wolf-fish 
ers adapted for Liusliiii!; the mollusks and ciustaeiaua 
on whii-h it feeds. The ventral tins are absent ; the color 
is brownish-gray, spotted and striped with brown over 
the upper parts, while the belly is white. The tiesh is 
palatable, and is largely eaten in Iceland, while the skin 
is durable, and is manufactured into a kind of shagreen. 
When taken in a net it attacks its captors ferociously, anil 
unless stunned by a blow on the head is capable of doing 
great damage with its powerful teeth. Also called sea-cal. 
catjith, woif-eel, and sea-ico(f. See cut under Anarrhichas. 
Wolflani (wul'fi-iui), «. [< C. (Co?/ (see def.) 
+ -kiti.'\ PertainingtothepMlosophy of Chris- 
tian Wolff (1679-1754), which isLeiVmitziaiiisin 
diluted with common sense and dressed as a 
modified scholasticism, more systematic and 
more Euclidean than that of the middle ages. 
Though not profound, Wollf's philosopliy met the wants 
of Uermany, which it dominated for about fifty years, be- 
ginning with 1724. Also irrfjfia/i. 
Wolflan"'' 'wurfi-an),«. [< F. A. »((>?/ (see def.) 
+ -ian.l Pertaining to or promnlgated liy F. 
A. Wolf, a German ]ihilologist (1759-1824).— 
Wolflan theory, a theory put forward by Wolf in his 
"Prolegomena" in 17!).">, to the effect that the Iliad and 
Odyssey caimot be the works of one man, Homer, because 
writing was unknown at the time that these poems are 
said to have been composed. He supposes, therefore, 
that the Iliad and Odyssey consist of ballads or episodes, 
the work of different men, collected and arranged in a 
more or less consistent and homogeneous whole in the 
sixth century B. c. The ballads could have been pre- 
served by the recitation of strolling minstrels. 
Wolfianism (wul'fi-an-izm), n. [< Wolfian'^ + 
-ism.'] The system of Woltian philosophy. See 
Wolfian'^. 
wolfing (wiil'fiug). )i. [Verbal n. of wulf, v.] 
The occupation or industry of taking wolves for 
their pelts. Wolfing is extensively practised in winter 
in some parts of the United States, as Montana and the 
Dakotas. The wolves are destroyed chiefly by poisoning 
with strychnine. 
wolfish (wiil'tish), a. [Formerly also wolcish; 
< wolf + -(,'.7il.] 1. Like a wolf; having the 
qualitiesortraitsof a wolf ; savage; ravening: 
as, a woliisli visage; iioljisli designs. 
Thy desires 
Are mlvuih, bloody, starved, and ravenous. 
SAaJ-., M. of V.,iv. 1. 138. 
Bane to thy leoijigh nature ! B. Jomon, Volpone, v. S, 
Good master, let it warn you ; though we have hitherto 
pass'd by these man-Tygers, these wolvish Outlaws safely, 
early and late, as not worth their malice. 
Brome, Queen's Exchange, ii. 
2. Hungry as a wolf is supposed to be ; raven- 
ous. [Colloq.] 
WOlflshly (wnl'tish-li), uclv. In a wolfish manner. 
WOlfkin (wiilf'kin), n. [< wolf + -kin.] A 
young or small wolf. 
"Was this your instructions, wolflcin?" (for she called 
me lambkin). Iiichard?on, Pamela, I. 144, 
Kite and kestrel, wolf and u-ol/Hn. 
Tennyson, Boiidicea. 
wolfling (wulf'ling). H. [< \iolf + -Ung^.'] A 
young wolf; a wolf kin. 
Young children were thrown in, their mothers vainly 
pleading: " H'o(/ft«^«," answered the Company of Marat, 
"who would grow to be wolves." 
Carlyle, French Kev., III. v. 3, 
wolf-moth (wiilfmoth), 1\. A cosmopolitan 
grain-pest, Tiuid f/)'a«e?/«,a small creamy-white 
moth with brow^l spots on the wings, whose 
small white larva? infest stored grain. See icolf, 
II., 3 («), and cut under corn-moth. 
wolf-net (wiilfnet), «. A kind of net used in 
fishing, by means of which great numbers of 
fish are taken. 
wolf-note (wulf'not), n. Same as xvolf, 5 (c). 
wolfram (wiilf'ram), ;;. [G. trolfram, given as 
< ''tcolf wolf, -)- ram, rahm, froth, cream, soot."] 
1. A native tiingstate of iron and manganese. 
Its color is generally a Itrownish or grayish black, and it 
has a reddish-brown streak. The specific gravity (7.2 to 
7.5) is nearly equal to that of metallic iron. It occurs crj's- 
tallized. also massive with lamellar structure ; it is the ore 
from which the metal tungsten is usually obtained, and is 
often found associated with tinst(jne. Also called wolf- 
ratnite. 
