| 释义 |
▪ I. wane, n.1|weɪn|
Forms: 1 wana (wona, also won), 2– wane, 2–5 (? 6) wone, 3–8 wain, 3–5 wan, 5 woone, 5–7 wayne, waine.
[OE. wana (wǫna) wk. masc. (also wan str. neut.) want, lack, deficiency, derived from the adj. wana (wan, etc.), see wane a. Compare Du. wan leakage, also the slack or unfilled part of a sack, Goth. wan str. neut. lack.
The development of meaning in branch II is due to the influence of the related verb wane, with which the existing noun became associated as a noun of action. In some applications actual new formation from the stem of the verb may have taken place.]
I.
†1. Want, lack, shortage, absence of. Obs.
c888ælfred Boeth. xxxiv. §9 Hit nan mon ne mæᵹ eall habban, þæt him ne sie sumes þinges wana. c1000ælfric Hom. II. 400 Anes ðinges ðe is wana [Mark x. 21: cf. Ags. Gosp. an þing þe is wana (where wana is adj.)]. c1175Lamb. Hom. 145 Defectio omnis mali. Habundancia omnis boni. wone of alle uuele; wole and alle gode. c1225Ancr. R. 68 Þe treowe is misleued, & te sakelease ofte bilowen, uor wone of witnesse. a1310in Wright Lyric P. viii. 30 Weping haveth myn wonges wet, for wikked werk ant wone of wyt. 13..Sir Beues (A.) 3478 Of no ioie nas þer wane. c1330Arth. & Merl. 3121 Of fesaunce, pertris & of crane Þer was plente & no wane. a1400Sqr. lowe Degre 322 The Cocke, the Corlewe, and the Crane, With Fesauntes fayre, theyr were no wane. c1425Cursor M. 5387 (Trin.) Faute of breed þat ilka tide was ouer al þe world so wide But in no londe so mychel wan As in egipte and canaan.
†b. Lack, fault, defect. Obs. rare.
a1000Ags. Gloss. in Wr.-Wülcker 223/1 Dispendium,..wonung, wom, wana uel henþa. c1320Cast. Love 229 God ne wrouhte neuer þat þing Þat out les þorw his wonyng, ffor nis no wone on him I-long. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints ii. (Paul) 867 Blowmand bewte but wane or smyt of sawle and body togiddir knyt. 1390Gower Conf. II. 307 Thilke suete, Whos beaute was withoute wane, This faire Maiden Adriane.
†c. Omission, shortening. Obs. (Cf. sense 4.)
c1315Shoreham Poems i. 254 Þe wordes scholle be ised Wiþe-oute wane and eche.
†2. Need, want, poverty. Obs.
a1100in Napier O.E Glosses i. 3865 Inopiam, wanan. a1225Ancr. R. 192 God hit wot, moni oðer wot lutel of þisse eise, auh beoð ful ofte iderued mid wone, & mid scheome, & mid teone. c1230Hali Meid. 29 And tah þu wone hefdest, oðer drehdest ani derf for his deorewurðe luue. c1250Moral Ode 357 in E.E.P. (1862) 33 Ne mai non vuel ne non wane beon inne godes riche.
3. The amount by which a plank (esp. one sawn from an unsquared trunk), or a roughly squared log, falls short of a correctly squared shape. Hence, the bevelled edge left on a plank (by reason of one face being narrower than the other), or the imperfect angles of a rough-hewn log (the section of which is thus octagonal, and, according to the size and depth of the ‘wanes’, approaches, more or less nearly, a regular octagon).
1662Atwell Faithf. Surveyour 132 When they do hew any timber, they..allow nothing for the wanes. Ibid. They seldome hew nigher to square in this Countrey, then that the four wanes are as broad as the four flats, all which are equal to a square piece of the breadth of one of those wanes; & although those wanes be less in some places then in other, yet will they be of no service so deep as the deepest wane goes. 1711W. Sutherland Shipbuild. Assist. 9, I shall describe the General Strike in measuring Timber,..which is to see that the 4 Wanes are but equal to two Squares. 1833Loudon Encycl. Archit. §852 The whole of the materials to be provided and sawed out square free from wane, of the several scantlings and thicknesses herein specified. 1875T. Laslett Timber xii. 75 All the thick-stuff and plank to be cut straight, or nearly so, and of parallel thickness, and to be measured for breadth at the middle, or half the length, taking in half the wanes. Ibid. xxxiii. 272 The trees..are hewn into a square form, and have a small amount of wane left upon each angle.
†b. Comb.
1662Atwell Faithf. Surveyour 133 Hath not he that buyeth wane-timber, that the wanes run not streight, as much need, and as much reason to have allowance for the wanes. 1710D. Hilman Tusser Rediv. Apr. (1744) 44 The Seller of the Timber loses all the Gain of the Wane-edges; which Gain in short is a Cheat, altho' a very customary one.
II. Action of waning.
†4. Decrease in size. Obs.
a1300Cursor M. 1430 Euer stod þai [þe þre wandis] still in an, Wit-outen wax, wit-outen wain [Gött., Fairfax, wane, Trin. woone]. 1390Gower Conf. III. 104 Bot thilke See which hath no wane Is cleped the gret Occeane.
5. The waning, or gradual decrease of the visible illuminated area on the moon. Now rare exc. in phrases, on, upon the wane, in (the, her, its) wane.
1548Elyot's Dict. s.v. Seneo, Luna senescens, the moone whan it is in the wane. 1561Eden Art of Navig. ii. i. 29 b, The decreasyng or wane of the Moone. 1595Markham Sir R. Grinvile (Arb.) 70 The siluer Moone,..That with the floods fills vp her horned head And by her waine the wayning ebbs doth keepe. 1608[Tofte] Ariosto's Sat. iii. (1611) 38 They easly might espy..How she [the moon] grew in the full, how in the waine. 1613Heywood Brazen Age ii. ii. E 4, When the Moone, by which the Seas are gouern'd, Retir'd his waters by her powerfull wane. 1720Swift Poems, Progr. Beauty 72 Each Night, a Bit drops off her Face, When Mortals say she's in her Wane. 1726Pope Odyss. xix. 352 When the pale Empress of yon' starry train In the next month renews her faded wane. 1820Keats Lamia i. 136 She, like a moon in wane, Faded before him. 1838Wordsw. Sonn. ‘'Tis He’ 8 Yon Moon Doubly depressed, setting, and in her wane. 1850S. Dobell Roman vii. Poet. Wks. 1875 I. 118 The old moon began to sink (Long, like her, upon the wane).
b. transf. and fig.
1633P. Fletcher Purple Isl. vi. lxxi, Can..One onely blot so great a light empair, That never could he hope his waning to repair? Ah! never could he hope once to repair So great a wane, should not that new-born Sun Adopt him [etc.]. 1639Du Verger tr. Camus' Admir. Events 211 Now is our Berard in the third quarter of the wayne of his liberty. 1678Bunyan Pilgr. i. 119 Like the Moon That's past the full, into the wain he goes. 1859FitzGerald Omar lxxiv, Ah, Moon of my delight who know'st no wane.
c. The period characterized by the waning of the moon, esp. regarded as a favourable, or unfavourable, time for various (usually agricultural) operations. Usually in phr. in (at, etc.) the wane of the moon, rarely unqualified, in the wane.
1563T. Hill Art Garden. (1593) 101 And certaine will, that the root be digged vp in the waine of the Moone, she then being vnder the earth. 1573–80Tusser Husb. (1878) 88 Sowe peason and beanes in the wane of the Moone. 1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. ii. 60 b, Yet there are that holde opinion, that yf you sowe them in the wane they wyll be the smaller. 1631Widdowes Nat. Philos. 13 In part before & after the 8 day, called the encrease and the waine of the Moone. 1651Culpepper Astrol. Judgem. Dis. (1658) 4 Seed sown at the wain of the Moon, grows either not at all, or to no purpose. 1669Sturmy Mariner's Mag. i. ii. 14 To cut Hair..in the Wane, causeth baldness. 1707Mortimer Husb. 445 As for Garden-Beans, they are usually set betwixt November and February, at the Wain of the Moon. 1866A. Steinmetz Weathercasts 41 In Suffolk it is considered unlucky to kill a pig in the wane of the moon.
6. Gradual decrease or decline in splendour, power, importance, intensity, or the like, esp. as following on the culmination of a process of gradual increase; the declining period (of a person's life, an institution, etc.); the latter part (of a period of time). Phrases as in 5.
