of God's whiteboys." Bunyan.

2. One of an association of poor Roman catholics which arose in Ireland about 1760, ostensibly to resist the collection of tithes, the members of which were so called from the white shirts they wore in their nocturnal raids.

Whiteboyism

White"boy`ism (?), n. The conduct or principle of the Whiteboys.

Whitecap

White"cap` (?), n.

1. (Zoöl.) (a) The European redstart; -- so called from its white forehead. (b) The whitethroat; -- so called from its gray head. (c) The European tree sparrow.

2. A wave whose crest breaks into white foam, as when the wind is freshening.

Whitecoat

White"coat` (?), n. The skin of a newborn seal; also, the seal itself. [Sealers' Cant]

White-ear

White"-ear` (?), n. (Zoöl.) The wheatear.

White-eye

White"-eye` (?), n. (Zoöl.) Any one of several species of small Old World singing of the genus Zosterops, as Zosterops palpebrosus of India, and Z. c&oe;rulescens of Australia. The eyes are encircled by a ring of white feathers, whence the name. Called also bush creeper, and white-eyed tit.

White-face

White"-face` (?), n. A white mark in the forehead of a horse, descending almost to the nose; -- called also white-blaze.

Whitefish

White"fish` (?), n. (Zoöl.) (a) Any one of several species of Coregonus, a genus of excellent food fishes allied to the salmons. They inhabit the lakes of the colder parts of North America, Asia, and Europe. The largest and most important American species (C. clupeiformis) is abundant in the Great Lakes, and in other lakes farther north. Called also lake whitefish, and Oswego bass. (b) The menhaden. (c) The beluga, or white whale. &hand; Various other fishes are locally called whitefish, as the silver salmon, the whiting (a), the yellowtail, and the young of the bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix).

Whiteflaw

White"flaw` (?), n. [See Whitlow.] (Med.) A whitlow. [Obs.] Holland.

White-foot

White"-foot` (?), n. (Far.) A white mark on the foot of a horse, between the fetlock and the coffin.

White friar

White" fri`ar (?). (Eccl.) A mendicant monk of the Carmelite order, so called from the white cloaks worn by the order. See Carmelite.

White-fronted

White`-front"ed (?), a. Having a white front; as, the white-fronted lemur. White-fronted goose (Zoöl.), the white brant, or snow goose. See Snow goose, under Snow.

Whitehead

White"head` (?), n. (Zoöl.) (a) The blue-winged snow goose. (b) The surf scoter.

White-heart

White"-heart` (?), n. (Bot.) A somewhat heart-shaped cherry with a whitish skin.

White-hot

White"-hot` (?), a. White with heat; heated to whiteness, or incandescence.

White-limed

White"-limed` (?), a. Whitewashed or plastered with lime. White-limed walls." Shak.

White-livered

White"-liv`ered (?), a. Having a pale look; feeble; hence, cowardly; pusillanimous; dastardly.
They must not be milksops, nor white-livered knights. Latimer.

Whitely

White"ly, a. Like, or coming near to, white. [Obs.]

Whiten

Whit"en (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Whitened (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Whitening.] [OE. whitenen; cf. Icel. hvītna.] To grow white; to turn or become white or whiter; as, the hair whitens with age; the sea whitens with foam; the trees in spring whiten with blossoms.

Whiten

Whit"en, v. t. To make white; to bleach; to blanch; to whitewash; as, to whiten a wall; to whiten cloth.
The broad stream of the Foyle then whitened by vast flocks of wild swans. Macaulay.
Syn. -- See Blanch.

Whitener

Whit"en*er (?), n. One who, or that which, whitens; a bleacher; a blancher; a whitewasher. <-- a bleach. 2. A chemical used as an adjunct to laundering white cloth, which makes white cloth appear whiter. A bluing agent.-->

Whiteness

White"ness (?), n. [AS. hwītness.]

1. The quality or state of being white; white color, or freedom from darkness or obscurity on the surface. Chaucer.

2. Want of a sanguineous tinge; paleness; as from terror, grief, etc. The whiteness in thy cheek." Shak.

3. Freedom from stain or blemish; purity; cleanness.

He had kept The whiteness of his soul, and thus men o'er him wept. Byron.

4. Nakedness. [Obs.] Chapman.

5. (Zoöl.) A flock of swans.

Whitening

Whit"en*ing (?), n.

1. The act or process of making or becoming white.

2. That which is used to render white; whiting. [R.] Whitening stone, a sharpening and polishing stone used by cutlers; also, a finishing grindstone of fine texture.

White-pot

White"-pot` (?), n. A kind of food made of milk or cream, eggs, sugar, bread, etc., baked in a pot. King.

Whiterump

White"rump` (?), n. (Zoöl.) The American black-tailed godwit.

Whites

Whites (?), n. pl.

1. (Med.) Leucorrha.

2. The finest flour made from white wheat.

3. Cloth or garments of a plain white color.

Whiteside

White"side` (?), n. (Zoöl.) The golden-eye.

Whitesmith

White"smith` (?), n.

1. One who works in tinned or galvanized iron, or white iron; a tinsmith.

2. A worker in iron who finishes or polishes the work, in distinction from one who forges it.

Whitester

White"ster (?), n. [White + -ster.] A bleacher of lines; a whitener; a whitster. [Prov. Eng.]

Whitetail

White"tail` (?), n.

1. (Zoöl.) The Virginia deer.

2. (Zoöl.) The wheatear. [Prov. Eng.]

Whitethorn

White"thorn` (?), n. (Bot.) The hawthorn.

Whitethroat

White"throat` (?), n. (Zoöl.) Any one of several species of Old World warblers, esp. the common European species (Sylvia cinerea), called also strawsmear, nettlebird, muff, and whitecap, the garden whitethroat, or golden warbler (S. hortensis), and the lesser whitethroat (S. curruca).

Whitetop

White"top` (?), n. (Bot.) Fiorin.

Whitewall

White"wall` (?), n. (Zoöl.) The spotted flycatcher; -- so called from the white color of the under parts. [Prov. Eng.]

Whitewash

White"wash` (), n.

1. Any wash or liquid composition for whitening something, as a wash for making the skin fair. Addison.

2. A composition of line and water, or of whiting size, and water, or the like, used for whitening walls, ceilings, etc.; milk of lime.

Whitewash

White"wash`, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Whitewashed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Whitewashing.]

1. To apply a white liquid composition to; to whiten with whitewash.

2. To make white; to give a fair external appearance to; to clear from imputations or disgrace; hence, to clear (a bankrupt) from obligation to pay debts.

Whitewasher

White"wash`er (?), n. One who whitewashes.

White-water

White"-wa`ter (?), n. (Far.) A dangerous disease of sheep.

Whiteweed

White"weed` (?), n. (Bot.) A perennial composite herb (Chrysanthemum Leucanthemum) with conspicuous white rays and a yellow disk, a common weed in grass lands and pastures; -- called also oxeye daisy.

Whitewing

White"wing` (?), n. (Zoöl.) (a) The chaffinch; -- so called from the white bands on the wing. (b) The velvet duck.

Whitewood

White"wood` (?), n. The soft and easily-worked wood of the tulip tree (Liriodendron). It is much used in cabinetwork, carriage building, etc. &hand; Several other kinds of light-colored wood are called whitewood in various countries, as the wood of Bignonia leucoxylon in the West Indies, of Pittosporum bicolor in Tasmania, etc. Whitewood bark. See the Note under Canella.

Whitewort

White"wort` (?), n. (Bot.) (a) Wild camomile. (b) A kind of Solomon's seal (Polygonum officinale).

Whitflaw

Whit"flaw` (?), n. [See Whitlow.] Whitlow. [Obs.] The nails fallen off by whitflaws." Herrick.

Whither

Whith"er (?), adv. [OE. whider. AS. hwider; akin to E. where, who; cf. Goth. hvadrē whither. See Who, and cf. Hither, Thither.]

1. To what place; -- used interrogatively; as, whither goest thou? Whider may I flee?" Chaucer.

Sir Valentine, whither away so fast? Shak.

2. To what or which place; -- used relatively.

That no man should know . . . whither that he went. Chaucer.
We came unto the land whither thou sentest us. Num. xiii. 27.

3. To what point, degree, end, conclusion, or design; whereunto; whereto; -- used in a sense not physical.

Nor have I . . . whither to appeal. Milton.
Any whither, to any place; anywhere. [Obs.] Any whither, in hope of life eternal." Jer. Taylor. -- No whither, to no place; nowhere. [Obs.] 2 Kings v. 25. Syn. -- Where. -- Whither, Where. Whither properly implies motion to place, and where rest in a place. Whither is now, however, to a great extent, obsolete, except in poetry, or in compositions of a grave and serious character and in language where precision is required. Where has taken its place, as in the question, Where are you going?"