| 释义 |
▪ I. wing, n.|wɪŋ|
Forms: pl. α. 2 wenge; β. 3 wengen, winguene, wynguene, whingen, hwingen, 4 wingen, wyngen, -yn, -on; γ. 3–5 wenges, (3 Orm. -ess), 4 weengus, 4–5 wengis, 4, 6 weyngis, 5 wengys, -ez, weingis, wengges; 4 wyenges, wingges, whinges, 4–6 wyngis, -es, 5 -ys, whyngis, -ys, 5–6 whynges, 5, 6–7 Sc. wingis, 6–7 -es, 6– wings. sing. 4–5 wenge, 5 weng, whenge, weynge, 5–6 Sc. weyng, 6 Sc. weing; 4–6 wynge, 4–7 winge, 5–6 wyng, whyng(e, 6 whing, wynke, 6– wing.
[ME., first in pl. forms wenge, wengen, wenges, a. ON. vængir, acc. vængi, pl. of vængr (Sw., Da. vinge) wing of a bird, aisle, etc.; replacing OE. feþra wings, pl. of feþer, and fiþere (see feather n. 3).]
I.
1. a. Each of the organs of flight of any flying animal, as a bird, bat, or insect.
In birds the wings are specially modified fore-limbs; in bats (and the extinct pterodactyls, etc.), extensions of the skin attached to modified parts of the fore-limbs (see bat n.1 1); in insects, membranous expansions attached to the thorax in addition to the limbs. In a few birds the wings are rudimentary, and either functionless (as in the Apteryx) or used only to assist in swimming or walking (as in Penguins).
Occas. loosely applied to the enlarged fins of flying-fishes and to the appendages of flying squirrels, etc. which serve for movements resembling flight.
bastard wing or false wing (Ornith.) = winglet 2 b.
c1175Lamb. Hom. 81 A vuhel com flon from houene into orðe; her he uette feþer-home and wenge. c1205Lay. 29263 Þat alle heore [sc. sparrows'] whingen noht awemmed neoren. a1225Ancr. R. 130 Ase brid hwon hit wule vleon stureð his hwingen. c1290S. Eng. Leg. 64/356 He ȝifht eov..wynguene for-to fleo, And feþerene to beren eov up-on heiȝ. Ibid. 230/388 Þe drem of is winguene murie was. 13..K. Alis. 485 Him thoughte a goshauk with gret flyght..yenith and sprad abrod his wyngyn. 1390Gower Conf. I. 173 The Scharnebudes kinde, Of whos nature this I finde, That in the hoteste of the dai,..He sprat his wynge and up he fleth. a1400Leg. Rood 221 Þe Egle is frikest fowle in flye, Ouer all fowles to wawe hys wenge. c1425Seven Sag. (P.) 2196 The byrde..bylle undyr wynge layede. 1426Lydg. De Guil. Pilgr. 18521 Wonder hygh ther sate a krowe, His whynges splayynge to and ffro. c1440Promp. Parv. 522/1 Wenge, of a fowle or bryde. c1470Henry Wallace iii. 7 On fute and weynge ascendand to the hycht. 1513Bk. Keruynge in Babees Bk. 278 That all maner of fowle that hath hole fete sholde be reysed vnder the wynge, and not aboue. 1578Lyte Dodoens vi. lxxxi. 762 The fruite [of the maple tree] is long, flat, and thinne, almost lyke to a feather of a small birde, or lyke the whing of a grashopper. 1690Locke Hum. Und. iii. vi. §12 There are Fishes that have Wings. 1725,1807[see bat n.1 1]. 1857Hughes Tom Brown i. iii, The beautiful little blue butterfly with golden spots on his wings. 1867W. S. Dallas tr. Nitzsch's Pterylogr. 27 The false wing (ala notha) described by Möhring. 1888Goode Amer. Fishes 304 The genus Prionotus..resembles Dactylopterus in general form, but the wings are much smaller. 1912S. E. White Land of Footprints xiv. 193 Spreading wide their wings at the last moment to check their speed.
b. The wing of a bird, used as food. Also, the shoulder of a hare or rabbit.
c1470Noble Bk. Cookry (1882) 64 Cony rost. A cony tak and drawe hym,..rost hym and lard hym then raise his leggs and hys winges. a1530Frere & Boye (Ritson) 154 His fader toke a capons wynge,..And badde hym ete apace. 1598Bp. Hall Sat. iv. iv. 29 A pestle of a Larke, or Plouers wing. 1656Osborn Adv. Son iv. (ed. 4) 124 A Carver at Court,..who being laughed at..for saying The wing of a Rabbet, maintained it as congruous, as the fore-legge of a Capon, a phrase used in Scotland. 1746Francis tr. Hor., Sat. ii. iv. 56 Wise palates choose the wings of pregnant hare. 1820Byron Blues ii. 42 Miss Lilac, permit me to help you;—a wing? 1840Dickens Old C. Shop xlvi, Something light for supper—the wing of a roasted fowl. 1841‘Nimrod’ in Sporting Oracle 48 The most vulnerable part of the rabbit is about its neck and wings, as the shoulders of this animal are called.
c. The wing of a bird (usually of a hen, goose, or turkey) used as a brush: cf. next, 7.
1573–80Tusser Husb. (1878) 35 Husbandlie furniture..Wing, cartnaue and bushel. 1641Best Farm. Bks. (Surtees) 67 Then are the two women to have each of them a cleane bowle to wringe the honey into, and the man is to stande ready with a winge in his hande. 1688Holme Armoury iii. 243/2 Broom, Wing, Winnow sheet, and Sack with a Band. 1710D. Hilman Tusser Rediv. Sept. (1744) 116 A Straw-fork and Rake to turn the Straw off from the thresh'd Corn, a Fan and Wing to clean it.
d. A figure or imitation of a wing (e.g. on an image of a bird, etc., or on an angler's artificial fly).
1552–3in Feuillerat Revels Edw. VI (1914) 94 Cupide a small boye..with a payre of winges of gold. 1584Kenilw. Inv. in Scott Kenilw. Note K, 6 rowlers and ij wings for the spreade eagle. 1633G. Herbert Temple, Easter Wings [title of a poem in the form of two pairs of wings]. 1682Dryden Mac-Fl. 207 Chuse for thy Command Some peaceful Province in Acrostick Land; There thou may'st Wings display, and Altars raise, And torture one poor Word ten thousand Ways. 1711Addison Spect. No. 58 ⁋4, 6. 1853 J. Jackson Pract. Fly-Fisher (1880) 10 To make a winged Fly... Wings; a piece of feather, stripped from a Snipe's quill.
†e. With qualification (goose-wing, fly's wing) used as a type of something of no value. Obs.
1377,1549[see goose-wing 1]. c1450Mankind 783 in Macro Plays 29 Tysche! a flyes weynge!
2. a. Attributed to supernatural beings, as angels, demons, etc., and to fabulous creatures, as dragons, griffins, etc.
c1200Ormin 8024 Þatt all þatt hallȝhe genge, þatt borrȝhenn iss þurrh marrtirdom, Flæh upp wiþþ tweȝȝenn wengess. 13..Sir Beues (A.) 2675 Whan hit schon þe briȝte sonne, His wingges schon so þe glas. 1382Wyclif Isa. vi. 2. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. Prol. 236 And aungellych hyse wengis gan he sprede. c1386― Knt.'s T. 1106 Biforn hire stood hir sone Cupido, Vp on his shuldres wynges hadde he two. 14..Sir Beues (Pynson) 2527 Beuys..hyt the dragon vnder the wynge. 1513Douglas æneis iii. iv. 34 The Harpyes on ws fell, With huge faird of weingis and mony ȝell. 1671Milton P.R. iv. 582 A fiery Globe Of Angels on full sail of wing flew nigh. 1815Byron Destr. Sennacherib iii, The Angel of Death spread his wings on the blast. 1821Wordsw. Eccles. Sonn. iii. v. 4 The feather, whence the pen Was shaped that traced the lives of these good men, Dropped from an Angel's wing. 1885Hardy Changed Man, Mere Interlude (1913) 269 Since my poor husband left me to wear his wings.
b. Attributed to inanimate or abstract things represented as flying, or as carrying one swiftly along (esp. in phr. on the wings of).
1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. ii. i. (Add. MS. 27944) In olde tyme poetes peyntide þe winde wiþ wynges. c1510More Picus E j b, Whynges of the loue of God. 1535Coverdale Ps. ciii[i]. 3 Thou makest the cloudes thy charet, and goest vpon the wynges of the wynde. ― Ps. cxxxviii[i]. 9 Yf I take the wynges of the mornynge. ― Prov. xxiii. 5 Riches make them selues wynges.1594Shakes. Rich. III, v. iii. 106 When I should mount with wings of Victory. 1598― Merry W. ii. ii. 209, I haue pursu'd her, as Loue hath pursued mee, which hath beene on the wing of all occasions. 1608[Tofte] Ariosto's Sat. i. (1611) 11 With inke To giue his fame large wings. 1611Sir W. Mure Misc. Poems iv. 8 Deceau'd by loues alluiring wingis. 1665Boyle Occas. Refl. i. i. 7 When a pious Soul is once got upon the wing of Contemplation. 1704Prior Celia to Damon 40 Upon the Wings of Time born swift away. 1709Watts Hymn, Give me the Wings of Faith, to rise Within the Veil. 1829Scott Rob Roy Introd. 2nd half, A cold north-east wind, with frost on its wing. 1837W. Irving Capt. Bonneville II. xix. 35 Where the foe..seems to come and go on the wings of the wind. 1873Burton Hist. Scot. VI. lxxii. 307 [The Scots in 1640] seemed to be, indeed, carried forward on the wings of destiny.
3. transf. and fig.
a. Power or means of flight, or of action figured as flight; action or manner of flying, flight. (a) in reference to literal flying.
1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xii. 263 Þe larke, þat is..wel awey of wenge [v. rr. wynge, whenge] swifter þan þe pecok. 1390Gower Conf. II. 328 A Swalwe swift of winge. 1667Milton P.L. x. 316 The self same place where hee First lighted from his Wing. 1706Prior Ode to Queen v, Upward the Noble Bird directs his Wing. 1709T. Robinson Nat. Hist. Westmld. x. 60 As soon as the young Brood gets wing. 1877Conder Basis of Faith v. 225 The bird of strongest wing may be driven out to sea by the tempest.
(b) fig. in various connexions. (See also III.)
a1225Ancr. R. 132 Auh þe treowe ancren þet we efneð to briddes..Heo spredeð hore hwingen, ant makieð a creoiz of ham suluen. a1340Hampole Psalter cxxxviii. 7 Take twa wenges of charite. c1380Wyclif Wks. (1880) 473 He ordeynede godis of vertu wyngis to men to fle to heuene. 141826 Pol. Poems xiv. 47 To fliȝe to hyȝe, treste not þy wyng. 1590Nashe Pasquil's Apologie C 4, Other excellent points I could..pinch him with to the like purpose, were I not contented to strike the winge, and come downe to his capacitie. 1593Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, iv. vii. 79 Knowledge the Wing wherewith we flye to heauen. 1596― 1 Hen. IV, iii. ii. 30 Thy affections which doe hold a wing Quite from the flight of all thy ancestors. 1648G. Daniel Eclog. i. 120 You have a wing of Strength, might toure into The purest Region fancie breaths. 1670Dryden 1st Pt. Conq. Granada v. ii, Give wing to your desires, and let 'em fly. 1749Smollett Gil Blas x. x. (1816) 307/2 Every thing they said to me seemed to lend me wings to run away. 1830Scott Monast. Introd., When the peculiar kind of folly keeps the wing no longer. 1849J. Hare Serm. II. iv. 80 In old times,..many stories got wing.
b. In biblical and derived expressions referring to a mother bird's use of her wings for the protection of her young (cf. esp. Matt. xxiii. 37); thus virtually = protecting care. (See also 16 a.)
a1300E.E. Psalter xvi[i]. 8 Hile me under schadou of þi wenges twa. 1535Coverdale Ps. lxiii. 7 Vnder the shadowe of thy wynges wil I reioyse. 1567Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 107 His [sc. God's] wingis ar thy weirlie weid, His pennis ar thy strang defence. 1719Young Revenge iv. i, Why did I leave my tender father's wing, And venture into love? 1883D. C. Murray Hearts xxxiii, Azubah, once more under the shelter of her aunt's wing.
4. transf.
a. In phr. of (such-and-such) wing, used, like feather = kind or description of bird (usually fig.). Obs. exc. in echoes of Ezek. xvii. 23.
1598R. Bernard tr. Terence, Phormio i. v, All alike: all feathered of one wing [orig. omnes congruont]: knowe one, and know all. 1601Shakes. Phœnix & Turtle iii, From this Session interdict Euery foule of tyrant wing, Saue the Eagle feath'red King. 1608Dekker Belman of London (ed. 2) D 2, Of all the mad Rascalls (that are of this wing) the Abraham-man is the most fantastick. 1608D. T[uvill] Ess. Pol. & Mor. 90 b, A prying eye, a listning eare, and a prating tongue, are all birds of one wing. 1611Bible Ezek. xvii. 23 All foule of euery wing. 1630Pathomachia iv. iii. 35 Here is another Bird of the same Wing I beleeue.
b. Qualified by a restrictive word, or in technical phr., = bird or birds.
1601Shakes. Phœnix & Turtle i, Let the bird of lowdest lay..Herauld sad and trumpet be: To whose sound chaste wings obay. 1725Pope Odyss. ii. 188 The Prince of Augurs..drew A sure presage from ev'ry wing that flew. 1840R. Bremner Excurs. Denmark, etc. I. 293 We did not wonder to see scarcely a single wing of game in a whole day's journey. 1874Kennel Club Stud Bk. p. xii, He does not lose one [point] for each fault, providing it is simply not dropping to wing or shot.
c. A flock (of plover).
1805A. Mackintosh Driffield Angler 294 Wing of plover.
II.
5. An appliance or appendage resembling or analogous to a wing in form or function. a. An artifical apparatus attached to the human arms or shoulders, (a) according to early accounts, for flying through the air, (b) for assistance in swimming. b. One of the floats of a water-wheel or sails of a windmill. c. Poetically or rhetorically applied to the sails of a ship. (See also white wings s.v. white a. 11 e.) d. Various: see quots.: spec. (a) one of the planes of an aeroplane; (b) transf. (pl.) in the Royal Air Force, a certificate of ability to pilot an aeroplane, indicated by the addition to the uniform of a badge representing a pair of wings; (c) slang, an arm; also transf.
a.1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 671 Vor þat men ssolde is enchantement se, He let him makie wengen [v. rr. wyngon, wingen, wynges, whyngys] an hei vor to fle. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints i. (Petrus) 562 [Symon Magus] passit vpe, and his weyngis dycht,..And flaw, as he a foule had bene. 1390Gower Conf. II. 37 This Dedalus..Hath mad to fle diverse wynges For him and for his Sone also. 1742Pope Dunc. iv. 452 The head that turns at super-lunar things, Pois'd with a tail, may steer on Wilkins' wings. 1908Daily Chron. 29 July 5/6 Being unable to swim he had made use of a pair of swimming wings.
b.1484Caxton Fables of æsop v. x, For the swyftnesse of the water he must nedes passe vnder the whele of the mylle, And god wote yf the wynges of the mylle bete hym wel or not. 1585T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. ii. x. 44 b, Windmilles, hauing euery one of them 10. wings. 1609W. Biddulph in Lavender's Trav. 15 There are very many wind milles there, hauing ten wings a piece. 1681Owen Inq. conc. Evang. Ch. ii. 16 To render the Gospel-Church-State a Machin..to be turned unto any Interest like the Wings of a Mill unto the Wind. a1700B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Sails,..Windmill-wings. 1773W. Emerson Princ. Mech. (ed. 3) 284 Wing,..as the hands in a water wheel; a part of a sail, &c. a1866C. W. Hatfield Hist. Notices Doncaster Ser. i. 203 The wings of some of the these [wind⁓mills] describe a circuit of 100 feet diameter.
c.1596Shakes. Merch. V. i. i. 14 Your Argosies with portly saile..As they flye by them with their wouen wings. 1735Somerville Chase ii. 222 All their Canvass Wings. 1812Byron Ch. Har. i. xiii, While flew the vessel on her snowy wing. 1833Mrs. Browning Prometh. Bound 543 The sea⁓man's chariots, wandering on the brine With linen wings. 1878Joaquim Miller Songs of Italy 29 The yellow wide wings of a bark.
d.1796Grose's Dict. Vulg. T. (ed. 3), Pair of Wings, oars. Cant. 1799G. Smith Laboratory I. 17 There are rockets made without sticks. Fix to the small ones..four wings, in the nature of arrow-feathers. 1815J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 159 The use of wings, rudders, oars,..to direct the course of a balloon. 1823Egan Grose's Dict. Vulgar T. (ed. 3), Wings, arms. 1875Knight Dict. Mech., Wing..2. A vane of a rotating fan... 10. (Milling.) A strip, commonly of leather, attached to the skirt of the runner to sweep the meal into the spout. 1883W. Aitken Lays of Line 65 Cam' an auld sodger yince wha was short o' a wing. 1904O. & W. Wright Brit. Pat. 6732 1 The superposed horizontal surfaces..formed by stretching cloth upon frames of wood and wire, constitute the ‘wings’, or supporting part of the apparatus. 1910R. Ferris How it Flies 17 Aeroplanes are those forms of flying machines which depend for their support in the air upon the spread of surfaces which are variously called wings, sails, or planes. 1917‘Contact’ Airman's Outings i. 5 The pilots have passed their tests and been decorated with wings. 1918J. T. B. McCudden 5 Yrs. R.F.C. 1 Having qualified for his R.F.C. wings in July of 1912. 1947Sun (Baltimore) 3 Apr. 20/1 He came up with a bad arm during the season, and had been troubled before with it. If the big man's wing behaves this year he should be of considerable value. 1964J. Cheever Wapshot Scandal ii. xxvii. 259 He..began to pitch the eggs... He had a good wing and by heaving the eggs far away..he was able to divert the..crowd. 1967Boston Globe 22 Mar. 11/1 Wins wings as stewardess for American Airlines. 1976Publishers Weekly 19 Apr. 78/3 Mike Hagen earns his wings as a crop duster in rural Florida.
6. A lateral part or appendage: in various connexions. (See also senses 7–12.)
a. A lateral or outlying portion of a space or region. b. Something forming a lateral boundary, as the side wall of a dock, sluice, chimney, etc.; also, a lateral component, extension, or complement of a structure, etc., e.g. either of the retaining walls at the ends of a bridge; also spec. of jumps for horse-riding: see quot. 19531. c. A side piece (usually projecting), a lateral projection or member (in various tools, pieces of mechanism, or other structures: see quots.); spec. the part of a ploughshare which extends sideways and cuts the bottom of the furrow. d. A projecting part of a fishing-net on one side of the main or central part. e. In a carriage, each of a pair of curved pieces extending over the wheels to provide protection from the splashing of mud; the mudguard of a motor vehicle. f. Each of two side pieces at the top of an arm-chair against which the head may be rested.
a.a1400–50Wars Alex. 1051 An-other wynge of þe werld. 1794Morse Amer. Geog. 491 On the north end it subsides gradually into extensive pasture grounds; while on the south it slopes more steeply in a shorter distance... On either wing is a thick grove of..forest trees. 1864Carlyle Fredk. Gt. xi. ii. (1873) IV. 36 Königsberg, Preussen, the easternmost outlying wing of his long straggling Dominions. 1874Blackie Lett. to Wife (1909) 228 The Hill of Howth, forming the north wing of the bay of Dublin. 1920Westm. Gaz. 16 June 10/1 His fore-hand return across court off the service into the right-hand wing of his opponent's base line.
b.c1482J. Kay tr. Caoursin's Siege of Rhodes ⁋10 (1870), A place..by the weste banke of Rhodes: which maked with her walles and wynges a pleasaunt hauen..and ys called the tour of Seynt Nycholas. 1531Lett. & Pap. Hen. VIII, V. 180 Settyng the wynkes of the said slewse new made. 1663Charleton Chorea Gigantum 24 The outward Circle or wing of stones [of Stonehenge]. 1703T. N. City & C. Purchaser 107 An apt falling-back of the Back, and convenient gathering of the Wings, and Brest of the Chimney. 1715Desaguliers Fires Impr. 128 You may on each side [of the chimney] raise a Wing of Plaister. 1721Leoni Palladio's Archit. I. 67 The Wings (that is, the spaces between the Wall and the Columns, which is not comprehended in the breadth of the Atrium). 1726― Alberti's Archit. I. 14 All this Wing of Wall..is exposed as a Butt to the..Blasts of the North-East. 1821Rich Journ. Persepolis 27 Aug., The mountains..form a wing of stupendous perpendicular cliffs. 1850Parker Gloss. Archit. (ed. 5) I. 206 Fillet,..a small flat face or band used principally between mouldings, to separate them from each other in classical architecture... When this appendage is..attached to the sides [of the moulding, it is called] its wings. 1851B'ham & Midl. Gardeners' Mag. Apr. 38 Many fine trees which have..become unsightly..by losing whole wings at a time. 1875Knight Dict. Mech., Wing.. A lateral extension of an abutment... A leaf of a gate or double door... A side dam on a river shore to contract the channel. 1895Daily News 14 Mar. 3/5 Tribune, the winner of the Beaudesert Steeplechase, was objected to for jumping the wing of one of the fences. 1953G. Brooke Introd. Riding & Stablecraft 12 Wings to a fence, something in the nature of hurdles placed on either side and at an angle to a fence to prevent a horse from running out to either hand. Ibid. iv. 39 It is advisable to start over a small fence with wings. 1960Times 23 July 9/4 The moment to hit the pony is when it is well into the wings and about half a stride from the jump. 1977J. Kidd Horse & Pony Man. iv. 56 When the fence is introduced always place wings or sloping poles on either side to discourage the horse from running out.
