wheel-base 
wheel-base (hwel'bas), >i. In locomotives and 
raihvay-cars, the distance between the points 
of contact of the front and back wheels with 
the rail. 
The distance between the supporting wheels is four 
feet, which thus fomis the rigid w/ieel-bage of the truck. 
Jour. FraiMin Iimt., CXil. 201. 
wheel-bearer (hwerbar"er), n. A rotifer or 
wheel-animalcule. 
The little wheel-bearer, Rotifer vulgaris. 
Staiul. Nat. Uist., I. 202. 
wheel-bird (hwel'berd). ». The night-jar or 
goatsucker, Caprimuhjti.s europseus : so named 
from its chirring cry, likened to the noise of 
a spinning-wheel. Also bj>iiincr and wheeler. 
Compare like use of reehr, 2, and see cuts under 
goatsucker and nUiht-jar. [Local, Scotland.] 
wheel-boat (hwel'bot), ». A boat with wheels, 
to be used either on water or upon inclined 
planes or railways. 
wheel-box (hwel'boks), n. A box inclosing a 
wheel, either to lessen the noise of its action 
or for purposes of safety. 
wheel-DUg (hwel'bug), n. A large reduvioid 
bug, I'rionidus cristatiix, common throughout 
Wheel-bug tPrwniditi crisfatuj). fem.ile, ii.-itural size, 
the southern United States, having a semicircxi- 
lar toothed thoracic crest like a cogged wheel. 
It is predaceous, and destroys great numbers of injurious 
insects, such aa willow-slugs, web-worms. cut-woi-ms, and 
cotton-caterpillars. Also called deril H-rUiintj-horm. 
wheel-carriage (hwerkar"aj), «. A carriage 
moved on wheels, as a coacli, chaise, gig, rail- 
way-car, wagon, cart, etc. 
wheel-case (hwel'kas). n. In pi/rotcchnic.i. a case 
made of stout paper, filled with a composition, 
and tied to the rim of a wheel or other revolv- 
ing-pyrotechnic device, to which it gives a rapid 
movement of rotation while it burns with a 
brilliant flame. 
wheel-chain (hwel'chan), «. A chain used for 
the same purpose as a wheel-rope. 
wheel-chair (hwel'char), ti. A chair or chair- 
like structure mounted on wheels; a Bath chair; 
an invalid's chair. 
wheel-colter (hwel'kol'ter), H. See ealler. 
wheel-cross (liwel'kros), h. A variety of the 
ring-cross, in which a small circle occupies the 
center of the larger one, the arms of the cross 
radiating from it. The name irheHcrtm h.i8 been 
founded ntH>n a BUi>p<jse<l intentional lesemblance tu a 
wheel, aa of the sun-carriage. Wtrrxaae, Danish Arts, p. IK), 
wheel-cultivator (hwel'kul'ti-vfi-tor), «. In 
fii/ri., a form of cultivator supported on wheels. 
Wheel-cut (hwel'kut), II. Cut, as glass, by the 
ordinary process of glass<'utting, which leaves 
a perfectly polished and jierfectly transparent 
surface. Car-liiiililer'-i Diet. 
wheel-cutting (liwcrkufing), n. The process 
or operation of cutting teeth in the wheels used 
by watch- and dock-makers and for other me- 
chanical purposes. 
wheel-draft (hwel'draft), H. In steiini-ciKjin., 
a continuous draft or current of smoke and hot 
air passing around in one direction, as distin- 
guished from a ilirert, a ren rtiuii, or a .iplit tlraft. 
wheeled (hwelil), n. [< u-heel'^ + -eil'^.'\ Fur- 
nished with a wheel or wheels, or with any ro- 
tating disk, rosette, or the like, as a spur of the 
modern type. 
The leheet'd seat 
<>f fortunate t'wsar. 
.Shak. , A. and <;. , iv. 14. 7.^. 
The knights appejir to have rejecteil with particular ol»- 
Btlnacy the innovation of Ihc wheeled hiiut. 
Hewitt, Ancient Armour, 1. p. xxii. 
wheel-engraving (hweren-gra'ving), II. In 
<lliix.i-»niiiii/., siiiiie as i/lasx-iiiiiriiriiii/. 
wheeler (liwe'lcr), n. [< irAoV -(- -r/l. Hence 
the surnaiiK? If'lierlcr.'] 1. One who wheels. 
Each gang is composed of one moulder, one wheeler, and 
one boy called an olf-bearer. 
C. T. Davit, Bricks and Tiles, p. 108. 
2. A maker of wheels; a wheelwright. — 3. A 
wheel-horse, or other animal driven in the place 
of one. 
We saw the vehicle turn over altogether, one of the 
wheelert down with its rider, and the leaders kicking. 
Thackeray, I'hilip, xlii. 
6891 
4. A worker of wheel work on sewed muslin. 
Imp. Diet. — 5. That which is provided with 
a wheel or wheels: used in composition: as, a 
stem-wheeler ; a s\Ae-wheeler . 
