wily 
Just where the breath of life his nostrils drew, 
A charge of snuff the v^ily virgin tlirew. 
Pijpe, R. of the L., v. 82. 
=Syn. Cunning, Artful, Sly, etc. (see cuiminffi), design- 
ing, deceitful, foxy, diplomatic, delusive, insidious. 
Wily-beguilet, "• The lieeciviiif; of one's self 
in attempting to deceive another: used only 
in the phrase to plaij xciUj-bcguile (or wily-be- 
guilij). 
ITiey, playing wily beguile themselves, think it enough 
inwardly to favour the truth, though outwardly they cur- 
ry favour. 
J. Brad/urd, Writings (Parker Soc, 1848), I. 375. 
"Playing uily-beguUe" : deceiving. A proverbial ex- 
pression. Vide Hay, I'roverbs (ed. 1817), p. 4«. 
(Note to the above passage.) 
Ch. I am fully resolved. 
P. Well, yet Cherea looke to it, that you play not now 
wily beguUy your selfe. 
Terence in English (1614). (Xares.) 
Wim (wim), V. [Cf. wimble-.] To winnow 
grain. Halliwell. [Prov. Eng.] 
wimberry, ". See iriiihcrri/. 
wimble^ (wim'bl), «. [Also So. wimmle, wumil, 
icuiiimle, wunntul ; < ME. "wimbel, tcynible, Kijm- 
byl, 'wimmel; ef. MD. wimpel, a wimble, = Dan. 
vimmel, an auger, = OSw. wimla (Molbeeh), 
an auger (not to be identified with leel. 'veimil, 
which occurs but once, in coinp. reimiltjjta, ap- 
plied to a crooked person, but said by Cleasby 
to mean ' wimble-stiok' (tjjta, a pin ?)); appar. 
connected with MD. iceme, a wimble, wemelcii, 
bore, this verb being appar. connected with 
icemeleii, turn about, whirl, vibrate. The re- 
lations of these forms are uneertain. The 
word is certainly not allied, as Skeat makes it, 
to Dan. rindel-trappc = Sw. viiideltrajipa = G. 
icendeltreppc, a spiral staircase, G. xceiidclhohrer, 
an auger, etc., words connected with the E. 
verb wind: see winil^. From the MD. form is 
derived OF. guimbelet, gimbelet, guibelet, > ME. 
gymlet. > E. gimlet, gimblet : see gimlet.] If. 
A gimlet. 
Unto the pith a Ifrenssh wytnb'e in bore, 
Threste in a l)raunche of roggy wilde olyve, 
Threste ynne it faste. 
Palladiiu), llusbondrie (E. E. T. S.), p. 19<). 
"Tis but like the little Witnble. to let in the greater 
Auger. Selden, Table-Talk, p. 2(;. 
2. In mining, an instrument by which tlie rub- 
bish is extracted from a bore-hole : a kind of 
shell-auger. Some varieties of wimble, suit- 
able for boring into soft clay, are called wim- 
ble-scoops. — 3. A marble-workers' brace for 
drilling holes in marble. 
wimble^t (wim'bl), r. /. [< M?]. teijmbelcn, 
wymmelen (= MI), iremelen), bore, pierce with a 
wimble; from the noun.] To bore or perforate 
with or as with a wimble. 
Thus we se Mars furiouse, thus Greeks euery harbory scal- 
ing, 
Vp fretting the pliers, warding long wymheled entryes. 
Staniht(rnt, Mueid, ii. 
And vnmhled also a hole thro' the said coffin. Wood. 
wimble'-' (wim'bl), c t. ; pret. and pp. wimbled, 
ppr. wimblinti. [Perhaps a corruption of win- 
now.'] To winnow. WithaCs Diet. (ed. 1608), 
p_. 83. 
wimble^t (wim'bl), a. [With excrescent h (as 
in wimble^), < Sw. vimmel (in comp. rimmel- 
kantig), whimsical, giddy, Sw. dial, rimmht, be 
giddy or skittish (cf. MD. wemelen, turn around, 
move about, vibrate, etc.), equiv. to vimmrii 
(> vimmrig, skittish, said of horses), freq. of 
iinui, be giddy, allied to Icel. rim, giddiness 
(> E. whim, with intrusive /( ; see icliim); cf. 
Dan. vimsc, skip about, vims, brisk, quick: see 
whim.] Active; nimble. 
He was so wimble and so wight, 
From bough to bough he lepped light. 
Spenser, Shep. t'al , March. 
Buckle thy spirits up, put all thy wits 
In tcimble action, or thou art surprised. 
