| who | 1. Originally, an interrogative pronoun, later, a relative pronoun also; used always substantively, and either as singular or plural. See the Note under What. As interrogative pronouns, who and whom ask the question: What or which person or persons? Who and whom, as relative pronouns (in the sense of that), are properly used of persons (corresponding to which, as applied to things), but are sometimes, less properly and now rarely, used of animals, plants, etc. Who and whom, as compound relatives, are also used especially of persons, meaning the person that; the persons that; the one that; whosoever. "Let who will be President." "[He] should not tell whose children they were." (Chaucer) "There thou tell'st of kings, and who aspire; Who fall, who rise, who triumph, who do moan." (Daniel) "Adders who with cloven tongues Do hiss into madness." (Shak) "Whom I could pity thus forlorn." (Milton) "How hard is our fate, who serve in the state." (Addison) "Who cheapens life, abates the fear of death." (Young) "The brace of large greyhounds, who were the companions of his sports." (Sir W. Scott) 2. One; any; one. "As who should say, it were a very dangerous matter if a man in any point should be found wiser than his forefathers were." (Robynson (More's Utopia)) Origin: OE. Who, wha, AS. Hwa, interrogative pron, neut. Hwaet; akin to OFries. Hwa, neut. Hwet, OS. Hwe, neut. Hwat, D. Wie, neut. Wat, G. Wer, neut.was, OHG. Wer, hwer, neut. Waz, hwaz, Icel. Hvat, neut, Dan. Hvo, neut. Hvad, Sw. Ho, hvem, neut. Hvad, Goth. Hwas, fem. Hwo, neut. Hwa, Lith. Kas, Ir. & Gael. Co, W. Pwy, L. Quod, neuter of qui, Gr. Poteros whether, Skr. Kas. Cf. How, Quantity, Quorum, Quote, Ubiquity, What, When, Where, Whether, Which, Whither, Whom, Why. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| whole | 1. Containing the total amount, number, etc.; comprising all the parts; free from deficiency; all; total; entire; as, the whole earth; the whole solar system; the whole army; the whole nation. "On their whole host I flew unarmed." "The whole race of mankind." (Shak) 2. Complete; entire; not defective or imperfect; not broken or fractured; unimpaired; uninjured; integral; as, a whole orange; the egg is whole; the vessel is whole. "My life is yet whole in me." (2 Sam. I. 9) 3. Possessing, or being in a state of, heath and soundness; healthy; sound; well. "[She] findeth there her friends hole and sound." (Chaucer) "They that be whole need not a physician." (Matt. Ix. 12) "When Sir Lancelot's deadly hurt was whole." (Tennyson) Whole blood. The common snipe, as distinguished from the smaller jacksnipe. Synonym: All, total, complete, entire, integral, undivided, uninjured, unimpaired, unbroken, healthy. Whole, Total, Entire, Complete. When we use the word whole, we refer to a thing as made up of parts, none of which are wanting; as, a whole week; a whole year; the whole creation. When we use the word total, we have reference to all as taken together, and forming a single totality; as, the total amount; the total income. When we speak of a thing as entire, we have no reference to parts at all, but regard the thing as an integer, i. E, continuous or unbroken; as, an entire year; entire prosperity. When we speak of a thing as complete, there is reference to some progress which results in a filling out to some end or object, or a perfected state with no deficiency; as, complete success; a complete victory. "All the whole army stood agazed on him." (Shak) "One entire and perfect chrysolite." (Shak) "Lest total darkness should by night regain Her old possession, and extinguish life." (Milton) "So absolute she seems, And in herself complete." (Milton) Origin: OE. Hole, hol, hal, hool, AS. Hal well, sound, healthy; akin to OFries. & OS. Hl, D. Heel, G. Heil, Icel. Heill, Sw. Hel whole, Dan. Heel, Goth. Hails well, sound, OIr. Cl augury. Cf. Hale, Hail to greet, Heal to cure, Health, Holy. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| whole blood | <haematology> Blood that has not been separated into its various components. (13 Nov 1997) |
| whole blood coagulation time | Measurement of the time required by whole blood to produce a visible clot. Factors that could influence the test are all but III, vii, and xiii. Activation may be by contact with the glass tube or exposure to diatomaceous earth. Delay of onset of coagulation may be achieved by use of nonwettable plastic or silicone-coated glass tubes. It is used for monitoring heparin therapy and as a bedside screening test for deficiencies in the intrinsic coagulation pathway. "activated coagulation time" is sometimes referred to as act. (12 Dec 1998) |
| whole cell patch | <physiology> A variant of patch clamp technique, in which the patch electrode seals against the cell, with direct communication between the interior of the electrode and the cytoplasm. (18 Nov 1997) |
| whole mount | <procedure> Placing a whole organism or specimen on a slide for microscopic examination. (13 Nov 1997) |
| whole-arm fusion | <genetics, molecular biology> A break in the shortest arms of two acrocentric chromosomes followed by the fusion of the long arms into a single chromosome. (13 Nov 1997) |
| whole-body counter | Shielding and instrumentation, usually involving more than one detector, designed to evaluate the total-body burden of various gamma-emitting nuclides. (05 Mar 2000) |
| whole-body counting | Measurement of radioactivity in the entire human body. (12 Dec 1998) |
| whole-body irradiation | Irradiation of the whole body with ionizing or non-ionizing radiation. It is applicable to humans or animals but not to microorganisms. (12 Dec 1998) |
| whole-body titration curve | A graphic representation of the in vivo changes in hydrogen ion, PaCO2, and bicarbonate which occur in arterial blood in response to primary acid-base disturbances. (05 Mar 2000) |
| whole-tree harvesting | A harvesting method in which the whole tree (above the stump) is removed. (05 Dec 1998) |
| wholesome | 1. Tending to promote health; favoring health; salubrious; salutary. "Wholesome thirst and appetite." (Milton) "From which the industrious poor derive an agreeable and wholesome variety of food." (A Smith) 2. Contributing to the health of the mind; favorable to morals, religion, or prosperity; conducive to good; salutary; sound; as, wholesome advice; wholesome doctrines; wholesome truths; wholesome laws. "A wholesome tongue is a tree of life." (Prov. Xv. 4) "I can not . . . Make you a wholesome answer; my wit's diseased." (Shak) "A wholesome suspicion began to be entertained." (Sir W. Scott) 3. Sound; healthy. Whole"somely, Whole"someness. Origin: Whole + some; cf. Icel. Heilsamr, G. Heilsam, D. Heilzaam. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| whoop | 1. To utter a whoop, or loud cry, as eagerness, enthusiasm, or enjoyment; to cry out; to shout; to halloo; to utter a war whoop; to hoot, as an owl. "Each whooping with a merry shout." (Wordsworth) "When naught was heard but now and then the howl Of some vile cur, or whooping of the owl." (W. Browne) 2. To cough or breathe with a sonorous inspiration, as in whooping cough. Origin: OE. Houpen. See Hoop. 1. A shout of pursuit or of war; a very of eagerness, enthusiasm, enjoyment, vengeance, terror, or the like; an halloo; a hoot, or cry, as of an owl. "A fox, crossing the road, drew off a considerable detachment, who clapped spurs to their horses, and pursued him with whoops and halloos." (Addison) "The whoop of the crane." (Longfellow) 2. A loud, shrill, prolonged sound or sonorous inspiration, as in whooping cough. <zoology> The hoopoe. See: Hoopoe. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| whooper | One who, or that which, whooops. Woopher swan. <zoology> See the Note under Swan. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |