Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


White

White

(hwīt)
,
Adj.
[
Com
par.
Whiter
(hwīt′ẽr)
;
sup
erl.
Whitest
.]
[OE.
whit
, AS.
hwīt
; akin to OFries. and OS.
hwīt
, D.
wit
, G.
weiss
, OHG.
wīz
,
hwīz
, Icel.
hvītr
, Sw.
hvit
, Dan.
hvid
, Goth.
hweits
, Lith.
szveisti
, to make bright, Russ.
sviet’
light, Skr.
çvēta
white,
çvit
to be bright. √42. Cf.
Wheat
,
Whitsunday
.]
1.
Reflecting to the eye all the rays of the spectrum combined; not tinted with any of the proper colors or their mixtures; having the color of pure snow; snowy; – the opposite of
black
or
dark
;
as,
white
paper; a
white
skin
.
“Pearls white.”
Chaucer.
White as the
whitest
lily on a stream.
Longfellow.
2.
Destitute of color, as in the cheeks, or of the tinge of blood color; pale; pallid;
as,
white
with fear
.
Or whispering with
white
lips, “The foe!
They come! they come!”
Byron.
3.
Having the color of purity; free from spot or blemish, or from guilt or pollution; innocent; pure.
White
as thy fame, and as thy honor clear.
Dryden.
No
whiter
page than Addison's remains.
Pope.
4.
Gray, as from age; having silvery hair; hoary.
Your high engendered battles 'gainst a head
So old and
white
as this.
Shakespeare
5.
Characterized by freedom from that which disturbs, and the like; fortunate; happy; favorable.
On the whole, however, the dominie reckoned this as one of the
white
days of his life.
Sir W. Scott.
6.
Regarded with especial favor; favorite; darling.
Come forth, my
white
spouse.
Chaucer.
I am his
white
boy, and will not be gullet.
Ford.
White is used in many self-explaining compounds, as white-backed, white-bearded, white-footed.
White alder
.
(Bot.)
See
Sweet pepper bush
, under
Pepper
.
White ant
(Zool.)
,
any one of numerous species of social pseudoneuropterous insects of the genus
Termes
. These insects are very abundant in tropical countries, and form large and complex communities consisting of numerous asexual workers of one or more kinds, of large-headed asexual individuals called soldiers, of one or more queens (or fertile females) often having the body enormously distended by the eggs, and, at certain seasons of numerous winged males, together with the larvae and pupae of each kind in various stages of development. Many of the species construct large and complicated nests, sometimes in the form of domelike structures rising several feet above the ground and connected with extensive subterranean galleries and chambers. In their social habits they closely resemble the true ants. They feed upon animal and vegetable substances of various kinds, including timber, and are often very destructive to buildings and furniture.
White arsenic
(Chem.)
,
arsenious oxide,
As2O3
, a substance of a white color, and vitreous adamantine luster, having an astringent, sweetish taste. It is a deadly poison.
White bass
(Zool.)
,
a fresh-water North American bass (
Roccus chrysops
) found in the Great Likes.
White bear
(Zool.)
,
the polar bear. See under
Polar
.
White blood cell
.
(Physiol.)
See
Leucocyte
.
White brand
(Zool.)
,
the snow goose.
White brass
,
a white alloy of copper; white copper.
White campion
.
(Bot.)
(a)
A kind of catchfly (
Silene stellata
) with white flowers.
(b)
A white-flowered Lychnis (
Lychnis vespertina
).
White canon
(R. C. Ch.)
,
a Premonstratensian.
White caps
,
the members of a secret organization in various of the United States, who attempt to drive away or reform obnoxious persons by lynch-law methods. They appear masked in white. Their actions resembled those of the Ku Klux Klan in some ways but they were not formally affiliated with the Klan, and their victims were often not black.
White cedar
(Bot.)
,
an evergreen tree of
North America
(
Thuja occidentalis
), also the related
Cupressus thyoides
, or
Chamaecyparis sphaeroidea
, a slender evergreen conifer which grows in the so-called cedar swamps of the
Northern and Atlantic States
. Both are much valued for their durable timber. In
California
the name is given to the
Libocedrus decurrens
, the timber of which is also useful, though often subject to dry rot.
Goodale.
The white cedar of Demerara, Guiana, etc., is a lofty tree (
Icica altissima
syn.
Bursera altissima
