water

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. A clear, colorless, odorless, and tasteless liquid, H₂O, essential for most plant and animal life and the most widely used of all solvents. Freezing point 0°C (32°F); boiling point 100°C (212°F); specific gravity (4°C) 1.0000; weight per gallon (15°C) 8.338 pounds (3.782 kilograms).
2. n. Any of various forms of water: waste water.
3. n. Naturally occurring mineral water, as at a spa. Often used in the plural.
4. n. A body of water such as a sea, lake, river, or stream.
5. n. A particular stretch of sea or ocean, especially that of a state or country: escorted out of British waters.
6. n. A supply of water: had to turn off the water while repairing the broken drain.
7. n. A water supply system.
8. n. Any of the fluids normally secreted from the body, such as urine, perspiration, tears, or saliva.
9. n. A fluid present in a body part in abnormal quantities as a result of injury or disease: water on the knee.
10. n. The fluid surrounding a fetus in the uterus; amniotic fluid.
11. n. An aqueous solution of a substance, especially a gas: ammonia water.
12. n. A wavy finish or sheen, as of a fabric or metal.
13. n. The valuation of the assets of a business firm beyond their real value.
14. n. Stock issued in excess of paid-in capital.
15. n. The transparency and luster of a gem.
16. n. A level of excellence.
17. v. To pour or sprinkle water on; make wet: watered the garden.
18. v. To give drinking water to.
19. v. To lead (an animal) to drinking water.
20. v. To dilute or weaken by adding water: a bar serving whiskey that had been watered.
21. v. To give a sheen to the surface of (silk, linen, or metal).
22. v. To increase (the number of shares of stock) without increasing the value of the assets represented.
23. v. To irrigate (land).
24. v. To produce or discharge fluid, as from the eyes.
25. v. To salivate in anticipation of food: The wonderful aroma from the kitchen makes my mouth water.
26. v. To take on a supply of water, as a ship.
27. v. To drink water, as an animal.
28. water down To reduce the strength or effectiveness of: "It seemed clear by late autumn that the ban would be significantly watered down or removed altogether before the trade bill became law” ( George R. Packard).
29. idiom. above water Out of difficulty or trouble.
30. idiom. water under the bridge A past occurrence, especially something unfortunate, that cannot be undone or rectified: All that is now just water under the bridge.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A wavy or marbled effect produced on a textile fabric, as grosgrain silk, by pressure and moisture. See watered.
2. n. A sheen or surface given to metal, by heat and pressure, resembling the ripples or the play of light on water.
3. n. See dead-water.
4. n. Standing water, as contrasted with running or circulating water.
5. n. A transparent, inodorous, tasteless fluid, H₂O. Water is a powerful refractor of light and an imperfect conductor of heat and electricity; it is very slightly compressible, its absolute diminution for a pressure of one atmosphere being only about one twenty-thousandth of its bulk. Although it is colorless in small quantities, it is blue like the atmosphere when viewed in mass. It assumes a solid form, that of ice or snow, at 32° F. (0°C); and it takes the form of vapor or steam at 212°F. (100° C.), under a pressure of 29.9 inches (more exactly, 760 millimeters) of mercury, retaining that form at all higher temperatures. Under ordinary conditions, therefore, water possesses the liquid form only at temperatures lying between 32° and 212°F. The specific gravity of water is 1 at 39°.2 F. (4° C), being the unit to which the specific gravities of all solids and liquids are referred: one cubic foot of water at 62° F. weighs about 1,000 ounces or 62.5 pounds. Water is 770 times heavier than atmospheric air at 32° F. (0° C.) and under a pressure of 760 millimeters. It has its greatest density at 39°.2 F. (4° C), and in this respect it presents a singular exception to the general law of expansion by heat. If water at 39°.2 F. is cooled, it expands as it cools till reduced to 32°, when it solidifies; and if water at 39°.2 F. is heated, it expands as the temperature increases in accordance with the general law. Considered from a chemical point of view, water is a compound substance, consisting of hydrogen and oxygen, in the proportion of 2 volumes of the former gas to 1 volume of the latter; or by weight it is composed of 2 parts of hydrogen united with 16 parts of oxygen. It exhibits in itself neither acid nor basic properties. Water enters, as a liquid, into a peculiar kind of combination with the greater number of all known substances. Of all liquids water is the most powerful and general solvent, and on this important property its use depends. Without water the processes of animal and vegetable life would come to a stand. The globe is covered on about of its surface by the ocean water, to an average depth of very nearly 12,500 feet. (See ocean.) This water is, however, far from pure, since it holds in solution nearly 3½ per cent, of its weight of saline matter, about three fourths of which is common salt. The ocean water is not potable, but pure water can be obtained from it by distillation, as is often done at sea—for which purpose, however, fuel and a somewhat cumbrous apparatus are required. Some towns on the South American coast have been supplied with water exclusively in this way, up to the time when works were completed” for bringing it from the distant mountains. The chief source of supply for the water which falls upon the earth is the ocean, from whose surface it is raised by the heat of the sun in the form of vapor, ready to be condensed again and fall as rain or snow either on sea or land, in accordance with varying and complicated conditions of climate and topography. The precipitation of rain and snow upon different parts of the earth's surface varies greatly, both in its total amount and in its seasonal distribution. Some regions receive as much as 600 inches in a year; over other extensive areas the rainfall is so small that it is hardly possible to measure it. In some districts the rain is pretty equally distributed through the year; in others it is all, or nearly all, limited to one season, as winter or summer. These climatic conditions are matters of the utmost importance, as regards both the distribution and the welfare of the human race and of animal and vegetable life in general. The habitability and fertility of the earth depend in part on temperature and in part on the amount and character of the precipitation. In general, where there is no rainfall the region is either very sparsely or not at all inhabited, and vegetation is almost entirely wanting: of this character is a considerable part of northern Africa and central Asia: such regions are called deserts. Other regions, where there is some rainfall, but where the amount is small, are destitute of forests