英和和英

別の表記

• whight, whyte, whyght (obsolete)
• White (race-related)

語源

Inherited from 中期英語 whit, hwit, from 古期英語 hwīt, from Proto-West Germanic *hwīt, from Proto-Germanic *hwītaz, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱweydós, a byform of *ḱweytós (“bright; shine”).

発音

• (wine–whine merger) IPA: /ˈwaɪt/, [ˈwaɪ̯t]
• (Scotland, without the wine–whine merger) IPA: /ˈʍʌɪt/, [ˈw̥ʌɪ̯t]
• (without the wine–whine merger) IPA: /ˈʍaɪt/, [ˈw̥aɪ̯t]
• 韻: -aɪt
• ハイフネーション: white
• 異形同音異義語: wight, Wight, wite (wine–whine merger)

形容詞

white (comparative whiter or more white, superlative whitest or most white)

1. Bright and colourless; reflecting equal quantities of all frequencies of visible light.

   Antonyms: black, nonwhite, unwhite

   Write in black ink on white paper.

   • c. 1878, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Holidays:

     white as the whitest lily on a stream.

   • 2022 May 9, Casey Barber, “Strawberry season has arrived. Here are tips for enjoying spring’s sweetest treat”, in CNN‎, archived from the original on 4 July 2022:

     While some of the more exotic varieties are becoming more popular with nationwide growers, such as the pale pinkish white pineberry, local farms will frequently plant a few different varieties to best suit their region.

2. (sometimes capitalized) Of or relating to Europeans or those of European descent, regardless if their skin has cool or warm undertones.
3. (sometimes capitalized) Of or relating to Caucasians (people with white complexion and European ancestry).
   • 1949, Wendell P. Alston, “The Green Book”, in The Negro Motorist Green Book, New York: Victor H. Green, published 1949, page 3:

     […] more white corporations cognizant of the mounting purchasing power of the Negro consumer, have Negro representatives in the field […].

   • 2004 May 9, Michael Joseph Gross, “When the Losers Ruled in Teenage Movies”, in New York Times‎:

     Ms. Ringwald finds a few things about these films regrettable. One thing she found "significantly disturbing," she wrote, "was how white the films are."

   • 2004, Tina Fey, Mean Girls, spoken by Karen Smith (Amanda Seyfried):

     If you're from Africa, why are you white?

   • 2025 December 21, Zolan Kanno-Youngs, quoting JD Vance, “Vance Refuses to Take Sides in G.O.P. Fight Over Bigotry”, in The New York Times‎, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:

     “In the United States of America, you don’t have to apologize for being white anymore.”

     (Can we archive this URL?)

4. (sometimes capitalized) By U.S. Census Bureau definition, of or relating to people hailing from Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East.
5. (chiefly historical) Designated for use by Caucasians.

   white drinking fountain

   white hospital

6. Relatively light or pale in colour.

   white wine

   white grapes

   white birch

7. Pale or pallid, as from fear, illness, etc.
   • 1812–1818, Lord Byron, “(please specify |canto=I to IV)”, in Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. A Romaunt, London: […] [F]or John Murray, […]; William Blackwood, Edinburgh; and John Cumming, Dublin; by Thomas Davison, […], →OCLC, (please specify the stanza number):

     Or whispering with white lips, "The foe! / They come! they come!"

8. (of a person or skin) Lacking coloration (tan) from ultraviolet light; not tanned.

   Synonyms: fair, pale

   Antonym: tanned

9. (of an animal) With leucism.
   • 2010, Linda Tucker, “Gold: Subterranean Sun” (chapter 21), in Mystery of the White Lions: Children of the Sun God, Hay House, page 218:

     Why should the birthplace of the gods in ancient Egyptian times align with the birthplace of the White Lions in our times?

10. (of coffee or tea) Containing cream, milk, or creamer.

    Antonym: black

11. (board games, chess) The standard denomination of the playing pieces of a board game deemed to belong to the white set, no matter what the actual colour.

    The white pieces in this set are in fact made of light green glass.

    • 2022, “2023 Laws of Chess”, in FIDE‎, page 21:

      Consequently, in the initial position the white pieces and pawns are placed on the first and second ranks; the black pieces and pawns on the eighth and seventh ranks.

