Wall

13 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Wall \Wall\, n. (Naut.)
     A kind of knot often used at the end of a rope; a wall knot;
     a wale.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     {Wall knot}, a knot made by unlaying the strands of a rope,


        and making a bight with the first strand, then passing the
        second over the end of the first, and the third over the
        end of the second and through the bight of the first; a
        wale knot. Wall knots may be single or double, crowned or
        double-crowned.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Wall \Wall\, n. [AS. weall, from L. vallum a wall, vallus a
     stake, pale, palisade; akin to Gr. ? a nail. Cf. {Interval}.]
     [1913 Webster]
     1. A work or structure of stone, brick, or other materials,
        raised to some height, and intended for defense or
        security, solid and permanent inclosing fence, as around a
        field, a park, a town, etc., also, one of the upright
        inclosing parts of a building or a room.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The plaster of the wall of the King's palace. --Dan.
                                                    v. 5.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. A defense; a rampart; a means of protection; in the
        plural, fortifications, in general; works for defense.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The waters were a wall unto them on their right
              hand, and on their left.              --Ex. xiv. 22.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              In such a night,
              Troilus, methinks, mounted the Troyan walls. --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              To rush undaunted to defend the walls. --Dryden.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. An inclosing part of a receptacle or vessel; as, the walls
        of a steam-engine cylinder.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. (Mining)
        (a) The side of a level or drift.
        (b) The country rock bounding a vein laterally. --Raymond.
            [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: Wall is often used adjectively, and also in the
           formation of compounds, usually of obvious
           signification; as in wall paper, or wall-paper; wall
           fruit, or wall-fruit; wallflower, etc.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     {Blank wall}, Blind wall, etc. See under {Blank}, {Blind},
        etc.
  
     {To drive to the wall}, to bring to extremities; to push to
        extremes; to get the advantage of, or mastery over.
  
     {To go to the wall}, to be hard pressed or driven; to be the
        weaker party; to be pushed to extremes.
  
     {To take the wall}. to take the inner side of a walk, that
        is, the side next the wall; hence, to take the precedence.
        "I will take the wall of any man or maid of Montague's."
        --Shak.
  
     {Wall barley} (Bot.), a kind of grass ({Hordeum murinum})
        much resembling barley; squirrel grass. See under
        {Squirrel}.
  
     {Wall box}. (Mach.) See {Wall frame}, below.
  
     {Wall creeper} (Zool.), a small bright-colored bird
        ({Tichodroma muraria}) native of Asia and Southern Europe.
        It climbs about over old walls and cliffs in search of
        insects and spiders. Its body is ash-gray above, the wing
        coverts are carmine-red, the primary quills are mostly red
        at the base and black distally, some of them with white
        spots, and the tail is blackish. Called also {spider
        catcher}.
  
     {Wall cress} (Bot.), a name given to several low cruciferous
        herbs, especially to the mouse-ear cress. See under
        {Mouse-ear}.
  
     {Wall frame} (Mach.), a frame set in a wall to receive a
        pillow block or bearing for a shaft passing through the
        wall; -- called also {wall box}.
  
     {Wall fruit}, fruit borne by trees trained against a wall.
  
     {Wall gecko} (Zool.), any one of several species of Old World
        geckos which live in or about buildings and run over the
        vertical surfaces of walls, to which they cling by means
        of suckers on the feet.
  
     {Wall lizard} (Zool.), a common European lizard ({Lacerta
        muralis}) which frequents houses, and lives in the chinks
        and crevices of walls; -- called also {wall newt}.
  
     {Wall louse}, a wood louse.
  
     {Wall moss} (Bot.), any species of moss growing on walls.
  
     {Wall newt} (Zool.), the wall lizard. --Shak.
  
     {Wall paper}, paper for covering the walls of rooms; paper
        hangings.
  
     {Wall pellitory} (Bot.), a European plant ({Parictaria
        officinalis}) growing on old walls, and formerly esteemed
        medicinal.
  
     {Wall pennywort} (Bot.), a plant ({Cotyledon Umbilicus})
        having rounded fleshy leaves. It is found on walls in
        Western Europe.
  
     {Wall pepper} (Bot.), a low mosslike plant ({Sedum acre})
        with small fleshy leaves having a pungent taste and
        bearing yellow flowers. It is common on walls and rocks in
        Europe, and is sometimes seen in America.
  