) whose fragrant wood is used for canoes and cabinetwork, as it is not attacked by insect.
White cell
.
(Physiol.)
See
Leucocyte
.
White cell-blood
(Med.)
,
leucocythaemia.
White clover
(Bot.)
,
a species of small perennial clover bearing white flowers. It furnishes excellent food for cattle and horses, as well as for the honeybee. See also under
Clover
.
White copper
,
a whitish alloy of copper. See
German silver
, under
German
.
White copperas
(Min.)
,
a native hydrous sulphate of iron; coquimbite.
White coral
(Zool.)
,
an ornamental branched coral (
Amphihelia oculata
) native of the Mediterranean.
White corpuscle
.
(Physiol.)
See
Leucocyte
.
White cricket
(Zool.)
,
the tree cricket.
White crop
,
a crop of grain which loses its green color, or becomes white, in ripening, as wheat, rye, barley, and oats, as distinguished from a green crop, or a root crop.
White currant
(Bot.)
,
a variety of the common red currant, having white berries.
White daisy
(Bot.)
,
the oxeye daisy. See under
Daisy
.
White damp
,
a kind of poisonous gas encountered in coal mines.
Raymond.
White elephant
(Zool.)
,
(a)
a whitish, or albino, variety of the Asiatic elephant.
(b)
see
white elephant
in the vocabulary.
White elm
(Bot.)
,
a majestic tree of North America (
Ulmus Americana
), the timber of which is much used for hubs of wheels, and for other purposes.
White ensign
.
See
Saint George's ensign
, under
Saint
.
White feather
,
a mark or symbol of cowardice. See
To show the white feather
, under
Feather
,
Noun.
White fir
(Bot.)
,
a name given to several coniferous trees of the Pacific States, as
Abies grandis
, and
Abies concolor
.
White flesher
(Zool.)
,
the ruffed grouse. See under
Ruffed
.
[Canada]
White frost
.
See
Hoarfrost
.
White game
(Zool.)
,
the white ptarmigan.
White garnet
(Min.)
,
leucite.
White grass
(Bot.)
,
an American grass (
Leersia Virginica
) with greenish-white paleae.
White grouse
.
(Zool.)
(a)
The white ptarmigan.
(b)
The prairie chicken.
[Local, U. S.]
White grub
(Zool.)
,
the larva of the June bug and other allied species. These grubs eat the roots of grasses and other plants, and often do much damage.
White hake
(Zool.)
,
the squirrel hake. See under
Squirrel
.
White hawk
, or
White kite
(Zool.)
,
the hen harrier.
White heat
,
the temperature at which bodies become incandescent, and appear white from the bright light which they emit.
White hellebore
(Bot.)
,
a plant of the genus
Veratrum
(
Veratrum album
) See
Hellebore
, 2.
White herring
,
a fresh, or unsmoked, herring, as distinguished from a red, or cured, herring.
[R.]
Shak.
White hoolet
(Zool.)
,
the barn owl.
[Prov. Eng.]
White horses
(Naut.)
,
white-topped waves; whitecaps.
The White House
.
See under
House
.
White ibis
(Zool.)
,
an American ibis (
Guara alba
) having the plumage pure white, except the tips of the wings, which are black. It inhabits tropical America and the Southern United States. Called also
Spanish curlew
.
White iron
.
(a)
Thin sheets of iron coated with tin; tinned iron.
(b)
A hard, silvery-white cast iron containing a large proportion of combined carbon.
White iron pyrites
(Min.)
,
marcasite.
White land
,
a tough clayey soil, of a whitish hue when dry, but blackish after rain.
[Eng.]
White lark
(Zool.)
,
the snow bunting.
White lead
.
(a)
A carbonate of lead much used in painting, and for other purposes; ceruse.
(b)
(Min.)
Native lead carbonate; cerusite.
White leather
,
buff leather; leather tanned with alum and salt.
White leg
(Med.)
,
milk leg. See under
Milk
.
White lettuce
(Bot.)
,
rattlesnake root. See under
Rattlesnake
.
White lie
.
See under
Lie
.
White light
.
(a)
(Physics)
Light having the different colors in the same proportion as in the light coming directly from the sun, without having been decomposed, as by passing through a prism. See the Note under
Color
,
Noun.
, 1.
(b)
A kind of firework which gives a brilliant white illumination for signals, etc.
White lime
,
a solution or preparation of lime for whitewashing; whitewash.
White line
(Print.)
,
a void space of the breadth of a line, on a printed page; a blank line.
White meat
.
(a)
Any light-colored flesh, especially of poultry.
(b)
Food made from milk or eggs, as butter, cheese, etc.

