Win^ of Butterfly: expanse 
of scaly integument. 1-2, 
front, costal, or cephalic mar- 
gin ; 2, apex or tip; 2-3, outer, 
distal, or apical margin; 3, in- 
ner or anal angle; 3-4, inner, 
posterior, or anal margin ; 4-1, 
Dase. Several nerves or veins 
appear, separating wing-cells. 
wing 
tion with the tracheae or breathing-organs, and is conse- 
quently a respiratory as well as a locomotory organ. Most 
insects are provided with func- 
tionally developed (thoracic) 
wings, of which there are usu- 
ally two pairs (mesothoracic 
and metathoracic) ; but both 
may be entirely suppressed, or 
either pair may be mere rudi- 
ments (see cuts under ?ialter'-i 
and Stylops), or the anterior 
pair may be converted into a 
homy case covering the other 
pair, as in the great order 
Coleoptera, where the anterior 
pair are converted into elytra, 
and in Orthoptera, in which 
they become Ugmina, (See 
wing-case.) The form, struc- 
ture, and disposition of insects' wings are very variable, 
but quite constant in large groups, and therefore a basis 
of the division of insects into orders, and of their classi- 
fication ; whence the terms Coleoptera, Neuroptera, Lepi- 
doptera, Orthoptera, IHptera, Aptera, etc. See phrases be- 
low, and cuts under i\ervure and venation. 
3. In other invertebrates, some part resembling 
or likened to a wing in fonn or function ; an 
alate formation, as the expanded lip of a strom- 
bus. — 4. An organ resembling the wing of a 
bird, bat, or insect, with which gods, angels, 
demons, dragons, and a great variety of fabu- 
lous beings, as well as some inanimate objects, 
are conceived to be provided for the purpose of 
aerial locomotion or as symbolical of the power 
of omnipresence. 
As far as Boreas claps his brazen wings. 
Marlowe, Tamburlaine, I., i. 2. 
O, welcome, pure-eyed Faith ; white-handed Hope, 
Thou hovering angel, girt with golden vrings. 
Milton, Comus, 1. 214. 
5. Loosely or humorously, the fore leg of a 
quadruped ; also, the arm of a human being. 
If Scottish men tax our language as improper, and smile 
at our wing of a rabbit, let us laugh at their shoulder of 
a capon. F^dler, M'orthies, Norfolk, II. 445. 
6. Figuratively, a means of travel, progress, or 
passage : usually emblematic of speed or ele- 
vation, but also used as a symbol of protecting 
care. See under one's wing, below. 
Kiches . . . make themselves vrings. Prov. xxiii. 5. 
Unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteous- 
ness arise with healing in his wings. Mai. iv. 2. 
Thou art so far before 
That swiftest wing of recompense is slow 
To overtake thee. Shak., Macbeth, i. 4. 17. 
This quiet sail is as a noiseless wing 
To waft me from distraction. 
Byron, Childe Harold, iii. 85. 
7. The act or the manner of flying ; flight, lit- 
erally or figuratively. 
From this session interdict 
Every fowl of tyrant wing. 
Save the eagle, feather'd Iting. 
Shak., Phoenix and Turtle, 1. 10. 
He [Plato] penetrated into the prof oundest mysteries of 
thought, and was not deterred from speculations of bold- 
est flight and longest vring. Jour. Spec. Phil., XIX. 52. 
8t. Kind ; species. Compare /eaWfcr, 4. [Rare.] 
Of all the mad rascalls (that are of this wing) the Abra- 
ham-man is the most phantastick. 
Vekker, Belman of London (ed. 1608), sig. C 3. 
