Part 268

Wedge gear. A friction gear wheel with wedge-shaped circumferential grooves. -- Wedge gearing.

Weed"less, a. Free from weeds; -- said of a kind of motor-boat propeller the blades of which curve backwardly, as respects the direction of rotation, so that they draw through the water, and so do not gather weeds with which they come in contact.

Week"-end", n. The end of the week; specif., though loosely, the period observed commonly as a holiday, from Saturday noon or Friday night to Monday; as, to visit one for a week-end; also, a house party during a week-end.

Weep"ing tree. (a) Any tree having pendulous branches. (b) A tree from which honeydew or other liquid secretions of insects drip in considerable quantities, esp. one infested by the larvæ of any species of the genus Ptylus, allied to the cuckoo spits, which in tropical countries secrete large quantities of a watery fluid.

Weet"*weet` (?), n. [Native name in Victoria.] A throwing toy, or implement, of the Australian aborigines, consisting of a cigar-shaped stick fastened at one end to a flexible twig. It weighs in all about two ounces, and is about two feet long.

Weight, v. t. (Dyeing) To load (fabrics) as with barite, to increase the weight, etc.

Weil's disease (?). (Med.) An acute infectious febrile disease, resembling typhoid fever, with muscular pains, disturbance of the digestive organs, jaundice, etc.

Weis"mann*ism (?), n. (Biol.) The theories and teachings in regard to heredity propounded by the German biologist August Weismann, esp. in regard to germ plasm as the basis of heredity and the impossibility of transmitting acquired characteristics; -- often called neo- Darwinism.

Weiss beer (?). [G. weissbier white beer.] A light-colored highly effervescent beer made by the top-fermentation process.

Weld steel. A compound of iron, such as puddled steel, made without complete fusion.

Wel"ling*ton boot. [After the Duke of Wellington.] A riding boot for men, the front of which came above the knee; also, a similar shorter boot worn under the trousers.

Wels"bach (?), a. Of or pertaining to Auer von Welsbach or the incandescent gas burner invented by him. -- Welsbach burner, a burner in which the combustion of a mixture of air and gas or vapor is employed to heat to incandescence a mantle composed of thoria and ceria. The mantle is made by soaking a "stocking" in a solution of nitrates of thorium and cerium (approx. 99 : 1), drying, and, for use, igniting to burn the thread and convert the nitrates into oxides, which remain as a fragile ash. The light far exceeds that obtained from the same amount of gas with the ordinary fishtail burner, but has a slight greenish hue.

Welsh (?), v. t. & i. (a) To cheat by avoiding payment of bets; -- said esp. of an absconding bookmaker at a race track. [Slang] (b) To avoid dishonorably the fulfillment of a pecuniary obligation. [Slang]

||Welt"an"schau`ung (?), n.; pl. Weltanschauungen (#). [G.] Lit., world view; a conception of the course of events in, and of the purpose of, the world as a whole, forming a philosophical view or apprehension of the universe; the general idea embodied in a cosmology.

Wel"ter*weight` (?), n. 1. (Horse Racing) A weight of 28 pounds (one of 40 pounds is called a heavy welterweight) sometimes imposed in addition to weight for age, chiefly in steeplechases and hurdle races.

2. A boxer or wrestler whose weight is intermediate between that of a lightweight and that of a middleweight.

||Welt"schmertz` (?), n. [G., fr. welt world + schmertz pain. See World; Smart, v. i.] Sorrow or sadness over the present or future evils or woes of the world in general; sentimental pessimism.

||Wên"-li` (?), n. [Chin. wên li.] The higher literary idiom of Chinese, that of the canonical books and of all composition pretending to literary standing. It employs a classical or academic diction, and a more condensed and sententious style than Mandarin, and differs also in the doubling and arrangement of words.

West, a. (Eccl.) Designating, or situated in, that part of a church which is opposite to, and farthest from, the east, or the part containing the chancel and choir.

Wet-bulb thermometer. (Physics) That one of the two similar thermometers of a psychrometer the bulb of which is moistened; also, the entire instrument.

Wet plate. (Photog.) A plate the film of which retains its sensitiveness only while wet. The film used in such plates is of collodion impregnated with bromides and iodides. Before exposure the plate is immersed in a solution of silver nitrate, and immediately after exposure it is developed and fixed.

Whack (?), v. t. To divide into shares; as, to whack the spoils of a robbery; -- often with up. [Slang]

Whack, n. A portion; share; allowance. [Slang] -- Out of whack, out of order. [Slang]

Whale"back` (?), n. (Naut.) A form of vessel, often with steam power, having sharp ends and a very convex upper deck, much used on the Great Lakes, esp. for carrying grain.

Whang (?), v. t. 1. To beat; thrash; bang; also, to throw, hurl, or fling about, violently. [Scot. & Dial. Eng.]

2. To slice, esp. in large pieces; to chop. [Scot.]

Whang, n. 1. A blow; whack. [Dial. or Colloq.]

2. A large piece or slice; chunk. [Scot. & Dial. Eng.]