Win·ter n.
 1. The season of the year in which the sun shines most obliquely upon any region; the coldest season of the year.  “Of thirty winter he was old.”
 And after summer evermore succeeds
 Barren winter, with his wrathful nipping cold.   --Shak.
    Winter lingering chills the lap of May.   --Goldsmith.
 Note: ☞ North of the equator, winter is popularly taken to include the months of December, January, and February (see Season).  Astronomically, it may be considered to begin with the winter solstice, about December 21st, and to end with the vernal equinox, about March 21st.
 2. The period of decay, old age, death, or the like.
    Life's autumn past, I stand on winter's verge.   --Wordsworth.
 Winter apple, an apple that keeps well in winter, or that does not ripen until winter.
 Winter barley, a kind of barley that is sown in autumn.
 Winter berry Bot.,  the name of several American shrubs (Ilex verticillata, Ilex laevigata, etc.) of the Holly family, having bright red berries conspicuous in winter.
 Winter bloom. Bot. (a) A plant of the genus Azalea. (b) A plant of the genus Hamamelis (Hamamelis Viginica); witch-hazel; -- so called from its flowers appearing late in autumn, while the leaves are falling.
 Winter bud Zool., a statoblast.
 Winter cherry Bot., a plant (Physalis Alkekengi) of the Nightshade family, which has, a red berry inclosed in the inflated and persistent calyx.  See Alkekengi.
 Winter cough Med., a form of chronic bronchitis marked by a cough recurring each winter.
 Winter cress Bot., a yellow-flowered cruciferous plant (Barbarea vulgaris).
 Winter crop, a crop which will bear the winter, or which may be converted into fodder during the winter.
 Winter duck. Zool. (a) The pintail. (b) The old squaw.
 Winter egg Zool., an egg produced in the autumn by many invertebrates, and destined to survive the winter. Such eggs usually differ from the summer eggs in having a thicker shell, and often in being enveloped in a protective case. They sometimes develop in a manner different from that of the summer eggs.
 Winter fallow, ground that is fallowed in winter.
 Winter fat. Bot. Same as White sage, under White.
 Winter fever Med., pneumonia. [Colloq.]
 Winter flounder. Zool. See the Note under Flounder.
 Winter gull Zool., the common European gull; -- called also winter mew. [Prov. Eng.]
 Winter itch. Med. See Prarie itch, under Prairie.
 Winter lodge, or Winter lodgment. Bot. Same as Hibernaculum.
 Winter mew. Zool. Same as Winter gull, above. [Prov. Eng.]
 Winter moth Zool., any one of several species of geometrid moths which come forth in winter, as the European species (Cheimatobia brumata). These moths have rudimentary mouth organs, and eat no food in the imago state. The female of some of the species is wingless.
 Winter oil, oil prepared so as not to solidify in moderately cold weather.
 Winter pear, a kind of pear that keeps well in winter, or that does not ripen until winter.
 Winter quarters, the quarters of troops during the winter; a winter residence or station.
 Winter rye, a kind of rye that is sown in autumn.
 Winter shad Zool., the gizzard shad.
 Winter sheldrake Zool., the goosander. [Local, U. S.]
 Winter sleep Zool., hibernation.
 Winter snipe Zool., the dunlin.
 Winter solstice. Astron. See Solstice, 2.
 Winter teal Zool., the green-winged teal.
 Winter wagtail Zool., the gray wagtail (Motacilla melanope). [Prov. Eng.]
 Winter wheat, wheat sown in autumn, which lives during the winter, and ripens in the following summer.
 Winter wren Zool., a small American wren (Troglodytes hiemalis) closely resembling the common wren.


 Wren n.
 1. Zool. Any one of numerous species of small singing birds belonging to Troglodytes and numerous allied of the family Troglodytidae.
 Note: ☞ Among the species best known are the house wren (Troglodytes aedon) common in both Europe and America, and the American winter wren (Troglodytes hiemalis).  See also Cactus wren, Marsh wren, and Rock wren, under Cactus, Marsh, and Rock.
 2. Zool. Any one of numerous species of small singing birds more or less resembling the true wrens in size and habits.
 Note: ☞ Among these are several species of European warblers; as, the reed wren (see Reed warbler (a), under Reed), the sedge wren (see Sedge warbler, under Sedge), the willow wren (see Willow warbler, under Willow), the golden-crested wren, and the ruby-crowned wren (see Kinglet).
 Ant wren, any one of numerous South American birds of the family Formicaridae, allied to the ant thrushes.
 Blue wren, a small Australian singing bird (Malurus cyaneus), the male of which in the breeding season is bright blue. Called also superb warbler.
 Emu wren. See in the Vocabulary.
 Wren babbler, any one of numerous species of small timaline birds belonging to Alcippe, Stachyris, Timalia, and several allied genera. These birds are common in Southern Asia and the East Indies.
 Wren tit. See Ground wren, under Ground.
 Wren warbler, any one of several species of small Asiatic and African singing birds belonging to Prinia and allied genera. These birds are closely allied to the tailor birds, and build their nests in a similar manner.  See also Pincpinc.

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