9. Something resembling or likened to a wing. 
(a) In aTutt.j a part likened to a wing ; an ala, or alate 
part : as, the wings of the sphenoid bone. See ala, 2, and 
cut under sphetwid. (b) That which moves with or re- 
ceives a wing-like motion from the action of the air, as a 
fan used to winnow grain, the vane or sail of a windmill, 
the feather of an arrow, or 
the sail of a ship, (c) In bot, 
a membranous expansion or 
thin extension of any kind, 
such as that of certain cap- 
sules, of samaras, etc. ; also, 
one of the two lateral petals of a 
papilionaceous flower. Heeala, 
1, tetrapterous, and cut under 
papilionaceous, (d) In ship- 
building, that pai't of tile hold 
or space between decks which 
is next the ship's side, more 
particularly at the quarter; 
al.so, the overhang-deck of a 
steamer before and abaft the 
paddle-boxes, bounded by a 
thick plank called the win/f- 
wale, which extends from the 
extremity of the paddle-beam 
to the ship's side, (e) In arch., 
a part of a building projecting 
on one side of the central or 
main part. {/) In fort., the 
longer side of a crown- or horn- 
work, uniting it to the main 
work, ig) A leaf of a gate, 
double door, screen, or the 
like, which may be folded or 
otherwise moved back. (/t)The 
laterally extending part of a 
plowshare, which cuts the 
liottom of the furrow, (i) In ^'''i-'s ■" I-lants. 
e,vjin.- (1) An extension end- ,.,';„,*= ,:;",??„^„,f r the 
wise of a dam, sometimes at ^niged seed of Ttcoma radi- 
an angle with the main part. ^««r. 
6940 
(2) A side dam on a river-shore for the purpose of con- 
tracting the channel. (3) A lateral extension of an abut- 
ment. See wing-wall. E. H. Knight, (j) One of the sides 
of the stage of a theater; also, one of the long narrow 
scenes which fill up the picture on the side of the 
stage. See cuts under stage, (k) One of the two out. 
side divisions of an army or fleet in battle-array: usually 
called the right wing and le/t wing, and distinguished 
from the center. 
And this nombre of folk is with outen the pryncipalle 
Boost, and with outen Wenges ordeynd for the Bataylle. 
MandevUle, Travels, p. 276. 
The Earl of Mar the right wing guided. 
Battle of Alfm-d (Child's Ballads, VII. 239). 
The defence of the artillery was committed to the le,ft 
wing. Prescott, Ferd. and Isa., ii. 12. 
il) A shoulder-knot, or small epaulet ; specifically, a pro- 
jecting piece of stuff, perhaps only a raised seam or welt, 
worn in the sixteenth century on the shoulder, at or near 
the insertion of the sleeve. 
I would have mine such a suit without difference, such 
stuff, such a wing, such a sleeve. 
B. Jonson, Every Man out of his Humour, iii. 1. 
(m) A strip of leather or the like attached to the skirt of 
the runner in a grain-mill to sweep the meal into the 
spout, (/i) The side or displayed part of a dash-board, (o) 
A projecting part of a hand-seine on each side of the cen- 
tral part, or bag, serving to collect the flsh, and lead them 
into the bag. (p) A thin, broad, projecting piece on a 
gudgeon, to prevent it from turning in its socket. 
10. A flock or company (of plover). fV. TV. 
Greener, The Gun, p. 533 — Angle of the wing, in 
amith., the carpal angle ; the bend or flexure of the wing. 
See shoulder, n., 6.— Anterior wingS, in entom., the up- 
per, front, or fore wings, when there are two pairs; the 
mesothoracic wings, in any case. — Bastard Wing, in or- 
nith., same as alula. See cuts there and under covert. — 
Bend Of the wing. Sameasanf/ieo/fftewini;.— Convo- 
lu-ted, deflexed, dentate, digitate, divergent, erect, 
falcate wings. See tlie adjectives.— Dragon's wings. 
See dmjrori.— Expanse or extent of 'Wing, in zoiil., wing- 
spread. See expanse, n., 2, and spread, n., 12.— False 
Wing, in ornith., the bastard wing, alula, or ala spuria. 
See altda (with cut), and cut under coiicrt.— Flexure of 
tbe wing. Seeyfercure.— Folded ■wings. Seefold^.v., 
Diploptera, Vespidx, and wasp, 1. — Gray-gOOSe 'Wlngt, 
a feather of a goose as used on an arrow. 
Our Englishmen in fight did chuse 
The gallant gray-goose mng. 
