Wiktionary

wane

See also: Wane and wáne

English

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WOTD – 4 September 2008

Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Middle English wane, from Old English wana (“defect, shortage”), from Proto-West Germanic *wanō, from Proto-Germanic *wanô, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁weh₂- (“to leave, abandon; empty, deserted”).

Cognates
See also wan-, want, and waste. Compare also Dutch waan (“insanity”) and German Wahn (“insanity”) deprecated defect, Old Norse vanr (“lacking”) ( > Danish prefix van-, only found in compounds), Latin vanus, Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌽𐍃 (wans, “missing, lacking”), Albanian vonë (“late, futile, mentally retarded”), Armenian ունայն (unayn, “empty”), Old Saxon and Old High German wanon (“to decrease”), Modern Dutch weinig (“a few”), Modern German weniger (“less”), comparative of wenig (“few”) (-ig being a derivate suffix; -er the suffix of comparatives). Doublet of vain, vaunt, vaniloquent, vast, vacuum, vacant, vacate, which are Latin-derived, via the PIE root.

Noun

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wane (plural wanes)

  1. A gradual diminution in power, value, intensity etc.
    • 1853, Herman Melville, "Bartleby, the Scrivener," in Billy Budd, Sailor and Other Stories, New York: Penguin, 1968; reprinted 1995 as Bartleby, →ISBN, p. 3,
      In the morning, one might say, his face was of a fine florid hue, but after twelve o'clock, meridian -- his dinner hour -- it blazed like a grate full of Christmas coals; and continued blazing -- but, as it were, with a gradual wane -- till six o'clock, PM, or thereabouts; after which, I saw no more of the proprietor of the face, [...].
    • 1913, Michael Ott, The Catholic Encyclopedia, "Wenzel Anton Kaunitz",
      His influence which was on the wane during the reign of Joseph II grew still less during the reign of Leopold II (1790-2).
  2. The lunar phase during which the sun seems to illuminate less of the moon as its sunlit area becomes progressively smaller as visible from Earth.
    • 1906, James George Frazer, Adonis, Attis, Osiris, volume 2, page 133:
      Some French peasants also prefer to sow in the wane.
    • 1926, H. P. Lovecraft, The Moon-Bog:
      It was very dark, for although the sky was clear the moon was now well in the wane, and would not rise till the small hours.
  3. (literary) The end of a period.
     
    Wane siding on a cabin at S.B. Elliott State Park
  4. (woodworking) A rounded corner caused by lack of wood, often showing bark.
    • 2002, Peter Ross, Appraisal and Repair of Timber Structures, p. 11,
      Sapwood, or even bark, may appear on the corners, or may have been cut off, resulting in wane, or missing timber.
Usage notes
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  • When referring to the moon or a time period, the word is found mostly in prepositional phrases like in or on the wane.
Synonyms
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Derived terms
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Translations
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Etymology 2

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From Middle English wanen, wanien, from Old English wanian, wonian, from Proto-West Germanic *wanōn, from Proto-Germanic *wanōną.

Verb

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wane (third-person singular simple present wanes, present participle waning, simple past and past participle waned)

  1. (intransitive) To progressively lose its splendor, value, ardor, power, intensity etc.; to decline.
    • 1675, John Dryden, Aureng-zebe: A Tragedy. […], London: […] T[homas] N[ewcomb] for Henry Herringman, […], published 1676, →OCLC, (please specify the page number):
      You saw but sorrow in its waning form.
    • 1668, Sir Josiah Child, A New Discourse of Trade:
      Land and trade ever will wax and wane together.
    • 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “Chapter 118”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:
      I have sat before the dense coal fire and watched it all aglow, full of its tormented flaming life; and I have seen it wane at last, down, down, to dumbest dust.
    • 1902, John Masefield, The Golden City of St. Mary:
      And in the cool twilight when the sea-winds wane […]
    • 1922, Michael Arlen, “Ep./1/1”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days:
      And so it had always pleased M. Stutz to expect great things from the dark young man whom he had first seen in his early twenties ; and his expectations had waxed rather than waned on hearing the faint bruit of the love of Ivor and Virginia—for Virginia, M. Stutz thought, would bring fineness to a point in a man like Ivor Marlay, […].
    • 2022 September 30, Rebecca Ratcliffe, “Anger after Thai court rules 2014 coup leader can carry on as PM”, in The Guardian‎[1], Guardian News & Media Limited:
      His popularity, however, has waned, say analysts.
  2. (intransitive) Said of light that dims or diminishes in strength.
  3. (intransitive, astronomy) Said of the Moon as it passes through the phases of its monthly cycle where its surface is less and less visible.
    • 1866, Sabine Baring-Gould, “The Man in the Moon”, in Curious Myths of the Middle Ages:
      The fall of Jack, and the subsequent fall of Jill, simply represent the vanishing of one moon-spot after another, as the moon wanes.
  4. (intransitive) Said of a time period that comes to an end.
  5. (intransitive, archaic) To decrease physically in size, amount, numbers or surface.
  6. (transitive, obsolete) To cause to decrease.
Antonyms
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Derived terms
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Translations
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Etymology 3