     {Wall pie} (Bot.), a kind of fern; wall rue.
  
     {Wall piece}, a gun planted on a wall. --H. L. Scott.
  
     {Wall plate} (Arch.), a piece of timber placed horizontally
        upon a wall, and supporting posts, joists, and the like.
        See Illust. of {Roof}.
  
     {Wall rock}, granular limestone used in building walls. [U.
        S.] --Bartlett.
  
     {Wall rue} (Bot.), a species of small fern ({Asplenium
        Ruta-muraria}) growing on walls, rocks, and the like.
  
     {Wall spring}, a spring of water issuing from stratified
        rocks.
  
     {Wall tent}, a tent with upright cloth sides corresponding to
        the walls of a house.
  
     {Wall wasp} (Zool.), a common European solitary wasp
        ({Odynerus parietus}) which makes its nest in the crevices
        of walls.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Wall \Wall\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Walled}; p. pr. & vb. n.
     {Walling}.]
     1. To inclose with a wall, or as with a wall. "Seven walled
        towns of strength." --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The king of Thebes, Amphion,
              That with his singing walled that city. --Chaucer.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. To defend by walls, or as if by walls; to fortify.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The terror of his name that walls us in. --Denham.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. To close or fill with a wall, as a doorway.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  wall
       n 1: an architectural partition with a height and length greater
            than its thickness; used to divide or enclose an area or
            to support another structure; "the south wall had a
            small window"; "the walls were covered with pictures"
       2: an embankment built around a space for defensive purposes;
          "they stormed the ramparts of the city"; "they blew the
          trumpet and the walls came tumbling down" [syn: {rampart},
           {bulwark}]
       3: anything that suggests a wall in structure or function or
          effect; "a wall of water"; "a wall of smoke"; "a wall of
          prejudice"; "negotiations ran into a brick wall"
       4: a masonry fence (as around an estate or garden); "the wall
          followed the road"; "he ducked behind the garden wall and
          waited"
       5: (anatomy) a layer (a lining or membrane) that encloses a
          structure; "stomach walls" [syn: {paries}]
       6: a vertical (or almost vertical) smooth rock face (as of a
          cave or mountain)
       7: a layer of material that encloses space; "the walls of the
          cylinder were perforated"; "the container's walls were
          blue"
       8: a difficult or awkward situation; "his back was to the
          wall"; "competition was pushing them to the wall"
       v : surround with a wall in order to fortify [syn: {palisade}, {fence},
            {fence in}, {surround}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  136 Moby Thesaurus words for "wall":
     arch dam, arm, armor, armor-plate, backstop, balustrade,
     bamboo curtain, bank, bar, barbed wire, barrage, barricade,
     barrier, battle, bear-trap dam, beaver dam, block, blockade, bluff,
     boom, boundary, brattice, breakwater, breastwork, brick wall,
     buffer, buffer state, bulkhead, bulkhead in, bulwark, bumper, cage,
     castellate, cliff, cloison, close in, cofferdam, collision mat,
     contravallation, coop, corral, crag, crenellate, cushion, dam,
     defense, diaphragm, dig in, dike, dissepiment, ditch, divide,
     dividing line, dividing wall, division, earthwork, embankment,
     embattle, entrench, envelop, escarpment, face, fence, fence off,
     fences, fender, fortify, garrison, gate, gravity dam, groin, hedge,
     hedgerow, hem, hoarding, hydraulic-fill dam, immure, interseptum,
     iron curtain, jam, jetty, leaping weir, levee, logjam, man,
     man the garrison, mat, midriff, midsection, milldam, mine, moat,
     mole, mound, pad, pale, paling, palisade, palisades, panel,
     parapet, paries, partition, party wall, picket, portcullis,
     precipice, property line, rail, railing, rampart, retaining wall,
     roadblock, rock-fill dam, scar, scarp, seawall, separate,
     separation, septulum, septum, set apart, shock pad, shutter dam,
     steep, stockade, stone wall, stop, trellis, vallation, vallum,
     wall off, weir, wicket dam, work, zigzag fence
  
  

From Jargon File (4.3.1, 29 Jun 2001) [jargon]:

  wall interj. [WPI] 1. An indication of confusion, usually spoken with a
     quizzical tone: "Wall??" 2. A request for further explication. Compare
     {octal forty}. 3. [Unix, from `write all'] v. To send a message to
     everyone currently logged in, esp. with the wall(8) utility.
  