Quot. c 1375 perh. belongs rather to 1 b.
c1375Cursor M. 3584 (Fairf.) Quen alle wittes ys him gane þen ys alle his wille in wane. 1546Heywood Prov. (1867) 67 Who seeth nought herein, his wit is in the wane. 1579Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 184 Thou which art euen in the wane of thy life,..maist wel know what griefes [etc.]. 1597Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. lxii. §2 In the waine and declination of Christian pietie. 1601F. Godwin Bps. of Eng. 431 The Church by them planted had many notable wanes, and intermissions. 1612W. Trumball Let. in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. i. 612 His creditt is on the wayne. 1647Lilly Chr. Astrol. clxxxv. 821 Doubtlesse it will be a yeer of some unseasonable unquietnesse, one mischiefe arising in the waine of another. 1657Heylin Ecclesia Vind. i. i. 33 The authority of the Church was then in the wane. 1660R. Coke Power & Subj. 91 Christianity it self is in the very wayne here among us. 1680Morden Geog. Rect., Scot. (1685) 31 Towards the wain of the Roman Empire. 1762Goldsm. Nash 54 Mr. Nash's affairs being in the wane, he demanded the money of his lordship's heirs. 1793E. Inchbald Ev. one has his Fault ii. i. (1794) 24, I should have lost my eye-sight, and have been blind to the wane of her charms. 1809Malkin Gil Blas viii. xii. 306 Signora Mencia..was still in fashion, though a little on the wane. 1823T. Jefferson Writ. (1830) IV. 371 Age, and the wane of mind consequent on it. 1831James Phil. Augustus xxv, In the wane of September, when days are hot and evenings are chilly. 1848Dickens Dombey xlix, The day was in its prime, the day was in its wane, and still..she slept on. a1859Macaulay Hist. Eng. xxiii. V. 121 A sign that the influence of Portland was on the wane and that the influence of Albemarle was growing. 1885Manch. Exam. 6 Apr. 4/7 It is quite possible that his power may be on the wane. 1899Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 98 It's [sc. anæsthesia's] persistence or disappearance has been used to measure the persistence or the wane of the disease [sc. hysteria]. 1904Sat. Rev. 13 Feb. 195/1 This feeling is perhaps somewhat on the wane.
▪ II. † wane, n.2 Obs.
Also pl. 4 wans, Sc. vanis, 5–6 Sc. waynys. See also wone n.2
[Early ME. wāne, also wōne (with open o), whence the synonymous wone n.2 The word belongs to the Teut. root *wan-: *wun-, which expresses the two-fold notion ‘custom’ and ‘dwelling’; the precise source is uncertain.
The form *wan- of the root is otherwise known only in the sense ‘custom’ (ON. vane wk. masc., custom, OE. węnian wean v.:—*wanjan), while the weak grade *wun- has both senses (OE. ᵹewuna wk. masc., custom, wone n.1; ON. una, OE. wunian to dwell, wone v.). There may have been an OE. *wana (or -e) with the sense ‘dwelling’, or the word may be a. ON. vane in an unrecorded sense, or with change of sense due to the influence of wone v., which meant both ‘to be accustomed’ (cf. wont) and ‘to dwell’.
After the 14th c. the form wane is exclusively Sc. and northern; wone n.2, which in the north was rare, was common in midland and southern use, and survived as a poetic archaism until the 17th c.]
A dwelling-place, residence, house (freq. of religious communities, etc.). Often pl. with reference to one building, or group of buildings.
a1225St. Marher. 21 Ant ne schal nan unwiht wunien iþe wanes þer þi martirdom is iwriten inne. a1300Cursor M. 8667 In wanes war we stad vn-wide, And laid vr barns be vr side. c1330R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 14554 Þe Saxons ledde þe Aufrykans, & destruyed þe Cristen wans [v.r. wanes]. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints vi. (Thomas) 277 & schawyt me þe welful stede quhare he þe fare palace has mad{ddd}& set oure all is þat vanis with brycht & schenand preciuse stanys. a1400Sir Perc. 1347 The mene that were with-in the wane, The comone belle gunne knylle. c1400Contin. Brut ccxxxii. (MS. C.C.C.) 317 Þe Danes..turned homwardes aȝen levyng behind hem in her ynnes, pryvyly ywriten, in scrowes and on walles, ‘Ȝet shull Danos [Caxton danes wast] þes Wanes. c1450St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 2028 A bischope, ane abbot, all vndir ane, Monkes wonand in a wane. c1475Rauf Coilȝear 7 All thay went with the King to his worthy wane. c1470Henry Wallace vii. 337 Then he gert cry about thai waynys wide, Na Scottis born amang thaim thur suld bid. 1513Douglas æneis x. iii. 94 Ida forest, to fugytyve Troianis Thayr best belouit wod and natyve wanys. a1568Bannatyne MS. (Hunter. Club) 662 Bot sone within a wane scho went, Most hevinly to behold. [1820Marmaiden of Clyde xvii. in Edin. Mag. VI. 423 A dowie sheen frae his austrous een Gae licht to the dismal wane.]
b. In the obscure alliterative phrase worthy (worshipful, wise) in wane. Cf. wone n.2
The sense may have originally been ‘in the dwellings of men, among men’. Cf. similar uses of town.
a1400Sir Degrev. 433 Thane spekes that wis in-with wane, ‘Ye have well good mene y-slayne.’ c1400Anturs of Arth. xiii, ‘Welecome, Waynour!’ scho says, ‘þou worthye in wane!’ c1450St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 2514 Slyke monkes haue I knawen and sene, Þat..had mare grace of prophecy Þan euer hider to had I; Amang þe whilk boysil was ane, Þe maste wirschipful man in wane. a1650Eger & Grine 729 in Percy Fol. MS. I. 377 It is a lord most worthyest in waine, Erle Gares is his name.
▪ III. † wane, n.3 Obs.
Forms: 2 wene, 2–3 wane, weane, 3 wæne, wone, 4 wan, woon.
[perh. an extension (? starting from the inflected forms) of OE. wéa wk. masc. misery. The vowel of OE. wá adv. and int. ill, woe, or of OE. wáwa wk. masc. misery, may have influenced the forms, but cf. fone, etc. extended forms of few a. which are phonologically very similar.]
Misery, woe.
a1200Moral Ode 151 in O.E. Hom. I. 169 Eure he walde her inne wawe and ine wene [v.r. wane] wunien, Wið þet he mihte helle pine bi-flien. c1205Lay. 2198 Heo stureden heora wepnan wane wes on folke. Ibid. 2203 & him seolf mid wæne [c 1275 onneþe] ferde into ane watere. Ibid. 5655 Þeo cnihtes weoren vnwepned þa þe wæne heo wes ȝeueðe. c1225Ancr. R. 114 Al þet flesch þunccheð sur oðer bitter; þet is, pine & weane, & teone, & alle meseise. c1230Hali Meid. 9 Worldliche wunne þat tu wendes to biȝeten, ant hauest ifunden weane þrin, & wondraðe riue. c1330King of Tars 66 Jhesu,..Let me nevere that day isee A tiraunt for to take. For Marie love,..Arst yif him wan and wrake. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 419 Kyng Fortigern sat on Þe water side, and was wel ful of woon [L. Vortiger sedit anxius].
b. Comb. † wan-, † wen-sið, misery; † wæn-slaht, slaughter.
1205Lay. 539 Þa Grickes neoren noht warre of heore wen⁓siðe [c 1275 mochele harme]. Ibid. 3088 & þu scalt worðen warchen, & wonien in wandiðe [c 1275 ine wowe]. Ibid. 9520 Faren wit swullen to-somne, & mid fehten hit to-dælen; makien wæn-slahtes.
Hence † ˈwanliche a. [-lich, -ly1], miserable, wretched.
1205Lay. 25990 Þa six swin he gon æten alle... Al biwaled on axen, wanliche weoren þa sonden. Ibid. 30288 Nu we maȝen wepen and wanliche i-beren.
▪ IV. † wane, a. Obs.
Forms: 1 wana, wona (also wan, won), 2–3, 5 wone, 3–4 won, 4–5 woon, 2–7 wane, 5 vane, 4–6 (9 dial.) wan.
[OE. wana, wǫna, usually indeclinable, rarely weak (also wan, wǫn, str. adj.) = OS., MLG., MDu., Flemish wan, ON. van-r (cf. want n. and wan-), Goth. wan-s:—OTeut. *wano-, prob. f. Indogermanic root *wā̆- as in L. vānus vain a.]
