Word of the Day: White

white / (h)wīt adjective  

1. of the color of milk or new snow

Even the white lily casts a shadow. Hungarian Proverb  

2. light in color

Yellow gold is plentiful compared to white-haired friends. Chinese Proverb  

3. belonging to a group of people with light skin pigmentation, usually of European descent; Caucasian

As long as the white man stutter, the interpreters have a lot of work. African Proverb  

4. unmarked by print or writing

We have all seized the white perimeter as our own And reached for a pen if only to show We did not just laze in an armchair turning pages… From ‘Marginalia’ by Billy Collins, 1941-  

5. harmless

Those who think it is permissible to tell white lies soon grow color-blind. Austin O’Malley, 1858-1932  

6. snowy

Song falls silent, music is dumb, But the air burns with their fragrance, And white winter, on its knees, Observes everything with reverent attention. From ‘In Vyborg’ by Anna Akhmatova, 1889-1966  

7. pale in complexion due to fear or illness

Though Macbeth was a bold man, and one that could have faced the devil without trembling, at this horrible sight his cheeks turned white with fear. From ‘Tales of Shakespeare’ by Charles Lamb, 1775-1834, and Mary Lamb, 1764-1847  

8. pure; innocent

The bride, the white bride today a maiden, tomorrow a wife. Federico Garcia Lorca, 1898-1859   noun  

1. a color with no hue located at the opposite end of the spectrum to black

Life is not black and white; there is some gray nuance to it. Pilou Asbaek, 1982-  

2. a person with light skin pigmentation

We have a vision of South Africa in which black and white shall live and work together as equals in conditions of peace and prosperity. Oliver Tambo, 1917-1993  

3. a light viscous fluid surrounding the yolk of an egg

Hope is an egg, of which one man gets the yolk, another the white, and a third the shell. Danish Proverb  

4. the light part of an eyeball

Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes! Attributed to William H. Prescott, 1796-1859  

5. clothing in the color at the opposite end of the spectrum to black

When in doubt, wear white. Kate Hudson, 1979-   6b. a wedding dress in the traditional color       Here comes the bride       All dressed in white.       Children’s Rhyme