n. & v.
--n.
1. a colourless transparent odourless tasteless liquid compound of oxygen and hydrogen.
Usage:
Chem. formula: H2O
2 a liquid consisting chiefly of this and found in seas, lakes, and rivers, in rain, and in secretions of organisms.
3 an expanse of water; a sea, lake, river, etc.
4 (in pl.) part of a sea or river (in Icelandic waters).
5 (often as the waters) mineral water at a spa etc.
6 the state of a tide (high water).
7 a solution of a specified substance in water (lavender-water).
8 the quality of the transparency and brilliance of a gem, esp. a diamond.
9 Finance an amount of nominal capital added by watering (see sense 10 of v.).
10 (attrib.) a found in or near water. b of, for, or worked by water. c involving, using, or yielding water.
--v.
1. tr. sprinkle or soak with water.
2 tr. supply (a plant) with water.
3 tr. give water to (an animal) to drink.
4 intr. (of the mouth or eyes) secrete water as saliva or tears.
5 tr. (as watered adj.) (of silk etc.) having irregular wavy glossy markings.
6 tr. adulterate (milk, beer, etc.) with water.
7 tr. (of a river etc.) supply (a place) with water.
8 intr. (of an animal) go to a pool etc. to drink.
9 intr. (of a ship, engine, etc., or the person in charge of it) take in a supply of water.
10 tr. Finance increase (a company's debt, or nominal capital) by the issue of new shares without a corresponding addition to assets.
Phrases and idioms:
by water using a ship etc. for travel or transport. cast one's bread upon the waters see BREAD. like water lavishly, profusely. like water off a duck's back see DUCK(1). make one's mouth water cause one's saliva to flow, stimulate one's appetite or anticipation. of the first water
1. (of a diamond) of the greatest brilliance and transparency.
2 of the finest quality or extreme degree. on the water on a ship etc. on the water-wagon see WAGON. water-bag a bag of leather, canvas, etc., for holding water.
water bailiff
1. an official enforcing fishing laws.
2 hist. a custom-house officer at a port. water bear TARDIGRADE n. water-bed a mattress of rubber or plastic etc. filled with water. water-biscuit a thin crisp unsweetened biscuit made from flour and water. water blister a blister containing a colourless fluid, not blood or pus. water-boatman any aquatic bug of the family Notonectidae or Corixidae, swimming with oarlike hind legs.
water-borne
1. (of goods etc.) conveyed by or travelling on water.
2 (of a disease) communicated or propagated by contaminated water. water-buck any of various African antelopes of the genus Kobus, frequenting river-banks. water-buffalo the common domestic Indian buffalo, Bubalus arnee. water bus a boat carrying passengers on a regular run on a river, lake, etc. water-butt a barrel used to catch rainwater. water-cannon a device giving a powerful jet of water to disperse a crowd etc. the Water-carrier (or -bearer) the zodiacal sign or constellation Aquarius.
water chestnut
1. an aquatic plant, Trapa natans, bearing an edible seed.
2 a (in full Chinese water chestnut) a sedge, Eleocharis tuberosa, with rushlike leaves arising from a corm. b this corm used as food. water-clock a clock measuring time by the flow of water.
water-closet
1. a lavatory with the means for flushing the pan with water.
2 a room containing this.
water-colour (US -color)
1. artists' paint made of pigment to be diluted with water and not oil.
2 a picture painted with this.
3 the art of painting with water-colours. water-colourist (US -colorist) a painter in water-colours. water-cooled cooled by the circulation of water. water-cooler a tank of cooled drinking-water. water cure HYDROPATHY. water-diviner Brit. a person who dowses (see DOWSE(1)) for water.
water down
1. dilute with water.
2 make less vivid, forceful, or horrifying.
water gauge
1. a glass tube etc. indicating the height of water in a reservoir, boiler, etc.
2 pressure expressed in terms of a head of water. water-glass 1 a solution of sodium or potassium silicate used for preserving eggs, as a vehicle for fresco-painting, and for hardening artificial stone.
2 a tube with a glass bottom enabling objects under water to be observed. water-hammer a knocking noise in a water-pipe when a tap is suddenly turned off. water-heater a device for heating (esp. domestic) water. water hemlock a poisonous plant, Cicuta maculata, found in marshes etc.: also called COWBANE. water-hole a shallow depression in which water collects (esp. in the bed of a river otherwise dry). water hyacinth a tropical river-weed, Eichhornia crassipes. water-ice a confection of flavoured and frozen water and sugar etc.; a sorbet. water jump a place where a horse in a steeplechase etc. must jump over water.
water-level
1. a the surface of the water in a reservoir etc. b the height of this.
2 a level below which the ground is saturated with water.
3 a level using water to determine the horizontal. water lily any aquatic plant of the family Nymphaeaceae, with broad flat floating leaves and large usu. cup-shaped floating flowers.
water-line
1. the line along which the surface of water touches a ship's side (marked on a ship for use in loading).
2 a linear watermark. water main the main pipe in a water-supply system. water-meadow a meadow periodically flooded by a stream. water melon a large smooth green melon, Citrullus lanatus, with red pulp and watery juice. water meter a device for measuring and recording the amount of water supplied to a house etc. water-mill a mill worked by a water-wheel. water-nymph a nymph regarded as inhabiting or presiding over water. water of crystallization water forming an essential part of the structure of some crystals. water of life rhet. spiritual enlightenment. water ouzel DIPPER 1. water-pepper an aquatic herb, Polygonum hydropiper: also called SMARTWEED.
water-pipe
1. a pipe for conveying water.
2 a hookah. water-pistol a toy pistol shooting a jet of water. water plantain any ditch-plant of the genus Alisma, with plantain-like leaves. water polo a game played by swimmers, with a ball like a football. water-power 1 mechanical force derived from the weight or motion of water.
2 a fall in the level of a river, as a source of this force. water purslane a creeping plant, Lythrum portula, growing in damp places. water rail a wading bird, Rallus aquaticus, frequenting marshes etc. water-rat water-vole. water-rate a charge made for the use of the public water-supply. water-repellent not easily penetrated by water. water-scorpion any aquatic bug of the family Nepidae, living submerged and breathing through a bristle-like tubular tail. water-softener an apparatus or substance for softening hard water. water-soluble soluble in water. water-splash part of a road submerged by a stream or pool. water starwort any plant of the genus Callitriche, growing in water. water-supply the provision and storage of water, or the amount of water stored, for the use of a town, house, etc. water-table water-level 2. water torture a form of torture in which the victim is exposed to the incessant dripping of water on the head, or the sound of dripping. water-tower a tower with an elevated tank to give pressure for distributing water. water under the bridge past events accepted as past and irrevocable. water-vole an aquatic vole, esp. Arvicola amphibius. water-weed any of various aquatic plants. water-wheel a wheel driven by water to work machinery, or to raise water. water-wings inflated floats fixed on the arms of a person learning to swim.
Derivatives:
waterer n. waterless adj.
Etymology: OE w{aelig}ter f. Gmc, rel. to WET