1. Lacking, absent, deficient.
c825Vesp. Ps. xxii[i]. 1 Nowiht me wonu bið [Vulg. nihil mihi deerit]. 971Blickl. Hom. 131 ærþon þe he [sc. Drihten] on heofenas astiᵹe, þonon he næfre won wæs þurh his god⁓cundnesse miht. c1000Ags. Gosp. Matt. xix. 20 Eall þis ic ᵹeheold; hwæt is me ᵹyt wana? c1175Lamb. Hom. 75 Þe Mon þet haueð þis ilke fif þing mid him he is leful Mon, and, if him is eni þer of wane, he nis nawiht alse leful alse him bi-houede. a1225Ancr. R. 26 Nis no god wone [v.r. wane] þer ase þreos þreo beoð, mihte & wisdom & luue iveied to⁓gederes. c1250Gen. & Ex. 3353 Tidlike hem was ðat water wane. a1300Cursor M. 20056 Qua hertili hers or redis hit Of ur leuedi and sant iohn Þair beniscun þan bes not wan [Gött., Trin. won]. Ibid. 22846 For al welth sal þam be wan [Gött., Fairf. wane, Trin. wone]. a1325Maudelain 299 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1878) 299 When it no milk gete miȝt, Þe fader..seyd, ‘allas, hir fode is wane’. c1330R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 8329 Let now no god wille be wane, Bot help to venge my fader bane! 13..Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 493 For he ȝerned ȝelpyng to here, Thaȝ hym wordez were wane, when þay to sete wenten. 1389in Engl. Gilds (1870) 30 And qwo-so be wane, schal paye a pound of wax. c140026 Pol. Poems ii. 61 Me thenkeþ þere wit is wane To stroiȝe the hony. c1440Promp. Parv. 515/1 Wane, or wantynge, absens, deessens. c1475Mankind 412 in Macro Plays 16 He [Mercy] hath taught Mankynde, wyll I [Myscheff] haue be vane, To fyght manly a-geyn hys fon. c1522Skelton Why nat to Courte? 917 Ye must weare bukram, Or canuas of Cane, For sylkes are wane.
2. Destitute of.
a800Christ 270 Þæt we tires wone a butan ende sculon ermþu dreoȝan. 971Blickl. Hom. 17 He bið wana þæs ecan leohtes. c1175Lamb. Hom. 73 He nis noht fulliche cristene mon þet is awiht wone of þisse þreo þing. c1430Christ's own Complaint 427 in Pol. Rel. & L. Poems (1903) 217 Alle bestes..In kindeli worchinge ben durable Saaf oonly I, of wittis wan.
3. With numerals, etc.: Short of. Used to express numbers (one or two) less than a complete decade.
c900tr. Bæda's Hist. iii. xxiv. (Schipper) 311 Oþ þæt hyræ daᵹa rim ᵹefylled wæs, þæt is anes ᵹeares wana [v.rr. won(a) þe] syxtiᵹra wintra. a1122O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 972 He wæs þa ana wana .xxx. wintra. a1225Leg. Kath. 67 A meiden swiðe ȝung of ȝeres twa wone of twenti. 13..Evang. Nicod. 419 in Archiv Stud. neu. Spr. LIII. 399 Ane wane of fourty strakes with yherd he sall be smyten. c1400Rule St. Benet (prose) 22 Þe gude herde, þat lefte in þe munte ane wane of a hundrez sep and yede at seke þis ane þt was want. a1500in Bernardus de Cura etc. 32 Be the yheris of cryst comyn and gone, Fully nynty ande nyne, nocht one wone.
4. Incomplete; not fully formed, or properly shaped. Of the moon: Not full.
1456Sir G. Haye Law Arms (S.T.S.) 76 Quhen it [the moon] is full, all thingis..ar mare forssy..na quhen it is wane. 1508Dunbar Flyting 195 Wan wraiglane wasp. 1825Jamieson, A wan tree is a tree that has not ‘grown in a circular form’, or that is not filled up on one side... Berwicks.
5. Insufficient, (too) small. rare.
c1400Destr. Troy 3046 Hir nose for the nonest was nobly shapyn,..Nawther to wyde ne to wan, but as hom well semyt. 1624in Rec. Convent. Burghs Scot. (1878) III. 164 [They] buye thair staiple guids quhen the samin does come to the staiple port at ane wane mercatt.
