*wall*

n. any of several herbs of the genus Browallia cultivated for their blue or violet or white flowers.
Syn. -- bush violet. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ Cob clay mixed with straw + wall. ] A wall made of clay mixed with straw. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. a laborer who loads and unloads vessels in a port.
Syn. -- stevedore, loader, longshoreman, docker, dockhand, dock worker, lumper. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

v. t. See Inwall. Sir P. Sidney. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To plunge into, or roll in, flith; to wallow. [ 1913 Webster ]

So now all three one senseless lump remain,
Enwallowed in his own black bloody gore. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Gad to walk about + well. ] (Zool.) A large duck (Anas strepera), valued as a game bird, found in the northern parts of Europe and America; -- called also gray duck. [ Written also gaddwell. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } n. [ OE., also hyghwhele, highawe. ] The lesser spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopus minor) of Europe. [ Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Inwalled p. pr. & vb. n. Inwalling. ] To inclose or fortify as with a wall. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. An inner wall; specifically (Metal.), the inner wall, or lining, of a blast furnace. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) The European bee-eater. See Bee-eater. [ Written also modwall. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The exterior wall; the outside surface, or appearance. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A voter in certain boroughs of England, where, before the passage of the reform bill of 1832, the qualification for suffrage was to have boiled (walloped) his own pot in the parish for six months. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One who cleans pots; a scullion. [ Slang, U. S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. (Zool.) (a) The common tern. (b) The storm petrel. (c) The gannet. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Her.) See Cornish chough, under Chough. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ AS. sæweall. ] A wall, or embankment, to resist encroachments of the sea. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Surrounded, bounded, or protected by the sea, as if by a wall. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ CF. Cetewale. ] (Bot.) A plant formerly valued for its restorative qualities (Valeriana officinalis, or Valeriana Pyrenaica). [ Obs. ] [ Written also setwal. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. G. schwall a sea swell, from schwellen to swell, E. swell. ] Water breaking in upon the miners at their work; -- so called among tin miners. [ Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. swalowe, AS. swalewe, swealwe; akin to D. zwaluw, OHG. swalawa, G. schwalbe, Icel. & Sw. svala, Dan. svale. ] 1. (Zool.) Any one of numerous species of passerine birds of the family Hirundinidae, especially one of those species in which the tail is deeply forked. They have long, pointed wings, and are noted for the swiftness and gracefulness of their flight. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The most common North American species are the barn swallow (see under Barn), the cliff, or eaves, swallow (see under Cliff), the white-bellied, or tree, swallow (Tachycineta bicolor), and the bank swallow (see under Bank). The common European swallow (Chelidon rustica), and the window swallow, or martin (Chelidon urbica), are familiar species. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Zool.) Any one of numerous species of swifts which resemble the true swallows in form and habits, as the common American chimney swallow, or swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Naut.) The aperture in a block through which the rope reeves. Ham. Nav. Encyc. [ 1913 Webster ]

Swallow plover (Zool.), any one of several species of fork-tailed ploverlike birds of the genus Glareola, as Glareola orientalis of India; a pratincole. --
Swallow shrike (Zool.), any one of several species of East Indian and Asiatic birds of the family Artamiidae, allied to the shrikes but similar to swallows in appearance and habits. The ashy swallow shrike (Artamus fuscus) is common in India. --
Swallow warbler (Zool.), any one of numerous species of East Indian and Australian singing birds of the genus Dicaeum. They are allied to the honeysuckers. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Swallowed p. pr. & vb. n. Swallowing. ] [ OE. swolewen, swolwen, swolhen, AS. swelgan; akin to D. zwelgen, OHG. swelahan, swelgan, G. schwelgen to feast, to revel, Icel. svelgia to swallow, SW. svälja, Dan. svaelge. Cf. Groundsel a plant. ] 1. To take into the stomach; to receive through the gullet, or esophagus, into the stomach; as, to swallow food or drink. [ 1913 Webster ]

As if I had swallowed snowballs for pills. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To draw into an abyss or gulf; to ingulf; to absorb -- usually followed by up. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

The earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up, and their houses. Num. xvi. 32. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To receive or embrace, as opinions or belief, without examination or scruple; to receive implicitly. [ 1913 Webster ]

Though that story . . . be not so readily swallowed. Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To engross; to appropriate; -- usually with up. [ 1913 Webster ]

Homer excels . . . in this, that he swallowed up the honor of those who succeeded him. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To occupy; to take up; to employ. [ 1913 Webster ]

The necessary provision of the life swallows the greatest part of their time. Locke. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. To seize and waste; to exhaust; to consume. [ 1913 Webster ]

Corruption swallowed what the liberal hand
Of bounty scattered. Thomson. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. To retract; to recant; as, to swallow one's opinions. “Swallowed his vows whole.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. To put up with; to bear patiently or without retaliation; as, to swallow an affront or insult. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To absorb; imbibe; ingulf; engross; consume. See Absorb. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To perform the act of swallowing; as, his cold is so severe he is unable to swallow. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The act of swallowing. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The gullet, or esophagus; the throat. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Taste; relish; inclination; liking. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

I have no swallow for it. Massinger. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Capacity for swallowing; voracity. [ 1913 Webster ]

There being nothing too gross for the swallow of political rancor. Prof. Wilson. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. As much as is, or can be, swallowed at once; as, a swallow of water. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. That which ingulfs; a whirlpool. [ Obs. ] Fabyan. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who swallows; also, a glutton. Tatler. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) The European sapphirine gurnard (Trigla hirundo). It has large pectoral fins. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. (Carp.) A kind of tenon or tongue used in making joints. See Dovetail. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Bot.) A species of willow. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Fort.) An outwork with converging sides, its head or front forming a reentrant angle; -- so called from its form. Called also priestcap. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A swallow-tailed coat. [ 1913 Webster ]

This Stultz coat, a blue swallowtail, with yellow buttons. Thackeray. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. An arrow. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. (Zool.) Any one of numerous species of large and handsome butterflies, belonging to Papilio and allied genera, in which the posterior border of each hind wing is prolongated in the form of a long lobe. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The black swallowtail, or asterias (see Papilio), the blue swallowtail, or philenor, the tiger swallowtail, or turnus (see Turnus), and the zebra swallowtail, or ajax (see under Zebra) are common American species. See also Troilus. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Having a tail like that of a swallow; hence, like a swallow's tail in form; having narrow and tapering or pointed skirts; as, a swallow-tailed coat. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Carp.) United by dovetailing; dovetailed. [ 1913 Webster ]

Swallow-tailed duck (Zool.), the old squaw. --
Swallow-tailed gull (Zool.), an Arctic gull (Xema furcata), which has a deeply forked tail. --
Swallow-tailed hawk or
Swallow-tailed kite (Zool.), the fork-tailed kite. --
Swallow-tailed moth (Zool.), a European moth (Urapteryx sambucaria) having tail-like lobes on the hind wings. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Bot.) (a) See Celandine. (b) A poisonous plant (Vincetoxicum officinale) of the Milkweed family, at one time used in medicine; -- also called white swallowwort. [ 1913 Webster ]

African swallowwort, a plant of the genus Stapelia. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A towel. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

prop. n. (Eccl. Hist.) One of a sect of rigid Anabaptists, which originated in 1637, and whose tenets were essentially the same as those of the Mennonists. In addition, however, they held that Judas and the murderers of Christ were saved. So called from the founder of the sect, Ucke Wallis, a native of Friesland. Eadie. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ AS. weall, from L. vallum a wall, vallus a stake, pale, palisade; akin to Gr. &unr_; a nail. Cf. Interval. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. A work or structure of stone, brick, or other materials, raised to some height, and intended for defense or security, solid and permanent inclosing fence, as around a field, a park, a town, etc., also, one of the upright inclosing parts of a building or a room. [ 1913 Webster ]

The plaster of the wall of the King's palace. Dan. v. 5. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A defense; a rampart; a means of protection; in the plural, fortifications, in general; works for defense. [ 1913 Webster ]

The waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left. Ex. xiv. 22. [ 1913 Webster ]