Manton, Antonio and Mellida, I., iii. i. 
wimbrel (wim'brel), K. Same as whimbrel. 
wimniing-dust(wim'ing-dust),M. Chaff. Hal- 
liwell. [Prov. Eng.] 
wimple (wim'pl), n. [< ME. wimpel, wympel, 
wymple, wimpil, wimpul, < AS. 'wimpel, found 
twice in glosses, in the spelling winjiel, wimple, 
covering for the neck, = D. wimpel, streamer, 
pendant, = JILG. wimpel. wumpel = OHG. wim- 
pal, a head-cloth, veil, MHG. G. wimpel. head- 
cloth, banner, pennon (> OF. guimple. F. 
guimpe, nun's veil, > E. gimp: see gimp^), = 
leel. vimpill — Sw. Dan. vimpel, pennon, pen- 
dant, streamer.] 1. A covering of silk, linen, 
or other material laid in folds over the liead 
and round the chin , the sides of the face, and the 
neck, formerly worn by women out of doors, 
6931 
Wimple, from a statue of Jeanne d'Evretix, Queen of }->ance, con- 
sort of Charles IV'. The statue probably dates from about 1327. (Froni 
VioUet-le-Duc's " Diet, du Mobil ier frantjais.") 
and still retained as a conventual dress for 
nuns. Isa. iii. 22. 
Ful semely hir wimpel pinched was. 
Chaucer, Gen. Piol. to C. T., 1. 151. 
Whan she siiugh hem com, she roos a-geins hem as she 
that was curteys and well lerned, and voyded hir wifmple. 
Merlin (E. E. T. S.), ii. 361. 
White was her leimple, and her veil, 
And her loose locks a chaple. pale 
Of whitest roses bound. 
Scott, L. of L. M., V. 17. 
2. A plait or fold. [Scotch.] — 3t. A loose or 
fluttering l)iece of cloth of any sort ; a pennon 
or flag, flcalc. 
wimple (wim'pl), V. ; pret. and pp, wimpled, 
iipr. iviinpJhHj. [< ME, wimplen ; < iviniple, w.] 
'„ tnins. X, Tocover with or as with a wimple or 
veil; deck with a wimple; hide with a wimple. 
Tpon an amblere esily she sat, 
Ywimiied wel, and on hir heed an hat 
As brood as is a bolveler or a tarpe. 
Chaucer, Gen. Prol. to C. T., I, 470. 
Fleming. . . fell asleep that night thinking of the nuns 
who once had slept in the same quiet cells; but neither 
unmpled nun nor cowled monk appeared to him in his 
dreams. Longfellow, Hyperion, iii. 3. 
2. To hoodwink. [Rare.] 
This icimjjUd, whining, purblind, wayward boy. 
Shak., L. L. L, iii. 1. 181. 
3. To lay in plaits or folds; draw down in 
folds. 
The same did hide 
Under a vele that wimpled was full low, 
Spenser, F. Q., I, 1, 4. 
II, infraus. 1. To resemble or suggest wim- 
ples; undulate; ripple: as, a brook that wim- 
pies onward. 
Amang the bonnie, winding banks, 
Where Doon rins, wimplin' clear. 
Burnn, Halloween. 
She wiuiplfd about to tlie pale moonbeam. 
Like a feather that lloats on a wind-tossed stream. 
J. R. Drake, Culprit Fay. 
2f. To lie in folds; make folds or irregular 
plaits. 
F'or with a veile, that uimpled every where, 
Her head and face was hid, that mote to none appeare. 
Spenser, F. Q., VII. vii. 5. 
wim-sheet (wim'shet), n, A provincial Eng- 
lish form of u'innoW'Sheet. 
win^ (win), r. ; pret. v'on (formerly also wan^ 
still provincial), pp. won, ppr. winning. [< ME. 
icinnen, wt/nnen (■piot. wan, won, pi, witnncn, won- 
nen, pp. wutincn, wonncn, wunne), < AS. winnan 
(pret. wan, won, p]>. wunnen), fight, labor, eon- 
tend, endure, sutTer, = OS. winnan = OFries. 
winna = D. LG. winnen =OHG. f/iwinnan, MHG. 
G. fp winnen, attain by labor, win. conquer, get, 
= Icel. vinna = Sw. vinna = Dan, rinde (for 
^vinne), work, toil, win, = Goth, winnan (pret. 
wann, pp. wnnnans), suffer, endure pain; cf. 
Skt. ■/ ran, get. win, also hold dear. From the 
same root are ult. E. trin.iome, wean, ween, 
wane, wont.] I. trans. 1. To acquire by labor, 
effort, or struggle; secure; gain. 
To flee I wolde full fayne. 
For all tliis world to wynne 
Wolde I not se hym slayne. 
York Plays, p. 141. 
All you affirm, I know. 
Is but to win time ; therefore prepare your throats. 
Fletcher (and another), Sea Voyage, v, 4. 
We hope our cheer will win 
Your acceptation. Ii. Jonson, New Inn, Vrol. 
Man praises man. Desert in arts or arms 
Winn public honor. Cowper, Task, vi. 033. 
Win 
specifically — (a) To gain by competition or conquest; 
take, as from an opponent or enemy ; obtain as victor. 
The F.mperour Alexaunder Aunterid to come ; 
He wan all the world .t at his wille aght. 
Destruction of Troy (E. £. T. S.), 1. 315. 
Those proud titles thou hast won of me. 
Shak., I Hen. IV., V. 4. 79. 
King Kichard wan another strong hoM, . . . from 
whence y« Monks being expulsed, he reposed there all his 
store. UaklnyVs Voyages, II. 22. 
It had been an ancient maxim of the Greeks that no 
more acceptable gifts can be offered in the temples of the 
gods than the trophies won from an enemy in battle. 
Leclcy, Europ. Morals, II. 262. 
(6) To earn : as, to wiri one's breail. 
He syneweth nat that so wynneth his fode. 
Piers Plowman (V), xxiii. 15. 
2. To obtain; derive; get: as, to win ore from 
a mine. 
But alle thing hath tyme ; 
The day is short, and it is passed prynie; 
And yet ne wan I nothing in this day. 
Chaucer. Friar's Tale, 1. 179. 
In these two places the prisoners are engaged in quar- 
rying and cutting stone: at Borghanin, they win stone 
on account of the Government; at Tjurkb, granite for 
private contractors. 
Ribton-Turner, Vagrants and Vagrancy, p. 508. 
3. To be successful or victorious in; as, to tcin 
a game or a battle. 
Th' report of his great acts that over Europe ran. 
In that most famous Field he with the Emperor wan. 
Drayton, Polyolbion, iv. 314. 
He that would win the race must guide his horse 
Obedient to the customs of the course. 
Cowj er, Truth, 1. 13. 
4. To accomplish by effort; achieve, effect, oi' 
execute; succeed in making or doing. 
He coulde neuer in one hole daye with a meately good 
wynde wynne one myle of the course of the water* 
Peter Martyr (tr. in Eden's First Books on America, 
led. Arber, p. 103). 
Thickening their ranks, and wedged in tlrni array. 
The close-compacted Britons imi their way. 
Addison, The Campaign. 
5. To reach; attain to; arrive at, as a goal or 
destination; gain; get to. 
Ye wynde inforced so moche and so streyght ayenst vs 
that our gouernoures sawe it was not possyble for vs to 
wynne nor passe Capo Maleo. 
Sir R. Guylforde, Pylgrymage, p. 63. 
Before they could vdn the lodge by twenty paces, they 
were overtaken. Sir P. Sidney, Arcadia, ii. 
Soon they won 
The top of all the topful heavns. 
Chapman, Iliad, v. 761. 
And when the stony path began 
By whicli the naked peak they wan, 
Up fiew the snowy ptarmigan. 
Scott, Marmion, iii. 1. 
6f. To cause to attain to or arrive at; hence, 
to bring; convey. 
Toax in the toile out of tene broght. 
Wan hym wightly away wondit full sore. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), 1. 6980. 
He sail fordo thi fader syn, 
And vnto welth ogayne liim win. 
Holy Rood (E. E. T. S.), p. 70. 
Do that I my ship to haven un,n7ie. 
Chaucer, Anelida and Arcite, 1. 20. 
'■Sir," quod she, "I knowe well youre will is not for to 
haue me I-Ioste." "I-!oste," seide he, "nay, l)nt l-wonne 
to grete honoui." Merlin (E. E. T. H.), iii. 671. 
7. To gain the afl'eetion, regard, esteem, com- 
pliance, favor, etc., of; move to sympathy, 
agreement, or consent; gain the good will of; 
gain over or attract, as to one's self, one's side, 
or one's cause; in general, to attract. 
Thy virtue wan me ; with virtue preserve me. 
Sir P. Sidney. 
She's beautiful, and therefore to be woo'd ; 
She is a woman, tlierefore to be won. 
Shak., 1 Hen. VI., v. 3. 79. 
His face was of that doubtful kind 
That wins the eye, but not the mind. 
Scott, liokeby, v. 16. 
8. To prevail on; induce. 
Cannot your Grace win her to fancy him? 
Shak., T. G. of V., iii. 1. 67. 
Who eas'ly being won along with them to go. 
They altogether put into the wat'ry plain. 
Drayton, Polyolbion, i. 430. 
9. In mininff, to sink down to (a bed of coal) 
by means of a shaft ; prepare (a bed of coal) for 
working by doing the necessary prelimiiiiiry 
dead-work: also apj)lied to beds of ironstone 
and other ores. [Eng.] in the United states the 
word win, as used in mining, has frequently a more gen- 
eral meaning; it is thus defined in the dossary of the 
Pennsylvania .Survey: "To mine, to develop, to prepare 
for mining." See winning. 
I'he shaft [at Monkwearmonth] was conuncnced in May, 
1826; it was continued for eight and a half years before 
the first workable coal was reached ; and it was only in 
April, 1846, twenty years afterwards, that the enterprise 
was proved successful by the wiiuu'nff of the " Huttou 
Seam." Jevons, The Coal Question (2d cd.), p. 68. 