▪ V. wane, v.|weɪn|
Inflected waned, waning. Forms: α. 1 wanian, 2–3 wanie-n, 3–4 wanye, 5 ? wanȝe, 4–7 wayne, 5 wan, 6–7 waine, 6–9 wain, 7 wean, 3– wane. β. 1 wonian, 3–4 wone. Also with prefix, 1 ȝe-, 2–4 i-.
[OE. wanian (wǫnian) wk. vb. to lessen (trans. and intr.) = OFris. wonia, MDu. waenen, wanen, OS. wanon, OHG. wanôn, wanên (MHG. wanen), intr., ON. vana trans., vana-sk to grow less (Norw. vana to spoil, waste), Goth. *wanan (cf. wanains loss, ἤττηµα, Rom. xi. 12):—OTeut. *wanōjan, *wanǣian, f. *wano- lacking, wane a.]
I. intr. To grow less, decrease. (Opposed to wax.)
1. To decrease in size or extent; to dwindle. Now rare. † Also with pleonastic complement, to wane less, wane too little.
Beowulf 1607 Þa þæt sweord ongan æfter heaþoswate hilde⁓ᵹicelum, wiᵹbil wanian. c1290St. Brendan 342 in S. Eng. Leg. 229 Ich wondri houȝ þis taperes bernez þus: and ne waniez nouȝt. a1400–50Wars Alex. 4772 Þis was a wondir⁓full werk..þat þai [two trees] suld wax soo & wane within a wale time. 14..26 Pol. Poems xix. 44 Þy vices waxen moo, And þy vertues wanen lesse. 1584–7Greene Card of Fancie (1593) O 4 b, The tree forthwith waineth and withereth. 1647Fuller Gd. Th. Worse T. iii. ix. 141 [A disease] Wherein the Head waxeth too great, whil'st the Legges and lower parts waine too Little. 1837Whewell Hist. Induct. Sci. (1857) I. 228 Fruits and animals wax and wane. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 444 That which grows is said to wax, and that which decays to wane. 1896Black Horse Gaz. Jan. 8/2 When the width of an Empire may wax and enlarge Or shrivel and wane with the fate of a charge.
†b. To decrease in number. Obs.
1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 982 Þat hii hom ssolde vnder stonde & lene hom wimmen þat hii miȝte hor ospring eche so. Vor þing þat woneþ & noþing wexþ sone it worþ ido. c1380Sir Ferumb. 1645 Now haue y lost kyng Moradas..And othre kynges manye..Now my folkes doþ þus wanye, y-lost ys myn honour.
†c. To grow less in quantity or volume. Of the sea, water: To subside, ebb. Obs.
c1290St. Laurence 84 in S. Eng. Leg. 342 Þis tresour..ne schal neuere wanie, ake euere wexe faste. 13..E.E. Allit. P. B. 496 How þat watterez wern woned & þe worlde dryed. 1398Trevisa Barth. de P.R. iii. xviii. (Tollemache MS.), Physiciens telleþ þat blood waneþ by age [L. sanguinem minui per ætatem]. Ibid. xiii. xxiii, Whan þe mone is in þe lower corse water begynneþ to wanye. c1440York Myst. ix. 204 It [sc. the flood] is wanand, þis wate I wele. 1456Sir G. Haye Law Arms (S.T.S.) 76 The mannis harnis is full in the full mone and at the full see, and wanis as the see. c1710C. Fiennes Diary (1888) 160 This great water seemes to flow and wane with ye wind but it does not Ebb and flow Like the sea with the tyde. 1815Scott Guy M. xl, The snow, which had been for some time waning, had given way entirely under the fresh gale of the preceding night. The more distant hills, indeed, retained their snowy mantle, but all the open country was cleared.
2. Of the moon: To undergo the periodical decrease in the extent of its visible illuminated portion, characteristic of the second half of the lunation.
