whortleberry 
MK. or AS.). < AS. icyriil, a small shrub or root 
(also in eomp. hiscoii-wyrtil, commonly biscop- 
icyrt, bishop's- wort ) (=' LG. D. wortel = OHG. 
irurzala. MHO. (J. it-M/re/, root) (dim. of Wjirt, 
root), + fcfrie, berry : see (roc/l and fco'j-yi . The 
first element, however, has long been uncer- 
tain, the word having variant forms, liurthhcrnj, 
hurtberry, hurtberry, showing confusion or per- 
haps nit. identity with hartberry in its orig. 
application (AS. 'heni-tberge, beiTy of the buck- 
thorn). See hiirtleberry, hurtberry, hurt^, hart- 
berry, hiickleberry.l A shrub, Vaccinium Myr- 
tillus, or its fruit. It is a low bush v.ith numerous 
angled branches, anil glaucous blackish berries which are 
edible. It grows in Europe, in Siberia, and in America 
from Colorado to Alaska. The name is extended to many 
other Tacciniums bearing similar fruit. See huckleberry. 
At my feet 
The whortle-berries are bedew'd with spray 
Dash'd upwards by the furious waterfall. 
Coleridi/e, The Picture, or The Lover's Resolution. 
Victorian whortleberry, a prostrate or creeping shrub, 
WittsUinia meciniacea, of the whortleberry family, found 
on mountain rocks in Victoria. It is exceptional in the 
order for its dehiscent anthers. 
whose (hoz), ])roii. See who and lohat. 
whosesoever (hoz-so-ev'er), proii. The posses- 
sive or genitive ease of whosoever. John xx. 23. 
whoso (ho'so), iiidef. rel. pron. [< ME. "whoso, 
hwage, whoso (cf. ME. dat. hwamso, whomso); 
el.AS.swdhwtisicd: see !(i/)rtand.s'oi.] Whoso- 
ever; whoever. 
Qwo 80 wylle of curtasy lore, 
In this boke he may hit here ! 
ISabees Book (E. E, T. S.), p, 299. 
Their love 
Lies in their purses, and whoso empties them 
Bv so much fills their hearts with deadly hate. 
Shak., liich. II., ii. 2. 130. 
Like Aspis sting that closely kils, 
Or cruelly does wound whoin so she wils. 
Speiiser, F. Q., V. xii. 36. 
whosoever (ho-so-ev'er), pron.; poss. whoseso- 
ever, obj. whomsoever. [< ME. whoso eiier, hwose 
euer ; < whoso -I- ever.] Whoever; whatever 
person ; any person whatever that. 
For hem seniethe that lehoso evere be nieke and pacyent, 
he is holy aud profitable. Mandenlle, Travels, p. 170. 
With whomsoever thou flndest thy gods, let him not live. 
Gen. xxxi. 32. 
Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. 
Rev. xxii. 17. 
He counts it lawfull in the bookes of whomsoever to re- 
ject that which hee finds otherwise than true. 
Milton, Reformation in Eng., i. 
Whott, whotet, whottet, «■ Obsolete or dia- 
lectal forms of /io(l. 
whucchet, »■ [See which'^.'] A hutch or coffer. 
whummle (hwum'l), v. and n. A dialectal form 
of whemmle. Scott, Rob Roy, xxii. 
Whunstane (hwun ' stan), «. Whinstone. 
[Scotch.] 
A vast, unlMttom'd, boundless pit, 
FiU'd fou o' lovvin' brunstane, 
Wha's ragin' flame, an' scorchin' heat, 
Wad melt the hardest whun-sta)ie ! 
Burns, Holy Fair. 
whurt, V. and «. An obsolete spelling of whir. 
whurryt, v. and n. An obsolete variant of hurry. 
whurt, ». See whort. 
whuskey (hwus'ki ),n. A Scotch form of whisky". 
whyl (hwi), (I'lv. and coiij. [Early mod. E. whie; 
< ME. whi/, whi, hwi, wi (also in the phrase for 
whi), < AS. hwi, hwy, hivi(j = OS. hu-i = OHG. 
hwiu, wiu, hiu = Icel. Iiri = Svv. Dan. hvi = Goth. 
