white

Meaning

Adj

1. Bright and colourless; reflecting equal quantities of all frequencies of visible light.
2. (capitalized, sometimes) Of or relating to Europeans or those of European descent, regardless if their skin has cool or warm undertones.
3. (capitalized, sometimes) Of or relating to Caucasians (people with white complexion and European ancestry).
4. (capitalized, sometimes) By U.S. Census Bureau definition, of or relating to people hailing from Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East.
5. (historical) Designated for use by Caucasians.
6. Relatively light or pale in colour.
7. Pale or pallid, as from fear, illness, etc.
8. Lacking coloration (tan) from ultraviolet light; not tanned.
9. Affected by leucism.
10. Containing cream, milk, or creamer.
11. The standard denomination of the playing pieces of a board game deemed to belong to the white set, no matter what the actual colour.
12. Pertaining to an ecclesiastical order whose adherents dress in white habits; Cistercian.
13. (offensive, often, uncommon) Honourable, fair, decent, kind; generous.
14. Grey, as from old age; having silvery hair; hoary.
15. (archaic) Characterized by freedom from that which disturbs, and the like; fortunate; happy; favourable.
16. (obsolete) Regarded with especial favour; favourite; darling.
17. Pertaining to constitutional or anti-revolutionary political parties or movements.
18. Made from immature leaves and shoots.
19. Not containing characters; see white space.
20. Said of a symbol or character outline, not solid, not filled with color. Compare black (“said of a character or symbol filled with color”).
21. Characterised by the presence of snow.
22. Alwhite, pertaining to white armor.

Noun

1. (countable, uncountable) The color of snow or milk; the color of light containing equal amounts of all visible wavelengths.
2. (countable, uncountable) A person of European descent with light-colored skin.
3. (countable, uncountable) Any butterfly of the subfamily Pierinae in the family Pieridae.
4. (countable, uncountable) White wine.
5. (countable, uncountable) White coffee
6. (uncountable) White bread
7. (countable, uncountable) Any object or substance that is of the color white.
8. (countable, uncountable) Any object or substance that is of the color white.
9. (countable, uncountable) Any object or substance that is of the color white.
10. (UK, US, countable, slang, uncountable) Any object or substance that is of the color white.
11. (countable, uncountable) Any object or substance that is of the color white.
12. (countable, uncountable) Any object or substance that is of the color white.
13. (countable, uncountable) Any object or substance that is of the color white.
14. (countable, uncountable) The central part of the butt, which was formerly painted white; the centre of a mark at which a missile is shot.
15. (countable, uncountable) The enclosed part of a letter of the alphabet, especially when handwritten.
16. (countable, uncountable) A feather, from the wing of the cock ostrich, that is of the palest possible shade.
17. (countable, uncountable) The person playing with the white set of pieces.

Verb

To make white; to whiten; to bleach.

Opposite of

black, nonwhite, unwhite, tanned

Synonyms

Caucasian

bright

pale

blank

clear

light

clean

pure

ashen

egg white

European

hoary

whiteness

light-colored

snowy

grey

whiten

be white

colourless

whitened

white-hot

albumen

light-coloured

pallid

White

become white

light grey

blanched

alburnum

white man

flannel

make white

clay

simple

tweed

paint

ovalbumin

unstained

lily-white

livid

ofay

bloodless

fair

silvery

gabardine

fine thing

gray

innocent

😇

off-white

wan

Translations

blanc

blanco

bianco

weiß

wit

branco

beyaz

albus

blanc

blanche

ak

spî

Weiß

λευκός

Pronounced as (IPA)

/waɪt/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: whit

Inherited from Old English: hwīt

Cognate with Western Frisian: wyt

Cognate with Dutch: wit

Cognate with German: weiß

Cognate with German: weiss

Cognate with Norwegian Bokmål: hvit

Cognate with Norwegian Nynorsk: kvit

Cognate with Lithuanian: šviẽsti

Cognate with Church Slavic: свѣтъ

Cognate with Persian: سفید

Cognate with Avestan: 𐬯𐬞𐬀𐬉𐬙𐬀

Cognate with Sanskrit: श्वेत

In summary

Inherited from Middle English whit, hwit, from Old English hwīt, from Proto-West Germanic *hwīt, from Proto-Germanic *hwītaz, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱweydós, a byform of *ḱweytós (“bright; shine”).
Cognates
* West Frisian wyt
*Dutch wit
* German weiß
* German weiss
* Norwegian Bokmål hvit
* Norwegian Nynorsk kvit
* Lithuanian šviẽsti (“to gleam”), šviesa (“light”)
* Old Church Slavonic свѣтъ (světŭ, “light”), свѣтьлъ (světĭlŭ, “clear, bright”)
* Persian سفید (sefid, “white”), Persian سپید (sepid, “white”)
* Avestan 𐬯𐬞𐬀𐬉𐬙𐬀 (spaēta, “white”)
* Sanskrit श्वेत (śvetá, “white, bright”).

Sentences

The colors of the club are green and white .

Young girl wearing white holding colorful paper by her mouth .

Thus , the oven remains " white ", or clean from ash .

A woman wearing a white glove peers over the crowd .

A man in a white shirt smokes while giving instruction .

The gum was packaged in a red , white , and blue color scheme .