Driving their cattle continually with them, and feeding only upon their milk and
white meats
.
Spenser.
White merganser
(Zool.)
,
the smew.
White metal
.
(a)
Any one of several white alloys, as pewter, britannia, etc.
(b)
(Metal.)
A fine grade of copper sulphide obtained at a certain stage in copper smelting.
White miller
.
(Zool.)
(a)
The common clothes moth.
(b)
A common American bombycid moth (
Spilosoma Virginica
) which is pure white with a few small black spots; – called also
ermine moth
, and
virgin moth
. See
Woolly bear
, under
Woolly
.
White money
,
silver money.
White mouse
(Zool.)
,
the albino variety of the common mouse.
White mullet
(Zool.)
, a silvery mullet (
Mugil curema
) ranging from the coast of the United States to Brazil; – called also
blue-back mullet
, and
liza
. –
White nun
(Zool.)
,
the smew; – so called from the white crest and the band of black feathers on the back of its head, which give the appearance of a hood.
White oak
.
(Bot.)
See under
Oak
.
White owl
.
(Zool.)
(a)
The snowy owl.
(b)
The barn owl.
White partridge
(Zool.)
,
the white ptarmigan.
White perch
.
(Zool.)
(a)
A North American fresh-water bass (
Morone Americana
) valued as a food fish.
(b)
The croaker, or fresh-water drum.
(c)
Any California surf fish.
White pine
.
(Bot.)
See the Note under
Pine
.
White poplar
(Bot.)
,
a European tree (
Populus alba
) often cultivated as a shade tree in America; abele.
White poppy
(Bot.)
,
the opium-yielding poppy. See
Poppy
.
White powder
,
a kind of gunpowder formerly believed to exist, and to have the power of exploding without noise.
[Obs.]
A pistol charged with
white powder
.
Beau. & Fl.
White precipitate
.
(Old Chem.)
See under
Precipitate
. –
White rabbit
.
(Zool.)
(a)
The American northern hare in its winter pelage.
(b)
An albino rabbit.
White rent
,
(a)
(Eng. Law)
Formerly, rent payable in silver; – opposed to black rent. See
Blackmail
,
Noun.
, 3.
(b)
A rent, or duty, of eight pence, payable yearly by every tinner in Devon and Cornwall to the Duke of Cornwall, as lord of the soil.
[Prov. Eng.]
White rhinoceros
.
(Zool.)
(a)
The one-horned, or Indian, rhinoceros (
Rhinoceros Indicus
). See
Rhinoceros
.
(b)
The umhofo.
White ribbon
,
the distinctive badge of certain organizations for the promotion of temperance or of moral purity;
as, the
White-ribbon
Army
.
White rope
(Naut.)
,
untarred hemp rope.
White rot
.
(Bot.)
(a)
Either of several plants, as marsh pennywort and butterwort, which were thought to produce the disease called rot in sheep.
(b)
A disease of grapes. See
White rot
, under
Rot
.
White sage
(Bot.)
,
a white, woolly undershrub (
Eurotia lanata
) of Western North America; – called also
winter fat
.
White salmon
(Zool.)
,
the silver salmon.
White salt
,
salt dried and calcined; decrepitated salt.
White scale
(Zool.)
,
a scale insect (
Aspidiotus Nerii
) injurious to the orange tree. See
Orange scale
, under
Orange
.
White shark
(Zool.)
,
a species of man-eating shark.
See under
Shark
. –
White softening
.
(Med.)
See
Softening of the brain
, under
Softening
.
White spruce
.
(Bot.)
See
Spruce
,
Noun.
, 1.
White squall
(Naut.)
,
a sudden gust of wind, or furious blow, which comes up without being marked in its approach otherwise than by whitecaps, or white, broken water, on the surface of the sea.
White staff
,
the badge of the lord high treasurer of England.
Macaulay.
White stork
(Zool.)
,
the common European stork.
White sturgeon
.
(Zool.)
See
Shovelnose
(d)
.
White sucker
.
(Zool.)
(a)
The common sucker.
(b)
The common red horse (
Moxostoma macrolepidotum
).
White swelling
(Med.)
,
a chronic swelling of the knee, produced by a strumous inflammation of the synovial membranes of the kneejoint and of the cancellar texture of the end of the bone forming the kneejoint; – applied also to a lingering chronic swelling of almost any kind.
White tombac
.
See
Tombac
.
White trout
(Zool.)
,
the white weakfish, or silver squeteague (
Cynoscion nothus
), of the Southern United States.
White vitriol
(Chem.)
,
hydrous sulphate of zinc. See
White vitriol
, under
Vitriol
.
White wagtail
(Zool.)
,
the common, or pied, wagtail.
White wax
,
beeswax rendered white by bleaching.
White whale
(Zool.)
,
the beluga.
White widgeon
(Zool.)
,
the smew.
White wine
.
any wine of a clear, transparent color, bordering on white, as Madeira, sherry, Lisbon, etc.; – distinguished from wines of a deep red color, as port and Burgundy.
White wine of Lepe.”
Chaucer.
White witch
,
a witch or wizard whose supernatural powers are supposed to be exercised for good and beneficent purposes.
Addison.
Cotton Mather.
White wolf
.
(Zool.)
(a)
A light-colored wolf (
Canis laniger
) native of Thibet; – called also
chanco
,
golden wolf
, and
Thibetan wolf
.
(b)
The albino variety of the gray wolf.
White wren
(Zool.)
,
the willow warbler; – so called from the color of the under parts.

