Etymology From Middle English waven, from Old English wafian (“to wave, fluctuate, waver in mind, wonder”), from Proto-West Germanic *wabōn, from Proto-Germanic *wabōną, *wabjaną (“to wander, sway”), from Proto-Indo-European *webʰ- (“to move to and from, wander”). Cognate with Middle High German waben (“to wave”), German wabern (“to waft”), Icelandic váfa (“to fluctuate, waver, doubt”). See also waver.
To move back and forth repeatedly and somewhat loosely.
The flag waved in the gentle breeze.
But the World Cup winning veteran's left boot was awry again, the attempt sliced horribly wide of the left upright, and the saltires were waving aloft again a moment later when a long pass in the England midfield was picked off to almost offer up a breakaway try.2011 October 1, Tom Fordyce, “Rugby World Cup 2011: England 16-12 Scotland”, in BBC Sport:
2
To move one's hand back and forth (generally above the shoulders) in greeting or departure.
I raised my arms in a final salute. I smiled. I waved goodbye. I turned into the helicopter, the door was closed, the red carpet was rolled up.1978, Richard Nixon, RN: the Memoirs of Richard Nixon, Grosset & Dunlap, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 1090:
3
Metonymically To call attention to, or give a direction or command to, by a waving motion, as of the hand; to signify by waving; to beckon; to signal; to indicate.
I waved goodbye from across the room.
Look, with what courteous action / It waves you to a more removed ground.c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iv]:
1 more example
She spoke, and bowing waved / Dismissal.1847, Alfred Tennyson, “Part 2”, in The Princess: A Medley, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC:
4
To have an undulating or wavy form.
5
To raise into inequalities of surface; to give an undulating form or surface to.
horns whelked and waved like the enridged seac. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of King Lear”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene vi]:
6
To style (the hair) so as to produce a wavy texture.
There was also hairdressing: hairdressing, too, really was hairdressing in those times — no running a comb through it and that was that. It was curled, frizzed, waved, put in curlers overnight, waved with hot tongs;[…].1977, Agatha Christie, chapter 4, in An Autobiography, part II, London: Collins, →ISBN:
His father has waved bills in front of face and said to him — see what you've cost me.1977 August 13, Pala Bennett, Mary Jo Risher, “"I'm A Mother, And I'm A Good One."”, in Gay Community News, volume 5, number 6, page 9:
9
Metonymically To signal (someone or something) with a waving movement.
10
Obsolete To fluctuate; to waver; to be in an unsettled state.
He waved indifferently 'twixt doing them neither good nor harm.c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]:
11
Ergative To move like a wave, or by floating; to waft.
But in the last, this dotted line, by the twisting as well as the bending of the horn, is changed from the waving into the serpentine line1803, William Hogarth, Anecdotes of Mr. Hogarth: And Explanatory Descriptions of the Plates of Hogarth Restored, page 137:
the flowers will not bloom less brightly, nor the grass be less green and fresh because it is waving over the head of one who loved to look upon their tender beauty while living.1850, Pierce Egan, Robin Hood and Little John: or, The merry men of Sherwood forest, page 272:
4 more examples
The cypresslike ferns were not waving over these, as they waved over the corals in the wood, but the little spleenwort, called Wall-rue, was resolved that their tomb should not be without verdure.1851, Margaret Plues, Rambles in Search of Ferns, page 31:
The moonlight fell into the room, and the shadows waved over him1866, John Saunders, Bound to the Wheel, page 89:
Walking through the fields, where the maize was now waving over his head, pale gold with a froth of white, the sharp dead leaves scything crisply against the wind, he could see nothing but that black foetid hut1951, Doris Lessing, “The Second Hut”, in African Stories, published 2014, page 82:
A chill waved over my consciousness as my worst nightmare erupted into reality.1997, Elizabeth Barrett, Victoria Bovard, And His Love Shown Down, page 88:
US, Historical A members of the WAVES; a member of the US Naval Reserve (Women's Reserve).
[H]e read the faded sticker on the crystal of the door, “A slip of the lip can sink a ship.” Below a WAVE held her finger to lips that had turned tan.1963 (date written), John Kennedy Toole, A Confederacy of Dunces, London: Penguin Books, published 1980 (1981 printing), →ISBN:
wave
noun
Etymology
From Middle English *wave, partially from waven (“to fluctuate, wave”) (see above) and partially from Middle English wawe, waghe (“wave”), from Old English wǣg (“a wave, billow, motion, water, flood, sea”), from Proto-Germanic *wēgaz (“motion, storm, wave”), from Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ- (“to drag, carry”). Cognates Cognate with North Frisian waag (“wave”), West Frisian weach (“wave”), Dutch waag (“wave”), German Woge, Wooge (“wave”), Danish vove, våg (“wave”), Faroese vágur (“bay”), Icelandic vogur (“bay”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish våg (“wave”), Gothic 𐍅𐌴𐌲𐍃 (wēgs, “wave”), French vague (“wave”) (from Old Norse vágr (“ocean, sea; wave”)). See also waw.
A moving disturbance in the level of a body of liquid; an undulation.
The wave traveled from the center of the lake before breaking on the shore.
O God! can I not save / One from the pitiless wave? / Is all that we see or seem / But a dream within a dream?1849 March 31, Edgar Allan Poe, “A Dream Within a Dream”, in The Works of the Late Edgar Allan Poe: […], volumes II (Poems and Miscellanies), New York, N.Y.: J. S. Redfield, […], published 1850, →OCLC, page 40:
2 more examples
A wave simulator in the tank can re-enact tsunamis and northeasters, and imitate wave conditions from midocean.2007 February 20, Tina Kelley, “A Wet Wind Tunnel So Ships Can Move Faster and Better”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 18 Dec 2022:
The new sea wall may stop the waves from the sea, but not from the children who enthusiastically greet our train as it passes. It's great to see this ages-old habit is still going strong.2020 December 2, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail, page 65:
1895, Fiona Macleod (William Sharp), The Sin-Eater and Other Tales […] your father Murtagh Ross, and his lawful childless wife, Dionaid, and his sister Anna—one and all, they lie beneath the green wave or in the brown mould.
Whoever rules the waves rules the world...2024 January 14, Kim Darroch, “Whoever rules the waves rules the world... The Red Sea crisis will show us if that’s true”, in The Observer:
3
Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Physics A moving disturbance in the energy level of a field.
Gravity waves, while predicted by theory for decades, have been notoriously difficult to detect.
Beyond military applications, cloaking devices are drawing interest from telecommunications companies, who see them as a way to send information by light more efficiently. One idea is to use the new materials to build "superantennas" that can concentrate light and other electromagnetic waves to make laser-like beams.2010 March 18, Ian Sample, “Cloaking device makes objects invisible – to infrared light anyway”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 02 Feb 2023:
4
A shape that alternatingly curves in opposite directions.
Her hair had a nice wave to it.
sine wave
5
Any of a number of species of moths in the geometrid subfamily Sterrhinae, which have wavy markings on the wings.
6
A loose back-and-forth movement, as of the hands.
He dismissed her with a wave of the hand.
7
Figuratively A sudden, but temporary, uptick in something.
A wave of shoppers stampeded through the door when the store opened for its Christmas discount special.
A wave of retirees began moving to the coastal area.
2 more examples
A wave of emotion overcame her when she thought about her son who was killed in battle.
Foster had been left unsighted by Scott Dann's positioning at his post, but the goalkeeper was about to prove his worth to Birmingham by keeping them in the game with a series of stunning saves as West Ham produced waves after wave of attack in their bid to find a crucial second goal.2011 January 11, Jonathan Stevenson, “West Ham 2 - 1 Birmingham”, in BBC:
8
Any of a series of orders to be fulfilled in one short interval of time, planned as part of wave picking.
9
Figuratively A movement or trend in popular culture.
New Wave
Korean Wave
10
Video gamesBroadly One of the successive swarms of enemies sent to attack the player in certain games.
As the player eliminates each wave of 55 aliens, the next wave begins lower than the one previous.2011, Raffaele Cecco, Supercharged JavaScript Graphics: With HTML5 Canvas and jQuery:
11
A group activity in a crowd imitating a wave going through water, where people in successive parts of the crowd stand and stretch upward, then sit.
From Middle English *wave, partially from waven (“to fluctuate, wave”) (see above) and partially from Middle English wawe, waghe (“wave”), from Old English wǣg (“a wave, billow, motion, water, flood, sea”), from Proto-Germanic *wēgaz (“motion, storm, wave”), from Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ- (“to drag, carry”). Cognates Cognate with North Frisian waag (“wave”), West Frisian weach (“wave”), Dutch waag (“wave”), German Woge, Wooge (“wave”), Danish vove, våg (“wave”), Faroese vágur (“bay”), Icelandic vogur (“bay”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish våg (“wave”), Gothic 𐍅𐌴𐌲𐍃 (wēgs, “wave”), French vague (“wave”) (from Old Norse vágr (“ocean, sea; wave”)). See also waw.
1
To generate a wave.
If the electron had wavelike properties, then what was disturbing the medium in which the wave existed? What was waving?2021, Michio Kaku, The God Equation: