wave

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To move your hand from side to side to greet someone or say goodbye.

   She waved at her friends from across the street.

2. 2
   verb

   To move back and forth, or to move something back and forth.

   The flag waved gently in the breeze.

3. 3
   noun

   A sudden increase or spread of something.

   A wave of new students arrived at the university.

4. 4
   noun

   A period of unusual weather, especially of high or low temperatures.

   A heat wave hit the city last week.

Appears in

Simplified etymology

Wave is an Old English word related to waver and wobble, with the related forms traced to Old Norse. Its use for an undulation in hair arose in the early 18th century, while the gesture made with the hand dates from the late 17th century.

From Middle English *wave, partially from waven (“to fluctuate, wave”) (see above) and partially from Middle English wawe, waghe (“wave”), from Old English wǣg (“a wave, billow, motion, water, flood, sea”), from Proto-Germanic *wēgaz (“motion, storm, wave”), from Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ- (“to drag, carry”). Cognates Cognate with North Frisian waag (“wave”), West Frisian weach (“wave”), Dutch waag (“wave”), German Woge, Wooge (“wave”), Danish vove, våg (“wave”), Faroese vágur (“bay”), Icelandic vogur (“bay”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish våg (“wave”), Gothic 𐍅𐌴𐌲𐍃 (wēgs, “wa…

Topics

External links

• Google Images
• Cambridge Dictionary
• Wiktionary