The fast eight-irftee^er* have the Westinghouse auto- 
matic brake on drivei-s and tender. 
The Engineer, L.YIX. 269. 
6. Same as wheel-hint. [Prov. Eug.]_Near(or 
ni^h) wheeler, the horse (or mule) on the left-hand side, 
often ridden. — Off Wheeler, the horse (or mule) on the 
right-hand side ; that one which the driver never rides. 
wheelerite (hwe'ler-it), n. [Named after 
Lieut. G. M. Wheeler, U. S. A.] A fossil resin 
found in New Mexico. 
wheel-fire (hwel'fir), ». In chem., a fire which 
encompasses a crucible without touching it. 
wheel-fixing (hwel'fik'sing), H. See fixing, 'i. 
wheel-guard (hwel'gard), «. l. A circular 
guard for a sword or dagger. Hewitt, Ancient 
Armour, II. 258. — 2. In a vehicle, a hood to 
protect the axle from mud, and prevent mud 
from entering between the axle-box and the 
spindle ; a cuttoo-plate, dirt-board, or round- 
robin — Wheel-guard plate, in a vehicle, and also on 
an artillery-carriage, one of the iron plates fixed on either 
side of the box or the stock to prevent chafing by the 
wheels in turning ; a ruI)-iion. E. II. Knight. See cut 
under gun-carriage. 
wheel-head (hwel'hed), «. In seal-ciigraiiiig. 
the lathe-hea<t of a seal-engi-avers' engine. 
wheel-hoe (hwel'ho), n. A form of hand-culti- 
vator consisting of a frame mounted on wheels, 
and carrying one or a number of blades serving 
as hoes. 
wheel-horse (hwel'hors), ». A horse harnessed 
next to the fore wheel of a venicle — that is, 
attached to the pole or shafts — as in a four-in- 
hand or a tandem; hence, figuratively, a per- 
son who bears the brunt, or on whom the bur- 
den mostly rests. 
In the next room Poelman and Kilianus and Raphelen- 
gius plodded like wheel htjrsex in dragging obscure texts 
out of the muddy roads in which copyists and C()nipo8i- 
tors had left them. The Centtmi, XX.WI. 245. 
Whenever . . - offices are to be filled, we desire such 
men as he, and not old political hacks and . . . wheel, 
homen, should fill them. The Nation, XIII. 207. 
wheel-house (hweriious), n. Xmit., same as 
jiilol-lioiixe. 
Wheelhouse's operation for stricture. Sec 
operiiHiiii. 
wheeling (hwo'ling), ?i. [Verbal n. of wheels. 
r.] 1. riie act of traveling or of conveying a 
load on wheels, or in a wheeled vehicle. 
The sleighing is not as good as it was, and the state of 
the streets admits wheeling. Upper Ten Thinutand, ii. 
2. Specifically, the art or practice of riding on 
a bicycle or a tricycle. [Collo(|.] 
Wheeling bridge case. See <■«.«!. 
wheel-jack (Inverjak), n. 1. A lifting-jack 
liaving a jirojection to catch under the tire of a 
wheel. — 2. An apparatus of which the lifting- 
bar is a cogged rack, worked by a pinion ami 
hand-<-rank. 
wheel-jointer (hwerjoin'ter), n. A machine 
for triiiiniing joints of staves, heading, etc. Ii. 
II. Ii night. 
wheel-lathe (hwel'laTH), w. A power-lathe for 
tiirniiig railway-wheels and similar large work. 
Double wheel-^lathe, a wheel-lathe so made that it can 
work upon a pair of wheels without removing them from 
the axle. 
Wheel lock. 
a, lock-plate, sup[>ortiu(; .ill the lock mechanism; *. wheel, with 
^nxives of V section to form circmiiferenti.'il edjjes; f, chain connect- 
ing the axle of * with the extremity of the mainspring d; e, trigger : 
/, fl.asli-p.an : f, the serpentine hokimg the Hint; h. spring which 
presses the flint uixjn the wheel in firing, or holds it away when wind- 
ing lip the lock : k, sear and sear-spring, the scar cng.aging the wheel 
I>y a short stuil entering recesses in the side of the wheel ; i. wrench, 
fitted to the .ixie of b, un winding up the chain, and having a hollow 
handle for measuring out the priming powder. 
wheel-window 
wheel-lock (hwel'lok), ». l. A lock for firing 
a gun by means of the friction of a small steel 
wheel against a piece of sulphuret of iron (py- 
rites). The wheel was turned by a spring, which was re- 
leased by a trigger, or tricker, and wound up again by 
means of a spanner. See cut in preceding column, and 
cut under primer. 
2. A combination-lock or letter-lock. — 3. A 
form of brake ; a wagon-lock. 
wheelman (hwel'man), ». ; pi. wheelmen (-men). 
1. The man at the wheel of a vessel; a steers- 
man. — 2. One who uses a bicycle, tricycle, or 
similar conveyance. [Recent.] 
