wax

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Contents 1 English 1.1 Pronunciation 1.2 Etymology 1 1.2.1 Noun 1.2.1.1 Synonyms 1.2.1.2 Derived terms 1.2.1.3 Translations 1.2.2 Adjective 1.2.2.1 Synonyms 1.2.2.2 Derived terms 1.2.2.3 Translations 1.2.3 Verb 1.2.3.1 Synonyms 1.2.3.2 Derived terms 1.2.3.3 Translations 1.3 Etymology 2 1.3.1 Verb 1.3.1.1 Usage notes 1.3.1.2 Synonyms 1.3.1.3 Antonyms 1.3.1.4 Derived terms 1.3.1.5 Related terms 1.3.1.6 Translations 1.3.2 Noun 1.3.2.1 Derived terms 1.3.2.2 Translations 1.4 Etymology 3 1.4.1 Noun 1.4.1.1 Derived terms 1.5 See also

[edit] English

Wikipedia

[edit] Pronunciation

• enPR: wăks, IPA: /wæks/, SAMPA: /w{ks/
•  Audio (US)^{help, file}
• Rhymes: -æks
• Homophones: whacks (in accents with the wine-whine merger)

[edit] Etymology 1

Old English wæx, from Germanic *waxsan, from Proto-Indo-European *u̯okso-. Cognate with Dutch was, German Wachs, Norwegian voks; and with Lithuanian vaškas, Russian воск

[edit] Noun

wax (plural waxes)

1. Beeswax.
2. Earwax.
3. Any oily, water-resistant substance; normally long-chain hydrocarbons, alcohols or esters.
4. Any preparation containing wax, used as a polish.
5. A phonograph record.

[edit] Synonyms

• (beeswax): beeswax
• (earwax): cerumen (medical term), earwax
• (polish): polish
• (phonograph record): disc/disk, record

[edit] Derived terms

[edit] Translations

[edit] Adjective

wax (not comparable)

1. Made of wax.

[edit] Synonyms

• waxen

[edit] Derived terms

See under the noun section above

[edit] Translations

[edit] Verb

to wax (third-person singular simple present waxes, present participle waxing, simple past and past participle waxed)

1. (transitive) To apply wax to (something, such as a shoe, a floor, a car or an apple), usually to make it shiny.
2. (transitive) To remove hair at the roots from (a part of the body) by coating the skin with a film of wax that is then pulled away sharply.

[edit] Synonyms

• (apply wax to): polish

[edit] Derived terms

• waxed
• waxen
• waxer
• waxing
• wax up

[edit] Translations

[edit] Etymology 2

Old English weaxan, from Germanic *waxsan, from Proto-Indo-European *u̯egs-. Cognate with Old Norse vaxa (Danish vokse (spelling before the writing reform of 1948: voxe), Norwegian vokse, Swedish växa), German wachsen, Dutch wassen, Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌷𐍃𐌾𐌰𐌽 (wahsjan); and with Ancient Greek ἀέξειν, Latin auxilium. It is in its turn cognate with augeo. See eke.

[edit] Verb

to wax (third-person singular simple present waxes, present participle waxing, simple past and past participle waxed)

1. (intransitive, with adjective) To increasingly assume the specified characteristic.

   to wax lyrical; to wax eloquent

   • 1885, H. Rider Haggard, King Solomon's Mines, page 72:

     The stars grew pale and paler still till at last they vanished ; the golden moon waxed wan, and her mountain ridges stood out against her sickly face

2. (intransitive, literary) To grow.
   • 1602, William Shakespeare, Hamlet, act 1, sc. 3, lines 11-14,

     For nature, crescent, does not grow alone / In thews and bulks, but, as this temple waxes, / The inward service of the mind and soul / Grows wide withal.

3. (intransitive, of the moon) To appear larger each night as a progression from a new moon to a full moon.

[edit] Usage notes

• Older forms of the verb are waxeth (archaic) and waxen (obsolete).

[edit] Synonyms

• (to assume specified characteristic): become

[edit] Antonyms

• (grow): wane
• (of the moon): wane

[edit] Derived terms

[edit] Related terms

[edit] Translations

[edit] Noun

wax (uncountable)

1. (rare) The process of growing.

[edit] Derived terms

• wax-kernel
• waxless

[edit] Translations

[edit] Etymology 3

This definition is lacking an etymology or has an incomplete etymology. You can help Wiktionary by giving it a proper etymology.

[edit] Noun

wax (plural waxes)

1. An outburst of anger.

[edit] Derived terms

• waxy

[edit] See also

• waxen-kernel
• waxloke