Part 267

Water hammer. A metal hammer used when heated, as by dipping in hot water, to blister the skin, as for counterritation.

Wa"ter*man*ship`, n. 1. The business or skill of a waterman.

2. Art of, or skill in, rowing; oarsmanship; specif., skill in managing the blade in the water, as distinguished from managing arms, body, etc., in the stroke.

Water monkey. A jar or bottle, as of porous earthenware, in which water is cooled by evaporation.

Water parting. (Phys. Geog.) A summit from the opposite sides of which rain waters flow to different streams; a line separating the drainage districts of two streams or coasts; a divide.

Water pocket. A water hole in the bed of an intermittent stream, esp. the bowl at the foot of a cliff over which the stream leaps when in the flood stage. [Western U. S.]

Water table. (Hydraulic Engin.) The upper limit of the portion of the ground wholly saturated with water. The water table may be within a few inches of the surface or many feet below it.

Water telescope. 1. (Optics) A telescope in which the medium between the objective and the eye piece is water instead of air, used in some experiments in aberration.

2. A telescope devised for looking into a body of water.

Water tender. (Nav.) In the United States navy, a first-class petty officer in charge in a fireroom. He "tends" water to the boilers, sees that fires are properly cleaned and stoked, etc. There is also a rating of chief water tender, who is a chief petty officer.

Water tower. A tower or standpipe used as a reservoir to deliver water at a required head, as to a fountain.

Water tube. Any tube for passing or holding water; specif., in some steam boilers, a tube in which water circulates and steam is generated.

Wat*teau" (?), a. (Art) Having the appearance of that which is seen in pictures by Antoine Watteau, a French painter of the eighteenth century; -- said esp. of women's garments; as, a Watteau bodice.

Watteau back. The back of a woman's gown in which one or more very broad folds are carried from the neck to the floor without being held in at the waist, while the front and sides of the gown are shaped to the person and have a belt or its equivalent.

Wat"tle (?), n. 1. Material consisting of wattled twigs, withes, etc., used for walls, fences, and the like. "The pailsade of wattle." Frances Macnab.

2. (Bot.) In Australasia, any tree of the genus Acacia; -- so called from the wattles, or hurdles, which the early settlers made of the long, pliable branches or of the split stems of the slender species.

Watt"less (?), a. (Elec.) Without any power (cf. Watt); -- said of an alternating current or component of current when it differs in phase by ninety degrees from the electromotive force which produces it, or of an electromotive force or component thereof when the current it produces differs from it in phase by 90 degrees.

Wave, n. Something resembling or likened to a water wave, as in rising unusually high, in being of unusual extent, or in progressive motion; a swelling or excitement, as of feeling or energy; a tide; flood; period of intensity, usual activity, or the like; as, a wave of enthusiasm.

Wax"works` (?), n. pl. An exhibition of wax figures, or the place of exhibition.

Weak (?), a. 1. (Stock Exchange) Tending toward a lower price or lower prices; as, wheat is weak; a weak market.

2. (Card Playing) Lacking in good cards; deficient as to number or strength; as, a hand weak in trumps.

3. (Photog.) Lacking contrast; as, a weak negative.

Wealth (?), n. (Econ.) (a) In the private sense, all pooperty which has a money value. (b) In the public sense, all objects, esp. material objects, which have economic utility. (c) Specif. called personal wealth. Those energies, faculties, and habits directly contributing to make people industrially efficient.

Wear, n. The result of wearing or use; consumption, diminution, or impairment due to use, friction, or the like; as, the wear of this coat has been good.

Weath"er map. A map or chart showing the principal meteorological elements at a given hour and over an extended region. Such maps usually show the height of the barometer, the temperature of the air, the relative humidity, the state of the weather, and the direction and velocity of the wind. Isobars and isotherms outline the general distribution of temperature and pressure, while shaded areas indicate the sections over which rain has just fallen. Other lines inclose areas where the temperature has fallen or risen markedly. In tabular form are shown changes of pressure and of temperature, maximum and minimum temperatures, and total rain for each weather station since the last issue, usually 12 hours.

Weather signal. Any signal giving information about the weather. The system used by the United States Weather Bureau includes temperature, cold or hot wave, rain or snow, wind direction, storm, and hurricane signals.

Weather station. (Meteor.) A station for taking meteorological observations, making weather forecasts, or disseminating such information. Such stations are of the first order when they make observations of all the important elements either hourly or by self-registering instruments; of the second order when only important observations are taken; of the third order when simpler work is done, as to record rainfall and maximum and minimum temperatures.

{ Wedge gauge or gage }. A wedge with a graduated edge, to measure the width of a space into which it is thrust.