From Middle English wax, from Old English weax, from Proto-Germanic *wahsą, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *woḱ-so-.
Cognate with Saterland Frisian Woaks (“wax”), West Frisian waaks (“wax”), Dutch was (“wax”), German Wachs (“wax”), German Low German Wass (“wax”), Luxembourgish Wuess (“wax”), Vilamovian wāhs (“wax”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk voks (“wax”), Faroese vaks (“wax”), Icelandic, Swedish vax (“wax”); and with Lithuanian vaškas (“wax”), Proto-Slavic *voskъ (“wax”).
Meanings
(not-comparable) Made of wax.
He looked round the poor room, at the distempered walls, and the bad engravings in meretricious frames, the crinkly paper and wax flowers on the chiffonier; and he thought of a room like Father Bryan's, with panelling, with cut glass, with tulips in silver pots, such a room as he had hoped to have for his own. 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter X, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
pl woskowy (made of wax) · sl voščen (made of wax) · it di cera (made of wax) · uk во́сковий (made of wax) · pt céreo (made of wax) · fi vahasta tehty (made of wax) · de wächsern (made of wax) · ro de ceară (made of wax) · de Wachs- (made of wax) · ru восково́й (made of wax) · pt ceroso (made of wax) · es de cera (made of wax) · fi vaha- (made of wax) · bg восъчен (made of wax) · ca cerós (made of wax) · br koar (made of wax) · eo vaksa (made of wax) · fr de cire (made of wax) · nl wassen (made of wax) · el κέρινος (made of wax)
From Middle English wax, from Old English weax, from Proto-Germanic *wahsą, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *woḱ-so-.
Cognate with Saterland Frisian Woaks (“wax”), West Frisian waaks (“wax”), Dutch was (“wax”), German Wachs (“wax”), German Low German Wass (“wax”), Luxembourgish Wuess (“wax”), Vilamovian wāhs (“wax”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk voks (“wax”), Faroese vaks (“wax”), Icelandic, Swedish vax (“wax”); and with Lithuanian vaškas (“wax”), Proto-Slavic *voskъ (“wax”).
Meanings
(countable, uncountable) Any oily, water-resistant, solid or semisolid substance; normally long-chain hydrocarbons, alcohols or esters.
(countable, qualifier:by ellipsis, uncountable) Beeswax (a wax secreted by bees).
(countable, qualifier:by ellipsis, uncountable) Earwax (a wax secreted by the ears).
What role does the wax in your earhole fulfill?
(countable, uncountable) Any preparation containing wax, used as a polish.
(informal, uncountable) The phonograph record format for music.
What really started the corn sprouting on Broadway was a lugubrious tune by Louisiana's Jimmie Davis called It Makes No Difference Now. In the late '30s Decca's Recording Chief David Kapp heard this Texas hit and got it on wax. 1943, Time:
(US, countable, dialectal, uncountable) A thick syrup made by boiling down the sap of the sugar maple and then cooling it.
(US, countable, slang, uncountable) Any of a class of drugs with weed oil and butane as main ingredients; hash oil.
He was charged with two felonies, for possession of Xanax and wax.