c.1577Googe tr. Heresbach's Husb. i. 21 They haue a litle wyng on the ryght syde of the Coulter, whiche wyng is to be remooued to whiche syde you list. 1597A. M. tr. Guillemeau's Fr. Chirurg. 15 b/1 The winges of the Trepane, which delicatelye and easilye cut. 1688Holme Armoury iii. 286/2 The Feathers or Fly, or Wing [of a spinning-wheel] is that which the crooked Wyres are set in. 1707Mortimer Husb. 42 Some place on the right side of the Coulter a small Wing or Finn. 1839Ure Dict. Arts etc. 346 The wings or vanes revolve from 120 to 150 times in the minute. 1842J. Aiton Dom. Econ. (1857) 166 This second spade is provided with an iron wing upon its shaft, by which the digger..forces it with his foot into the ground. 1875Knight Dict. Mech., Sinker..(Knitting-machine). A wheel with thin plates or projections, called wings,..used to depress (sink) the yarn between the needles. 1902P. Marshall Metal Working Tools 13 The legs [of wing compasses]..when opened to the required width are secured by means of the thumb-screw which binds on to the projecting wing.
d.1678Act 30 Chas. II c. 9 §1 Above Fifty yards in length and Six yards in breadth or depth in the wing of the Nett. 1883Fisheries Exhib. Catal. 295 A Tench Weel without wings..An Eel Weel, with loose pits and wings. 1884Knight Dict. Mech. Suppl. s.v. Stake-net, The salmon, swimming up the current, come in contact with the bar-net, and turning to pass around it, find themselves opposed by the wing.
e.1783Morn. Chron. 14 Mar. 4/2 Advt., A new roomy Gig, with head to take off, wings, and new harness. 1794W. Felton Carriages (1801) I. 204 Wings are fixed to the sides or elbows of the chaise bodies..; their use is to form a rest for the arm, and shelter the passenger from the dirt which splashes from the wheels. 1881J. W. Burgess Coach-bldg. v. 50 The wings..sometimes still are of wood, in which case they are hooped to the perch by iron hoops. 1928Daily Mail 25 July 9/3 The force of the impact threw the car temporarily out of control, but with its front wings crumpled it continued its dash towards London. 1955Times 10 May 7/7 The visibility forward would be better if it took in the near side front wing, but the rearward view through the 3ft. 9in. wide window is excellent.
f.1907G. O. Wheeler Old Engl. Furniture 190 The wings formed by the arm enclosures were padded. 1911F. M. Crawford Uncanny Tales, Deadly Smile ii, A great old leathern arm-chair with wings.
7. a. Either of the two divisions (right wing, left wing) on each side of the main body or centre of an army or fleet in battle array; also, each of the two divisions of a regiment or an air force.
c1400Brut ccxxiii. 283 Þe Scottis comen ferseliche in iiij wengus. Ibid. 285 Þo hade euery Englisshe bataile ij wenges of pris Archiers. c1425Wyntoun Cron. viii. xvi. 2520 A noþir weynge þai saw cum sone Off Inglis men. c1500Melusine 230 Anthony..ordeyned archers & crosbowes to be vnder the wynges of hys batayll. 1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. cxxx. 64/2 Therle of Northampton & therle of Arundell with the second batell were on a wyng in good order. 1535[see left wing 1 a]. 1622Mabbe tr. Aleman's Guzman d'Alf. ii. 333 Wee did presently battell-wise cast our selues into a Wing, as if we had been the Turkish Gallies. 1667Milton P.L. i. 617 Their doubl'd Ranks they bend From Wing to Wing. c1720De Foe Mem. Cavalier ii. 294 The Armies coming close up, the Wings engaged first. 1769Falconer Dict. Marine (1776) s.v., Wings are also the skirts or extremities of a fleet when it is ranged into a line a-breast. 1844[see left wing 1 a]. 1868Queen's Reg. & Ord. Army ⁋300 When the Service Companies of a Regiment happen to be divided into Wings, the head Quarter wing will assign a due proportion of the Mess necessaries for the use of the other wing. 1915C. G. Grey Tales of Flying Services 71 One of the chief duties of this ‘wing’..was to look out for Zeppelins.
b. In football and similar games: The position of the forwards on either side of the centre; a player or players occupying this position. Cf. left wing, right wing.
1882, etc. [see left wing 1 b]. 1898J. Goodall Assoc. Football 38 Suddenly there will be a swift clear side-kick to the other wing.
c. A section of a political or other party, holding views deviating in one direction or the other from those generally held (often distinguished as left or right).[Cf. quot. 1670 s.v. left wing 1 a.] 1879Froude Cæsar xiii. 186 There is always a disreputable wing to the radical party. 1884Christian Commonw. 21 Feb. 449/1 The democratic wing of the Tory party, of which Lord Randolph Churchill aspires to be the leader. 1898[see left wing 2].
8. a. One of a pair of lateral projecting pieces of a garment on or near the shoulder, as of a doublet; also, a side-flap of a cap, etc.; in military uniform, a kind of epaulette (now worn by bandsmen) which stands out from the seam at the top of the shoulder.
1412–20Lydg. Chron. Troy iii. 67 Þer wer..Vauntbras with wynges, & rerebras þer-to. 1557in Dugdale Orig. Jurid. lxx. (1666) 310 That none of the Companions except Knights or Benchers..wear..Wings in their Gowns. 1604Dekker Meeting of Gallants B 2, There is as much perill betweene the wings and the skirts of one of their Doublets, as in all the liberties of London. 1688Holme Armoury iii. 94/2 The Wings, are Welts or peeces set over the place on the top of the Shoulders, where the Body and Sleeves are set together. 1703Rules of Civility 56 If short Sleeves be worn, she [who pushes fashion to an extreme] will have nothing but Wings. 1810Army Gen. Order 19 Feb., Field Officers..are to wear Wings in addition to their Epaulettes. 1834L. Ritchie Wand. Seine 139 A linen cap with large wings which concealed the face. 1844Queen's Regul. & Ord. Army 152 The whole of the remaining Clothing (with the exception of the wings and fringe). 1869Blackie Lett. to Wife (1909) 181 A sort of spencer open in the middle, with two wings, one on each breast.
†b. pl. The armpits. nonce-use. (Cf. L. ala.)
1586T. B. La Primaud. Fr. Acad. i. 470 He tooke hir with both his armes by the wings [orig. les aisselles].
9. a. A subordinate part of a building on one side of the main or central part. Also in extended use, any more or less separate section of a building, esp. of a hospital or prison.
spec. in Fortification: see quot. 1704.
1523Wolsey in St. Papers Hen. VIII, VI. 209 Who with his armye was..loged in the countrey in thre wardes and sundry winges. 1613–39I. Jones in Leoni Palladio's Archit. (1742) II. 46 This Edifice..has..two Wings. a1700Evelyn Diary 10 Oct. 1683, The Court at entrie, and wings for officers seeme too neere the streete. 1704J. Harris Lex. Techn. I, Wings, in Fortification, are the large Sides of Horn-works, Crown-works, Tenailles, and the like Out⁓works. 1767G. Whitefield Let. (1768) 12 Allowing another thousand for repairing the house, and building the two intended wings. 1820W. Irving Sketch Bk. II. 61 (Christmas Eve) It was an irregular building of some magnitude... One wing was evidently very ancient, with heavy stone⁓shafted bow windows. 1908J. M. Sullivan Criminal Slang 27 Wing, a section of a prison. 1959L. Lee Cider with Rosie 132 Hannah Brown was put to bed in the Woman's Wing, and Joseph lay in the Men's. 1967Listener 1 June 718/3 Three weeks later he was back in C wing. 1981C. Priest Affirmation iii. 19, I found a letter from the Governor of Durham Prison, saying that Uncle William had been admitted to the hospital wing.
b. Naut. (a) That part of the hold or space between decks which is next the ship's side. (b) In a steamer (see quot. 1846). (c) In a canal-boat or barge (see quot. 1906).
1730Wriglesworth MS. Log-bk. of the ‘Lyell’ 25 Sept., Levelled the Hold from the Fore-hatchway clear aft,..and picked out the large Stones to lay in the Wings. 1805in Naval Chron. XV. 34 He..was carried down into one of the wings. 1846A. Young Naut. Dict. 370 The term wing is also applied to the projecting part of a steam-vessel's deck before and abaft each of the paddle-boxes; this is bounded by a thick plank called the sponsing-rim or wing-wale which extends from the extremity of the paddle-beam to the ship's side. 1906Daily Chron. 19 Feb. 10/5 If the tunnel is too wide, boards projecting over the boat's side, termed ‘wings’, are brought into use for them [sc. ‘leggers’] to lie on.
c. Theatr. Each of the side-scenes on the stage; also pl. (occas. sing.) the space at each side of the stage where these stand. Also in fig. phr. waiting in the wings and varr., ready to act or make an appearance; (for the moment) taking no part in the action.
1790Malone Shaks. Wks. I. ii. Acc. Stage 83 The technical modern term, wings, or side scenes. 1807Director II. 330 The turning of one single wheel effects at once..the simultaneous retreat of the entire assemblage of wings and drops and flat. 1835Dickens Sk. Boz, Private Theatres, The little space there is between the wings and the wall, and one wing and another. 1847Broderip Zool. Recr. 320 The frantic stage-manager in the wing. 1876H. James in Atlantic Monthly Dec. 691/1 The author has given him a mother who..has been kept waiting in the wing, as it were, for many acts. 1885Mabel Collins Prettiest Woman i, She had known her maintain that cold sternness to the very wings, and then bound on to the stage. 1946P. Bottome Lifeline iii. 39 We've Churchill waiting in the wings, to take the helm when the storm breaks. 1963V. Nabokov Gift iv. 237 Already famous, he remained as it were in the wings of his busy, talkative thought. 1977Sat. Rev. 3 Sept. 44/1 Despite vast expenditures on research and development..the videodisc is still hovering diffidently in the wings. 1985Times 19 Jan. 21/1 Yesterday's huge jump in the share price suggests there is a buyer in the wings.
10. Anat. A lateral part or projection (usually, one of a pair) of some organ or structure; e.g. each of the lateral cartilages of the nose, a lateral process of a bone (esp. of the sphenoid): = ala 1.
1650Bulwer Anthropomet. vii. (1653) 118 That beauty which so manifestly appears in the wings of the Nose. 1663Bayfield Treat. De Morb. Capitis 100 The Haw, nail, or little wing (as they term it) of the eye. 1693tr. Blancard's Phys. Dict. (ed. 2), Pinna Auris, the upper and broader part of the Ear, called the Wing. 1758J. S. tr. Le Dran's Observ. Surg. (1771) 31 The Wing of the right Nostril. 1831R. Knox Cloquet's Anat. 289 The great wing of the sphenoid bone. 1897Allbutt's Syst. Med. III. 570 When one wing [of the diaphragm] is much raised, as by a collection of gas.
