wizard 
cious, prudent, cunning (whence the F. sur- 
name Giiiscard), with suffix -ard, < Icel. fi::kr, 
clever, knowing, sagacious, for *ritfiki: < lita. 
know: see wit^. Cf. witch^, ult. from the same 
root, but having no immediate connection with 
tci:aril.'\ I. )(. If. A wise man ; a sage. 
Hee that cannot personate the wise-man well among 
wizards, let liira learno to play the foole well amongst Ail- 
zards. 
Chapman, Masque of MidiUe Temple and Lincoln's Inn. 
See how from far, npon the eastern road, ■ 
The star-led wisards haste with odours sweet. 
Milton, Nativity, 1, 23. 
2. A proficient in the occult sciences; an 
adept in the black art ; one supposed to pos- 
sess supernatural powers, generally from hav- 
ing leagued liimself with the Evil One ; a sor- 
cerer; an enchanter; a magician; hence, a 
title occasionally applied to, or assumed by, 
modern performers of legerdemain ; a con- 
jurer; a juggler. See witch"^. 
And the sonl ttiat turneth after such as have familiar 
spirits, and after unzards, ... I will even set my face 
against that soul. Lev. xx. (i. 
If by any Accident they do hear of the Tliief, all is 
ascrib'd to the wonderful Cunning of their Wissard. 
Quoted in Ashton'x .Social Life in Reign of Queen Amie, 
[I. 121. 
No wizards now ply their trade of selling favorable 
winds to tlie Norwegian coasters. 
B. Taylor, Northern Travel, p. 130. 
II. a. Magic; having magical powers; en- 
chanting: as, a toisard spell. 
Where Deva spreads her ^visard stream. 
Milton, Lycidas, 1. 55. 
wizardly (wiz'jird-li), udr. [< wi::ard + -/(/!.] 
Resembling a wizard; characteristic of a wiz- 
ard. [Rare.] 
wizardry (wiz'ard-ri),». l< wizard + -ri/.] The 
art or practices of wizards ; sorcery. 
Wizardry and dealing with evil spirits. 
Milimtn, Latin Christianity, xi. 9. 
wizet. An old spelling of icise'^, ti:ise'^. 
wizen'^ (wiz'n), a. [Also weazen, and formerly 
wi:ze)i,wi.scii; < ME. "ivisen, < AS. *wiseii = Icel. 
visiiin = Sw. Dan. rissen, withered, dried up ; pp. 
of a lost verb, AS. as if *wisan, dry up. Hence 
wizen^, ?'.] Hard, dry, and shriveled ; withered. 
A gay little «^'2?» old man, in appearance, from the East- 
ern climate's dilapidations upon his youth and health. 
Mine. D'Arblay, Diary, Dec, 1791. 
His shadowy figure and dark iceazen face. 
Irmng, Sketch-Book, p. 284. 
I remember tlie elder Mathews, a vyizen dark man, with 
one high shoulder, a distorted mouth, a lame leg, and an 
irritable manner. 
E. II. Yates, Fifty Years of London Life, I. i. 
■wizenl (wiz'n), r. i. and i. [Also wca:e», and 
formerly wi:ze)i, wisen ; < ME. wisenen, <. AS. 
wi,<iitian, also farwisnian (= Icel. r/.s-wa = Sw. 
vissna = Dan. risiic), become dry, wither. < 
*wuen, dried up, wizen.] To become dry f>r 
withered; shrivel; cause to fade; make drv. 
[Scotch.] 
O ill l)efa' your vAzzen'd snout ! 
(Hijht's Lady (Child's Ballads, VIII. 290). 
A shoemaker's lad 
"With wizened face in want of soap. 
Broicniny, Christmas Eve. 
■wizen^ (wiz'n), ". An obsolete or dialectal form 
of weasand. 
•wizen-faced (wiz'n-fast), «. Having a thin, 
shriveled face. 
The story is connected with a dingy imzen^/aced portrait 
in an oval frame. Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, I. r)0. 
