Chapter WACADASH to WANDEROO of W by The Hobson Jobson Dictionary

WACADASH to WANDEROO

[WACADASH, s. Japanese wakizashi, ‘a short sword.’

[1613.—“The Captain Chinesa is fallen at square with his new wife and hath given her his wacadash bidding her cut off her little finger.”—Foster, Letters, ii. 18.

[„ “His wacadash or little cattan.” —Ibid. ii. 20. [1898.—“There is also the wakizashi, or dirk of about nine and a half inches, with which harikari was committed.”—Chamberlain, Things Japanese, 3rd ed. 377.]

WALER, s. A horse imported from N. South Wales, or Australia in general.

1866.—“Well, young shaver, have you seen the horses? How is the Waler’s off foreleg?”—Trevelyan, Dawk Bungalow, 223.

1873.—“For sale, a brown Waler gelding,” &c.—Madras Mail, June 25.

WALI, s. Two distinct words are occasionally written in the same way.

(a). Ar. Wali. A Mahommedan title corresponding to Governor; [“the term still in use for the Governor-General of a Province as opposed to the Muhafiz, or district-governor. In E. Arabia the Wali is the Civil Governor as opposed to the Amir or Military Commandant. Under the Caliphate the wali acted also as Prefect of Police (the Indian Faujdar—see FOUJDAR), who is now called zabit” (Burton, Ar. Nights, i. 238)]. It became familiar some years ago in connection with Kandahar. It stands properly for a governor of the highest class, in the Turkish system superior to a Pasha. Thus, to the common people in Egypt, the Khedive is still the Wali.

1298.—“Whenever he knew of anyone who had a pretty daughter, certain ruffians of his would go to the father and say: ‘What say you? Here is this pretty daughter of yours; give her in marriage to the Bailo Achmath’ (for they call him the Bailo, or, as we should say, ‘the Viceregent’).”— Marco Polo, i. 402.

1498.—“… e mandou hum homem que se chama Bale, o qual he como alquaide.”— Roteiro de V. da Gama, 54.

1727.—“As I was one morning walking in the Streets, I met accidentally the Governor of the city (Muscat), by them called the Waaly.”—A. Hamilton, i. 70; [ed. 1744, i. 71.]

[1753.—In Georgia. “Vali, a viceroy descended immediately from the sovereigns of the country over which he presides.”—Hanway, iii. 28.]

b. Ar. wali. This is much used in some Mahommedan countries (e.g. Egypt and Syria) for a saint, and by a transfer for the shrine of such a saint. [“This would be a separate building like our family tomb and probably domed. … Europeans usually call it ‘a little Wali; or, as they write it, ‘Wely’; the contained for the container; the ‘Santon’ for the ‘Santon’s tomb’ ” (Burton, Ar. Nights, i. 97).]

[c. 1590.—“The ascetics who are their repositaries of learning, they style Wali, whose teaching they implicitly follow.”— Ain, ed. Jarrett, ii. 119.]

1869.—“Quant au titre de pir (see PEER) … il signifie proprement vieillard, mais il est pris dans cette circonstance pour désigner une dignité spirituelle equivalente à celle des Gurâu Hindous … Beaucoup de ces pirs sont à leur mort vénérés comme saints; de là le mot pir est synonyme de Wali, et signifie Saint aussi bien que ce dernier mot.”—Garcin de Tassy, Rel. Mus. dans l’Inde, 23.

WALLA. s. This is a popular abridgment of Competition-walla, under which will be found remarks on the termination wala, and illustrations of its use.

WANDEROO, s. In Ceylon a large kind of monkey, originally described under this name by Knox (Presbytes ursinus). The name is, however, the generic Singhalese word for ‘a monkey’ (wanderu, vandura), and the same with the Hind. bandar, Skt. vanara. Remarks on the disputed identity of Knox’s wanderoo, and the different species to which the name has been applied, popularly, or by naturalists, will be found in Emerson Tennent, i. 129–130.

1681.—“Monkeys … Some so large as our English Spaniel Dogs, of a darkish gray colour, and black faces, with great white beards round from ear to ear, which makes them show just like old men. There is another sort just of the same bigness, but differ in colour, being milk white both in body and face, having great beards like the others … both these sorts do but little mischief. … This sort they call in their language Wanderow.”—Knox. Hist. Rel. of the I. of Ceylon, 26

[1803.—“The wanderow is remarkable for its great white beard, which stretches quite from ear to ear across its black face while the body is of a dark grey.”—Percival, Acc. of the I. of Ceylon, 290.]

1810.—“I saw one of the large baboons, called