Wen, wen, n. a sebaceous cyst, most commonly on the scalp, consisting of obstructed sebaceous glands, which enlarge by the internal pressure of their accumulated secretions.—adjs. Wen′nish, Wen′ny, wen-like. [A.S. wen, a swelling, a wart; Dut. wen.]
Wench, wensh, n. a maid, damsel: a working-girl, a maid-servant: a lewd woman, a mistress, a whore.—v.i. to frequent the company of whores.—n. Wench′er, one who indulges in lewdness. [Perh. from the sing. of A.S. winclo, children, prob. wencel, weak, wancol, unstable.]
Wend, wend, v.i. to go: to wind or turn. [A.S. wendan, the causative of windan, to turn round.]
Wend, wend, n. the name given by the Germans to a branch of the Slavs which, as early as the 6th century, occupied the north and east of Germany from the Elbe along the coast of the Baltic to the Vistula, and as far south as Bohemia: one of the Slavic population of Lusatia who still speak the Wendish tongue.—adjs. Wen′dic, Wen′dish. [Prob. ultimately cog. with wander.]
Wenlock, wen′lok, adj. (geol.) denoting a group or series of rocks of the Upper Silurian period, consisting of limestone and shale, and largely developed in the neighbourhood of Wenlock in Shropshire.
Went, went, properly pa.t. of wend, but now used as pa.t. of go.—n. (Spens.) a turning: a path.
Wentle-trap, wen′tl-trap, n. a genus of gasteropodous molluscs, having a spiral shell with many deep whorls, crossed by elevated ribs, and the aperture round and narrow. [Ger. wendel-treppe, a winding staircase.]
Wept, wept, pa.t. and pa.p. of weep.
Were, wer, v.i. the pl. of was, used as pa.t. of be. [A.S. wǽre; Ger. war, Ice. vera, to be. Cf. Was.]
Werewolf, Werwolf, wēr′woolf, n. a person supposed to be able by natural gift or magic art to change himself for a time into a wolf.—adjs. Were′wolfish, Wer′wolfish.—n. Were′wolfism, lycanthropy. [A.S. werwulf—wer, man (Goth. vair, L. vir), wulf, a wolf. The modern Ger. Währwolf is the Mid. High Ger. Werwolf, Latinised as garulphus or gerulphus, whence the O. Fr. garoul, the modern French name being pleonastically loup-garou.]