The door . . . was slowly opened, and a little blear- 
eyed, weazen-faced ancient man came creeping out. 
Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit, xi. 
•wizier, ». Same as vizir. 
■wizzent, ". and n. Same as wizcii. 
wk. A coTitraction of iceck. 
wlappet, ''. '. [ME. uifippen, var. oiwrnppen : 
see «■)■«// an<l hip-.'] To wrap; roll up. 
3e schnlen fyTide a gong child wla^rpid in clothis, and 
put in a eracche. Wyclif, Luke ii. 12. 
wlatet, ''. '. and t. [ME. whiten, < AS. wiietian, 
loathe] To feel disgust ; loathe ; abominate. 
So the worcher of this worlde wlates ther-wyth 
That in tlie poyiit of her play he poruayes a mynde. 
Alliterative Poems (eA. Morris), ii. 1501. 
wlatsomet, wlatsomt, "• [< ME. wlatiom, whit- 
,iiim, loathsome, nbominable, < *ii:hite (< AS. 
wlsetk'), nausea, disgust, + -.sow, E. -.sows.] 
Loathsome; detestaVjle; hateful. 
For thou3 the soule bane thi lijknes, 
Man is but wlatmim erthe and clay. 
Political Poems, etc. (ed. Furnivall), p. 17:j. 
Mordre is so viatsmn and abhominallle 
To God, that is so just and resonable, 
That he ne wol nat suffre it heled be. 
Chapiter, Nun's Priest's Tale, 1. 2'i3. 
Woad {/siitis iinctorin). 
6958 
wlonct, wlonkt, a. and H. [ME., < AS. wlanc, 
wlonk (= OS. wUinc), proud, splendid.] I. a. 
Fine; grand; fair; beautiful. 
Whyle the wlonkest wedes he warp on hym-seluen. 
Sir Gawayne and the Green Knight (E. E. T. .S.), 1. 2025. 
II, n. A fair woman; a fine lady. 
Thane I went to that wlonke, and wynly hire gretis. 
And cho said, "Welcome i-wis ! wele arte thow fowndene." 
MorU Arthure (E. E. T. S.), 1. 3339. 
W. N. W. An abbreviation of west-northwest. 
WO, interj. and n. See woe. 
woad (wod), n. [Also dial, wad (and ode) ; < ME. 
wod, wodc, wood, wad, < AS. lodd, wand = OFries. 
iced z= D. weede, weed = MLG. icet, weit, wede 
= OHG. MHG. weit, G. woid, wait = Sw. vejde 
— Dan. raid, reid = Goth. *waida (cf. wiz- 
(///«, woad; ML. guaisdium, > OF. waisde, waidc, 
(piide, F. r/ucdc = It. guado, woad), akin to L. 
ritrum, woad: root unknown; no connection 
with wehl'^, which has a 
var. ICO W.] A cruciferous 
plant, Isatis tinctoria, for- 
merly much cultivated 
in Great Britain on ac- 
count of the blue dye ex- 
tracted from its pulped 
and fermented leaves. It 
is now, however, nearly super- 
seded by indigo, which gives a 
stronger and finer blue. It is 
still cultivated in some parts 
of Europe, and the dye which 
it furnishes is said to improve 
the quality and color of indigo 
when mixed with it in a certain 
proportion. The ancient Brit- 
ons are said to have stained 
their bodies with the dye pro- 
cured from the woad-plant. 
No mader, welde, or wood [var. 
wod] no litestere 
Ne knew. 
Chaucer, Former Age, 1. 17. 
Rut now our soile either will 
not or . . . may not beare 
either wad or madder. 
Harrison, Descrip. of Britain, 
[xviii. 
Admit no difference between oade and frankincense. 
B. Jonson, Poetaster, ii. 1. 
wild woad. Same as weldi. 
woaded (wo'ded), a. [< woad + -e<l^.~\ 1. 
Dyed or colored blue with woad. 
Then the monster, then the man ; 
Tattoo'd or woaded, winter-clad in skins. 
Tennyson, Princess, ii. 
