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waxen

 - 9 dictionary results

wax⋅en

1  [wak-suhn]
Use waxen in a Sentence
–adjective
1. made of or covered, polished, or treated with wax.
2. resembling or suggesting wax: Illness gave his face a waxen appearance.
3. weak, manageable, or impressionable: The minds of young children are waxen.
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME; OE weaxen; see wax 1 , -en 2

wax⋅en

2  [wak-suhn]
–verb Literary.
a pp. of wax 2 .

wax

1  [waks]
–noun
1. Also called beeswax. a solid, yellowish, nonglycerine substance allied to fats and oils, secreted by bees, plastic when warm and melting at about 145°F, variously employed in making candles, models, casts, ointments, etc., and used by bees in constructing their honeycomb.
2. any of various similar substances, as spermaceti or the secretions of certain insects and plants. Compare vegetable wax, wax insect.
3. any of a group of substances composed of hydrocarbons, alcohols, fatty acids, and esters that are solid at ordinary temperatures.
4. cerumen; earwax.
5. a resinous substance used by shoemakers for rubbing thread.
6. sealing wax.
7. a person or object suggesting wax, as in manageability or malleability: I am helpless wax in your hands.
–verb (used with object)
8. to rub, smear, stiffen, polish, etc., with wax: to wax the floor.
9. to fill the crevices of (ornamental marble) with colored material.
10. Informal. to make a phonograph recording of.
11. Slang. to defeat decisively; drub: We waxed the competition.
–adjective
12. pertaining to, made of, or resembling wax: a wax candle; a wax doll.
—Idiom
13. whole ball of wax, Slang.
a. the entire or overall plan, concept, action, result, or the like: The first ten minutes of the meeting will determine the whole ball of wax.
b. everything of a similar or related nature: They sold us skis, boots, bindings, poles—the whole ball of wax.
Origin:
bef. 900; (n.) ME wex, waxe, OE weax; c. D was, G Wachs, ON vax; (v.) ME wexen, deriv. of the n.

Related forms:
wax⋅a⋅ble, adjective
waxlike, adjective

wax

2  [waks]
–verb (used without object), waxed; waxed or (Literary) wax⋅en; wax⋅ing.
1. to increase in extent, quantity, intensity, power, etc.: Discord waxed at an alarming rate.
2. (of the moon) to increase in the extent of its illuminated portion before the full moon. Compare wane (def. 4).
3. to grow or become: He waxed angry at the insinuation.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME waxen, OE weaxan; c. G wachsen; akin to waist

Synonyms:
1. extend, grow, lengthen, enlarge, dilate.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To waxen
wax·en   (wāk'sən)   
adj.  

  1. Made of or covered with wax.

  2. Pale or smooth as wax: waxen skin.

  3. Weak, pliable, or impressionable: waxen minds.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
wax

  1. tv.
    to beat or defeat someone; to assault someone. : The muggers waxed the vest and swiped his briefcase.
  2. n.
    a phonograph recording; a substance onto which a recording is put. (Never singular or plural. The oldest recordings were wax cylinders. The nickname survives.) : This is one of the finest pieces of music ever put on wax.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

wax  (n.)
"substance made by bees," O.E. weax, from P.Gmc. *wakhsan (cf. O.S., O.H.G. wahs, O.N. vax, Du. was, Ger. Wachs); cognate with O.C.S. vasku, Lith. vaškas, Pol. wosk, Rus. vosk "wax" (but these may be from Gmc.). Waxworks "exhibition of wax figures representing famous or notorious persons" first recorded 1796.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: wax
Pronunciation: 'waks
Function: noun
1 : a substance that is secreted by bees and is used by them for constructing the honeycomb, thatis a dull yellow solid plastic when warm, and that is composed of a mixture of esters, cerotic acid, and hydrocarbons called also beeswax
2 : any of various substancesresembling beeswax: as a : any of numerous substances of plant or animal origin that differ from fats in being less greasy, harder, and more brittle and in containing principallycompounds of high molecular weight (as fatty acids, alcohols, and saturated hydrocarbons) b : a pliable or liquid composition used especially in uniting surfaces, excluding air, makingpatterns or impressions, or producing a polished surface waxes>
3 : a waxy secretion; especially : EARWAX
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

wax (wāks)
n.

  1. Any of various natural, oily or greasy heat-sensitive substances, consisting of hydrocarbons or esters of fatty acids that are insoluble in water but soluble in most organic solvents.

  2. Cerumen.

  3. A solid plastic or pliable liquid substance, such as paraffin, originating from petroleum and found in rock layers and often used in medicinal preparations.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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