wave

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Contents 1 English 1.1 Pronunciation 1.2 Etymology 1 1.2.1 Verb 1.2.1.1 Derived terms 1.2.1.2 Translations 1.3 Etymology 2 1.3.1 Noun 1.3.1.1 Derived terms 1.3.1.2 Translations 1.4 Etymology 3 1.4.1 Verb

[edit] English

[edit] Pronunciation

• enPR: wāv, IPA: /weɪv/, SAMPA: /weIv/
•  Audio (US)^{help, file}

  Homophones: waive

  Rhymes: -eɪv

[edit] Etymology 1

Old English wafian, from Proto-Germanic *wab-, from Proto-Indo-European base *webh- "to move to and from, to weave".

[edit] Verb

to wave (third-person singular simple present waves, present participle waving, simple past and past participle waved)

1. (intransitive) To move back and forth repeatedly.

   The flag waved in the gentle breeze.

2. (intransitive) To wave one’s hand in greeting or departure.

   I waved goodbye from across the room.

3. (intransitive) To have an undulating or wavy form.
4. (intransitive) (baseball) To swing and miss at a pitch.

   Jones waves at strike one.

5. (transitive) To cause to move back and forth repeatedly.

   The starter waved the flag to begin the race.

6. (transitive) To signal (someone or something) with a waving movement.
7. (intransitive) To try, in public, to attract people into a business establishment.

[edit] Derived terms

• waver

[edit] Translations

have an undulating or wavy form

• French: onduler fr(fr)

[edit] Etymology 2

An alteration of waw, under influence of the verb; some senses developed directly from the verb.

[edit] Noun

wave (plural waves)

1. A moving disturbance in the level of a body of water.

   The wave traveled from the center of the lake before breaking on the shore.

2. (physics) A moving disturbance in the energy level of a field.

   Gravity waves, while predicted by theory for decades, have been notoriously difficult to detect.

3. A shape which alternately curves in opposite directions.

   Her hair had a nice wave to it.

4. A sudden unusually large amount of something that is temporarily experienced.

   A wave of shoppers stampeded through the door when the store opened for its Christmas discount special.

   A wave of retirees began moving to the coastal area.

   A wave of emotion overcame her when she thought about her son who was killed in battle.

5. A sideway movement of the hand(s).

   With a wave of the hand.

[edit] Derived terms

• Elliott wave theory
• wavelength
• waveband
• wavy
• wavelet
• make waves

[edit] Translations

[edit] Etymology 3

Variant forms.

[edit] Verb

to wave (third-person singular simple present waves, present participle waving, simple past and past participle waved)

1. Obsolete spelling of waive.