W

3 definitions found

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

  Labial \La"bi*al\, n.
     1. (Phonetics) A letter or character representing an
        articulation or sound formed or uttered chiefly with the
        lips, as {b}, {p}, {w}.
        [1913 Webster]
  


     2. (Mus.) An organ pipe that is furnished with lips; a flue
        pipe.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. (Zool.) One of the scales which border the mouth of a fish
        or reptile.
        [1913 Webster]

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

  W \W\ (d[u^]b"'l [=u]),
     the twenty-third letter of the English alphabet, is usually a
     consonant, but sometimes it is a vowel, forming the second
     element of certain diphthongs, as in few, how. It takes its
     written form and its name from the repetition of a V, this
     being the original form of the Roman capital letter which we
     call U. Etymologically it is most related to v and u. See V,
     and U. Some of the uneducated classes in England, especially
     in London, confuse w and v, substituting the one for the
     other, as weal for veal, and veal for weal; wine for vine,
     and vine for wine, etc. See Guide to Pronunciation,
     [sect][sect] 266-268.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  W
       n 1: a heavy gray-white metallic element; the pure form is used
            mainly in electrical applications; it is found in
            several ores including wolframite and scheelite [syn: {tungsten},
             {wolfram}, {atomic number 74}]
       2: the cardinal compass point that is a 270 degrees [syn: {west},
           {due west}]
       3: a unit of power equal to 1 joule per second; the power
          dissipated by a current of 1 ampere flowing across a
          resistance of 1 ohm [syn: {watt}]
       4: the 23rd letter of the Roman alphabet [syn: {double-u}]