11. Bot.
† a. The axil of a leaf: = ala 2 a. Obs. † b. Each of the lateral divisions or leaflets of a pinnate leaf. (Cf winged a. 3 a.) Obs. c. Each of the two lateral petals of a papilionaceous flower: = ala 2 b. d. A thin membranous appendage of a seed or fruit, serving for its dispersal by the wind; a thin lateral projection extending along a stem; any thin appendage, as on some part of a flower. (Cf. winged a. 3 b.)
a.1763Mills Syst. Pract. Husb. IV. 402 The flowers..are produced.. from the wings of the leaves.
b.1776Withering Brit. Plants 651 Fern. Filix mas... Leaves doubly winged; wings blunt.
c.1776J. Lee Introd. Bot. Gloss., Ala, a Wing, the Side Petals of a papilionaceous Blossom, or a Membrane added to a Seed, Stalk, &c. 1796Withering Brit. Plants (ed. 3) I. 307 Wings are 2 equal petals. 1870Hooker Stud. Flora 85 Genista..Wings oblong.
d.1776[see c]. 1787Linnæus' Fam. Plants 183 Fruit egg'd, encompass'd with a wing striated on both sides. 1911W. S. Furneaux Field & Woodl. Plants iii. 37 In the Narrow-leaved Everlasting Pea..the ‘wings’ of the stem and petioles.
12. Physics. A part of a spectral line where the intensity tails off to nothing at either side of it.
1959Canad. Jrnl. Physics XXXVII. 1252 (caption) Graph illustrating the dispersion line form for the high-frequency wing of the S(1) line of normal hydrogen at 85° K. 1982Sci. Amer. July 77/3 At positions in the cloud other than the position of the infrared source the broad velocity wings disappeared and the lines had the narrow widths we had originally expected.
III. Phrases.
* with prepositions.
13. in (the) wing.
†a. in wing of: in course or process of, engaged in. Obs. rare.
c1482J. Kay tr. Caoursin's Siege of Rhodes ⁋7 Whenne thay were in wyng of these werkys [Dum hæc..agerentur].
†b. in the wing of: ? in the overshadowing presence of. Obs. rare.
1579W. Wilkinson Confut. Fam. Love 39 b, Our owne Newtralisme and Lukwarmenes shall in the wyng of Gods sonne vtterly condemne vs.
14. on or upon the wing or † one's wing, † on wing; also a-wing.
a. lit. Flying, in flight.
1486Bk. St. Albans d j b, When she is on wyng and comyth low bi the grounde. 1616Fletcher Hum. Lieut. i. i, The roiall Eagle When she hath tri'd her young ones gainst the Sun,..next teacheth 'em to prey, How to command on wing. 1667Milton P.L. i. 332 They heard, and were abasht, and up they sprung Upon the wing. Ibid. 345 So numberless were those bad Angels seen Hovering on wing under the Cope of Hell. 1742Gray Spring 25 The insect youth are on the wing. 1831Audubon Ornith. Biog. I. 137 It is seldom that one of these birds is on wing..without uttering its cry. 1857Hughes Tom Brown ii. iv, The old birds were too strong on the wing for our young marksmen. 1859E. FitzGerald Omar vii, The Bird of Time has but a little way To fly—and Lo! the Bird is on the Wing. 1882Blackie Lett. to Wife (1909) 299, I have been as happy as a bird on the wing.
b. fig. (a) Moving or travelling swiftly or briskly; astir, active, on the move.
1508Dunbar Poems vii. 50 Throw Scotland, Ingland, France, and Lumbardy, Fleys on weyng thi fame, and thi renoune. 1602Shakes. Ham. ii. ii. 132 When I had seene this hot loue on the wing. 1616Fletcher Hum. Lieut. i. i, 'Tis time his fortune be a wing [v. rr. o' wing, o' th' wing], high time sir. 1642D. Rogers Naaman To Rdr. b 3 b, So long as we can keep sound Doctrine on wing, we shall hope to kill..all three [evils]. 1655Ld. Norwich in Nicholas Papers (Camden) III. 217 With what impatience his good subiects..expect to heare yt his Maty were uppon his wing. 1759Johnson Rasselas xiii, The prince, whose thoughts were always on the wing. 1839Longfellow Hyperion i. iii, Nobody is on the wing; hardly a single traveller. 1871Mrs. H. Wood Dene Hollow xxxix, Captain..Clanwaring was on the wing early.
(b) ‘Taking flight’, going off or away, starting, departing; ready to start or depart.
1622Mabbe tr. Aleman's Guzman d'Alf. ii. To Rdr. **2 Hauing beene too prodigall in communicating my papers,..they caught me when I was vpon my wings. 1668Dryden Even. Love i. i, Look you, they are on the wing already. 1675― Aurengz. iv. (1676) 55 He's wild, and soon on wing, if watchful eyes come near. 1721–2Pope Let. to Atterbury 8 Feb., When I went last to town, and was on wing for the Deanry. 1861Mrs. H. Wood East Lynne iii. xx, She fell on her knees..in prayer for the departing spirit, on its wing. 1898Punch 20 Aug. 81/2 The Courts are up, and the members of the four Inns are supposed to be on the wing.
15. on wings: (going) with light steps as one in a joyously exalted mood.
1859Meredith R. Feverel xx, Now the young gentleman was off and out every night, and seemed to be on wings. 1861Reade Cloister & H. vi, They sealed the promise with a long loving kiss, and Gerard went home on wings.
on the wings of{ddd}: see 2 b.
16. under (..) wing.
a. under the wing of, under ―'s wing († wings): under the protection, care, or patronage of. (Cf. 3 b.)
c1230Hali Meid. (1922) 66 Ȝef þu wel wrist te under godes wengen. a1300Cursor M. 17638, I blisce þe, lauerd, þou me has gett And sauf vnder þi wenges sett. a1400–50Wars Alex. 1769 Turne þe, trechoure,..And drawe a-gayn to þi den vndire þi dam wingis [v.r. wengez]. 1455Rolls of Parlt. V. 281/2 Such as abide and kepe theim self undre the wynge of your Mageste Roiall. 1503Hawes Examp. Virtue vii. 87 And vnder the wynge of my proteccyon All rebels brought be to subieccyon. 1540Palsgr. Acolastus ii. i. H iij b, I haue euer be brought vp at home i. vnder my mothers wynge. 1669H. More Exp. 7 Epist. Ep. Ded. A 3 b, If I had not taken this opportunity..of doing that right to the Truth I here professe as to put it under the wings of so fit and able a Patron. 1765Foote Commissary iii. 47 There liv'd Miss Cicely..under the wing of an old maiden aunt. 1879Froude Cæsar xxi. 353 They fled for their lives to find safety under Pompey's wing in Capua.
†b. to keep one's bill under wing: to remain quiet or inactive (like a sleeping bird). Obs. rare.
[Cf. quot. c 1425 in 1.]a1548Hall Chron., Hen. VI, 174 After this..the duke of Yorke..thought it mete neither lenger to dissimule, nor farther to kepe his bill vnder wyng.
c. hit under the wing (slang): intoxicated.
1844Alb. Smith Adv. Mr. Ledbury iv, He being..‘hit under the wing’.
** with verbs. (For other phrases, as clip the wings, see the vbs.)
†17. to hang the wing (cf. hang v. 4 c): to hesitate, show timidity. Obs.
a1601North Plutarch, Epamin. (1612) 1122 Afraid onely of the name and reputation of Epaminondas, and hanging the wing, as they say. a1624Bp. Smyth Serm. (1632) 40 If Saint Peter..had hanged the wing, as they speake, or let fall his Crest.
18. to make wing (cf. 3 a and make v.1 59): to make one's way by flying, to fly. ? Obs.
1605Shakes. Macb. iii. ii. 51 Light thickens, And the Crow makes Wing to th' Rookie Wood. 1650Fuller Pisgah ii. xiii. 281 Hence he made wing, taking a long and strong flight to Mizpah. 1666Dryden Ann. Mirab. lxxxvii, The dastard Crow that to the Wood made wing. 1856Bryant Winds 17 The weary fowls of heaven make wing in vain, To escape your wrath.
19. a. to take to wing (take v. 74 b): = b. ? Obs.
1693J. Dryden, jun. Juvenal xiv. 99 Soon as e'er to Wing they take. 1870N. F. Hele Aldeburgh vii. 84 It was within ten yards of me when it took to wing.
b. to take († its, etc.) wing (take v. 24 c); (a) Of a bird, etc.: To take flight, begin flying.
1807Wordsw. Song at Feast of Brougham Castle 130 He knew the rocks which Angels haunt..He hath kenned them taking wing. 1812P. Hawker Diary (1893) I. 62 They will instantly take wing and give you a beautiful shot. 1890C. Dixon Stray Feathers i. 6 The Ring Doves, startled at this, took wing.
(b) fig. To ‘take flight’, take one's departure, make off, flee.
1704Lond. Gaz. No. 4056/5 Success, like Fame, has taken Wing. 1715Bentley Serm. Popery 24 The weary Soul..ready to leave the Carcase, and yet not suffer'd to take it's Wing. 1806–7J. Beresford Miseries Hum. Life (1826) iv. Introd., I lately changed my lodgings... I took wing at a moment's warning. 1825T. Hook Sayings Ser. ii. Sutherl. (Colburn) 32 As he touched the lock, they took wing like a covey of partridges. 1876Geo. Eliot Dan. Der. xxxvi, I found a fellow who..knew this Mrs Glasher before she took wing.
20. to spread (stretch, try) one's wings: to test or develop one's powers; to lead a life of wider scope than hitherto.
1864G. Meredith Let. 1 June (1970) I. 260 One thought my Marie merely trying her wings. 1872Geo. Eliot Middlem. II. iv. xxxiv. 192 He is trying his wings. He is just the sort of young fellow to rise. 1876Trollope Prime Minister III. xx. 332 When I found myself the son-in-law of a very rich man I thought I might spread my wings a bit. 1926R. H. Tawney Relig. & Rise of Capitalism ii. 67 It was in an age of political anarchy that the forces destined to dominate the future tried their wings. 1953‘W. Cooper’ Ever-Interesting Topic v. ii. 252 He decided to compose music as well as to play it: he began to try his wings as a creative artist, and he found they held him up. 1973‘P. Malloch’ Kickback xi. 69 ‘Hagan's stretching his wings a bit.’ ‘Beginning to feel his weight, is he?’ 1978S. Radley Death & Maiden xv. 145 She wanted to spread her wings a bit, meet new people.
***
21. wing-and-wing (Naut.): (of a ship) sailing directly before the wind, with the foresail hauled over on one side and the mainsail on the other.
