▪ I. † wye1 Latterly Sc. and north. Obs.
Forms: α. 1 wiᵹa, 4 wiȝe, wihe (whi, whie, whiȝ) wyȝe, wyȝ (wiȝh), wieȝ, 5 wiȝ, 4–5 wyghe, 4–6 wye, 4–5, 6 Sc. wy, 4, 6 wie. β. 4 weiȝ, weiȝh, weih (wehy), 4–5 weiȝe, weie (4 waie), weye, 5 wey, wegh (whegh, whe), we, 5–6 wee.
[OE. wiᵹa, f. the weak grade of the stem repr. by w{iacu}ᵹ wi n. Cf. OHG. widerwigo ‘rebellis’, and Wigo as a proper name.
In OE. chiefly, and in later use only, in poetic use.]
1. One who fights; a fighting man; a warrior or soldier.
| α Beowulf 629 He þæt ful ᵹeþeah, wælreow wiᵹa, æt Wealhþeon. c 900 tr. Baeda's Hist. i. xv. (1890) 50 And hi þa sona hider sendon maran sciphere strengran wiᵹhena. 993 Battle of Maldon 210 Swa hi bylde forð bearn ælfrices, wiᵹa wintrum ᵹeong. 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 581 Syþen þe brawden bryne of bryȝt stel ryngez Vmbeweued þat wyȝ vpon wlonk stuffe. c 1350 Will. Palerne 3787 William & his wiȝes were armed wel sone. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 56 [He] wente in-to Wales with his wyes alle. c 1450 Holland Howlat 499 The wyis quhar the wicht went war in wa wellit. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. (Rolls) II. 505 With mony wy that worthie war and wycht, [he] Appeirit thair richt sone. 15.. [see β]. |
| β a 1400–50 Wars Alex. 1030 (Ashm. MS.), Bot wees wiȝtly with-in þe wallis ascendid, Freschely fendid of. c 1400 Destr. Troy 1212 Mony woundit we from his weppont paste. c 1420 Anturs of Arth. liv. (Douce MS.), Þe wees, þat werene wounded so woþely.., Surgenes sone saued. 1515 Scottish Field 493 in Chetham Misc. (1856), A yong knight,..Sir William Warkehoppe..was the wees [Percy MS. wyes] name. Ibid. 637 Now is this fuirse feilde foughten to an ende; Many a wee wanted his horse, and wandered home on fote. |
2. A noble, vigorous man; hence gen., a man, a person.
In very freq. use from c 1340 to c 1420, esp. in α-form.
| α a 900 Andreas 1711 (Gr.)., Hie ða ᵹebrohton æt brimes næsse on wæᵹþele wiᵹan unslawne. a 1000 Menologium 160 Se þe fæᵹere iu mid wætere oferwearp wuldres cynebearn, wiᵹa weorðlice. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. A. 579 Þen alle þe wyȝez in þe worlde myȝt wynne By þe way of ryȝt to aske dome. 1340–70 Alex. & Dind. 571 Wis holde ȝe no whi but ȝif he wel conne Faire tempren his tounge. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xvii. 98 Went neuere wy in this worlde thorw that wildernesse, That he ne was robbed. a 1400–50 Wars Alex. 1628 In þe same wedes, For all þis werld as þis wy wendes now attyred. c 1420 Anturs of Arth. xxix, Scho was the worthilieste wyghte, þat any wy myghte welde. c 1480 Henryson Lion & Mouse xxxii, Thair is na wy that will my harmis wreik. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xxx. 50, I awoik as wy that wes in weir. 1513 Douglas æneid v. xi. 19 Sone slaid scho down wnsene of ony wy. a 1568 in Bannatyne MS. (Hunter. Club) 739 Sen ye ar pleisit to pleiss ane vthir wy. |
| β 1340–70 Alex. & Dind. 17 Þanne weies of worschipe, wittie & quainte, Wiþ his lettres he let to þe lud sende. c 1350 Will. Palerne 281 ‘Sertes,’ þan seide þemperour,..‘y am þat ilk weiȝh’. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xi. 374 ‘Holy writt,’ quod that weye, ‘wisseth men to suffre’. a 1400–50 Wars Alex. 134 He passis his way, Vn-wetandly to any wee. Ibid. 383 His liknes he changis, Worthis agayn to a wee, fra a worme turnys. |
b. Used as a form of address.
