Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Way

Way , adverb

[Aphetic form of away.]

Away. [Obsolete or Archaic] — Chaucer
Collocations (2)
To do way , to take away; to remove. [Obsolete] Do way your hands. — Chaucer
To make way with , to make away with. See under Away. [Archaic]

Way , noun

[Old English wey, way, Anglo-Saxon weg; akin to Old Saxon, Dutch, Old High German, & German weg, Icelandic vegr, Swedish vag, Danish vei, Gothic wigs, Latin via, and Anglo-Saxon wegan to move, Latin vehere to carry, Sanskrit vah. r136. Compare Convex, Inveigh, Vehicle, Vex, Via, Voyage, Wag, Wagon, Wee, Weigh.]

1.
That by, upon, or along, which one passes or processes; opportunity or room to pass; place of passing; passage; road, street, track, or path of any kind; as, they built a way to the mine.
To find the way to heaven. — Shakespeare
I shall him seek by way and eke by street. — Chaucer
The way seems difficult, and steep to scale. — Milton
The season and ways were very improper for his majesty's forces to march so great a distance. — Evelyn
2.
Length of space; distance; interval; as, a great way; a long way.
And whenever the way seemed long, Or his heart began to fail. — Longfellow
3.
A moving; passage; procession; journey.
I prythee, now, lead the way. — Shakespeare
4.
Course or direction of motion or process; tendency of action; advance.
If that way be your walk, you have not far. — Milton
And let eternal justice take the way. — Dryden
5.
The means by which anything is reached, or anything is accomplished; scheme; device; plan.
My best way is to creep under his gaberdine. — Shakespeare
By noble ways we conquest will prepare. — Dryden
What impious ways my wishes took! — Prior
6.
Manner; method; mode; fashion; style; as, the way of expressing one's ideas.
7.
Regular course; habitual method of life or action; plan of conduct; mode of dealing.
Having lost the way of nobleness. — Sir. P. Sidney
Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. — Bible (KJV) - Proverb iii. 17
When men lived in a grander way. — Longfellow
8.
Sphere or scope of observation. — Jer. Taylor
The public ministers that fell in my way. — Sir W. Temple
9.
Determined course; resolved mode of action or conduct; as, to have one's way.
10.
(a) (Nautical) Progress; as, a ship has way.
(b)
(Nautical) The timbers on which a ship is launched.
11.
(Machinery) The longitudinal guides, or guiding surfaces, on the bed of a planer, lathe, or the like, along which a table or carriage moves.
12.
(Law) Right of way. See below.
All keep the broad highway, and take delight With many rather for to go astray. — Spenser
There is but one road by which to climb up. — Addison
When night Darkens the streets, then wander forth the sons Of Belial, flown with insolence and wine. — Milton
Collocations (29)
By the way , in passing; apropos; aside; apart from, though connected with, the main object or subject of discourse.
By way of , for the purpose of; as being; in character of.
Covert way (Fortification) , See Covered way, under Covered.
In the family way , See under Family.
In the way , so as to meet, fall in with, obstruct, hinder, etc.
In the way with , traveling or going with; meeting or being with; in the presence of.
Milky way (Astronomy) , See Galaxy, 1.
No way or No ways , See Noway, Noways, in the Vocabulary.
On the way , traveling or going; hence, in process; advancing toward completion; as, on the way to this country; on the way to success.
Out of the way , See under Out.
Right of way (Law) , a right of private passage over another's ground. It may arise either by grant or prescription. It may be attached to a house, entry, gate, well, or city lot, as well as to a country farm. — Kent
To be under way or To have way (Nautical) , to be in motion, as when a ship begins to move.
To give way , See under Give.
To go one's way or To come one's way , to go or come; to depart or come along. — Shakespeare
To go one's way , to proceed in a manner favorable to one; -- of events.
To come one's way , to come into one's possession (of objects) or to become available, as an opportunity; as, good things will come your way.
to go the way of all flesh , to die.
To make one's way , to advance in life by one's personal efforts.
To make way , See under Make, transitive verb
Ways and means (Legislation) , (a) Methods; resources; facilities. Means for raising money; resources for revenue.
Way leave , permission to cross, or a right of way across, land; also, rent paid for such right. [Eng]
Way of the cross (Ecclesiastical) , the course taken in visiting in rotation the stations of the cross. See Station, n., 7 (c).
Way of the rounds (Fortification) , a space left for the passage of the rounds between a rampart and the wall of a fortified town.
Way pane , a pane for cartage in irrigated land. See Pane, n., 4. [Provincial English]
Way passenger , a passenger taken up, or set down, at some intermediate place between the principal stations on a line of travel.
Ways of God , his providential government, or his works.
Way station , an intermediate station between principal stations on a line of travel, especially on a railroad.
Way train , a train which stops at the intermediate, or way, stations; an accommodation train.
Way warden , the surveyor of a road.

Way , transitive verb

To go or travel to; to go in, as a way or path. [Obsolete]
In land not wayed. — Wyclif

Way , intransitive verb

To move; to progress; to go. [Rare]
On a time as they together wayed. — Spenser