weather 
Goth, waian, Skt. V rd, blow : see whid^.J I. h. 
It. Wind; storm; tempest. 
Now welcome somer, with thy suniie softe, 
That hast this wintves wedres oversliake. 
Chaucer, Parliament of Fowls, I. 685. 
Aye the wyiule was in the sayle, 
Ovui- fomes they Set withowtyn fayle, 
Tlie icethur then forth gan swepe. 
Le Bone Florence (Ritson's lletr. Rom., III.). 
What susts of weather from that gathering clouil 
My thoughts presage ! Dryden, ^neid, v. 19. 
2t. Cold and wet. 
Seynge this liysshop with liis company syttyng in the 
wxder, desyred hym to his howse. Fabyan, Chron., lx.\xiii. 
And, it two Boots lieep out the Weather, 
What need you have two Hides of Leather? 
Prwr, Alma, iii. 
3t. A liglit rain ; a shower. Wijclif, Dent, x.xxii . 
2. — 4. The state of the air or atmosphere with 
respect to its cloudiness, humidity, motions, 
pressure, temperature, electrical condition, or 
any other meteorological phenomena; the at- 
mospheric conditions prevailing at any moment 
over any region of the earth : as, warm or cold 
weather; wet or dry weatlicr; calm or stormy 
weather; fair or foul weather; cloudy or hazy 
weather. The invostig^Uion of the various causes whieli 
lietcrniine the state of the atmosphere ami produce tlu; 
changes which are incessantly tailing place in its condi- 
tion forms the subject of meteorology. The average con- 
dition of tlie weatlier for a considerable period constitutes 
climate, and *he statistical compilation of meteorological 
observations forms the basis of climatology. 
Men may see the Wallcs when it is fayr Wedre and eleer. 
Mandeville, Travels, p. 101. 
A I lorde, what the wedir is colde ! 
The fcllest freeso that euere I felyd. 
J'orfr Flays, p. 114. 
They . . . wolde ride in tlic cole of the mornynge that 
was feire and stille and a softe wede.r, and thei were yonge 
and tender to sutfre grete trauayle. 
Merlin (E. E. T. S.), ii. 191. 
Gentlewomen, the weather's hot; whither wallj yon? 
B. Jonion, Bartholomew Fair, iii. 1. 
Horriljle weather again to-day, snowing and raining all 
day. Sydney Smith, To Mrs. Sydney Smith. 
5. Specifically, in weather-maps and -reports, 
the condition of the sky as to cloudiness and 
the oecuiTence of precipitation. — 6. Change of 
the state of the atmosphere; meteorological 
change; hence, figuratively, vicissitude; change 
of fortune or condition. 
It is a reverend thing to see an ancient castle . . . not 
in decay ; how inucli more to behold an ancient noljle fam- 
ily which hath stood against the waves and weathers of 
time ! Bacon, Nobility. 
But my Substantial Love 
Of a more firm and perfect Nature is ; 
No Wealliers can it move. 
Cowley, The Mistress, Coldness. 
7. The inclination or obliquity of the sails of a 
windmill to tlie plane of revolution. —Angle of 
weather. See angle-l ~ Clerii of the weather. See 
risri:.— Merry weathert. See »nen-i/i.— Soft weather, 
(n) A tliaw, [New Eng.] (fc) An enei-vating atmosplu-re. 
— To make fair weathert, to conciliate or flatter, as Ijy 
fair words and sliows of friendship. 
I must ^nake fair weather yet awhile. 
Till Henry Ijc more weak and I more strong. 
Shak., 2 Hen. VI., v. 1. 30. 
To make good or bad weather (iwkO- SeemaJ-c'.— 
Under the weather, indisposed; ill ; ailing: a condition 
caused or influenced by the state of the weather. [Colloq.] 
Since I went to Washington, and until within ten days, 
I Iiave been quite under the weather, and I liave had to 
neglect everylliing. S. Bowles, in Merriam, II. 49. 