but support a move or less abundant growth of grasses. Such regions are, as a rule, thinly inhabited, and the population is pastoral and nomadic; of this character are large areas in central Asia, and in both North and South America. Regions of abundant or even of moderately large precipitation are generally forested, and can be successfully cultivated after the forests have been cut down: these, in general, are the densely inhabited parts of the world. Such are the essential facts and Conditions of the distribution of population as connected with rainfall. But to these are many exceptions. Thus, the Nile flows for 2,000 miles through a rainless region, but has a somewhat dense population for a considerable distance along its banks, though only there, the river itself being the sole source of water-supply for the inhabitants of the valley. Some regions of very small rainfall are situated sufficiently near high mountain-ranges on which the precipitation is comparatively large, and from which water can be obtained in considerable quantity with a moderate expenditure of money. In this connection the fact that the precipitation at high altitudes is chiefly in the form of snow is a matter of great importance, as thereby the supply of water is made capable of lasting through, or nearly through, the summer, the snow melting gradually, while the precipitation in the form of rain would be carried away much more rapidly. Rain, if caught at a distance from human habitations and after it has been falling for Some time, contains hardly a perceptible trace of foreign matter. Snow falling in the polar regions is also very nearly chemically pure. By distillation, with suitable precautions, water may be obtained which will leave no trace of residue when evaporated in a platinum vessel, and which will also be free from gaseous contents. The water of springs and rivers always-contains more or less mineral matter, which it has dissolved out from the soil and rock with which it has been in contact upon the surface or underground. Next to rain-water, the purest natural water is that of mountain-lakes fed from melting snow, and resting on crystalline and impermeable rocks; and rivers in uninhabited regions, running over similar rocks, are also very nearly pure, sometimes leaving not more than two or three grains to the gallon of foreign matter when evaporated to dryness. Rivers, on the other hand, which run over calcareous and soft shaly and clayey rocks always contain a considerable amount of impurities; from fifteen to twenty grains to the gallon is not an uncommon amount under such conditions. Pure water, such as that of mountain-lakes and rivers running over crystalline rocks, is called soft; water containing more than eight or ten grains to the gallon of mineral matter is called hard. The foreign matter in soft water is partly organic and partly mineral; in the latter a little silica is always present, as well as salts of potash, soda, lime, and magnesia. The impurities of hard water are varied in character, but carbonate of lime generally predominates. The mineral impurities of water are not. necessarily deleterious to health, even if present in somewhat large quantities. The contamination of water by organic matter (such as sewage, and the like) is a matter of great importance and often of great danger. Dead organic matter is rapidly oxidized by exposure to the air in flowing water, and ceases to be dangerous to health. The living organisms with which water is sometimes contaminated, in receiving the sewage of towns or in other ways, are sometimes the germs of deadly disease, and appear to possess a large amount of vitality, so that they can be conveyed for long distances without becoming disorganized, as is the case with dead organic matter. See water-supply.
6. n. Specifically— Rain.
7. n. Mineral water. See mineral.
8. n. plural Waves, as of the sea; surges; a flood.
9. n. A limited body of water, as an ocean, a sea, or a lake; often, in provincial English and Scotch use, a river or lake: as, Derwent Water (lake); Gala Water (stream). In law the right or title to a body of water is regarded as an incident to the right to the land which it covers, and the term land includes a body of water thereon.
10. n. Any aqueous or liquid secretion, exudation, humor, etc., of an animal body. Tears.
11. n. Sweat; perspiration.
12. n. Saliva; spittle.
13. n. Urine.
14. n. The aqueous or vitreous humor of the eye; eye-water.
15. n. The serous effusion of dropsy, in a blister, and the like: as, water on the brain.
16. n. plural In obstetrics, the liquor amnii.
17. n. A distilled liquor, essence, extract, or the like. See strong water, under strong.
18. n. In pharmacy, a solution of a volatile oil, or of a volatile substance like ammonia or camphor, in water.
19. n. Transparency, as of water: the property of a precious stone in which it s beauty chiefly consists, involving also its refracting power. In this sense the word is applied especially to diamonds, and is used loosely to express their relative excellence: as, a diamond of the first water: hence used figuratively to note the degree of excellence or fineness of any object of esteem: as, genius of the purest water. See the phrase first water, below.
20. n. The waterside; the shore of a sea, lake, stream, or the like, considered with or a part from its inhabitants; specifically, a watering-place; a seaside resort.
21. n. In finance, additional shares created by watering stock. See water, transitive verb, 4.
22. n. Glycerin.
23. n. To float to the surface, as any sunken object.
24. n. See cast.
25. n. Hence— To weaken in a contest; back out or back down.
26. n. A water of somewhat similar composition from the Vichy Spring in Saratoga. See Saratoga waters.
27. n. Whisky, brandy, or other alcoholic liquor: a translation of the Irish and Gaelic name of whisky, and of the French name of brandy (eau-de-vie). Compare aquavitæ.
28. n. The foaming water in rap ids or swiftly flowing shallows.
29. n. Foam churned up by a whale.
30. To put water into or upon; moisten, dilute, sprinkle, or soak with water; specifically, to irrigate.
31. To supply with water for drinking; feed with water: said of animals.
32. To produce by moistening and pressure upon (silk, or other fabric) a sort of pattern on which there is a changeable play of light. See watered silk, under watered.
33. To increase (the nominal capital of a corporation) by the issue of new shares without a corresponding increase of actual capital. Justification for such a transaction is usually sought by claiming that the property and franchises have increased in value, so that an increase of stock is necessary in order fairly to represent existing capital.
34. To give out, emit, discharge, or secrete water.
35. To gather saliva as a symptom of appetite: said of the mouth or teeth, and in figurative use noting vehement desire or craving.
36. To get or take in water: as, the ship put into port to water; specifically, to drink water.