1781J. Greenwood in Maryland Hist. Mag. (1910) V. 129 We were now wing and wing, that is right before the wind. 1828J. F. Cooper Red Rover I. iii. 84 That..schooner would make more way going wing-and-wing than jammed up on a wind. 1841R. H. Dana Seaman's Man. 135. 1893 Kipling Seven Seas, Coastwise Lights 13 We greet the clippers, wing-and-wing, that race the Southern wool.
22. a wing and a prayer, a joc. form of reference (after quot. 1943) to an emergency landing by an aircraft. Also fig. and as attrib. phr. in allusion to reliance on hope in desperate situations.
1943H. Adamson Comin' in on a Wing & a Prayer (song), Tho' there's one motor gone, we can still carry on, Comin' In On A Wing And A Pray'r. 1967Economist 3 June 998/2 The ITA's problem is to decide which applicants give most promise of maintaining an improvement over six years... This is largely a wing and a prayer decision. 1971P. O'Donnell Impossible Virgin xii. 250, I reckoned it was better to get kitted up for a proper job rather than come charging down 'ere on a wing and a prayer. 1977W. Marshall Thin Air xii. 150 The co-pilot brought it in... Wing and a prayer! 1980T. Barling Goodbye Piccadilly xvi. 334 The pilot spoke to him... ‘This is real wing and a prayer weather.’
IV. Attributive uses and Combinations.
23. a. Simple attrib.: (a) in sense 1 (in reference to parts, structure, or function), as wing area, wing-beat, wing-bone, wing feather, wing flight, wing-length, wing membrane, wing neuration, wing patch, wing pattern, wing pinion, wing power, wing quill, wing ray, wing shoulder, wing-span, wing-spread, wing vein; (b) in sense 5 d; (of aeroplanes) wing-length, wing-skid, wing-span, wing-spread, wing-stay; (c) in sense 6 or 9 (= side, lateral), as wing boiler, wing cabin, wing room, wing walk; (d) in sense 7, as wing adjutant, wing-back, wing commander, wing officer; in sense 7 b, as wing forward, wing half, wing-man, wing player; (e) = having wings or side appendages (6, 8), as wing bonnet, wing cap, wing chair, wing gudgeon, wing-nut.
(a)1582Stanyhurst æneis iv. (Arb.) 101 Furth she quicklye galops, with wingflight swallolyke hastning. 1675H. Woolley Gentlew. Comp. 114 Put under the wing-Pinions on each side the long slices of flesh which you did cut from the Breast-bone. 1704Petiver Gazophyl. iii. 23 Its Belly, Wing-shoulders, Collar, and about the Eyes white. 1752J. Hill Hist. Anim. 343 The exterior wing⁓feathers are black. 1815Stephens in Shaw Gen. Zool. IX. i. 3 Interior wing-quills externally margined. 1826G. Samouelle Direct. Collect. Insects & Crust. 37 The Pterigostia or wing-bones, hairy. 1837Penny Cycl. VII. 25/1 It [sc. a bat] hybernates..snugly wrapped up in the wing-membranes. 1856Zoologist Ser. i. XIV. 5157 The wing-veins of insects. Ibid. 5195 The Wing-rays of Insects. 1872Coues N. Amer. Birds 100 Wing-patch resolved into two bars. Ibid. 174 When very young, the wing-markings more fulvous. 1893Newton Dict. Birds 269 Those..which can soar are mostly large birds, with a relatively large wing⁓area. 1897‘N. Blanchan’ Bird Neighbors 143 Bank Swallow... About an inch shorter than the English sparrow, but apparently much larger because of its wide wing-spread. 1902Spectator 26 July 112 The wing-power of the dragon-flies. 1909Westm. Gaz. 2 Nov. 2/3 For wing-beats of great angels we would hear the herdsman's call. 1910Encycl. Brit. XIII. 432/1 Orthopteroid wing-neuration. 1911Ibid. XVI. 469/1 The darkening of wing-patterns in many species of Lepidoptera. 1922Joyce Ulysses 505 Head askew, arches his back and hunched wingshoulders. 1927Daily Express 31 Aug. 8/3 It..is shaped like the wing-bone of a chicken. 1943A. Clarke Coll. Plays (1963) 173 This big wind that filled My wingbones blew me into the trees. 1946Nature 21 Dec. 904/1 The accompanying table shows..the weight in kgm. and wing-length in cm. of the female. 1949Brit. Birds XLII. 187 The wing-span was found to measure nearly four feet, and the length was 21 inches. 1957New Yorker 13 July 22/2 We got over six hundred bats, from insectivorous ones with an eight-inch wingspread to fruit eaters with a five-foot wingspread. 1971Sci. Amer. Dec. 79/3 For aerodynamic reasons large birds have a slow wingbeat. 1977P. Way Super-Celeste 123 The skull and upper bones of the [eagle's] wingspan had.. driven like a cannon ball into the pilot's belly.
(b)1897Lanchester Aerodonetics (1908) 353 The reaction of the air on the upper and under wing surfaces. 1908H. G. Wells War in Air x. 317 It had taken only an hour or so to substitute wing stays from the second flying-machine and to replace the nuts he had himself removed. 1910R. Ferris How it Flies xx. 474 Wing Plan, the outline of the wing or main plane surface as viewed from above. Ibid., Wing skid, a small skid, or runner, placed under the tip of the wings of an aeroplane. 1912Q. Rev. July 231 If the 1000 lb. aeroplane is to travel slower, it must have a larger wing-spread. 1918Pagé & Montariol Gloss. Aviation Terms 33/1 Wing span. 1920Flight XII. 864/1 The Loughead S1 model, as it is called, is a single-seater biplane with a wing span of 28ft. 1975Farnborough 76 (Soc. Brit. Aerospace Companies) 30/2 The world's smallest jet aircraft, the Bede BD-5J..with a wing span of only 17ft. 1978R. Jansson News Caper 9 There was the fighter again, flying parallel half a winglength away. 1978Sci. Amer. Nov. 135/1 In 1899 the Wrights built a biplane kite with a five-foot wingspread that embodied their wing-twisting roll control.
(c)a1697Aubrey Lives, Bacon (1898) I. 79 In the middle⁓most three coaches may passe abreast: in the wing-walkes two may. 1838Civil Eng. & Arch. Jrnl. I. 284/2 The furnaces in the wing boilers. 1877L. Jewitt Half-Hours Engl. Antiq. 112 The sleeved surcoat; the ailettes or wing⁓pieces, behind the shoulders. 1883Gresley Gloss. Coal-mining 291 Wing-bore..a side or flank bore-hole. 1889Pall Mall Gaz. 20 Aug. 2/1 The wing cabin at the foot of the companion. 1893T. N. Page Ole Virginia 194 The great chamber was given up to the baby, the Colonel going to the wing room. 1923J. C. Rogers Engl. Furnit. 64 The back..fitted with forward wing-pieces.
(d)1734in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. i. 192, I sent a pinnace and brought the Velt Marshall's Wing Adjutant to me. 1876Voyle & Stevenson Milit. Dict. (ed. 3) 470/2 Wing Officer, an officer of the Indian army attached to a wing of a native infantry regiment. 1882Cassell's Bk. Sports 40 Wing players should be good dribblers. 1898J. Goodall Assoc. Football 30 The wing game—that is to say, the two pairs playing together, leaving the centre-forward waiting for something to turn up. Ibid. 78 Wing-halves should keep their eyes on the wing-forwards. 1914Times 22 Dec. 4/3 Royal Flying Corps..Wing Commander.—Brev. Maj. H. R. M. Brooke-Popham, Oxf. and Bucks. L.I. 1918W. T. Blake R.F.C. in War vii. 42 The Wing Head⁓quarters. 1933Time 13 Nov. 57/1 A wing⁓back is..a halfback who takes position about a yard and a half behind the line of scrimmage and about the same distance outside his own end. 1942Sun (Baltimore) 26 Jan. 4/1 Baltimore scored first on a pass from Charley Ernst, center forward, to Harry McAdams, newly acquired wingman. 1943J. B. Priestley Daylight on Saturday xxviii. 217 And a real wing-commander came in yesterday and talked to me. 1974Wingback [see rush v.2 6 g]. 1976Derbyshire Times (Peak ed.) 3 Sept. 26/1 Matlock, in contrast, always looked dangerous with Peter Scott, the Fenoughty brothers, Mick and Nick, and wing-man Colin Oxley constantly troubling the Runcorn defence with their speedy breaks.
(e)1775F. Burney Early Diary 28 Feb., She had on a large dirty wing cap, made of muslin. 1817M. Edgeworth Harrington xiii, Then at the top of the mount of hair and horsehair..there was sometimes a fly-cap, or a wing-cap, or a pouf. 1883Longman's Mag. July 259 The wing bonnet like the tilt of a waggon. 1891Anthony's Photogr. Bull. IV. 121 Put a 1/4 inch bolt with a wing thumb nut, through. 1907G. O. Wheeler Old Engl. Furniture 190 The ordinary English ‘wing’ or ‘grandfather’ chair. 1910Chambers's Jrnl. May 349/1 The wing-nut on its shaft is released, the detachable rim-wheel placed on the shaft, and the nut replaced. 1971Flying Apr. 26/2 The control and gust locks..are adjustable to fit virtually any light aircraft by means of easy-to-operate wing nuts.
b. Instrumental, adverbial, parasynthetic, etc., as wing-borne, wing-broken, wing-clipped, wing-flapping, wing-hoofed, wing-like, wing-limed, wing-shadowed, wing-shaped, wing-shattered, wing-stiff, wing-weary, wing-wide adjs.
1934Webster, *Wing-borne. 1942S. Smith Mother, what is Man? 67 Than earth-born engine-borne, heaven-born wing-borne is better? 1977Guardian Weekly 5 June 3/2 About half the crashes happened when the aircraft was hovering, or in transition from normal wingborne flight.
a1793G. White Naturalist's Cal. etc. (1795) 96 As a person was lately pursuing a pheasant that was *wing⁓broken. 1874J. W. Long Amer. Wild-fowl iii. 71 Rather a cruel method, perhaps, but one attended with great success in wild-goose shooting, is, on securing a wing-broken one, to fasten it to a stake a short distance from the blind.
1892Pall Mall Gaz. 24 Mar. 2/1 Some of the birds can fly,..but the *wing-clipped ones..are..shot down.
1915E. Pound Cathay 10 He goes out to Hori, to look at the *wing-flapping storks. 1953N. Tinbergen Herring Gull's World xxi. 183 A screaming, wing-flapping tangle.
1615Chapman Odyss. xxiii. 377 Who th' extended night With-held in long date; nor would let the light Her *wing-hoou'd horse ioyne.
1795–1804W. Blake Vala vi, in Compl. Writings (1972) 318 And the *wing-like tent of the Universe, beautiful, surrounding all. 1848Dunglison Med. Lex., Alaria ossa, the wing⁓like processes of the sphenoid bone.