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waxes
Number=Plur
lexicographic
Deriveds
wax motor (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · bikini wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · lost wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · set-up wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · palm wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax comb (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · cobbler's wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · insect wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · paraffin wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-tree (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · grave wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · waxbird (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax moth (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-pink (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-pine (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · candle wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · esparto wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-leaf privet (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · slack wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · mortuary wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax painting (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · waxcloth (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax currant (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-plant (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · Hollywood wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-house (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · gedda wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax taper (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · inlay wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · put on wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-flower (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-candle (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · crystalline wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-hair (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · mineral wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax expansion (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · myrtle wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-up (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · polen wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · TE (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · Hungarian wax pepper (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-maker (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax candle (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · fossil wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · seal-wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · emulsifying wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · boxing wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax tablet (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax lancing (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · utility wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-pocket (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · Japan wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · waxworker (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · anwax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · cobblers' wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · Japanese wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · yellow wax bean (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · microcrystalline wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax worker (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax crayon (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-end (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · mind your beeswax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax insect (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-light (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-red (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · waxworm (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · lac wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax cap (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · ear wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · greenwax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-cloth (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · rough wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · glitterwax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · waxbill (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-cup (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax rose (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · keratin wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · fig wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · Carbowax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · berry wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · whitewax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-chandler (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax bite (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax dip (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · Brazil wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-gland (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · peat wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · all wax and no wick (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-myrtle (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax ring (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax shoe (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · carding wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · chafe-wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · earthwax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · release wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · casting wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · waxflower (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · greater wax moth (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-insect (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-creeper (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · green wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-type thermostat (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · castor wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · waxleaf privet (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax bean (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · scale wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · unwax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · earth wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax end (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax apple (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · chafewax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · yellow wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax vine (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · floor wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · man of wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-leather (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · try-in wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · waxhead (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax mallow (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · RAD (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · close as wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax palm (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-moth (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · grip wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax plant (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · hot Hungarian wax pepper (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · thermal wax printer (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax point (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax boot (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-berry (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · stick to someone like wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · ouricury wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · modeling wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · green wax money (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · none of your beeswax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-tipped bougie (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax paper (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · lad o' wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · carving wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · Arjun wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · lesser wax moth (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · waxmallow (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · modelling wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · waxen (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-making (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · plant wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax jambu (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-chandry (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax play (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · spermaceti wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · ear-wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · animal wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · jojoba wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax philosophical (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax yellow (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · waxlike (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · walling wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax out (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · dewax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · Waxweb (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-worker (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · rice bran wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · hair wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-opal (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · Indian wax scale (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax vesta (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · inlay pattern wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · Finnish yellow wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax wood (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · bone wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-bush (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · vegetable wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax size (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax pocket (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · China wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · waxy (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · waxless skis (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · nose of wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · stacks of wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax form (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · dental inlay casting wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · car wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · white wax tree (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax alcohol (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · waxie (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-cluster (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-shot (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · klister wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax acid (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · kick wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax pencil (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · epilating wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · cetyl esters wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · Born method of wax plate reconstruction (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-resist (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · baseplate wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax light (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax emulsion (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · candelilla wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-bred (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-billed (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · soybean wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · ader wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · grafting wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · beeswax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-silver (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax bath (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-proofed (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · pisang wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · sealing-wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax flower (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · hot-wax flooding (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-farthing (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-weed (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-comb (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · Parowax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax test (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-scot (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-eye (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · waxbean (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-nose (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax myrtle (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-butter (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax injector (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · glide wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · penetrating stain wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax cylinder (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-man (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-palm (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · candela wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-colour (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · yellow wax pepper (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax begonia (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · cotton wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · Brazilian wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax blockage (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wool wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · hard wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · whole ball of wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · dental wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax jack (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · white wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · Pacific wax myrtle (Myrica californica (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax engraving (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-pod bean (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-color (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · waxwork (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax resist (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · lad of wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · virgin wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax doll (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax injection (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · surf wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · sumac wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · tubercle bacillus wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · earwax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-mold (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · full up to dolly's wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · sealing wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · waxplant (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · fit like wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · soy wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax museum (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · carnauba wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-paper (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax print (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · cuticle wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-painting (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · Chinese wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · waxwing (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax figure (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · tight as wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · neat as wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · paraffin-wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax stick (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · sealwax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · moustache wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · bowl wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-like (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · surfboard wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · hot wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · mind your own beeswax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · shellac wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · beard wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · inlay pasting wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · chaffwax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax lathe (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · ski wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · purple wax bean (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · take the wax out of one's ears (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-worm (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · ceresin wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax cloth (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · ghedda wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · gondang wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax pattern (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · shoemakers' wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax model denture (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax gourd (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · waxberry (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax tree (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · bleached wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · chaff-wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · French wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-mould (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · Geraldton wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax pear (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · bayberry wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · blockout wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · waxey (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · WAX (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-chandlery (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · petroleum wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · butter of wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · montan wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · grave-wax (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax pigment (Terms derived from wax (noun)) · wax-bill (Terms derived from wax (noun))
From Middle English wax, from Old English weax, from Proto-Germanic *wahsą, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *woḱ-so-.