12. Pertaining to an ecclesiastical order whose adherents dress in white habits; Cistercian.

    a white monk

13. (now less common and often offensive) Honourable, fair, decent, kind; generous.
    • 1693, Decimus Junius Juvenalis, John Dryden, transl., “[The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis.] The Second Satyr”, in The Satires of Decimus Junius Juvenalis. Translated into English Verse. […] Together with the Satires of Aulus Persius Flaccus. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson […], →OCLC:

      White as thy fame, and as thy honour clear.

    • 1837, M. Huxley, in Timothy Mather Cooley, Sketches of the life and character of the Rev. Lemuel Haynes, A. M., for many years pastor of a church in Rutland, Vt., and late in Granville, New-York, page 73:

      'The preacher had not proceeded far in his sermon,' said the man, ' before I thought him the whitest man I ever saw. My hat was instantly taken off and thrown under the seat, and I found myself listening with the most profound attention.'

    • 1867, Mark Twain, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, and Other Sketches, George Routledge and Sons, page 36:

      ... the parson, […] was one among the whitest men I ever see, and it an't every man that knowed him that can find it in his heart to say he's glad the poor cuss is busted and gone home to the States. He was here in an early day, and he was the handyest man about takin' holt of any thing that come along you most ever see, I judge. He was a cheerful, stirrin' cretur', always doin' something, and no man can say he ever see him do any thing by halvers.

    • 1877, Walter Besant, James Rice, The Golden Butterfly, page 218:

      ... Rayner seems powerful anxious to get you on the paper. A good fellow is Rayner; as white a man as I ever knew; and he has as many old friends as would make a good-sized city.

    • 1897, Rudyard Kipling, Captains Courageous:

      "So I'm here to say I'm sorry." Another big gulp.
      Troop heaved himself slowly off the locker he was sitting on and held out an eleven-inch hand. "I mistrusted 'twould do you sights o' good; an' this shows I weren't mistook in my jedgments."
      "You're white," said Dan, as Harvey regained the deck, flushed to the tips of his ears.

    • 1737, Alexander Pope, First Epistle of the Second Book of Horace; republished in The Complete Poetical Works of Alexander Pope, Boston, New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1902, page 194:

      No whiter page than Addison's remains. / He from the taste obscene reclaims our youth, / And sets the passions on the side of Truth,

    • 1901, Hamlin Garland, Her Mountain Lover, page 51:

      “I’ll put you down at my club; and then, the governor will want to see you in the country.” / Jim had no idea of what was involved in being put down at a club, but he consented. “That ’s mighty white of you, old man, but I don’t know where I shall make down.”

    • 1913, Edith Wharton, The Custom of the Country, Penguin, →ISBN, page 155:

      "I meant to act white by you," he answered.

    • 1916, Julia Frankau, Twilight:

      He's a fine fellow, this Gabriel Stanton, a white man all through

    • 1953, Raymond Chandler, The Long Goodbye, Penguin, published 2010, page 12:

      ‘We've only met twice and you've been more than white to me both times.’

    • 1976, United Church of Christ, A.D., number 1, page 34:

      Even decency has been regarded as a white or Christian attribute, as is evidenced by the expression "that's very white of you"

14. Grey, as from old age; having silvery hair; hoary.
    • c. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:

      Your high engendered battles 'gainst a head / So old and white as this.

15. (archaic) Characterized by freedom from that which disturbs, and the like; fortunate; happy; favourable.
    • 1815 February 24, [Walter Scott], Guy Mannering; or, The Astrologer. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; and Archibald Constable and Co., […], →OCLC:

      On the whole, however, the dominie reckoned this as one of the white days of his life.

16. (obsolete) Regarded with especial favour; favourite; darling.
    • c. 1626, John Ford, Tis Pity She's a Whore:

      I am his white boy, and will not be gulled.

17. (politics) Pertaining to constitutional or anti-revolutionary political parties or movements.
    • 1932, Duff Cooper, Talleyrand, Folio Society, published 2010, page 163:

      Aimée de Coigny had always adopted with enthusiasm the political views of her ruling lover and she had thus already held nearly every shade of opinion from red republicanism to white reaction.

18. (of tea) Made from immature leaves and shoots.
    • 2012, Mary Lou Heiss, Robert J. Heiss, The Tea Enthusiast's Handbook, →ISBN:

      Most often consisting of a budset pluck, a frost tea has the clarity and freshness of a white tea, with the richness and lingering finish of a finely crafted black tea.

19. (typography) Not containing characters; see white space.
20. (typography) Said of a symbol or character outline, not solid, not filled with color. Compare black (“said of a character or symbol filled with color”).

    Compare two Unicode symbols: ☞ = "WHITE RIGHT POINTING INDEX"; ☛ = "BLACK RIGHT POINTING INDEX"

21. Characterised by the presence of snow.

    a white Christmas

    a white Easter

22. (of a set of armor) Alwhite, pertaining to white armor.
    • 2015 August 31, Albrecht Classen, Handbook of Medieval Culture, Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG, →ISBN:

      For instance, tyro jousters in fifteenth-century Iberia wore “white armor,” while experienced men wore surcoats over their harness (Fallows 2010, 80), while fabric-covered breastplates are depicted in many examples of fifteenth-century northern European art.

派生語

関連する語

派生した語

• Bislama: waet
• >? Sranan Tongo: weti
  • Aukan: weti
  • Saramaccan: wéti
• Tok Pisin: wait
• → Japanese: ホワイト (howaito)
• white fella
  • ⇒ Nyunga: wadjela
• white gin
  • ⇒ Gamilaraay: waatyin
  • ⇒ Ngiyambaa: wadjiin
  • ⇒ Wiradjuri: waajin

名詞

white (countable and uncountable, plural whites)

1. The color of snow or milk; the color of light containing equal amounts of all visible wavelengths.
   • 2012, Andrew Martin, Underground Overground: A passenger's history of the Tube, Profile Books, →ISBN, page 117:

     Not only were the platforms tiled in white, the tunnels were painted white too - to prettify them, and make them less claustrophobic - and the Central proudly issued a postcard of its tunnel-whitening machine.

2. A person of European descent with light-colored skin.
   • 1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:

     The Indians carried first our canoes and then our stores through the brushwood, which is very thick at this point, while we four whites, our rifles on our shoulders, walked between them and any danger coming from the woods.

   • 1937, Ion L. Idriess, Over the Range, Sydney: Angus and Robertson, published 1947, page 81:

     We could have ridden for weeks, possibly months, and never seen a white man had it not been that Laurie was riding from scattered white to white.

   • 2012, Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow, →ISBN, page 54:

     The War on Drugs proved popular among key white voters, particularly whites who remained resentful of black progress, civil rights enforcement, and affirmative action.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:white person

3. Any butterfly of the subfamily Pierinae in the family Pieridae.
   • 1869, Alfred Russel Wallace, The Malay Archipelago, volume I, London: Macmillan and Co., page 297:

     Several other beautiful butterflies rewarded my search in this place [...] The most abundant butterflies were the whites and yellows (Pieridae), several of which I had already found at Lombock and at Coupang, while others were new to me.

4. (countable and uncountable) White wine.
   • 1977, “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant”, in Billy Joel (music), The Stranger:

     A bottle of red, a bottle of white / It all depends upon your appetite / I'll meet you any time you want / In our Italian Restaurant.

   • 2014, Maximillian Potter, Shadows in the Vineyard:

     Those were my first impressions of wine: Ladies drink chilled, soft white while they gossip in the kitchen; old men drink strong, room-temperature red to get shellacked.

5. (countable and uncountable) White coffee
6. (uncountable) Ellipsis of white bread

   Hypernyms: bread < food

   Coordinate terms: wheat, rye, pumpernickel

7. (countable) Any object or substance that is of the color white.
   1. The albumen of bird eggs (egg white).
   2. (anatomy) The sclera, white of the eye.
      • 1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 203:

        You could see from afar the white of their eyeballs glistening.

   3. (sports, billiards, snooker, pool) The cue ball in cue games.
   4. (slang, US, UK) Cocaine.

      Synonyms: see Thesaurus:cocaine

      • 2004, “On The Run”, Kanye West (music), performed by Bump J ft. Rick James, Atlantic:

        I've got to hit the streets; I've got to move this white.

      • 2019 January 20, Ann Cleeves, Paul Matthew Thompson, “Cuckoo” (1:26:51 from the start), in Lawrence Gough, director, Vera, season 9, episode 2 (TV series), spoken by Tyler Lennon (Louis Healy):

        Ten grand a week we were clearing: base, white, meth, weed, anything. I can get you anything to get you high.

