Wood, n.
 1. A large and thick collection of trees; a forest or grove; -- frequently used in the plural.
 Light thickens, and the crow
 Makes wing to the rooky wood.   --Shak.
 2. The substance of trees and the like; the hard fibrous substance which composes the body of a tree and its branches, and which is covered by the bark; timber.  “To worship their own work in wood and stone for gods.”
 3. Bot. The fibrous material which makes up the greater part of the stems and branches of trees and shrubby plants, and is found to a less extent in herbaceous stems. It consists of elongated tubular or needle-shaped cells of various kinds, usually interwoven with the shinning bands called silver grain.
 Note: ☞ Wood consists chiefly of the carbohydrates cellulose and lignin, which are isomeric with starch.
 4. Trees cut or sawed for the fire or other uses.
 Wood acid, Wood vinegar Chem., a complex acid liquid obtained in the dry distillation of wood, and containing large quantities of acetic acid; hence, specifically, acetic acid. Formerly called pyroligneous acid.
 Wood anemone Bot., a delicate flower (Anemone nemorosa) of early spring; -- also called windflower.  See Illust. of Anemone.
 Wood ant Zool., a large ant (Formica rufa) which lives in woods and forests, and constructs large nests.
 Wood apple Bot.. See Elephant apple, under Elephant.
 Wood baboon Zool., the drill.
 Wood betony. Bot. (a) Same as Betony. (b) The common American lousewort (Pedicularis Canadensis), a low perennial herb with yellowish or purplish flowers.
 Wood borer. Zool. (a) The larva of any one of numerous species of boring beetles, esp. elaters, longicorn beetles, buprestidans, and certain weevils.  See Apple borer, under Apple, and Pine weevil, under Pine. (b) The larva of any one of various species of lepidopterous insects, especially of the clearwing moths, as the peach-tree borer (see under Peach), and of the goat moths. (c) The larva of various species of hymenopterous of the tribe Urocerata.  See Tremex. (d) Any one of several bivalve shells which bore in wood, as the teredos, and species of Xylophaga. (e) Any one of several species of small Crustacea, as the Limnoria, and the boring amphipod (Chelura terebrans).
 Wood carpet, a kind of floor covering made of thin pieces of wood secured to a flexible backing, as of cloth. --Knight.
 Wood cell Bot., a slender cylindrical or prismatic cell usually tapering to a point at both ends. It is the principal constituent of woody fiber.
 Wood choir, the choir, or chorus, of birds in the woods. [Poetic] --Coleridge.
 Wood coal, charcoal; also, lignite, or brown coal.
 Wood cricket Zool., a small European cricket (Nemobius sylvestris).
 Wood culver Zool., the wood pigeon.
 Wood cut, an engraving on wood; also, a print from such an engraving.
 Wood dove Zool., the stockdove.
 Wood drink, a decoction or infusion of medicinal woods.
 Wood duck Zool. (a) A very beautiful American duck (Aix sponsa). The male has a large crest, and its plumage is varied with green, purple, black, white, and red. It builds its nest in trees, whence the name.  Called also bridal duck, summer duck, and wood widgeon. (b) The hooded merganser. (c) The Australian maned goose (Chlamydochen jubata).
 Wood echo, an echo from the wood.
 Wood engraver. (a) An engraver on wood. (b) Zool. Any of several species of small beetles whose larvae bore beneath the bark of trees, and excavate furrows in the wood often more or less resembling coarse engravings; especially, Xyleborus xylographus.
 Wood engraving. (a) The act or art engraving on wood; xylography. (b) An engraving on wood; a wood cut; also, a print from such an engraving.
 Wood fern. Bot. See Shield fern, under Shield.
 Wood fiber. (a) Bot. Fibrovascular tissue. (b) Wood comminuted, and reduced to a powdery or dusty mass.
 Wood fretter Zool., any one of numerous species of beetles whose larvae bore in the wood, or beneath the bark, of trees.
 Wood frog Zool., a common North American frog (Rana sylvatica) which lives chiefly in the woods, except during the breeding season. It is drab or yellowish brown, with a black stripe on each side of the head.
 Wood germander. Bot. See under Germander.
 Wood god, a fabled sylvan deity.