| 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1508, ‘I woled wyt at yow, wyȝe, þat worþy þer sayde. 1340–70 Alex. & Dind. 69 Wordlich weiȝ, we wische of þi ȝifte Ai-lastinge lif. a 1400–50 Wars Alex. 2302 Welcom we [Dubl. wye], at all þe werd sall wyn with þi handis. c 1470 Golagros & Gaw. 57 Sen thy will is to wend, wy, now in weir, Luke that wisly thow wirk. 1515 Scottish Field 257 in Chetham Misc. (1856), I will wynde you to wreke, wees, I you heete. |
c. Without article. (Cf. man n.1 2.)
| 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1039, I am wyȝe at your wylle to worch youre hest. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xi. 337 Hadde neuere wye witte to worche þe leest. 1399 ― Rich. Redeles iii. 288 Þis warmnesse in welth with wy vppon erthe Myȝte not longe dure. c 1560 A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) x. 51 Thair is nocht wie Can estimie My sorrow. |
d. Applied to the Deity. rare.
| 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 2441 Þe wyȝe hit yow ȝelde Þat vp⁓haldez þe heuen and on hyȝ sittez. c 1560 A. Scott Poems iii. 39 Be the wy that all the warld wrocht. |
3. transf. A woman; a lady. rare.
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 3356 Thou shalt haue riches more Rife..Þan any lady in þi land,..And more likandly lyf..as a wee noble. c 1560 A. Scott Poems xxxi. 34, I lufe þe wy Will nocht apply, Nor grant to gife me grace agane. |
▪ II. wye2 techn.
(waɪ)
[The name of the letter Y.]
a. (See quots. and cf. Y 3.)
| 1857 Davies & Peck Math. Dict., Wyes, the supports of the telescope in the theodolite and level. 1875 Knight Dict. Mech. 2823/2 Wye, a Y or crotch. Used in many ways as a temporary shore or brace. 1883 Gresley Gloss. Coal-mining 295 Wye (C[umb.]), the beam-end connection above the pump-rods of a winding and pumping engine. |
b. spec. (a) Plumbing. A short pipe with a branch joining it at an acute angle. (b) Electr. Engin. = star n.1 12 i.
| a 1877 Knight Dict. Mech. III. 2823 Wye... A name applied to a stem or pipe with branches. 1916 C. E. Magnusson Alternating Currents ix. 97 If the three circuits be connected as shown..it is called a Star or Wye connection. 1964 R. F. Ficchi Electr. Interference x. 200 With a source that is wye-connected, the system neutral is readily available. 1978 K. W. Sessions Homeowner's Handbk. Plumbing & Repair iv. 145 (caption) Some cast⁓iron soil-pipe 90° wye branches. 1980 Slemon & Straughen Electric Machines ii. 143 Three similar single-phase transformers may be connected to give 3-phase transformation, and since the primary and secondary windings may be connected either in delta or in wye, there are four possible combinations of connections. |
Add: [b.] (c) U.S. Railways. An arrangement of three sections of track in the shape of a concave-sided triangle or ‘Y’, freq. used for turning locomotives.
| 1950 E. T. Bollinger Rails that Climb xviii. 271 After the first winter the short snowshed at Corona had grown to cover the wye, the long passing track, as well as the main line. 1972 Amer. Speech 1968 XLIII. 290 By going ‘around the wye’ an engine or train can reverse its direction. 1976 Western Yesterdays X. 20 He was to tear up a section of the snowshed on the wye next to the lake. 1985 Railroad Model Craftsman July 47/1 Shelby, Montana, also in the first subdivision, had a classification yard, a wye and an engine house. |
▪ III. wye
north. dial. var. quey; obs. var. weigh n.1 and v.1