waven.
/weɪv/, U.S. /weɪv/ I. Senses relating to a moving ridge or swell of water.
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.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > wave > [noun]
waterOE
undc1200
wawc1290
flowinga1382
water wave?1555
wale1565
wave1671
1526 Bible (Tyndale) James 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.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 287/1 Wave of the see, uague.
1551 R. Robinson tr. T. More Vtopia sig. Gvv A large & wyde sea, which..is not rough, nor mountith not with great waues.
1565 T. Stapleton tr. Bede Hist. Church Eng. iii. xii. f. 91v The tempest encreased, the whaues multiplied so faste..that nothing but present death was looked for.
1585 J. Higgins tr. Junius Nomenclator 400/1 Vnda sequax,..waue vpon waue: one waue following vpon anothers necke.
1603 P. Holland tr. Plutarch Morals 255 As in a setled calme, without winde, weather and wave.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 3 (1623) ii. vi. 36 As doth a Saile, fill'd with a fretting Gust Command an Argosie to stemme the Waues . View more context for this quotation
1671 J. Milton Paradise Regain'd iv. 18 As..surging waves against a solid rock, Though all to shivers dash't, the assault renew. View more context for this quotation
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 145 Proteus..in the Billows plung'd his hoary Head; And where he leap'd, the Waves in Circles widely spread. View more context for this quotation
1781 W. Cowper Expostulation 272 What ails thee, restless as the waves that roar, And fling their foam against thy chalky shore?
1810 W. Scott Lady of Lake vi. 268 Like wave with crest of sparkling foam, Right onward did Clan-Alpine come.
1855 Ld. Tennyson Maud xviii. viii, in Maud & Other Poems 60 Is that enchanted moan only the swell Of the long waves that roll in yonder bay?
1860 Ld. Tennyson Islet 16 Waves on a diamond shingle dash.
1877 W. H. White Man. 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.
1877 T. H. Huxley Physiography 171 It is merely the form of the wave, and not the actual water that travels.
b. = tidal wave or tide wave: see tidal adj. 1b, tide n. Compounds 2b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > wave > types of waves > [noun] > high wave caused by movement of tide
wave1814
tidal wave1830
tide-wave1833
tide-rip1903
1814 J. Playfair Outl. Nat. Philos. II. ii. viii. 329 The great Wave which, in this manner, constitutes the tide, is to be considered as an undulation..of the ocean.
c. poetic. Used in collective singular for ‘water’, ‘sea’. The plural is also similarly used (poetic and rhetorically), but without quite losing the primary meaning.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > [noun]
watereOE
streamc950
floodOE
water floodc1175
wave1590
open water1790
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene ii. vii. sig. T He..Looking downe, saw many damned wightes, In those sad waues [of Cocytus].
1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost v. i. 55 Now by the sault waue [pr. wane; 1623 waue] of the meditaranium, a sweete tutch. View more context for this quotation
1616 G. Chapman tr. Musaeus Divine Poem F 1 Virgin, for thy Loue, I will swim a waue That Ships denies.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost i. 193 Thus Satan talking to his neerest Mate With Head up-lift above the wave . View more context for this quotation
1747 T. Gray Ode Eton Coll. 4 Say, Father Thames,..Who foremost now delight to cleave With pliant Arm thy glassy Wave?
1785 W. Cowper Task v. 835 When he sees afar His country's weather-bleach'd and batter'd rocks, From the green wave emerging.
1821 Ld. Byron Marino Faliero (2nd issue) ii. i. 43 The calm wave Favours the gondolier's light skimming oar.
1825 W. Scott Talisman i, in Tales Crusaders III. 3 Where the waves of the Jordan pour themselves into an inland sea.
1844 Hood's Mag. May 414 Whilst the wave constantly Drips from her clothing.
1860 C. Patmore Faithful for Ever i. viii Perhaps..They wander whispering by the wave.
1864 Ld. Tennyson Voyage v We came to warmer waves, and deep Across the boundless east we drove.
2. transferred.
a. An undulatory movement, or one of an intermittent series of movements, of something passing over or on a surface or through the air.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > [noun] > undulatory motion > instance of
wave1810
1810 W. Scott Lady of Lake i. 14 The western waves of ebbing day Rolled o'er the glen their level way.
1827 J. Keble Christian Year I. vii. 26 In waves of light it thrills along.
1832 Ld. Tennyson Dream Fair Women lv, in Poems (new ed.) 136 The holy organ rolling waves Of sound on roof and floor.
1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam lxxxix. 134 The thousand waves of wheat, That ripple round the lonely grange. View more context for this quotation
1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VIII. 86 Thus..there are the waves of goose-skin passing over the body.
1903 K. C. Thurston Circle iii. 23 It was like a wave of sun through a chill room.
b. = pulse wave n. at pulse n.2 Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > vascular system > circulation > pulsation > [noun] > pulse wave or plateau
wave1838
tricrotic wave1876
plateau1894
tidal wave1896
1838 Penny Cycl. XII. 81/1 The dilatation of the arteries produced by the wave which is propagated along the column of blood contained in them.
1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam cxx. 188 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.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > forward movement > [noun] > of a large body of persons
wave1852
society > armed hostility > military operations > manoeuvre > [noun] > advance
approach1489
head1577
advance1593
drive1837
push1916
wave1943
1852 T. 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.
1863 A. P. Stanley Lect. Jewish Church I. ix. 206 The Israelite conquest of Palestine..is in itself but one amongst a succession of waves which have swept over the country.
1875 W. Stubbs Constit. Hist. (ed. 2) I. ii. 16 The populations..which..were still affected by the great migratory wave.
1879 J. R. Green Readings Eng. Hist. xix. 98 Turned back wave after wave of the enemy.
1893 O. 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.
1915 Times 3 Feb. 9/1 They send forward wave after wave of men, regardless of the punishment.
1943 R. V. Jones Most Secret War (1978) xli. 382 Longer raids will always be liable to attacks on their last waves whenever fighters can fly.
1951 O. Berthoud tr. P. H. Clostermann Big Show i. 38 The airfield at Triqueville..was going to be bombed in force by two waves of 72 Marauders.
1982 Daily 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 occasionally a rounded ridge of sand or snow formed by the action of the wind.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > landscape > high land > ridge > [noun]
hoe?c700
rig?c1475
banda1522
ridgea1552
fall1749
dorsum1782
wave1789
spine1796
cuesta1818
bult1852
razorback1874
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > structural features > deposited by water, ice, or wind > [noun] > wind-blown
drifta1400
wave1789
sand glacier1875
lunette1940
sand shadow1941
the world > the earth > land > landscape > high land > ridge > [noun] > ridge of sand
full1749
wreath1772
wave1789
sand belt1865
yardang1904
1789 J. Williams Nat. Hist. Mineral Kingdom I. 108 The variation of the dip and rise there generally consists of gentle easy swelling waves.
1794 W. Marshall in Rural Econ. W. Eng. (1796) II. 212 A fine Vale District: rich waves of grass land.
1819 S. Rogers Human Life 56 A hollow wave Of burning sand their everlasting grave.
1846 A. Young in J. Baxter Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4) II. p. viii The Downs are..nearly flat, or only in gentle waves at the top.
1886 J. Ruskin Præterita I. viii. 248 The field fences buried under crested waves of snow.
1887 H. R. Haggard Allan Quatermain xx. 279 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. Usually as human wave, Mexican wave, or Mexico wave. Originally 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.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > [noun] > undulatory motion > wave-like effect produced by people moving
Mexico wave1984
1984 N.Y. Times 6 Oct. i. 21/1 This undulating human wave..apparently became popular at University of Washington football games a few years ago.
1986 Financial Times 2 June 1/8 The huge Azteca amphitheatre was roaring and rolling, as the crowd performed the jump-up-and-down body ‘wave’.
1986 Times 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’.
1986 Today 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.
1986 Sunday Times 27 July (Colour Suppl.) 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.
1986 Guardian 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. figurative and in figurative context.
a. chiefly plural, rough, stormy, or fluctuating conditions (of life, care, passion, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > change > [noun] > repeated change or fluctuation > fluctuating conditions
wave1548
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VII f. xlix One fierce & strong waue..swalowed both their lyues not long asonder.
1563 B. Googe Eglogs Epytaphes & Sonettes sig. B*.iiii A Creature, cause of all my Care..A woman Waue of Wretchednes.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. x. sig. Kv That he should neuer fall In all his waies through this wide worldes waue.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene iii. viii. 20 That cruell Queene..Did heape on her new waues of weary wretchednesse.
1606 S. Gardiner Bk. Angling 12 Waues of tribulation, tempests of tentations.
1781 W. Cowper Truth 1 Man, on the dubious waves of error toss'd, His ship half founder'd, and his compass lost.
1846 A. Marsh Father Darcy II. iii. 75 Alas! was there no one..to bid the waves of passion be still?
1847 Ld. Tennyson Princess iii. 58 And thus your pains May only make that footprint upon sand Which old-recurring waves of prejudice Resmooth to nothing.
1858 ‘G. Eliot’ Amos Barton v, in Scenes Clerical Life I. 96 An unfecundated egg, which the waves of time wash away into nonentity.
b. chiefly singular. 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 n. at crime n. Compounds 3.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > [noun] > rising of emotion
rising (up) of one's or the heart?a1475
flushinga1680
swell1702
swelling1709
wave1851
upsurge1928
the world > relative properties > quantity > increase in quantity, amount, or degree > [noun] > rapid or sharp increase
mushroom growth1727
skyrocketing1821
wave1851
jump1883
mushrooming1916
bump-up1927
upsurgence1934
upsurge1935
explosion1953
surge1964
quantum jump1975
quantum leap1977
the mind > emotion > excitement > public excitement > [noun] > wave of
groundswell1817
wave1851
the world > action or operation > continuing > progress, advance, or further continuance > [noun] > continuous progress or advance of anything > great or irresistible
land-flood1579
trifluctuation1646
wave1851
tidal wave1870
1851 G. Brimley Ess. (1858) ii. 112 Its last vestiges were fast disappearing before the wave of democratic equality.
1859 H. Stretton Haunted House: Ghost in Clock Room in All Year Round Extra Christmas No., 13 Dec. 10/1 What floods of thought came, wave upon wave, across my mind!
1864 A. Bain Senses & Intellect (ed. 2) i. iv. 285 All the muscles of the body may be thrown into agitation under a wave of strong feeling.
1870 Duke of Argyll Iona i. 29 Certain waves of opinion which at successive periods were propelled from the ancient centres of Christendom.
1903 F. W. H. Myers Human Personality 7 The highest wave of materialism which has ever swept over these shores.
1910 Sat. Evening Post 29 Oct. 46/2 A good many ‘waves of crime’ occur in the imagination of newspapers.
1915 Contemp. Rev. May 615 A wave of militarism sweeps through the nation.
1920 Times 21 Jan. 12/1 The probability of a ‘wave’ of crime after the war has been foreseen and foretold by students of social problems.
1927 New 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.
1958 W. S. Churchill Hist. Eng.-speaking Peoples IV. x. i. 10 Throughout the country a fresh wave of demonstrations followed.
1971 Daily 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.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > occurrence > future events > [noun] > future fashion or trend
the wave of the future1940
1940 A. M. Lindbergh (title) The wave of the future, a confession of faith.
1959 Daily Tel. 8 July 10/3 Mr. Khruschev, in the eyes of these critics, feels that he is riding the ‘wave of the future’.
1969 M. Puzo Godfather i. xi. 150 The business I am in is the coming thing, the wave of the future.
1971 Sci. Amer. Sept. 5/2 (advt.) Fan jets are the wave of the future. You'll find them on all the 747's.
1976 L. 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. to make waves: to stir up trouble, make things worse, make a fuss. Originally and chiefly U.S.In quot. 1925 used in the literal sense.
ΚΠ
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…for the Lord's sake don't make any waves.’]
1962 A. 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.
1972 Publishers Weekly 10 Apr. 58/2 Dr. Wilkins..had just been fired from Willowbrook for allegedly making waves about conditions.
1983 Times 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.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > curvature > series of curves > [noun] > wave-like curve(s)
wave1547
undulation1670
flow1881
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > [noun] > curling or frizzing > act of
cold wave1876
permanent wave1906
wave1925
permanent1926
perm1927
1547 in A. Feuillerat Documents Office of Revels Edward VI (1914) 9 Clothe of Syluer in waues.
1547 in A. Feuillerat Documents Office of Revels Edward VI (1914) 12 The nether skyrtes or Basse of blewe clothe of golde playne leyd on with waves of clothe of Syluer.
1664 J. Evelyn Sylva xxx. 95 That [is] the Grain which runs in waves, and makes the divers and beautiful chamfers which some woods abound in.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ix. 496 [The Serpent] toward Eve Address'd his way, not with indented wave, Prone on the ground, as since, but on his reare. View more context for this quotation
1678 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. vi. 104 It hath its under flat cut into those fashioned waves you intend your work shall have.
1702 J. Petiver Gazophylacii I. 9 Concha Veneris..[is] easily distinguish'd from all others, by its peculiar Waves and spotted Belly.
c1721 W. Gibson True Method dieting Horses i. 13 The Mane..is always the more graceful with a natural Weave from the Roots.
1795 R. Southey Joan of Arc (1853) x. 126 The pennons rolling their long waves Before the gale.
1864 C. Dickens Our Mutual Friend (1865) I. i. iv. 31 Bella..employed both her hands in giving her hair an additional wave.
1867 A. D. Whitney Summer in Leslie Goldthwaite's Life iv. 54 Freedom's northern wind will take all the wave out of your hair.
1884 R. F. Burton Bk. of Sword vii. 137 Often the waves [of sabre-blades] are broken into saw-teeth.
1895 M. Hewlett Earthwork out of Tuscany 75 A bush of yellow hair falling over his forehead in a wave.
1895 in Notes & Queries (1941) 6 Sept. 129/1 (advt.) Experts in the Marcel and Last Vienna Wave.
1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. xiii. [Nausicaa] 334 Gerty's crowning glory was her wealth of wonderful hair. It was dark brown with a natural wave in it.
1925 F. S. Fitzgerald Great Gatsby ii. 44 All the things I've got to get. A massage and a wave, and a collar for the dog.
1938 E. Ambler Cause for Alarm v. 79 Prolonged steaming operations take the wave out of my hair.
1959 Chambers's Encycl. VI. 691/2 There are three main denominations of heat waving: the ‘machine wave’..the ‘machineless’ wave..and the ‘wireless’ wave.
1973 B. Bainbridge Dressmaker i. 20 Nellie, when put out, could appear to be suffering, her white hair plastered to her head in waves and a kirby grip to keep it neat.
b. An undulating line or streak of colour.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > variegation > stripiness > [noun] > wavy stripe
wave1662
vermiculation1866
1662 C. Merrett tr. A. Neri Art of Glass xlii It will shew some waves, and divers colours.
1704 I. Newton Opticks i. i. 28 If the Glass of the Prisms be..without those numberless waves or curles which usually arise from Sand-holes.
1856 R. Knox tr. Edwards Man. Zool. §414 It [the cat] is of a brown colour, somewhat greyish, with deeper coloured transverse waves.
1891 Hardwicke's Sci.-gossip 27 15 The waves written by the syphon above the central line corresponding to the dots of the Morse Code.
c. Architecture. An undulated moulding; a cyma or ogee moulding.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > architectural ornament > [noun] > moulding > ogee moulding
ressaunt1480
cyma reversa1563
ogee1591
wave1663
cyma recta1700
ogive1703
talon1704
semi-rect1776
semi-revers1776
1663 B. Gerbier Counsel to Builders 70 The wave with Lace under it at one peny per foot.
1663 B. Gerbier Counsel to Builders 71 The upper Wave cut with Leaves at six pence per foot.
1825 T. Rickman Attempt to discriminate Styles Archit. Eng. (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.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > ornamental art and craft > pattern or design > [noun] > curves or spirals
oundingc1390
bendc1535
wrall1540
tirl1597
scroll1611
gadroon1694
scroll-work1739
queen's pattern1769
rinceau1773
cartouchea1776
curlicue1844
wave1845
scrollage1847
ogee1851
rope border1855
gadrooning1856
rope-work1866
vermiculation1866
ringing1885
scrollery1892
twirligig1902
C-scroll1904
trumpet spiral1936
trumpet pattern1937
koru1938
1845 G. Dodd Brit. Manuf. 5th Ser. 176 There are several descriptions of [straw-] plait made in England—such as..the ‘wave’, the ‘diamond’, &c.
1888 C. 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).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > science of sound > sound-waves > [noun]
undulation1658
wave1832
sound-wave1846
the world > matter > physics > mechanics > types of motion > [noun] > wave
wave1832
1832 D. Brewster Lett. Nat. Magic viii. 195 They will produce each equal waves of sound.
1832 [see sense 2a]. 1839 G. Bird Elements Nat. Philos. 292 The waves of light, like those of sound, are transmitted in every direction.
1846 W. Greener Sci. Gunnery (new ed.) 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.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps ii. i. 227 An aërial wave of sound travels at about the rate of 1100 feet in a second.
1863 J. Tyndall Heat viii. 257 The condensation and rarefaction [of the air] constitute what is called a sonorous pulse or wave.
1889 Rowland in Amer. Jrnl. Math. 11 378 Starting with very good conductors and very long waves, the electric current will be uniformly distributed throughout the section of the conductors.
1902 R. Kipling Wireless in Scribner's Mag. Aug. 136/2 Hertzian waves which vibrate, say, two hundred and thirty million times a second.
1920 Discovery Apr. 115/2 These wireless waves are often called Hertzian waves.
b. Meteorology. 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.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > [noun] > change or variation of weather > gradual
wave1843
1843 Sir 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.
1846 W. 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.
1901 Scotsman 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.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > formation of features > convulsion > [noun] > earthquake > seismic wave
wave1761
earth wave1848
body wave1900
S wave1908
shear wave1936
shake wave1944
1761 Philos. Trans. 1760 (Royal Soc.) 51 601 A large quantity of vapour may be conceived to raise the earth in a wave, as it passes along between the strata.
1846 Trans. Royal Irish Acad. 21 i. 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.
1862 R. 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.
1877 F. 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.
1886 J. 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.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > structural parts > muscle > [noun] > muscular movement > wave of contraction
wave of contraction1851
the world > life > biology > biological processes > action of nervous system > [noun] > nerve impulse
vibration1728
nerve current1859
nerve impulse1870
summation1872
message1884
wave of stimulation1885
pattern1930
1851 W. B. Carpenter Man. Physiol. (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.
1885 G. J. Romanes Jelly-fish i. 25 A stimulus applied to a nerveless muscle..giving rise to a visible wave of contraction, which spreads in all directions.
1885 G. J. Romanes Jelly-fish i. 25 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 n.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > quantum theory > quantum mechanics > matrix mechanics > [noun] > wave with properties of particle
wave1924
matter wave1930
1924 L. de Broglie in London, Edinb. & Dublin Philos. Mag. 6th Ser. 47 450 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 A. E. Ruark & H. C. Urey Atoms, Molecules & Quanta xxi. 722 When electrons impinge on polycrystalline metal surfaces the fraction scattered at an angle θ with the normal to the surface does not decrease uniformly as θ increases... The results seemed likely to remain unexplained, until Einstein discussed de Broglie's matter waves, in 1924 and 1925.
1942 Electronic Engin. 15 149/1 The term wave is commonly used in a very wide sense, to cover almost everything from a heat wave to the probability waves of modern physics.
1956 E. H. Hutten Lang. Mod. Physics v. 186 Physicists have sometimes spoken of the ‘probability wave’; but this phrase must not be taken literally.
1978 D. 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.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > Heterocera > [noun] > family Geometridae > wave
wave1819
1819 G. Samouelle Entomologist's Compend. 423 Geometra inornata. The plain Wave.
1832 J. Rennie Conspectus Butterflies & Moths Brit. 139 The Small White Wave (Emmelesia candidata, Stephens).
1832 J. Rennie Conspectus Butterflies & Moths Brit. 140 The Small Fan-footed Wave (Ptychopoda dilutaria, Stephens).
1832 J. Rennie Conspectus Butterflies & Moths Brit. 141 The Dwarf Cream Wave (Acidalia osseata, Stephens).
1832 J. Rennie Conspectus Butterflies & Moths Brit. 143 The Subangled Wave (Timandra variegata, Stephens).
1882 Cassell'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.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > gesturing or gesture > hand gesture > [noun] > wave
wave1688
handwave1833
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > oscillation > [noun] > waving, esp. of hand > instance of
waff1678
wave1688
waft1709
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory (1905) iii. xix. 155/2 Termes used about the displaying or florishing of an ensigne... A Wave, or plaine wave, is A Turne or florish.
1841 C. Dickens Old Curiosity Shop i. xv. 175 And so, with many waves of the hand, and cheering nods,..they parted company.
1843 R. S. Surtees Handley Cross I. i. 15 A wave of his hat brought the pack forward.
1883 D. C. Murray Hearts (1885) iii. 20 With a charming smile and a reassuring wave of the right hand.
1898 R. Kipling 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.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > irregular movement or agitation > [noun] > waving in the wind
wave1648
waving1751
wafture1880
streaming1887
1648 R. Herrick Hesperides sig. C6v A winning wave (deserving Note) In the tempestuous petticote.
1825 W. Scott Talisman x, in Tales Crusaders III. 250 The point at which he had seen the last slight wave of the Templar's mantle.
1849 M. Arnold Obermann xlii Where with clear-rustling wave The scented pines of Switzerland Stand dark round thy green grave.
Compounds
C1.
a. General attributive.
(a)
wave-beat n.
ΚΠ
1979 East 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.
wave-crest n.
ΚΠ
1823 W. Scott Peveril III. iv. 78 (motto) The restless foam Of the wild wave-crest.
wave energy n.
ΚΠ
1976 Jrnl. Royal Soc. Arts 124 729/1 The seasonal distribution of wave energy fits nicely into the pattern of energy demand, that is, more in the winter than in the summer.
wave-head n.
ΚΠ
1849 G. Cupples Green Hand ii, in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Mar. 316/1 The wave-heads..were crested here and there with light.
wave-noise n.
ΚΠ
1922 J. Joyce Ulysses i. iii. [Proteus] 46 At the lacefringe of the tide he halted... His snout lifted barked at the wavenoise.
wave-ridge n.
ΚΠ
1849 C. Brontë Shirley II. ii. 55 She rises high, and glides all revealed, on the dark wave-ridge.
wave-top n.
ΚΠ
1893 A. Conan Doyle Refugees III. xxv. 30 For hours a glimpse could be caught of the boat, dwindling away on the wave tops.
wave-wail n.
ΚΠ
1906 T. Hardy Dynasts: Pt. 2nd iv. viii. 185 Weary wave-wails from the clammy shore.
wave-water n.
ΚΠ
1889 J. J. Welch Text Bk. Naval Archit. iii. 59 The amount of the buoyancy in wave-water is also constantly varying.
(b) (In sense 2d.)
wave-region n.
ΚΠ
1856 F. L. Olmsted Journey 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.
(c) (In sense 5a.)
wave-problem n.
ΚΠ
1910 S. P. Thompson Life Ld. Kelvin II. xxi. 862 Sir William read four papers bearing on wave-problems.
wave-transmission n.
ΚΠ
1907 V. Cornish in Geogr. Jrnl. Jan. 23 The effect of this wave-transmission is to diminish the initial inequality of slope.
wave-velocity n.
(d) (In sense 7.)
wave gesture n.
ΚΠ
1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. xv. [Circe] 492 He invokes grace from on high with large wave gestures.
b. Objective, as wave-breaker, wave-drawing, wave-subduer; (in sense 4a) wave-curler, wave-setter; also wave-compelling, wave-setting, wave-subjected adjs.; wave-making n. and adj.
ΚΠ
1764 O. Goldsmith Traveller 16 The wave-subjected soil [of Holland] Impels the native to repeated toil.
1881 J. Broadhouse Student's Helmholtz 59 Constant practice in wave-drawing..will soon familiarize the student [etc.].
1885 L. F. Vernon-Harcourt Harbours & Docks I. 93 The open jetty does not act as a wave-breaker.
1890 G. 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.
1912 Chambers's Jrnl. Mar. 206/1 The ‘wave-subduer’ comprises a small cast-iron reservoir containing the oil.
1915 E. R. Lankester Diversions of Naturalist 61 Specially powerful wave-compelling winds.
1931 Lady 26 Feb. 300/1 Fix your wave-setting combs in place.
1932 Mod. Woman Feb. 72/1 A perfectly easy method of keeping your hair permanently waved, set and curled at home... Wave curlers 1/- pair.
1932 Evening Standard 1 July 9 (advt.) A..wavesetter in your bag is almost as good as taking your hairdresser on holiday with you.
1942 Jrnl. Royal Aeronaut. Soc. 46 83 The guiding intention will be, to avoid..the formation of sonic waves, and practical elimination of compression shocks, in order to obtain a minimum of the so-called wave-making resistance.
1961 Guardian 29 Apr. 1/5 Mr. Hardy sprayed on a sweet-smelling wave-setting lotion.
1979 United States 1980–1 (Penguin Travel Guides) 235 A resort-style motel with a lake and wave-making swimming pool.
c. Similative.
(a)
wave-green adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > named colours > green or greenness > [adjective] > bluish green
glaucy1593
sea-green1603
wave-green1626
aeruginous1646
glaucous1671
eruginary1681
verdazurine1681
blue-green1704
bluish-green1754
caesious1835
verditer1857
verd-azure1876
verdigrisy1897
1626 G. Sandys tr. Ovid Metamorphosis ix. 175 I..let my waue~greene Mantle sink.
wave-white adj.
ΚΠ
1922 J. Joyce Ulysses i. i. [Telemachus] 9 Wavewhite wedded words shimmering on the dim tide.
(b) With the sense ‘having a waved form or markings’.
wave-blade n.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > sharp weapon > side arms > knife or dagger > [noun] > waved blade
wave-blade1877
1877 Lane-Fox Catal. Anthrop. Coll. Bethnal Green Branch S. Kens. 183 Malay Krisses, with wave blades.
wave-bladed adj.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > sharp weapon > [adjective] > having a specific blade
wave-bladed1866
1866 W. J. Fitzpatrick Sham Squire 115 He..with a wave~bladed dagger..made some stabs at the intruder.
wave-breasted adj.
ΚΠ
1811 G. Shaw Gen. Zool. VIII. 405 Wave-breasted Parrakeet. Psittacus versicolor.
wave-edged adj.
ΚΠ
1884 R. F. Burton Bk. of Sword vii. 137 The wave-edged form [of blade] is well shown in an iron dagger.
wave-haired adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > hair > types of hair > [adjective] > wavy > having
wavy-haired1864
wave-haired1866
cymotrichous1909
1866 C. Rossetti Prince's Progress x A wave-haired milkmaid.
wave-leaved adj.
ΚΠ
1816–20 T. Green Universal Herbal II. 828 Xysmalobium Undulatum; Wave~leaved Xysmalobium.
d. Locative, as wave-bowered, wave-reflected.
ΚΠ
1812 Ld. Byron Childe Harold: Cantos I & II ii. xxiv. 73 Thus bending o'er the vessel's laving side, To gaze on Dian's wave-reflected sphere.
1820 P. B. Shelley Prometheus Unbound iii. ii. 102 Tracking their path..by the light Of wave-reflected flowers.
1881 D. G. Rossetti House of Life in Ballads & Sonn. 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.
ΚΠ
c1602 C. Marlowe tr. Ovid Elegies i. xiv. sig. B6 Such were they [sc. her locks] as Diana painted stands, All naked holding in her waue-moist hands.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) ii. i. 124 He..oared Himselfe..To th' shore; that ore his waue-worne basis bowed As stooping to releeue him. View more context for this quotation
a1749 S. Boyse Vision of Patience in Poet. Wks. (1794) 345/2 On the sea-weed spray,..the wave-tos'd body lay.
1777 R. Potter tr. Æschylus Tragedies 51 The tort'ring sting Thence drove thee wand'ring o'er the wave-wash'd strand.
1810 W. Scott Lady of Lake i. 17 The shaggy mounds..wave-encircled, seemed to float.
1819 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto II cxcviii. 218 Amidst the barren sand and rocks so rude She and her wave-worn love had made their bower.
1843 J. R. Lowell in Pioneer Jan. 40 Stands a maiden..Musing by the wave-beat strand.
1848 E. Bulwer-Lytton King Arthur ii cvii Wave-hollow'd caves.
1854 F. W. Faber Oratory Hymns 67 Angelic songs are swelling O'er earth's green fields, and ocean's wave-beat shore.
1856 C. J. Lever Martins of Cro' Martin xxiii. 249 The dark cliffs and rugged crags, the wave-beaten rocks.
1857 C. Dickens Little Dorrit ii. xx. 493 Every wave-dashed, storm-beaten object.
1857 Ld. Dufferin Lett. from High Latitudes (ed. 3) 225 A..channel, between two wave~lashed ridges of drift ice.
1861 M. Arnold in A. A. Procter Victoria Regina 181 The wave-kiss'd marble stair.
1876 W. Morris Story of Sigurd ii. 92 So Sigurd turned to the river and stood by the wave-wet strand.
1878 O. Wilde Ravenna 14 I have wandered far From the wave-circled islands of my home.
1881 O. Wilde Poems 131 Be not afraid To leave this wan and wave-kissed shore.
1881 O. Wilde Poems 161 Some wave-shattered steep.
1885 G. K. Gilbert in 5th Ann. Rep. U.S. Geol. Surv. 1883–4 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.
1889 W. B. Yeats Wanderings of Oisin ii. 73 And she with a wave-rusted chain was tied To two old eagles.
1892 W. B. Yeats Countess Kathleen 126 When her own people ruled in wave-worn Eri.
1894 Outing 24 92/1 The long, wave-swept margin was left to the solitude of primeval nature.
1901 Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer. 12 212 A looped bar or ridge of gravel and sand formed on an old wave-cut platform.
1906 T. Hardy Dynasts: Pt. 2nd i. vi. 38 The Universal-empire plot Demands the rule of that wave-walled spot.
1919 D. W. Johnson Shore Processes iv. 161 The wave-erosion features associated with the coast, shore, shoreface, and offshore, are three in number.
1924 E. Sitwell Sleeping Beauty xiv. 47 Pan, with his satyrs on the rocks Feeding their wave-weary flocks.
1929 W. B. Yeats in New Republic 2 Oct. 173/2 A bone wave-whitened and dried in the wind.
1939 W. 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.
1952 C. Day Lewis tr. Virgil Aeneid iii. 72 Over against wave-worn Plemyrium there's an island Athwart the gulf of Syracuse.
1968 R. W. Fairbridge Encycl. Geomorphol. 133/1 Coasts made irregular by wave erosion are less common.
1974 C. 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.
1979 United States 1980–1 (Penguin Travel Guides) 611 Cruising on these wave-free waterways is relaxing.
C2. Also wave-like adj. and adv., wave-line n. † wave work n. Obsolete watered work (see quot.).
wave-action n. (a) Geology the action of water flowing in waves; (b) Gunnery ‘abnormally high pressure in a gun from very large charges’ ( Cent. Dict. 1891).
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > wave > movement of waves > [noun]
waving1571
exundation1577
fluctuation1646
exundancea1654
undation1656
exundancy1686
wave-action1880
1880 J. D. Dana Man. Geol. (ed. 3) Index 910/2 Wave-action on coral reefs.
1886 A. Winchell Walks & Talks in Geol. Field 63 Here the torrential action was less turbulent: it was perhaps wave~action along a beach.
wave analyser n. any instrument for analysing a wave motion into its Fourier components.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > [noun] > wavelength > instrument for analysing
wave analyser1931
the world > matter > physics > mechanics > types of motion > [noun] > wave > instrument for analysing waves
wave analyser1931
1931 H. A. Brown Radio-frequency Electr. Measurements ix. 314 (caption) Balanced modulator used in wave analyzer.
1946 Nature 7 Sept. 329/2 A wave-analyser was developed..in 1944 in order to analyse ocean waves and swell and ship movement.
1975 G. J. King Audio Handbk. v. 112 Harmonic distortion. For this test an audio wave analyser is required.
waveband n. a range of (esp. radio) wavelengths or frequencies between specified limits.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > [noun] > signal > frequency or band of frequencies > band of frequencies
sideband1921
frequency band1922
passband1922
waveband1923
S-band1946
baseband1952
guard band1956
vestigial side band1966
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic phenomena > [noun] > frequency > band of frequencies or wavelengths
band1922
waveband1923
1923 Daily Mail 28 Apr. 5 A receiver which will function efficiently over a waveband stretching from 300 metres to 20,000 metres.
1935 Discovery 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.
1958 Observer 17 Aug. 8/3 By international agreement, four wavebands are available for television.
1971 I. G. Gass et al. Understanding Earth x. 144/2 Ultraviolet light (primarily in the wave-band 1500 to 2100 angstroms).
wave base n. Physical Geography the greatest depth at which sediment can be disturbed by surface waves.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > formation of features > sedimentation > [noun] > wave base
wave base1899
1899 F. P. Gulliver in Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts & Sci. 34 177 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.
1968 R. W. Fairbridge Encycl. Geomorphol. 1226/1 Historically, there has been much confusion about the lower limit of wave base and marine abrasion.
wave change n. Radio used attributively to designate a switch for changing the wavelength to which a transmitter or receiver is tuned.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > radio communications > radio equipment > [adjective] > wave changer switch
wave change1930
1930 Telegraph & Telephone Jrnl. 16 86/1 It is necessary to have a split battery at the distant end to provide the momentary impulse for the wave change relay.
1957 Pract. Wireless 33 520/1 The front panel carries the wave-change switch.
wave changer n.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > radio communications > radio equipment > [noun] > radio set > wave changer switch
wave changer1924
1924 S. 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.
1929 R. L. Duncan & C. E. 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.
wave cloud n. Meteorology 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.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > cloud > [noun] > a cloud > other specific types of cloud
ice cloud1830
nacreous cloud1909
mother-of-pearl cloud1932
rotor cloud1954
wave cloud1959
1959 R. E. Huschke Gloss. Meteorol. 620 Wave cloud.
1977 Sci. Amer. (U.K. ed.) July 40/2 (caption) Wave clouds in the lee of a Martian crater were photographed by Mariner 9.
wave-detector n. an instrument designed to detect very feeble electric waves in wireless telegraphy.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telegraphy > telegraph > [noun] > types of > radio-telegraphs > parts of or other wireless telegraphy equipment
wave-detector1905
cymoscope1906
1905 Athenæum 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.
wave-disk n. a metal disk with a waved edge, used in the wave-siren.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > science of sound > vibration > instrument for analysing vibration > [noun] > component of siren
wave-disk1890
1890 S. P. Thompson in Nature (1891) 8 Jan. 226/2 Two such wave-disks, looking rather like circular saws with irregular teeth.
wave drag n. Aerodynamics the drag experienced by a body at supersonic speeds as a result of the formation of a shock wave.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > specific movements or positions of aircraft > aerodynamic forces and concepts > [noun] > drag > types of
parasite resistance1918
profile drag1922
induced drag1926
parasite drag1927
form drag1931
pressure drag1933
parasitic drag1937
wave drag1948
1948 Sci. News 7 30 To attain very high velocities in a practicable aircraft it is obvious that wave drag must be reduced to a minimum.
1951 D. O. Dommasch et al. Airplane Aerodynamics vi. 146 The various types of drag..are as follows: (1) form or pressure drag; (2) skin-friction drag; (3) induced drag; and (4) wave drag.
1981 C. 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.
wave equation n. Physics an equation that represents wave motion, esp. (a) the differential equation ∂2U/∂t2 = c2∇2U; (b) Schrödinger's equation (see Schrödinger n.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > quantum theory > quantum mechanics > wave mechanics > [noun] > wave function > equation producing
wave equation1926
Schrödinger equation1927
1926 E. Schrödinger in Physical Rev. 28 1049 (heading) The wave equation and its application to the hydrogen atom.
1927 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 114 251 The Hamiltonian function will now provide a Schrödinger wave equation.
1936 P. 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.
1982 W. 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.
wave filter n. Electrical Engineering = filter n. 4d.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic phenomena > electronic circuit > [noun] > filters
filter1908
wave filter1908
prototype1923
slope circuit1966
1908 London, Edinb. & Dublin Philos. Mag. 6th Ser. 16 481 This machine has been used with a wave filter, consisting of series inductances of low effective resistance and parallel capacities.
1947 R. Lee Electronic Transformers & Circuits vi. 150 Many wave filters are composed of several sections which simulate transmission lines.
1973 S. 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.
wave-front n. Physics the continuous line or surface including all the waves or radiatory emissions which are in the same phase.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > mechanics > types of motion > [noun] > wave > shape, speed, period, length, etc.
waveform1845
wavelength1850
wave-front1867
wave-shell1877
wave velocity1887
wave period1909
transient1910
phase velocity1927
incoherence1938
waveshape1940
1867 P. G. Tait Elem. Treat. Quaternions xi. 289 The planes of polarization of the two rays whose wave-fronts are parallel, bisect the angles [etc.].
1888 F. Rutley Rock-forming Minerals 57 The plane wave-surfaces or wave-fronts of the two rays will respectively be represented by the tangent planes.
wave function n. Physics a function that satisfies a wave equation; esp. a Schrödinger wave function (see Schrödinger n.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > quantum theory > quantum mechanics > wave mechanics > [noun] > wave function
wave function1925
eigenfunction1926
Schrödinger function1935
partial wave1953
1925 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 107 43 (heading) Spheroidal wave-functions.
1926 E. Schrödinger in Physical Rev. 28 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 L. Pauling & E. B. Wilson Introd. Quantum Mech. iii. 58 The functions ψs(x) which satisfy Equation 9-8 and also certain auxiliary conditions..are variously called wave functions or eigenfunctions (Eigenfunktionen), or sometimes amplitude functions, characteristic functions, or proper functions.
1961 J. L. Powell & B. 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.
1979 Sci. 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.
wave group n. a short group of waves, not necessarily of uniform wavelength or amplitude.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > science of sound > sound-waves > [noun] > group of
wave group1923
the world > matter > physics > mechanics > types of motion > [noun] > wave > series of waves
wave-train1897
wave group1923
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > light > [noun] > rays or waves > set of
pencil1665
optic pencil1704
cone of rays1706
sheaf1863
wave group1923
1877 Nature 23 Aug. 343/1 (heading) On the rate of progression of groups of waves.]
1923 H. 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.
1952 R. 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.
1978 I. G. Main Vibrations & Waves in Physics xii. 210 Any isolated wave group may be viewed as a superposition of many sinusoidal waves.
wave-hop v. [after hedge-hop verb s.v. hedge n. Compounds 3] colloquial (intransitive) to fly low over the sea.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > action of flying (in) aircraft > fly (in) an aircraft [verb (intransitive)] > at very low level
hedge-hop1926
wave-hop1943
1943 Times 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.
1952 C. Day Lewis tr. Virgil Aeneid iv. 80 Like a bird which along the shore and around the promontories Goes fishing, flying low, wave-hopping over the water.
1984 J. 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].
wave-hopper n.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > [noun] > low-flying aircraft
low-flyer1808
grass cutter1911
hedge-hopper1940
wave-hopper1957
1957 R. Watson-Watt Three Steps to Victory xxxviii. 218 Our fears about the wave-hopper.
wave-horse n. = sea-horse n. 5.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > wave > types of waves > [noun] > white-crested
whitecap1773
white horse1805
seahorse1877
skipper's daughters1888
wave-horse1888
1888 H. R. Haggard Mr. Meeson's Will (1897) xi. 140 They..looked out across the troubled ocean. There was nothing in sight..but the white wave-horses.
wave machine n. an apparatus for producing waves in water.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > other specific machines > [noun]
reeler1598
driver1659
rubber1747
heading machine1795
bruiser1809
finisher1835
stripper1835
physionotype1836
rotary1836
tetraspaston1842
netting-machine1846
speeder1847
dresser1855
spacer1857
starcher1862
bronzing liquid, machine1865
finishing machine1869
grader1869
brain machine1872
peanut roaster1872
bending machine1874
screw-machine1876
tire-upsetting-machine1877
buncher?1881
flax-breaker1889
oscillator1889
fluoroscope1893
fluorometer1897
mucker1916
spray dryer1921
paver1926
teabagger1940
burster1950
icemaker1953
laminator1958
slipform (concrete) paver1958
extruder1959
Zamboni1965
manipulator1968
wave machine1968
pipelayer1969
walking machine1971
1968 Surfer Jan. 46/1 They constructed a wave machine that could be a forerunner of a fantastic era of artificial surfing.
1979 Listener 1 Mar. 315/3 A swimming-pool..a place to bring the family..and enjoy the wave-machine.
wave-making n. the production of waves by the movement of a floating body on the surface of the water; also attributive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > wave > [noun] > production of
wave-making1877
1877 W. H. White Man. Naval Archit. xi. 447 Mr. Scott Russell first drew attention to the importance of wave~making resistance.
1878 D. Kemp Man. Yacht & Boat Sailing vi. 41 There are only two principal sources of resistance, and they are consequent upon surface friction and wave-making.
wave-mark n. (a) Geology (see quot. 1863); (b) a wavy marking, stain, or blemish.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > structural features > mark on feature or surface > [noun]
seamc1330
footprint1552
stringa1728
wrinklea1807
ripple mark1831
ripple1838
grooving1846
wave-mark1863
sand-scratch1871
chatter-mark1888
cross-colouring1901
wave-marking1903
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > a photograph > qualities and effects > [noun] > marks
wave-mark1863
stress mark1890
1863 J. D. Dana Man. Geol. 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.
1902 Westm. Gaz. 14 Apr. 4/2 When the novice finds a few pinholes in his negatives, or wave marks on parts of the image.
1902 Westm. Gaz. 14 Apr. 4/2 The wave-marks were the result of careless development.
wave-marked adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > structural features > mark on feature or surface > [adjective]
ripple-marked1831
wave-marked1903
sand-blasted1908
1903 Amer. Geol. June 356 The top of the Lorraine is formed by a wavemarked layer of lime~stone.
wave-marking n. Geology
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > structural features > mark on feature or surface > [noun]
seamc1330
footprint1552
stringa1728
wrinklea1807
ripple mark1831
ripple1838
grooving1846
wave-mark1863
sand-scratch1871
chatter-mark1888
cross-colouring1901
wave-marking1903
1903 Amer. Geol. June 356 Numerous other instances of wavemarking at this horizon might be given.
wave-meter n. a device for measuring the wavelength or frequency of radiofrequency waves.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > radio communications > radio equipment > [noun] > wave-meter
wave-meter1904
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electric current > alternating current > [noun] > instrument determining wave-form
wave-meter1904
1904 Electrician 1 Jan. 408/2 (caption) General view of wave meter.
1905 Athenæum 27 May 662/2 Prof. Fleming's direct-reading cymometer or wave-meter, for measuring the length of the waves used in wireless telegraphy.
1925 P. J. Risdon Crystal Receivers & Circuits 51 The aerial inductance may be found by the use of a spark coil and wave-meter.
1945 Electronic Engin. 17 720/1 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.
1979 P. Hawker Guide to Amat. Radio iv. 63/2 A convenient method of calibrating the wavemeter is to use a communication receiver.
wave-motion n. motion in curves alternately concave and convex.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > [noun] > undulatory motion
waving1571
undulation1646
roll1743
wave-motion1846
1846 W. 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.
1882 P. 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.
wave-motor n. a machine or apparatus designed to utilize the energy in the waves of water as a motive power; also attributive.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines driven by specific energy source > [noun] > by water > by waves
wave-motor1898
1898 Daily News 9 June 7/2 The Linden wave~motor boat.
1899 Daily News 15 Apr. 8/6 A wave motor, which may be seen working off Dover.
wave number n. Physics and Chemistry the number of waves per unit length, used esp. as a spectroscopic unit to represent the frequency of electromagnetic radiation and usually expressed in reciprocal centimetres, cm.−1 (see kayser n.); the reciprocal of wavelength, or this multiplied by 2π; symbol k.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > [noun] > wavelength > number of waves per unit length
wave number1873
1873 Rep. Brit. Assoc. Advancem. Sci. 1872 53 The term wave~numbers appears preferable to the equivalent term ‘inverse wavelengths’ which has been hitherto used.
1936 Physical Rev. 50 59/2 The vector k is called ‘the reduced wave number vector’.
1973 Physics Bull. July 419/2 These devices are characterized by a relatively small tuning range (a few wave-numbers).
1979 Nature 20 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.
wave packet n. 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. 3a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > quantum theory > quantum mechanics > wave mechanics > [noun] > localized disturbance
packet1928
wave packet1928
1928 Proc. Royal Soc. 1927–8 A. 117 276 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.
1955 F. L. Friedman & V. F. Weisskopf in W. Pauli Niels Bohr & Devel. Physics 153 More insight into this equation is provided by examining the time behaviour of a neutron wave packet.
1968 G. 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.
1979 Nature 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.
wave-particle n. Physics used attributively to designate the two-fold description of matter and energy in terms of two seemingly incompatible concepts, waves and particles.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > quantum theory > quantum mechanics > matrix mechanics > [adjective]
wave-particle1938
1938 R. 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.
1968 M. 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.
wave-path n. Seismology (see quot. 1886).
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > formation of features > convulsion > [noun] > earthquake > epicentre > path from centre
wave-path1862
1862 R. Mallet First Princ. Observ. Seismol. I. iv. 35 The line of transit, or wave~path.
1886 J. Milne Earthquakes i. 9 The radial lines along which an earthquake may be propagated from the centrum are called ‘wave-paths’.
wave pattern n. = Vitruvian scroll n. at Vitruvian adj. b.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > architectural ornament > [noun] > other ornaments
pommela1300
crest1430
finial1448
balloon1592
brattishingc1593
knob1610
cartouche1611
ogive1611
fret1626
galace1663
acroterion1664
paternoster1728
semi-urn1742
patera1776
purfling1780
sailing course1807
vesica piscis (also piscium)1809
antefix1819
vesica1820
garland1823
stop1825
Aaron's rod1830
headwork1831
Vitruvian scroll1837
hip knob1838
stelea1840
ball-flower1840
notch-head1843
brandishing1846
buckle1848
cat's-head1848
bucrane1854
cresting1869
semi-ball1875
canephorus1880
crest-board1881
wave pattern1905
husk1934
foliate head1939
green man1939
1905 G. 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.
1956 G. Taylor Silver ix. 192 All kinds of classical motifs, such as anthemion, key..and wave patterns.
wave period n. Physics the period between the arrival at a given point of successive maxima of a travelling wave.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > mechanics > types of motion > [noun] > wave > shape, speed, period, length, etc.
waveform1845
wavelength1850
wave-front1867
wave-shell1877
wave velocity1887
wave period1909
transient1910
phase velocity1927
incoherence1938
waveshape1940
1909 Proc. Royal Soc. Edinb. 29 446 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.
1946 Nature 7 Sept. 330/2 These peaks are equivalent to wave-periods of submultiples of 3 × 20 or 60 sec.
1975 BP Shield Internat. May 13/3 Wave heights and wave periods..are the crucial statistics that spell work or no work on the crane barges.
wave picture n. Physics the conception of subatomic particles as waves, in accordance with wave theory.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > quantum theory > quantum mechanics > wave mechanics > [noun] > theory of
wave theory1833
wave picture1955
1955 W. Heisenberg in W. Pauli Niels Bohr & Devel. Physics 15 The complete equivalence of the particle and wave pictures in the quantum theory was thus demonstrated for the first time.
1974 G. Reece tr. F. Hund Hist. Quantum Theory xi. 142 Quantum and wave pictures combine to give ∆ p = uh/l.
wave-power n. power derived from the action of water waves.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > energy or power of doing work > [noun] > capacity for exertion of mechanical force > water-power > power derived from waves
wave-power1973
1973 Bull. Amer. Assoc. Petroleum Geologists 57 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.
1974 Times 7 Oct. 1/3 A significant part of Britain's future energy requirements could come from cheap, pollution-free wave power.
1980 D. Bloodworth Trapdoor xiii. 75 There are studies for deriving solar energy from seaweed, wind-power from the trades, wave-power from the surf.
1984 Times 8 Nov. 16/1 The pilot wave-power plant at Toftestallen, about 50 miles west of Bergen, is expected to be operational next year.
wave-rainbow n. a rainbow formed on the spray of sea-waves.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > light > chromatism > [noun] > rainbow > formed on water
sunbow1816
wave-rainbow1848
1848 Tennyson in Ld. Tennyson Mem. (1897) I. 275 Sat watching wave-rainbows [at the Lizard].
wave-rate n. Acoustics the rate of vibration of a sounding body in a given time.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > science of sound > vibration > [noun] > rate of
vibrational number1879
wave-rate1903
1903 G. M. Stratton Exper. Psychol. v. 83 Musical notes whose wave-rates do not differ at least a fifth of a vibration a second.
wave resistance n. the retarding force of the action of waves of water.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > wave > [noun] > retarding force
head resistance1800
wave resistance1889
1889 J. J. Welch Text Bk. Naval Archit. iii. 56 Wave resistance is by far the most powerful agent in extinguishing the oscillations.
waverider n. Aeronautics a wing that derives lift from a shock wave close to its under-surface; an aeroplane having such wings.
ΚΠ
1964 Times 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.
1978 D. 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.
wave screen n. (see quot.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > flood or flooding > structures protecting from water or flooding > [noun] > breakwater
countermure1610
breaker1661
water-breakera1689
breakwater1769
floating harbour1841
water break1875
crib-breakwater1879
wave screen1883
stockade1891
Stabit1962
1883 Great Internat. Fisheries Exhib. Catal. 48 Wave Screen, or Breakwater, for breaking the force of the sea, at entrance of bar..or elsewhere.
waveshape n. = waveform n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > mechanics > types of motion > [noun] > wave > shape, speed, period, length, etc.
waveform1845
wavelength1850
wave-front1867
wave-shell1877
wave velocity1887
wave period1909
transient1910
phase velocity1927
incoherence1938
waveshape1940
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic phenomena > [noun] > waveform
waveshape1940
waveform1947
1940 Chambers's Techn. Dict. 902/2 Wave-form, wave-shape.
1947 R. 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.
1965 Wireless World July 364/1 The use of cameras to make a permanent photographic record of a waveshape on an oscilloscope screen is now commonplace.
1984 Sounds 1 Dec. 59/5 Vibrato is offered with four waveshapes to choose from, and may be programmed.
wave-shell n. 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.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > mechanics > types of motion > [noun] > wave > shape, speed, period, length, etc.
waveform1845
wavelength1850
wave-front1867
wave-shell1877
wave velocity1887
wave period1909
transient1910
phase velocity1927
incoherence1938
waveshape1940
1877 F. 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.
wave-siren n. 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.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > science of sound > vibration > instrument for analysing vibration > [noun]
sonometer1802
siren1822
sirenea1830
opeidoscope1873
flame manometer1875
manometric capsule1879
wave-siren1881
pitch meter1947
society > communication > indication > signalling > audible signalling > signalling with other sounding instruments > [noun] > hooter or siren
whew1869
hooter1878
siren1879
wave-siren1881
siren alarm1950
1881 Nature 18 Aug. 359/2 Helmholtz..has constructed a new instrument, the wave-siren.
1890 S. P. Thompson in Nature 15 Jan. 250/2 Dr. Kœnig had recourse to the wave-siren, an earlier invention of his own.
wave-slope n. the angle of inclination of the surface of a wave to the horizontal.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > wave > [noun] > slope
wave-slope1877
1877 W. H. White Man. 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.
wave-surface n. Physics a geometrical surface which is the locus of all points reached at one instant by an undulatory agitation propagated from any centre.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > geometry > surface > [noun]
superficec1400
superficies1530
surface1604
superficie1702
wave-surface1833
developable1847
quartic1854
scroll1862
conicoid1863
regulus1874
Riemann surface1876
tetrahedroid1889
construct1902
skew1902
trend surface1956
1833 MacCullagh Coll. 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.].
1860 A. Cayley Coll. Math. Papers (1891) IV. 420 Some very beautiful results in relation to the Wave Surface have been recently obtained by Herr Zech.
1910 S. P. Thompson Life Ld. Kelvin II. xx. 820 Stokes has found by minute experiment that the Huygens wave-surface is most accurately obeyed by light.
wave-system n. (a) Shipbuilding see quot. and wave-line n. 1; (b) a series of electro-magnetic waves.
ΚΠ
1886 Encycl. 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.
1913 Chambers's Jrnl. Mar. 232/1 For such continuous wave-systems..arrangements are made.
wave-system n. a series of electro-magnetic waves.
wave theory n. (a) = undulatory theory n. at undulatory adj. 1c; more widely in Physics, any theory treating of something as waves, esp. such a theory of subatomic particles; (b) Philology = Wellentheorie n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > mechanics > types of motion > [noun] > wave > specific theory
undulatory theory1802
wave theory1833
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > light > [noun] > science of > wave theory
undulatory theory1802
physical optics1831
wave theory1833
the world > matter > physics > quantum theory > quantum mechanics > wave mechanics > [noun] > theory of
wave theory1833
wave picture1955
the mind > language > [noun] > linguistic change > theories of
polygenesis1863
Wellentheorie1886
substratum theory1923
neo-linguistics1931
wave theory1933
monogenesis1936
Stammbaumtheorie1954
1833 MacCullagh Coll. Wks. (1880) 34 On the Wave Theory of Light.
1873 J. P. Cooke New Chem. (1874) i. 22 I cannot agree with those who regard the wave-theory of light as an established principle of science.
1926 R. W. Lawson tr. G. von Hevesy & F. A. Paneth Man. Radioactivity i. 5 Finally for cathode rays the emission theory, and for Röntgen rays the wave theory held the field.
1932 Discovery 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.
1933 L. Bloomfield Lang. xviii. 318 The presentation of these factors became known as the wave-theory, in contradistinction to the older family-tree theory of linguistic relationship.
1966 C. 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 W. Labov in W. O. Dingwall Surv. Linguistic Sci. 426 One of the classic unresolved dichotomies of historical linguistics is the opposition of the Stammbaum and wave theories of linguistic differentiation.
1974 G. Reece tr. F. Hund Hist. Quantum Theory xi. 150 Schroedinger regarded this equation as the basis of the wave theory of particles.
wave-train n. Physics (see quot.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > mechanics > types of motion > [noun] > wave > series of waves
wave-train1897
wave group1923
1897 E. L. Nichols & W. S. 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.
wave trap n. (a) (see quots.); (b) Radio = trap n.1 8d.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > radio communications > radio equipment > [noun] > radio set > devices for preventing interference
wave trap1875
interference preventer1905
x-stopper1906
trap1927
squelch1937
1875 E. H. Knight Pract. 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.
1923 Mod. Wireless 1 247/2 The second frame aerial..is stated..to act as a ‘wave-trap’.
1968 Radio 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.
wave vector n. Physics a vector whose direction is the direction of propagation of a wave and whose magnitude is its wave number.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > quantum theory > quantum mechanics > wave mechanics > [noun] > vector
state vector1929
wave vector1955
1955 L. Rosenfeld in W. Pauli Niels Bohr & Devel. Physics 88 The Fourier components of wave vector k.
1978 H. 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.
wave velocity n. Physics = phase velocity n. at phase n.2 Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > mechanics > types of motion > [noun] > wave > shape, speed, period, length, etc.
waveform1845
wavelength1850
wave-front1867
wave-shell1877
wave velocity1887
wave period1909
transient1910
phase velocity1927
incoherence1938
waveshape1940
1887 Inst. Mech. Engineers: Proc. Aug. 426 Calculate out the result from the law that the group-velocity is half the wave-velocity—the velocity of a group of waves at sea is half the velocity of the individual waves.
1909 Proc. Royal Soc. Edinb. 29 446 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.
1910 S. P. Thompson Life Ld. Kelvin II. xxi. 861 The proposition that the wave-velocity is double [that] of the group-velocity.
1969 R. H. Webb Elem. Wave Optics v. 61 It is the wave velocity rather than the group velocity which is measured by refraction.
wave winding n. 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.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrical engineering > armature > [noun] > types of winding
ring winding1887
lap winding1892
wave winding1892
slot winding1900
barrel winding1902
bar winding1903
1892 T. O'C. Sloane Standard Electr. Dict. (1893) 580 Wave Winding, a method of winding disc and drum armatures.
1892 S. P. Thompson Dynamo-electr. Machinery (ed. 4) xii. 311 When we go on to those cases in which the winding is entirely exterior to the core, as for drum armatures, or to those in which there is no core at all, namely for disk armatures, we find that there are two distinct modes of procedure, which we may respectively denote as lap-winding and wave-winding.
1980 Slemon & 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.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric manufactured in specific way > [noun] > patterned > waved or watered
wave work1601
moire1660
ripple cloth1862
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. viii. xlviii. 228 The very roiall robe..made..after the manner of water-chamlot in wave worke [L. togam undulatam].
Draft additions June 2016
wave farm n. an area of the sea where machinery is installed to harness the energy produced by waves in order to generate electricity.Cf. solar farm n. at solar adj. and n.1 Additions, wind farm n. at wind n.1 Compounds 2.
ΚΠ
2001 Guardian 16 July ii. 2/4 If it can be shown to work—the prototype has yet to be built—a ‘wave farm’ of 40 devices could provide enough electricity for about 15,000 homes.
2015 M. E. Higgins & J. Busch in R. S. Abate Climate Change Impacts on Ocean & Coastal Law viii. 168 Full consent for the world's largest commercial wave farm to be located off the northwest coast of Lewis, Scotland, has been given to Edinburgh developer Aquamarine Power.
Draft additions September 2016
waverider n. (a) a surfboard (rare); (b) a surfer.
ΚΠ
1936 Huntingdon (Pa.) Daily News 13 July 6 (caption) It would appear that lovely Jean could get any number to share her wave-rider.
1937 Pop. Sci. Monthly July 11/2 As we rest upon our surfboards, awaiting a green swell which moves silently toward us, let us hail the cradle of the wave rider—Hawaii.
2003 K. Slater & J. Borte Pipe Dreams (2004) ii. 26 Bodyboarding has enabled a lot of people to become good waveriders in a short amount of time.
Draft additions September 2016
wave riding n. the action or practice of riding waves; surfing.
ΚΠ
1911 Altoona (Pa.) Mirror 24 Aug. 1/4 The stranger asked that the Altoonans wait on the beach until he gave an exhibition of wave riding.
1937 Pop Sci. July 111/2 Those who have years of wave-riding behind them are able to perform sensational feats on the speeding surfboard.
2006 T. Anderson Riding Magic Carpet (2008) v. 151 Perfect surf is a quest; the actual act of wave riding only the conclusion of that quest.
Draft additions January 2009
wave-cut platform n. Physical Geography a flat surface at the base of sea cliffs produced by the erosive action of the waves; also called abrasion platform, shore platform, marine terrace; cf. platform n. 6.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > land mass > shore or bank > seashore or coast > [noun] > abrasion platform
marine terrace1846
wave-cut platform1901
abrasion platform1915
1901 Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer. 12 212 A looped bar or ridge of gravel and sand formed on an old wave-cut platform.
1944 A. Holmes Princ. Physical Geol. xiv. 291 In appropriate circumstances some of the sediment in transit across the wave-cut platform accumulates in the deeper water beyond.
2005 B. Sweeney in J. Holden Introd. Physical Geogr. & Environment xvii. 416/1 Young coastal cliffs have in front of them narrow wave-cut platforms over which wave energy travels unimpeded.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1923; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
wavev.
/weɪv/, U.S. /weɪv/ I. To move to and fro or up and down.
* Of involuntary movement.† 2. † b. To move to and fro unsteadily on its base or (of a person) on the feet; to totter. Obsolete.† c. Of a floating body: To move restlessly by the impulse of the air or water. Also, To hover about in the air. Obsolete.† d. to wave oneself: ? to give oneself up to the motion of the water. In quot. 1628 figurative. Obsolete.† 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. Obsolete.† 5. † b. Of the sun: To decline. Obsolete. rare.
1. figurative.1648 R. Herrick Hesperides sig. I5 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. 3d) Obsolete.
a. intransitive. 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.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > irregular movement or agitation > move irregularly or be agitated [verb (intransitive)] > wave in the wind
rotec1330
waive1338
waverc1440
wafterc1450
wave1487
to waver with or in the windc1503
streama1560
flaunt1576
wift1609
fly1659
waff1834
flare1837
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > oscillation > oscillate [verb (intransitive)] > wave
wave1487
waft1650
wavela1689
wampish1818
1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) ix. 245 The discurrouris saw thame cumande With baneris to the vynd vafand [1489 Adv. wawand; 1616 Hart waiuand].
?1507 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 94 As with the wynd wavis the wickir, [So] Wavis [1568, a1586 waueris] this warldis vanite.
1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. ciii. 50 b/2 Whanne those fotemen..sawe the baners and standerdes waue with the wynde.
1577 T. Kendall tr. Politianus et al. Flowers of Epigrammes f. 73 His crisped locks wavde all behinde.
1595 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 3 ii. ii. 173 Sound trumpets, let our bloudie colours waue, And either victorie or else a graue.
1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes 718 Like a stately Ship..With all her bravery on, and tackle trim, Sails fill'd, and streamers waving . View more context for this quotation
1713 A. Pope Windsor-Forest 15 High in the midst..(His Sea-green Mantle waving with the Wind) The God appear'd.
1810 W. Scott Lady of Lake iii. 130 No banner waved on Cardross gate.
1837 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers xxxiv. 379 Dresses rustled, feathers waved..and jewels sparkled.
1837 J. R. McCulloch Statist. Acct. Brit. Empire II. ii. v. 147 It was then that the British flag began to wave over every sea.
1846 J. Ruskin Mod. Painters II. 89 The bending trunk, waving to and fro in the wind above the waterfall.
1884 Bible (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?
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > capital punishment > hanging > be hanged [verb (intransitive)]
rideeOE
hangc1000
anhangc1300
wagc1430
totter?1515
to wave in the windc1515
swing1542
trine1567
to look through ——?1570
to preach at Tyburn cross1576
stretch?1576
to stretch a rope1592
truss1592
to look through a hempen window?a1600
gibbet1600
to have the lift1604
to salute Tyburn1640
to dance the Tyburn jig1664
dangle1678
to cut a caper on nothing1708
string1714
twist1725
to wallop in a tow (also tether)1786
to streek in a halter1796
to straight a ropea1800
strap1815
to dance upon nothing1837
to streek a tow1895
c1515 Ld. Berners tr. Bk. Duke Huon of Burdeux (1882–7) xvi. 43 Or it be nyght, I shall cause thee to waue in the wynde.
c. Of long hair: To hang down loose. poetic.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > styles of hair > be in a style (of hair) [verb (intransitive)] > hang loose
wave1671
roll1772
1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes 1493 And view him sitting in the house,..And on his shoulders waving down those locks. View more context for this quotation
a1767 M. Bruce Last Day in Poems (1796) 129 His golden hair Wav'd on his shoulders.
d. transitive. Of the wind, etc.: To cause (a thing) to sway or move to and fro.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > irregular movement or agitation > agitate [verb (transitive)] > cause to wave in the wind
flask1565
stream1597
wave1602
fan1638
flare1838
1602 Kyd's Spanish Trag. (new ed.) iii. sig. H4 Behold a man hanging: And tottering, and tottering as you know the winde will weaue a man.
1817 P. B. Shelley Laon & Cythna viii. xxx. 192 Beneath a bright acacia's shadowy hair, Waved by the wind amid the sunny noon.
1828 E. Bulwer-Lytton Pelham I. x. 65 The wind waved my long curls.
1829 W. Scott Anne of Geierstein I. x. 288 No sound was heard save that of the night wind, when it..waved the tattered banners which were the tapestry of the feudal hall.
a. intransitive. To move to and fro restlessly or uncertainly; to waver. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > irregular movement or agitation > unsteady movement > move unsteadily [verb (intransitive)]
hobblec1330
wave1406
stamperc1450
fleet15..
titubate1540
wamble1589
tilt1594
vacillate1598
waggle1611
wimple1819
wangle1820
waver1841
lurch1851
woggle1871
teeter1904
1406 T. Hoccleve La Male Regle 399 And whil my breeth may in my body waue, To recorde it vnnethe I may souffyse.
?1507 [see sense 1a]. a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 173 [This world] Quhair Fortoun ever as fo dissavis, With freyndlie smylingis lyk ane hure, Quhais fals behechtis as wind hyne wavis.
a1628 F. Greville Life of Sidney (1652) xvi. 223 She preserved her Religion without waving.
1665 Bp. E. Hopkins Serm. Vanity (1685) 88 Such is the waving and fluctuation of all things here below.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > irregular movement or agitation > unsteady movement > move unsteadily [verb (intransitive)] > totter
shake1297
waive1338
wagc1340
falterc1386
waverc1440
branglea1522
totterc1522
wave1538
swerve1573
nod1582
tittera1618
cockle1634
labascate1727
teeter1904
oversway1994
1538 T. Elyot Dict. Vacillo, to moue inconstantly, to wagge or waue, to be vnstable, or vnsure.
1606 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. (new ed.) ii. iii. 132 As an Infant which the Nurce lets goe To goe alone, waves weakely to and fro.
1608 A. Willet Hexapla in Exodum xx. 18. 445 [Vatablus renders the verb by] vacillabant, they waued.
a1628 F. Greville Mustapha iv. Chorus in Certaine Wks. (1633) 146 Thus reeles our present State, And her foundation waues.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > progressive motion > moving with current of air or water > motion in the air > move in the air [verb (intransitive)]
fleetc1400
wave1606
float1637
swim1661
the world > movement > progressive motion > moving with current of air or water > movement in or on water > move in or on water [verb (intransitive)] > move freely on surface > on waves
fluttera1000
wave1606
undulate1813
1606 G. W. tr. Justinus Hist. xxvi. 94 b The Ghoasts of them whose liues they had rauished from their bodies, wauing before their eyes.
c1639 in Roxburghe Ballads (1887) VI. 429 They waving up and down the Seas, upon the Ocean Main.
1645 J. Milton Il Penseroso in Poems 43 And let som strange mysterious dream, Wave at his Wings in Airy stream.
1647 J. Howell New Vol. of Lett. 61 Those, that have their heads lightly ballasted,..are like buys [buoys] in a barrd port, waving perpetually up and downe.
1742 A. Pope New Dunciad 530 Int'rest that waves on Party-colour'd wings.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > doing > activity or occupation > occupy or busy oneself [verb (reflexive)] > concern or involve oneself > deeply
immerge1611
to wave oneself1628
immerse1664
1628 O. Felltham Resolves: 2nd Cent. i. sig. H 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.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > be irresolute or vacillate [verb (intransitive)]
haltc825
flecchec1300
waverc1315
flickerc1325
wag1387
swervea1400
floghter1521
stacker1526
to be of (occasionally in) many (also divers) minds1530
wave1532
stagger1533
to hang in the wind1536
to waver as, like, with the wind1548
mammer1554
sway1563
dodge1568
erch1584
suspend1585
float1598
swag1608
hoverc1620
hesitate1623
vacillate1623
fluctuate1634
demur1641
balance1656
to be at shall I, shall I (not)1674
to stand shall I, shall I1674
to go shill-I shall-I1700
to stand at shilly-shally1700
to act, to keep (upon), the volanta1734
whiffle1737
dilly-dally1740
to be in (also of, occasionally on) two minds (also in twenty minds, in (also of) several minds, etc.)1751
oscillate1771
shilly-shally1782
dacker1817
librate1822
humdrum1825
swing1833
(to stand or sit) on or upon the fence1848
to back and fill1854
haver1866
wobble1867
shaffle1873
dicker1879
to be on the weigh-scales1886
waffle1894
to think twice1898
to teeter on the brink1902
dither1908
vagulate1918
pern1920
1532 (c1385) Usk's Test. Loue in Wks. G. Chaucer i. f. cccxxviii Ye wete wel lady eke (quod I) that I haue not..with the wethercocke waued.
1566 T. Drant tr. Horace Medicinable Morall sig. Av Thy mynde it waues and wagges, And wisheth after greater things.
1582 T. Watson tr. Petrarch in Ἑκατομπαθία: Passionate Cent. Loue v. sig. A3 I waue in doubt what helpe I shall require, In Sommer freeze, in winter burne like fire.
1597 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie v. xliii. 91 The truth is they waue in and out, no way sufficiently grounded, no way resolued what to thinke, speake or write.
1611 J. Speed Hist. Great Brit. ix. viii. 493/1 Their might..depends of the wauing humors, and wils of those inferiour vassels, of whom they thinke themselues vnresistable Commaunders.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) ii. ii. 17 If he did not care whether he had their loue, or no, hee waued indifferently, 'twixt doing them neyther good, nor harme. View more context for this quotation
1628 O. Felltham Resolves: 2nd Cent. xvi. sig. K6v Variety, in any thing, distracteth the minde; and leaues it waving in a dubious trouble.
1642 H. More Ψυχωδια Platonica sig. Iv Thus waves the mind in things of greatest weight.
1796 J. Morse Amer. Universal Geogr. (new ed.) II. 62 The court waved between these two factions.
4.
a. Of water, the sea: To move in waves, undulate.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > wave > move in waves [verb (intransitive)]
popplea1522
wave1530
loom1605
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 772/2 I wave, as the see dothe. Je vague. After a storme the see waveth.
1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Waue as water doth in tempest, fluctuo.
1571 A. Golding tr. J. Calvin Psalmes of Dauid with Comm. (lxii. 6) i. f. 235 Like as if a soft gale stir ye sea, so as the waves ryse not with great rage, and yit there is some waving.
c1797–1804 W. Blake Poet. Wks. (1913) 366 Wave freshly, clear waters, flowing around the tender grass.
1820 R. Southey Life Wesley I. 80 Neither the waving of the sea, nor the motion of the ship, could take away the refreshing sleep which God gave them.
1865 E. B. Tylor Res. Early Hist. Mankind iv. 63 Water is that which waves, undulates.
b. transferred. Of a crowd: To move to and fro restlessly in a body.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > oscillation > oscillate [verb (intransitive)] > sway > of a crowd
wave1579
1579 T. North tr. Plutarch Liues 713 Pompey..perceyuing..that his owne battell on thother side waued vp & downe disorderly, as men vnskilfull in warres.
1591 H. Savile tr. Tacitus Ende of Nero: Fower Bks. Hist. i. 23 Galba was driuen to and fro with the crowde of the companie, as it waued up and downe [L. vario turbæ fluctuantis impulsu].
1646 J. Temple Irish Rebell. 25 The people..continued waving up and down the streets.
1860 J. A. Froude Hist. Eng. (ed. 2) 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.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > move to and fro or up and down [verb (intransitive)] > undulate
roll1565
billow1628
undulate1664
wave1667
pother1817
boil1882
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iv. 981 As when a field Of Ceres ripe for harvest waving bends Her bearded Grove of ears. View more context for this quotation
1720 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad V. xx. 78 The Forests wave, the Mountains nod around.
1725 A. Pope tr. Homer Odyssey II. ix. 124 With wheat and barley wave the golden fields.
1775 S. Johnson Taxation no Tyranny 20 Regions smiling with pleasure and waving with fertility.
1785 W. Cowper Task iv. 313 The lands, where lately wav'd The golden harvest.
1834 J. Ruskin Months iii Rejoice! ye fields, rejoice! and wave with gold.
1851 J. H. Gurney Hymn Fair waved the golden corn In Canaan's pleasant land.
a1854 Ld. Cockburn Memorials (1856) iii. 171 The whole place waved with wood, and was diversified by undulations of surface.
a. intransitive. To turn aside. Also transitive. To move (a person) aside. to wave one's way: ? to take a divergent route. [But this may belong to waive v.1]
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > change of direction of movement > change direction of movement [verb (intransitive)] > diverge from course
bowa1000
swervec1330
wrya1350
crookc1380
to turn asidea1382
depart1393
decline14..
wryc1400
divert1430
desvoy1481
wave1548
digress1552
prevaricate1582
yaw1584
to turn off1605
to come off1626
deviate1635
sag1639
to flinch out1642
deflect1646
de-err1657
break1678
verge1693
sheera1704
to break off1725
lean1894
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > sideways movement or a sideways movement > cause to move sideways [verb (transitive)] > move (a person) to the side
wave1548
society > travel > aspects of travel > travel in specific course or direction > direct one's course [verb (intransitive)] > change course or turn off
turnc1330
to turn asidea1382
to turn in1535
to wave one's way1548
strike1576
to turn off1605
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. ccvjv The Kynges train waued on the lefte hande, to geue the Frenche Kyng and his train the right hande.
a1639 H. Wotton View Life & Death Duke of Buckingham in Reliquiæ Wottonianæ (1651) 109 Notwithstanding all which importunity, he resolved not [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.
1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica 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. View more context for this quotation
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > sun > solar movement > move [verb (intransitive)] > set
nipeeOE
grindc1050
to go to gladec1200
settlea1375
fall?c1400
shaftc1400
rebash1481
to go to1584
sinka1586
welk1590
wave1592
verge1610
sit1621
western1858
1592 T. Kyd Spanish Trag. i. sig. A4v Till Phœbus wauing to the western deepe, Our Trumpeters were chargde to sound retreat.
** Of voluntary movements.† 6. intransitive. To make a movement to and fro (with the hands). Only Old English.† 7. † b. transitive. To signal to (a person). Chiefly Nautical. (Cf. weave v.2) Obsolete.† 8. To move to and fro or up and down regularly or rhythmically.† b. intransitive. To move the body from side to side. Also reflexive. (Cf. weave v.2) Obsolete.† c. transferred. To move (the head up and down) with a significant gesture; to incline (the head). Obsolete.
ΚΠ
c1000 Ælfric Lives Saints xxvii. 151 Þeah þe man wafige wundorlice mid handa ne bið hit þeah bletsung buta he wyrce tacn þære halgan rode.
c1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 318 Ymbfo hine [a dung beetle] mid twam handum..wafa mid þinum handum swiþe & cweð þriwa Remedium facio [etc.].
a. To make motions (with the uplifted hands or with something held in the hands) by way of signal. Chiefly Nautical. (Cf. weave v.2) Obsolete.Cf. the Old English sense 6, which may possibly have survived unrecorded to the 16 c.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > signalling > visual signalling > signal made by waving > signal by waving [verb (intransitive)]
wave1513
to put out or set forth a waff1600
to make a waft1653
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > oscillation > oscillate [verb (intransitive)] > wave > as signal
wave1513
wag1535
1513 E. Echyngham Let. to Wolsey in A. Spont Lett. & Papers War France (1897) X. 148 He saith he see my lord Admirall wayvyng with his handes and cryeng to the galye: ‘Comme aborde agayne!’
c1595 Capt. Wyatt in G. F. Warner Voy. R. Dudley to W. Indies (1899) 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.
1611 B. Jonson Catiline i. sig. Cv A Bloody arme it is, that holds a pine Lighted, aboue the Capitoll: And, now, It waues vnto vs. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Cymbeline (1623) i. iii. 12 He did keepe The Decke, with Gloue, or Hat, or Handkerchife, Still wauing . View more context for this quotation
1644 H. Mainwaring 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.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > signalling > signal (something) [verb (transitive)] > signal by waving something
wave1589
weave1593
1589 Voy. W. Towrson in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations i. 109 A great sort came downe to the water side, and waued vs on shoare with a white flagge.
1589 Voy. W. Towrson in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations i. 109 Certaine Negroes..waued vs wt a white flag, but we..would not stay.
1589 Voy. W. Towrson in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations i. 109 We mistrusted some knauerie, and being waued by them to come a shoare, yet we would not.
c1595 Capt. Wyatt in G. F. Warner Voy. R. Dudley to W. Indies (1899) 4 Our Generall commaunded to wave them, and halinge them..made them know their dwtie unto our English collers by vailinge theire topsailes.
1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet i. iv. 42 Looke with what curteous action It waues you to a more remooued ground. View more context for this quotation
1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet i. iv. 49 It waues me forth againe, Ile followe it. View more context for this quotation
1616 J. Smith Descr. New Eng. 56 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 J. Smith Sea Gram. xiii. 60 He waues vs to lee-ward with his drawne sword.
a. intransitive. To move the wings up and down in or as in flight. Said also of the wings. Also transitive, to actuate or flap (the wings) in or as in flight. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > move to and fro or up and down [verb (intransitive)] > flap or beat up and down
fanc1400
swapa1529
wavea1530
flap1692
winnow1852
flail1874
flip-flop1924
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > move to and fro or up and down [verb (transitive)] > flap or beat up and down
wavea1530
flask1565
flap1567
winnow1579
a1530 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfeccyon (1531) iii. f. CCiiv Than with her wynges she fanneth & waueth, vnto she haue kyndled in them fyre.
1584 R. Greene Gwydonius f. 58v The Bird[s]..being young, seeing the old ones through age growen so weake, as they are not able to waue their wings, carrie them..on their backs.
1657 J. Trapp Comm. Psalms lxxx. 7 As the bird by much waving gathereth wind under the wing, and mounteth higher.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost vii. 476 Those wav'd thir limber fans For wings. View more context for this quotation
1714 A. Pope Rape of Lock (new ed.) ii. 14 Colours that change whene'er they wave their Wings.
1742 A. Pope New Dunciad 413 Of all th' enamel'd race, whose silv'ry wing Waves to the tepid Zephyrs of the spring.
1808 W. Blake Poet. Wks. (1913) 145 Before her throne my wings I wave.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > oscillation > oscillate [verb (reflexive)] > sway
wave1608
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > oscillation > oscillate [verb (intransitive)] > sway > specifically the body > of a snake
wave1608
1608 E. Topsell Hist. 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, hee wearieth himselfe in vaine.
a1660 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1645 (1955) II. 293 All the company fell a singing of an hebrew hymn,..waving themselves to & fro, a ceremony they observe in all their devotions.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 115 A Snake..With curling Crest, and with advancing Head: Waving he rolls, and makes a winding Track. View more context for this quotation
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > gesturing or gesture > other gestures > [verb (transitive)] > gesture with head
casta1225
wave1604
1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet ii. i. 94 At last, a little shaking of mine arme, And thrice his head thus wauing vp and downe, He raisd a sigh. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) iii. ii. 77 Goe to them, with this Bonnet in thy hand,..Thy Knee bussing the stones:..wauing thy head. View more context for this quotation
1768 L. Sterne Sentimental Journey II. 75 I see the injured spirit wave her head, and turn off silent from the author of her miseries.
9. absolute.a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) i. vii. 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.† e. transitive. In the Levitical law: To elevate and move from side to side (an oblation or wave-offering) before the altar. Obsolete.First in Tyndale, following Luther, who renders the verb by weben, and also has the compounds webebrot, webebrust, webeopfer = wave-loaf, -breast, -offering (see Compounds 1).
a. transitive. 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.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > alternating or reciprocating motion > oscillation > oscillate [verb (transitive)] > wave, esp. the hand
waive1338
waft1604
weave1607
wavea1616
flarea1766
wampish1816
society > communication > indication > gesturing or gesture > hand gesture > [verb (transitive)] > wave (the hand)
shake1569
waft1604
wavea1616
a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) ii. iii. 167 And with his Hat, thus wauing it in scorne, I would be Consull, sayes he. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Cymbeline (1623) i. iii. 6 Pisa. It [sc. his last speech] was his Queene, his Queene. Imo. Then wau'd his Handkerchiefe. View more context for this quotation
1637 J. Milton Comus 23 Nay Ladie sit; if I but wave this wand, Your nervs are all chain'd up in alabaster [printed alablaster].
1667 J. Dryden Indian Emperour ii. i. 15 High-Priest..Once, twice, and thrice, I wave my Sacred Wand, Ascend, ascend, ascend at my command. [An Earthy Spirit rises.]
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 137 At once she wav'd her Hand on either side, At once the Ranks of swelling Streams divide. View more context for this quotation
1717 A. Pope Rape of Lock (new ed.) v, in Wks. 158 Then grave Clarissa graceful wav'd her fan; Silence ensu'd.
1785 W. Cowper Task vi. 699 Maidens wave Their 'kerchiefs, and old women weep for joy.
1794 A. Radcliffe Myst. of Udolpho II. vi. 218 Montoni..waved his hand for him to leave the room.
1794 A. Radcliffe Myst. of Udolpho I. i. 45 If I creep near yonder oak she will wave her fairy wand.
1814 W. Scott Waverley I. xx. 313 Many sprung up and waved their arms in ecstasy. View more context for this quotation
1847 Ld. Tennyson Princess iv. 91 She, ending, waved her hands: thereat the crowd Muttering, dissolved.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. viii. 385 Halifax sprang up and waved his hat. At that signal, benches and galleries raised a shout.
1859 H. Kingsley Recoll. G. Hamlyn xli Sam only waved his hand in good-bye, and sped on across the plain.
1896 A. Conan Doyle Rodney Stone vi He waved his white hands as if to brush aside all opposition.
b. of impersonal things personified; chiefly poetic.
ΚΠ
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost v. 193 And wave your tops, ye Pines, With every Plant, in sign of Worship wave. View more context for this quotation
1749 T. Smollett Regicide i. vi. 11 Ye spreading Boughs, that wave Your Blossoms o'er the Stream!
1783 G. Crabbe Village i. 6 Above the slender sheaf, The slimy mallow waves her silky leaf.
1804 W. L. Bowles Spir. Discov. ii. 271 Dark Lebanon Waved all his pines for thee.
1820 P. B. Shelley Orpheus 106 And cypresses that seldom wave their boughs.
1886 J. G. Wood Man & Handiwork iii. 31 Where the corn waves its yellow ears.
c. To brandish (a weapon).
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > move in specific manner [verb (transitive)] > flourish or brandish
shakec1000
stirc1275
wagc1300
brandisha1340
flourishc1384
swinga1400
swinglec1450
ruffle?1562
sweak1567
vambrash1577
sway1590
swinge1605
to fetch about1609
wave1609
wheel1617
evibrate1654
society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > use or wield (a weapon) [verb (transitive)] > brandish
shakec1000
wevec1325
brandisha1340
flourishc1384
toss1590
wave1609
1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida v. v. 9 Bastard Margarelon, Hath Doreus prisoner. And stands Colossus wise wauing his beame. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) iii. i. 110 And wauing our red Weapons o're our heads, Let's all cry Peace, Freedome, and Liberty. View more context for this quotation
1718 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad IV. xiii. 728 King Helenus wav'd high the Thracian Blade.
1799 T. Campbell Pleasures of Hope & Other Poems i. 363 By that dread name we wave the sword on high, And swear for her to live!
1825 W. Scott Talisman xv, in Tales Crusaders IV. 355 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.
1869 W. S. Gilbert Bab Ballads 202 ‘My rival!’ shrieked the invalid, And drew a mighty sword and waved it.
1911 G. M. Trevelyan Garibaldi & Making of Italy viii. 184 Men and women waved swords which they would never wield in earnest.
d. intransitive (for passive). To be moved to and fro. Of a weapon: To be brandished. †Also transitive, to pass over (something) with a brandishing movement.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in specific manner > move in specific manner [verb (intransitive)] > move with a flourish > be flourished or brandished
flourisha1425
wave1605
1605 1st Pt. Jeronimo sig. F See a reuengfull sword Waues ore my head.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost vi. 304 Now wav'd thir fierie Swords, and in the Aire Made horrid Circles. View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost xii. 643 They looking back, all th' Eastern side beheld Of Paradise,..Wav'd over by that flaming Brand. View more context for this quotation
1671 T. Hunt Abecedarium Scholasticum 90 Give a child as long as he will crave, and a dog as long as his tail will wave.
1828 E. Bulwer-Lytton Pelham I. xvii. 127 The lady's handkerchief waved in token of encouragement and triumph.
1896 A. Conan Doyle Rodney Stone vi I see, too, the figures at the garden gate: my mother, with her face turned away, and her handkerchief waving.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > worship > sacrifice or a sacrifice > kinds of sacrifice > [verb (transitive)] > elevate or move wave offering
wave1530
1530 Bible (Tyndale) Exod. xxix. f. liiiiv 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.
1530 Bible (Tyndale) Lev. xiv. f. xxv Let him bringe one lambe for a trespaceoffrynge to waue it.
So 1535 M. Coverdale ; and all later versions. ]
f. Occasional uses. Of a dog: To wag (its tail). Of a fish: To flap (a fin).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Canidae > dog > [verb (transitive)] > act in particular way
sowla1616
wave1677
sick1845
snoozle1847
heel1855
sool1890
the world > animals > fish > [verb (transitive)] > flap fin
wave1883
1677 R. Gilpin Dæmonol. Sacra iii. v. 31 The Devil..stands like a Fawning Dog scratching and waving his Tail.
1883 E. W. Gosse in Longman's 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.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > gesturing or gesture > hand gesture > [verb (transitive)] > wave (the hand) > express by waving
wave1810
1810 W. Scott Lady of Lake ii. 51 Perchance the maiden smiled to see Yon parting lingerer wave adieu.
1847 Ld. Tennyson Princess ii. 28 So saying, she bow'd and waved Dismissal.
1874 Sankey'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.’
1878 R. Browning La Saisiaz 16 From no far mound Waved salute a tall white figure.
1888 W. Besant Inner House iii The women wept and laughed at the same time, and waved them welcome.
b.
(a) To motion (a person, etc.) aside, away, back, in, off by a movement of the hand, etc.; also with prepositions from, over, to, etc. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > place > removal or displacement > remove or displace [verb (transitive)] > set aside > (as) with a wave of the hand
waffc1440
waive1832
wave1841
society > communication > indication > gesturing or gesture > hand gesture > [verb (transitive)] > wave (the hand) > guide or direct by waving
wave1841
1841 C. Dickens Old Curiosity Shop ii. lxxi. 209 Waving them off with his hand, and calling softly to her as he went, he stole into the room.
1841 C. Whitehead Richard Savage I. xi. 322 He waved me from him.
1843 R. S. Surtees Handley Cross I. i. 12 Michael took off his broad-brimmed, low-crowned hat, and waving in the pack, cheered them to the echo.
1843 R. S. Surtees Handley Cross I. i. 14 He presently had the old hounds at his heels, and hat in hand he waved them over the wall.
1864 Mrs. H. Wood Ld. Oakburn's Daughter II. xxxvii. 230 An attendant opened the door to see if anything might be wanted, but was waved away again.
1883 D. C. Murray Hearts ix ‘There is a fire in the sitting-room’, he said, closing the outer door and waving her along the hall.
1894 Mrs. H. Ward Marcella II. ii. ix. 100 Marcella waved him aside and ran on.
1914 H. James in Q. Rev. Apr. 338 If we put ourselves questions we yet wave away doubts.
1916 W. 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 [compare flag v.4] , to wave at (a driver of a vehicle) as a signal to stop; also with the vehicle as object.
ΚΠ
1955 J. P. Donleavy Ginger Man xxx. 343 A taxi roaring by. Wave it down. To the Red Lion Square. Fast.
1972 T. Lilley K Section xl. 176 A man on a motor-bike..stopped when Carter waved him down.
1981 M. C. Smith Gorky Park i. xvii. 253 It took him twenty minutes to wave down a taxi.
c. intransitive. To make a sign by a wave of the hand.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > gesturing or gesture > hand gesture > [verb (intransitive)] > wave
wave1803
1803 Edwin I. xiii. 205 I waved to the door, and in silence proceeded to the tyrant.
1847 C. Brontë Jane Eyre I. xii. 216 I retained my station when he waved to me to go, and announced:—‘I cannot think of leaving you, sir.’
1855 Ld. Tennyson Maud ix, in Maud & Other Poems 33 Rapidly riding far away, She waved to me with her hand.
1905 M. Barnes-Grundy Vacillations Hazel xvi. 219 He looks very miserable and cold and pinched. Poor old Sammy! I must wave to him.
d. transitive. To mark (musical measures) by waving something.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > duration of notes > proportion of notes or rhythm > [verb (transitive)] > mark rhythm or measure > by beating, etc.
strike1665
noddle1788
wave1851
tambourinate1913
stomp1925
stomp1973
1851 E. B. Browning Casa Guidi Windows i. xx. 55 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.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > ornamental art and craft > pattern or design > pattern [verb (transitive)] > curves or spirals
wave1547
snail1881
snake1887
1547 in A. Feuillerat Documents Office of Revels Edward VI (1914) 9 vj Couering of Bardes of clothe of golde wherof three ar waved with clothe of golde.
?1611 G. Chapman tr. Homer Iliads xxiii. 482 Arms..forged of brass, and waved about with tin.
1652 N. Culpeper Eng. Physitian Enlarged (1656) 137 Leavs..a little unevenly waved sometimes about the edges.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iv. 306 Shee..Her unadorned golden tresses wore Dissheveld, but in wanton ringlets wav'd As the Vine curles her tendrils. View more context for this quotation
1678 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. vi. 104 When one end of the Riglet you wave, is with the Vice Screwed to the plain side of the Rack.
1678 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. vi. 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.
1686 tr. J. Chardin Trav. Persia 394 The lower part of which Chappel is cover'd with large Tiles of Porphiry wav'd, and painted with Flowers.
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) To Wave, to fashion, or make like the waves of the Sea; as watered Silks or Stuffs are.
1733 School of Miniature 39 Finish..by fine thin Strokes,..waving and curling them according to the turn of the Hair.
1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 763 Strokes following the same direction, but gently waved.
1875 A. C. Swinburne Ess. & Stud. 319 A head-dress of eastern fashion,..raised and waved and rounded in the likeness of a sea-shell.
1888 H. Sweet Hist. Eng. Sounds (new ed.) §221 Earlier in the [11th] century they began to wave and lengthen the top tags of i, n, h, etc.
1909 Daily Chron. 1 Oct. 7/4 Hair that has been waved by hot irons till it is broken and irregular.
12. intransitive. To undulate in form or outline.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > unevenness > be or become uneven [verb (intransitive)] > be undulating
wave1789
undulate1833
the world > space > shape > curvature > series of curves > have series of curves [verb (intransitive)] > be wavy
wave1789
1789 J. Williams Nat. Hist. Mineral Kingdom I. 108 The horizontal coals..are found to wave considerably in several places.
1794 W. Marshall in Rural Econ. W. Eng. (1796) II. 84 A slip or coomb, of water formed land, waving with the stream.
1795 A. Anderson Narr. Brit. Embassy China 73 Its [sc. the river's] course waves in the finest meanders.
1859 J. Ruskin Two Paths iv. §121 From this, and in subordination to this, waved the arch and sprang the pinnacle.
1883 R. Broughton Belinda II. ii. ix. 152 Now and then the type waves up and down before her like the furrows of a ploughed field; but she reads on.
Compounds
C1. The verb-stem in combination, in the names of the several offerings which, according to the Levitical law, were ‘waved’ (see 9e) by the priest when presented in sacrifice, as wavebreast, wave-loaf, wave-offering, wave-sheaf.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > worship > sacrifice or a sacrifice > kinds of sacrifice > [noun] > which is waved when presented
heave-offering1530
wave-offering1530
shake offering1608
society > faith > artefacts > consumables > bread > [noun] > waved when presented in sacrifice
wave-loaf1530
wave-bread1879
society > faith > worship > sacrifice or a sacrifice > kinds of sacrifice > [noun] > which is waved when presented > that which is employed in
heave shoulder1530
wave-sheaf1530
shake breast1647
shake-day-sheaf1650
shake-sheaf1650
wave-bread1879
1530 Bible (Tyndale) Lev. vii. f. xii Euen the fatt apon the brest he shall bringe with the brest to waue it a waueoffrynge before the Lorde.
1530 Bible (Tyndale) Lev. vii. f. xii For the wauebrest and the heueshulder I haue taken of the childern of Israel.
1530 Bible (Tyndale) Lev. xxiii. f. xliv And ye shall brynge out of youre habitacions two waueloaues.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Lev. xxiii. 15 From the nexte daye after the Sabbath, whan ye brought ye Waueshefe [1530 Tindale, the sheffe of the waueoffrynge].
1625 T. Godwin Moses & Aaron vi. ii. 268 These two words, Thenuphoth, and Therumoth; both signifie shake-offrings, heaue-offrings, or waue-offrings.
C2.
wave-bread n. a modern synonym of wave-loaf at Compounds 1.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > artefacts > consumables > bread > [noun] > waved when presented in sacrifice
wave-loaf1530
wave-bread1879
society > faith > worship > sacrifice or a sacrifice > kinds of sacrifice > [noun] > which is waved when presented > that which is employed in
heave shoulder1530
wave-sheaf1530
shake breast1647
shake-day-sheaf1650
shake-sheaf1650
wave-bread1879
1879 F. W. Farrar Life & Work St. Paul II. ix. lx. 297 Which, with the wave-breads and the heave-shoulders, the priest afterwards took as his own perquisites.
wave-off n. Aeronautics a signal or instruction to an approaching aircraft that it is not to land.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > regulation and control of flying > [noun] > instruction not to land
wave-off1951
1951 Jrnl. Royal Aeronaut. Soc. 55 526/2 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.
1973 Black 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’.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1923; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1526v.c1000