water-lemon 
love-in-a-mist, bearing a delicate fruit of tlie size of a small 
cherry, but having ill-smelling leaves. 
water-lens (wa'ter-lenz), «. A simple kind of 
lens, formed by a few drops of water placed in 
a small brass cell with blackened sides, and 
having a glass bottom. Tlie upper surface of the 
water is more or less cur\'ed accordin;,' to the diameter of 
the tube, and sometimes the convexity (and hence the 
magnifying power) can be raised by a screw at the side. 
water-lentil (wa'ter-len'til), H. See loitU. 
waterless (wa'ter-les), a. [< ME. miterles, wn- 
ierlecs, < AS. wxtcrleds, without water; as xca- 
ter + -less.] Lacking water; unsuppliedorun- 
moistened with water; of a fish, out of water. 
A monk whan he is recchelees 
Is likned til a fish that is waterlees. 
Clmneer, Gen. Prol. to C. T., 1. 180. 
Frankincense, for which of old they went 
Through plain and desert waterless, and faced 
The lioTi-hauntcd woods that edged the waste. 
William Morris, Earthly Paradise, III. 217. 
water-lettuce (wiX'ter-let"is), n. gee Pistia. 
water-level (wa'ter-lev'el), )(. 1. The surface 
of the water in any vessel or reservoir, natural 
or artificial, in which water is standing, as in a 
well, canal, pond, lake, etc. ; also, the plane of 
saturation beneath the surface of the ground, 
or the plane below which the soil or rock re- 
mains saturated with water under the ordinary 
conditions of rainfall, etc. 
But in strata occupying such a position, as well as in 
the gravel, all wells nuist be sunk by digging, and not 
bored, to the natural water-level, there being no superin- 
cumbent impermeable stratum to keep down the water 
at a level below that to which it would naturally have a 
tendency to rise. 
Prestivich, Water-Bearing Strata of London, p. 6. 
2. A leveling-instrument in which water is 
employed instead of mercury or spirit of wine. 
It consists of a tin tube, about 3 feet long, bent at right 
angles at each end, with a small short tube soldered on 
it at its center, by the aid of which it can be fixed upon 
some kind of a support or tripod. In the bent ends of the 
long tube are inserted two small glass vials with their bot- 
toms cut olf. Enough water is then pom-ed in to about 
half fill the bottles when the instrument is level. By sight- 
ing across the surface of the water a level-line is got. The 
extreme cheapness and portability of this level make it 
serviceable sometimes, although it gives but a rough ap- 
proximation to accuracy as compared with tlie best kind 
of spirit-level. 
water-lily (wa'ter-lil"i), n. [< ME. watir-lili. 
watyr-hjli/ ; < water + lily.'] 1. A plant of the 
genus Castalia (Xi/mplisea), which contains 
about 25 species distributed nearly throughout 
the world, but most freely in the northern hemi- 
sphere and the tropica. They are aquatic plants 
with a perennial rootstock, orbicular floating leaves, and 
large flowers, single on long scapes riding on the surface 
of the water. The flowers have numerous petals of a deli- 
cate texture, forming when expanded nearly a hemisphere 
— white, blue, red, or yellow. Several white water-lilies 
are the most familiar. The common European species is 
C. speciosa (N. alba), with leaves 6 or 8 and flowers 3 or 4 
inches in diameter. The ordinary American species is 
C (A'.) odorata, with very sweet-scented flowei-s often 5A 
inches wide, and leaves 5 to 9 inclics broad, varying in 
color to pinkish or even bright pink-red, especially at Barn- 
stable, Massachusetts. In the interior United States is 
found C. (N.) reniformig, with considerably larger leaves 
and flowers, scentless or slightly apple-scented, and always 
white — the rootstock bearing numerous self-detaching 
tubers. The golden water-lily, C. (A'.) Jlava, of Florida, 
which long escaped the notice of botanists, is a locally 
abundant species of moderate dimensions, with yellow 
flowers. C. mystica (.V. Lotus), the specific Egyptian wa- 
ter-lily, with white, pink, or red flowers, and C. scutifolia 
(N. casridea), the blue water-lily, also of Egypt, are named 
among the lotuses. C. (iV.) thertnali^ is a rare species oc- 
curring in warm springs in Hungaiy, and called H\nvja- 
rian lotus. The Australian water-lily, C. (N.)gi!jantea, has 
the leaves in tlie larger specimens 18 inches broad, the 
flowers a foot broad with over 200 stamens, the petals blue, 
purple, pink, or rarely white. Another general name of 
the water-lilies is water-nyjnph. See Ni/viphspa. 
