wane
English
Pronunciation
- (UK, US) IPA(key): /weɪn/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (AU) (file) - Rhymes: -eɪn
- Homophones: wain, Wayne
Etymology 1
The noun is derived from Old English wana (“defect, shortage”); the verb from Old English wanian via Middle English wanien. Both ultimately trace to Proto-West Germanic *wanōn, from Proto-Germanic *wanōną, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁weh₂- (“to leave, abandon; empty, deserted”).
Noun
wane (plural wanes)
- 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).
- 1853, Herman Melville, "Bartleby, the Scrivener," in Billy Budd, Sailor and Other Stories, New York: Penguin, 1968; reprinted 1995 as Bartleby, →ISBN, p. 3,
- 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.
- 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.
- 1926, H. P. Lovecraft, "The Moon-Bog",
- (literary) The end of a period.
- 1848, Charles Dickens, Dombey and Son
- The day was in its prime, the day was in its wane, and still, uneasy in mind and body, she slept on.
- 1845, Benjamin Disraeli, Sybil, or The Two Nations, Book 1, Chapter 3,
- The situation of the Venetian party in the wane of the eighteenth century had become extremely critical.
- Wane siding on a cabin at S.B. Elliott State Park
- 1848, Charles Dickens, Dombey and Son
- (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.
- 2002, Peter Ross, Appraisal and Repair of Timber Structures, p. 11,
Usage notes
- When referring to the moon or a time period, the word is found mostly in prepositional phrases like in or on the wane.
Synonyms
- (a diminution in power, value, etc.): decrease, decline
Translations
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Verb
wane (third-person singular simple present wanes, present participle waning, simple past and past participle waned)
- (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 228724395, (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 57395299:
- 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, Ratcliffe, Rebecca, “Anger after Thai court rules 2014 coup leader can carry on as PM”, in The Guardian, Guardian News & Media Limited:
- His popularity, however, has waned, say analysts.
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- (intransitive) Said of light that dims or diminishes in strength.
- 1894, Algernon Charles Swinburne, A Nympholept:
- The skies may hold not the splendour of sundown fast; / It wanes into twilight as dawn dies down into day.
- 1894, Algernon Charles Swinburne, A Nympholept:
- (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, Curious Myths of the Middle Ages, "The Man in the Moon":
- The fall of Jack, and the subsequent fall of Jill, simply represent the vanishing of one moon-spot after another, as the moon wanes.
- 1866, Sabine Baring-Gould, Curious Myths of the Middle Ages, "The Man in the Moon":
- (intransitive) Said of a time period that comes to an end.
- 1889, Algernon Charles Swinburne, "A Swimmer's Dream":
- Fast as autumn days toward winter: yet it seems//Here that autumn wanes not, here that woods and streams
- 1889, Algernon Charles Swinburne, "A Swimmer's Dream":
- (intransitive, archaic) To decrease physically in size, amount, numbers or surface.
- 1815 February 24, [Walter Scott], chapter XIX, in Guy Mannering; or, The Astrologer. […], volume (please specify |volume=I, II, or III), Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; and Archibald Constable and Co., […], OCLC 742335644:
- The snow which had been for some time waning, had given way entirely under the fresh gale of the preceding night.
- 2012 August 30, Ann Gibbons, “Genome Brings Ancient Girl to Life”, in Science Now, retrieved 2012-09-04:
- Denisovans had little genetic diversity, suggesting that their small population waned further as populations of modern humans expanded.
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- (transitive, obsolete) To cause to decrease.
- 1610, Ben Jonson, The Speeches at Prince Henry's Barriers
- In which no lustful finger can profane him,
Nor any earth with black eclipses wane him
- In which no lustful finger can profane him,
- 1797, Anna Seward, Letter to Mrs Childers of Yorkshire:
- Proud once and princely was the mansion, ere a succession of spendthrifts waned away its splendour.
- 1610, Ben Jonson, The Speeches at Prince Henry's Barriers
Antonyms
- wax
Derived terms
- wax and wane
Translations
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Etymology 2
From Scots wean.
Alternative forms
- wain, waine, wean
Noun
wane (plural wanes)
- (Scotland, slang) A child.
Etymology 3
From Middle English wōne, wāne (“dwelling," "custom”), of unclear origins, compare wont.
Alternative forms
- wone (Southern England)
Noun
wane (plural wanes)
- (chiefly Northern England and Scotland, obsolete) A house or dwelling.
Anagrams
- Ewan, Newa, anew, wean
Dutch
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈʋaː.nə/
Audio (file) - Hyphenation: wa‧ne
Etymology 1
Uncertain. Compare Sranan Tongo wana.
Noun
wane c (uncountable)
- (Surinam) A type of South American tree that produces hardwood, Sextonia rubra.
Etymology 2
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Verb
wane
- (archaic) singular present subjunctive of wanen
Middle Dutch
Verb
wâne
- inflection of wânen:
- first-person singular present indicative
- first/third-person singular present subjunctive
Middle English
Etymology 1
From Old English wana, wona (noun) and wan, won (noun), related to wanian (“to diminish”).
Noun
wane (uncountable)
- penury, deprivation, neediness
- lack, absence
- diminution
Alternative forms
- wan, won, wone; wain (Northern)
Descendants
- English: wane
- Scots: wane, waine
References
- “wāne, n.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Etymology 2
Probably from Old English wēan or wēana, oblique cases of wēa (“woe, grief, misery”).
Noun
wane (plural wanes)
- woeful, miserable state; adversity; misfortune
- affliction, tribulation
- destruction
Alternative forms
- wan, won, wone
- weane, wæn, wæne, wæine, wen, wene (early, southwest Midlands)
Descendants
- English: wane
References
- “wāne, n.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Etymology 3
From Old English wana, wona (adjective) and wan, won (adjective), related to wanian (“to diminish”).
Adjective
wane
- inadequate, incomplete, imperfect
- lacking, missing, absent
Alternative forms
- wan, wanne, wone, won, vane
Descendants
- English: wane
- Scots: wan, wane
References
- “wāne, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Noun
wane (uncountable)
- (Northern) Alternative form of vein
Adverb
wane
- Alternative form of fain
Adjective
wane
- Alternative form of wan
Noun
wane (plural wanes)
- (Northern, early) Alternative form of wone (“dwelling”)
Noun
wane (plural wanes)
- (Northern) Alternative form of wone (“course”)
Noun
wane (plural wanes)
- Alternative form of wain (“wagon”)
Noun
wane (plural wanes)
- Alternative form of veine (“vein”)
Verb
wane (third-person singular simple present waneth, present participle wanende, wanynge, first-/third-person singular past indicative and past participle waned)
- Alternative form of wanen
Adverb
wane
- Alternative form of whenne
Conjunction
wane
- Alternative form of whenne
Verb
wane
- Alternative form of wanne: singular simple past of winnen
- Alternative form of wonnen: plural simple past of winnen
Adverb
wane
- Alternative form of whanne
Conjunction
wane
- Alternative form of whanne