White

,
Noun.
1.
The color of pure snow; one of the natural colors of bodies, yet not strictly a color, but a composition of all colors; the opposite of black; whiteness. See the Note under
Color
,
Noun.
, 1.
Finely attired in a of
white
.
Shakespeare
2.
Something having the color of snow; something white, or nearly so;
as, the
white
of the eye
.
3.
Specifically, the central part of the butt in archery, which was formerly painted white; the center of a mark at which a missile is shot.
'T was I won the wager, though you hit the
white
.
Shakespeare
4.
A person with a white skin; a member of the white, or Caucasian, races of men.
5.
A white pigment;
as, Venice
white
.
6.
(Zool.)
Any one of numerous species of butterflies belonging to
Pieris
, and allied genera in which the color is usually white. See
Cabbage butterfly
, under
Cabbage
.
Black and white
.
See under
Black
.
Flake white
,
Paris white
, etc.
See under
Flack
,
Paris
, etc.
White of a seed
(Bot.)
,
the albumen. See
Albumen
, 2.
White of egg
,
the viscous pellucid fluid which surrounds the yolk in an egg, particularly in the egg of a fowl. In a hen's egg it is alkaline, and contains about 86 per cent of water and 14 per cent of solid matter, the greater portion of which is egg albumin. It likewise contains a small amount of globulin, and traces of fats and sugar, with some inorganic matter. Heated above 60° C. it coagulates to a solid mass, owing to the albumin which it contains.
Parr.
White of the eye
(Anat.)
,
the white part of the ball of the eye surrounding the transparent cornea.