Weather Bureau, a bureau of the Bepartment of Agri- 
culture, liaving charge of the forecasting of weather, the 
issue of storm-warnings, the display of weather- and flood- 
signals, the gaging and reporting of rivers, the main- 
tenance of sea-coast telegraph-lines, the collection and 
transmission of marine intelligence for the benetit of com- 
merce and navigation, the taking of meteorological ob- 
servations for establishing the climatic conditions of the 
Tnited States, a»id the distribution of meteorological in- 
formation. From 1871 Uj 1891 these duties were performed 
by the signal service of the army, which during that period 
was i>opularly called the Weather ijHreaw.— Weather- 
SignaL See siynal. 
II. a. yaitt., toward the wind; windward: 
opposed to lee: as, weather bow ; toeathcr beam ; 
weather rigging.— Weather anchor, the anchor, ly- 
ing to win<lward, by which a ship rides when moored. — 
Weather helm, quarter, tide. See the nouns. 
weather (weTii'er), v. [< ME. wederen, < AS. 
wc(liriaii,iverlriiiH, exposeto the air, indicate tlie 
weather; cf. AS. wedrian = Sw. riidra, expose 
to the air, air, scent, smell, snuff the air, = Dan. 
fejre, air, scent ; from the noun.] I. trans. 1. 
To air; expose to the air; dry or otherwise af- 
fect by exposure to tlie open air. [Rare.] 
I fear me this land is not yet ripe to be ploughed ; for, 
as the -saying is. it lacketh w^atherinf/, 
Latimer, Sermon of the Plough. 
And then he pearcheth on some bi-aunch thereby. 
To weather him, and hi.s moyst \ving8 t(j dry. 
Spenser, Muiopotmos, 1. 184. 
6862 
All barleys that have been weattiered in the field, or 
have got mow.bui'ut or musty in the stack, should be 
rigidly rejected. Ure, Diet., IH. 185. 
Hawks are weathered by being placed unhooded in the 
open air. This term is applied to passage hawks which 
are not snffleiently reclaimed to be left out by themselves 
unhooded on blocks — they are weathered by being put 
out for an hour or two under the falconer's eye. 
Encyc. Brit., IX. 7. 
3. To affect injuriously by the action of wea- 
tlier; in geol., to discolor or disintegrate: as, 
the atmospheric agencies that weatlier rocks. 
— 3. In tilc-manuf., to expose (the clay) to a hot 
sun or to frost, in order to open the pores and 
separate the particles, that it may readily ab- 
sorb water and be easily worked. — 4. To slope 
(a surface), that it may shed water. — 5. Naut. •■ 
(a) To sail to windward of: as, to weather a 
point or eajje. 
We weathered Pulo Pare on the 29th, and stood in for 
the main. Cook, First Voyage, iii. 13. 
{h) To bear up against and come safely through: 
said of a ship in a storm, as also of a mariner; 
hence, used in the same sense with reference 
to storms on land. 
Here 's to tlie pilot that weathered the storm. Canniny. 
Among these hills, from first to last. 
We've weathered many a furious blast. 
Wordsworth, Tlie Waggoner, ii. 
1 weathered some weary snow-storms. 
Thoreau, Walden, p. 275. 
To sell the boat — and yet he loved her well ; 
How many a rough sea had he weather'd in her ! 
Tennyson, Enoch Arden. 
6. Figuratively, to bear up against and over- 
come, as trouble or danger; come out of, as a 
trial, without permanent damage or loss. 
You will weather the difficulties yet. F. W. Itobertsun. 
The vitality and self-direction of the semi-Greek mu- 
nicipalities of the East in large measure wea(Aered Roman 
rule, as did also the Greek speech and jiartially Helleii- 
ized life of Asia, Syria, and Egypt. W. Wilson, State, 1 143. 
To weather a point, to gain an advantage or accomplish 
a iiurpose against opposition. — TO weather out, to hold 
out against to the end. 