1606Sylvester Du Bartas ii. iv. ii. Magnificence 428 Why the wilde Fen-Goose..as *wing-lim'd, cannot fly.
1938D. Gascoyne Hölderlin's Madness 28 The bewildered words which try to tell The tale of his bright night And his *wing-shadowed day.
1829Loudon Encycl. Plants (1836) 598 Leaves..*wing-shaped.
1928Blunden Retreat 60 But now the grey age passes by my faint senses And charm lies *wing-shattered or dead.
1945P. Larkin North Ship 33 It was your severed image that grew sweeter, That floated, *wing-stiff, focussed in the sun.
1868J. G. Whittier in Atlantic Monthly Jan. 1 The sky is hot and hazy, and the wind, *Wing-weary with its long flight from the south. 1946J. W. Day Harvest Adventure x. 154 The woodcock come in wing-weary from their North Sea voyagings.
1818Keats Walking in Scot. 19 Eagles may seem to sleep *wing-wide upon the air.
24. Special Combs.: wing-back chair = wing chair, sense 23 a (e)); also ellipt.; wing-band = wing-bar (b); wing-bar, (a) a lateral bar in a scuffling-plough; (b) a bar or band of colour on the feathers of a bird's wing, spec. one formed by distinctive coloration of the greater or median coverts or both; (c) in an aeroplane: see quot. 1910; wing-bay, a marking on a bird's wing formed by distinctive coloration of the secondaries, in certain game-cocks characteristically of a bay colour; wing-bow, a marking on the shoulder or bend of the wing formed by distinctive coloration of the lesser coverts; wing-bud, in insect larvæ, a histoblast from which the wings develop; wing-case, each of the structures (modified fore-wings) which cover the functional wings in certain insects, as the elytra of beetles and the tegmina of Orthoptera; wing-chick, a young chicken still under the protection of its mother's wing; wing-clapping, the production of a noise by a bird slapping its wings against its body; hence wing-clap n. and v. intr.; † wing-cleft a., Bot. = pinnatifid (cf. 11 b); wing collar, a high stiff shirt collar with the upper corners turned down; wing-compass, a compass having one leg fitted with an arc-shaped ‘wing’ or projecting piece which passes through the other leg and may be clamped in any required position (Knight Dict. Mech. 1875); wing-cover = wing-case; wing-covert [covert n. 5], any one of the small feathers overlying the flight-feathers of a bird's wing; wing-dam n., a dam or barrier built into a stream to deflect the current; hence wing-dam v. trans., to furnish with a wing-dam; wing-deck = sense 9 b (b); wing-elm = winged elm (see winged a. 3 c); † wing-fashion a. or adv., in the form of wings; wing-fish, (a) = Pterichthys; (b) a flying-fish, esp. of the genus Prionotus; wing-flap: see flap n. 5 e; wing flutter Aeronaut., flutter (flutter n. 1 d) of an aircraft wing; wing-footed a., having winged feet, swiftly-moving; also fig.; wing formula (see quot. 1964); wing-game, game-birds collectively, as distinguished from ground-game (ground n. 18); † wing-laid a., ? = wing-and-wing (see 21); † wing-leaved a., Bot. having pinnate leaves (cf. 11 b); wing loading Aeronaut., the gross weight of an aircraft divided by the total wing area; (in quot. 1912 perh. used differently); cf. power loading vbl. n. 1; wing-man , the pilot of an aircraft which is positioned behind and to one side of the leading aircraft, as in formation for combat; the aircraft itself; wing mirror, (a) a side mirror (freq. adjustable) on a dressing table; (b) a rear-view mirror projecting from the side of a motor vehicle; wing-net, (a) a ‘wing’ in a fishing-net (= 6 d), or a fishing-net with wings; (b) a net at the side of a tennis-court; wing-over, of an aircraft or hang-glider (see quot. 1959); wing-passage, a passage along the side of a ship's hold: see 9 b (a); also attrib.; wing-poke (collar) = wing collar above; † wing-post, nonce-wd. [post n.2 2], a carrier pigeon; wing-rail = guard-rail 2 (Knight Dict. Mech. 1875); wing rib, the end rib of a loin of beef; wing root Aeronaut., the part of a wing where it is attached to the fuselage; wing-sail, ? a sail abaft the main course; wing-sheath = wing-case; wing-shell, † (a) the wing-sheath of an insect; (b) any of several kinds of molluscs having the shell or some part of it resembling a wing, as the genus Pinna (= sea-wing 2); also, a wing-snail; wing-shooting, the practice of shooting birds ‘on the wing’, i.e. when flying; wing-shot n., (a) a shot aimed at a flying bird; (b) a person skilled in wing-shooting; adj. shot while flying, or in the wing; wing-snail = pteropod; wing-stopper [stopper n. 9], a cable-stopper formerly used in the wings of a ship; wing-tag v. trans., to attach a distinguishing marker to the wing of a bird; wing-tip, (a) the tip of the wing of a bird, bat, or insect; (b) the outer end of the ‘wing’ of an aeroplane; (c) chiefly U.S., applied attrib. to shoes with a toecap having a backward extending point and curving sides, suggestive of the shape of a wing; also absol.; wing-tipped |-tɪpt| ppl. a., (of a bird) having the tips of the wings clipped so as to prevent it from flying; wing-transom, the uppermost and longest of the transoms in the stern-frame of a ship; wing-wader, an Australian wading bird having a spur or claw on each wing; wing-wale (see quot. 1846 in 9 b); wing-walking, acrobatic stunts performed on the wings of an aircraft which is airborne, as a public entertainment; wing-wall, a lateral wall forming a support to an abutment and to the adjacent earth; wing-warping, in early powered flight, the bending or twisting of a wing by means of an attached wire as a method of stabilizing the aeroplane or turning it.
1933J. Steinbeck To God Unknown i. 1 The *wing-back chair by the fireplace. 1973‘D. Jordan’ Nile Green xlvi. 247 She sat in her wingback chair flicking through one of the coffee table books. 1977Chicago Tribune Mag. 2 Oct. 9/1 (Advt.), The chair that stands still in time—the Classic Wingback with Chippendale legs.
1872Coues N. Amer. Birds 101 *Wing-bands generally fused into one large patch.
1844H. Stephens Bk. Farm III. 959 The ends of the *wing-bars having a mortise formed to receive the quadrant, are moved upon this to any required width. 1855Poultry Chron. III. 348/2 They are light blue on the coloured parts and have no wing bars. 1910R. Ferris How it Flies 474 Wing Bar, the larger construction members of a wing, running from the body outward to the tips. The ribs are attached to the wing bars, usually at right angles.
1867Tegetmeier Poultry Bk. 338 *Wing Bow.—Rich dark red.
1917R. J. Tillyard Biol. of Dragonflies iii. 47 The *wing-bud is simply an ectodermal evagination, in the form of a small bag lined internally with hydoderm cells, and externally with the cuticle. 1969R. F. Chapman Insects xxi. 407 A progressive development of the wing buds occurs at each moult.
1661Lovell Hist. Anim. & Min., Isagoge c 2 b, Some [Insects] have *wing-cases, as beetles, and cantharides. 1815Kirby & Sp. Entomol. iii. (1818) I. 64 Two wings, and two wing-cases, ornamented with yellow bands.
1885Meredith Diana xxviii, A young poet..is not the same kind of *wing-chick as a young actress.
1964A. L. Thomson New Dict. Birds 631/2 More rattling or clattering *wing-claps may be made by pigeons suddenly taking wing when alarmed. 1976Country Life 18 Mar. 672/2 The long-eared owl will wing-clap during its spring nuptial flight.
1941H. F. Witherby et al. Handbk. Brit. Birds IV. 142 Performance [of display-flight by turtle-dove] may be accompanied by *wing-clapping. 1976Country Life 18 Mar. 672/2 The mechanical production of snaps from the beak may be compared with wing-clapping by birds.
1796Withering Brit. Plants (ed. 3) II. 294 Leaves winged; leafits *wing-cleft. 1822Hortus Anglicus II. 120 More properly twice wing-cleft than twice pinnate.
1915H. L. Wilson Ruggles of Red Gap (1917) ii. 33, I chose a shirt of white piqué, a *wing collar with small, square-cornered tabs, and a pearl ascot. 1975Times 19 May 12/7 Saturday's guide was Charles E. Lee, a transport historian whose wing collar..enhanced the building's period atmosphere.
1816Kirby & Sp. Entomol. xxiii. (1818) II. 350 In the next order (Orthoptera), the Tegmina, or *wing-covers..assist them in flying. 1888Rolleston & Jackson Anim. Life 500 The fore wings may be converted into wing covers for the hind wings.
1815Stephens in Shaw Gen. Zool. IX. i. 3 Greater *wing-coverts tipped with crimson.
1809T. G. Fessenden Pills Poetical 36 All his rhetorick was directed toward election districts, and *wingdam bills, and seconding motions. 1863Wing dam [see paddock v. 2]. 1882Rep. Prec. Metals U.S. 102 By sinking a shaft and drifting preparatory to building a wing-dam.
1857J. D. Borthwick Three Yrs. California xvii. 265 A company of fifteen or twenty white men would have *wing-dammed this claim.
1889Century Mag. July 374/1 (Steamboat Decoration) More of this glass gives a desirable touch of color in the lights above the *wing-decks at each end.
1547in Feuillerat Revels Edw. VI (1914) 14, vij peyre of Sleves *wyng ffasshion.
1855Orr's Circ. Sci., Inorg. Nat. 80 The Pterichthys (*wing-fish). 1888Goode Amer. Fishes 304 [Fishes of the genus Prionotus] are eaten..only in the vicinity of Hartford, Conn., where they are known as ‘Wing-fish’.
1927Daily Tel. 21 Jan. 10/7 The new theory..suggests that *wing-flutter may be more common than has been supposed. 1982C. L. Ruhlin et al. Transonic Flutter Study of Wind-Tunnel Model (NASA Rep. 82-23239) viii. 5/2 Most of the winglet effect on the wing flutter speed was due to the winglet mass, not aerodynamics.
1591Spenser Ruins of Time 666 *Wing footed Mercurie. 1612Drayton Poly-olb. x. 322 Wing-footed Time. 1658Rowland tr. Moufet's Theat. Ins. 923 Hail the daughters of the wing-footed steed. 1977Time 22 Aug. 13/1 Wing-footed United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young has been exploring the politically and economically troubled waters of the Caribbean, and soon will attend an anti-apartheid conference in Lagos, Nigeria.
1936Brit. Birds XXX. 226 This specimen..has..a *wing formula as follows. 1964A. L. Thomson New Dict. Birds 892/2 Wing formula: a statement of, mainly, the relative lengths of the primary feathers.
1879Jefferies Wild Life in S. Co. vii, The neighbouring squire takes the pick of the *wing⁓game.
1632Lithgow Trav. x. 502 The *wing-layd Galley, with her factious oares.
