WATER

I. noun Usage: often attributive Etymology: Middle English, from Old English wæter; akin to Old High German wazzar ~, Greek hydōr, Latin unda wave Date: before 12th century 1. the liquid that descends from the clouds as rain, forms streams, lakes, and seas, and is a major constituent of all living matter and that when pure is an odorless, tasteless, very slightly compressible liquid oxide of hydrogen H 2 O which appears bluish in thick layers, freezes at 0° C and boils at 100° C, has a maximum density at 4° C and a high specific heat, is feebly ionized to hydrogen and hydroxyl ions, and is a poor conductor of electricity and a good solvent, a natural mineral ~, a particular quantity or body of ~: as, a. the ~ occupying or flowing in a particular bed, lake , pond , a quantity or depth of ~ adequate for some purpose (as navigation), c. plural a band of sea~ abutting on the land of a particular sovereignty and under the control of that sovereignty, the sea of a particular part of the earth, ~ supply , travel or transportation on ~ , the level of ~ at a particular state of the tide ; tide , liquid containing or resembling ~: as, a. a pharmaceutical or cosmetic preparation made with ~, a ~y solution of a gaseous or readily volatile substance, a distilled fluid (as an essence), a ~y fluid (as tears, urine, or sap) formed or circulating in a living body, amniotic fluid , 6. the degree of clarity and luster of a precious stone, degree of excellence , ~color , 8. stock not representing assets of the issuing company and not backed by earning power, fictitious or exaggerated asset entries that give a stock an unrealistic book value, II. verb Date: before 12th century transitive verb to moisten, sprinkle, or soak with ~ , to supply with ~ for drink , to supply ~ to , to treat with or as if with ~, 5. to dilute by the addition of ~, to add to the aggregate par value of (securities) without a corresponding addition to the assets represented by the securities, intransitive verb to form or secrete ~ or ~y matter (as tears or saliva), to get or take ~: as, to take on a supply of ~ , to drink ~