wane meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

wane

noun

US, UK /weɪn/

Etymology

From Middle English wane, from Old English wana (“defect, shortage”), from Proto-West Germanic *wanō, from Proto-Germanic *wanô, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁weh₂- (“to leave, abandon; empty, deserted”). Cognates See also wan-, want, and waste. Compare also Dutch waan (“insanity”) and German Wahn (“insanity”) deprecated defect, Old Norse vanr (“lacking”) ( > Danish prefix van-, only found in compounds), Latin vanus, Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌽𐍃 (wans, “missing, lacking”), Albanian vonë (“late, futile, mentally retarded”), Armenian ունայն (unayn, “empty”), Old Saxon and Old High German wanon (“to decrease”), Modern Dutch weinig (“a few”), Modern German weniger (“less”), comparative of wenig (“few”) (-ig being a derivate suffix; -er the suffix of comparatives). Doublet of vain, vaunt, vaniloquent, vast, vacuum, vacant, vacate, which are Latin-derived, via the PIE root.

A gradual diminution in power, value, intensity etc.

In the morning, one might say, his face was of a fine florid hue, but after twelve o’clock, meridian—his dinner hour—it blazed like a grate full of Christmas coals; and continued blazing—but, as it were, with a gradual wane—till six o’clock, P.M., or thereabouts; […].1853, Herman Melville, “Bartleby, the Scrivener”, in The Piazza Tales, New York: Dix, Edwards & Co, published 1856:
1913, Michael Ott, The Catholic Encyclopedia, "Wenzel Anton Kaunitz", His influence which was on the wane during the reign of Joseph II grew still less during the reign of Leopold II (1790-2).

The lunar phase during which the sun seems to illuminate less of the moon as its sunlit area becomes progressively smaller as visible from Earth.

Some French peasants also prefer to sow in the wane.1906, James George Frazer, Adonis, Attis, Osiris, volume 2, page 133:
It was very dark, for although the sky was clear the moon was now well in the wane, and would not rise till the small hours.1926, H. P. Lovecraft, The Moon-Bog:

Literary The end of a period.

The day was in its prime, the day was in its wane, and still, uneasy in mind and body, she slept on.1846 October 1 – 1848 April 1, Charles Dickens, Dombey and Son, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1848, →OCLC:
The situation of the Venetian party in the wane of the eighteenth century had become extremely critical.1845, Benjamin Disraeli, Sybil, or The Two Nations, Book 1, Chapter 3:

1 more example

]

Arts, Business, Carpentry, Construction, Crafts, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Manufacturing, Woodworking A rounded corner caused by lack of wood, often showing bark.

2002, Peter Ross, Appraisal and Repair of Timber Structures, p. 11, Sapwood, or even bark, may appear on the corners, or may have been cut off, resulting in wane, or missing timber.

Synonyms: decrease, decline
Derived terms: on the wane

wane

verb

Etymology From Middle English wanen, wanien, from Old English wanian, wonian, from Proto-West Germanic *wanōn, from Proto-Germanic *wanōną.

To progressively lose its splendor, value, ardor, power, intensity etc.; to decline.

You saw but sorrow in its waning form.1675, John Dryden, Aureng-zebe: A Tragedy. […], London: […] T[homas] N[ewcomb] for Henry Herringman, […], published 1676, →OCLC, (please specify the page number):
Land and trade ever will wax and wane together.1668, Sir Josiah Child, A New Discourse of Trade:

4 more examples

I have sat before the dense coal fire and watched it all aglow, full of its tormented flaming life; and I have seen it wane at last, down, down, to dumbest dust.1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “Chapter 118”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:
And in the cool twilight when the sea-winds wane[…]1902, John Masefield, The Golden City of St. Mary:
And so it had always pleased M. Stutz to expect great things from the dark young man whom he had first seen in his early twenties ; and his expectations had waxed rather than waned on hearing the faint bruit of the love of Ivor and Virginia—for Virginia, M. Stutz thought, would bring fineness to a point in a man like Ivor Marlay, […].1922, Michael Arlen, “Ep./1/1”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days:
When your focus wanes and you feel the urge to online shop or grab a game of 2048, there are tech tools to prevent your giving in.2020 September 26, Caren Osten Gerszberg, “You Can Get Focused (Hint: Put Down That Phone)”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 01 Nov 2020:

For light to dim or diminish in strength.

The skies may hold not the splendour of sundown fast; / It wanes into twilight as dawn dies down into day.1894, Algernon Charles Swinburne, A Nympholept:

Astronomy, Natural sciences For the Moon to pass through the phases of its monthly cycle where its surface is less and less visible.

The fall of Jack, and the subsequent fall of Jill, simply represent the vanishing of one moon-spot after another, as the moon wanes.1866, Sabine Baring-Gould, “The Man in the Moon”, in Curious Myths of the Middle Ages:

Said of a time period that comes to an end.

Fast as autumn days toward winter: yet it seems//Here that autumn wanes not, here that woods and streams1889, Algernon Charles Swinburne, A Swimmer's Dream:

Archaic To decrease physically in size, amount, numbers or surface.

The snow which had been for some time waning, had given way entirely under the fresh gale of the preceding night.1815 February 24, [Walter Scott], chapter XIX, in Guy Mannering; or, The Astrologer. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, […]; and Archibald Constable and Co., […], →OCLC:
Denisovans had little genetic diversity, suggesting that their small population waned further as populations of modern humans expanded.2012 August 30, Ann Gibbons, “Genome Brings Ancient Girl to Life”, in Science Now, retrieved 04 Sep 2012:

Obsolete To cause to decrease.

In which no lustful finger can profane him, Nor any earth with black eclipses wane him1610, Ben Jonson, The Speeches at Prince Henry's Barriers:
Proud once and princely was the mansion, ere a succession of spendthrifts waned away its splendour.1797, Anna Seward, Letter to Mrs Childers of Yorkshire:

Antonyms: wax
Derived terms: wax and wane

wane

noun

Etymology From Scots wean.

Scotland, Slang A child.

wane

noun

Etymology From Middle English wōne, wāne (“dwelling," "custom”), of unclear origins, compare wont.

Northern England, Scotland, Obsolete A house or dwelling.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.

Learn more

Conjugation of “wane”, all tenses