Glossary list
Glossaries
| Term | Main definition |
|---|---|
| Wherry¹ |
Hits - 924 Synonyms -
vherry, whurry¹,Wherries¹ |
| whiff¹ | Whiff: a puff of air or smoke [CPB]
Hits - 633 Synonyms -
wiff¹ |
| Whigs¹ | A political party. Founded 1678 dissolved 1868. The Whigs were a consortium of aristocratic factions based upon opposition to the excesses of both monarchical and parliamentary power, Whigs never committed themselves to an ideology. Rather, they stood for an ethos of service to the nation, religious toleration, and protection of the people from institutional oppression [i] Under the leadership of Charles James Fox (from 1784 to 1806) , they came to represent the interests of religious dissenters, industrialists, and others who sought electoral, parliamentary, and philanthropic reforms. [ii] References:
Hits - 802
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| whirligig¹ | Applied to various mechanical contrivances having a whirling or rotatory movement; A child's spinning top, a roundabout or merry-go-round or, an instrument of punishment formerly used, consisting of a large cage suspended so as to turn on a pivot. [OED]
Hits - 715
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| whiskey(1) | A kind of high light carriage, seated for one or two, drawn by a single horse. Also called a timwhiskey
Hits - 721
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| wick(1) | Alive; life
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| wide awake¹ | Aware of events, vigilant, watchful, on the alert; understanding
Hits - 684
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| wight(1) | A human being, man or woman, person. Now arch. ordial. (often implying some contempt or commiseration). [OED]
Hits - 702
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| winder¹ | Winder An operative employed in winding wool, etc. [OED]
Hits - 598
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| windlass¹ | A mechanical contrivance working on the principle of the wheel and axle, on a horizontal axis (thus distinguished from a capstan); consisting of a roller or beam, resting on supports, round which a rope or chain is wound; used for various purposes, esp. on board ship for weighing the anchor or hauling upon a purchase, at the head of a mine-shaft for hoisting coal or other mineral, or for raising a bucket from a well [OED]
Hits - 744
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| wire(1) | Meaning not known
Hits - 624
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| Women_and_children_first¹ | "Women and children first" (or to a lesser extent, the Birkenhead Drill) is a code of conduct whereby the lives of women and children were to be saved first in a life-threatening situation, typically abandoning ship, when survival resources such as lifeboats were limited. The earliest authenticated use of the phrase is uncertain. A noted instance occurred during the 1852 evacuation of the Royal Navy troopship HMS Birkenhead. Reference:
Hits - 460 Synonyms -
women_and_the_children_first¹ |
| Workhouse¹ | Workhouse: Under the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, poor relief was to be administered exclusively by parish union workhouses which were typically characterised by inhumane treatment of inmates and poor living and working conditions. [OED]
Hits - 707 Synonyms -
work-houses¹, workhouses¹,house¹ |
| woundy(1) | Very; extremely; excessively [OED]
Hits - 659
|
| y'clep'd¹ | ycleped = called, named, styled [OED]
Hits - 482
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| yankee(1) | By English writers and speakers commonly applied to a native or inhabitant of the United States generally. By American writers; a nickname for a native or inhabitant of New England, or, more widely, of the northern States [OED].
Hits - 551
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| yaw | Yaw: a movement of deviation from the direct course, as from bad steering; angular motion or displacement about a yawing axis [OED]
Hits - 744
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| yawl¹ | A ship's boat usually with four or six oars [OED]
Hits - 743
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| Yeoman¹ | Yeoman: A man holding a small landed estate; a freeholder under the rank of a gentleman; hence vaguely, a commoner or countryman of respectable standing, esp. one who cultivates his own land [OED]
Hits - 681
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| younker¹ | A junior member of staff. The OED gives "A junior member of a ship's crew, typically a boy or young man".
Hits - 410
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