white

adj., n., & v.
—adj.
1 resembling a surface reflecting sunlight without absorbing any of the visible rays; of the colour of milk or fresh snow.
2 approaching such a colour; pale esp. in the face (turned as white as a sheet).
3 less dark than other things of the same kind.
4 (White) a of the human group having light-coloured skin. b of or relating to White people.
5 albino (white mouse).
6 a (of hair) having lost its colour esp. in old age. b (of a person) white-haired.
7 colloq. innocent, untainted.
8 (in comb.) (of esp. animals) having some white on the body (white-throated).
9 a (of a plant) having white flowers or pale-coloured fruit etc. (white hyacinth; white cauliflower). b (of a tree) having light-coloured bark etc. (white ash; white poplar).
10 (of wine) made from white grapes or dark grapes with the skins removed.
11 (of coffee) with milk or cream added.
12 transparent, colourless (white glass).
13 hist. counter-revolutionary or reactionary (white guard; white army).
—n.
1 a white colour or pigment.
2 a white clothes or material (dressed in white). b (in pl.) white garments as worn in cricket, tennis, etc.
3 a (in a game or sport) a white piece, ball, etc. b the player using such pieces.
4 the white part or albumen round the yolk of an egg.
5 the visible part of the eyeball round the iris.
6 (White) a member of a light-skinned race.
7 a white butterfly.
8 a blank space in printing.
—v.tr. archaic make white.
Phrases and idioms:
bleed white drain (a person, country, etc.) of wealth etc. white admiral a butterfly, Limenitis camilla, with a white band across its wings. white ant a termite. white cell (or corpuscle) a leucocyte. white Christmas Christmas with snow on the ground. white coal water as a source of power. white-collar (of a worker) engaged in clerical or administrative rather than manual work. white currant a cultivar of redcurrant with pale edible berries. whited sepulchre see SEPULCHRE. white dwarf a small very dense star. white elephant a useless and troublesome possession or thing. white ensign see ENSIGN. white feather a symbol of cowardice (a white feather in the tail of a game-bird being a mark of bad breeding). white fish fish with pale flesh, e.g. plaice, cod, etc. white flag a symbol of surrender or a period of truce. White Friar a Carmelite. white frost see FROST. white goods
1 domestic linen.
2 large domestic electrical equipment.
white heat
1 the temperature at which metal emits white light.
2 a state of intense passion or activity. white hope a person expected to achieve much for a group, organization, etc. white horses white-crested waves at sea. white-hot at white heat. White House the official residence of the US President in Washington. white lead a mixture of lead carbonate and hydrated lead oxide used as pigment. white lie a harmless or trivial untruth. white light colourless light, e.g. ordinary daylight. white lime lime mixed with water as a coating for walls; whitewash. white magic magic used only for beneficent purposes. white matter the part of the brain and spinal cord consisting mainly of nerve fibres (see also grey matter). white meat poultry, veal, rabbit, and pork. white metal a white or silvery alloy. white monk a Cistercian. white night a sleepless night. white noise noise containing many frequencies with equal intensities. white-out a dense blizzard esp. in polar regions. white ox-eye = ox-eye daisy. White Paper (in the UK) a Government report giving information or proposals on an issue. white pepper see PEPPER. white poplar = ABELE. white rose the emblem of Yorkshire or the House of York. White Russian a Belorussian. white sale a sale of household linen. white sauce a sauce of flour, melted butter, and milk or cream. White slave a woman tricked or forced into prostitution, usu. abroad. White slavery traffic in White slaves. white sock = STOCKING 3. white spirit light petroleum as a solvent. white sugar purified sugar. white tie a man's white bow-tie as part of full evening dress. white vitriol Chem. zinc sulphate. white water a shallow or foamy stretch of water. white wedding a wedding at which the bride wears a formal white wedding dress. white whale a northern cetacean, Delphinapterus leucas, white when adult: also called BELUGA.
Derivatives:
whitely adv. whiteness n. whitish adj.
Etymology: OE hwit f. Gmc