2. Produced by means of woad, or by a mix- 
ture of woad with other dyes. 
1'hns I have heard our merchants complain that the 
set up blues have made strangers loathe the rich woaded 
bines. S. Ward, Sermons, p. 77. 
woad-mill (wod'mil), n. A mill for bruising 
and preparing woad. 
W0adwaxen(w6d'wak'''gn),?i. The dyers' green- 
weed, (ienista tinctoria. See Genista (^vith cut). 
Y cart y-lade w* wodewezen to sale. 
English Gilds (E. E. T. S.), p. 358. 
wobble, V. and H. See wabhlc''-. 
wobbler, «. See wobbler. 
wobbly, a. See wabbly. 
wobegone, a. See woebegone. 
WOCit, "• A Middle English form of weal: 
WOC'-^t, •"■ An old spelling of woke, preterit of 
n'akeK 
wod, n. An obsolete or dialectal form of iroad. 
wode't, >i. A Middle English form of icoorfl. 
wode'-'t, "• An obsolete spelling of teoad. 
I'ronipt. Parr. 
wodegeldt, «• [ME., < wode, wood, + geld, pay- 
ment : see wood^ and geld^, «.] A payment for 
wood. 
wodelyt, adv. A variant of woodlij. 
Woden (wo'den), ». [ME. Woden',<AS. Woden 
= OHG. Wodan. fl'uotan = lce\. Otiiinn, a. Tcut. 
deity, lit. the 'furious,' the 'mighty warrior'; 
from a root appearing in AS. wod, mad, furious 
(see icoof/2). The AS. Woden, which would reg. 
give a mod. E. * Wooden, is present in Wcdnes- 
duii, and in many compound local names, such 
as Woodne.shorough. Wedne.ihoiigh, Widneshiirii, 
Win.'iborongh. M'i.iborow, Wednesficld, Wansford, 
Wan.<<tcad, Wanslei/, etc.] The Anglo-Saxon 
form of the name of the deity called by the 
Xorse Odin. 
Wodenism (wo'den-izm), )i. [< Jl'oden + -i.ini.] 
The worsliip of Woden. 
Wodenism was so completely vanquished that even the 
coming of the Danes failed t(j revive it. 
J. B. Green, Conq. of Eng. , p. 9. 
wodewalet, «• A Middle English form of wood- 
wale. 
woeful 
wodnesst, «• An obsolete form of woodness. 
woe (wo), interj. [Also wo; 8c. wae ; < ME. wo, 
woo, wa, we, waei, wei, wai, wee, < AS. wd, 
interj., sometimes used with dat. cage, also in 
combination wa Id, wa Id wd, also wdld wd, alas! 
lit. woe! lo! woe! {'>nli.E.wellaway,weUaday) 
= D. wee = LG. wee = G. iceh = leel. vei = Sw. 
ve = Dan. vee = Goth, wai, interj., woe ! (cf. OF. 
ouais = It. Sp. guai, woe! < Teut.) = L. vee, woe! 
(vee victis, woe to the vanquished !) = Gr. oi ! oiiai ! 
woe! ah! oh! an exclamation of pain, etc., out 
of which the other uses grew. Hence ult. woe, 
n., wail^, and wellaway, welluday ; cf. also wai- 
ment.] Alas! an exclamation of pain or grief. 
See woe, n. 
Alas and woe.' Shak., A. and C, iv. 14. 107. 
woe (wo), n. and a. [Also tco; Sc. wae; < ME. 
wo, woo, wa, also ivee, the last from AS. wed, pi. 
>cedn, a form not immediately derivable from 
the interj. tvd, but standing for *!c« (*wxw-) = 
OS. wc(wew-) = D. wee = LG. wee = OHG. MHG. 
we{wew-), OHG. also wewo, m., wewa, f., G. tcehe 
= Dan. vee, woe, = Goth. *ifai (> It. guajo, pain) ; 
prob. from the interj. : see woe, interj.} I. n. 
1. Grief; sorrow; misery; heavy calamity. 
Tliey, outcast from God, are here condemn'd 
To waste eternal days in woe and pain. 
