wane
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wane¹
- /weɪn/ US, UK
Sounds like wain, Wain, Waine, Wayne (all pane–pain merger) · Rhymes with -eɪn
Where it comes from
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.
noun wanes
- 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; […].
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
wane²
- /weɪn/ US, UK
Sounds like wain, Wain, Waine, Wayne (all pane–pain merger) · Rhymes with -eɪn
Where it comes from
From Middle English wanen, wanien, from Old English wanian, wonian, from Proto-West Germanic *wanōn, from Proto-Germanic *wanōną.
verb wanes · waning · waned
- To progressively lose its splendor, value, ardor, power, intensity etc.; to decline. You saw but sorrow in its waning form.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 streams
- 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.
- To cause to decrease. In which no lustful finger can profane him, Nor any earth with black eclipses wane him
Opposite: wax
wane³
- /weɪn/ US, UK
Sounds like wain, Wain, Waine, Wayne (all pane–pain merger) · Rhymes with -eɪn
Where it comes from
From Scots wean.
noun wanes · wain · waine · wean
- A child.
wane⁴
- /weɪn/ US, UK
Sounds like wain, Wain, Waine, Wayne (all pane–pain merger) · Rhymes with -eɪn
Where it comes from
From Middle English wōne, wāne (“dwelling," "custom”), of unclear origins, compare wont.
noun wanes · wone
- A house or dwelling.
Thesaurus
verb
Opposite: wax
Translations
Every language
noun gradual diminution
| Français | déclin |
|---|---|
| Русский | у́быль úbylʹ, убыва́ние ubyvánije, спад spad, упа́док upádok |
noun lunar phase
| Español | menguante de la Luna |
|---|---|
| Français | déclin |
| Русский | уще́рб uščérb, убыва́ние ubyvánije |
noun end of a period
| Français | déclin |
|---|
verb to progressively lose its splendor, value, ardor, power, intensity, etc.
| Español | menguar, amenguar |
|---|---|
| Français | décliner |
| Deutsch | schwinden |
| Русский | убыва́ть ubyvátʹ, убы́ть ubýtʹ |
verb of the Moon, to become less visible
| Español | menguar |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 欠ける kakeru |
| Português | minguar |
| Français | décroître |
| Deutsch | abnehmen |
| Italiano | decrescere |
verb to decrease physically in size, amount, numbers or surface
| Français | décroître |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | schrumpfen |
Talk about this word "wane." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/wane. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. wane. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/wane "wane." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/wane.Cite this
@misc{wane_2026,
title = {wane},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/wane},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
