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Share This wane Audio Help / weɪn / Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation [ weyn ] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation verb, waned, wan·ing, noun –verb (used without object) 1. to decrease in strength, intensity, etc.: Daylight waned, and night came on. Her enthusiasm for the cause is waning.
2. to decline in power, importance, prosperity, etc.: Colonialism began to wane after World War II.
3. to draw to a close; approach an end: Summer is waning.
4. (of the moon) to decrease periodically in the extent of its illuminated portion after the full moon. Compare wax 2 (def. 2) .
–noun 5. a gradual decrease or decline in strength, intensity, power, etc.
6. the drawing to a close of life, an era, a period, etc.
7. the waning of the moon.
9. a defect in a plank or board characterized by bark or insufficient wood at a corner or along an edge, due to the curvature of the log.
—Idiom 10. on the wane, decreasing; diminishing: The popularity of that song is on the wane.
[Origin:
bef. 900; ME
wanen (v.), OE
wanian to lessen; c. MD, MHG
wanen, ON
vana to cause to wane, destroy
]
—Synonyms 1, 2 .5 .
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
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American Heritage Dictionary -
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Audio Help (wān) Pronunciation Key
waned , wan·ing , wanes
To decrease gradually in size, amount, intensity, or degree; decline.
To exhibit a decreasing illuminated area from full moon to new moon.
To approach an end.
The act or process of gradually declining or diminishing.
A time or phase of gradual decrease.
The period of the decrease of the moon's illuminated visible surface.
A defective edge of a board caused by remaining bark or a beveled end.
wanen , from Old English wanian ; see euə- in Indo-European roots.]
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Online Etymology Dictionary -
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O.E.
wanian "make or become smaller gradually," from P.Gmc.
*wanojanan (cf. O.S.
wanon , O.N.
vana , O.Fris.
wania , M.Du.
waenen , O.H.G.
wanon "to wane, to grow less"), from
*wano- "lacking," from PIE
*we-no- , from base
*eue- "to leave, abandon, give out" (see
vain ).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet -
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Share This wane noun 1. a gradual decline (in size or strength or power or number) [syn: ebb ] verb 1. grow smaller; "Interest in the project waned" [syn: decline ] 2. become smaller; "Interest in his novels waned" [ant: climb ] 3. decrease in phase; "the moon is waning" [ant: full ]
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms -
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see wax and wane .
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary -
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Share This wane [wein] verb
(of the moon) to appear to become smaller as less of it is visible
Arabic: يَتَضاءَل، يُشْرِف على الزَّوال Chinese (Simplified): 月亏 Chinese (Traditional): 月虧 Czech: ubývat Danish: aftage Dutch: afnemen Estonian: kahanema Finnish: haihtua näkyvistä French: décroître German: abnehmen Greek: εξασθενίζω, χάνομαι Hungarian: fogy(atkozik) Icelandic: minnka Indonesian: mengecil Italian: calare
Japanese: かける Korean: (달이) 이울다 Latvian: dilt; sarukt; iet mazumā Lithuanian: dilti Norwegian: avta, svinne, minke Polish: ubywać Portuguese (Brazil): minguar Portuguese (Portugal): minguar Romanian: a descreşte Russian: убывать Slovak: ubúdať Slovenian: pojemati Spanish: menguar Swedish: avta, försvagas, blekna Turkish: gittikçe küçülmek
See also: on the wane
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary, © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary -
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Wane\, n. (Forestry) The natural curvature of a log or of the edge of a board sawed from a log.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary -
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Wane\, v. i. [imp. & p. p.
Waned ; p. pr. & vb. n.
Waning .] [OE. wanien, AS. wanian, wonian, from wan, won, deficient, wanting; akin to D. wan-, G. wahnsinn, insanity, OHG. wan, wana-, lacking, wan?n to lessen, Icel. vanr lacking, Goth. vans; cf. Gr. ? bereaved, Skr. ?na wanting, inferior. ????. Cf.
Want lack, and
Wanton .]
1. To be diminished; to decrease; -- contrasted with
wax , and especially applied to the illuminated part of the moon.
Like the moon, aye wax ye and wane. Waning moons their settled periods keep. --Addison.
2. To decline; to fail; to sink.
You saw but sorrow in its waning form. --Dryden.
Land and trade ever will wax and wane together. --Sir J. Child.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Wane\, v. t. To cause to decrease. [Obs.] --B. Jonson.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary -
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Wane\, n. 1. The decrease of the illuminated part of the moon to the eye of a spectator.
2. Decline; failure; diminution; decrease; declension.
An age in which the church is in its wane. --South.
Though the year be on the wane. --Keble.
3. An inequality in a board. [Prov. Eng.] --Halliwell.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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