Definitions for: Water


[n] facility that provides a source of water; "the town debated the purification of the water supply"; "first you have to cut off the water"
[n] the part of the earth's surface covered with water (such as a river or lake or ocean); "they invaded our territorial waters"; "they were sitting by the water's edge"
[n] binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; "he asked for a drink of water"
[n] (archaic) once thought to be one of four elements composing the universe (Empedocles)
[n] liquid excretory product; "there was blood in his urine"; "the child had to make water"
[v] secrete or form water, as tears or saliva; "My mouth watered at the prospect of a good dinner"; "His eyes watered"
[v] supply with water, as with channelsor ditches or streams; "Water the fields"
[v] fill with tears; "His eyes were watering"
[v] provide with water; "We watered the buffalo"



Webster (1913) Definition: Wa"ter (w[add]"t[~e]r), n. [AS. w[ae]ter; akin to OS.
watar, OFries. wetir, weter, LG. & D. water, G. wasser, OHG.
wazzar, Icel. vatn, Sw. vatten, Dan. vand, Goth. wat[=o], O.
Slav. & Russ. voda, Gr. 'y`dwr, Skr. udan water, ud to wet,
and perhaps to L. unda wave. [root]137. Cf. Dropsy,
Hydra, Otter, Wet, Whisky.]
1. The fluid which descends from the clouds in rain, and
which forms rivers, lakes, seas, etc. ``We will drink
water.'' --Shak. ``Powers of fire, air, water, and
earth.'' --Milton.

Note: Pure water consists of hydrogen and oxygen, H2O, and
is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, transparent
liquid, which is very slightly compressible. At its
maximum density, 39[deg] Fahr. or 4[deg] C., it is the
standard for specific gravities, one cubic centimeter
weighing one gram. It freezes at 32[deg] Fahr. or
0[deg] C. and boils at 212[deg] Fahr. or 100[deg] C.
(see Ice, Steam). It is the most important natural
solvent, and is frequently impregnated with foreign
matter which is mostly removed by distillation; hence,
rain water is nearly pure. It is an important
ingredient in the tissue of animals and plants, the
human body containing about two thirds its weight of
water.

2. A body of water, standing or flowing; a lake, river, or
other collection of water.

Remembering he had passed over a small water a poor
scholar when first coming to the university, he
kneeled. --Fuller.

3. Any liquid secretion, humor, or the like, resembling
water; esp., the urine.

4. (Pharm.) A solution in water of a gaseous or readily
volatile substance; as, ammonia water. --U. S. Pharm.

5. The limpidity and luster of a precious stone, especially a
diamond; as, a diamond of the first water, that is,
perfectly pure and transparent. Hence, of the first water,
that is, of the first excellence.

6. A wavy, lustrous pattern or decoration such as is imparted
to linen, silk, metals, etc. See Water, v. t., 3,
Damask, v. t., and Damaskeen.

7. An addition to the shares representing the capital of a
stock company so that the aggregate par value of the
shares is increased while their value for investment is
diminished, or ``diluted.'' [Brokers' Cant]

Note: Water is often used adjectively and in the formation of
many self-explaining compounds; as, water drainage;
water gauge, or water-gauge; waterfowl, water-fowl, or
water fowl; water-beaten; water-borne, water-circled,
water-girdled, water-rocked, etc.

Hard water. See under Hard.

Inch of water, a unit of measure of quantity of water,
being the quantity which will flow through an orifice one
inch square, or a circular orifice one inch in diameter,
in a vertical surface, under a stated constant head; also
called miner's inch, and water inch. The shape of the
orifice and the head vary in different localities. In the
Western United States, for hydraulic mining, the standard
aperture is square and the head from 4 to 9 inches above
its center. In Europe, for experimental hydraulics, the
orifice is usually round and the head from 1/2 of an inch
to 1 inch above its top.

Mineral water, waters which are so impregnated with foreign
ingredients, such as gaseous, sulphureous, and saline
substances, as to give them medicinal properties, or a
particular flavor or temperature.

Soft water, water not impregnated with lime or mineral
salts.

To hold water. See under Hold, v. t.

To keep one's head above water, to keep afloat; fig., to
avoid failure or sinking in the struggles of life.
[Colloq.]

To make water.
(a) To pass urine. --Swift.
(b) (Naut.) To admit water; to leak.

Water of crystallization (Chem.), the water combined with
many salts in their crystalline form. This water is
loosely, but, nevertheless, chemically, combined, for it
is held in fixed and definite amount for each substance
containing it. Thus, while pure copper sulphate, CuSO4,
is a white amorphous substance, blue vitriol, the
crystallized form, CuSO4.5H2O, contains five molecules
of water of crystallization.

Water on the brain (Med.), hydrocephalus.

Water on the chest (Med.), hydrothorax.

Note: Other phrases, in which water occurs as the first
element, will be found in alphabetical order in the
Vocabulary.


Wa"ter, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Watered; p. pr. & vb. n.
Watering.] [AS. w[ae]terian, gew[ae]terian.]
1. To wet or supply with water; to moisten; to overflow with
water; to irrigate; as, to water land; to water flowers.

With tears watering the ground. --Milton.

Men whose lives gilded on like rivers that water the
woodlands. --Longfellow.

2. To supply with water for drink; to cause or allow to
drink; as, to water cattle and horses.

3. To wet and calender, as cloth, so as to impart to it a
lustrous appearance in wavy lines; to diversify with
wavelike lines; as, to water silk. Cf. Water, n., 6.

4. To add water to (anything), thereby extending the quantity
or bulk while reducing the strength or quality; to extend;
to dilute; to weaken.

To water stock, to increase the capital stock of a company
by issuing new stock, thus diminishing the value of the
individual shares. Cf. Water, n., 7. [Brokers' Cant]


Wa"ter, v. i.
1. To shed, secrete, or fill with, water or liquid matter;
as, his eyes began to water.

If thine eyes can water for his death. --Shak.

2. To get or take in water; as, the ship put into port to
water.

The mouth waters, a phrase denoting that a person or animal
has a longing desire for something, since the sight of
food often causes one who is hungry to have an increased
flow of saliva.

Synonyms: body of water, H2O, irrigate, pee, piddle, piss, urine, water supply, water system, weewee

See Also: artificial lake, atomic number 1, atomic number 8, base, bath water, bay, bilge, bilge water, binary compound, body of water, body waste, brine, briny, channel, crossing, dewdrop, diamond dust, dishwater, distilled water, drink, drinking water, Earth's surface, element, entity, estuary, excrement, excreta, excretion, excretory product, facility, falls, fill, fill up, flake, ford, fresh water, frost mist, frost snow, furnish, ground water, gulf, H, H2O, hard water, high sea, holy water, hose, hose down, hush, hydrogen, hydrosphere, ice, ice crystal, ice needle, infrastructure, inlet, installation, international waters, lake, limewater, liquid, main, meltwater, mid-water, O, ocean, offing, oxygen, perspiration, physical thing, pool, poudrin, provide, puddle, recess, release, render, reservoir, saltwater, sea, seawater, secrete, seven seas, shallow, shoal, slush, snow mist, snowflake, soft water, sound, spring water, stream, sudor, supply, surface, sweat, syringe, tap water, tear, teardrop, territorial waters, water, water, water ice, water main, water of crystallisation, water of crystallization, water of hydration, watercourse, waterfall, waterway, well water, wet

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