2. The metal tungsten or wolframium: an 
improjier and now uncommon use Wolfram- 
OCher. Same as luii;f>ftite. 
wolframate (wulf'ra-mat), n. Same as tiiiii/- 
Htdli:. 
WOlframic (wiilf-ram'ik), n. Of or pertaining 
to tungsten. 
wolframium (wulf-ra'mi-uni), ". Same as tiiiiij- 
atcii, the chemical symbol of which is W, from 
this word. 
WOlfrobe (wiilf'rob), >i. The skin or pelt of a 
wolf ma<ie into a robe for use in carriages, etc. 
wolf's-bane (wulfs'lian), n. [< irolfs, poss. of 
icolf. + /<'(/icl.] A iilaiit of the genus Aconitiim ; 
aconite or monk's-hood: specifically. .1. li/coc- 
loiiiim, the yellow or yellow-tlo\vere<l wolfs- 
bane, also called hiiili/ei's-, licar's-, or lidrc's- 
boiie. It is found widely in Europe, especially in moun- 
69 (iO 
tains. Its greeinsh-yellow flowers have tlie hood developed 
like an extinguisher ; its poison is less virulent than that 
of other species. — Mountain wolf'B-l)ane. See Ranun- 
culus. 
wolfsbergite (wulfs'berg-it), n. [Named from 
n'oll'shrri/, in the Harz.] Same as rlialcostihUe. 
wolf-scalp (wulf'skalp), n. The skin of a wolf's 
liead, or a piece of it sui^eient for identification, 
e.xhiijited to claim the bounty paid for the killing 
of a wolf in some parts of the United States. 
wolf's-claws (wiilfs'klaz),)!. Theeommon club- 
moss, Li/copodiiiiii clavatum : so called from the 
claw-like ends of the prostrate branches. 
wolf S-fist (wulfs'fist), n. [< ME. n-uh-es fist, < 
AS. inilfexJJtit, a puffball: imilfes, gen. of ivulf, 
wolf; ./t.v?, 'me. fifst, a breaking of wind: see 
wolf and ./(.sf'^. Cf. Lijcoperdon.'] A puffball. 
See Lijropcnkin. Gerard. Also wool fist. 
wolf's-foot (wulfs'fiit), 11. The club-moss, Lij- 
eopodiiim : so named by translation of the ge- 
neric jiame. 
wolf's-head (wiiifs'hed), n. [< ME. wolreslued ; 
< wolfs, poss. of wolf, + head.] I. The head 
of a wolf. — 2t. An outlaw. 
Tho were his bondemen sory and nothing glad. 
When Gamelyn her lord wolves-heed was cryed and maad. 
Tale of Gamelyn, 1. 700. 
wolfskin (wulf'skin), ji. [< ME. woh-e-ikijune ; 
< wolfs, poss. of n-olf,+ slcin.] The skin or pelt 
of a wolf; also, a rug or other article made of 
this pelt; a woUrobe. 
wolf's-milk (wiilfs'milk), «. A plant of the ge- 
nus Euphorbia, particularly E. llelioscopia, the 
sun-spurge. The name is supposed to refer to 
the acrid milky .iuiee of these plants. 
wolf-spider (wulf'spi"der), n. Any spider of 
the family Lycosidse, the species of which do 
woltowt. A Middle English form of wolt {wilt) 
thou. 
wolveboon (w-ulv'bon), ». See Toxicodendron. 
wolverene, wolverine (wiil-ve-ren'), «. [For- 
merly also wolveren, wolvereiine, wolvcriii, tcol- 
reriiig ; appar. a French-Canadian name based 
on E. tcolf] The American glutton, or carcajou, 
(lulo ?»«CHS (specifically identical with the glut- 
ton of the Old World), a subplantigrade carniv- 
orous mammal of the family Mustelidse, inhab- 
iting British America and northerly or moun- 
tainous regions of the United States. It is 2 or 
3 feet long, of thick set form, with short, stout legs, low 
ears, suljplantigrade feet, bushy tail and shaggy pelf^e of 
Wolf-spider {Lycosa fututulata), natural size 
not lie in wait, but prowl about after their prey 
and spring upon it; a tarantula. See Lycosi- 
dic, and cuts under tarantula, 1. 
wolf 's-thistlet (wulfs'this"l), «. See thistle. 
wolf-tooth (wiilf'toth), «.; pi. wolf-teeth (-teth). 
A small supernumerary premolar of the horse, 
situated in advance of the grinders. There 
are sometimes four of these teeth, one on each 
side of each jaw. 
Many readers may not be awai'e that blind horses, even 
in one eye ojdy, will not get a proper summer coat ; and 
tile connexion lietween wotf-teelk and shying is another of 
many interesting facts. " Athenteum, No. 3300, p. 120. 
wolf-trap (wi'ilf'trap), n. In her., a bearing 
representing a curved bar having a ring fixed 
to the center of it. Berry. 
woU, r. An obsolete or dialectal form of will^. 