     It is said that sense 1 came from the idiom `like talking to a blank
     wall'. It was originally used in situations where, after you had
     carefully answered a question, the questioner stared at you blankly,
     clearly having understood nothing that was explained. You would then
     throw out a "Hello, wall?" to elicit some sort of response from the
     questioner. Later, confused questioners began voicing "Wall?"
     themselves.
  
  

From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]:

  wall
       
          {Unix}'s "write all" command which sends a message to everyone
          currently logged in.
       
          [{Jargon File}]
       
       

From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:

  Wall
     Cities were surrounded by walls, as distinguished from "unwalled
     villages" (Ezek. 38:11; Lev. 25:29-34). They were made thick and
     strong (Num. 13:28; Deut. 3:5). Among the Jews walls were built
     of stone, some of those in the temple being of great size (1
     Kings 6:7; 7:9-12; 20:30; Mark 13:1, 2). The term is used
     metaphorically of security and safety (Isa. 26:1; 60:18; Rev.
     21:12-20). (See {FENCE}.)
     

From Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Revised 6th Ed (1856) [bouvier]:

  WALL. A building or erection so well known as to need no definition. In 
  general a man may build a wall on any part of his estate, to any height he 
  may deem proper, and in such form as may best accommodate him; but he must 
  take care not to erect a wall contrary to the local regulations, nor in such 
  a manner as to be injurious to his neighbors. See Dig. 50, 16, 157. Vide 
  Party Wall. 
  
  

From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993) [devils]:

  WALL :STREET:, n.  A symbol for sin for every devil to rebuke.  That
  Wall Street is a den of thieves is a belief that serves every
  unsuccessful thief in place of a hope in Heaven.  Even the great and
  good Andrew Carnegie has made his profession of faith in the matter.
  
      Carnegie the dauntless has uttered his call
      To battle:  "The brokers are parasites all!"
      Carnegie, Carnegie, you'll never prevail;
      Keep the wind of your slogan to belly your sail,
      Go back to your isle of perpetual brume,
      Silence your pibroch, doff tartan and plume:
      Ben Lomond is calling his son from the fray --
      Fly, fly from the region of Wall Street away!
      While still you're possessed of a single baubee
      (I wish it were pledged to endowment of me)
      'Twere wise to retreat from the wars of finance
      Lest its value decline ere your credit advance.
      For a man 'twixt a king of finance and the sea,
      Carnegie, Carnegie, your tongue is too free!
                                                           Anonymus Bink
  
  

From U.S. Gazetteer (1990) [gazetteer]:

  Wall, NJ
    Zip code(s): 07719
  Wall, PA (borough, FIPS 80600)
    Location: 40.39317 N, 79.78509 W
    Population (1990): 853 (368 housing units)
    Area: 1.1 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
    Zip code(s): 15148
  Wall, SD (town, FIPS 68380)
    Location: 43.99157 N, 102.23913 W
    Population (1990): 834 (421 housing units)
    Area: 4.5 sq km (land), 0.1 sq km (water)
    Zip code(s): 57790
  Wall, TX
    Zip code(s): 76957

From U.S. Gazetteer Places (2000) [gaz-place]:

  Wall, PA -- U.S. borough in Pennsylvania
     Population (2000):    727
     Housing Units (2000): 363
     Land area (2000):     0.443021 sq. miles (1.147420 sq. km)
     Water area (2000):    0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km)
     Total area (2000):    0.443021 sq. miles (1.147420 sq. km)
     FIPS code:            80600
     Located within:       Pennsylvania (PA), FIPS 42
     Location:             40.393468 N, 79.787692 W
     ZIP Codes (1990):     15148
     Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
     Headwords:
      Wall, PA
      Wall
  

From U.S. Gazetteer Places (2000) [gaz-place]:

  Wall, SD -- U.S. town in South Dakota
     Population (2000):    818
     Housing Units (2000): 438
     Land area (2000):     2.023618 sq. miles (5.241146 sq. km)
     Water area (2000):    0.040694 sq. miles (0.105398 sq. km)
     Total area (2000):    2.064312 sq. miles (5.346544 sq. km)
     FIPS code:            68380
     Located within:       South Dakota (SD), FIPS 46
     Location:             43.991559 N, 102.240956 W
     ZIP Codes (1990):     57790
     Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
     Headwords:
      Wall, SD
      Wall