wedge 
Yf thai nyl here, a wegge oute of a Ijroiide 
Ywrought dryve in the roote, or sumdel froo 
Let diche and fild with assheii let it stonde. 
PaUaditti, Husbondiie (E. E. T. S.), p. 53. 
Thorw wich pyii ther goth a litel wegge wliich that is 
cleped the hors. Chaucer, Astrolabe. 
For 'tis with Pleasui'e as it is with Wedges; one drives 
out another. 
N. Bailey, tr. of Colloquies of Erasmus, I. 167. 
2. A mass resembling a wedge in form ; any- 
thing in the form of a wedge. 
They gather it [gold] witll great laboure and nielte it 
and caste it, fyrste into masses or wedges, and afterwarde 
into brode plates. 
R. Eden, tr. of Sebastian Munster (First Books on Amer- 
(ica, ed. Arber, p. 29). 
Open the mails, yet guard the treasure sure ; 
Lay out our golden wedges to tlie view. 
Marlowe, Taniburlaine, I., i. 12. 
A wedge of gold of Bfty shekels weight Josh. vii. 21. 
See how in warlike muster they appear. 
In rhombs, and wedges, and half-nioons, and wings. 
Matoii, K R., iii. 309. 
3. In her., a bearing representing a triangle 
with one very acute angle — that is, like a pile, 
but free in the escutcheon instead of being at- 
tached to one of its edges. — 4. In Cambridge 
University, the name given to the man whose 
name stands lowest on the list of the classical 
tripos: said to be a designation suggested by 
the name (Wedgewood) of the man who occu- 
pied this place on the first list (1824). Com- 
pare wooden spoon, under -spoon^. 
Five were Wranglers, four of these Double men, and 
the fifth a favorite for the Wedge. The last man is called 
the Wedge, corresponding to the Spoon in Matheniatii-s. 
C. A. Brisled, English Ijilversity, p. 312. 
Foxtail wedge. Same as /ux-wedge. — The thin or small 
end of the wedge, figuratively, an initiatory move of 
small apparent importance, but calculated to produce or 
lead to an ultimate important effect. — Wedge Of least 
resistance, the form in which loose earth and other sub- 
stances yield to pressure.— Wooden wedge. Same :i8 
wedgel, 4. 
wedge^ (wej), r. ; pret. and pp. icedijed, ppr. 
vjedging. [< late ME. tfcrfiyeii; from the noun.] 
1. trans. 1. To cleave with a wedge or with 
wedges; rive. 
My heart. 
As wedged with a sigh, wotiM rive In twain. 
Shak., T. and C, i. 1. 35. 
2. To drive as a wedge is driven ; crowd or 
compress closely; jam. 
Among the crowd i' the .\bbey ; where a finger 
Could not be wedged in moro. 
Shat., Hen. VIII., iv. 1. 58. 
Wedged in the rocky shoals, and sticking fast 
Dryden, ^neid, v. 286. 
The age had not so much refinement that any sense of 
imprwpriety restrained the wearers of petticoat and far- 
thingale from stepping forth into the public ways, and 
wedging their not unsulistantiiil persons . . . into tlie 
throng nearest to the scaffold at an execution. 
Hawth'/rne, Scarlet Letter, ii. 
3. To fasten with a wedge or witli wedges ; fix 
in the manner of a wedge: as, to widgc on a 
scythe; toicerf<7cin a rail or a piece of timber. — 
4. In eeram., to cut, divide, and work together 
(a mass of wet clay) to drive out bubbles and 
render it plastic, just before placing it on the 
wheel. — 5. To make into the shape of a wedge; 
render cuneiform. — 6. To force apart or split 
off with or as with a wedge. 
Yawning fissures which will surely widen until they 
vxdfie off the projecting masses, and strip huge slices from 
the face of the clifT. Geikie, Geol. Sketches, ii. 
II. intrans. To force one's way like a wedge. 
Haunting 
Tlie Globes and Mermaids, wedging in with lords 
Still at the table. B. Jonson, Devil is an Ass, iii. 1. 
wedge^ (wej), n. [A dial. var. of wadge, wage.] 
A pledge; a gage. Halliicell. 
^t 
Wedifebill {Sthtstfs fiersonalus). 
6867 
wedgebill (wej'bil), u. A humming-bird of the 
genus Hchistes, having the bill of peculiar shape, 
rather thick for a hummer, and suddenly sharp- 
pointed. There are 2 species, both Ecuadorian, 
*'. geoffroyi and .^. personatus, 3J inches long. 
See cut in preceding column. 
wedge-bone (wej'bon), ». An ossicle often 
found on the under surface of the spinal column 
at the junction of any pair of vertebras : more 
fully called suhiertchral wedge-hone. 
