wave English · revision 4239

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1000|origins=gem-pro *wab-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /weɪv/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ The verb is [[inh|enm|waven]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(AHD 2000) [[inh|ang|wafian|t=to wave with the hands; to fluctuate, undulate]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) related to wǣfre “wavering, restless”, the source of [[waver]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from Proto-Germanic *wab-, the source also of Old Norse vafra “to hover about” and Middle High German waben “to undulate”,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) possibly from [[ine-pro|*webʰ-|alt=*(h)uebh-|t=to move to and fro; to weave]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) The noun, “moving billow of water”, is from 1526, in Tyndale, an alteration under the influence of the verb of Middle English waw, wawe,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002) from Old English wagian “to move to and fro”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from Proto-Germanic *wag-, compare Old Norse vágr “water in motion, wave”, probably from [[ine-pro|*weǵʰ-|alt=*wegh-|t=to go, move]].^(Etymonline) The usual Old English word for a wave of the sea was ȳþ.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Old English wafian, about 1000, in Ælfric's Lives of Saints;^(Barnhart 1988) Middle English waven, “to move back and forth”, 1375.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) Hoad notes that the present senses are not clearly evident before the 16th century.^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Of a flag, “to stream in the air”, it is from the late 14th century,^(Etymonline) and transitive, “to brandish”, from the mid-15th century.^(Etymonline) To make a sign by moving the hand to and fro is from the 1510s, originally nautical.^(Etymonline) The noun, a wave of the sea, is from 1526,^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989) a ridge-and-trough surface from the 1540s,^(Etymonline) a flood or rush of anything figuratively from the 1580s,^(Etymonline) and an act of waving from 1688.^(Barnhart 1988) Of earthquakes it is by 1760, of a heat wave in meteorology from 1843,^(Etymonline) of public feeling from 1851 and of masses of people from 1852.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) In physics, of sound, it is from 1832,^(Etymonline) and ''wavelength'' is from 1850.^(Barnhart 1988) The stadium wave, made by spectators rising in turn, is from 1984.^(OED 1989) ''To make waves'', “to cause trouble”, is attested by 1959.^(Etymonline) The noun and verb have been confused with [[waive]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1000 – verb, to wave the hands.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1375 – to move back and forth.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1510s – to signal with the hand.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1526 – noun, a sea wave.^(Barnhart 1988)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1832 – in physics.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1843 – a heat wave.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1959 – ''make waves''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1984 – the stadium wave.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Verb===

+ # To move freely back and forth or up and down, as branches in the wind.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To signal by moving the hand or something held in it: ''waved goodbye''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To have a curving or undulating form, as hair.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To direct someone with a wave: ''waved us through''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ===Noun===

+ # A ridge or swell moving along the surface of the [[sea]] or other water.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Something like a wave in form or motion, as a curl in the hair.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A sudden rush or increase: ''a crime wave'' or ''a wave of nausea''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A movement of the hand in greeting or signalling.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # In physics, a disturbance that travels through a medium or space, as of light or sound.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A period of unusual weather: ''a heat wave''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[waver]]

+ * [[waveless]]

+ * [[wavelessly]]

+ * [[wavelike]]

+ * [[wavingly]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[wavy]]

+ * [[wavelength]]

+ * [[weave]]

+ * [[waive]]

+ * [[heat wave]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In the Second World War a WAVE was a member of the women's reserve of the United States Navy, from the acronym of Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service (1942).^(AHD 2000)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}