Trtu! Tale of Robin Hood (Child's Ballads, V. 370). 
Inferior taargin of a ■wing. Inferior surface of a 
wing, inferior wings. See 4?i/«rior.— Inner margin 
of the ■wing. See Min«r.— Length of ■wing, in ornith., 
the shortest distance from the flexure or carpal angle to 
the point of the wing or wing-tip.— Metathoracic ■Wings. 
See metathoracic.— On or upon the Wing, (a) Flying: 
as, to shoot birds on the wing. 
The bird 
That flutters least is longest on the wing. 
Cowper, Task, vi. 931. 
(b) Figuratively, in motion ; traveling ; active ; busy. 
I have been, since I saw you in town, pretty much on 
the wing, at Hampton, Twickenham, and elsewhere. 
Gray, Letters, I. 369. 
(c) Taking flight ; departing ; vanishing. 
Your wits are all upon the wing, just a-going. 
Vanbrugh, Confederacy, iv. 1. 
Petlolate ■wing. See pc(Mate.— Plane ■wings. See 
j)ia)i<;i.— Plicate ■wings. S^me us folded wings.— Foiat 
of the ■wing, in ornith., the end of the longest primary. 
See wing-tip. — Posterior margin of the wing. See pos- 
terior.— Posterior ■wings, in eivtmn. , the under or hinder 
wings, when there are two pairs ; the metathoracic wings, 
in any case.— Reversed, spurious, superior wings. 
See the adjectives.— Tail Of the ■Wing. See taifi.- Tec- 
tlform ■wings, in entom., roof-shaped wings; wings held 
sloping likethe root of a house when the insect rests.— To 
clip the ■wings. See ciips.— To drop to ■wing. See drop. 
— To maie or take ■wing, to fly ; take flight ; depart. 
Light thickens ; and the crow 
Makes iHng to the rooky wood. 
Shak., Macbeth, iii. 2. 51. 
It is a fearful thing 
To see the human soul take wing 
In any shape, in any mood. 
Byron, Prisoner of Chillon, viii. 
Tumid ■wing. See (Kinsd— Under one's ■wing, under 
one's protection, care, or patronage: with reference to 
the sheltering of chickens under the wings of the hen, as 
in the New Testament use. 
Jerusalem, .Terusalem, that sleestprophetisand stonyst 
hem that ben sent to thee, hou oft wold I gedre togidre 
thi sonys, as an henne gedreth togidre hir ehikenys rndir 
Mr wengis, and thou woldist nat ? Wycl%f, Mat. xxiii. 37. 
Under wings, in entom., the posterior wings, when there 
are two pairs, more or less overlaid by the upper wings. — 
Unequal wings. See unequal. — Upper ■wings, in entom., 
the anterior wings, when there are two pairs, or their 
equivalents, as elytra and tegmina, which overlie the pos- 
terior wings wholly or partly. — Vertical wings, in en- 
tom., wings held upright when the insect rests, as those 
of a butterfly; erect wings, — ■Wlng-and-^wing, the con- 
dition of a ship sailing before the wind with studding- 
sails on both sides : said also of fore-and-aft vessels 
(schooners) when they are sailing with the wind right aft, 
the foresail boomed ont on one side, and the mainsail on 
the other. Also goose-winged. — Wings conjoined, in her. 
See Doi.- ■Wings displayed, in her., having the wings 
expanded : said of a bird used as a bearing. 
wing (wing), r. [< nine/, h.] I. tran.t. 1. To 
equip with wings for flying; specifically, to 
feather (an arrow). 
Wing-case 
Marriage Love's object is ; at whose bright eyes 
He lights his torches, and calls them his skies. 
For her he wings his shoulders. 
B. Jonson, The Barriers. 
So the struck eagle, stretch'd upon the plain, . . . 
View'd his own feather on the fatal dart. 
And wittg'd the shaft that quiver'd in his heart. 
Byron, Eng. Bards and .Scotch Reviewers, L 829. 
2. Figuratively, to qualify for flight, elevation, 
rapid motion, etc. ; especially, to lend speed or 
celerity to. 
'Foot, all this is wrong ! 
This u-ings his pursuit, and will be before me. 
I am lost for ever ! 
Beau, and Ft, Wit at Several Weapons, v, 1. 
Ambition wings his spirit. Lust's Dominion, i. 2. 
3. To supply with wings or side parts, divisions, 
or projections, as an army, a house, etc. ; flank. 
They thus directed, we will follow 
In the main battle, whose puissance on either side 
Shall be well winged with our chiefest horse. 
Shjak., Kich. III., v. 3. 300. 
(Hose to the limb of the sun, where the temperature and 
pressure are highest, the hydrogen is in such a state that 
the lines of its spectrum are widened and winged. 
C. A. Youmj, The Sun, p. 197. 
4. To brush or clean with a wing, usually that 
of a turkey. 
Shut in from all the world without, 
We sat the c\e&n-winged hearth about. 
Whitiier, Snow-Bound. 
5. To bear in flight; transport on or as on 
wings. 
I, an old turtle. 
Will uing me to some wither'd bough. 
Shale., W. T., v. 3. 133. 
His arms and eager eyes ejecting flame. 
Far wing'd before his squadron "Tancred came. 
Brooke, tr. of Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered, iii. 
6. To perform or accomplish by means of 
wings. 
This last and Godlike Act atchiev'd, 
To Heav'n she icing'd her Flight. 
Prior, The Viceroy, st. 44. 
From Samos have I icing'd my Way. 
Congreve, Semele, ii. 1. 
He [Rip Van Winkle] looked round, but could see noth- 
ing but a crow icinging its solitary flight across the moun- 
tain. Irving, Sketch-Book, p. 52. 
7. To traverse in flight. 
The crows and choughs that tcing the midway air 
Show scarce so gross as beetles. Shak., Lear, iv. 6. 13. 
Not man alone, but all that roam the wood. 
Or u*ing the sky, or roll along the flood. 
Pope, Essay on Man, iii. 120. 
8t. To carve, as a quail or other small bird. 
Wynge that partryche. Babees Boo*(E. E. T. 8.X p. 265. 
Good man! him list not spend his idle meals 
In quinsing plovers, or in winging quails. 
Bp. HaU, Satires, IV. ii. 44. 
9. To wound or disable in the wing, as a bird ; 
colloquially, to wound (a person) in the arm or 
shoulder, or some other not vital part. 
What are the odds now that he doesn't iHng me? These 
green-horns generally hit everything but the man they 
aim at. Cdlman the Younger, Poor Gentleman, v. 3. 
II. inlrans. To fly; soar; travel on the wing. 
We, poor unfledged. 
Have never ^oing'd from view o' the nest. 
Shak., Cymbeline, iii. 3. 28. 
As the bird u<ngs and sings. 
Let us cry, " All good things 
Are ours ! " Brouming, Rabbi Ben Ezra. 
■wing-band (■wing'band), «. Same as King-bar. 
■wing-bar ( wing'bar), 11. A colored bar or band 
across a bird's wing; technically, such a band 
formed by the tips of the greater or median 
wing-coverts, or both of these, and placed be- 
tween the wing-bow and the wing-bay. Such 
are found in uncounted different birds. See 
cut under solitary. 
■wing-bay (wing'ba), «. The phimage-marking 
of a bird formed by the secondary feathers of 
the wing, when the ■wing is closed and these 
feathers differ in color from the rest of the 
plumage: so called beeauseintheblack-breasted 
red game type of coloring this marking is of a 
bay color. See speculum, 3 (6), and first cut 
under wing. 
■wing-beat (wing'bet), Ji. A wing-stroke; one 
completed motion of the vdng in the act of 
flying. 
■wing-bow (wing'bo), n. In poultry, and hence 
in other birds, the plumage-marking on the 
shoulder or bend of the wing ; distinctive color- 
ation of the lesser coverts collectively: thus, in 
the black-breasted red gamecock the iring-bows 
are crimson. See cuts under Agelieus and sea- 
eagle. 
wing-case (wing'kas). w. The hard, homy case 
or cover which overlies the functional wing of 