Milton, P. L., ii. 695. 
2. A heavy calamity; an affliction. 
One tooe is past ; and, behold, there come two woes more 
hereafter. Rev. he 12. 
Woe is frequently used in denunciations, either with the 
optative mood of the verb or alone, and thus in an inter- 
jectional manner (see woe, interj.). 
Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the 
sheep ! Jer. xxiii. 1. 
Woe to the vanquished, woe .' 
Vryden, Albion and Albauius, L 1. 
Woe to the dupe, and woe to the deceiver ! 
Woe to the oppressed, and icoe to the oppressor! 
Shelley, Hellas. 
It is also used in exclamations of sorrow, in such cases 
the noun or pronoun following being really in the dative. 
Woe is me ! for I am undone. Isa. vL 5. 
Woe was the knight at this severe command. 
Dryden, Wife of Bath, L 108. 
An' aye the o'ercome o' his sang 
Was " Wae 's me for Prince Charlie !" 
W. Glen, A Wee Bird cam' to our Ha' Door. 
In weal and woe, in prosperity and adversity. Shak., 
Venus and Adonis, 1. 987.— Woe worth the day. See 
worthi, 3. =Syn. Distress, tribulation, affliction, bitter- 
ness, unhappiness, wretchedness. Woe is an intense unhap- 
piness ; the word is strong and elevated, almost poeticaL 
II.+ «. Sad; sorrowful; miserable; woeful; 
wretched. 
Ofte hadde Horn beo wo 
Ac neure wurs than him was tho. 
Kitvj Horn (E. E. T. S.X p. 4. 
In this debat I was so wo. 
Me thoghte niyn herte braste atweyn. 
Chaucer, Death of Blanche, 1. 1192. 
He was full wo, and gan his former griefe renew. 
Spenser, F. Q., IV. i. 38. 
Childe Waters was a icoe man, good Lord, 
To see faire Ellen swimme ! 
Child Waters (Child's Ballads, III. 208). 
woebegone, wobegone (w6'be-g6n'), a. [Early 
mod. E. woe-begon ; < ME. wo-begon, wo-bygon; 
< «'oe, wo, n., woe, sorrow, + begone'^.] Over- 
whelmed with woe ; immersed in grief or sor- 
row; also, sorrowful; rueful; indicating woe 
or distress: as, a woebegone look. 
Thow farest ek by me, thow Pandarus ! 
As he that, whan a wight is wo-bygon. 
He Cometh to him apaas, and seith right thus; 
" Thynke nat on smerte and thow shalt fele none ! " 
Chaucer, Troilus, iv. 464. 
Coumfort hem that careful been. 
And helpe hem that ben rvoo bigooru 
Hymm to Virgin, etc. (E. E. T. S.), p. 16. 
Even such a man, so faint, so spiritless, 
So dull, so dead in look, so woe-begone, 
Drew Priaiu's curtain in the dead of night. 
Shak., 2 Hen. IV., i. 1. 71. 
Each man looked ruefully in his neighlxir's face in 
search of encouragement, but oidy found in its woe-begone 
lineaments a confirmation of his own dismay. 
Irnng, Knickerbocker, p. 438. 
In early use the two words are sometimes separated. 
Wo was this wrecched woman tho bigoon. 
Chaucer. Man of Law's Tale, 1. 82a 
woeful, woful (wo'ful), a. [Sc. woeful; < ME. 
woful, wofull; < woe + -fnl.] 1. Full of woe; 
distressed with grief or calamity; afflicted; sor- 
rowful. 
O verrey goost, that errest to and fro ! 
Whi niltow flen out of the uo.fuUeste 
Body that evere myght on grounde go? 
Chaucer, lYoilns, iy. SP3. 
What now willt thou don. woful Eglentine? 
To gret heuynesse off-fors moste thou incline. 
Bom. of Partenay (E. E. T. S.), 1. 2163. 
Weep no more, woful shepherds. 
Milton. Lycidas, 1. 165. 
