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Whit·man(witmən, hwit-), WalterKnown as"Walt."1819–1892.

American poet whose Leaves of Grass (first published 1855), written in long lines of free verse, celebrates the self, death as a process of life, universal brotherhood, and the greatness of democracy and the United States.

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Walt Whitman

Whit·man (wĭtmən, hwĭt-), Marcus 1802-1847.

American frontier missionary and physician who with his wife Narcissa Prentiss (1808-1847) established a missionary post in the Oregon region (1836). The killing of the Whitmans and other members of their mission by Cayuse Indians in 1847 led to a period of military conflict between US forces and Native Americans in the Northwest.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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