wane.
A gradual diminution in power, value, intensity etc.
Meaning & usage
A gradual diminution in power, value, intensity etc.
The lunar phase during which the sun seems to illuminate less of the moon as its sunlit area becomes progressively smaller as visible from Earth.
The end of a period.
A rounded corner caused by lack of wood, often showing bark.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English wane, from Old English wana (“defect, shortage”), from Proto-West Germanic *wanō, from Proto-Germanic *wanô, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁weh₂- (“to leave, abandon; empty, deserted”). Cognates See also wan-, want, and waste. Compare also Dutch waan (“insanity”) and German Wahn (“insanity”) deprecated defect, Old Norse vanr (“lacking”) ( > Danish prefix van-, only found in compounds), Latin vanus, Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌽𐍃 (wans, “missing, lacking”), Albanian vonë (“late, futile, mentally retarded”), Armenian ունայն (unayn, “empty”), Old Saxon and Old High German wanon (“to decrease”), Modern Dutch weinig (“a few”), Modern German weniger (“less”), comparative of wenig (“few”) (-ig being a derivate suffix; -er the suffix of comparatives). Doublet of vain, vaunt, vaniloquent, vast, vacuum, vacant, vacate, which are Latin-derived, via the PIE root.
To progressively lose its splendor, value, ardor, power, intensity etc.; to decline.
For light to dim or diminish in strength.
For the Moon to pass through the phases of its monthly cycle where its surface is less and less visible.
Said of a time period that comes to an end.
To decrease physically in size, amount, numbers or surface.
To cause to decrease.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English wanen, wanien, from Old English wanian, wonian, from Proto-West Germanic *wanōn, from Proto-Germanic *wanōną.
A child.
Where this word comes from
From Scots wean.
A house or dwelling.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English wōne, wāne (“dwelling," "custom”), of unclear origins, compare wont.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.