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From Scots wean.

Alternative forms

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Noun

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wane (plural wanes)

  1. (Scotland, slang) A child.

Etymology 4

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From Middle English wōne, wāne (“dwelling," "custom”), of unclear origins, compare wont.

Alternative forms

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  • wone (Southern England)

Noun

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wane (plural wanes)

  1. (chiefly Northern England and Scotland, obsolete) A house or dwelling.

Anagrams

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Dutch

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈʋaː.nə/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: wa‧ne

Etymology 1

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Uncertain. Compare Sranan Tongo wana.

Noun

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wane c (uncountable)

  1. (Suriname) a type of South American tree that produces hardwood, Sextonia rubra

Etymology 2

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See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

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wane

  1. (dated or formal) singular present subjunctive of wanen

Fula

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Etymology

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(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.).

Noun

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wane nge (plural bani)

  1. (Pular) a cow with a brown hide

References

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Middle Dutch

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Verb

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wâne

  1. inflection of wânen:
    1. first-person singular present indicative
    2. first/third-person singular present subjunctive

Middle English

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Etymology 1

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From Old English wana, wona (noun) and wan, won (noun), related to wanian (“to diminish”).

Noun

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wane (uncountable)

  1. penury, deprivation, neediness
  2. lack, absence
  3. diminution
Alternative forms
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Descendants
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  • English: wane
  • Scots: wane, waine

References

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Etymology 2

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Probably from Old English wēan or wēana, oblique cases of wēa (“woe, grief, misery”).

Noun

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wane (plural wanes)

  1. woeful, miserable state; adversity; misfortune
  2. affliction, tribulation
  3. destruction
Alternative forms
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Descendants
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References

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Etymology 3

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From Old English wana, wona (adjective) and wan, won (adjective), related to wanian (“to diminish”).

Adjective

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wane

  1. inadequate, incomplete, imperfect
  2. lacking, missing, absent
Alternative forms
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Descendants
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References

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Etymology 4

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Noun

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wane (uncountable)

  1. (Northern) Alternative form of vein

Etymology 5

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Adverb

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wane

  1. Alternative form of fain

Etymology 6

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Adjective

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wane

  1. Alternative form of wan

Etymology 7

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Noun

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wane (plural wanes)

  1. (Northern, Early Middle English) Alternative form of wone (“dwelling”)

Etymology 8

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Noun

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wane (plural wanes)

  1. (Northern) Alternative form of wone (“course”)

Etymology 9

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Noun

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wane (plural wanes)

  1. Alternative form of wain (“wagon”)

Etymology 10

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Noun

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wane (plural wanes)

  1. Alternative form of veine (“vein”)

Etymology 11

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Verb

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wane (third-person singular simple present waneth, present participle wanende, wanynge, first-/third-person singular past indicative and past participle waned)

  1. Alternative form of wanen

Etymology 12

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Adverb

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wane

  1. Alternative form of whenne

Conjunction

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wane

  1. Alternative form of whenne

Etymology 13

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Verb

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wane

  1. Alternative form of wanne: singular simple past of winnen
  2. Alternative form of wonnen: plural simple past of winnen

Etymology 14

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Adverb

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wane

  1. Alternative form of whanne

Conjunction

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wane

  1. Alternative form of whanne
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