White

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Whited
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Whiting
.]
[AS.
hwītan
.]
To make white; to whiten; to whitewash; to bleach.
Whited
sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of . . . uncleanness.
Matt. xxiii. 27.
So as no fuller on earth can
white
them.
Mark. ix. 3.

Webster 1828 Edition


White

WHITE

,
Adj.
[G.]
1.
Being in the color of pure snow; snowy; not dark; as white paper; a white skin.
2.
Pale; destitute of color in the cheeks, or of the tinge of blood color; as white with fear.
3.
Having the color of purity; pure; clean; free from spot; as white robed innocence.
4.
Gray; as white hair; a venerable man, white with age.
5.
Pure; unblemished.
No whiter page than Addisons remains.
6.
In a scriptural sense, purified from sin; sanctified. Psalm 51.

Definition 2024


White

White

See also: white

English

Proper noun

White

  1. A common surname.

Derived terms

Adjective

White (not comparable)

  1. Alternative letter-case form of white (of or relating to Europeans or Caucasians)

Anagrams

white

white

See also: White

English

Six chess pieces, four white and two black.
A mountain covered in white snow.
A Pieris butterfly.
A glass of white wine.
An egg yolk surrounded by the egg white.
A white woman.
A white man.

Alternative forms

  • whight, whyte, whyght (obsolete)

Adjective

white (comparative whiter, superlative whitest)