Such a separate ossilication, or sub-vertebral wedge-hone, 
is commonly developed beneath and between the odon- 
toid bone and the body of the second vertebra [in Lacer- 
filial Hwdey, Auat. Vert., p. 1S7. 
wedge-cutter (wej'kuf'er), n. 1. An instru- 
ment used in dentistry to cut off the projecting 
part of a wedge that has been driven between 
two teeth. — 2. In wood-ioorking, a machine 
for relishing and cutting the wedges of a door- 
rail. See relish'^. E. H. Knight. 
wedged (wejd), a. [< tt'erfjre + -erf2.] In.:o67., 
wedge-shaped ; cuneiform or ouneate : as, a 
wedged bone ; the wedged tail of a bird. 
wedge-micrometer (wej'mi-krom'e-ter), n. See 
mierometer. 
wedge-photometer (wej'fo-tom"e-ter), n. An 
instrument for measuring the brightness of 
stars. It consists of a long wedge of neutral-tinted dark 
glass arranged to slide before the eyepiece of a telescope, 
and provided with a graduated scale. The scale-reading, 
which corresponds to the thickness of the wedge at the 
point where the image of the star becomes invisible, de- 
termines the star's brightness. 
wedge-press (wej'pres), n. A press for extract- 
ing oil from seeds, as hemp-seed, sunflower- 
seed, etc. , by crushing, it has perforated iron cheek- 
plates, l)etween which the seeds are placed in hair i>ags, 
with blocks and wedges between the bags and the plates. 
A tightening-wcdge is then driven in by a maul, and the 
Juice escapes through the perforations in tlic plates, and 
is c<dlected in a cistern below. 
wedge-shaped (wej'shapt), a. Having the 
shape of a wedge ; wedged ; cuneiform ; euue- 
ate : as, a wedge-shaped leaf ; the loedge-shaped 
tail of a bird: usually noting surfaces, without 
regard to solidity — Wedge-shaped isobar, an iso- 
bar bounding a projecting ai-ea of high pressure moving 
along l)ctwecn two cyclones. 
wedge-shell (wej'shel), n. A bivalve mollusk 
of the family Donaeidse. 
wedge-tailed (wej'tald), a. Having the tail 
wedged or cuneate : noting birds whose tail- 
feathers are regularly graduated in length to 
such an extent that the tail when moderately 
spread appears to be beveled off obliquely at 
the end from the middle to the outermost fea- 
ther on each side. It is a very common forma- 
tion. See cuts under Sphenocercus, Sphenura, 
Trieliiigio>i.\i(.i,and t'roaetns Wedge-tailed eagle, 
Utou'lus tt'fdax, of Australia. See cut under Uruaetits. — 
Wedge-tailed pigeon or dove. See Sphenocercus (with 
cut). 
wedge-valve (wej'valv), n. A wedge-shaped 
valve driven into its seat by a screw: used for 
closing water-mains, etc. 
wedge-wlse (wej'wiz), adv. In the manner of 
a wedge. 
wedging (wej'ing), )i. 1. A method of joining 
timbers, in which the tenon is made just long 
enougli to pass through the mortised piece, and 
a small wedge is driven into a saw-cut in the 
end of the tenon, with the effect of expanding 
it, and thus preventing its withdrawal. — 2. In 
kneading clay for fine modeling, the process of 
cutting the clay to pieces, as by means of a 
strained wire, and then throwing the severed 
pieces forcibly upon the mass, the object being 
to expel the air.— Foxtail wedging, Hee /oxtail. 
wedging-crib (wej'ing-krib), n. In mining, in 
sliatt-sinking in very watery grotmd, a curb or 
crib on which the tubbing is placed, it generally 
consists of pieces of oak carefully shaped and joined to- 
gether. Between the e.xterior of this curb and the rock 
there is left a space of a few inches in width, which is 
marie water-tight by the most careful wedging and the 
use of moss. The oliject of the whole arrangement of the 
wedging-cnrb and the tubJ)ing which rests upon it is per- 
manently to hold back the water which would otherwise 
find its way into tlie shaft and have to be raised to the 
surface by pumping. In some mining districts the wedg- 
ini-'-crib is made of cast-iron. 
Wedgwood scale. A scale used by the inven- 
tor ill measuring high temperatures by his py- 
rometer: as, 10° ll'cdgwood. The zero corre- 
siionds to 1077° F. 
Wedgwood ware. See teart^. 
Wedgy(wej'i),o. [< H<;(?f/el -1- -1/1.] Formed or 
adapted to use as a wedge ; fitted for prying 
into or among. 
Pushed his wedgy snout far within the straw 8ul>ja- 
cent. Landor. (hnp. Diet.) 
wedhoodt (wed'liud), n. [ME. wedhod; < wed 
+ -hood.] The state of marriage. 
weed 
Save in here ivedhod 
That vs feyre to-fore God. 
ms. Colt. Claud. A. ii. f. 129. (Halliwell.) 
wedlock (wed'lok), n. [< ME. icedlac, tcedkik, 
tcedlokc, wedlaik; wedlock, matrimony, mar- 
riage, < AS. wedldc, pledge, < iced, a pledge, + 
luc, a gift, etc. : see iced and lake'^, loke^. The 
compound wedldc is supposed to mean 'a gift 
given as a pledge,' hence a gift given to a 
bride, but the second element is perhaps to be 
taken in the sense of ' condition, state,' being 
ult. nearly identical with the suffix in knoicledgc, 
etc.] 1. Marriage; matrimony; the married 
state; the vows and sacrament of marriage. 