 Wood grass. Bot. See under Grass.
 Wood grouse. Zool. (a) The capercailzie. (b) The spruce partridge.  See under Spruce.
 Wood guest Zool., the ringdove. [Prov. Eng.]
 Wood hen. Zool. (a) Any one of several species of Old World short-winged rails of the genus Ocydromus, including the weka and allied species. (b) The American woodcock.
 Wood hoopoe Zool., any one of several species of Old World arboreal birds belonging to Irrisor and allied genera. They are closely allied to the common hoopoe, but have a curved beak, and a longer tail.
 Wood ibis Zool., any one of several species of large, long-legged, wading birds belonging to the genus Tantalus. The head and neck are naked or scantily covered with feathers. The American wood ibis (Tantalus loculator) is common in Florida.
 Wood lark Zool., a small European lark (Alauda arborea), which, like, the skylark, utters its notes while on the wing. So called from its habit of perching on trees.
 Wood laurel Bot., a European evergreen shrub (Daphne Laureola).
 Wood leopard Zool., a European spotted moth (Zeuzera aesculi) allied to the goat moth. Its large fleshy larva bores in the wood of the apple, pear, and other fruit trees.
 Wood lily Bot., the lily of the valley.
 Wood lock Naut., a piece of wood close fitted and sheathed with copper, in the throating or score of the pintle, to keep the rudder from rising.
 Wood louse Zool. (a) Any one of numerous species of terrestrial isopod Crustacea belonging to Oniscus, Armadillo, and related genera.  See Sow bug, under Sow, and Pill bug, under Pill. (b) Any one of several species of small, wingless, pseudoneuropterous insects of the family Psocidae, which live in the crevices of walls and among old books and papers.  Some of the species are called also book lice, and deathticks, or deathwatches.
 Wood mite Zool., any one of numerous small mites of the family Oribatidae. They are found chiefly in woods, on tree trunks and stones.
 Wood mote. Eng. Law (a) Formerly, the forest court. (b) The court of attachment.
 Wood nettle. Bot. See under Nettle.
 Wood nightshade Bot., woody nightshade.
 Wood nut Bot., the filbert.
 Wood nymph. a A nymph inhabiting the woods; a fabled goddess of the woods; a dryad.  “The wood nymphs, decked with daisies trim.” --Milton. (b) Zool. Any one of several species of handsomely colored moths belonging to the genus Eudryas. The larvae are bright-colored, and some of the species, as Eudryas grata, and Eudryas unio, feed on the leaves of the grapevine. (c) Zool. Any one of several species of handsomely colored South American humming birds belonging to the genus Thalurania. The males are bright blue, or green and blue.
 Wood offering, wood burnt on the altar.
    We cast the lots . . . for the wood offering.   --Neh. x. 34.
 -- Wood oil Bot., a resinous oil obtained from several East Indian trees of the genus Dipterocarpus, having properties similar to those of copaiba, and sometimes substituted for it. It is also used for mixing paint.  See Gurjun.
 Wood opal Min., a striped variety of coarse opal, having some resemblance to wood.
 Wood paper, paper made of wood pulp.  See Wood pulp, below.
 Wood pewee Zool., a North American tyrant flycatcher (Contopus virens). It closely resembles the pewee, but is smaller.
 Wood pie Zool., any black and white woodpecker, especially the European great spotted woodpecker.
 Wood pigeon. Zool. (a) Any one of numerous species of Old World pigeons belonging to Palumbus and allied genera of the family Columbidae. (b) The ringdove.
 Wood puceron Zool., a plant louse.
 Wood pulp Technol., vegetable fiber obtained from the poplar and other white woods, and so softened by digestion with a hot solution of alkali that it can be formed into sheet paper, etc. It is now produced on an immense scale.
 Wood quail Zool., any one of several species of East Indian crested quails belonging to Rollulus and allied genera, as the red-crested wood quail (Rollulus roulroul), the male of which is bright green, with a long crest of red hairlike feathers.
 Wood rabbit Zool., the cottontail.
 Wood rat Zool., any one of several species of American wild rats of the genus Neotoma found in the Southern United States; -- called also bush rat. The Florida wood rat (Neotoma Floridana) is the best-known species.