When we have pass'd these gloomy hours. 
And weather'd out the storm that beats upon us. 
Addison, Cato, iii. 2. 
II. intrans. 1. To suffer a change, such as 
discoloration or more or less complete disinte- 
gration, in consequence of exposure to the wea- 
ther or atmosphere. See weathering, 2. 
The lowest bed is a sandstone with ferruginous veins ; 
it weathers into an extraordinary honey-combed mass. 
Darwin, Geol. Observations, ii. 426. 
Tlie granite commenced to weather, and u'cnthered mt^r- 
rily on in spite of all technical and scientific ctmimis- 
sioiis. Science, VII. 75. 
2. To resist or bear exposure to the weather. 
For outside work, boiled oil is used, because it weathers 
better than raw oil. Workshop Receipts, 2d ser., p. 436. 
weather-beaten (weTH'er-be'''tn), a. [< weather 
+ beaten. In some of its uses perhaps a per- 
verted spelling of weather-hitten, q. v.] Beaten 
or marred by the weather; seasoned or hard- 
ened by exposure to all kinds of weather: as, 
a weatlier-heaten sailor. 
Slie enjoyes sure peace for evermore. 
As wetherbeaten ship arryv'd on happie shore. 
Spenser, F. Q., II. i. 2. 
Summer being ended, all things stand in appearance 
with a weather-beaten face. 
A'. Morton, New England's Memorial, p. 35. 
The weather-beaten form of the scout. 
J. F. Cooper, Last of Mohicans, xxix. 
weather-bitt (weTH'er-bit), v. t. To take an 
extra turn of (a cable) about the bitts or the 
end of the windlass in bad weather. 
weather-bitten (weTH'er-bit'n), a. [= Sw. V(i- 
dcr-bitcn = Norw. rcclerbiteit = Dan. reirhidt, 
weather-bitten; asweathcr+ bitten. Cf. Norw. 
wederslitlen, weather-slit, weather-worn. Cf. 
weather-beaten.'] Worn, maiTed, or defaced by 
exposure to the weather. 
The old shepherd . . . stands by, like a weather-hitten 
conduit of many kings' reigns. Shak., W. T., v. 2. 60. 
weather-blffwn (weTH'er-blon), a. Weather- 
beaten ; weather-stained. Chapman, Iliad, ii. 
weather-board (weTH'er-bord), n. [= Icel. 
retherbordli, the windward side; as weather + 
board.] 1. Naut.: (ai) That side of a ship 
which is toward the wind; the windward side. 
(/)) A piece of plank placed in a ship's port 
when she is laid up in ordinary, inclined so as to 
turn off rain without preventing the circulation 
of air. — 2. A board used in weather-boarding. 
weather-board (weTH'er-bord), r. t. [< wea- 
tlier-board, «.] To nail boards upon, as a roof 
weathered 
or wall, lapping one over another, in order to 
turn off ram, snow, etc. 
It was a building of four rooms, constructed of hewn 
logs and iveather-boarded at the joints. 
The Century, XXXVIIL 408. 
weather-boarding (weTH'er-b6r''ding), «. 1. 
A facing of thin boards, having usually a fea- 
ther-edge, and nailed lapping one over another, 
used as an outside covering for the walls of 
a wooden building. They are practically the 
same as clapboards, but are distinguished from 
thosebybeinglarger and wider. — 2. The finish 
or woodwork at the base of a clapboarded 
wall. — 3. The whole exterior covering of a 
wall or roof, whether of weather-boards, clap- 
boards, or shingles — Weather-boarding clamp, 
gage, saw, etc., special forms of clamp, gage, saw, etc., 
used in applying or cutting out weather-boarding. 
weather-bound (weiH'er-bound), a. Delayed 
by bad weather. 
weather-box (weTH'er-boks), «. A form of 
hygroscope, in the shape of a toy-house, which 
roughly indicates weather changes by the ap- 
pearance or retirement of toy images. In a com- 
mon form a man advances from his porch in wet and a 
woman in dry weather — the movement tieing produced by 
the varying torsion of a hygroscopic string by which the 
images are attached. Also called iffeather-house. 