971Blickl. Hom. 17 Þonne se mona wanað, þonne tacnað he ure deaþlicnesse. a1225Ancr. R. 166 Þe mone waxeð & woneð, & nis neuer studeuest. c1386Chaucer Knt.'s T. 2077 And vndernethe hir feet she hadde a moone, Wexyng it was, and sholde wanye soone. c1440Astron. Cal. (MS. Ashm. 391), Wtyn it is an hoole which shewt by similitude how þe moone wexeþ and wanȝeþ [? read wanzeþ: see Wanze v. 2]. 1590Shakes. Mids. N. i. i. 4 But oh, methinkes, how slow This old Moon wanes. 1601Song of Mary in Farr S. P. Eliz. (1845) II. 428 Her sunne doth neuer clipse nor cloude; Her moone doth neuer wax nor wane. 1762J. Kennedy Compl. Syst. Astron. Chron. 728 The validity of the sacred writings never can be denied, while the moon shall encrease and wane. 1868Lockyer Elem. Astron. §232 From New Moon the illuminated portion of our satellite waxes, or increases in size, till Full Moon, and then wanes, or diminishes, to the next New Moon.
3. Of light, colour, luminous or coloured objects: To decrease in brilliance or splendour; to become faint or dim. Also (nonce-uses) with pleonastic complement, to wane faint, wane grey.
c1000Rule of Chrodegang xix, æfter þissum tidum sona cymð se æfensang..& þæs dæᵹes leoht þonne eac wanoð. a1122O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1107 Maneᵹe sædon þet hi on þam monan..mistlice tacna ᵹesawon, & onᵹean cynde his leoman wexende & waniende. 1832Tennyson Lady of Shalott iv, The pale yellow woods were waning. 1837Carlyle Fr. Rev. II. v. vi, It has waned faint and again waxed bright. 1840Dickens Barn. Rudge x, The light waned without, it grew dusk, became quite dark. 1850Kingsley A. Locke xxxiii, The candles waned grey, and the great light streamed in through every crack and cranny. 1888Meredith Reading of Earth etc. 118 Remote they [sc. the stars] wane to gaze intense.
fig.1843Lytton Last Bar. i. i, The royal tournaments which were however waning from their ancient lustre. 1874Green Short Hist. vii. §8. 445 The old splendour of her Court waned and disappeared.
4. Of a person, nation, institution: To decline in power, importance, prosperity, or renown.
c1000Ags. Gosp. John iii. 30 Hit ᵹebyraþ þæt he weaxe, and þæt ic waniᵹe. c1205Lay. 26991 Þat heore uolc gon waxen and Bruttes gunnen wonien. a1300Cursor M. 924 Iurselem was struid an [tan] þan can þair kingrik for to wan. c1330R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 1255 Þey wil waxe & we schal wanye. a1628F. Greville (F. Grevil) Hum. Learn. lxviii, And as by artlesse Guides, States euer waine: So doe they where these vselesse dreamers reigne. a1633T. Taylor God's Judgem. i. i. xvi. (1642) 51 This was the first shake that ever this kingdome received..whereby it began to waine and decline. 1678Dryden All for Love iii. 31 Ven. I'm waining in his favor, yet I love him. 1690Child Disc. Trade Pref. (B 2) b, The inseparable affinity that is..at all times between Land and Trade, which are Twins, and have always, and ever will wax and wane together. 1850McCosh Div. Govt. i. ii. (1874) 51 When Popery was waning in France, in the days of Louis XIV. 1860Hawthorne Transform. xxxii, A people are waning to decay and ruin. 1868Peard Water-farm. i. 7 Pisciculture began to wane. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) V. 122 Plato..had seen the Athenian empire..wax and wane. 1876Freeman Norm. Conq. V. xxiv. 489 The ban took effect, because the institution was already waning.
b. To decline in vigour, to age. rare.
1821Galt Ann. Parish xxix. 252 Even Miss Sabrina Hookie,..though now waned from her meridian,..set herself to learn and to teach tambouring. 1899J. Milne Romance of Pro-consul xix. 208 Sir George Grey, as he waned under the growing load, realised that he and Greater Britain would be no more together.
5. Of qualities, conditions, activities, feelings, power, etc.: To become gradually less in degree, to decline in intensity, abate.