1822Hortus Anglicus II. 119 *Wing-leaved Fig Wort, or Dog's Rue.
1912Q. Rev. July 246 A range of this amount is obtained entirely by proportioning the position of masses, the wing-curve and the *wing-loading. 1916A. W. Judge Design of Aeroplanes iii. 29 In current practice the wing loading expressed in pounds per square foot for biplanes is about 0.005V2,..where V is the maximum designed speed in feet per second. 1972Times 19 May 17/4 It cannot be a glider, as it has far too high a wing-loading.
1946Sat. Even. Post 6 Nov. 86/2, I looked to both sides of us. Our two *wing men were gone. 1981S. Dunmore Ace i. i. 15 We will fly together... You will be my wingman..to protect my rear end. 1982Daily Tel. 25 May 1/4 He hit two Mirages with Sidewinder missiles while his wingman hit the third in the formation.
1925–6T. Eaton & Co. Catal. Fall & Winter 311/2 Dressing table..triple mirrors, centre one beveled..two plain *wing mirrors. 1948Motor 3 Nov. 396/3 An assortment of wing mirrors. 1959C. Williams Man in Motion vi. 62 The dressing-table with its wing mirrors. 1959Motor Manual (ed. 36) viii. 217 Additional wing mirrors are..very useful, particularly on the off-side as traffic on the point of overtaking is then clearly visible. 1981M. Nabb Death of Englishman iii. i. 143 He..had banged his head on a Carabiniere car wing-mirror.
1884Knight Dict. Mech. Suppl. s.v. Stake-net, At from 30′ to 40′ down stream another row of stakes is set, each opposite a stake in the bar-net, and between these stakes a *wing-net is stretched. 1884Marshall's Tennis Cuts 96 A gentleman,..in a fit of passion at some coup manqué, flung his racket high in air, and it lodged on the ledge above the tambour, behind the wing-net.
1928Morning Post 20 Oct. 9/3 One of the passengers..got panicky when the pilot executed a ‘*wing-over’. 1959F. D. Adams Aeronaut. Dict. 183/2 Wing-over, noun, an airplane maneuver in which the airplane makes a steep zooming climb then banks and turns in the vertical plane into a dive or glide from which the recovery is made at approximately the original altitude and in a direction opposite to the original direction. 1978A. Welch Bk. Airsports i. 9/2 They indulge in ‘show-off’ flying—fast dives and steep wing-overs—that the simple hang glider was never designed to take.
1869E. J. Reed Shipbuild. vi. 101 The *wing passages of wooden ships of war. 1879Cassell's Techn. Educ. IV. 364/1 The ‘wing-passage-bulkhead’ as a protection against under-water attacks such as ramming or torpedoes.
1905H. G. Wells Kipps iii. i. 351 Kipps wears a grey suit, with a *wing poke collar. 1910― Hist. Mr. Polly i. 13 His collar was chosen from stock, and with projecting corners, technically a ‘wing-poke’.
a1661Fuller Worthies, Northamptonshire (1662) ii. 279 Such practices, by these *Wing-posts, would spoil many a Foot-post.
1883‘Annie Thomas’ Mod. Housewife iv. 48 A seven or eight pound piece of *wing rib or sirloin of beef.
1906A. Samuelson Flight-Velocity i. 12 Near the *wing root an outrigger or boom..is fastened. 1966M. Woodhouse Tree Frog xxvi. 195, I jumped down off the wing root..and started to think about search parties.
1794Rigging & Seamanship I. 135 *Wingsail for Ketches. This sail is quadrilateral, and similar to the mizen-course of a ship. It..bends abaft the mainmast to hoops which encircle the mast.
1874Garrod & Baxter Mat. Med. 411 The elytra or *wing-sheaths are long.
1681Grew Musæum i. §vii. ii. 164 The *Wing-shells almost square⁓knobed on each side before. Ibid., The Long-Shell'd Goat-Chafer..is above an inch long, and the Wing-shells of them⁓selves an inch. 1835Kirby Hab. & Inst. Anim. I. viii. 252 The wing-shell belonging to the unimuscular section. 1854Woodward Mollusca ii. 260 The wing-shells, or pearl-oysters.
1881Greener Gun 58 These guns..were probably intended for *wing-shooting.
1875Fur, Fin & Feather 118 Bogardus, champion *wing-shot of America, uses Orange Lightning [powder] for trap-shooting. 1878C. Hallock Hallock's Amer. Club List & Sportsman's Gloss. p. xii, Wing-shot, a., hit in the wing. Wing-shot, n., a shot at birds on the wing; one who shoots at birds while flying. 1883Century Mag. Aug. 493/2 Last season, I shot with the best wing-shot I ever hunted with. 1892Greener Breech Loader 253 The contest for the American Field Champion Wing-Shot Cup. 1895G. J. Manson Sporting Dict., Wing-shot,..hit on the wing.
1794Rigging & Seamanship I. 176 Dog-stoppers are used as additional securities..to ease the deck-stoppers. *Wing-stoppers are used for the same purpose.
1953Scott & Fisher Thousand Geese 215 Five of the young were *wing-tagged. 1981Animal Behaviour XXIX. 302/1 Three females and one male were wing-tagged.
1872Coues N. Amer. Birds 175 The *wing-tip projects only about ½ an inch beyond the secondaries. 1890Darwin Desc. Man ii. xi. (ed. 2) 322 The female of Anthocharis cardamines does not possess the beautiful orange wing-tips of the male. 1909Daily Chron. 2 Feb. 5/6 He..hesitated a second to see that the man at the wing tip was ready. 1928World (N.Y.) 23 May 4/6 (Advt.), Wing tip oxfords by Horsheim have unusually good style. 1971Weekend World (Johannesburg) 9 May 14/5 (Advt.), Walk tall in the elegant clean lines of a Bostonian wing-tip or genuine handsewn moccasin. 1976‘B. Shelby’ Great Pebble Affair 45 Get a pair of black wingtip shoes. 1980M. Gordon Company of Women i. ii. 38 The hard, expensive shoes of John F. Kennedy, the shoe with pinholes in the leather, wing tips they were called.
1849D. J. Browne Amer. Poultry Yd. (1855) 236 Being *wing-tipped and unable to fly, he caught it and brought it home alive.
1711W. Sutherland Shipbuild. Assist. 70 The *Wing Transom to have a long arm'd Knee. 1815Burney Falconer's Dict. Marine s.v. Transoms, The arms of the transoms, being gradually closer in proportion to their distance from the wing transom downwards.
1867Pitt-Rivers Evol. Culture, Prim. Warfare i. (1906) 71 The *wing-wader of Australia.
1927C. A. Lindbergh We i. 11 Exhibitions..in which I usually made a jump and did a little *wing-walking. 1979Sunset Apr. 3/3 Also awesome is a wing-walking act in which specially trained gymnasts do headstands and other maneuvers on the wings of a W.W. II Stearman biplane as it loops, rolls, and lands.
1791Rep. Navig. Thames & Isis Estimate 5 Taking down the Side-Walls of Godstow Lock, re-building them, strengthening the *Wing-Walls, and finishing, {pstlg}450. 1842Civil Eng. & Arch. Jrnl. V. 95/1 Retaining walls were generally introduced at the ends of bridges, to connect the abutments of the bridge with the natural ground; but in these cases they were called ‘wing walls’.
1910R. M. Neilson Aeroplane Patents 27, 6732 of March 19, 1904.—O. and W. Wright. This is the famous *wing⁓warping patent. 1969K. Munson Pioneer Aircraft 1903–14 7 Wing-warping was not, in itself, an invention of the Wrights; what was significant was their improvement of linking the warp-control cables with a single, hinged rudder.
▸ wing oyster n. any of various chiefly tropical and subtropical marine bivalve molluscs of the genus Pteria or family Pteriidae, which have a winglike extension to each valve producing an elongated straight hinge; (also) the shell of such a mollusc.
1971D. Nichols Oxf. Bk. Invertebr. 72/1 Pteria (*Wing Oyster). The shell of this form has wing-like extensions of the valves which increase the length of the hinge-line. 1981Washington Post 9 Aug. 7/1 Sticking to their sides were Atlantic wing oysters, camouflaged as cotton balls to escape the octopus. 2002West Indian Jrnl. Marine Sci. 1 169 Other oyster species found during the survey were the wing oyster, Pteria penguin, occurring in deep channels in Shimoni and Mombasa.
▪ II. wing, v.
Forms: see prec.; also pa. pple. 5 wyngged, y-whyngged.
[f. prec. n.]
I. Senses derived from senses 1–5 of the n.
†1. trans. To carve (a quail or partridge). Obs.
1486Bk. St. Albans f vij b, A Quayle wyngged. c1500[see ele v.2]. 1513Bk. Keruynge in Babees Bk. 265. 1598 Bp. Hall Sat. iv. ii. 44 Him list not spend his idle meales In quinsing Plouers, or in winging [printed winning] Quailes. 1694N. H. Ladies Dict. 415 (bis). a1756Mrs. Heywood New Present (1771) 269. 1804 Farley London Art of Cookery (ed. 10) 292 Partridges and quails. To wing either of these birds, nothing more is to be done than to raise the legs and wings.
2. a. intr. († occas. refl.) To use one's wings, take flight, fly; occas. transf. to sail; fig. to ‘fly’, pass swiftly, speed; also (chiefly U.S.) with an aircraft as subject, or transf. of a passenger, to travel by aircraft. orig. poet. or rhetorical.
1611Shakes. Wint. T. v. iii. 133, I (an old Turtle) Will wing me to some wither'd bough. 1623‘Jack Dawe’ Vox Graculi 51 It will be better going by Land..then to wing against winde and tide without a tilt-Cloath. 1628Feltham Resolves ii. [i.] xxxii. 101 Iuvenal does tell vs, how Life wings away! 1688Crowne Darius v. 62 He wings along the Air in Clouds of Dust, And does not march, but fly. 1726Adv. Capt. R. Boyle (1768) 268, I had nothing else to do but to Wing to the Place where the Joy of my Life did once reside. 1801W. Hutton Life (1816) 238 The year winged away in feasting upon a pleasure to come. 1816Scott Antiq. vii, Many of these wild tribes..were now winging towards their nests. 1844Hood Haunted Ho. iii. v, In the upper gloom The bat—or something in its shape—was winging. 1879‘E. Garrett’ House by Works xv, He was dead before the telegram, winging over sea and land, announced his danger to his son. 1938Sun (Baltimore) 21 July 1/8 (heading) English plane wings swiftly over Atlantic. 1973C. Sagan Cosmic Connection (1974) xxviii. 197 A single bit of radio information, sent winging across space to the Earth, would cost far less than a penny. 1977Time 30 May 25/2 As Air Force One winged toward Washington, one Californian was clearly relieved that Carter's visit had been so brief. 1983Fortune 18 Apr. 137/1 Winging into New Hampshire from Los Angeles headquarters aboard an Arco jet one Sunday, Cooper began the next three days at 7:30. 1984Times 4 Aug. 32 The Prince of Wales flies back from Monaco, only to wing off within hours for Papua New Guinea.
b. In pa. pple. = flying, on the wing. Obs. or arch.
1591Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, iv. vii. 21 Thou antique Death,..Two Talbots winged through the lither Skie, In thy despight shall scape Mortalitie. 1611― Cymb. iv. ii. 348, I saw Ioues Bird, The Roman Eagle, wing'd From the spungy South to this part of the West. 1737H. Brooke tr. Tasso iii. (1738) 10 Far wing'd before his Squadron Tancred came. 1844Kinglake Eothen vi, Brave thoughts winged on Grecian words gained their natural mastery over Terror.
3. trans.
a. To fly through, upon, or across; to traverse by flying.
1605Shakes. Lear iv. vi. 13 The Crowes and Choughes, that wing the midway ayre. 1667Milton P.L. iv. 936, I alone first undertook To wing the desolate Abyss. 1733Pope Ess. Man iii. 120 All that roam the wood, Or wing the sky, or roll along the flood. 1760–72H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1809) III. 26 Thoughts that wing infinity, apprehensions that reach through eternity. 1820Shelley Skylark ii, The blue deep thou wingest, And singing still dost soar, and soaring ever singest. 1883Whitelaw Sophocles, Oedipus Colonus 1081 Oh that I were a dove, that I might wing the wind With pinion swift and strong.
b. with cognate obj. (flight, way).
1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 14 New ways I must attempt, my groveling Name To raise aloft, and wing my flight to Fame. 1698Congreve Semele ii. i. 2 From Samos have I wing'd my Way. 1790Alex. Wilson To David Brodie Poet. Wks. (1846) 7 The parting year prepares to wing its way. 1848Dickens Dombey xxx, The week fled faster. It had nearly winged its flight away. 1893Sir R. Ball Story of Sun xvii. 320 If we were able to wing our way from this Earth into the depths of space.
4. a. To put wings upon, furnish or fit with wings for flying; to feather (an arrow); also poet. in ref. to the sails of a ship.
a1616B. Jonson Barriers 41 Marriage Loves obiect is;..For her, he wings his shoulders. 1661Boyle Style Script. 90 The Feathers that wing our Arrows. 1725Pope Odyss. iv. 785 With sails we wing the masts. 1757Dyer Fleece ii. 296 Nimbly they wing'd the bark. 1867F. Francis Bk. Angling xiii. 399 The nicest operation of all,..that of winging the fly.
b. fig. (or in fig. context): To ‘give wings to’; to enable to ‘fly’ or ‘soar’; to give speed or swift motion to; to speed, hasten.
1599Peele David & Bethsabe C j b, Cast as was Eua from that glorious soile (Where al delights sat bating wingd with thoughts, Ready to nestle in her naked breasts). 16..Lust's Domin. i. iii. (1657) B 8, Ambition wings his spirit, keep him down. a1625Fletcher Bloody Brother iii. i, Gis. Tyrant, twill haste thy owne death. Rol. Let it wing it. 1647Trapp Comm. 1 Cor. vii. 5 (1656) 673 Fasting-days are soul-fatting days: prayer is edged and winged thereby. 1667Milton P.L. i. 175 The Thunder, Wing'd with red Lightning and impetuous rage. 1781Cowper Catharina 50 With her book, and her voice, and her lyre, To wing all her moments at home. 1814Cary Dante, Parad. xx. 102 Lively hope, that wing'd The prayers [of St. Gregory] sent up to God for his release. 1818Scott Hrt. Midl. xiv, The hours glided on,..whether winged with joy or laden with affliction. 1835Lytton Rienzi vi. v, The Convent was at some distance, but..fear would wing her steps. 1849M. Arnold Sonn. to G. Cruikshank, Artist, whose hand, with horror wing'd, hath torn From the rank life of towns this leaf.
5. To convey by or as by means of wings; ‘to transport by flight’ (J.); to carry through the air as if flying, to waft (also fig.).
1628Feltham Resolves ii. [i.] xlvii. 139 It is these two only [sc. water and earth], that seeme to make the body, while the two purer, Fire and Ayre, are wing'd away. 1682Otway Venice Preserv'd iii. ii. 37 First, let's embrace, Heav'n knows who next shall thus Wing ye together. 1807J. Barlow Columb. ii. 126 When future gales shall wing them o'er the tide. 1820Clare Poems Rural Life 174 Sad was the day when my Willy did leave me, Sad were the moments that wing'd him away. 1876Geo. Eliot Dan. Der. xiii, There was enough breeze..to wing the shadow of a cloud across the soft grey downs. 1976C. Egleton State Visit xiv. 123 The VC 10 winged him back to Heathrow.
6. To send flying, let fly (as a missile); to send off swiftly, to dart.
1718Pope Iliad xiii. 832 With his full Strength he bent his angry Bow, And wing'd the feather'd Vengeance at the Foe. 1831James Phil. Augustus iii, Whether any of his train could draw a good bow, and wing a shaft well home. 1880Meredith Tragic Com. viii, The desire to wing a telegram to her he thought it wise to repress. 1887Morris Odyss. xi. 396 And therewith I bespake him and winged a word for his ears [ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδων].
7. To brush with a bird's wing: cf. prec. 1 c.
1669Sturmy Mariner's Mag. vii. xxxiv. 49 With Blew Smalts strew very thick the Border while it is wet; and when it is dry, wing that which is loose off. 1866[see winged ppl. a. 2].
8. To shoot (a bird) in the wing, so as to disable it from flying without killing it; transf. to wound (a person) with a shot in the arm or shoulder, or some other not vital part; to injure or disable (something) by a shot. Also, to pluck off the wings of (an insect).
1802G. Colman Poor Gentl. v. iii. 77 We are on the ground first..What are the odds now, that he doesn't wing me? 1803W. Taylor in Ann. Rev. I. 365 Snatched at, like flies by children, to be winged and let go. 1826F. Reynolds Life & Times I. 82 Though I regularly fired,..I never even winged a tomtit. 1837Dickens Pickw. ii, Be steady, and wing him. 1884‘H. Collingwood’ Under Meteor Flag v, Tompion was..bid do his best to ‘wing’ the Frenchman [sc. a ship]. 1914Times 28 Oct. 9/6 One aeroplane was winged by the Russian soldiery.
II. Senses derived from senses 6–9 of the n.
9.
†a. Mil. To furnish (a force) with additional troops on the wings; also of such troops, to form the wings of. (occas. absol.) Obs.
1591Garrard's Art Warre 202 This squadron is..flanked with Musket..and winged with horsemen. 1594Shakes. Rich. III, v. iii. 300 In the maine Battell, whose puissance on either side Shall be well-winged with our cheefest Horse. 1622F. Markham Bk. War iii. i. 82 They [sc. cavalry armed with petronels] wing the Launces or Pistolleirs. 1647Clarendon Hist. Reb. vi. §248 Having winged his Foot with his Horse and Dragoons. 1677W. Hubbard Pres. St. New-Eng. 125 We asked him what they intended who promised to wing us. 1699Relat. Sir T. Morgan's Progr. France 6 We were forced to march up in four Lines (for we had not room enough to Wing).
b. To furnish with side parts or projections, as a building, etc.
a1700Evelyn Diary 31 Aug. 1654, Two courts,..wing'd with cloisters. 1789Trans. Soc. Arts VII. 56 A new pair of flood-gates, winged with stone-walls. a1830Edin. Encycl. XIV. 349/1 If the pillars are to be winged afterwards, they must be left of an extra strength. 1882C. A. Young Sun vi. 198 The hydrogen is in such a state that the lines of its spectrum are widened and ‘winged’.
10. Naut.
a. To carry up (ballast) in the wings of a ship.
1794Rigging & Seamanship II. 286 The iron ballast..is winged up 3 or more pigs above the floor-heads. 1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. 735 To Wing up ballast, to carry the dead weight from the bottom as high as consistent with the stability of a ship.
b. intr. to wing out: to set a sail on a boom projecting sideways. Hence winged out or wung out, = wing-and-wing s.v. wing n. 21.
1867G. E. Clark Seven Yrs. Sailor's Life i. 14 Here was I, deep-loaded, winged out, and oft-times flying before the winter blast. 1890Webster, wung out. 1907Rudder Nov. 827/2 On rounding, the schooners winged out; but..the wind came out of East of South, and they jibed their foresails and trimmed sheets a little. 1956A. F. Loomis Hotspur Story 109 Thither we sailed, main⁓sail to starboard and staysail wung out. Ibid. 214 The wung-out schooner which we had noticed earlier in the afternoon lost the race. 1969H. Horwood Newfoundland x. 71 Tearing down the outside passages with sails ‘wung out’ before a roaring nor'-wester.
11. Theatr. slang. trans. To study (a part) in or about the wings, having undertaken it at short notice; also intr. Hence in phr. to wing it; now usu. in slang use (orig. and chiefly U.S.), to improvise; to speak or act without preparation, to make statements on unstudied matters (see also quot. 1950).
1885Stage 21 Aug. 12/2 ‘To wing’..indicates the capacity to play a rôle without knowing the text, and the word itself came into use from the fact that the artiste frequently received the assistance of a special prompter, who..stood..screened..by a piece of the scenery or a wing. 1886Stage Gossip 70 In the event of an artiste being suddenly called upon to play a part of which he knows nothing..he frequently has to ‘wing’ the part. 1933P. Godfrey Back-Stage iii. 39 He must give a performance by ‘winging it’—that is, by refreshing his memory for each scene in the wings before he goes on to play it. 1950Amer. Speech XXV. 238/1 Wing it, vb., to lay off an approximate 90° angle by eye. 1959Esquire Nov. 70 Wing, to do something without preparation. 1970Time 26 Jan. 12 Cox: The resistance put up against us dictates [our] strategy. Bernstein:..You mean you've got to wing it. 1971Publishers' Weekly 6 Dec. 20/2 They can talk about the book, kind of winging it based on the ads, just like other people do with reviews. 1979Globe & Mail (Toronto) 22 Jan. 8/2 Mr. Trudeau came without notes, choosing to wing it, and struggled..unsuccessfully to establish Mr. Leger's resemblance to an owl.
†12. intr. To incline to a particular wing, side, or party. Obs. nonce-use.
1617R. Fenton Treat. Ch. Rome 52 This made the people wing on that side.
Add:[I.] [6.] b. To cause (an object) to sail through the air; to throw, fling; to lob. U.S. colloq.
1970R. Coover Universal Baseball Assoc. ii. 34 Dad delivering the pitch, winging it in there, time after time. 1987K.O. Sept. 34/3 Not until he was wobbly and desperate in the fifth round, did MacDonald start winging his right with abandon. 1991Sports Illustr. 18 Mar. 98/1 One kid said he thought it meant that the better attitude a player had, the better he would be as a player. I winged the eraser at him.
▪ III. wing
var. win n.3 (slang), a penny. |