The elder and younger son of the house of Crawley were, 
like the gentleman and lady in the weather-box, never at 
home together. Tfiaekeray, Vanity Fair, x. 
weather-breeder (weTH'er-bre'''d6r), «. A fine 
serene day which precedes and prepares a storm. 
"It's a beautiful day," said Whittaker. . . . "Yes, nice 
day," gi'owled Adams, "but a weather-breeder." 
E. Eggleston, Roxy, xlil. 
weather-cast (weTH'er-kast), n. A forecast of 
the weather. [Bare.] 
Admiral FitzKoy, in 1860, was enabled, aided by the 
electric telegraph, to inaugurate a system of storm-warn- 
ings and weather-casts. 
R. Strachan, in Modem Meteorology, p. 84. 
weather-cas'ter (weTH'^r-kas''ter), «. One 
who computes the weather for almanacs. Bal- 
liicell. 
weather-cloth (weTH'er-kloth), ?i. Naut.: (a) 
A covering of painted canvas for hammocks, 
boats, etc. (b) A tarpaulin placed in the wea- 
ther rigging to make a shelter for oflSeers and 
men on watch. 
weathercock (weTH'^r-kok), n. [< ME. weder- 
eok; wedyrcoklce, weddyrcoVe, wedercoe, so called 
because the figure of a cock, as an emblem of 
vigilance, has from a very early time been a fa- 
vorite form for vanes; cf. D. weerhaan = Sw. 
viiderhane = Dan. reirhane, a weathercock, etc. 
(D. haan, etc., a cock).] 1. A vane or weather- 
vane; a pointing de\'ioe, set on the top of a 
spire or other elevation, and turning with the 
wind, thus showing its direction. See cut un- 
der rane. 
O jest unseen, inscrutable, invisible, 
As a nose on a man's face, or a wvather-cocJc on a steeple ! 
Shak., T. O. of V., ii. 1. 142. 
They are Men whose Conditions are subject to more 
Revolutions than a Weattier Cock, or the Uncertain Mind 
of a Fantastical Woman. Ward, London Spy. 
His head . . . looked like a W¥n/A«r-cocAr, perched upon 
his spindle neck to tell which way the wind blew. 
Irving, Sketch-Book, p. 420. 
2. Figuratively, any thing or person that is 
easily and frequently turned or swayed; a 
fickle or inconstant person. 
What pretty iceathercocks these women are ! 
Randolph, Amyntas, L 1. 
The word which I have given shall stand like fate. 
Not like the king's, that iceather-cock of state. 
Dryden, Conquest of Granada, I., iiL 1. 
weathercock (weTH'er-kok), r. t. [< weather- 
eoel; )(.] To serve as a weathercock to or on. 
[Rare.] 
Whose blazing wyvern iceathercocyd the spire. 
Tennyson, Aylmer's Field. 
weather-contact (weTH'er-kon'''takt), H. In 
teleg., leakage to neighboring wires or to earth, 
due to wet insulators. 
weather-cross (weTH'er-kros), «. In telegraph- 
and telephone-lines, a leakage from one line to 
another, caused by poor insulation, and brought 
about by wet or stormy weather. 
weather-dog (weTH'er-dog), «. A fragmentary 
rainbow, popularly belie ved, especially in Corn- 
wall, to be an indication of rain. [Prov. Eng.] 
weather-dri'ven (weTn'er-driv''n),o. [= Sw.t'o- 
dcr-drifren, wind-driven: as weather + driren.] 
Driven by winds or storms; forced by stress of 
weather. 
weathered (wexn'^rd), p. a. 1. Discolored or 
disiiitegi-ated by the action of the elements: 