In such a night,
Troilus, methinks, mounted the Troyan walls. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

To rush undaunted to defend the walls. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. An inclosing part of a receptacle or vessel; as, the walls of a steam-engine cylinder. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Mining) (a) The side of a level or drift. (b) The country rock bounding a vein laterally. Raymond. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Wall is often used adjectively, and also in the formation of compounds, usually of obvious signification; as in wall paper, or wall-paper; wall fruit, or wall-fruit; wallflower, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

Blank wall, Blind wall, etc. See under Blank, Blind, etc. --
To drive to the wall, to bring to extremities; to push to extremes; to get the advantage of, or mastery over. --
To go to the wall, to be hard pressed or driven; to be the weaker party; to be pushed to extremes. --
To take the wall. to take the inner side of a walk, that is, the side next the wall; hence, to take the precedence. “I will take the wall of any man or maid of Montague's.” Shak. --
Wall barley (Bot.), a kind of grass (Hordeum murinum) much resembling barley; squirrel grass. See under Squirrel. --
Wall box. (Mach.) See Wall frame, below. --
Wall creeper (Zool.), a small bright-colored bird (Tichodroma muraria) native of Asia and Southern Europe. It climbs about over old walls and cliffs in search of insects and spiders. Its body is ash-gray above, the wing coverts are carmine-red, the primary quills are mostly red at the base and black distally, some of them with white spots, and the tail is blackish. Called also spider catcher. --
Wall cress (Bot.), a name given to several low cruciferous herbs, especially to the mouse-ear cress. See under Mouse-ear. --
Wall frame (Mach.), a frame set in a wall to receive a pillow block or bearing for a shaft passing through the wall; -- called also wall box. --
Wall fruit, fruit borne by trees trained against a wall. --
Wall gecko (Zool.), any one of several species of Old World geckos which live in or about buildings and run over the vertical surfaces of walls, to which they cling by means of suckers on the feet. --
Wall lizard (Zool.), a common European lizard (Lacerta muralis) which frequents houses, and lives in the chinks and crevices of walls; -- called also wall newt. --
Wall louse, a wood louse. --
Wall moss (Bot.), any species of moss growing on walls. --
Wall newt (Zool.), the wall lizard. Shak. --
Wall paper, paper for covering the walls of rooms; paper hangings. --
Wall pellitory (Bot.), a European plant (Parictaria officinalis) growing on old walls, and formerly esteemed medicinal. --
Wall pennywort (Bot.), a plant (Cotyledon Umbilicus) having rounded fleshy leaves. It is found on walls in Western Europe. --
Wall pepper (Bot.), a low mosslike plant (Sedum acre) with small fleshy leaves having a pungent taste and bearing yellow flowers. It is common on walls and rocks in Europe, and is sometimes seen in America. --
Wall pie (Bot.), a kind of fern; wall rue. --
Wall piece, a gun planted on a wall. H. L. Scott. --
Wall plate (Arch.), a piece of timber placed horizontally upon a wall, and supporting posts, joists, and the like. See Illust. of Roof. --
Wall rock, granular limestone used in building walls. [ U. S. ] Bartlett. --
Wall rue (Bot.), a species of small fern (Asplenium Ruta-muraria) growing on walls, rocks, and the like. --
Wall spring, a spring of water issuing from stratified rocks. --
Wall tent, a tent with upright cloth sides corresponding to the walls of a house. --
Wall wasp (Zool.), a common European solitary wasp (Odynerus parietus) which makes its nest in the crevices of walls. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Naut.) A kind of knot often used at the end of a rope; a wall knot; a wale. [ 1913 Webster ]

Wall knot, a knot made by unlaying the strands of a rope, and making a bight with the first strand, then passing the second over the end of the first, and the third over the end of the second and through the bight of the first; a wale knot. Wall knots may be single or double, crowned or double-crowned. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Walled p. pr. & vb. n. Walling. ] 1. To inclose with a wall, or as with a wall. “Seven walled towns of strength.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

The king of Thebes, Amphion,
That with his singing walled that city. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To defend by walls, or as if by walls; to fortify. [ 1913 Webster ]

