Added 1 October 2026
waver
/ˈweɪvə/ noun
In Latin: vacillō Wiktionary
noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about waver at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- Someone who communicates by waving.
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The act of pausing uncertainly.
there was a hesitation in his speech
- The act of moving back and forth.
verb
-
Pause or hold back in uncertainty or unwillingness.
Authorities hesitate to quote exact figures
-
Be unsure or weak.
Their enthusiasm is faltering
- Move hesitatingly, as if about to give way.
Origin
The verb is derived from Middle English waveren (“to move back and forth, swing; to move unsteadily, totter; to shake, tremble; to wander; (figurative) to be changeable or unstable; to deviate”), and then possibly: * from Old English (compare Old English wǣfre (“flickering, quivering, wavering; active, nimble (?)”)), related to Old English wafian (“to wave”) from Proto-West Germanic *wabbjan (“to cause to weave; to entangle; to wrap”), from Proto-Germanic *wabjaną (“to cause to weave; to entangle; to wrap”); and/or * from Old Norse vafra (“to move unsteadily, flicker”), probably related to vefa (“to weave”); both from Proto-Germanic *webaną (“to weave”), from Proto-Indo-European *webʰ- (“to .
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)