1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 8488 Þat wiþinne was sorwe inou hor poer wanede vaste. a1340Hampole Psalter Prol., All gladnes & delite of erth wanys & at þe last wytes til noght. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xv. 3 And so my witte wex and wanyed til I a fole were. c1480Henryson Age & Youth 46 Thy wittis fyve sall wane, thocht thow nocht wald. 1599Hayward 1st Pt. Life Hen. IV 140 Whilest the one Kings power was waining, and the other not yet fullye wexen. 1649C. Wase Sophocles, Electra 10 Nor waynes my grief, but still encreases more. 1655W. Gurnall Chr. in Armour verse 12. x. §2 (1656) 290 But let it [sc. our obedience] seem to wain in any service or duty, then the Jordan of our faith flies back. 1742Young Nt. Th. i. 217 How wanes my borrow'd bliss! 1825Lamb Elia Ser. ii. Wedding, The infinity of full satisfaction..began to wane into something of misgiving. 1833Chalmers Const. Man (1835) I. i. 92 This sense of a universal law..never waned into total extinction among the tribes of ferocious and untamed wanderers. 1878Lecky Eng. in 18th C. I. i. 161 The influence which his good private character..once gave him had been rapidly waning. 1903Mary L. Bruce Anna Swanwick v. 184 The precious hours passed, and the still more precious physical strength waned. 1909E. H. Burton Bp. Challoner xxxiv. II. 270 Gradually his enthusiasm for the Protestant cause waned.
6. Of a period of time: To draw to its close.
Usually with some notion of sense 3 or 5.
1590in Segar Honor Milit. & Civ. (1602) 198 But spurnd in vaine, youth waineth by encreasing. 1766Goldsm. Vic. W. xxii, As I walked but slowly, the night waned apace. 1795Southey Joan of Arc x. 186 But soon the night wain'd on, And the loud trumpets' blare from broken sleep Roused them. 1851Mantell Petrifactions iv. §5. 405 A solitary genus of Australia..whose term of existence seems fast waning to its close. 1853Dickens Bleak Ho. xxxvi, The day waned into a gloomy evening, overcast and sad. 1865M. E. Braddon Sir Jasper iii, The summer waned slowly, very slowly for that quiet dweller in Scarsdale Hermitage. 1903‘S. G. Tallentyre’ Voltaire vii. (1905) 80 The year waned in such studies.
II. trans. To cause to decrease.
†7. To lessen, diminish, abridge (a privilege, right, etc.). Obs.
a889Charter of ælfred in Sweet O.E. Texts 452 Ond swa hwylc mon swa hio wonie & breoce, ᵹewonie him god almahtiᵹ his weorldare ond ea[c] swa his sawle are. a1000Riddles xx[i]. 33 Oft ic wirum dol wife abelᵹe, wonie hyre willan. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 177 Þe oreguil and þe wraððe of kinges and of barones..wurreð uppe chirches oðer wanieð hire rihtes. c1470Gol. & Gaw. 1208, I aught as prynce him to prise for his prouese, That wanyt noght my wourschip, as he that al wan. a1628F. Greville (F. Grevil) Hum. Learn. cxviii, And of these Arts it may be said againe, That since their Theoricke is infinite; Of infinite there can no Artes remaine... Their Theoricke then must not waine their vse.
†8. To empty, render vacant. Obs.
c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 33 Ðos word sede þe angel for þat man sholde fuluullen englene sete þe was er iwaned þo þe lucifer and his ferreden fellen ut þarof.
†9. To come short of, lack. Obs.
a1300Cursor M. 4291 Quen hert has þat it will wiss Þe bodi mai haue namar bliss, Ne namar wa þan will to wan. Ibid. 12196 Bot þai are..Als a chim or brasin bell, Þat noþer can vnderstand ne tell Wat takens þair aun sune, Þat witt bath wanis and resune.
10. to wane away: to cause to wane away, to diminish gradually. Also refl. of the moon (nonce-use), to wane away.
1601Holland Pliny xxiv. xv. II. 198 Speciall remedie for ruptures, convulsions, and pleurisies: it waneth away the overgrowne splene. 1797A. Seward Lett. (1811) V. 4 Proud once and princely was the mansion, ere a succession of spendthrifts waned away its splendour. 1867J. Ingelow Tired iv, And let that moon of April wane itself away.
b. nonce-use. To cause (the moon) to wane.
1904Edin. Rev. Jan. 46 The hidden hand which wanes the moon and ebbs the tide.
▪ VI. wane
obs. f. vain a., wan a., wain n.1, wean v. and n., when; north. f. wone n. Obs.; obs. pa. tense of win v. |