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Added 9 October 2026

wave

/weɪv/ noun

In Latin: quassō Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about wave at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

One of a series of ridges that moves across the surface of a liquid (especially across a large body of water).
A movement like that of a sudden occurrence or increase in a specified phenomenon.
a wave of settlers
(physics) a movement up and down or back and forth.

verb

Signal with the hands or nod.
She waved to her friends
Move or swing back and forth.
She waved her gun
Move in a wavy pattern or with a rising and falling motion.
The curtains undulated

Origin

From Middle English waven, from Old English wafian (“to wave, fluctuate, waver in mind, wonder”), from Proto-West Germanic *wabōn, from Proto-Germanic *wabōną, *wabjaną (“to wander, sway”), from Proto-Indo-European *webʰ- (“to move to and from, wander”). Cognate with Middle High German waben (“to wave”), German wabern (“to waft”), Icelandic váfa (“to fluctuate, waver, doubt”). See also waver.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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