 Wood reed grass Bot., a tall grass (Cinna arundinacea) growing in moist woods.
 Wood reeve, the steward or overseer of a wood. [Eng.]
 Wood rush Bot., any plant of the genus Luzula, differing from the true rushes of the genus Juncus chiefly in having very few seeds in each capsule.
 Wood sage Bot., a name given to several labiate plants of the genus Teucrium.  See Germander.
 Wood screw, a metal screw formed with a sharp thread, and usually with a slotted head, for insertion in wood.
 Wood sheldrake Zool., the hooded merganser.
 Wood shock Zool., the fisher.  See Fisher, 2.
 Wood shrike Zool., any one of numerous species of Old World singing birds belonging to Grallina, Collyricincla, Prionops, and allied genera, common in India and Australia. They are allied to the true shrikes, but feed upon both insects and berries.
 Wood snipe. Zool. (a) The American woodcock. (b) An Asiatic snipe (Gallinago nemoricola).
 Wood soot, soot from burnt wood.
 Wood sore. Zool. See Cuckoo spit, under Cuckoo.
 Wood sorrel Bot., a plant of the genus Oxalis (Oxalis Acetosella), having an acid taste.  See Illust. (a) of Shamrock.
 Wood spirit. Chem. See Methyl alcohol, under Methyl.
 Wood stamp, a carved or engraved block or stamp of wood, for impressing figures or colors on fabrics.
 Wood star Zool., any one of several species of small South American humming birds belonging to the genus Calothorax. The male has a brilliant gorget of blue, purple, and other colors.
 Wood sucker Zool., the yaffle.
 Wood swallow Zool., any one of numerous species of Old World passerine birds belonging to the genus Artamus and allied genera of the family Artamidae. They are common in the East Indies, Asia, and Australia. In form and habits they resemble swallows, but in structure they resemble shrikes. They are usually black above and white beneath.
 Wood tapper Zool., any woodpecker.
 Wood tar. See under Tar.
 Wood thrush, Zool. (a) An American thrush (Turdus mustelinus) noted for the sweetness of its song.  See under Thrush. (b) The missel thrush.
 Wood tick. See in Vocabulary.
 Wood tin. Min.. See Cassiterite.
 Wood titmouse Zool., the goldcgest.
 Wood tortoise Zool., the sculptured tortoise.  See under Sculptured.
 Wood vine Bot., the white bryony.
 Wood vinegar. See Wood acid, above.
 Wood warbler. Zool. (a) Any one of numerous species of American warblers of the genus Dendroica.  See Warbler. (b) A European warbler (Phylloscopus sibilatrix); -- called also green wren, wood wren, and yellow wren.
 Wood worm Zool., a larva that bores in wood; a wood borer.
 Wood wren. Zool. (a) The wood warbler. (b) The willow warbler.


 Yel·low a. [Compar. Yellower superl. Yellowest.]
 1. Being of a bright saffronlike color; of the color of gold or brass; having the hue of that part of the rainbow, or of the solar spectrum, which is between the orange and the green.
    Her yellow hair was browded [braided] in a tress.   --Chaucer.
 A sweaty reaper from his tillage brought
 First fruits, the green ear and the yellow sheaf.   --Milton.
    The line of yellow light dies fast away.   --Keble.
 2. Cowardly; hence, dishonorable; mean; contemptible; as, he has a yellow streak. [Slang]
 3.  Sensational; -- said of some newspapers, their makers, etc.; as, yellow journal, journalism, etc. [Colloq.]
 Yellow atrophy Med., a fatal affection of the liver, in which it undergoes fatty degeneration, and becomes rapidly smaller and of a deep yellow tinge. The marked symptoms are black vomit, delirium, convulsions, coma, and jaundice.
 Yellow bark, calisaya bark.
 Yellow bass Zool., a North American fresh-water bass (Morone interrupta) native of the lower parts of the Mississippi and its tributaries. It is yellow, with several more or less broken black stripes or bars. Called also barfish.
 Yellow berry. Bot. Same as Persian berry, under Persian.
 Yellow boy, a gold coin, as a guinea. [Slang] --Arbuthnot.
 Yellow brier. Bot. See under Brier.