The terror of his name that walls us in. Denham. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To close or fill with a wall, as a doorway. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Bot.) A leguminous tree (Eperua falcata) of Demerara, with pinnate leaves and clusters of red flowers. The reddish brown wood is used for palings and shingles. J. Smith (Dict. Econ. Plants). [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Wallabies [ From a native name. ] (Zool.) Any one of numerous species of kangaroos belonging to the genus Halmaturus, native of Australia and Tasmania, especially the smaller species, as the brush kangaroo (Halmaturus Bennettii) and the pademelon (Halmaturus thetidis). The wallabies chiefly inhabit the wooded district and bushy plains. [ Written also wallabee, and whallabee. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Also Walachian, Wallach, Wallack, Vlach, etc. ] Of or pertaining to Wallachia, a former principality, now part of the kingdom, of Roumania. -- n. An inhabitant of Wallachia; also, the language of the Wallachians; Roumanian. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. & n. See Wallachian. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. (Zool.) A black variety of the jaguar; -- called also tapir tiger. [ Written also walla. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) Any one of several species of kangaroos of the genus Macropus, especially Macropus robustus, sometimes called the great wallaroo. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) The spotted flycatcher. [ Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ G. ] (Zool.) The wels. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who builds walls. [ 1913 Webster ]

(Med.) A form of degeneration occurring in nerve fibers as a result of their division; -- so called from Dr. Waller, who published an account of it in 1850. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. walet, probably the same word as OE. watel a bag. See Wattle. ] 1. A bag or sack for carrying about the person, as a bag for carrying the necessaries for a journey; a knapsack; a beggar's receptacle for charity; a peddler's pack. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ His hood ] was trussed up in his walet. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A pocketbook for keeping money about the person. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Anything protuberant and swagging. “Wallets of flesh.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who carries a wallet; a foot traveler; a tramping beggar. [ Colloq. ] Wright. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Wall-eyed. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. An eye in which the iris is of a very light gray or whitish color; -- said usually of horses. Booth. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Jonson has defined wall-eye to be “a disease in the crystalline humor of the eye; glaucoma.” But glaucoma is not a disease of the crystalline humor, nor is wall-eye a disease at all, but merely a natural blemish. Tully. In the north of England, as Brockett states, persons are said to be wall-eyed when the white of the eye is very large and distorted, or on one side. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Zool.) (a) An American fresh-water food fish (Stizostedion vitreum) having large and prominent eyes; -- called also glasseye, pike perch, yellow pike, and wall-eyed perch. (b) A California surf fish (Holconotus argenteus). (c) The alewife; -- called also wall-eyed herring. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Icel. valdeygðr, or vagleygr; fr. vagl a beam, a beam in the eye (akin to Sw. vagel a roost, a perch, a sty in the eye) + eygr having eyes (from auga eye). See Eye. ] Having an eye of a very light gray or whitish color. Booth. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Shakespeare, in using wall-eyed as a term of reproach (as “wall-eyed rage, ” a “wall-eyed wretch”), alludes probably to the idea of unnatural or distorted vision. See the Note under Wall-eye. It is an eye which is utterly and incurably perverted, an eye that knows no pity. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. (Bot.) A perennial, cruciferous plant (Cheiranthus Cheiri), with sweet-scented flowers varying in color from yellow to orange and deep red. In Europe it very common on old walls. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The name is sometimes extended to other species of Cheiranthus and of the related genus Erysimum, especially the American Western wallflower (Erysimum asperum), a biennial herb with orange-yellow flowers. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A lady at a ball, who, either from choice, or because not asked to dance, remains a spectator. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Bot.) In Australia, the desert poison bush (Gastrolobium grandiflorum); -- called also native wallflower. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. (Zool.) The lesser spotted woodpecker (Dryobates minor). [ Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The act of making a wall or walls. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Walls, in general; material for walls. [ 1913 Webster ]

Walling wax, a composition of wax and tallow used by etchers and engravers to make a bank, or wall, round the edge of a plate, so as to form a trough for holding the acid used in etching, and the like. Fairholt. [ 1913 Webster ]