6918 
I am of late 
Shut from the world ; and why it should be thus 
Is all I wish to know. 
Beau, and Fl., King and No King, iv. 4. 
I was dispatch'd for their defence and guard ; 
And listen u-hy ; for I will tell you now. 
Milton, ComUB, 1. 43. 
Clearer it grew than winter sky 
That Nature still had reasons why. 
Lowell, The Nomades. 
wicked 
successive portions to be burned ; also, a piece 
of woven fabric used for the same purpose. 
The wUke and the warme fuyr wol make a fayr flamme. 
Piers I'lowman (C), xx. 20.'). 
There lives withhi the very flame of love 
A kind of vnck or snuff that will abate it. 
Shak., Hamlet, iv. 7. 116. 
The vnck gi-ew long and black, and cabbaged at the end. 
Irviny, Bracebiidge Hall, p. 96. 
Why, like other words of the same class, is occasionally wick''' (wik), ii. [Also in comp. -wick, and as- 
used as a noun. 
Cursed were he that had none other why to believe than 
that I so say. 
Tyndaie, Ans. to Sir T. More, etc. (Parker Soc, 1850), p. 62, 
Thus 'tis when a man will be ignorantly officious, do ser- 
vices, and not know his why. B. Joiuon, Epiccene, ii. 2. 
In your I'ancy carry along with you the When and the 
Why many of these things were spoken. 
J{. Milward, Ded. to Selden's Table-Talk. 
For Why (AS. /or-hwt]. See /or.— The cause why, the 
reason why, the cause or reason on account of which 
something is or is to be done. 
The came whi his Doughtres made him dronken, and 
for to ly by him, was this : because thei sawghe no man 
alioute hem but only here Fadre. 
Mandeville, Travels, p. 101. 
The why and wherefore, the reason. 
whyl (hwi or wi), interj. 1. An emphatic or 
often expletive use of the adverb. 
A Jew would have wept to have seen our parting ; why, 
my giandani, having no eyes, look you, wept herself blind 
at my parting. Shak., T. G. of V., ii. 3. 13. 
Why, this it is that spoils all our brave bloods, 
B. Jonson, Volpone, ii. 1. 
May. Where is your mistress, villain? when went she 
aljroad? 
Pren. Abroad, sir? why, as soon as she was up, su-. 
Dekker and Webster, Northward Ho, i. 3. 
If her chill heart I cannot move, 
Why, 1 11 enjoy the very love. 
Cowley, The Request. 
Why, sure the girl 's beside herself ! 
Goldsmith, Epil. spoken by Mrs. Bulkley and Miss Catley. 
The while he heard, the Book-man drew 
A length of make-believing face ; . . . 
" Whii, you shall sit in Ramsay's place." 
Whittier, Tent on the Beach. 
2. Used as a call or an exclamation. 
Whu how now, Claudio ! whence comes this restraint? 
Shak., M. for M., i. 2. 128. 
Why, so, an expression of consent or unwilling acquies- 
cence. 
Why, so ! go all which way it will ! 
Shak., Rich. II., ii. 2. 87. 
why'^ (hwi), n. A dialectal form of quey. 
whydt, «• See whid'^. 
whydah, whydah-bird. See whidah, ivhidah- 
bird. 
whylet, "■ and couj. An obsolete spelling of 
while. 
whylearet, <idv. A spelling of whilere. 
whylenest, "• See whileness. 
whylest, ti<li'. An obsolete spelling of whiles. 
whylomt, whylomet, uHv 
of whilom. 
why-nott (hwi'not), J). [< why iiotf a formula 
often used in captious questions. Cf. what- 
not, H.] Any sudden or unexpected event or 
turn; a dilemma. 
When the church 
Was taken with a Why-not? in tli» lurch. 
S. BiMer, On Philip Nyes Thanksgiving. 
This game . . . was like to have been lost with a why- 
not. Sir J. UariwjUin, in Nuga; Antiq. (ed. Park), 
[II. 144. 
