*wig*

n. A wig, in use in the 18th century, with the hair at the back of the head in a bag. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Bewigged ] To cover (the head) with a wig. Hawthorne. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Big, a.+ wig. ] A person of consequence; as, the bigwigs of society. [ Jocose ] [ 1913 Webster ]

In our youth we have heard him spoken of by the bigwigs with extreme condescension. Dickens. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. characterized by pomposity of manner. [ Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. a European deciduous shrub (Cornus sanguinea) turning red in autumn having dull white flowers.
Syn. -- common European dogwood, red dogwood, pedwood. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

A short wig with bobs or short curls; -- called also bobtail wig. Spectator. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ AS. eárwicga; eáre ear + wicga beetle, worm: cf. Prov. E. erri-wiggle. ] 1. (Zoöl.) Any insect of the genus Forficula and related genera, belonging to the order Dermaptera (formerly Euplexoptera). They have elongated bodies and a prominent pair of curved pincers at the rear of their abdomen. [ 1913 Webster + PJC ]

2. (Zoöl.) In America, any small chilopodous myriapod, esp. of the genus Geophilus. See Geophilus [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Both insects are so called from the supposition that they creep into the human ear. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A whisperer of insinuations; a secret counselor. Johnson. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Earwigged p. pr. & vb. n. Earwigging ] To influence, or attempt to influence, by whispered insinuations or private talk. “No longer was he earwigged by the Lord Cravens.” Lord Campbell. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Wearing a periwig.

. See under 4th Lime. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Beset with snares; insnared, as with birdlime. L. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Named after the chemist Ludwig. ] (Min.) A borate of iron and magnesia, occurring in fibrous masses of a blackish green color. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. perrwige, perwicke, corrupt. fr. F. perruque; cf. OD. peruyk, from French. See Peruke, and cf. Wig. ] A headdress of false hair, usually covering the whole head, and representing the natural hair; a wig. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Perwigged p. pr. & vb. n. Perwigging ] To dress with a periwig, or with false hair. Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. Wearing a peruke (a style of wig popular for men in the 17th and 18th centuries).
Syn. -- peruked. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

n. [ Cf. Polliwig. ] (Zool.) The European spotted goby (Gobius minutus); -- called also pollybait. [ Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

{ , n. [ OE. polwigle. Cf. Poll head, and Wiggle. ] (Zool.) A tadpole; -- called also purwiggy and porwigle. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) A polliwig. Holland. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. See Polliwig. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ Cf. D. zwelgen to swallow, E. swallow, v.t. ] 1. To drink in long draughts; to gulp; as, to swig cider. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To suck. [ Obs. or Archaic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The lambkins swig the teat. Creech. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A long draught. [ Colloq. ] Marryat. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Naut.) A tackle with ropes which are not parallel. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A beverage consisting of warm beer flavored with spices, lemon, etc. [ Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ Cf. Prov. E. swig to leak out, AS. swījian to be silent, swīcan to evade, escape. ] 1. To castrate, as a ram, by binding the testicles tightly with a string, so that they mortify and slough off. [ Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Naut.) To pull upon (a tackle) by throwing the weight of the body upon the fall between the block and a cleat. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A wig having a tie or ties, or one having some of the curls tied up; also, a wig tied upon the head. Wright. V. Knox. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To beat with twigs. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Twigged p. pr. & vb. n. Twigging. ] [ Cf. Tweak. ] To twitch; to pull; to tweak. [ Obs. or Scot. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ Gael. tuig, or Ir. tuigim I understand. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. To understand the meaning of; to comprehend; as, do you twig me? [ Colloq. ] Marryat. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To observe slyly; also, to perceive; to discover. “Now twig him; now mind him.” Foote. [ 1913 Webster ]

As if he were looking right into your eyes and twigged something there which you had half a mind to conceal. Hawthorne. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ AS. twig; akin to D. twijg, OHG. zwīg, zwī, G. zweig, and probably to E. two. ] A small shoot or branch of a tree or other plant, of no definite length or size. [ 1913 Webster ]

The Britons had boats made of willow twigs, covered on the outside with hides. Sir W. Raleigh. [ 1913 Webster ]

Twig borer (Zool.), any one of several species of small beetles which bore into twigs of shrubs and trees, as the apple-tree twig borer (Amphicerus bicaudatus). --
Twig girdler. (Zool.) See Girdler, 3. --
Twig rush (Bot.), any rushlike plant of the genus Cladium having hard, and sometimes prickly-edged, leaves or stalks. See Saw grass, under Saw. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Made of twigs; wicker. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A fornicator. [ Eng. ] Halliwell. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Of or pertaining to a twig or twigs; like a twig or twigs; full of twigs; abounding with shoots. “ Twiggy trees.” Evelyn. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To twit. [ Obs. ] Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

obs. p. p. of Twitch. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

obs. imp. of Twitch. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Having no twigs. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Full of, or abounding in, twigs; twiggy. [ R. ] “ Twigsome trees.” Dickens. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. Earwig. ] (Zool.) A whirligig. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Abbreviation from periwig. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. A covering for the head, consisting of hair interwoven or united by a kind of network, either in imitation of the natural growth, or in abundant and flowing curls, worn to supply a deficiency of natural hair, or for ornament, or according to traditional usage, as a part of an official or professional dress, the latter especially in England by judges and barristers. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An old seal; -- so called by fishermen. [ 1913 Webster ]

Wig tree. (Bot.) See Smoke tree, under Smoke. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Wigged p. pr. & vb. n. Wigging ] To censure or rebuke; to hold up to reprobation; to scold. [ Slang ] [ 1913 Webster ]

{ }, n. [ Cf. D. wegge a sort of bread, G. weck, orig., a wedge-shaped loaf or cake. See Wedge. ] A kind of raised seedcake. “Wiggs and ale.” Pepys. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A kind of canvaslike cotton fabric, used to stiffen and protect the lower part of trousers and of the skirts of women's dresses, etc.; -- so called from Wigan, the name of a town in Lancashire, England. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) A widgeon. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Having the head covered with a wig; wearing a wig. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A wig or wigs; false hair. [ R. ] A. Trollope. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Any cover or screen, as red-tapism. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Fire peels the wiggeries away from them [ facts. ] Carlyle. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. & i. [ Cf. Wag, v. t., Waggle. ] To move to and fro with a quick, jerking motion; to bend rapidly, or with a wavering motion, from side to side; to wag; to squirm; to wriggle; as, the dog wiggles his tail; the tadpole wiggles in the water. [ Prov. Eng. & Colloq. U. S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Act of wiggling; a wriggle. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) The young, either larva or pupa, of the mosquito; -- called also wiggletail. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ Cf. G. wiehern, E. whine. ] To neigh; to whinny. [ Obs. ] Beau. & Fl. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Weight. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]