Wiktionary

1. n. uncountable A chemical, found at room temperature and pressure as a clear liquid, having the formula H₂O, required by all forms of life on Earth.
2. n. sometimes countable Mineral water.
3. n. countable, often in plural Spa water.
4. n. alchemy One of the four basic elements.
5. n. India and Japan, Wicca One of the five basic elements (see Wikipedia article on the Classical elements).
6. n. often in plural Any body of water, or a specific part of it.
7. n. Amniotic fluid; used in plural in the UK and in singular in North America.
8. n. figuratively A state of affairs; conditions; usually with an adjective indicating an adverse condition.
9. n. countable A serving of water.
10. n. colloquial, figuratively A person's intuition.
11. n. colloquial, medicine Fluids in the body, especially when causing swelling.
12. n. uncountable, dated, finance Excess valuation of securities.
13. v. transitive To pour water into the soil surrounding (plants).
14. v. transitive To provide (animals) with water.
15. v. transitive, colloquial To urinate.
16. v. transitive To dilute.
17. v. transitive, dated, finance To overvalue (securities), especially through deceptive accounting.
18. v. intransitive To fill with or secrete water.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. The fluid which descends from the clouds in rain, and which forms rivers, lakes, seas, etc.
2. n. A body of water, standing or flowing; a lake, river, or other collection of water.
3. n. Any liquid secretion, humor, or the like, resembling water; esp., the urine.
4. n. (Pharm.) A solution in water of a gaseous or readily volatile substance.
5. n. The limpidity and luster of a precious stone, especially a diamond. Hence, of the first water, that is, of the first excellence.
6. n. 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. n. Brokers' Cant 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.”
8. v. To wet or supply with water; to moisten; to overflow with water; to irrigate
9. v. To supply with water for drink; to cause or allow to drink.
10. v. To wet and calender, as cloth, so as to impart to it a lustrous appearance in wavy lines; to diversify with wavelike lines. Cf. Water, n., 6.
11. v. To add water to (anything), thereby extending the quantity or bulk while reducing the strength or quality; to extend; to dilute; to weaken.
12. v. To shed, secrete, or fill with, water or liquid matter.
13. v. To get or take in water.

WordNet 3.0

1. v. provide with water
2. n. binary compound that occurs at room temperature as a clear colorless odorless tasteless liquid; freezes into ice below 0 degrees centigrade and boils above 100 degrees centigrade; widely used as a solvent
3. n. the part of the earth's surface covered with water (such as a river or lake or ocean)
4. v. secrete or form water, as tears or saliva
5. n. liquid excretory product
6. n. a facility that provides a source of water
7. n. once thought to be one of four elements composing the universe (Empedocles)
8. v. fill with tears
9. n. a liquid necessary for the life of most animals and plants
10. v. supply with water, as with channels or ditches or streams