      • 2024, “Entrapreneur”, performed by Central Cee:

        We was flyin' up O with white, we was buildin' lines, now it's clothing lines

   5. The snow- or ice-covered "green" in snow golf.
   6. A white pigment.

      Venice white

   7. A white bean.
      • 1952, Columbia River and Tributaries, Northwestern United States, United States Government Printing Office, page 3764:

        Nearly two-thirds of the Idaho crop has been great northerns, one-sixth small reds, and the remainder small flat whites and pintos and seed for snap beans and baby limas (table 21).

8. (archery) The central part of the butt, which was formerly painted white; the centre of a mark at which a missile is shot.
   • c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii]:

     'Twas I won the wager, though you hit the white.

9. The enclosed part of a letter of the alphabet, especially when handwritten.
   • 1594, Hugh Plat, chapter 38, in The Jewell House of Art and Nature‎, London, page 42:

     Also it giueth a great grace to your writing, if the whites of certeine letters bee made of one equall bignesse with the o. supposing the same were all round, as the white of the b. of the a. p. y. v. w. x. q. d. g. and s.

   • 1677, Hannah Woolley, The Compleat Servant-Maid‎, London: T. Passinger, page 18:

     […] the a. b. d. g. o. p. q. &c. […] must be made with equal whites.

   • 1931, Margery Allingham, chapter 14, in Police at the Funeral‎, Penguin, published 1939, page 157:

     She copied the whole alphabet like that, as though only the inside whites of the letters registered on her mind.

10. A feather, from the wing of the cock ostrich, that is of the palest possible shade.

    Synonym: prime

    • 1909, Agricultural Journal of the Cape of Good Hope, page 514:

      3.—Wing-Quills or Remiges; Whites and Feminas.—The wing-quills are the largest feathers in the wing, and are arranged in a single row. They include the “Whites” in the cock, and the “Feminas” in the hen, as well as the “Byocks” or “Fancies” in the cock.

    • 1909 August 12, “Ostrich Feathers of Tripoli”, in Neenah Daily Times, volume 53, number 8,451, Neenah, Wis.; Menasha, Wis., column 5:

      The usual kinds of ostrich feathers known to the trade come into the Tripoli market. These are whites, blacks, feminas, byocks, spadonas, boos, drabs and floss.

    • 1910 October 30, The Arizona Republican, volume XXI, number 161, Phoenix, Ariz., page 9:

      Whites, primes, pound, $120 to $300 […] The whites and blacks come from the male birds, the feminas and drabs from the female, the spadones are the first clipping taken from the young birds and the tails from each.

    • 1923, South African Law Reports. Cape Provincial Division: Decisions of the Supreme Court of South Africa (Cape of Good Hope Provincial Decision)., page 532:

      This parcel included 286 lbs. of feathers known as whites, and 211 lbs. of feathers known as feminas. The whites are described as lot 12, and the feminas as lot 13.

11. (board games, chess) The person playing with the white set of pieces.

    In this position, white has an opportunity to make a good move.

    • 2023 January 13, Leonard Barden, “Chess: Carlsen takes on young guns at Wijk as world champion eyes record”, in The Guardian‎, archived from the original on 23 January 2023:

      1...Qd3 2 Ne1 Nd2! wins since 3 Nxd3 Rxf1 mate while 3 Qxc7+ Kg6 only delays the end. The best White can do is 3 Qc3+ Qxc3 4 Rxc3 Rxe1 when Black also wins the Bf1 and will be two pieces up.

派生語

動詞

white (third-person singular simple present whites, present participle whiting, simple past and past participle whited)

1. (transitive) To make white; to whiten; to bleach.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 23:27:

     Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Mark 9:3:

     so as no fuller on earth can white them

   • 1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 199:

     In a very few hours I arrived in a city that always makes me think of a whited sepulchre.

派生語

• white out

参考

参照

Further reading

• white on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Race on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Category:white on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons

アナグラム

• withe

形容詞

white

1. inflection of whit:
   1. weak singular
   2. strong/weak plural

引用

• 1387–1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Marchauntes Tale”, in The Canterbury Tales, [Westminster: William Caxton, published 1478], →OCLC; republished in [William Thynne], editor, The Workes of Geffray Chaucer Newlye Printed, […], [London]: […] [Richard Grafton for] Iohn Reynes […], 1542, →OCLC:

  Come forth my white spouse