Woliaston doublet. See doublet, 2 (b). 
wollastonite (wol'as-ton-Jt), n. [Named after 
W. II. Woliaston (If06-'l828), an English scien- 
tist, the discoverer of the method of working 
native platinum.] A mineral occurring in tab- 
ular crystals (hence called tabular spar), also 
massive, eleavable, with fibrous structure. It 
has a white to yellow or gray color, and a vitreous to pearly 
cleavage. It is a silicate of calcium (CaSiOjj), and be- 
longs to the pyroxene group. 
Woliaston prism. The four-sided glass prism 
of tlie camera lucida de^-ised by Woliaston in 
1S04. See figure under camera lucida. 
wolle^ r. See wiU^. 
Wolle'-'tjWollent. Obsolete forms of wool, woolen. 
WoUongongite (wol'on-gong-it), n. A kind of 
kcrosene-sluile, very rich in oil. found nearWol- 
longong in New South Wales: it was originally 
ilcscriljcd as a kind of hydrocarbon. 
wolloper, u. See waUopei'^. 
Wolvereue or Carcajou {Oulo lusctn). 
tilackish color, with a lighter band of color on each side 
meeting its fellow upon the rump. The animal is noted 
for its voracity, ferocity, and sagacity. In the fur coun- 
tries, where the wolverene is numerous, it is one of the 
most serious obstacles with which the trapper has to con- 
tend, as it soon learns to spring the traps set for ermine 
and sable, and devour the bait without getting caught, be- 
ing itself too wary to be trapped without great difficulty. 
In these regions, also, caches of provisions must be con- 
structed with special precautions against their discovery 
and spoliation by wolverenes. The pelt is valuable, and 
is much used for robes and mats, in which the whitish or 
light-brown areas of the fur present a set of oval or horse- 
shoe-shaped figures when several skins are sewed toge- 
ther. From its comparatively large and very stout form, 
together with its special coloration, the wolverene is some- 
times called gfrwdt-iwar.— The Wolverene State, Michi- 
gan. 
wolves, n. Plural of wolj. 
wolves'-thistlet (wuh-z'this'l), n. See thistle. 
wolvisht (wiil'vish), «. An obsolete form of 
wolfish. 
wolwardt, adr. See woolward. 
woman (wiim'an), n. ; pi. women (wim'en). [< 
ME. woman, wuman, wominan, wumman, wum- 
mon, altered (with the common change of tii- to 
wu-, often spelled «o-) from wimman, uimmon, 
which stand (with assimilation of fm to mm) 
for the earlier wifman, uifmon, wyfman (pi. 
women, "uumen, wommen, numtiien, wimmen, ear- 
lier icifmen, wyfmen),< AS. wifman, wifmon, later 
wimman (pi. wifmen, later tcimmen), a woman, 
lit. 'wife-man,' i. e. female person, < wif, a 
woman, female, -I- man, man, person (masc, 
but used, like L. homo and Gr. ai-Bparroc, in 
the general sense 'person, human being'). 
The compound uifman is peculiar to AS., but 
a similar formation appears in the G. tceibs- 
person. It is notable that it was thought ne- 
cessary to join wif, a neuter noun, representing 
a female person, to man, a masc. noun repre- 
senting either a male or female person, to form 
a woril denoting a female person exclusively. 
The assimilatio7i of ./>» to mm occurs likewise 
in leman, formerly and more prop, spelled leni- 
man, and in Lammas. The change of initial «:»- 
to wu- occurs also in AS. widu > wudu >E. wood^, 
and the spelling of wh- as ico- or woo- to avoid 
the cumulation of u's or c's [wu-. uuu-, m;-) 
occurs in nooell, wool, etc. The difference oif 
pronunciation between the singular woman 
and the plural women, though it has come to 
distinguish the singular from the plural, is 
entirely accidental; formerly both pronuncia- 
tions of the first syllable were in use in both 
numbers. The proper modern spelling of the 
plural, as now pronounced, would be wimtnen ; 
the spelling women is due to irreg. conformity to 
the singular woman, which is properly so spelled 
according to the analogy of u-olf, though *woo- 
man, like *»v)o//'. -would be better, as being then 
in keeping with wool, wood^.] 1. An adult fe- 
male of the human race; figuratively, the fe- 
male sex ; human females collectively. See 
lady, 5. 
Leode [men] nere thar nane, 
ne wapmen ne icifmen, 
bute westise [waste] paedes. 
Layanwn, 1. 1119. 
That is the l.ond of Femynye, where that no man is, but 
only alle Wommen. Mandeville, Travels, p. 143. 
Whan the queene vndirstode the a-vow that Gawein 
hadde made, she was the gladdest icoinnn in the worlde. 
Merlin (E. E. T. S.), iii. 483. 
And the lib, which the Lord God had taken from man, 
made he a woman. Gen. ii. 2-2. 
See the hell of ha^ ing a false woman '. 
Shak., M. W. of W., ii. 2. 305. 
