Waffle, wof′l, v.i. (prov.) to wave. [Waff (3).]
Waft, waft, v.t. to bear through a fluid medium, as air or water: (Shak.) to wave the hand, beckon, to turn.—v.i. to float.—n. a floating body: a signal made by moving something in the air, esp. an ensign, stopped together at the head and middle portions, slightly rolled up lengthwise, and hoisted at different positions at the after-part of a ship: a breath, puff, slight odour.—ns. Waf′tāge, act of wafting, transportation in air or water; Waf′ter, one who or that which wafts; Waf′tūre (Shak.), act of wafting or of waving, waving motion, beckoning. [Wave.]
Wag, wag, v.t. and v.i. to move from side to side: to shake to and fro: (coll.) to depart: (Shak.) to move on, make progress:—pr.p. wag′ging; pa.t. and pa.p. wagged.—n. a shaking, moving to and fro. [Referred by Skeat to Old Sw. wagga, to wag (Ice. vagga, a cradle); allied to A.S. wagian, to wag, Old High Ger. wagōn, to shake, A.S. wegan, to carry, move.]
Wag, wag, n. a droll, mischievous fellow: a man full of sport and humour: a wit: a fellow generally.—n. Wag′gery, mischievous merriment.—adjs. Wag′gish—(rare) Wag′some.—adv. Wag′gishly.—ns. Wag′gishness; Wag′-wit, a would-be wit. [Prob. waghalter, one who deserves hanging.]
Wage, wāj, v.t. to pledge: to engage in as if by pledge: to carry on, esp. of war: to venture: (prov.) to hire for pay: (Shak.) to pay wages to: (Spens.) to let out for pay.—v.i. (Shak.) to be equal in value, to contend, battle (with).—n. a gage or stake: that for which one labours: wages.—ns. Wage′-earn′er, one receiving pay for work done; Wage′-fund, Wā′ges-fund theory, the theory that there is at any given time in a country a determinate amount of capital available for the payment of labour, therefore the average wage depends on the proportion of this fund to the number of persons who have to share in it; Wā′ger, that which is waged or pledged: something staked on the issue of anything: a bet: that on which bets are laid: (law) an offer to make oath.—v.t. to hazard on the issue of anything.—v.i. to lay a wager.—n. Wā′gerer.—n.pl. Wā′ges (used as sing.), wage: that which is paid for services.—n. Wage′-work, work done for wages.—Wager of battle, trial by combat, an ancient usage which permitted the accused and accuser, in defect of sufficient direct evidence, to challenge each other to mortal combat, for issue of the dispute.—Living wage (see Living). [O. Fr. wager (Fr. gager), to pledge.]
Waggle, wag′l, v.i. and v.t. to wag or move from side to side. [Freq. of wag (1).]
Wagmoire, wag′moir, n. (Spens.) a quagmire.
Wagnerian, vag-nē′ri-an, adj. pertaining to or characterised by the ideas or style of Richard Wagner (1813-83), a famous German composer of music-dramas: pertaining to Rudolf Wagner (1805-64), a famous physiologist.—ns. Wag′nerism, Wagne′rianism, the art theory of Richard Wagner, its main object being the freeing of opera from traditional and conventional forms, and its one canon, dramatic fitness; Wag′nerist, an adherent of Wagner's musical methods.
Wagon, Waggon, wag′un, n. a four-wheeled vehicle for carrying heavy goods: (Shak.) a chariot.—v.t. to transport by wagon.—ns. Wag′onage, money, paid for conveyance by wagon; Wag′on-box, -bed, the carrying part of a wagon; Wag′oner, Wag′goner, one who conducts a wagon: (Shak.) a charioteer: (Spens.) the constellation Auriga; Wagonette′, a kind of open carriage built to carry six or eight persons, with one or two seats crosswise in front, and two back seats arranged lengthwise and facing inwards; Wag′onful, as much as a wagon will hold; Wag′on-load, the load carried by a wagon: a great amount; Wag′on-lock, a kind of iron shoe which is placed on the rear-wheel of a wagon to retard motion in going downhill; Wag′on-train, the machines used by an army for the conveyance of ammunition, provisions, sick, &c.; Wag′on-wright, a maker of wagons. [Dut. wagen; A.S. wægn, Eng., wain.] Wagtail, wag′tāl, n. any bird of the family Motacillidæ, so named from their constant wagging of the tail—the pipits or titlarks, &c.: (Shak.) a pert person.
Wahabee, Wahabai, wä-hä′bē, n. one of a sect of Puritan Moslems founded in Central Arabia about 1760 by Abd-el-Wahhab (1691-1787), whose aim was to restore primitive Mohammedanism—also Wahä′bite.—n. Wahä′biism, the doctrine and practices of the Wahabis.