White \White\ (hw[imac]t), a. [Compar. Whiter
  
         (hw[imac]t"[~e]r); superl. Whitest.] [OE. whit, AS.
 
         
         hw[imac]t; akin to OFries. and OS. hw[imac]t, D. wit, G.
  
         weiss, OHG. w[imac]z, hw[imac]z, Icel. hv[imac]tr, Sw.
         hvit,
   Dan. hvid, Goth. hweits, Lith. szveisti, to make
         bright,
   Russ. sviet' light, Skr. [,c]v[=e]ta white,
         [,c]vit to be
   bright. [root]42. Cf. Wheat,
         Whitsunday.]
  
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   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.
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            White as the whitest lily on a stream. --Longfellow.
   
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   2. Destitute of color, as in the
         cheeks, or of the tinge of
      blood color; pale; pallid;
         as, white with fear.
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            Or whispering with white lips, "The foe!
            They come! they come!"                --Byron.
     
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   3. Having the color of purity; free
         from spot or blemish, or
      from guilt or pollution;
         innocent; pure.
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            White as thy fame, and as thy honor clear. --Dryden.
   
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            No whiter page than Addison's remains. --Pope.
     
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   4. Gray, as from age; having silvery
         hair; hoary.
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            Your high engendered battles 'gainst a head
            So old and white as this.             --Shak.
     
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   5. Characterized by freedom from that
         which disturbs, and the
      like; fortunate; happy;
         favorable.
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            On the whole, however, the dominie reckoned this as
            one of the white days of his life.    --Sir W.
                                                  Scott.
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   6. Regarded with especial favor; favorite;
         darling.
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            Come forth, my white spouse.          --Chaucer.
     
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            I am his white boy, and will not be gullet. --Ford.
    
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   Note: White is used in many
         self-explaining compounds, as
         white-backed, white-bearded, white-footed.
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   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, n.

  
         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, n., 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.
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                Driving their cattle continually with them, and
                feeding only upon their milk and white meats.
                                                  --Spenser.
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   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.]
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            A pistol charged with white powder.   --Beau. & Fl.
    
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   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, n., 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, n.,
         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.
     
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