waxy

See also: waxie

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: wăkʹsē, IPA^(key): /ˈwæksi/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æksi

Etymology 1

From Middle English waxi, wexy, equivalent to wax (“soft oily substance”) +‎ -y.

Adjective

waxy (comparative waxier or more waxy, superlative waxiest or most waxy)

1. Resembling wax in texture or appearance.

   Synonym: ceraceous

   • 2023 September 6, Luke Winkie, “Our Greatest Fast-Food Joint Is Costco”, in Slate‎^[1], archived from the original on 6 September 2023:

     There's far more than just hot dogs to feast on too. The pizzas—gigantic, floppy, with a hyperreal waxy sheen—are mythic. They arrive exclusively in cheese, pepperoni, or supreme—the holy trinity—and will run you an eminently affordable $1.99 for a ridiculously huge wedge-shaped slice.

2. (of potatoes) Low in starch; tending to remain firm when cooked.

   Antonym: floury

   • 1898, William Mattieu Williams, The Chemistry of Cookery, page 189:

     As we all know, there are great differences among potatoes; some are waxy, others floury; and these, again, vary according to the manner and degree of cooking.

Derived terms

• waxily
• waxiness
• waxy cap, waxycap
• waxy cast
• waxy corn
• waxy degeneration
• waxy disease
• waxy finger
• waxy flexibility
• waxy kidney
• waxy liver
• waxy maize
• waxy monkey leaf frog
• waxy potato
• waxy rice
• waxy screw shell
• waxy spleen

Related terms

• earwaxy

Translations

Resembling wax in texture or appearance

• Bulgarian: восъчен (vosǎčen)
• Catalan: cerós
• Czech: voskový (cs), voskovitý, jako z vosku
• Finnish: vahamainen
• French: cireux (fr)
• German: wächsern (de), wachsartig (de), Wachs- (de)
• Italian: cereo (it)
• Latin: cerosus
• Māori: kōnononono (refers to potatoes), āhua wākihi
• Polish: woskowy (pl)
• Portuguese: céreo, ceroso
• Scottish Gaelic: cèireach
• Spanish: ceroso (es)
• Swedish: vaxartad (sv)
• Welsh: cwyr (cy)

Of a potato, low in starch

• German: festkochend
• Swedish: fast

Noun

waxy (plural waxies)

1. (UK, obsolete, slang) A cobbler (shoe repairer).

   Synonym: lad of wax

Alternative forms

• waxie

Etymology 2

From wax (“fit of anger”) +‎ -y.

Adjective

waxy (comparative more waxy, superlative most waxy)

1. (regional, colloquial) Angry.
   • 1906, E. Nesbit, The Story of the Amulet:

     'I do hope you won't be waxy,' he said;

   • 1913, D[avid] H[erbert] Lawrence, “Passion”, in Sons and Lovers, London: Duckworth & Co. […], →OCLC, part II, page 341:

     A man said he'd give me five pounds if I'd paint him and his missis and the dog and the cottage. And I went and put the fowls in instead of the dog, and he was waxy, so I had to knock a quid off.