  1. Bright and colourless; reflecting equal quantities of all frequencies of visible light.
    Write in black ink on white paper.
    • Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)
      white as the whitest lily on a stream.
    • 1962 (quoting 1381 text), Hans Kurath & Sherman M. Kuhn, eds., Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan Press, ISBN 978-0-472-01044-8, page 1242:
      dorrẹ̅, dōrī adj. & n. [] cook. glazed with a yellow substance; pome(s ~, sopes ~. [] 1381 Pegge Cook. Recipes page 114: For to make Soupys dorry. Nym onyons [] Nym wyn [] toste wyte bred and do yt in dischis, and god Almande mylk.
  2. (sometimes capitalized) Of or relating to Caucasians, people of European descent with light-coloured skin.
    • 1949, Wendell P. Alston, “The Green Book”, in The Negro Motorist Green Book, 1949 edition, New York: Victor H. Green, page 3:
      [] more white corporations cognizant of the mounting purchasing power of the Negro consumer, have Negro representatives in the field [].
  3. (chiefly historical) Designated for use by Caucasians.
    white drinking fountain; white hospital
  4. Relatively light or pale in colour.
    white wine; white grapes
  5. Pale or pallid, as from fear, illness, etc.
    • Lord Byron (1788-1824)
      Or whispering with white lips, "The foe! / They come! they come!"
  6. (of a person or skin) Lacking coloration (tan) from ultraviolet light; not tanned.
  7. (of coffee or tea) Containing cream, milk, or creamer.
  8. (board games, chess) The standard denomination of the playing pieces of a board game deemed to belong to the white set, no matter what the actual colour.
    The white pieces in this set are in fact made of light green glass.
  9. Pertaining to an ecclesiastical order whose adherents dress in white habits; Cistercian.
    • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, chapter ix, in Le Morte Darthur, book XIII:
      NOw rydeth Galahalt yet withouten shelde / and so rode four dayes without ony aduenture / And at the fourth day after euensonge / he came to a whyte Abbay / and there was he receyued with grete reuerence / and ledde vnto a chambre / and there was he vnarmed / And thenne was he ware of knyghtes of the table round
  10. Honourable, fair; decent.
    • John Dryden (1631-1700)
      White as thy fame, and as thy honour clear.
    • Alexander Pope (1688-1744)
      No whiter page than Addison's remains.
    • 1901, Hamlin Garland, Her Mountain Lover, page 51:
      “I’ll put you down at my club; and then, the governor will want to see you in the country.” / Jim had no idea of what was involved in being put down at a club, but he consented. “That ’s mighty white of you, old man, but I don’t know where I shall make down.”
    • G. K. Chesterton
      I trust Lionel. He got me out; he'll see I don't get in again. You must known Lionel. He's a white man all through, and the prison that can hold him has got to be made.
    • 1953, Raymond Chandler, The Long Goodbye, Penguin, 2010, p.12:
      ‘We've only met twice and you've been more than white to me both times.’
    • 1976, United Church of Christ, A.D., number 1, page 34:
      Even decency has been regarded as a white or Christian attribute, as is evidenced by the expression "that's very white of you"
  11. Grey, as from old age; having silvery hair; hoary.
    • William Shakespeare (c.1564–1616)
      Your high engendered battles 'gainst a head / So old and white as this.
  12. (archaic) Characterized by freedom from that which disturbs, and the like; fortunate; happy; favourable.
    • Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832)
      On the whole, however, the dominie reckoned this as one of the white days of his life.
  13. (obsolete) Regarded with especial favour; favourite; darling.
    • Geoffrey Chaucer (c.1343-1400)
      Come forth, my white spouse.
    • John Ford (1586-c.1639)
      I am his white boy, and will not be gulled.
  14. (politics) Pertaining to constitutional or anti-revolutionary political parties or movements.
    • 1932, Duff Cooper, Talleyrand, Folio Society, 2010, p.163:
      Aimée de Coigny had always adopted with enthusiasm the political views of her ruling lover and she had thus already held nearly every shade of opinion from red republicanism to white reaction.
  15. (of tea) Made from immature leaves and shoots.
    • 2012, Mary Lou Heiss & Robert J. Heiss, The Tea Enthusiast's Handbook, ISBN 1607743787:
      Most often consisting of a budset pluck, a frost tea has the clarity and freshness of a white tea, with the richness and lingering finish of a finely crafted black tea.
  16. (typography) Not containing characters; see white space.
  17. (typography) Said of a symbol or character outline, not solid, not filled with color. Compare black (said of a character or symbol filled with color).
    Compare two Unicode symbols: = "WHITE RIGHT POINTING INDEX"; = BLACK RIGHT POINTING INDEX

Antonyms

Synonyms

Translations

Noun

white (countable and uncountable, plural whites)

  1. The color/colour of snow or milk; the colour of light containing equal amounts of all visible wavelengths.
  2. A person of European descent with light-coloured skin.
  3. The albumen of bird eggs (egg white).
  4. (anatomy) The sclera, white of the eye.
  5. Any butterfly of the Pieris genus.
  6. (sports, billiards, snooker, pool) The cue ball in cue games.
  7. (countable and uncountable) White wine.
  8. (slang) Cocaine
  9. (archery) The central part of the butt, which was formerly painted white; the centre of a mark at which a missile is shot.
    • Shakespeare
      'Twas I won the wager, though you hit the white.
  10. The snow- or ice-covered "green" in snow golf.
  11. A white pigment.
    Venice white

Translations

Derived terms

See also

Colors in English · colors, colours (layout · text)
     red      green      yellow      cream      white
     crimson      magenta      teal      lime      pink
     indigo      blue      orange      gray, grey      violet
     black      purple      brown      azure, sky blue      cyan

Verb

white (third-person singular simple present whites, present participle whiting, simple past and past participle whited)

  1. To make white; to whiten; to bleach.
    • Bible, Matthew xxiii. 27
      whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of [] uncleanness
    • Bible, Mark ix. 3
      so as no fuller on earth can white them

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: form · hundred · believe · #281: white · means · thus · order

Anagrams