2. The pond-lily, or yellow water-lily, Nymphsea 
(Xiiphar) lutea. Hee pond-lily . — 3. In general, 
any plant of the order Xymjilncacex, the water- 
lily family. See the phrases below Blue water- 
Illy. See def. 1. — Dwarf water-Illy. Hatueas/riiHjcd 
7ra(er.ii7.i/.— Egyptian water-lily. See rief. 1. —Fringed 
water-lily. Se</,imiirj/i*/.rwr/i«.~ New Zealand water- 
lily, iiea liannjicuhis. — Prickly water-lily, 7i'«r7/rt;(?/e- 
rox, which has tlie calyx ami the under side of the" leaves 
spiny. It is cultivated in India and China for its fari- 
naceous seeds. See Eitryale, Z. — Royal water-lily, the 
Victoria refjia. See Victfiria, 2. — Sweet-SCented water- 
lily Castalia odornta. See def. 1.— Victoria water-lily. 
See Victoria, 2.— White Water-lily. See def. 1.— YellOW 
water-lily. See def. 2. 
water-lime (wi'ter-hm), n. Hydraulic lime. 
See liydniuUc — Water-lime group, in ffeol., a gioiip 
of strata of tipper Silurian age, overlying the Onondaga 
Salt groui», and forming the lower section of the Lower 
Helderberg group, according to the nomenclature of the 
New York Geological Survey. This group is of great im- 
portance, especially in Ulster county. New York, as fur- 
nishing a considerable part of the hydranlie cement man- 
ufactured in the i'nited States. It abounds in those fos- 
sils to which the name Tentaculites has been given, and 
hence is known also as the Tentaculite group. See cement, 
2, and cement-stone. 
6844 
water-line (wa'ter-lin), n. 1. The line in which 
water at its surface verges or borders upon any- 
thing; specifically, in ship-building, one of the 
hoiizontal lines supposed to be described by 
the surface of the water on the sides of a ship, 
and exhibited at certain depths upon the sheer- 
draft. The most important of these lines are the light 
water-tin^, which marks the depression of the ship's body 
in the water when she is light or unladen, and the load 
water-line, which marks her depression in tlie water when 
laden. 
2. Same as water-level, 1. 
The [mineral] deposits are much more valuable where 
they are now worked . . . than they will be l>eIow water- 
line. New York Tribune, Nov. 7, 1879. 
3. A semi-transparent line or mark formed in 
paper during its manufacture ; a water-mark. 
See water-mark, 3. 
It is supposed . . . that the waterlines are perpendicu- 
lar in folio, octavo, and decimo-octavo books, and horizon- 
tal in <(uarto and duodecimo. 
De Morgan, Arithmetical Books, xiii. 
water-lined (wa'ter-lind), a. Marked with wa- 
ter-lines : as, Irish linen water-lined paper. 
water-liverwort (wa'tor-liv"er-wert), 71. The 
water-crowfoot, Ranunculus aquatilis. 
water-lizard (wa'ter-liz"iird), )i. 1. Anaquatic 
amphibian with four legs and a tail, as a mud- 
puppy, water-dog, or hellbender. See triton, 
newt, and cuts under hellbender, Menobranehus, 
axolotl, and tiewt. [U.S.] — 2. A water-moni- 
tor or varan. See cut tmder Hydrosaurus. 
water-lobelia (wa'ter-lo-be"lia), n. See 7.0- 
bclia, 1. 
