From Middle English waften, of uncertain origin. Possibly from unattested Old English *wafettan, from wafian (“to wave”) + -ettan, or perhaps borrowed from Middle Dutch wachten (“to guard, provide for”).
See also German wabern (“to waft”), Faroese veiftra (“to wave”) and Icelandic váfa (“to fluctuate, waver, doubt”).
Meanings
A light breeze.
It lay before him white and ghaistly, with mist blowing in wafts across it and a slow swaying of the tides. 1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide:
Something (such as an odor or perfume) that is carried through the air.
Patrol Magazine says of this Oxford, Miss., band: "Guitars are responsible for every noise in Colour Revolt's mix—not a single note of piano, waft of synthesizer, or evidence of electronic tampering are to be found.[…]" 2010 September, “The SLM Calendar”, in St. Louis Magazine, volume 16, number 9, St. Louis, Mo.: Hartmann Pub. Co., →ISSN, page 170:
Meanwhile, the wafts from his old home pleaded, whispered, conjured, and finally claimed him imperiously. 1908, Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows, London: Methuen, →ISBN:
A flag used to indicate wind direction or, with a knot tied in the center, as a signal; a waif, a wheft.
(slang) A loose noncommittal shot, usually played to a ball pitched short of length and well wide of the off stump.
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Translations (6)
mi hīrea (something carried through the air) · es vaharada (something carried through the air) · de Hauch (something carried through the air) · bg полъх (something carried through the air) · cs závan (something carried through the air) · bg дъх (something carried through the air)
From Middle English waften, of uncertain origin. Possibly from unattested Old English *wafettan, from wafian (“to wave”) + -ettan, or perhaps borrowed from Middle Dutch wachten (“to guard, provide for”).
See also German wabern (“to waft”), Faroese veiftra (“to wave”) and Icelandic váfa (“to fluctuate, waver, doubt”).
Meanings
(ergative) To (cause to) float easily or gently through the air.
The experiment was abandoned when one fine day spontaneous combustion of the pulverised coal in the container occurred, and a black cloud of the very finely divided fuel rose into the air by the force of the explosion, and was slowly wafted by the prevailing breeze over the town, upon which it descended with the resemblance of black snow, but with the dissimilarity that it did not melt. 1940 May, “The Why and the Wherefore: Pulverised Fuel Experiment”, in Railway Magazine, page 318:
I will sing of stately Aphrodite, gold-crowned and beautiful, whose dominion is the walled cities of all sea-set Cyprus. There the moist breath of the western wind wafted her over the waves of the loud-moaning sea in soft foam, and there the gold-filleted Hours welcomed her joyously. 1914, Hesiod, “To Aphrodite”, in Hugh G. Evelyn-White, transl., The Homeric Hymns and Homerica (Loeb Classical Library; 57), Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann Ltd., →OCLC:
A breeze came in through the open window and wafted her sensuous perfume into my eager nostrils.
Through the open window of the church the fragrant incense was wafted and with it the fragrant names of her who was conceived without stain of original sin […] 1922, James Joyce, chapter 13, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, →OCLC:
Dele Alli, playing with a peacock-like spread of feathers, wafted one chance over an exposed net for a miss that was completely out of place with the rest of his display. 2016 March 27, Daniel Taylor, “Eric Dier seals England’s stunning comeback against Germany”, in The Guardian, London:
The enticing, homey scent of apple pie wafted into the hallway as she beckoned them into her lair. 2011 April 12, Beth Kendrick, chapter 29, in The Bake-Off, New York, N.Y.: New American Library, →ISBN:
(intransitive) To be moved, or to pass, on a buoyant medium; to float.
They gather one by one, trickling into the shady courtyard, the familiar hum of Mass. Ave. wafting in from behind brick buildings and iron gates. 2005 June 9, Michael M. Grynbaum, “An Entryway That Eats Together Stays Together”, in The Harvard Crimson, archived from the original on 25 Jan 2025:
Unhappy Aureng-Zebe is in disgrace; / And your Morat, proclaimed the successor, / Is called, to awe the city with his power. / Those trumpets his triumphant entry tell, / And now the shouts waft near the citadel. 1675, John Dryden, Aureng-zebe, London: [s.n.], OCLC 497010563, Act III, scene i; republished as “Aureng-Zebe, a Tragedy”, in Walter Scott, editor, The Works of John Dryden, now First Collected in Eighteen Volumes. Illustrated with Notes, Historical, Critical, and Explanatory, and a Life of the Author, by Walter Scott, Esq., volume V, London: Printed for William Miller, Albemarle Street, by James Ballantyne and Co. Edinburgh, 1808, OCLC 317070632, page 226
To give notice to by waving something; to wave the hand to; to beckon.
[…] but ſoft: who wafts vs yonder. c. 1594, William Shakespeare, “The Comedie of Errors”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies, London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, act II, scene iv, page 89:
uk нести (to float easily and gently on the air) · io flotacar (to float easily and gently on the air) · uk віяти (to be moved on a buoyant medium) · uk розноситися (to be moved on a buoyant medium) · nl zweven (to float easily and gently on the air) · de aussenden (to give notice to by waving something) · de winken (to give notice to by waving something) · es revolotear (to float easily and gently on the air) · cs linout se (to float easily and gently on the air) · de treiben (to float easily and gently on the air) · uk переносити (to float easily and gently on the air) · de treiben (to be moved on a buoyant medium) · bg довявам се (to be moved on a buoyant medium) · fi leijua (to be moved on a buoyant medium) · uk доносити (to float easily and gently on the air) · uk розносити (to float easily and gently on the air) · cs linout se (to be moved on a buoyant medium) · es levitar (to float easily and gently on the air) · bg разнасям се (to be moved on a buoyant medium) · fi kellua (to be moved on a buoyant medium) · de schweben (to be moved on a buoyant medium) · bg нося се (to float easily and gently on the air) · de wallen (to float easily and gently on the air) · es señalizar (to give notice to by waving something) · nl fladderen (to float easily and gently on the air) · uk линути (to be moved on a buoyant medium) · de dahinsegeln (to be moved on a buoyant medium) · fi lehahtaa (to float easily and gently on the air) · bg махам (to give notice to by waving something) · es levitar (to be moved on a buoyant medium) · mi kōrewarewa (to float easily and gently on the air) · de senden (to give notice to by waving something) · de umwehen (to float easily and gently on the air) · de schwimmen (to be moved on a buoyant medium) · uk доноситися (to be moved on a buoyant medium) · mi kōrewarewa (to be moved on a buoyant medium) · de signalisieren (to give notice to by waving something) · es flotar (to be moved on a buoyant medium) · de streichen (to float easily and gently on the air) · fi leijua (to float easily and gently on the air) · es esparcirse (to be moved on a buoyant medium) · de wabern (to float easily and gently on the air) · ru дуть (to float easily and gently on the air) · de tragen (to float easily and gently on the air) · ru доноси́ться (to float easily and gently on the air) · fi vilkuttaa (to give notice to by waving something) · de fortsenden (to give notice to by waving something) · de getragen werden (to float easily and gently on the air) · cs nést se (to be moved on a buoyant medium) · cs vznášet se (to be moved on a buoyant medium) · cs nést se (to float easily and gently on the air) · pt flutuar (to be moved on a buoyant medium) · de wehen (to float easily and gently on the air) · uk пливти (to be moved on a buoyant medium)