Cognate with Saterland Frisian Woaks (“wax”), West Frisian waaks (“wax”), Dutch was (“wax”), German Wachs (“wax”), German Low German Wass (“wax”), Luxembourgish Wuess (“wax”), Vilamovian wāhs (“wax”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk voks (“wax”), Faroese vaks (“wax”), Icelandic, Swedish vax (“wax”); and with Lithuanian vaškas (“wax”), Proto-Slavic *voskъ (“wax”).
Meanings
(transitive) To coat with wax or a similar material.
waxed silk
(intransitive) To form a wax (a thick maple syrup).
The syrup is waxing. Come and help yourselves. 1932, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House in the Big Woods:
Forms
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waxes
Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres
lexicographic
waxing
Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part
lexicographic
waxed
Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part
lexicographic
waxed
Tense=Past
lexicographic
Translations (4)
de wachsen (to coat with wax) · es encerar (to coat with wax) · ca encerar (to coat with wax) · fr cirer (to coat with wax)
From Middle English waxen, from the noun (see above).
Meanings
(transitive) To apply wax to (something, such as a shoe, a floor, a car, or an apple), usually to make it shiny.
(transitive) To remove hair at the roots from (a part of the body) by coating the skin with a film of wax that is then pulled away sharply.
(informal, transitive) To defeat utterly.
(slang, transitive) To kill, especially to murder a person.
"I was reassigned over from the 9th when the battalion CO got waxed on the road leading in." Ben kept his dismay to himself. Here was one more officer in the 90th who'd been on the job only hours or days, replacing commanders killed or wounded.... 2005, David L. Robbins, Liberation Road: A Novel of World War II and the Red Ball Express, page 83:
"You telling me you know who really waxed him and your mom?"
"Yeah," she lied.
"Just who pulled the trigger or who ordered it to be pulled?" 2009, Dean R. Koontz, Ed Gorman, Dean Koontz's Frankenstein: City of Night, →ISBN, page 106:
(archaic, of a musical or oral performance, transitive, usually) To record.
From Middle English waxen, from Old English weaxan (“to wax, grow, be fruitful, increase, become powerful, flourish”), from Proto-West Germanic *wahsan, from Proto-Germanic *wahsijaną (“to grow”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂weks- (“to grow, increase”).
Cognate with Scots wax (“to grow”), West Frisian waakse (“to greaten”), Low German wassen, Dutch wassen (“to greaten”), German wachsen (“to greaten”), Danish and Norwegian vokse (“to greaten”), Swedish växa (“to greaten”), Icelandic vaxa (“to greaten”), Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌷𐍃𐌾𐌰𐌽 (wahsjan, “to grow”); and with Ancient Greek ἀέξειν (aéxein), Latin auxilium. It is in its turn cognate with augeo. See eke.
bg нарастване (process of growing) · nl aanwassen (process of growing) · ja 成長 (process of growing) · fi kasvu (process of growing) · nl wassen (process of growing)
From Middle English waxen, from Old English weaxan (“to wax, grow, be fruitful, increase, become powerful, flourish”), from Proto-West Germanic *wahsan, from Proto-Germanic *wahsijaną (“to grow”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂weks- (“to grow, increase”).
Cognate with Scots wax (“to grow”), West Frisian waakse (“to greaten”), Low German wassen, Dutch wassen (“to greaten”), German wachsen (“to greaten”), Danish and Norwegian vokse (“to greaten”), Swedish växa (“to greaten”), Icelandic vaxa (“to greaten”), Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌷𐍃𐌾𐌰𐌽 (wahsjan, “to grow”); and with Ancient Greek ἀέξειν (aéxein), Latin auxilium. It is in its turn cognate with augeo. See eke.
Meanings
(intransitive, literary) To greaten.
For nature, crescent, does not grow alone
In thews and bulks, but, as this temple waxes, The inward service of the mind and soul
Grows wide withal. c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii], page 155:
And so it had always pleased M. Stutz to expect great things from the dark young man whom he had first seen in his early twenties ; and his expectations had waxed rather than waned on hearing the faint bruit of the love of Ivor and Virginia—for Virginia, M. