| 释义 |
▪ I. wave, n.|weɪv|
(Also 6 whave, 8 weave.)
[f. wave v.
In sense 1, which appears early in the 16th c., it seems to have been substituted by popular etymology for the older waw n., which it rapidly superseded in use. In branch II it is a new formation on the verb.]
I.
1. a. A movement in the sea or other collection of water, by which a portion of the water rises above the normal level and then subsides, at the same time travelling a greater or smaller distance over the surface; a moving ridge or swell of water between two depressions or ‘troughs’; one of the long ridges or rollers which, in the shallower parts of the sea, follow each other at regular intervals, assuming an arched form, and successively break on the shore. Sometimes the word is applied to the ridge and the accompanying trough taken together, and occasionally to the concave curve of the surface between the crest of one ridge and that of the next.
1526Tindale Jas. i. 6 For he that douteth is lyke the waues [1539 Cranmer, 1557 Geneva, 1611 Authorized, a waue; 1535 Coverdale, the wawes] of the see. 1530Palsgr. 287/1 Wave of the see, uague. 1551Robinson tr. More's Utopia ii. i. (1895) 116 A large and wyde sea, which..is not rough nor mountith not with great waues. 1565Stapleton tr. Bede's Hist. Ch. Eng. 91 The tempest encreased, the whaues multiplied so faste..that nothing but present death was looked for. 1585Higins Junius' Nomencl. 400/1 Vnda sequax,..waue vpon waue: one waue following vpon anothers necke. 1593Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, ii. vi. 36 As doth a Saile, fill'd with a fretting Gust Command an Argosie to stemme the Waues. 1603Holland Plutarch's Mor. 255 As in a setled calme, without winde, weather and wave. 1671Milton P.R. iv. 18 As..surging waves against a solid rock, Though all to shivers dash't, the assault renew. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 767 Proteus..in the Billows plung'd his hoary Head; And where he leap'd, the Waves in Circles widely spread. 1781Cowper Expost. 272 What ails thee, restless as the waves that roar, And fling their foam against thy chalky shore? 1810Scott Lady of L. vi. xviii, Like wave with crest of sparkling foam, Right onward did Clan-Alpine come. 1855Tennyson Maud i. xviii. 8 Is that enchanted moan only the swell Of the long waves that roll in yonder bay? 1860― Islet 16 Waves on a diamond shingle dash. 1877W. H. White Naval Archit. xi. 443 The main bow wave may also be followed by a train of waves, successive waves in a series having diminished heights. 1877Huxley Physiogr. 171 It is merely the form of the wave, and not the actual water that travels.
b. = tidal or tide wave: see tidal 1 b, tide 16 b.
1812–16Playfair Nat. Phil. I. 329 The great Wave which, in this manner, constitutes the tide, is to be considered as an undulation..of the ocean, in which [etc.].
c. Poet. Used in collective sing. for ‘water’, ‘sea’. The plural is also similarly used (poet. and rhetorically), but without quite losing the primary meaning.
1588Shakes. L.L.L. v. i. 61 Now by the salt waue of the mediteranium, a sweet tutch. 1590Spenser F.Q. ii. vii. 57 He..looking downe, saw many damned wights, In those sad waues [of Cocytus]. 1616Chapman tr. Musæus F 1, Virgin, for thy Loue, I will swim a waue That Ships denies. 1667Milton P.L. i. 193 Thus Satan talking to his neerest Mate With Head up-lift above the wave. 1742Gray Eton 26 Say, Father Thames,..Who foremost now delight to cleave With pliant arm thy glassy wave? 1784Cowper Task v. 835 When he sees afar His country's weather-bleach'd and batter'd rocks, From the green wave emerging. 1820Byron Mar. Fal. ii. i, The calm wave Favours the gondolier's light skimming oar. 1825Scott Talism. i, Where the waves of the Jordan pour themselves into an inland sea. 1844Hood Bridge of Sighs 11 Whilst the wave constantly Drips from her clothing. 1860Patmore Faithf. for Ever i. viii, Perhaps..They wander whispering by the wave. 1864Tennyson Voyage v, We came to warmer waves, and deep Across the boundless east we drove.
2. transf.
a. An undulatory movement, or one of an intermittent series of movements, of something passing over or on a surface or through the air.
1810Scott Lady of L. i. xi, The western waves of ebbing day Roll'd o'er the glen their level way. 1827Keble Chr. Y., Christm. Day, In waves of light it thrills along. 1833Tennyson Dream Fair Women xlviii, The holy organ rolling waves Of sound on roof and floor. 1850― In Mem. xci, The thousand waves of wheat, That ripple round the lonely grange. 1899Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 86 Thus..there are the waves of goose-skin passing over the body. 1903K. C. Thurston Circle iii. 23 It was like a wave of sun through a chill room.
b. = pulse-wave: see pulse n.1 6.
1838Penny Cycl. XII. 81/1 The dilatation of the arteries produced by the wave which is propagated along the column of blood contained in them. 1850Tennyson In Mem. cxxii. Till all my blood, a fuller wave, Be quicken'd with a livelier breath.
c. A forward movement of a large body of persons (chiefly invaders or immigrants overrunning a country, or soldiers advancing to an attack), or of military vehicles or aircraft, which either recedes and returns after an interval, or is followed after a time by another body repeating the same movement.
1852T. Wright Celt, Roman & Saxon i. 1 Europe was peopled by several successive migrations, or, as they have been technically named, waves of population, all flowing from one point in the east. 1862Stanley Jew. Ch. (1877) I. ix. 176 The Israelite conquest of Palestine..is in itself but one amongst a succession of waves which have swept over the country. 1875Stubbs Const. Hist. I. ii. 16 The populations..which..were still affected by the great migratory wave. 1879Green Readings fr. Eng. Hist. xix. 98 Turned back wave after wave of the enemy. 1893O. M. Edwards in Traill Soc. Eng. i. 1 The first wave of immigrants that reached Britain..was a wave of men of short stature and swarthy countenance. 1915Times 3 Feb. 9/1 They send forward wave after wave of men, regardless of the punishment. 1943R. V. Jones Most Secret War (1978) xli. 382 Longer raids will always be liable to attacks on their last waves whenever fighters can fly. 1951O. Berthoud tr. Clostermann's Big. Show i. 38 The airfield at Triqueville..was going to be bombed in force by two waves of 72 Marauders. 1982Daily Tel. 12 Oct. 17/8 The fly past will take place in two waves—a slow one consisting of five formations of helicopters.., then the fixed-wing aircraft, again in five formations.
d. A long convex strip of land between two long broad hollows; one of a series of such strips; also occas. a rounded ridge of sand or snow formed by the action of the wind.
1788A. Young in J. Baxter's Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4) II. p. viii, The Downs are..nearly flat, or only in gentle waves at the top. 1789J. Williams Min. Kingd. I. 108 The variation of the dip and rise there generally consists of gentle easy swelling waves. 1796W. H. Marshall W. Eng. II. 212 A fine Vale District: rich waves of grass land. 1819S. Rogers Human Life 682 A hollow wave Of burning sand their everlasting grave. 1886Ruskin Præterita I. viii. 248 The field fences buried under crested waves of snow. 1887Rider Haggard Allan Quaterm. xx, The crest of a great green wave of land, that rolled down a gentle slope to the banks of a little stream.
e. A wave-like effect produced in a grandstand or stadium by successive sections of the crowd of spectators standing up, raising their arms, and sitting down again. Usu. as human wave, Mexican wave, or Mexico wave. orig. U.S.
This form of crowd participation was publicized through its popularity among spectators at the World Cup football competition held in Mexico City in 1986.
1984N.Y. Times 6 Oct. i. 21/1 This undulating human wave..apparently became popular at University of Washington football games a few years ago. 1986Financial Times 2 June 1/8 The huge Azteca amphitheatre was roaring and rolling, as the crowd performed the jump-up-and-down body ‘wave’. 1986Times 21 June 40/2 As if India were not already finding batting hard enough, the crowd started during this final session to behave as they have seen others doing in Mexico, and performing what is apparently called the ‘human wave’. 1986Today 29 June, 100,000 fans had turned up at the Aztec stadium and performed the wave for two hours..on a day when there was no match. 1986Sunday Times (Colour Suppl.) 27 July 27/3 There was the uncertainty among us media people about whether to stand when the congregation did. Half of us would rise, a third sit confusedly down again, then a fifth struggle to their feet. The Queen must have thought we were trying out a Mexico Wave. 1986Guardian 18 Aug. 23/2 An occasion and result that satisfied the partisan bulk of the 88,000 crowd. We even saw a passable Mexican Wave.
3. fig. and in figurative context;
a. chiefly pl., rough, stormy, or fluctuating conditions (of life, care, passion, etc.).
a1548Hall Chron., 14 Hen. VII (1550) 49 One fierce & strong waue..swalowed both their lyues not long asonder. 1563B. Googe Eglogs iv. 93 A Creature, cause of all my Care,..A woman Waue of Wretchednes. 1590Spenser F.Q. i. x. 34 That he should neuer fall In his wayes through this wide worldes waue. Ibid. iii. viii. 20 That cruell Queene..Did heape on her new waues of weary wretchednesse. 1606S. Gardiner Bk. Angling 12 Waues of tribulation, tempests of tentations. 1781Cowper Truth 1 Man, on the dubious waves of error toss'd, His ship half founder'd, and his compass lost. 1846A. Marsh Father Darcy II. iii. 75 Alas! was there no one..to bid the waves of passion be still? 1847Tennyson Princess iii. 224 And thus your pains May only make that footprint upon sand Which oft-recurring waves of prejudice Resmooth to nothing. 1856Geo. Eliot Scenes Clerical Life, Amos Barton v, An unfecundated egg, which the waves of time wash away into nonentity.
b. chiefly sing. A swelling, onward movement and subsidence (of feeling, thought, opinion, a custom, condition, etc.); a movement (of common sentiment, opinion, excitement) sweeping over a community, and not easily resisted. Also, a sharp increase in the extent or degree of some phenomenon; cf. crime wave s.v. crime n. 4.
1851G. Brimley Ess. (1858) 112 Its last vestiges were fast disappearing before the wave of democratic equality. 1855Bain Senses & Int. ii. iv. §18 (1864) 285 All the muscles of the body may be thrown into agitation under a wave of strong feeling. 1859Dickens etc. Haunted Ho. ii. 10/1 What floods of thought came, wave upon wave, across my mind! 1870Duke of Argyll Iona i. 29 Certain waves of opinion which at successive periods were propelled from the ancient centres of Christendom. 1903Myers Hum. Personal. 7 The highest wave of materialism which has ever swept over these shores. 1910Sat. Even. Post 29 Oct. 46/2 A good many ‘waves of crime’ occur in the imagination of newspapers. 1915Contemp. Rev. May 615 A wave of militarism sweeps through the nation. 1920Times 21 Jan. 12/1 The probability of a ‘wave’ of crime after the war has been foreseen and foretold by students of social problems. 1927New Republic 21 Sept. 109/2 The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, commenting on the alleged suicide wave among young people, reports..that the suicide rate for the population as a whole is decreasing. 1958W. S. Churchill Hist. Eng.-Speaking Peoples IV. x. i. 10 Throughout the country a fresh wave of demonstrations followed. 1971Daily Tel. 13 Apr. 6 The pace of dismissals is accelerating as companies strive to restore profits after the massive wave of inflation in costs and wages.
c. the wave of the future: the inevitable future fashion or trend; the coming thing.
1940A. M. Lindbergh (title) The wave of the future, a confession of faith. 1959Daily Tel. 8 July 10/3 Mr. Khruschev, in the eyes of these critics, feels that he is riding the ‘wave of the future’. 1969M. Puzo Godfather i. xi. 150 The business I am in is the coming thing, the wave of the future. 1971Sci. Amer. Sept. 5/2 (Advt.), Fan jets are the wave of the future. You'll find them on all the 747's. 1976L. Bernstein Unanswered Question v. 266 They were all, including Mahler, swept along by the mighty ‘wave of the future’ that Wagner, in his hyper⁓romantic egomania, had predicted and initiated.
d. Phr. to make waves: to stir up trouble, make things worse, make a fuss. orig. and chiefly U.S.
In quot. 1925 used in the literal sense.
[1925‘Kimbo’ Tropical Tales 10 Back at the foul stinking bog Potts heard himself hailed by the well-known voice of his late father. ‘Hello, sonny,..slip in gently{ddd}for the Lord's sake don't make any waves.’] 1962A. Lurie Love & Friendship xiv. 277, I think it will be best if she tells him herself... After I've left. We don't want to make waves. 1972Publishers' Weekly 10 Apr. 58/2 Dr. Wilkins..had just been fired from Willowbrook for allegedly making waves about conditions. 1983Times 19 Feb. 11/5 He is..a solid dependable Scotsman who runs a company at a profit in an orderly fashion and doesn't make waves.
4. a. An undulating conformation; each of the undulations of such a conformation; spec. one in the hair; also, a set that leaves the hair in waves.
1547in Feuillerat Revels Edw. VI (1914) 9 Clothe of Syluer in waues. 1547Ibid. 12 The nether skyrtes or Basse of blewe clothe of golde playne leyd on with waves of clothe of Syluer. 1664Evelyn Sylva xxx. 95 That [is] the Grain which runs in waves, and makes the divers and beautiful chamfers which some woods abound in. 1667Milton P.L. ix. 496 [The Serpent] toward Eve Addres'd his way, not with indented wave, Prone on the ground, as since, but on his reare. 1678Moxon Mech. Exerc. vi. 104 It hath its under flat cut into those fashioned waves you intend your work shall have. 1702Petiver Gazophyl. i. v, Concha Veneris..[is] easily distinguish'd from all others, by its peculiar Waves and spotted Belly. 1721W. Gibson Diet. Horses i. 13 The Mane..is always the more graceful with a natural Weave from the Roots. 1795Southey Joan of Arc x. (1853) 126 The pennons rolling their long waves Before the gale. 1864Dickens Mut. Fr. (1865) I. i. iv. 31 Bella..employed both her hands in giving her hair an additional wave. 1866Mrs. Whitney Leslie Goldthwaite iv, Freedom's northern wind will take all the wave out of your hair. 1884R. F. Burton Bk. Sword vii. 137 Often the waves [of sabre-blades] are broken into saw-teeth. 1895M. Hewlett Earthwork Tuscany 75 A bush of yellow hair falling over his forehead in a wave. 1895, etc. [see Marcel n.]. 1922Joyce Ulysses 343 Gerty's crowning glory was her wealth of wonderful hair. It was dark brown with a natural wave in it. 1925F. Scott Fitzgerald Great Gatsby ii. 44 All the things I've got to get. A massage and a wave, and a collar for the dog. 1938E. Ambler Cause for Alarm v. 79 Prolonged steaming operations take the wave out of my hair. 1959Chambers's Encycl. VI. 691/2 There are three main denominations of heat waving: the ‘machine wave’..the ‘machineless’ wave..and the ‘wireless’ wave. 1973[see kirby-grip].
b. An undulating line or streak of colour.
1662Merrett tr. Neri's Art of Glass xlii, It will shew some waves, and divers colours. 1704Newton Optics i. (1721) 34 If the Glass of the Prisms be..without those numberless Waves, or Curles which usually arise from Sand⁓holes. 1856R. Knox tr. Edwards' Man. Zool. §414 It [the cat] is of a brown colour, somewhat greyish, with deeper coloured transverse waves. 1891Hardwicke's Sci.-Gossip XXVII. 15 The waves written by the syphon above the central line corresponding to the dots of the Morse Code.
c. Arch. An undulated moulding; a cyma or ogee moulding.
1663Gerbier Counsel 70 The wave with Lace under it at one peny per foot. Ibid. 71 The upper Wave cut with Leaves at six pence per foot. 1825Rickman Archit. (ed. 3) 46 These mouldings are generally much ornamented, and the wave or zigzag ornament..is almost universal.
d. A wavy or zigzag pattern; something made in this pattern: see quots.
1845G. Dodd Brit. Manuf. Ser. v. 176 There are several descriptions of [straw-] plait made in England—such as..the ‘wave’, the ‘diamond’, &c. 1888C. P. Brown Cotton Manuf. 168 Waves, zigzag twill pattern.
5. Modern scientific uses.
a. Physics. Each of those rhythmic alternations of disturbance and recovery of configuration in successively contiguous portions of a fluid or solid mass, by which a state of motion travels in some direction without corresponding progressive movement of the particles successively affected. Examples are the waves in the surface of water (sense 1), the waves of the air which convey sound, and the (hypothetical) waves of the ether which are concerned in the transmission of light, heat, and electricity.
Hertzian waves: radio waves (discovered by the German physicist Heinrich Hertz in 1888).
1832Brewster Nat. Magic viii. (1833) 195 They will produce each equal waves of sound. 1833[see wave-surface, -theory]. 1839G. Bird Nat. Philos. 292 The waves of light, like those of sound, are transmitted in every direction. 1846Greener Sci. Gunnery 50 It is necessary so to prolong the explosion, that the wave of vibration has time to travel throughout the whole of the mass acted upon. 1860Tyndall Glac. ii. i. 227 An aërial wave of sound travels at about the rate of 1100 feet in a second. 1863― Heat viii. 257 The condensation and rarefaction [of the air] constitute what is called a sonorous pulse or wave. 1889Rowland in Amer. Jrnl. Math. XI. 378 Starting with very good conductors and very long waves, the electric current will be uniformly distributed throughout the section of the conductors. 1902Kipling Wireless in Scribner's Mag. Aug. 136/2 Hertzian waves which vibrate, say, two hundred and thirty million times a second. 1920Discovery Apr. 115/2 These wireless waves are often called Hertzian waves.
b. Meteorol. A change of atmospheric pressure or temperature, consisting of gradual rise and fall or fall and rise, taking place successively at successive points in some particular line of direction on the earth's surface. In popular language, a ‘heatwave’ or a ‘cold wave’ denotes a spell of abnormal heat or cold, which is assumed to be travelling over the country in a particular direction.
1843Sir J. F. W. Herschel in Rep. Brit. Assoc. 61 If this minimum represent..the trough of a barometric wave which at 3 a.m. was vertically over Brussels, and at 11 a.m. over London, the wave must have been travelling westwards. 1846W. R. Birt in Rep. Brit. Assoc. i. 147 Now a wave generated in any way and approaching the continent of Europe from the north-west would most probably impinge on it with a high..crest... Again a negative wave, with a deep trough..would present large fluctuations as it impinged on the land. 1901Scotsman 4 Oct. 5/1 When a cold wave strikes Northern Minnesota, there is no knowing where the thermometer may go.
c. Seismology. A seismic disturbance of a portion of the crust or surface of the earth, travelling continuously for a certain distance.
1760Phil. Trans. R. Soc. LI. 601 A large quantity of vapour may be conceived to raise the earth in a wave, as it passes along between the strata. 1848Trans. R. Irish Acad. XXI. 58 The only motion that will fulfil these conditions, is the transit of a wave of elastic compression, or of a succession of these,..through the solid substance and surface of the disturbed country. 1862R. Mallet First Princ. Observ. Seismol. I. iv. 33 If an isolated wall..be subjected to the transit of an earth wave..the resulting fractures will vary with the direction of the wave-path. 1877F. W. Rudler Earthquake in Encycl. Brit. VII. 609/2 From the seismic centre waves are propagated in all directions through the solid materials of the earth's crust. 1886J. Milne Earthquakes iii. 55 Hitherto we have chiefly considered earthquake vibrations; now we will say a few words about earthquake waves.
d. Phys. wave of contraction, the onward contraction of a muscle from the point where the stimulus is applied. wave of stimulation, the (hypothetical) impulse of molecular vibration travelling along a nerve from the point at which it is stimulated.
1851Carpenter Man. Phys. (ed. 2) 214 Successive contractions and relaxations may be produced..by a single prick with a scalpel; a sort of wave of contraction being transmitted in the direction of its length. 1885Romanes Jelly Fish etc. i. 25 A stimulus applied to a nerveless muscle..giving rise to a visible wave of contraction, which spreads in all directions. Ibid., I shall always speak of muscle-fibres as conveying a visible wave of contraction, and of nerve-fibres as conveying an invisible, or molecular, wave of stimulation.
e. Physics. A de Broglie wave (see de Broglie).
1924L. de Broglie in Phil. Mag. XLVII. 450 We are then inclined to admit that any moving body may be accompanied by a wave and that it is impossible to disjoin motion of body and propagation of wave. 1930, etc. [see matter wave s.v. matter n.1 26]. 1942,1956[see probability wave s.v. probability 4]. 1978D. A. Davies Waves, Atoms & Solids i. 21 In order to represent the electron by a wave, or group of waves, we require to be able to state whether the wave will show dispersion.
6. A book-name of certain geometrid moths.
1819G. Samouelle Entomol. Compend. 423 Geometra inornata. The plain Wave. 1832J. Rennie Consp. Butterfl. & Moths 139 The Small White Wave (Emmelesia candidata, Stephens). Ibid. 140 The Small Fan-footed Wave (Ptychopoda dilutaria, Stephens). Ibid. 141 The Dwarf Cream Wave (Acidalia osseata, Stephens). Ibid. 143 The Subangled Wave (Timandra variegata, Stephens). 1882Cassell's Nat. Hist. VI. 67 The Acidalidæ or ‘Waves,’ comprise a large number of small species.
II. An act of waving.
7. A motion to and fro of the hand or of something held in the hand, used as a signal or as an expressive sign.
1688Holme Armoury iii. xix. (Roxb.) 155/2 Termes used about the displaying or florishing of an ensigne... A Wave, or plaine wave, is A Turne or florish. 1840Dickens Old C. Shop xv, And so, with many waves of the hand, and cheering nods,..they parted company. 1854Surtees Handley Cr. i. (1901) I. 8 With a wave of his hat [he] brought the pack forward. 1883D. C. Murray Hearts iii. (1885) 20 With a charming smile and a reassuring wave of the right hand. 1898Kipling Fleet in Being i. 4 The man-of-war..must also be ready to drop three or four knots at the wave of a flag.
8. A swaying to and fro.
1648Herrick Hesper., Delight in Disorder 9 A winning wave (deserving Note) In the tempestuous petticote. 1825Scott Talism. x, The point at which he had seen the last slight wave of the Templar's mantle. 1849M. Arnold Obermann xlii, Where with clear-rustling wave The scented pines of Switzerland Stand dark round thy green grave.
III. attrib. and Comb.
9. a. simple attrib., as wave-beat, wave-crest, wave energy, wave-head, wave-noise, wave-ridge, wave-top, wave-wail, wave-water; (sense 2 d) wave-region; (sense 5 a) wave-problem, wave-transmission, wave-velocity; (sense 7) wave gesture.
1979East Anglian Mag. Aug. 532/2 Four wild swans came high overhead, the chanting *wave-beats of their wings making a windy threnody in the great silence of the Fen sky.
1823Scott Peveril xxvii. Motto, The restless foam Of the wild *wave-crest.
1976Jrnl. R. Soc. Arts CXXIV. 729/1 The seasonal distribution of *wave energy fits nicely into the pattern of energy demand, that is, more in the winter than in the summer.
1922Joyce Ulysses 512 He invokes grace from on high with large *wave gestures.
1849Cupples Green Hand ii. (1856) 16 The *wave-heads..were crested here and there with light.
1922Joyce Ulysses 47 At the lacefringe of the tide he halted... His snout lifted barked at the *wavenoise.
1910S. P. Thompson Ld. Kelvin II. xxi. 862 Sir William read four papers bearing on *wave-problems.
1856Olmsted Slave States 397 For an hour or two we got above the sandy zone, and into the..‘*wave’ region of the State. The surface here was extremely undulating.
1849C. Brontë Shirley xiii, She rises high, and glides all revealed, on the dark *wave-ridge.
1893Conan Doyle Refugees III. xxv. 30 For hours a glimpse could be caught of the boat, dwindling away on the *wave tops.
1907V. Cornish in Geogr. Jrnl. Jan. 23 The effect of this *wave-transmission is to diminish the initial inequality of slope.
1906Hardy Dynasts II. iv. viii. 185 Weary *wave-wails from the clammy shore.
1889Welch Text Bk. Naval Archit. iii. 59 The amount of the buoyancy in *wave-water is also constantly varying.
b. objective, as wave-breaker, wave-drawing; (sense 4 a) wave-curler, wave-setter; also wave-compelling, wave-setting, wave-subjected adjs.; wave-making n. and adj.
1764Goldsm. Trav. 297 The wave-subjected soil [of Holland] Impels the native to repeated toil. 1881Broadhouse Mus. Acoustics 59 Constant practice in wave-drawing..will soon familiarize the student [etc.]. 1885L. F. Vernon-Harcourt Harbours & Docks I. 93 The open jetty does not act as a wave-breaker. 1890G. Neilson Trial by Combat ix. 27 The remark presents the great Dane in a light somewhat different from that suggested by his wave-compelling attitude on the wild sea shore. 1915R. Lankester Diversions of Naturalist 61 Specially powerful wave-compelling winds. 1931Lady 26 Feb. 300/1 Fix your wave-setting combs in place. 1932Mod. Woman Feb. 72/1 A perfectly easy method of keeping your hair permanently waved, set and curled at home... Wave curlers 1/- pair. 1932Even. Standard 1 July 9 (Advt.), A..wavesetter in your bag is almost as good as taking your hairdresser on holiday with you. 1942Wave-making [see sonic a. 1 b]. 1961Guardian 29 Apr. 1/5 Mr. Hardy sprayed on a sweet-smelling wave-setting lotion. 1979United States 1980/81 (Penguin Travel Guides) 235 A resort-style motel with a lake and wave-making swimming pool.
c. similative, as wave-green, wave-white; also with the sense ‘having a waved form or markings’, as wave-blade, wave-bladed, wave-breasted, wave-edged, wave-haired, wave-leaved, etc.
1877Lane-Fox Catal. Anthrop. Coll. Bethnal Green Branch S. Kens. 183 Malay Krisses, with *wave blades.
1866W. J. Fitzpatrick Sham Squire 115 He..with a *wave⁓bladed dagger..made some stabs at the intruder.
1811Shaw Gen. Zool. VIII. 405 *Wave-breasted Parrakeet. Psittacus versicolor.
1884R. F. Burton Bk. Sword vii. 137 The *wave-edged form [of blade] is well shown in an iron dagger.
1621G. Sandys Ovid's Met. ix. (1626) 175, I..let my *waue⁓greene Mantle sink.
1866C. Rossetti Prince's Progr. x, A *wave-haired milkmaid.
1816–20T. Green Univ. Herbal II. 828 Xysmalobium Undulatum; *Wave⁓leaved Xysmalobium.
1922Joyce Ulysses 11 *Wavewhite wedded words shimmering on the dim tide.
d. locative, as wave-bowered, wave-reflected.
1812Byron Ch. Har. ii. xxiv, Thus bending o'er the vessel's laving side, To gaze on Dian's wave-reflected sphere. 1820Shelley Prometh. Unb. iii. ii. 32 Tracking their path..by the light Of wave-reflected flowers. 1881Rossetti Ballads & Sonn., House of Life lvi, The wave-bowered pearl.
e. instrumental, as wave-beat, wave-beaten, wave-buffeted, wave-circled, wave-cut, wave-dashed, wave-encircled, wave-eroded, wave-hollowed, wave-kissed, wave-lashed, wave-moist, wave-rusted, wave-shattered, wave-swept, wave-tossed, wave-walled, wave-washed, wave-wet, wave-whitened, wave-worn, etc. Also wave-free, wave-weary; wave erosion.
a1593Marlowe Ovid's Eleg. i. xiv. 34 Such were they [her locks] as Diana painted stands All naked holding in her waue⁓moist hands. 1610Shakes. Temp. ii. i. 120 He..oared Himselfe..To th' shore; that ore his waue-worne basis bowed As stooping to releeue him. 1741Boyse Patience 200 On the sea-weed spray,..the wave-toss'd body lay. 1777Potter æschylus 51 The tort'ring sting Thence drove thee wand'ring o'er the wave⁓wash'd strand. 1810Scott Lady of L. i. xiii, The shaggy mounds..wave-encircled, seem'd to float. 1819Byron Juan ii. cxcviii, Amidst the barren sand and rocks so rude She and her wave-worn love had made their bower. 1843J. R. Lowell in Pioneer Jan. 40 Stands a maiden..Musing by the wave-beat strand. 1848Lytton K. Arthur ii cvii, Wave-hollow'd caves. 1854F. W. Faber Oratory Hymns 67 Angelic songs are swelling O'er earth's green fields, and ocean's wave-beat shore. 1856Lever Martins of Cro' M. xxiii, The dark cliffs and rugged crags, the wave-beaten rocks. 1857Dickens Dorrit ii. xx, Every wave-dashed, storm-beaten object. 1857Dufferin Lett. High Lat. (ed. 3) 225 A..channel, between two wave⁓lashed ridges of drift ice. 1861M. Arnold in A. A. Procter Victoria Regina 181 The wave-kiss'd marble stair. 1876Morris Sigurd ii. 92 So Sigurd turned to the river and stood by the wave-wet strand. 1878O. Wilde Ravenna 14, I have wandered far From the wave-circled islands of my home. 1881― Poems 131 Be not afraid To leave this wan and wave-kissed shore. Ibid. 161 Some wave-shattered steep. 1885G. K. Gilbert in 5th Ann. Rep. U.S. Geol. Survey 84 The submerged plateau whose area records the landward progress of littoral erosion, becomes a terrace after the formative has disappeared, and, as such, requires a distinctive name. It will be called the wave-cut terrace. 1889W. B. Yeats Wanderings of Oison ii. 73 And she with a wave-rusted chain was tied To two old eagles. 1892― Countess Kathleen 126 When her own people ruled in wave-worn Eri. 1894Outing XXIV. 92/1 The long, wave-swept margin was left to the solitude of primeval nature. 1901, etc. Wave-cut [see platform n. 6 c (i)]. 1906Hardy Dynasts II. i. vi. 38 The Universal-empire plot Demands the rule of that wave-walled spot. 1919D. W. Johnson Shore Processes & Shoreline Devel. iv. 161 The wave-erosion features associated with the coast, shore, shoreface, and offshore, are three in number. 1924E. Sitwell Sleeping Beauty xiv. 47 Pan, with his satyrs on the rocks Feeding their wave-weary flocks. 1929W. B. Yeats in New Republic 2 Oct. 173/2 A bone wave-whitened and dried in the wind. 1939W. H. Twenhofel Princ. Sedimentation ii. 30 As sea level before the rise is assumed to have been stationary, a wave-eroded surface may be expected to have developed in places. 1952C. Day Lewis tr. Virgil's Aeneid iii. 72 Over against wave-worn Plemyrium there's an island Athwart the gulf of Syracuse. 1968R. W. Fairbridge Encycl. Geomorphol. 133/1 Coasts made irregular by wave erosion are less common. 1974C. Taylor Fieldwork in Medieval Archaeol. iv. 60 On the valley sides above the dam is ridge and furrow which ends just above the slight wave-cut platform which still marks the former edge of the water in the lake. 1979United States 1980/81 (Penguin Travel Guides) 611 Cruising on these wave-free waterways is relaxing.
10. Special comb.: wave-action, (a) Geol., the action of water flowing in waves; (b) Gunnery, ‘abnormally high pressure in a gun from very large charges’ (Cent. Dict. 1891); wave analyser, any instrument for analysing a wave motion into its Fourier components; waveband, a range of (esp. radio) wavelengths or frequencies between specified limits; wave base Physical Geogr., the greatest depth at which sediment can be disturbed by surface waves; wave change Radio, used attrib. to designate a switch for changing the wavelength to which a transmitter or receiver is tuned; also wave changer; wave cloud Meteorol., an elongated cloud that is one of a parallel series formed at the crests of atmospheric waves in the lee of high ground and remaining stationary in relation to the ground; wave-detector, an instrument designed to detect very feeble electric waves in wireless telegraphy; wave-disk, a metal disk with a waved edge, used in the wave-siren; wave drag Aerodynamics, the drag experienced by a body at supersonic speeds as a result of the formation of a shock wave; wave equation Physics, an equation that represents wave motion, esp. (a) the differential equation ∂2U/∂t2 = c2∇2U; (b) Schrödinger's equation (see Schrödinger); wave filter Electr. Engin. = filter n. 3 e; wave-front Physics, the continuous line or surface including all the waves or radiatory emissions which are in the same phase; wave function Physics, a function that satisfies a wave equation; esp. a Schrödinger wave function (see Schrödinger); wave group, a short group of waves, not necessarily of uniform wavelength or amplitude; wave-hop v. intr. colloq. [after hedge-hop vb. s.v. hedge n. 9], to fly low over the sea; hence wave-hopper; wave-horse = sea-horse 5; wave machine, an apparatus for producing waves in water; wave-making, the production of waves by the movement of a floating body on the surface of the water; also attrib.; wave-mark, (a) Geol. (see quot. 1863); (b) a wavy marking, stain, or blemish; so also wave-marked a., wave-marking Geol.; wave-meter Electr. a device for measuring the wavelength or frequency of radiofrequency waves; wave-motion, motion in curves alternately concave and convex; wave-motor, a machine or apparatus designed to utilize the energy in the waves of water as a motive power; also attrib.; wave number Physics and Chem., the number of waves per unit length, used esp. as a spectroscopic unit to represent the frequency of electromagnetic radiation and usu. expressed in reciprocal centimetres, cm.-1 (see kayser); the reciprocal of wavelength, or this multiplied by 2π; symbol k; wave packet Physics, a group of superposed waves which together form a travelling localized disturbance; esp. one described by the Schrödinger equation and regarded as representing a particle; cf. packet n. 1 h; wave-particle Physics, used attrib. to designate the two-fold description of matter and energy in terms of two seemingly incompatible concepts, waves and particles; wave-path Seismology. (see quot. 1886); wave pattern = Vitruvian scroll s.v. Vitruvian a. b; wave period Physics, the period between the arrival at a given point of successive maxima of a travelling wave; wave picture Physics, the conception of sub-atomic particles as waves, in accordance with wave theory; wave-power, power derived from the action of water waves; wave-rainbow, a rainbow formed on the spray of sea-waves; wave-rate Acoustics, the rate of vibration of a sounding body in a given time; wave resistance, the retarding force of the action of waves of water; waverider Aeronaut., a wing that derives lift from a shock wave close to its under-surface; an aeroplane having such wings; wave screen (see quot.); waveshape = waveform; wave-shell Physics, each of the imaginary concentric spherical layers in any medium traversed by a wave, such that the vibration of the particles of the layer is always in the same phase; wave-siren, a form of the siren (n. 7) in which a current of air is driven through a narrow slit against an undulatory curve on the periphery of a cylinder or disk; wave-slope, the angle of inclination of the surface of a wave to the horizontal; wave-surface Physics, a geometrical surface which is the locus of all points reached at one instant by an undulatory agitation propagated from any centre; wave-system Ship-building, see quot. and wave-line 1; wave theory = (a) undulatory theory (see undulatory 1 c); more widely in Physics, any theory treating of something as waves, esp. such a theory of sub-atomic particles; (b) Philol. = Wellentheorie; wave-train Physics (see quot.); wave trap, (a) (see quots.); (b) Radio = trap n. 8 d; wave vector Physics, a vector whose direction is the direction of propagation of a wave and whose magnitude is its wave number; wave velocity Physics = phase velocity s.v. phase n. 5; wave winding, a kind of armature winding in which the coils are wound between commutator bars just over 180° apart so that there are two routes in parallel between the positive and the negative brush; † wave work, watered work (see quot.). Also wave-like a. and adv., wave-line.
1880Dana Man. Geol. (ed. 3) 910 Index, *Wave-action on coral reefs. 1886A. Winchell Walks Geol. Field 63 Here the torrential action was less turbulent: it was perhaps wave⁓action along a beach.
1931H. A. Brown Radio-Frequency Electr. Measurements ix. 314 (caption) Balanced modulator used in *wave analyzer. 1946Nature 7 Sept. 329/2 A wave-analyser was developed..in 1944 in order to analyse ocean waves and swell and ship movement. 1975G. J. King Audio Handbk. v. 112 Harmonic distortion. For this test an audio wave analyser is required.
1923Daily Mail 28 Apr. 5 A receiver which will function efficiently over a *waveband stretching from 300 metres to 20,000 metres. 1935Discovery Sept. 278/1 Recent developments..have made possible..room within this waveband (30 to 75 million cycles) to accommodate several independent high-definition sound and picture channels. 1958Observer 17 Aug. 8/3 By international agreement, four wavebands are available for television. 1971I. G. Gass et al. Understanding Earth x. 144/2 Ultraviolet light (primarily in the wave-band 1500 to 2100 angstroms).
1899F. P. Gulliver in Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts & Sci. XXXIV. 177 The term *wave-base is here introduced as a comparable term to river baselevel or hard stratum baselevel. It is another local baselevel, which ought to be distinguished from the grand baselevel of the sea. 1968R. W. Fairbridge Encycl. Geomorphol. 1226/1 Historically, there has been much confusion about the lower limit of wave base and marine abrasion.
1930Telegraph & Telephone Jrnl. XVI. 86/1 It is necessary to have a split battery at the distant end to provide the momentary impulse for the *wave change relay. 1957Practical Wireless XXXIII. 520/1 The front panel carries the wave-change switch.
1924S. R. Roget Dict. Electr. Terms 289/1 *Wave changer, a switching arrangement enabling connections to be altered rapidly in a wireless transmitting apparatus to cause waves of a different wave length to be transmitted. 1929Duncan & Drew Radio Telegr. & Telephony xxi. 673 A five position wave-changer switch changes the wavelength of the closed oscillatory circuit..simultaneously with the open radiative circuit.
1959R. E. Huschke Gloss. Meteorol. 620 *Wave cloud. 1977Sci. Amer. July 40/2 (caption) Wave clouds in the lee of a Martian crater were photographed by Mariner 9.
1905Athenæum 18 Mar. 339/2 The centre of interest in wireless telegraphy seems to be shifting from the *wave-detector or coherer to the means of producing the energy required to act upon it.
1890S. P. Thompson in Nature (1891) 8 Jan. 226/2 Two such *wave-disks, looking rather like circular saws with irregular teeth.
1948Sci. News VII. 30 To attain very high velocities in a practicable aircraft it is obvious that *wave drag must be reduced to a minimum. 1951[see form drag s.v. form n. 22]. 1981C. E. Dole Flight Theory & Aerodynamics vii. 217 The heat rise behind the shock wave is either radiated to the atmosphere or absorbed by the wing surface,..and this lost energy must be continuously supplied by the engines. This energy loss represents a type of drag known as wave drag.
1926E. Schrödinger in Physical Rev. XXVIII. 1049 (heading) The *wave equation and its application to the hydrogen atom. 1927, etc. [see Schrödinger]. 1936P. M. Morse Vibration & Sound vi. 188 Plane waves of sound, longitudinal waves, obey the same wave equation as do the transverse waves on a string. 1982W. H. Hayward Introd. Radio Frequency Design iv. 114 A complete solution of the voltage wave equation..is the sum of positive and negative moving voltage waves.
1908Phil. Mag. XVI. 481 This machine has been used with a *wave filter, consisting of series inductances of low effective resistance and parallel capacities. 1947R. Lee Electronic Transformers & Circuits vi. 150 Many wave filters are composed of several sections which simulate transmission lines. 1973S. K. Mitra et al. in Temes & Mitra Mod. Filter Theory & Design i. 1 The theory of filters owes its origin to Wagner and Campbell, who in 1915 advanced the concept of passive electric wave filters.
1867Tait Quaternions xi. 289 The planes of polarizaton of the two rays whose *wave-fronts are parallel, bisect the angles [etc.]. 1888Rutley Rock-Forming Min. 57 The plane wave-surfaces or wave-fronts of the two rays will respectively be represented by the tangent planes.
1925Proc. R. Soc. A. CVII. 43 (heading) Spheroidal *wave-functions. 1926E. Schrödinger in Physical Rev. XXVIII. 1049 The wave-function physically means and determines a continuous distribution of electricity in space, the fluctuations of which determine the radiation by the laws of..electrodynamics. 1935, etc. [see proper a. 3* b]. 1961Powell & Crasemann Quantum Mech. ii. 59 Until suitable boundary conditions and requirements concerning the continuity of solutions are imposed, the properties of the wave function are not completely described by the Schrödinger equation. 1979Sci. Amer. Nov. 128/1 In quantum mechanics an elementary particle such as an electron is represented by the mathematical expression called a wave function, which often describes the electron as if it were smeared out over a large region of space.
[1877Nature 23 Aug. 343/1 (heading) On the rate of progression of groups of waves.] 1923H. Moore Textbk. Intermediate Physics xxxii. 317 A noise consists of a single wave or of a very short *wave-group, while a musical note consists of a regular succession of similar waves constituting a regular wave-train. 1952R. W. Ditchburn Light iv. 95 In a dispersive medium, the components of a wave group move with different speeds, and the phase relations between the components are altered. 1978I. G. Main Vibrations & Waves in Physics xii. 210 Any isolated wave group may be viewed as a superposition of many sinusoidal waves.
1943Times 21 Dec. 2/3 Sneak-raiding FW 190s which *wave-hopped across the Channel and North Sea to surprise seaside towns were a daytime menace. 1952C. Day Lewis tr. Virgil's Aeneid iv. 80 Like a bird which along the shore and around the promontories Goes fishing, flying low, wave-hopping over the water. 1984J. Savarin Wolfrun xiii. 175 ‘What I can do with a chopper will surprise you.’ They'd be wave-hopping all the way across [the Channel].
1957R. Watson-Watt Three Steps xxxviii. 218 Our fears about the *wave-hopper.
1888Rider Haggard Mr. Meeson's Will xi. (1897) 140 They..looked out across the troubled ocean. There was nothing in sight..but the white *wave-horses.
1968Surfer Mag. Jan. 46/1 They constructed a *wave machine that could be a forerunner of a fantastic era of artificial surfing. 1979Listener 1 Mar. 315/3 A swimming-pool..a place to bring the family..and enjoy the wave-machine.
1877W. H. White Naval Archit. xi. 447 Mr. Scott Russell first drew attention to the importance of *wave⁓making resistance. 1878D. Kemp Man. Yacht Sailing vi. 41 There are only two principal sources of resistance, and they are consequent upon surface friction and wave-making.
1863Dana Man. Geol. (ed. 3) 94 *Wave-marks.—Faint outlinings, of curved form, on a sandstone layer, like the outline left by a wave along the limit where it dies out upon a beach. 1902Westm. Gaz. 14 Apr. 4/2 When the novice finds a few pinholes in his negatives, or wave marks on parts of the image. Ibid., The wave-marks were the result of careless development.
1903Amer. Geol. June 356 The top of the Lorraine is formed by a *wavemarked layer of lime⁓stone.
Ibid., Numerous other instances of *wavemarking at this horizon might be given.
1904Electrician 1 Jan. 408/2 (caption) General view of *wave meter. 1905Athenæum 27 May 662/2 Prof. Fleming's direct-reading cymometer or wave⁓meter, for measuring the length of the waves used in wireless telegraphy. 1945Electronic Engin. XVII. 720/1 The absorption wavemeter can be greatly improved by the addition of a valve which will provide the necessary energy to maintain the tuned circuit in continuous oscillation. 1979P. Hawker Guide to Amat. Radio iv. 63/2 A convenient method of calibrating the wavemeter is to use a communication receiver.
1846W. R. Birt in Rep. Brit. Assoc. i. 135 In contemplating the transference of the barometric maxima and minima, we regard only the *wave-motion—but very different must be the air-motion. 1882P. G. Tait Light in Encycl. Brit. XIV. 603 The essential characteristic of wave-motion is that a disturbance of some kind is handed on from one portion of a solid or fluid mass to another.
1898Daily News 9 June 7/2 The Linden *wave⁓motor boat. 1899Ibid. 15 Apr. 8/6 A wave motor, which may be seen working off Dover.
1873Rep. Brit. Assoc. Adv. Sci. 1872 53 The term *wave⁓numbers appears preferable to the equivalent term ‘inverse wavelengths’ which has been hitherto used. 1936Physical Rev. L. 59/2 The vector k is called ‘the reduced wave number vector’. 1973Physics Bull. July 419/2 These devices are characterized by a relatively small tuning range (a few wave-numbers). 1979Nature 20–27 Dec. 887/2 It is confusing to find both the chemists' wavenumber (1/λ) and physicists' wavenumber (2π/λ) used in different parts of the text.
1928Proc. R. Soc. A. CXVII. 276 Schrödinger has shown that for a harmonic oscillator a *wave packet can be constructed which, though it spreads in the intermediate states, always returns to its original form at each end of the swing. 1955Friedman & Weisskopf in W. Pauli Niels Bohr 153 More insight into this equation is provided by examining the time behaviour of a neutron wave packet. 1968G. Ludwig Wave Mech. i. iv. 47 A wave packet is not to be regarded as an approximation to a corpuscle, so that the corpuscles are in fact more or less extended waves, but the 4-wave determines only the probability..of the position of the corpuscles. 1979Nature 22 Mar. 312/1 Observations in Massachusetts Bay of high-frequency internal wave packets indicate that they are caused by lee waves generated outside a submarine bank at the Bay's seaward margin during ebb tide.
1938R. C. Tolman Princ. Statistical Mech. vii. 231 The foregoing considerations are sufficient to give an idea of the quantum mechanical treatment of *wave-particle duality in the cases of entities which were customarily regarded solely from the particle point of view. 1968M. S. Livingston Particle Physics iii. 47 The growing understanding of the wave-particle dualism in the properties of light led Louis de Broglie in 1925 to propound the hypothesis that a material particle should also have a wave property associated with it.
1862R. Mallet First Princ. Observ. Seismol. I. iv. 35 The line of transit, or *wave⁓path. 1886J. Milne Earthquakes i. 9 The radial lines along which an earthquake may be propagated from the centrum are called ‘wave-paths’.
1905G. W. Rhead Princ. Design 116 Another motive in Egyptian borders..is a kind of spiral or *wave pattern, starting from a series of small circles. 1956G. Taylor Silver ix. 192 All kinds of classical motifs, such as anthemion, key..and wave patterns.
1909Proc. R. Soc. Edin. XXIX. 446 The energy propagated in one *wave-period across a plane at right angles to the direction of the wave-motion is equal to the energy contained in one wave-length of the group multiplied by the ratio of group-velocity to wave-velocity. 1946Nature 7 Sept. 330/2 These peaks are equivalent to wave-periods of submultiples of 3 × 20 or 60 sec. 1975BP Shield Internat. May 13/3 Wave heights and wave periods..are the crucial statistics that spell work or no work on the crane barges.
1955W. Heisenberg in W. Pauli Neils Bohr 15 The complete equivalence of the particle and *wave pictures in the quantum theory was thus demonstrated for the first time. 1974G. Reece tr. Hund's Hist. Quantum Theory xi. 142 Quantum and wave pictures combine to give △ p = uh/l.
1973Bull. Amer. Assoc. Petroleum Geologists LVII. 1835/1 *Wave-power gradient studies along the mainland [of the Florida coast]..indicate that the dominant wave approach direction, responsible for littoral drift towards the south-southeast, is from the west. 1974Times 7 Oct. 1/3 A significant part of Britain's future energy requirements could come from cheap, pollution-free wave power. 1980D. Bloodworth Trapdoor xiii. 75 There are studies for deriving solar energy from seaweed, wind-power from the trades, wave-power from the surf. 1984Times 8 Nov. 16/1 The pilot wave-power plant at Toftestallen, about 50 miles west of Bergen, is expected to be operational next year.
1848Tennyson in Ld. Tennyson Mem. (1897) I. 275 Sat watching *wave-rainbows [at the Lizard].
1903G. M. Stratton Exper. Psychol. v. 83 Musical notes whose *wave-rates do not differ at least a fifth of a vibration a second.
1889Welch Text Bk. Naval Archit. iii. 56 *Wave resistance is by far the most powerful agent in extinguishing the oscillations.
1964Times 29 May 12/3 The R.A.E. had designed a new type of delta wing known as a ‘*waverider’ which has a convex upper surface and is supported by the pressure generated by the shock wave trapped under the concave lower surface. 1978D. Küchemann Aerodynamic Design of Aircraft iii. 77 In general terms, waveriders are a type of aircraft where the means for providing volume, lift, and propulsion are so closely integrated that their effects cannot readily be separated from one another.
1883Fisheries Exhib. Catal. 48 *Wave Screen, or Breakwater, for breaking the force of the sea, at entrance of bar..or elsewhere.
1940Chambers's Techn. Dict. 902/2 Wave-form, *wave-shape. 1947R. Lee Electronic Transformers & Circuits ix. 234 It is sometimes convenient to know whether a transformer, whose frequency response is known, can deliver a given wave shape. 1965Wireless World July 364/1 The use of cameras to make a permanent photographic record of a waveshape on an oscilloscope screen is now commonplace. 1984Sounds 1 Dec. 59/5 Vibrato is offered with four waveshapes to choose from, and may be programmed.
1877F. W. Rudler Earthquake in Encycl. Brit. VII. 610/1 The points at which a *wave-shell reaches the surface form a curve which is conveniently called a coseismal line.
1881Nature 18 Aug. 359/2 Helmholtz..has constructed a new instrument, the *wave-siren. 1890S. P. Thompson in Nature 15 Jan. 250/2 Dr. Kœnig had recourse to the wave-siren, an earlier invention of his own.
1877W. H. White Naval Archit. vi. 212 In considering the sufficiency of the range of the curve of stability for any vessel, it is desirable to regard it as abridged by this 8 or 10 degrees, in order to allow for the *wave slope.
1833MacCullagh Collected Wks. (1880) 34 In this theory, the surface of waves, or the *wave surface, is a geometrical surface used to determine the directions and velocities of refracted or reflected rays, being the surface of a sphere in a singly refracting medium; a double surface, [etc.]. 1860Cayley Math. Papers (1891) IV. 420 Some very beautiful results in relation to the Wave Surface have been recently obtained by Herr Zech. 1910S. P. Thompson Ld. Kelvin II. xx. 820 Stokes has found by minute experiment that the Huygens wave-surface is most accurately obeyed by light.
1886Encycl. Brit. XXI. 66/2 His [J. Scott Russell's] observations led him to propose and experiment on a new system of shaping vessels, which is known as the *wave system.
1833MacCullagh Collected Wks. (1880) 34 On the *Wave Theory of Light. 1873Cooke Chem. 22, I cannot agree with those who regard the wave-theory of light as an established principle of science. 1926Wave theory [see emission theory s.v. emission 7]. 1932Discovery Apr. 109/1 This new physics was soon to be revolutionized further by De Broglie and Schrödinger, with their enthusiasm for the new wave theory of matter. 1933L. Bloomfield Language xviii. 318 The presentation of these factors became known as the wave-theory, in contradistinction to the older family-tree theory of linguistic relationship. 1966C. R. Tottle Sci. Engin. Materials i. 8 The adaptation of classical mechanics to wave theory dates back only some forty years, so that modern concepts of the structure of atoms are very new. 1971[see Stammbaum]. 1974G. Reece tr. Hund's Hist. Quantum Theory xi. 150 Schroedinger regarded this equation as the basis of the wave theory of particles.
1897E. L. Nichols & Franklin Elem. Physics III. 12 A periodic disturbance sends out what is called a train of waves, each one of which is exactly like its forerunner... Graphic representation of *wave trains.
1875Knight Dict. Mech., *Wave-trap (Hydraulic Engineering), a widening inwards of the sides of piers, to afford space for storm-waves which roll in at the entrance to spread and extend themselves. 1923Mod. Wireless I. 247/2 The second frame aerial..is stated..to act as a ‘wave-trap’. 1968Radio Communication Handbk. (ed. 4) xvi. 3/1 If the generator whine remains pronounced, a fully screened tuned wave trap may be inserted in series with the output from the generator.
1955L. Rosenfeld in W. Pauli Niels Bohr 88 The Fourier components of *wave vector k. 1978H. M. Rosenberg Solid State (ed. 2) ii. 21 However, in the mathematical treatment of waves it is much more convenient to use the wave vector k instead of the wavelength λ.
1887, etc. *Wave velocity [see group velocity s.v. group n. 6]. 1909[see wave period above]. 1910S. P. Thompson Ld. Kelvin II. xxi. 861 The proposition that the wave-velocity is double [that] of the group-velocity. 1969R. H. Webb Elementary Wave Optics v. 61 It is the wave velocity rather than the group velocity which is measured by refraction.
1892, etc. *Wave-winding [see lap winding s.v. lap n.3 6]. 1893Sloane Electr. Dict., *Wave Winding, a method of winding disc and drum armatures. 1980Slemon & Straughen Electric Machines iv. 272 If the paths of the current through the wave winding from a positive to a negative brush are traced, only two parallel paths from the positive to the negative armature terminal will be found.
1601Holland Pliny viii. xlviii. I. 228 The very roiall robe..made..after the manner of water-chamlot in *wave worke [L. togam undulatam].
▪ II. wave, v.|weɪv|
Inflected waved, waving. Also ? 4 Sc. vaf, wayve.
[OE. wafian (twice, in sense 6), corresp. formally to MHG. (and rare mod.G.) waben (see Grimm s.v. wabben) to wave, undulate; the Teut. root *waƀ- is found in ON. vafe wk. masc. doubt, uncertainty, and in waver vb. and the cognates there mentioned; the ablaut-variants *weƀ-, *wǽƀ- occur in G. weben to wave, move about (cf. weave v.2, weve v.), which, however, is believed to be partly a dial. form of MHG. wêwen (mod.G. wehen) to wave, flutter, etc.; and in ON. váfa to swing, vibrate.
It is not always possible to distinguish between this vb. and the obsolete waive v.2; the two approximate or coincide in some of their senses, and in some dialects and periods were identical in sound.]
I. To move to and fro or up and down.
* Of involuntary movement.
1. a. intr. Of a thing having a free end: To move to and fro, shake or sway in the air by the action of the wind or breeze.
1375Barbour Bruce ix. 245 The discurrouris saw thame cumande With baneris to the vynd vafand [v.rr. wawand, waiuand]. 1508Dunbar Poems iv. 14 As with the wynd wavis the wickir, [So] wavis [v.rr. wannis, waveris] this warldis vanite. 1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. ciii. 50 b/2 Whanne those fotemen..sawe the baners and standerdes waue with the wynde. 1577Kendall Flowers Epigr. 73 His crisped locks wavde all behinde. 1593Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, ii. ii. 173 Sound Trumpets, let our bloody Colours waue, And either Victorie, or else a Graue. 1671Milton Samson 718 Like a stately Ship..With all her bravery on, and tackle trim, Sails fill'd, and streamers waving. 1713Pope Windsor For. 350 High in the midst..(His sea-green mantle waving with the wind), The god appear'd. 1810Scott Lady of L. iii. xxv, No banner waved on Cardross gate. 1837Dickens Pickw. xxxv, Dresses rustled, feathers waved,..and jewels sparkled. 1846Ruskin Mod. Paint. II. iii. i. xii. §5 The bending trunk, waving to and fro in the wind above the waterfall. 1846McCulloch Acc. Brit. Empire (1854) II. 7 It was then that the flag of England began to wave over every sea. 1884Bible (R.V.) Judges ix. 9 But the olive tree said unto them, Should I leave my fatness..and go to wave to and fro over the trees?
fig.1648Herrick Hesper., Mrs. Eliz. Wheeler Poet. Wks. (1915) 107 In bloome of Peach, and Roses bud, There waves the Streamer of her blood.
†b. to wave in the wind: to be hanged. (Cf. wag v. 3 d.) Obs.
a1533Ld. Berners Huon xvi. 43 Or it be nyght, I shall cause thee to waue in the wynde.
c. Of long hair: To hang down loose. poet.
1671Milton Samson 1493 And view him sitting in the house,..And on his shoulders waving down those locks. 1767M. Bruce Last Day Poems (1796) 129 His golden hair Wav'd on his shoulders.
d. trans. Of the wind, etc.: To cause (a thing) to sway or move to and fro.
1602Kyd Span. Trag. iii. xii A, Behold a man hanging, and tottering, and tottering, as you know the winde will waue a man. 1817Shelley Rev. Islam viii. xxx, Beneath a bright acacia's shadowy hair, Waved by the wind amid the sunny noon. 1828Lytton Pelham x, The wind waved my long curls. 1829Scott Anne of G. xi, No sound was heard save that of the night wind, when it..waved the tattered banners which were the tapestry of the feudal hall.
†2.
a. intr. To move to and fro restlessly or uncertainly; to waver. Obs.
1406Hoccleve La Male Regle 399 And whil my breeth may in my body waue, To recorde it vnnethe I may souffyse. 1500–20Dunbar Poems xxi. 59 [This world] Quhair fortoun evir, as so, dissavis With freyndly smylingis of ane hure, Quhais fals behechtis as wind hyne wavis. 1508[see 1 above]. 1628[see waving ppl. a. 2]. 1665[see waving vbl. n. 1].
†b. To move to and fro unsteadily on its base or (of a person) on the feet; to totter. Obs.
1538Elyot Dict., Vacillo, to moue inconstantly, to wagge or waue, to be vnstable, or vnsure. 1605Sylvester Du Bartas ii. iii. iv. 645 As an Infant which the Nurse lets go To goe alone, waves weakly to and fro. 1608A. Willet Hexapla in Exod. xx. 18. 445 [Vatablus renders the verb by] vacillabant, they waued. 1609F. Greville Mustapha iv. iv. Chorus iv, Thus reeles our present State, And her foundation waues.
†c. Of a floating body: To move restlessly by the impulse of the air or water. Also, To hover about in the air. Obs.
1606G. W[oodcocke] Hist. Ivstine xxvi. 94 b, The Ghoasts of them whose liues they had rauished from their bodies, wauing before their eyes. 1632Milton Penseroso 148 And let som strange mysterious dream, Wave at his Wings in Airy stream. c1639Roxb. Ball. (1887) VI. 429 They waving up and down the Seas, upon the Ocean Main. c1645Howell Lett. (1650) II. xix. 32 Those, that have their heads lightly ballasted..are like buys [buoys] in a barrd Port, waving perpetually up and down. 1728Pope Dunc. iv. 538 Int'rest that waves on Party-colour'd wings.
†d. to wave oneself: ? to give oneself up to the motion of the water. In quot. fig. Obs.
1628Feltham Resolves i. i. 1 When a Rich Crowne ha's newly kiss'd the Temples of a gladded King, where he finds all things in a golden swimme,..hee carelesly waues himselfe in the swelling plenty.
†3. Of a person: To be restless in mind; to alternate between different opinions or courses of action; to vacillate, waver. Said also of the mind, will, etc. Obs.
1387–8T. Usk Test. Love i. ii. (Skeat) 167 ‘Ye wete wel, lady, eke’, quod I, ‘that I have not..with the wethercocke waved.’ 1566Drant Horace, Sat. i. i. A v, Thy mynde it waues and wagges, And wisheth after greater things. 1582T. Watson Pass. Cent. Love v. Poems (Arb.) 41, I waue in doubt what helpe I shall require, In Sommer freeze, in winter burne like fire. 1597Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. xliii. §5 The truth is they waue in and out, no way sufficiently grounded, no way resolued what to thinke, speake or write. 1607Shakes. Cor. ii. ii. 19 If he did not care whether he had their loue, or no, hee waued indifferently, 'twixt doing them neyther good, nor harme. 1611[see waving ppl. a. 2]. 1628Feltham Resolves ii. xvi. 46 Variety, in any thing, distracteth the minde; and leaues it waving in a dubious trouble. 1642H. More Song of Soul ii. iii. i. ii, Thus waves the mind in things of greatest weight. 1796Morse Amer. Geog. II. 62 The court waved between these two factions.
4. a. Of water, the sea: To move in waves, undulate.
1530Palsgr. 772/2, I wave, as the see dothe. Je vague. After a storme the see waveth. 1552Huloet, Waue as water doth in tempest, fluctuo. 1571[see waving vbl. n. 2]. c1797–1804W. Blake Poet. Wks. (1913) 366 Wave freshly, clear waters, flowing around the tender grass. 1820[see waving vbl. n. 2]. 1865Tylor Early Hist. Man. iv. 63 Water is that which waves, undulates.
b. transf. Of a crowd: To move to and fro restlessly in a body.
1579–80North Plutarch, Pompeius (1595) 708 Pompey..perceiuing..that his owne battell on the other side waued vp and downe disorderly, as men vnskilfull in warres. 1591Savile Tacitus, Hist. i. xl. 23 Galba was driuen to and fro with the crowde of the companie, as it waued up and downe [L. vario turbæ fluctuantis impulsu]. 1646J. Temple Ir. Rebellion 25 The people..continued waving up and down the streets. 1860Froude Hist. Eng. V. 387 He was still speaking, when the crowd began suddenly to wave and shift.
c. Of a field of corn, etc.; To undulate like the waves of the sea.
1667Milton P.L. iv. 981 As when a field Of Ceres ripe for harvest waving bends Her bearded Grove of ears. 1720Pope Iliad xx. 78 The forests wave, the mountains nod around. 1725― Odyss. ix. 124 With wheat and barley wave the golden fields. 1775Johnson Tax. no Tyr. 20 Regions smiling with pleasure and waving with fertility. 1784Cowper Task iv. 313 The lands, where lately wav'd The golden harvest. a1830H. Cockburn Memor. (1856) 171 The whole place waved with wood, and was diversified by undulations of surface. 1834Ruskin Months iii, Rejoice! ye fields, rejoice! and wave with gold. 1851J. H. Gurney Hymn, Fair waved the golden corn In Canaan's pleasant land.
†5.
a. intr. To turn aside. Also trans. To move (a person) aside. to wave one's way: ? to take a divergent route. [But this may belong to waive v.1]
a1548Hall Chron., Hen. VIII 206 b, The kynges train waued on the lefte hande, to geue the Frenche kyng and his train the right hande. 1642Wotton Buckingham in Reliq. W. (1651) 109 Notwithstanding all which importunity, he resolved not [ed. 1642 omits not] to wave his way upon this reason;..that if..he should but once by such a diversion make his Enemy believe he were afraid of danger, he should never live without. 1646Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. vii. xviii. 381 æschilus..was brained by a Tortoise which an Eagle let fall upon it... Some men..would perhaps from hence confute the opinion of Copernicus, never conceiving how the motion of the earth below should not wave him from a knock perpendicularly directed from a body in the ayre above.
†b. Of the sun: To decline. Obs. rare.
1615Kyd Span. Trag. i. ii. 83 Till, Phoebus wauing to the western deepe, Our Trumpeters were chargde to sound retreat.
** Of voluntary movements.
†6. intr. To make a movement to and fro (with the hands). Only OE.
c1000ælfric Saints' Lives xxvii. 151 Þeah þe man wafiᵹe wundorlice mid handa ne bið hit þeah bletsung buta he wyrce tacn þære halᵹan rode. c1000Sax. Leechd. II. 318 Ymbfo hine [a dung beetle] mid twam handum..wafa mid þinum handum swiþe & cweð þriwa Remedium facio [etc.].
†7.
a. To make motions (with the uplifted hands or with something held in the hands) by way of signal. Chiefly Naut. (Cf. weave v.2) Obs.
Cf. the OE. sense 6, which may possibly have survived unrecorded to the 16 c.
1513Echyngham in Lett. & Papers War France (1897) 148 He sayth he see my lord Admirall wayvyng with his handes and cryeng to the galeye: ‘Comme aborde agayne!’ c1595Capt. Wyatt Dudley's Voy. (Hakl. Soc.) 30 Wee might discrie..two or three with a flagg of truce, wavinge unto us that it might be lawfull to com and speake with us. 1611Shakes. Cymb. i. iii. 12 He did keepe The Decke, with Gloue, or Hat, or Handkerchife, Still wauing. 1611B. Jonson Catiline i. i. C 1 b, A Bloody arme it is, that holds a pine Lighted, aboue the Capitoll: And, now, It waues vnto vs. 1644H. Manwayring Sea-mans Dict. 114 Waving is making a signe for a ship, or boate, to come towards them, or else to goe from them, as the signe is made, either towards or from⁓wards the ship.
†b. trans. To signal to (a person). Chiefly Naut. (Cf. weave v.2) Obs.
1555W. Towrson in Hakluyt (1599) II. ii. 33 We mistrusted some knauery, and being waued by them to come a shoare, yet we would not. Ibid., Certaine Negroes..waued vs with a white flagge, but we..would not stay. Ibid. 34 A great sort came downe to the water side, and waued vs on shoare with a white flagge. c1595Capt. Wyatt Dudley's Voy. (Hakl. Soc.) 4 Our Generall commaunded to wave them, and halinge them..made them know their dwtie unto our English collers by vailinge theire topsailes. 1602Shakes. Ham. i. iv. 61 Looke with what courteous action It wafts [Qos. 1603–4 waues] you to a more remoued ground. Ibid. 68 It waues me forth againe; Ile follow it. 1616Capt. J. Smith Descr. New Eng. (Arb.) 225 We were haled by two West Indy men: but when they saw vs waue them for the King of France, they gaue vs their broad sides. 1627― Sea Gram. xiii. 60 He waues vs to to lee-ward with his drawne sword.
†8. To move to and fro or up and down regularly or rhythmically.
a. intr. To move the wings up and down in or as in flight. Said also of the wings. Also trans., to actuate or flap (the wings) in or as in flight. Obs.
1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 202 b, Than with her wynges she fanneth & waveth vnto she haue kyndled in them fyre. 1584–7Greene Carde of Fancie Wks. (Grosart) IV. 165 The Bird[s]..beeing young, seeing the olde ones through age growen so weake, as they are not able to waue their wings, carrie them..on their backs. 1657[see waving vbl. n. 5]. 1667Milton P.L. vii. 476 Those wav'd thir limber fans For wings. 1712–14Pope Rape Lock ii. 68 Colours that change whene'er they wave their wings. 1728― Dunc. iv. 422 Of all th' enamell'd race, whose silv'ry wing Waves to the tepid Zephyrs of the spring. 1808W. Blake Poet. Wks. (1913) 145 Before her throne my wings I wave.
†b. intr. To move the body from side to side. Also refl. (Cf. weave v.2) Obs.
1608Topsell Serpents 138 As fast as the bayte was to the rope and hooke, so fast is he also ensnared and tyed vnto it, which while hee waueth and strayneth to vnloose and breake, he wearieth himselfe in vaine. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 649 A Snake..With curling Crest, and with advancing Head: Waving he rolls, and makes a winding Track. a1700Evelyn Diary 15 Jan. 1645 All the company fell a singing an Hebrew hymn..waving themselves to and fro.
†c. transf. To move (the head up and down) with a significant gesture; to incline (the head). Obs.
1602Shakes. Ham. ii. i. 93 At last, a little shaking of mine Arme: And thrice his head thus wauing vp and downe, He rais'd a sigh. 1607― Cor. iii. ii. 77 Goe to them, with this Bonnet in thy Hand,..Thy Knee bussing the stones:..wauing thy head. 1768Sterne Sent. Journ., Passport (Versailles), I see the injured spirit wave her head, and turn off silent from the author of her miseries.
9. a. trans. To move through the air with a sweeping gesture (the uplifted or extended arm or hand, or something held in the hand by one extremity, e.g. a wand, a hat, or something that flutters in the breeze, as a flag, a handkerchief), often as a sign of greeting or farewell, or as an expression of exultation; usually implying repeated movements to and fro or up and down.
1607Shakes. Cor. ii. iii. 175 And with his Hat, thus wauing it in scorne, I would be Consull, sayes he. 1611― Cymb. i. iii. 6 Pisa. It [i.e. his last speech] was his Queene, his Queene. Imo. Then wau'd his Handkerchiefe. 1634,1794[see wand n. 10]. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 513 At once she wav'd her Hand on either side, At once the Ranks of swelling Streams divide. 1712–14Pope Rape Lock v. 7 Then grave Clarissa graceful wav'd her fan; Silence ensu'd. 1784Cowper Task vi. 699 Maidens wave Their 'kerchiefs, and old women weep for joy. 1794Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xix, [He] waved his hand for him to leave the room. 1814Scott Wav. xx, Many sprung up and waved their arms in ecstasy. 1847Tennyson Princess iv. 501 She, ending, waved her hands: Thereat the crowd Muttering, dissolved. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. viii. II. 385 Halifax sprang up and waved his hat. At that signal, benches and galleries raised a shout. 1859H. Kingsley G. Hamlyn xli, Sam only waved his hand in good-bye, and sped on across the plain. 1896Conan Doyle Rodney Stone vi, He waved his white hands as if to brush aside all opposition.
b. of impersonal things personified; chiefly poet.
1667Milton P.L. v. 193 And wave your tops, ye Pines, With every Plant, in sign of Worship wave. 1749Smollett Regicide i. vi, Ye spreading boughs, that wave Your blossoms o'er the stream! 1783Crabbe Village i. 74 Above the slender sheaf, The slimy mallow waves her silky leaf. 1804W. L. Bowles Spir. Discov. ii. 271 Dark Lebanon Waved all his pines for thee. 1820Shelley Orpheus 106 And cypresses that seldom wave their boughs. 1886J. G. Wood Man & Handiwork iii. 31 Where the corn waves its yellow ears.
c. To brandish (a weapon).
1601Shakes. Jul. C. iii. i. 109 And wauing our red Weapons o're our heads, Let's all cry Peace, Freedome, and Liberty. 1606― Tr. & Cr. v. v. 9 Bastard Margarelon Hath Doreus prisoner, And stands Calossus-wise wauing his beame. 1718Pope Iliad xiii. 728 King Helenus wav'd high the Thracian blade. 1799Campbell Pleas. Hope i. 363 By that dread name we wave the sword on high, And swear for her to live! 1825Scott Talism. xxviii, The sabre of Saladin left its sheath as lightning leaves the cloud. It was waved in the air,—and the head of the Grand Master rolled to the extremity of the tent. 1869W. S. Gilbert ‘Bab’ Ballads, Ben Allah Achmet 56 ‘My rival!’ shrieked the invalid, And drew a mighty sword and waved it. 1911G. M. Trevelyan Garibaldi viii. 184 Men and women waved swords which they would never wield in earnest.
absol.1607Shakes. Cor. i. vi. 74 Let him alone: Or so many so minded, Waue thus to expresse his disposition, And follow Martius. They all shout and waue their swords.
d. intr. (for pass.) To be moved to and fro. Of a weapon: To be brandished. † Also trans., to pass over (something) with a brandishing movement.
1605First Pt. Jeronimo iii. ii. 105 See, a reuengfull sword Waues ore my head. 1667Milton P.L. vi. 304 Now wav'd thir fierie Swords, and in the Aire Made horrid Circles. Ibid. xii. 643 They looking back, all th' Eastern side beheld Of Paradise,..Wav'd over by that flaming Brand. 1671T. Hunt Abeced. Scholast. 90 Give a child as long as he will crave, and a dog as long as his tail will wave. 1828Lytton Pelham xvii, The lady's handkerchief waved in token of encouragement and triumph. 1896Conan Doyle Rodney Stone vi, I see, too, the figures at the garden gate: my mother, with her face turned away, and her handkerchief waving.
†e. trans. In the Levitical law: To elevate and move from side to side (an oblation or wave-offering) before the altar. Obs.
First in Tindale, following Luther, who renders the verb by weben, and also has the compounds webebrot, webebrust, webeopfer = wave-loaf, -breast, -offering (see 13).
1530Tindale Exod. xxix. 24 And put all apon the handes of Aaron and on the handes of his sonnes: and waue them in and out a waueoffrynge vnto the Lorde. ― Lev. xiv. 21 Let him bringe one lambe for a trespaceoffrynge to waue it. [So1535Coverdale; and all later versions.]
f. Occasional uses. Of a dog: To wag (its tail). Of a fish: To flap (a fin).
1677Gilpin Demonol. iii. v. 31 The Devil..stands like a Fawning Dog scratching and waving his Tail. 1883E. W. Gosse in Longm. Mag. I. 559 Beneath the granite gray The sulky ferox lay And waved a fin.
10. a. To signify (something) by a wave of the hand or arm. Also with dative of person.
1810Scott Lady of L. ii. v, Perchance the maiden smiled to see Yon parting lingerer wave adieu. 1847Tennyson Princess ii. 84 She spoke, and bowing waved Dismissal. 1874Sankey's Sacred Songs (1878) 3 ‘Hold the Fort, for I am coming’, Jesus signals still; Wave the answer back to heaven, ‘By thy grace we will.’ 1878Browning La Saisiaz 16 From no far mound Waved salute a tall white figure. 1888Besant Inner House iii, The women wept and laughed at the same time, and waved them welcome.
b. To motion (a person, etc.) aside, away, back, in, off by a movement of the hand, etc.; also with preps. from, over, to, etc. Also fig.
1840Dickens Old C. Shop lxxi, Waving them off with his hand, and calling softly to her as he went, he stole into the room. 1841C. Whitehead R. Savage I. xi. 322 He waved me from him. 1854Surtees Handley Cr. (1901) I. i. 6 Michael took off his broad-brimmed, low-crowned hat, and waving in the pack, cheered them to the echo. Ibid. 7 He presently had the old hounds at his heels, and hat in hand he waved them over the wall. 1864Mrs. H. Wood Ld. Oakburn's Dau. xxxvii, An attendant opened the door to see if anything might be wanted, but was waved away again. 1883D. C. Murray Hearts ix, ‘There is a fire in the sitting-room’, he said, closing the outer door and waving her along the hall. 1894Mrs. H. Ward Marcella II. 100 Marcella waved him aside and ran on. 1914H. James in Q. Rev. Apr. 338 If we put ourselves questions we yet wave away doubts. 1916W. Sanday In View of End 89 Hitherto the pacifist writings have been waved aside simply on the ground that they were pacifist.
(b) to wave down [cf. flag down s.v. flag v.4 2 a], to wave at (a driver of a vehicle) as a signal to stop; also with the vehicle as object.
1955J. P. Donleavy Ginger Man xxx. 343 A taxi roaring by. Wave it down. To the Red Lion Square. Fast. 1967J. Weatherhead Sacred Shaft ii. 15 There was a man..waving her down on the fast stretch near Oxted. 1972T. Lilley ‘K’ Section xl. 176 A man on a motor-bike..stopped when Carter waved him down. 1981M. C. Smith Gorky Park i. xvii. 253 It took him twenty minutes to wave down a taxi.
c. intr. To make a sign by a wave of the hand.
1803Edwin I. xiii. 205, I waved to the door, and in silence proceeded to the tyrant. 1847C. Brontë J. Eyre xii, I retained my station when he waved to me to go, and announced:—‘I cannot think of leaving you, sir.’ 1855Tennyson Maud i. ix. 8 Rapidly riding far away, She waved to me with her hand. 1905M. Barnes-Grundy Vacill. Hazel xvi. 219 He looks very miserable and cold and pinched. Poor old Sammy! I must wave to him.
d. trans. To mark (musical measures) by waving something.
1851Mrs. Browning Casa Guidi Wind. i. 804 All, to please The donna waving measures with her fan.
II. (From wave n.)
11. To ornament with an undulating design; to make (something) wavy in outline.
1547in Feuillerat Revels Edw. VI (1914) 9, vj Couering of Bardes of clothe of golde wherof three ar waved with clothe of golde. c1611Chapman Iliad xxiii. 482 Arms..forged of brass, and waved about with tin. 1652Culpeper Eng. Physit. (1656) 137 Leavs..a little unevenly waved sometimes about the edges. 1667Milton P.L. iv. 306 Shee..Her unadorned golden tresses wore Dissheveld, but in wanton ringlets wav'd As the Vine curles her tendrils. 1678Moxon Mech. Exerc. vi. 104 When one end of the Riglet you wave, is with the Vice Screwed to the plain side of the Rack. Ibid. 105 The Riglet will on its upper side receive the form of the several waves on the under side of the Rack, and also the form or Molding that is on the edge of the bottom of the Iron and so at once the Riglet will be both Molded and waved. 1686tr. Chardin's Trav. Persia 394 The lower part of which Chappel is cover'd with large Tiles of Porphiry wav'd, and painted with Flowers. 1706Phillips (ed. Kersey), To Wave, to fashion, or make like the waves of the Sea; as watered Silks or Stuffs are. 1733School of Miniature 39 Finish..by fine thin Strokes,..waving and curling them according to the turn of the Hair. 1815J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 763 Strokes following the same direction, but gently waved. 1875Swinburne Ess. & Studies 319 A head-dress of eastern fashion,..raised and waved and rounded in the likeness of a sea-shell. 1888Sweet Hist. Eng. Sounds §221 Earlier in the [11th] century they began to wave and lengthen the top tags of i, n, h, etc. 1909Daily Chron. 1 Oct. 7/4 Hair that has been waved by hot irons till it is broken and irregular.
12. intr. To undulate in form or outline.
1789J. Williams Min. Kingd. I. 108 The horizontal coals..are found to wave considerably in several places. 1795Anderson Narr. Embassy China 73 Its [sc. the river's] course waves in the finest meanders. 1796W. H. Marshall W. Eng. II. 84 A slip or coomb, of water formed land, waving with the stream. 1859Ruskin Two Paths iv. §121 From this, and in subordination to this, waved the arch and sprang the pinnacle. 1883R. Broughton Belinda ii. ix, Now and then the type waves up and down before her like the furrows of a ploughed field; but she reads on.
III. 13. The verb-stem in combination, in the names of the several offerings which, according to the Levitical law, were ‘waved’ (see 9 e) by the priest when presented in sacrifice, as wavebreast, -loaf, -offering, -sheaf; also wave-bread, a mod. synonym of wave-loaf.
1530Tindale Lev. vii. 30 Euen the fatt apon the brest he shall bringe with the brest to waue it a waueoffrynge before the Lorde. Ibid. 34 For the wauebrest and the heueshulder I haue taken of the childern of Israel. Ibid. xxiii. 17 And ye shall brynge out of youre habitacions two waueloaues. 1535Coverdale Lev. xxiii. 15 From the nexte daye after the Sabbath, whan ye brought y⊇ Waueshefe [1530 Tindale, the sheffe of the waueoffrynge]. 1625T. Godwin Moses & Aaron vi. ii. 268 These two words, Thenuphoth, and Therumoth; both signifie shake-offrings, heaue-offrings, or waue⁓offrings. 1879Farrar St. Paul II. 297 Which with the wave-bread and the heave-shoulders the priest afterwards took as his own perquisites.
14. wave-off Aeronaut., a signal or instruction to an approaching aircraft that it is not to land.
1951Jrnl. R. Aeronaut. Soc. LV. 526/2 To avoid embarrassment to the pilot, the sudden increase of power on the wave-off signal should not be accompanied by violent changes of trim. 1973Black Panther 20 Oct. 10/2 When a tower calls ‘missed approach’ to an aircraft, they are obliged to obey and accept the tower's ‘wave-off’.
▪ III. wave
obs. form of waif n.1, waive v.1, v.2
▪ IV. wave
obs. pa. tense of weave v.1 |