wax¹ /waks/

1. Any of a class of substances of plant or animal origin, usu consisting of esters of monohydric alcohols, eg beeswax, C₃₀H₆₁OCOC₁₅H₃₁
2. Any of certain hydrocarbons of mineral origin, eg ozokerite
3. Any substance like a wax in some respect, such as ear wax or cerumen
4. Sealing wax, prepared from shellac and turpentine
5. A resinous material used by shoemakers to rub their thread
6. A cosmetic treatment that uses hot wax to remove body hair
7. Puddled clay (mining)
8. A thick sugary substance made by boiling down the sap of the sugar maple, and cooling by exposure to the air
9. A person found to be readily impressionable or easily influenced
10. In Shakespeare, Timon of Athens I.1.50, explanation uncertain (according to some, wax tablets; others have thought expansive growth, ie properly from wax²)

1. To coat or treat with wax, esp so as to render waterproof
2. To smear, rub or (obsolete) join with wax
3. To remove hair from (a part of the body) by coating with wax which is left to dry and then peeled off

waxed adjective

(of a fabric or garment) made waterproof by being treated with wax

waxˈen adjective

1. Made of wax
2. Like wax
3. Easily impressed, penetrated, effaced

waxˈer noun

Someone or something that waxes

waxˈily adverb

waxˈiness noun

waxˈing noun

waxˈy adjective

1. Resembling wax in texture or appearance
2. Soft
3. Impressible
4. Impressionable
5. Pallid, pasty

waxˈberry noun

The wax myrtle or its waxy-surfaced fruit

waxˈbill noun

Any of various small seed-eating birds of the weaver-finch family with coloured bills like sealing wax

waxˈ-chandler noun

A maker of, or dealer in, wax candles

waxˈcloth noun (old)

Another name for both oilcloth and linoleum

wax doll noun

A child's doll having the head and bust made of hardened beeswax

waxed leather noun

Leather finished with a high wax polish on the flesh side

wax end or (better) waxed end noun

A strong thread having its end stiffened by shoemakers' wax, so as to go easily through the hole made by the awl

wax flower noun

1. An artificial flower made of wax
2. Any of several plants, eg a white-flowered climbing plant of Madagascar, an epiphyte of Guyana, and plants of the genus Eriostemon of Australia

wax insect noun

An insect that secretes wax, eg any of several of the Coccidae, etc

wax light noun

A candle or taper made of wax

wax moth noun

A moth whose larvae are destructive to young bees

wax myrtle noun

The American candleberry tree

wax painting noun

Encaustic (qv) painting

wax palm noun

Either of two S American palms yielding wax

wax paper noun

Paper spread with a thin coating of white wax and other materials

wax plant noun

Any of several plants of the genus Hoya, esp H. carnosa of Australia and E Asia, an asclepiadaceous climbing plant, with clusters of waxy white or pink star-shaped flowers, and succulent leaves

wax pocket noun

In bees, a ventral abdominal pouch that secretes wax

waxˈ-proofed adjective

Made waterproof with a coating of wax

waxˈ-red adjective (Shakespeare)

Bright-red like sealing wax

wax tablet noun (historical)

A wax-coated wooden writing tablet, for use with a stylus

wax tree noun

A tree from which wax is obtained, eg a Japanese sumac (Rhus succedanea), the wax myrtle, a privet (Ligustrum lucidum), etc

waxˈwing noun

A member of a genus of passerine birds (Bombycilla) with small red horny appendages, resembling red sealing wax, on their wings

waxˈwork noun

1. Work done in wax
2. A figure or object modelled in wax
3. (in pl) an exhibition of wax figures

waxˈworker noun

waxy degeneration noun

A morbid process by which the healthy tissue of various organs is transformed into a waxy albuminous substance

lost wax see cire perdue

wax up

(of a mare about to foal) to develop a sticky covering over the teats

wax² /waks/

1. To grow or increase
2. (of the moon as it passes through its phases from new moon to full moon) to show, night by night, an increasing area of illuminated surface, opp to wane
3. To pass into another state, become, as in wax lyrical

wax and wane

To increase and decrease in alternating sequence

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