white

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white adj. OE. hwīt = OS. hwīt, OHG. (h)wīʒ (G. weiss), ON. hvítr, Goth. hweits :- Gmc. *χwītaz (cf. with short vowel (M)Du., (M)LG. wit); f. IE. *k̂wit-, *k̂wid-, found also in Skr. and Balto-Sl. words denoting brightness or light. Comps. whitebait small fry of fish XVIII; white friar Carmelite XV; white-livered cowardly (having, acc. to popular belief, a liver lacking bile or choler) XVI; whitesmith worker in metal XIV; whitethorn hawthorn XIII; whitethroat warbler XVII; whitewash plaster with a white composition XVI; hence sb. XVII.
Hence white vb. †become or make white OE.; whitewash XII. whiten (-EN6) XIII.

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