 Yellow bugle Bot., a European labiate plant (Ajuga Chamaepitys).
 Yellow bunting Zool., the European yellow-hammer.
 Yellow cat Zool., a yellow catfish; especially, the bashaw.
 Yellow copperas Min., a hydrous sulphate of iron; -- called also copiapite.
 Yellow copper ore, a sulphide of copper and iron; copper pyrites.  See Chalcopyrite.
 Yellow cress Bot., a yellow-flowered, cruciferous plant (Barbarea praecox), sometimes grown as a salad plant.
 Yellow dock. Bot. See the Note under Dock.
 Yellow earth, a yellowish clay, colored by iron, sometimes used as a yellow pigment.
 Yellow fever Med., a malignant, contagious, febrile disease of warm climates, attended with jaundice, producing a yellow color of the skin, and with the black vomit.  See Black vomit, in the Vocabulary.
 Yellow flag, the quarantine flag.  See under Quarantine, and 3d Flag.
 Yellow jack. (a) The yellow fever.  See under 2d Jack. (b) The quarantine flag.  See under Quarantine.
 Yellow jacket Zool., any one of several species of American social wasps of the genus Vespa, in which the color of the body is partly bright yellow. These wasps are noted for their irritability, and for their painful stings.
 Yellow lead ore Min., wulfenite.
 Yellow lemur Zool., the kinkajou.
 Yellow macauco Zool., the kinkajou.
 Yellow mackerel Zool., the jurel.
 Yellow metal. Same as Muntz metal, under Metal.
 Yellow ocher Min., an impure, earthy variety of brown iron ore, which is used as a pigment.
 Yellow oxeye Bot., a yellow-flowered plant (Chrysanthemum segetum) closely related to the oxeye daisy.
 Yellow perch Zool., the common American perch.  See Perch.
 Yellow pike Zool., the wall-eye.
 Yellow pine Bot., any of several kinds of pine; also, their yellowish and generally durable timber. Among the most common are valuable species are Pinus mitis and Pinus palustris of the Eastern and Southern States, and Pinus ponderosa and Pinus Arizonica of the Rocky Mountains and Pacific States.
 Yellow plover Zool., the golden plover.
 Yellow precipitate Med. Chem., an oxide of mercury which is thrown down as an amorphous yellow powder on adding corrosive sublimate to limewater.
 Yellow puccoon. Bot. Same as Orangeroot.
 Yellow rail Zool., a small American rail (Porzana Noveboracensis) in which the lower parts are dull yellow, darkest on the breast. The back is streaked with brownish yellow and with black, and spotted with white. Called also yellow crake.
 Yellow rattle, Yellow rocket. Bot. See under Rattle, and Rocket.
 Yellow Sally Zool., a greenish or yellowish European stone fly of the genus Chloroperla; -- so called by anglers.
 Yellow sculpin Zool., the dragonet.
 Yellow snake Zool., a West Indian boa (Chilobothrus inornatus) common in Jamaica. It becomes from eight to ten long. The body is yellowish or yellowish green, mixed with black, and anteriorly with black lines.
 Yellow spot. (a) Anat. A small yellowish spot with a central pit, the fovea centralis, in the center of the retina where vision is most accurate.  See Eye. (b) Zool. A small American butterfly (Polites Peckius) of the Skipper family. Its wings are brownish, with a large, irregular, bright yellow spot on each of the hind wings, most conspicuous beneath. Called also Peck's skipper. See Illust. under Skipper, n., 5.
 Yellow tit Zool., any one of several species of crested titmice of the genus Machlolophus, native of India. The predominating colors of the plumage are yellow and green.
 Yellow viper Zool., the fer-de-lance.
 Yellow warbler Zool., any one of several species of American warblers of the genus Dendroica in which the predominant color is yellow, especially Dendroica aestiva, which is a very abundant and familiar species; -- called also garden warbler, golden warbler, summer yellowbird, summer warbler, and yellow-poll warbler.
 Yellow wash Pharm., yellow oxide of mercury suspended in water, -- a mixture prepared by adding corrosive sublimate to limewater.
 Yellow wren Zool. (a) The European willow warbler. (b) The European wood warbler.