water-lock (wa'ter-lok), H. Same as lock^, 8. 
mount, Glossographia, 1670. 
water-locust (wa'ter-lo'kust), )i. A small spe- 
cies of honey-locust, Gleditschia monosperma, 
found in the southern United States, especial- 
ly westward, in the bottom-lands, where it oc- 
cupies large areas. The wood is of a rich dark- 
brown color, heavy, hard, and susceptible of 
polish. Also called swamp-locust. 
water-logged (wa'ter-logd), a. [< water + 
*lo(i()cd, of uncei'tain origin. In a view com- 
monly accepted, logged, lit. 'rendered (or;r-like,' 
i. e. heavy or clumsy in consequence of being 
filled with water; < log'^ + -cift. In another 
view, logged is lit. 'laid' or 'placed,' after Sw. 
vatten-lagga, lay in water, soak. Other expla- 
nations have been proposed; but none accu- 
rately applies to rrater-logged, except by assum- 
ing some confusion of the second element. In 
present use the word is undoubtedly associated 
with tofll.] Saturated or filled with water: ap- 
plied specifically to a ship when by leaking and 
receiving a great quantity of water into her 
hold she has become so heavy as to be nearly 
or altogether unmanageable, though still keep- 
ing afloat. 
In the course of the summer I had discovered a raft of 
pitch-pine logs with the bark on. . . . Though completely 
waterlogged and almost as heavy as lead, they not only 
burned long, but made a vei-y hot Are. 
Thoreau, Walden, p. 268. 
The next day the Bon Homme Eichard, quite water- 
logged, sank, with all the wounded on board. 
A', and Q., 7th ser., IV. 537. 
water-lot (wa'ter-lot), n. A lot of ground 
which is under water ; specifically, one of a 
regular system of city lots which are partly or 
wholly covered by the water of a bay, lake, or 
river, and may be filled in and converted into 
made ground for the erection of buildings, 
docks, etc. 
Yesterday, he said, I bought a water-lot; that topsail- 
schooner lies at anchor there. 
J. W. Pabncr, The Kew and the Old, p. 244. 
water-lotus (wa'ter-lo'tus), n. The uelumbo. 
See lotus, 1. 
water-lung (wa'ter-lung), «. One of the re- 
spiratory trees or ramifications of the cloaca of 
holothurians. They are present in most of the order 
Ilulothuroidea, and have an excretory or depuratory func- 
tion by tile continual passage of water through them. 
water-lute (wa'ter-liit), H. Any form of air- 
tight joint formed by the agency of water; a 
water-seal or air-trap. 
water-main (wa'ter-man), n. In water-worls, 
any one of the principal pipes or conduits run- 
ning under streets, to which the lateral service- 
pipes for supply of houses on either side of the 
street are connected. 
water-maize (wa'ter-maz), «. See mai-e. 
waterman (wa'ter-man), n.; pi. watermen 
(-men). [< water -\- man (= D. waterman = O. 
wasscrniann).] 1. A boatman; a ferryman; a 
man who manages water-craft; one who plies 
for hire on rivers, etc. 
Waterman's Knot. 
water-meter 
It does not become your gravity ... to have offered 
this outrage on a watemtan, . . . much less on a man of 
bis civil coat. B. Jonson, Epiccene, lit 2. 
My great grandfather was but a waterman, looking one 
way and rowing another. liunyan, Pilgi-im's Progress, L 
2. One who carries or distributes water; spe- 
cifically, a person who waits at a cab-stand for 
the purpose of supplying 
the horses with water, 
calling the cabmen when 
they are absent, etc. [Eng.] 
—■waterman's knot (naut.), a 
form of knot used to bend a 
rope about a iK>st or bollard. 
watermanship (wa'ter- 
man-ship), n. The func- 
tions, art, or skill of a waterman or oarsman ; 
oarsmanship. 
