Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 20.djvu/282

w WThe twenty-third letter in the English alphabet. As its name in English indicates, the cliaracter is formed by a doubling of single v's or it's into a ligature. This com- posite letter was first employed to transliterate the Latin semi-vocalic v {w) and the earliest recorded instance of its occurrence is in a diploma of Clovis III. at the end of the seventh century. It appeared in English usage in the eleventh century, although mm or vv (without ligature) had ' already occasionally been era- ployed. Sound a:sd Philological Value. As a pho- netic character ip is a labial spirant, correspond- ing very nearly to u in the position of its fonna- tion. wiiich gives it its semi-vocalic quality. In words beginning with ic?), like !f/i)7e, ivhat, irhecl. where the more original Anglo-Saxon had ich, the i(; is pronounced voicelessly, and with the aspira- tion preceding. The older spelling liw (Anglo- Saxon hic'it, hic<et, hwool) was transposed after the twelfth century and ich became the generally accepted orthography. In some words now be- ginning with ich. the w is not original, but has been adojjted since the fifteenth century, thus ichole (Anglo-Saxon li-Ol) , whoop (Jliddle Eng- lish houpen). The silencing of w before r, as in torath, wrestle, and also in sword, answer, is a later development since the Norman Conquest. The representation of the intermediate M>soBnd in quell, queen, where qu .stands for an older cw (Anglo-Saxon cwelhi}!, cwen) , is likewise of hiter date. (See Q.) The labialized w in the form (no at the end of sorrow, arrow, and similar words is evolved from an earlier guttural g or h (Anglo-Saxon sorg, carli, etc.). In cow, noio, how (Anglo-Saxon ci'i, nu, hO) the lo is graphic. The labio-guttural character of the letter is also evinced in such interchanges as French Guillaiime, guerre, Englisli William, u:ar, which gives rise also to .such doublets in English as guard and irard, jcarranhj and guarantee. The strongly marked labial character of id tends fur- thermore to color adjacent vowels, as in English two (<m), Anglo-Saxon two; English who, Anglo- Saxon hu:-a. Pliilologically English w may rep- resent (1) Tudo-f!ermanic u («) , as Knglish Jieiu, German neu, Latin uorus, Sanskrit tiaras, Indo- Germanic "ncnos; (2) Indo-Germanic gh, as in English warm, Latin forinus, Greek Oepndt, San- skrit gharmas, Indo-Germanic *ghuarmaa; (3) English ich stands for Germanic hw (Indo-Ger- nianie A-« ) , as Sanskrit has, Anglo-Saxon hioa, English »7)o. As a symbol in chemistry W stands for tung- sten (from the Latinized German designation Wolfraniium) . WAAGEN, va'gen, GrsTAV Friedkicii ( 1794- 1808). A German art-historian, born at Ham- burg. He studied at the universities of Brcslau and Heidelberg, took part in the War of Liberation in 1813-14, and finally settled in ]Iunich. His name became at once favorably known through his work Veher Euhert und Johann van Egek (1822), one of the landmarks in modern art- history, which led to his being called to Berlin in 1823, to assist in the establishment of the new museum. From 1830 mtil his death he was director of the picture gallery. In 1844 he was ai^Jointed professor at the LTniversity of Berlin, and in 1S62 he published his Handbuch der dentschen und niederliindisohen Malerschulen. His best known works are: Kunsticerke und Kiinstler in England und Paris (1837-39), after- wards revised and extended under the title The Treasures of Art in Great Britain (1854), and sup])lemented by Galleries and Cahinets of .irt in Great Britain (18.57); and Kiinstwerke und Eiinstler in Deutschland (1843-45). His £"?(■ iree Sehriften were collected and edited with a biog- raphy, by Woltmann (Stuttgart, 1875). WAAHOO, wa-hoo'. »' See Spindle Tree. WAAL, viil. The southernmost and largest arm of the Rhine delta. It flows westward through the Dutch Province of Gilderland, and is joined by the Mcuse (q.v.) near Gorinchem (Map; Xetherlands, D 3). "WABASH, wa'bash. The chief river in In- diana ami tlic largest north tributary of the Ohio (Jlap: Indiana, D 2). It rises in and around the Grand Reservoir in western Oliio, and flows first northwest, then southwest across Indiana to Covington, in the western part of that State, where it takes a more southerly direction, finally forming for 120 miles the boundary be- tween Indiana and Illinois until it enters the Ohio River at the extreme southwestern corner of the State. Its length is about 550 miles, and it is navigable for steamers 300 miles to Covington, at high water as far as Lafayette. Its middle course, from Terre Haute to Ilnntiiigton. is fol- lowed by the Wabash and Erie Canal, which con- nects the river with Lake Erie. The chief 232