wirework 
Penned off with netted wirework, in the clear, bright 
Bhone flood, are places for the swans and ducks. 
Richardson, A Girdle Hound the Earth, xxv. 
wire-worker (^wir'w6r"ker^, n. 1. One who 
manufactures articles from wire. — 2. Same as 
wire-puller. 
wire-working (wir'w^r'king), H. 1. The man- 
ufacture of wire, or of articles requiring wire. 
— 2. Same as icire-pidliny. 
wireworks (wir'werks), «. pi. and sing. An 
establishment where wire is made or fitted to 
some specific use. 
wirewonn (wir'w6rm), n. 1. The slender hard- 
bodied larva of any one of the click-beetles or 
snapping-beetles of the family Elateridse. Some 
of these larvae 
live under the 
loose bark of 
dying trees and 
in old logs and Wheat-wireworm 
Stumps, while {l^iv^oi A^iotes mancus). 
many live under- 
ground, and feed on the roots of cereals and on other crops. 
They remain in the larval state two or more years, and are 
among the worst enemies of the crops in North America 
and Europe. Also wiregrub. 
2. A myriapod of the genus Juliis or of an allied 
genus; a galley-worm. [U. S.] — 3. A para- 
sitic worm of sheep, Strongylus contortulus. — 
Hoi>-wlreworm, Aijriotes Unedtus. [Eng.] — wheat- 
wlreworm, Affnoteg mancus. See cut above. [U. S.] 
wire- wove (wir'wov), a. Noting a glazed pa- 
per of line quality, used chiefly for letter-paper. 
wirily (wir i-li), adv. In a wiry manner; like 
wire. 
My grandfather, albeit spare, was wirily elastic. 
Landor, Imag. Conv., Queen Elizabeth, Cecil, Anjou, 
[and F^n^lon. 
wiriness (wir'i-nes), n. The state or character 
of being wiry. 
wiring (wir'iug), ». [Verbal n. of wire, v.'] 1. 
In surg., the holding in apposition of the ends 
of a fractured bone by means of wire passed 
through holes drilled in the bony substance : a 
method employed most frequently in cases of 
fractured patella, in which bony union is es- 
pecially difficult to obtain. — 2. In taxidermy, 
the setting or fixing of the skin on a wire frame- 
work or the insertion of a wire in any member: 
as, the wiring of the legs was faulty. 
Wiring-macMne (wir'ing-ma-shen*), n. 1. A 
hand-tool for fastening the wire staples of a 
Venetian blind to the slats. — 2. A bench and 
tool for securing wire fastenings to soda-water 
bottles. It holds the cork in position while the 
fastening is put in place. — 3. A tinmen's tool 
for bending the edges of tin plate over a wire. 
wiring-press (wir'ing-pres), n. A press for 
wiring pieced tinware. E. H. Knight. 
wiriwa, «. [African.] One of the African 
• colies or mouse-birds, Colitis senegalensis. 
wirkt, wirket, v. and «. Obsolete spellings of 
work. 
wirryt, c t. An obsolete spelling of worry. 
Wirsung's canal or duct. The pancreatic duct. 
wiry (wir'i), a. [< wire^ + -jl.] 1. Made of 
wire ; in the form of wire. 
Come down, come down, my bonny bird, . . . 
Your cage shall be of wiry goud, 
Whar now it 's but the wand. 
Lord William (Child's Ballads, III. 20). 
For caught, and cag'd, and atarv'd to death, 
In dying sighs my little breath 
Soon pass d the wiry grate. 
Cowper, On a Uoldflnch Starved to Death in BlS CSge. 
2. Resembling wire ; especially, tough and flex- 
ible; of persons, leairand sinewy. 
Here un Its wiry stem, in rigid bloom. 
Grows the ult Ureoder that lacks perfume. 
CnM>e, Works, IV. 218. 
A little wiry sergeant of meek demeanour and strong 
sense. Dickens, Detective Police, 
she was vyiry, and strong, and nimble. 
TroUnpc, Last Chronicle of Barset, ixxvil. 
She had a light, trim, mry figure, especially adapted to 
those feats of skill which depend on balance. 
WhyU Melmlle, White Rose, II. viiL 
wiry pulse. See pulse 1 . 
wislf, a. [< ME. wis, certain, sure, for certain, 
to wisse, certainly, tnid wisse, with certainty; 
= Icel. riss. certain, = Sw. viss, certain {visst, 
certainly), = Dan. vis, certain (vist, certainly); 
in AS. D. and G. the word appears with a pre- 
fix, AS. gewis = I), gewis = G. gewiss, certain, 
certainly: see wis^, icis^, iwis.l Certain; sure: 
especially in the phrases to wisse, for certain, 
certainly ; mid wisse, with certainty. 
That wite Ihu to msse. 
Legend of St. Catherine (ed. Morton), 1. 1643. 
Wis^t, adv. [Early mod. E. (dial.) wussc ; < ME. 
wis, by apheresis from iwis: see iwis.'} Cer- 
tainly; truly; indeed: same as iwis. 
6947 
" No, wis," quod he, " myn owen nece dere." 
Chaucer, Troilus, ii. 474. 
Knowdl. Why, I hope you will not a-hawking now, will 
you? 
Stephen, No, lousse; but I'll practise against next year, 
uncle. B. Jonson, Every Man in his Humour, i. 1. 
wis^t, f. A spurious word, arising from a mis- 
understanding of the Middle English adverb 
iwis, often written i-wis, and in Middle English 
manuscripts i wis, I wis, whence it has been 
taken as the pronoun /with a verb wis, vaguely 
regarded as connected with icit (which has a 
preterit li'i'i'O. See iwis, and, for the real verb, 
see w«(l. 
Which book, advisedly read, and diligently followed but 
one year at home in England, would do a young gentle- 
man more good, I iiriM, than three years' travell abroad. 
Ascham, The Scholeraaster, p. 65. 
Where my moraing haunts are he wisses not. 
Miltoji, Apology for Smectymnuus. 
wisardt, «. and a. An obsolete spelling of wiz- 
ard. 
wisdom (wiz'dum), H. [< ME. loisdom, wysdom, 
wisedom, < AS. wisdom, wisdom (= OS. wisdom 
= OFries. wisdom = MD. wijsdom = OHG. 
MHG. wistuom, wisdom, knowledge, judgment, 
G. weissthum, knowledge, = Icel. visdomr = Sw. 
Dan. visdoni, vrisdom), < wis, wise, -I- dom, con- 
dition : see wisel and -dow.] 1. The property 
of being wise ; the power or faculty of forming 
the fittest and truest judgment in any matter 
presented for consideration ; a combination of 
discernment, discretion, and sagacity, or similar 
qualities and faculties, involving also a certain 
amount of knowledge, especially the knowledge 
of men and things gained by experience, it is 
often used in a sense nearly synonymous with discretion, 
or with prudence, but both of these are strictly only par- 
ticular phases of wisdom. Frequently uisdom implies 
little more than sound and sober common-sense : hence 
it is often opposed to folly. 
Than seide thei, be comen assent, thei wolde counseile 
with Merlyn, that hodde grete -wisedom. 
Merlin (E. E. T. S.), i. 95. 
The beste wysdom that I Can 
ys to doe well & drede no man. 
Booke 0/ Precedence (E. E. T. S.), extra ser., I. 68. 
That which moveth God to work is goodness, and that 
which ordereth his work is wisdom, and that which per- 
fecteth his work is power. Hooker. 
If you go on thus, you will kill yourself ; 
And 'tis not wisdom thus to second grief 
Against yourself. Shak., Much Ado, v. 1. 2. 
When I arraigned the wisdom of Providence, I only 
showed my own ignorance. Goldsmith, Asem. 
If old age is even a state of suffering, it is a state of 
superior wisdom, in which man avoids all the rash and 
foolish things he does in bis youth. 
Sydney Smith, in Lady Holland, vi. 
2. Human learning; knowledge of arts and 
sciences; erudition. 
Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. 
Acta vii,..'V2. 
The Doctors ladeu with so many badges or c^^^.t',g^nceB 
of wisdom. Foxe (Arber'a EDg. G»,\ner, I. 105). 
3. With possessive pronoims us^j as a personi- 
fication (like "your highnegg,'' etc.). 
Viola. I saw thee late at tjje count Orslno's. 
Ciown. ... I think I '^„ your wisdom there. 
Shak., T. N., iil. 1. 47. 
Do. my gootViooIs, my honest pious coxcombs. 
My warjf lools too I have I caught your wisdoms ? 
.,■' Fletcher, Wife for a Month, iv. 1. 
4. A wise saying or act ; a wise thing. 
They which do eate or drinke, hauyng those wisdomes 
euer in sighte, . . . may sussitate some disputation or 
rmfonynge wherby some part of tyme shall be saued 
whlche els . . . wolde be idely consumed. 
Sir T. Elyot, The Governour, ii. :i. 
One of her many wisdoms. Mrs. U. Jackson, Ramona, i. 
5. Skill; skilfulness. 
And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in u%sdom, 
and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all man- 
ner of workmanship. Ex. xxxi. 3. 
[In Scripture the word is sometimes specifically used, espe- 
cially in Paul's Epistles, in an opprobrious sense to desig- 
nate the theosophical speculations (1 Cor. i. 19, 20) or rhe- 
torical arts (1 Cor. ii. 5) current among the Greeks and 
Romans in the first century ; sometimes in a good sense to 
designate spiritual perception of, accompanied with obe- 
dience to, the divine law (Prov. iii. 13 ; Acts vi. 3). Some- 
times (as In Prov. viii.) it has personal attributes assigned 
to It.] 
Book of wisdom of Jeaus. See Ecclesiastims.—'Soo^ 
of Wisdom of Solomon, one of the deuterocanonical 
books of the Old Testament. (See deuterocanonical and 
Apocrypha.) Tradition ascribes its authorship to Solo- 
mon ; but by most modern Protestant theologians it is 
attributed to an Alexandrian Jew of the first or second 
century B. c. The shorter title Wisdom, or Book of Wis- 
dom, is commonly applied to this book, but not to Eccle- 
siosticnn. Abbreviated Wwrf.— Salt of wisdom. Same 
as sal alembroth (which see, under sal^). =Syn. 1. Know- 
ledge, I'rudence. Wisdmn, Discretion, Providence. Forecast, 
Provision. Knowledge has several steps, as the percep- 
tion of facts, the accumulation of facts, and familiarity 
by experience, but it does not include action, nor the 
wise 
power of judging what is best In ends to be pursued or in 
means for attaining those ends. Prudence is sometimes 
the power of judging what are the best means for attain- 
ing desired ends ; it may be a word or action, or it may 
be simply the power to avoid danger. It implies delib- 
eration and care, whether in acting or refraining from ac- 
tion. Wisdom, chooses not only the best means but also 
the best ends _; it is thus far higher than prudence, which 
may by choosing wrong ends go altogether astray ; hence 
also it is often used in the Bible for piety. As compared 
with knowledge, it sees more deeply into the heart of things 
and more broadly and comprehensively sums up relations, 
draws conclusions, and acts upon them ; hence a man may 
abound in knowledge and be very deficient in uisdom, or 
he may have a practical uisdom with a comparatively 
small stock of knowledge. Discretion is the power to judge 
critically what is correct and proper, sometimes without 
suggesting action, but more often in view of action pro- 
posed or possible. Like prudence the word implies great 
caution, and takes for granted that a man will not act con- 
trary to what he knows. Providence looks much further 
ahead than prudence or discretion, and plans and acts ac- 
cording to what it sees. It may be remarked that provi- 
sion, which is from the same root as providence and pru- 
dence, is primarily a word of action, while they are only 
secondai'ily so. Forecast is a grave word for looking care- 
fully forward to the consequences of present situations 
and decisions; it implies, like all these words except 
knowledge, that one will act according to what he can 
make out of the future. See cautious, astute, and genius. 
I uisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of 
witty inventions. Prov. viii. 12. 
Knowledge and wisdom, far from being one. 
Have ofttimes no connexion. Knotdedge dwells 
In heads replete with thoughts of otlier men ; 
Wisdom, in minds attentive to their own. 
Knowledge, a rude, unprofitable mass. 
The mere materials with which Wisdom builds, 
Till smooth'd, and squar'd, and fitteil to its place, 
Does but encumber whom it seems t' enrich. 
Knowledge is proud that he has learn'd so much ; 
Wisdom is humble that he knows no more. 
Cowper, Task, vi. 88. 
Men of gnd dyscretyotvne 
Suld excuse and loue Huchowne, 
That cunnand wes in literature. 
Wyntown, quoted in Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), 
[Pref., p. XXV. 
This was your providence. 
Your uisdom, to elect this gentleman, 
Your excellent forecast in the man, your knowledge ! 
Fletcher, Kule a Wife, iii. 1. 
■wisdom-tooth (wiz'dom-toth), n. The last 
molar tooth on either side of each jaw. it ap- 
pears ordinarily between the ages of 20 and 25, presuma- 
bly years of discretion (whence the name). Also techni- 
cally called dens sapientise. Also uit-iooth. 
It seems to me in these days they're all l)orn with their 
uisdom-teeth cut and their whiskers gtowed. 
Whyle Melville, Wliite Rose, II. xxvi. 
wisel (wiz), a. [< ilE. wis, wys, < AS. wis = 
OS. OFries. wis = D. wys = MLG. wis. LG. iri.i 
= OHG. !ri', wist, MHG. wis, wise, G. weise = 
Icel. piss = Sw. Ti.'iSinks ^ijitth."''^^ ''° comp. 
unweis, unw^isp), ^ae ; prob. orig'! n.'*'*"' *«»«'"• 
with P^j. formative, from the root of a^- ""'«". 
eie_, fit M!,7l, know: see «i7l.] 1. Havingi^^^ 
power of discerning and judging rightly, or 
of lUscriminatiug between what is true and 
■what is false, between that which is right, fit, 
and proper and that which is unsuitable, inju- 
dicious, and wrong; possessed of discernment, 
discretion, and judgment: as, a if/ie prince ; a 
wise magistrate. 
Five of them were unse, and five were foolish. 
Slat. XXV. 2. 
We, ignorant of ourselves, 
Beg often our own harms, which the uise powers 
Deny us for our good. Shak., A. and C, Ii, 1. 6. 
A ivise man 
Accepts all fair occasions of advancement ; 
Flies no commodity for fear of danger. 
Ventures and gains, lives easily, drinks good wine, 
Fares neatly. Is richly cloath'd, in worthiest company. 
T. Tomkis (?), Albumazar, ii. 2. 
I am foolish old Mayberry, and yet I can be uise May- 
berry, too. Dekker and Webster, Northward Ilo, I. 1. 
You read of but one wise Man, and all that he knew was, 
that he knew nothing. Congreve, Old Bachelor, I. 1. 
2. Proper to a wise man; sage; grave; seri- 
ous. 
One rising, eminent. 
In wise deport, spake much of right and wrong. 
Milton, V. L., xi. 666. 
3. Having knowledge; knowing; intelligent; 
enlightened; learned; erudite. 
Bote ther were fewe men so wys that couthe the wei 
thider. 
Bote bustelyng forth as bestes oner valeyes and hulks, 
For while thei wente here owen wille thei wentc alle 
amys. Piers Plowman (A), vi. 4. 
Thou shalbe wisest of wit,— this wete thou for sothe, — 
And know all the conyng that kyndly is for men. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), 1. 2411. 
Where ignorance Is bliss, 
'TIs folly to be uise. 
Qray, On a Distant Prospect of Eton College. 
4. Practically or experimentally knowing ; ex- 
perienced; versed or skilled: dexterous; cun- 
ning; subtle; specifically, skilled in some hid- 
