What does "wing" mean?
Wing: Note: In the wing of a bird the long quill feathers are in series. The primaries are those attached to the ulnar side of the hand; the secondaries, or wing coverts, those of the forearm: the scapulars, those that lie over the humerus; and the bastard feathers, those of the short outer digit. See Illust. of Bird, and Plumage.
Additional senses
- 2.Any similar member or instrument used for the purpose of flying. Specifically: (Zoöl.) (a) One of the two pairs of upper thoracic appendages of most hexapod insects. They are broad, fanlike organs formed of a double membrane and strengthened by chitinous veins or nervures. (b) One of the large pectoral fins of the flying fishes.
- 3.Passage by flying; flight; as, to take wing. Light thickens; and the crow Makes wing to the rooky wood. Shak.
- 4.Motive or instrument of flight; means of flight or of rapid motion. Fiery expedition be my wing. Shak.
- 5.Anything which agitates the air as a wing does, or which is put in winglike motion by the action of the air, as a fan or vane for winnowing grain, the vane or sail of a windmill, etc.
- 6.An ornament worn on the shoulder; a small epaulet or shoulder knot.
- 7.Any appendage resembling the wing of a bird or insect in shape or appearance. Specifically: (a) (Zoöl.) One of the broad, thin, anterior lobes of the foot of a pteropod, used as an organ in swimming. (b) (Bot.) Any membranaceous expansion, as that along the sides of certain stems, or of a fruit of the kind called samara. (c) (Bot.) Either of the two side petals of a papilionaceous flower.
- 8.One of two corresponding appendages attached; a sidepiece. Hence: (a) (Arch.) A side building, less than the main edifice; as, one of the wings of a palace. (b) (Fort.) The longer side of crownworks, etc., connecting them with the main work. (c) (Hort.) A side shoot of a tree or plant; a branch growing up by the side of another. [Obs.] (d) (Mil.) The right or left division of an army, regiment, etc. (e) (Naut.) That part of the hold or orlop of a vessel which is nearest the sides. In a fleet, one of the extremities when the ships are drawn up in line, or when forming the two sides of a triangle. Totten. (f) One of the sides of the stags in a theater. On the wing. (a) Supported by, or flying with, the wings another. -- On the wings of the wind, with the utmost velocity. -- Under the wing, or wings, of, under the care or protection of. -- Wing and wing (Naut.), with sails hauled out on either side; -- said of a schooner, or her sails, when going before the wind with the foresail on one side and the mainsail on the other; also said of a square-rigged vessel which has her studding sails set. Cf. Goosewinged. -- Wing case (Zoöl.), one of the anterior wings of beetles, and of some other insects, when thickened and used to protect the hind wings; an elytron; -- called also wing cover. -- Wing covert (Zoöl.), one of the small feathers covering the bases of the wing quills. See Covert, n., 2. -- Wing gudgeon (Mach.), an iron gudgeon for the end of a wooden axle, having thin, broad projections to prevent it from turning in the wood. See Illust. of Gudgeon. -- Wing shell (Zoöl.), wing case of an insect. -- Wing stroke, the stroke or sweep of a wing. -- Wing transom (Naut.), the uppermost transom of the stern; -- called also main transom. J. Knowles.
- 9.To furnish with wings; to enable to fly, or to move with celerity. Who heaves old ocean, and whowings the storms. Pope. Living, to wing with mirth the weary hours. Longfellow.
- 10.To supply with wings or sidepieces. The main battle, whose puissance on either side Shall be well winged with our chiefest horse. Shak.
- 11.To transport by flight; to cause to fly. I, an old turtle, Will wing me to some withered bough. Shak.
- 12.To move through in flight; to fly through. There's not an arrow wings the sky But fancy turns its point to him. Moore.
- 13.To cut off the wings of; to wound in the wing; to disable a wing of; as, to wing a bird. To wing a flight, to exert the power of flying; to fly.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00