Now, dame Selby, I have you at a whynot, or I never 
had. JKchardson, Sir Charles Grandison, IV. iv. 
hwe, why, for what (se. reason) ; instr. case of -^Jiytt's disease. Tubercular meningitis ; 
AS. 7(if«, Goth, hwiis, etc., who: s;ee who, and cf. acute hydrocephalus. 
"A dialectal (Scotch) abbrevia- 
how"^.] I. iuterrog. adv. For what cause, rea- 
son, or jturpose ? whei'efore ? 
Turn ye, turn ye, ... for uhy will ye die? 
Ezek. xxxiii. 11. 
Why so pale and wan, fond lover? 
I'lithce, why so pale? 
Will, when looking well can't move her, 
I.ooking ill prevail? 
Prithee, wfiy so pale? 
Sir John Suckliny, Why so Pale? 
Why so? for what reason? wherefore? 
And why SI), my lord? Shak., W. T., ii. 1. 7. 
II. rel. atnj. For which reason or cause ; on 
account of which; for what or which; also, as 
compound relative, the thing or reason for or 
on account of which. 
Whie I said so than, I will declai'e at large now. 
Af:cham, The Scholemaster, p. 71. 
Eros. My sword is drawn. 
Ant. Then let it do at once 
The thing wtiy thou hast drawn it. 
Shak., A. and C, iv. 14. Wi. 
Lose not your life so basely, sir ; you are arm'd ; 
And many, when they see your sword out and know why, 
Must follow your adventure. Fletcher, Valentiiiian. iv. 4. 
wi' (wi), prep. 
tion of witli^. 
wibblet (wib'l), n. [A corrupt form of wimble.} 
A wimble. Tufts's Glossary of Thieves' Janjou 
(1798). 
wicchet, "• An old spelling of ivitch. 
Wich (wieh), «. See wick'^. 
wichet, "• A Middle English form of ivitch. 
wick^ (wik), ?(. [Formerly and dial, also week; 
< ME. wicke, weke, weyke, wcike, < AS. iveoca 
(for *«•(>«), a wick (also in comp. candel-weoea, 
candle-wick), = OD. iviecke, a wick, = MLG. 
iveke, tveike, LG. wike, weke, lint for wounds, a 
wick, = OHG. ivioh, MHG. ivieehc, weche, wick, 
G. dial. (Bav.) Wicte/, bunch of flax, = Sw. veke, 
a wick, = Dan. viege, a wick, = Norw. vik, a 
skein of thread, also a bend; prob. ult. from 
the verb represented by AS. wicun (pp. wiceu). 
yield, give way: see " «'(ni-.] A number of 
threads of cotton or some spongy substance 
loosely twisted together or braided, which by 
ciil)illary action draws up the oil in lamps or 
the melted tallow or wax in candles in small 
sibilated -ivich; also wike; < ME. wike, wyke, 
wic, < AS. wic, a town, village, dwelling, street, 
camp, quarter, = OS. wik = OFries. wik = D. 
wijk, quarter, parish, retreat, refuge, = MLG. 
wik, LG. wike, wik = OHG. wih (wihh-), a place, 
locality, MHG. wich = Goth, weihs, village, < 
L. views, village, street, quarter, = Gr. oixof, 
house, = Skt. ve^a, house, yard. The word 
enters, as -wick or -wich, into many place- 
names (being confused in some with wick^ and 
wick*, wich). From the L. vicus are ult. E. 
vicine, vicinage, vicinity, etc., vill, villa, village, 
villain, etc., and -ville in place-names ; from the 
Gr. olicoc: are ult. economy, ecumenical, etc., the 
radical element in diocese, parish, and many 
scientific terms in eco-, aco-, -eecious, etc.] 1. 
A town ; village : a common element in place- 
names, as in Berwick (AS. Berwic), WarirJcA' 
(AS. Wereivic), Greenwich ( AS. Grenewic, Grena- 
wic), Sandicicft (AS. Sandwic). 
Cauntyrbery, that noble wyke. Rel. Antiq., II. 98. 
2. A district: occuniug in composition, as in 
hailitvick, constableiCicA-, sherifificicS', shirewicA-. 
wick'J (wik), n. [Also in comp. assibilated 
-wich; = MLG. wik. a bay; < Icel. vik, a small 
creek, inlet, bay. Cf. viking and wicking. Cf. 
also wick"^.} A creek, inlet, or bay. Scott, 
wick* (wik), H. [Also wich (formerly iri/cfc); 
appar. a particular use of iviek- or wick'i.'] 1. 
A salt-spring ; a brine-pit. 
The House in which the Salt is boiled is called the Wych- 
house, whence may be guessed what Wych signtfles, and 
why all those Towns where there are Salt-Springs, and 
Salt made, are called by the name of Wyeh, viz. Nampt- 
wych, NorthicucA, Middleiryc/i, Droitiri/c». 
Ray, Eng. Words (1691), p. 207. 
2. A small dair^'-house. HalliwelliwaAerwich). 
[Prov. Eng.] 
Candle- wright, or Candle-wick, street took that name (as 
may be supposed) eytherof channdlerf, *c.— or otherwise 
wike, which is the place where they use to worke them. 
As scalding wike, by the Stockes-market, was called of the 
powlters scalding and dressing their poultry there ; and in 
divers countries dayrie-houses, or cottages wherein they 
make bntter and cheese, are usually called mckes. 
London (ed. 1599), p. 171. (Saret.) 
■Wick^ (wik), V. t. [Appar. ult. < AS. wican, bend, 
yield: see wi'cfcl.] To strike (a stone) in an 
oblique direction: a term in curling — To wick 
„ a bore. Seeborci. 
Obsolete spellings 'vnck'> (wik). n. [Also tveek ; < ME. wike, wyke, 
< Icel. vik, corner (munn-vik, the comers of the 
mouth).] A corner ; especially, one of the cor- _^ 
ners of the mouth. Halliwell. [Prov. Eng.] 
The frothe femed at his mouth vnfayre bi the jcykez. 
Sir Gawayne and the Green Knight (E. E. T. S.), 1. 1572. 
•wick'^t, "• [ME. wick, wic, earlier wicke, wikke, 
wykke, wiche, bad, wicked ; orig. a noun, < AS. 
wicca, wizard, tvicce, witch: see witch^ and 
Wi'rferfl.] 1. Bad; wicked; false: with refer- 
ence to persons. 
Whan i knew al here cast of here wic wille, 
I ne mist it suffer for sorwe <V for renthe. 
William of Palerne (E. E. T. S.), I. 4662. 
2. Bad : wretched ; vile : with reference to 
things. 
With poure mete, and feble drink. 
And [with! swithe uikke clothes. 
Haielok (E. E. T. S.), L 2458. 
Wikke appetyt comth ay before scknesse. 
Chaucer, Fortune, 1. 55. 
3. Unfavorable; inauspicious; baneful. 
For thilke ground that bereth the wedes wykke 
Bereth eke thise holsom herbes. and fnl ofte. 
Nexte the foule netle, rough and thikke, 
The lilie waxeth, swote and sniothe and softe. 
Chaucer, Troilus, i. 946. 
wick* (wik), a. [A dial. var. of tihick for quick. 
Cf. icici-crf'-'.] Quick; alive. [Prov. Eng.] 
There be good chaps there [at the Infirmary] to a man 
while he 's u-ick, whate'er they may be about cutting him 
up at after. Mrs. Gaskell, Mary Barton, viii. 
wickedl (wik'ed), a. and n. [< ME. wicked, 
wikked, wikkid, wi/kked, wiikkil<1- evil, bad, < wick, 
wicke, wikke, bad, -I- -fiP, as if pp. of a verb 
'wikken. render evil or witch-like: see wick' 
andM'»Yc/il.] I. a. 1. Evil in principle or prac- 
tice; deviating from the divine or the moral 
law ; addicted to vice ; depraved ; vicious ; sin- 