In the parlors the costumes of the wheelmen seemed not 
so much out of place. The Centurg, XIX. 496. 
wheel-ore (hwel'or), «. A variety of bouriio- 
nite in compound crystals resembling a cog- 
wheel. 
wheel-organ (hwer6r"gan), n. The charac- 
teristic organ of the wheel-animalcules or roti- 
fers, formed by the anterior part of the body: 
so called from the movement of its cilia, it 
represents the persistence, in the adult, of a primitive 
circlet of cilia of embryonic worms, etc. (Sec telatrocha , 
Irochnt^phcre , and cuts under Rotifer, lioHfera, trochal, and 
I'eliger. 
wheel-pit (hwel'pit), n. 1. A pit inclosed by 
the piers which support a large fly-wheel or 
driving-wheel, affording the requisite space 
for the motion of the wheel. — 2. A whirlpool. 
Halliwell. [Prov. Eng.] 
wheel-plate (hwel'plat), n. In a plate car- 
wheel, the web, or the part uniting the rim and 
the hub. 
wheel-plow (liwel'plou), n. See plow. 
wheel-race (hwerriis), n. The part of a race 
in wliich a water-wheel is fixed. 
wheel-rib (hwel'rib), n. A projection cast usu- 
ally on the inner side of plate car-wheels to 
strengthen them. Ciir-Hiiiltler',s Dirt. 
wheel-rope (hwel'rop), ». Aropeleailingfrom 
the wheel or steering-engine to tlie tiller, by 
which motion is given by the helmsman to the 
tiller and consequently to the rudder. Chains 
are sometimes used for this purpose. 
wheel-seat (hwel'set), «. The part of an 
axle which fits into the hub of a wheel; the 
.spindle. 
wneelseed (Invel'sed), n. See Troehiiciirpa. 
wheel-shaped (Inrfd'sliapt), h. Shaped like a 
wheel. S])ecitically — (rt) In hot., expanding into a flat bor- 
der at the top, w ith scarcely any tube : rotate : as, a wheel- 
shaped corolla. See cuts tnuier rotate and Stapelia. (b) 
In zoi/L, nitate ; rotular ; discoitl : as, the wheel-xhaped spic- 
nla of holothurians.— Wheel-shaped bodies, plates, or 
splcula, certain calcareous formations in the skin of .'^onie 
echiiuMlenns ; wheel spicules. They are circular di.sks 
with the appearance of spokes radiating from a hub to 
the tire. See cut under Holuthwroidea. 
wheelsman (hwelz'man), n. ; pi. wheel.'tmcn 
(-men). A steersman or lielmsnian. 
The wheeUotanoi a steamer. Sci. Ainer.Sniq}., LI V. 250. 
wheel-spicule (hw61's])ik"ul), ;/. One of the 
wlieel-snapcd calcareous concretions in the skin 
of a holotliurian. Enri/c. Brit. 
wheel-stitch (hwel'stich), n. Ill emhriiiilerii, a 
stitch used in making a, pattern of radiating 
lines crossed by an inlcilaciiig threail, etc., 
which begins at the center and extends as far. 
or nearly as far, as the ends of the radiating 
lines. 
wheelstone (hwel'slon), ». A screwstone; an 
entrocliitc, or joint of the stem of a stone-lilv. 
wheel-swarf (hwel'swiirf), n. The niateri--il 
worn olf the surface of a grindstone and tliat 
of the articles wliich are being ground in the 
manufacture of all kinds of cutlery, espcBially 
at Sheffield, England. It consists of silicicms parti 
cles mixed with those of more or less oxidized steel. 
AVhccI-swarf is used in the manufacture of blister-steel, 
the surface of the last layer of chai'coal in the cementation 
pot being coated with it; tliis, when heated, partly fuses, 
anil ftums an air-tiglit covering to the charcoiil and bars 
of iron beneath. 
wheel-tire (hwel'tir). n. The iron bainl that 
encircli's a wootlen wheel. See tire''. 
wheel-tooth (hwiil'totli), ». A cog. 
Some persons have a mistaken impression (hat the ob- 
ject to :iim at in constructing wheel lerth is t^i nnikethem 
roll on one anotlier without ;iny rubbing friction. 
Sir E. Beeltelt, Clocks, Watches, ;imi1 Bells, p. 274. 
wheel-tree (hwel'tre), «. Same as pnilittciroinl. 
wheel-urchin (hwercr"chin), H. A flat sea- 
urchin ; a cake-urchin ; a sand-dollar. 
wheelway (hwel'wa), «. A road or space for 
the passage of wheeled vehicles. 
Nearer the wheeheay and upon (he outer edges of the 
public road, where the plowshare never disputes their 
right to the soil, grew a perfect tangle of wild-Jlowers. 
The Centvrg, XXXVIII. 570. 
wheel-window (hwel'win"d6). n. A large cir- 
cular window with tracery radiating from the 