Sometimes used attributively. 
Which that men clepeth spousail or wedlok. 
Chaucer, Clerk's Tale, 1. 69. 
You would sooner commit your grave head to this knot 
than to the wedlock noose. B. Jotison, Epiccene, ii. 1. 
By holy crosses . . . she kneels and prays 
Fur happy wedlock hours. Shak., M. of V., v. 1. 32. 
2t. A wife. 
Which of these is thy wedlock, Menelaus? thy Helen, 
thy Lucrece ? B. Jonson, Poetaster, iv. 1, 
To break wedlock, to commit adultery. Ezek. xvi. 38. 
Howe be it, she kept but euyll the sacrament of matri- 
mony, but brake lier tvedloke. 
Berners, tr. of Froissart's Chrou., I. xxi. 
= Syn. 1. Matrimony, Wedding, etc. See marriage. 
wedlock (wed'lok), r. t. [< wedlock, n.] To 
unite in marriage ; marry. 
Man thus wedlocked. Milton, Divorce, ii. 15. 
Wednesday (wenz'da), Ji. [<ME. Wednesday, 
Wodncsdei, Wcdnesdai, < AS. WOdnes d^g — D. 
Woensdag = Icel. Othinsdagr = Sw. Dan. 0ns- 
dag (for *Odcnsdag); lit. 'Woden's day': AS. 
Wodnes. gen. of Woden = OS. Jf'odan, fVoden = 
OHG. Wuotan, Wotan = Icel. Othinn (>E. Odin), 
Woden; prob. lit. ' the furious,' i. e., the mighty 
warrior, < AS. wod, etc., furious, raging, mad: 
see wood-.] The fourth day of the week; the 
day next after Tuesdaj'. Abbreviated (J'., Wed. 
See H'rei'^.—Pnlver Wednesday!. .Same as Ash Wed- 
nesday. 
wedsett, v. t. [ME. wedsetten ; < wed + sefl. 
Cf. wadset.] To pledge : same as wad.iet. 
weel (we), n. and a. [< ME. we, in the phrase 
a little we, a little bit, a short way or space, 
appar. for a little icay, the form we being ap- 
par. a Scand. form (Icel. rcgr, a way, = Sw. 
rag = Dan. vci) of way: see !tv)yl. Little and 
wee were and are so constantly associated that 
they have become synonymous, and wee has 
changed to an adjective. Cf. way-hit, equiv. to 
wee bit. E. wee cannot be connected with OHG. 
wena-c, G. wcnig, little.] I. n. A bit. Specifically 
— (a) A short distance. 
Behynd hir a litill u-c 
It [a stone] fell. 
Barbour, Bruce (E. E. T. S.), xvii. 677. 
(b) A short space of time. 
O bold your hand, you minister, 
Hold it a little wee. 
Sweet William (Child's Balla<ls, IV. 263). 
II. a. Small; little; tiny. [Colloq.] 
He hath but a little wee face, with a little yellow beard. 
Shak., II. W. of W,, i. 4. 22. 
wee^t, «. An obsolete form of teoc. 
weC'^t, pi'on. An old spelling of wc. 
weebit (we'bit), n. Same as way-hit. 
weechelmt, ". An obsolete form of witch-elm. 
weed' (wed), n. [< ME. weed, reed, wcod. wied, 
a weed, < AS. weod, wiod = OS. MD. w'iod, D. 
wiede, a weed, = LG. woden, wocn, pi., the green 
stalks and leaves of turnips, etc.] 1. Any one 
of those herbaceous plants which are useless 
and without special beauty, or especially which 
are positively troublesome. The application of this 
general term is somewhat relative. Handsome but per- 
nicious plants, as the oxeye daisy, cone-flower, and the 
purple cow-wheat of Europe (Melampyruni arvense), are 
weeds to the agriculturist, tliiwers to the esthetic. So also 
plants that are cultivated for use or l)eauty, as grasses, 
hemp, carrot, parsnip, morning-glory, become weeds when 
they spring up where they are not wanted. The exotics of 
cool countries are sometimes weeds in the tropics. 
On fat londe and ful of donge foulest wedes groweth. 
Piers Plowman (C), xiii. 224. 
An ill weed grows apace. Beau, and Fl., Coxcomb, iv. 3. 
2. A sorry, worthless animal unfit for the 
breeding of stock; especially, a leggy, loose- 
bodied horse ; a raeo-horse having the ap- 
pearance liut wanting tlie other qiuilities of 
a thoroughbred. [Slang.] 
He bore tlie .«ame relation to a man of fashion that a 
weed does to a "wiimer of tlie Derby." 
Lever, Davenport Dunn, ii. 
3. A cigar; with the definite article, tobacco. 
[Colloq.] 
