wane

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English

WOTD – 4 September 2008

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

The noun is derived from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old English wana (“defect, shortage”); the verb, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old English wanian via (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle English wanien. Both ultimately trace to a (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Lua error in Module:parameters at line 360: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "gem" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E. root *(deprecated template usage) wano-, compare also Dutch waan (“insanity”) and German Wahn (“insanity”) deprecated defect, Old Norse vanr (“lacking”) ( > (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Danish prefix van-, only found in compounds), Latin vanus, Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌽𐍃 (wans, “missing, lacking”), Albanian vonë (“late, futile, mentally retarded”), Armenian ունայն (unayn, “empty”), (deprecated template usage) [etyl] 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 derivatem suffix, "-er" the suffix of comparatives).

Noun

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 0146000129, 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.
    • 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.
Synonyms
Usage notes
Translations

Verb

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  1. (intransitive) To progressively lose its splendor, value, ardor, power, intensity etc.; to decline.
  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, 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.
  4. (intransitive) Said of a time period that comes to an end.
  5. (intransitive, archaic) To decrease physically in size, amount, numbers or surface.
    • 1815, Walter Scott, Guy Mannering, chapter XIX:
      The snow which had been for some time waning, had given way entirely under the fresh gale of the preceding night.
    • Lua error in Module:quote at line 2972: Parameter 1 is required.
  6. (transitive, obsolete) To cause to decrease.
    (Can we [[:Category:Requests for quotations/{{{2}}}|find and add]] a quotation of {{{2}}} to this entry?)Lua error in Module:parameters at line 360: Parameter 1 should be a valid language or etymology language code; the value "Ben Jonson" is not valid. See WT:LOL and WT:LOL/E.
Translations
Antonyms
Derived terms

Etymology 2

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Scots wean.

Alternative forms

Noun

wane (plural wanes)

  1. (Scotland, slang) A child.

Etymology 3

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle English wōne, wāne (“dwelling," "custom”), of unclear origins, compare wont.

Alternative forms

  • wone (Southern England)

Noun

wane (plural wanes)

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

Anagrams

Dutch

Pronunciation

Verb

Template:nl-verb-form

  1. (deprecated template usage) (archaic) singular present subjunctive of wanen
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