All the rowing interest of each society makes sport for 
ilself and amusement for spectators on the banks with 
forms of watermanship which are lighter and more pleas- 
ant. The Atlantic, LXy II. 102. 
water-mantle (wa'ter-man'tl), )i. [Tr. of G. 
wassermantel.] The water-jacket, or layer of 
water, which incloses the space in which the 
cultures are placed in the incubator for bacte- 
riological investigations, and to which heat is 
applied, and into which is dipped the regulator 
that serves to keep the temperature constant. 
[Rare.] 
Between the room . . . and the water-mantle ... a 
Schloesing's membrane-regulator ... is extended. 
Ilueppe, Bacteriological Investigations (tran8.X p. 189. 
water-maple (wa'ter-ma'''pl), «. Same as red 
maple (whieli see, under maple^). 
water-marigold (wa't^r-mar^i-gold), «. An 
American aquatic, Bidcns Beckii, of which most 
of the leaves are submerged and very finely dis- 
sected. 
water-mark (wa'ter-mark), n. 1. The mark, 
line, or limit of the rise or height of water, as 
in a well, a river, the sea, etc. ; a water-line ; 
especially, a tide-mark. 
The last tide had risen considerably above the usual 
watermark. Scott, Antiquary, vii. 
2. A faintly marked letter, figure, or design 
in the fabric of paper, that denotes its size or 
its manufacturer, usually barely noticeable ex- 
cept when the sheet is held against strong light. 
It is made in tlie process of manufacture by the pressure 
of wires on the moist pulp. Tlie water-marks used by the 
earlier paper-makers have given names to several of the 
present standard sizes of paper, as pot, foolscap, crown, 
elephant, and post, the last being so called from the device 
of a postman's bom as water-mark. 
water-mark (wa'ter-mark), V. t. 1. To mark 
or stamp with water-lines: as, to water-mark 
paper; a. water-marked page. — 2. To mark, in- 
scribe, or embody in water-lines. 
They are without the final refinement of the recurring 
title water-marked in the lower margins of the page. 
The Century, XXXIX. 94. 
water-meadow (wa'ter-med-'o), n. A meadow 
capable of being kept in a state of fertility by 
being overflowed with water at certain seasons 
from some adjoining stream. 
The fire-flies flitted over the water-ineadows outside. 
Fortnightly Ren., N. S., XLIII. 69a 
water-measuret (wa't^r-mezh''ur), «. A unit of 
measure used on board ships, five pecks accord- 
ing to a statute of Henry VII. it was regarded as 
a bushel, and was similarly subdivided. A statute of 1701 
declares that a water-measure is round, and 18A inches in 
diameter within the hoop, and 8 inches deep, and ordains 
that apples and pears shall lie sold by this measure heaped. 
water-measurer (wa'ter-mezh'''ur-er). w. Any 
water-bug of the heteropterous family Hydro- 
metridee. 
watermelon (wa'ter-mel'on), «. A plant, Ci" 
irullus rulgaris (frequently named Cucutnis 
Citrullus). or its fruit. The plant, supposed to be of 
Asiatic origin, is a slender trailing vine, requiring a warm 
soil. The fruit (a pepo) is of a spherical or usually elon- 
gated form, IJ or 2 feet long, smooth and green, or some- 
times variegated on the outside, containing within a 
rose-colored or sometimes yellowish pulp, pleasantly 
flavored, and abounding in a refreshing sweetish watery 
juice. The watermelon is largely cultivated in Egypt, 
India, China, Japan, America, southern France, and else- 
where. 
Their Watermelons were much more large, and of sev- 
eral kinds, distinguished by the color of their meat and 
seed. . . . They are excellently good, and very pleasant 
to the taste, as also to the eye ; having the rind of a lively 
green color, streaked and watered, the meat of a carna- 
tion, and the seed black and shining while it lies in the 
melon. Beverley, Hist. Virginia, iv. U 19. 
water-meter (wa'ter-me'ter), n. 1. An in- 
strument that measures the quantity of water 
that passes through it, as a gas-meter mea- 
sures gas. There are various contrivances for 
this purpose. See cuts on following page. — 
2. An instrument for determining the amount 
