word noun [AS. word; akin to OFries. & OS. word, D. woord, G. wort, Icel. orð, Sw. & Dan. ord, Goth. waúrd, OPruss. wirds, Lith. vardas a name, L. verbum a word; or perhaps to Gr. ῥήτωρ an orator. Cf. Verb.]

1. The spoken sign of a conception or an idea; an articulate or vocal sound, or a combination of articulate and vocal sounds, uttered by the human voice, and by custom expressing an idea or ideas; a single component part of human speech or language; a constituent part of a sentence; a term; a vocable.

“A glutton of words.” Piers Plowman.

You cram these words into mine ears, against
The stomach of my sense. Shak.

Amongst men who confound their ideas with words, there must be endless disputes. Locke.

2. Hence, the written or printed character, or combination of characters, expressing such a term; as, the words on a page.

3. pl. Talk; discourse; speech; language.

Why should calamity be full of words? Shak.

Be thy words severe;
Sharp as he merits, but the sword forbear. Dryden.

4. Account; tidings; message; communication; information; – used only in the singular. I pray you . . . bring me word thither

How the world goes. Shak.

5. Signal; order; command; direction.

Give the word through. Shak.

6. Language considered as implying the faith or authority of the person who utters it; statement; affirmation; declaration; promise.

Obey thy parents; keep thy word justly. Shak.

I know you brave, and take you at your word. Dryden.

I desire not the reader should take my word. Dryden.

7. pl. Verbal contention; dispute.

Some words there grew ’twixt Somerset and me. Shak.

8. A brief remark or observation; an expression; a phrase, clause, or short sentence.

All the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Gal. v. 14.

She said; but at the happy word “he lives,”
My father stooped, re-fathered, o'er my wound. Tennyson.
There is only one other point on which I offer a word of remark. Dickens.

By word of mouth

orally; by actual speaking. Boyle.

Compound word

See under Compound, adjective

Good word

commendation; favorable account.

“And gave the harmless fellow a good word.” Pope.

In a word

briefly; to sum up.

In word

in declaration; in profession.

“Let us not love in word, . . . but in deed and in truth.” 1 John iii. 8.

Nuns of the Word Incarnate (R. C. Ch.)

an order of nuns founded in France in 1625, and approved in 1638. The order, which also exists in the United States, was instituted for the purpose of doing honor to the “Mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God.”

The word

or

The Word (Theol.)

(a) The gospel message; esp., the Scriptures, as a revelation of God. “Bold to speak the word without fear.” Phil. i. 14.

(b) The second person in the Trinity before his manifestation in time by the incarnation; among those who reject a Trinity of persons, some one or all of the divine attributes personified. John i. 1.

To eat one's words

to retract what has been said.

To have the words for

to speak for; to act as spokesman. [Obs.] “Our host hadde the wordes for us all.” Chaucer.

Word blindness (Physiol.)

inability to understand printed or written words or symbols, although the person affected may be able to see quite well, speak fluently, and write correctly. Landois & Stirling.

Word deafness (Physiol.)

inability to understand spoken words, though the person affected may hear them and other sounds, and hence is not deaf.

Word dumbness (Physiol.)

inability to express ideas in verbal language, though the power of speech is unimpaired.

Word for word

in the exact words; verbatim; literally; exactly; as, to repeat anything word for word.

Word painting

the act of describing an object fully and vividly by words only, so as to present it clearly to the mind, as if in a picture.

Word picture

an accurate and vivid description, which presents an object clearly to the mind, as if in a picture.

Word square

a series of words so arranged that they can be read vertically and horizontally with like results.

H E A R T
E M B E R
A B U S E
R E S I N
T R E N T (A word square)

Syn. – See Term.

Word intransitive verb To use words, as in discussion; to argue; to dispute. [R.]

Word transitive verb [imperfect or past participle Worded; present participle or verbal noun Wording.]

1. To express in words; to phrase.

The apology for the king is the same, but worded with greater deference to that great prince. Addison.

2. To ply with words; also, to cause to be by the use of a word or words. [Obs.] Howell.

3. To flatter with words; to cajole. [Obs.] Shak.

To word it

to bandy words; to dispute.

[Obs.] “To word it with a shrew.” L'Estrange.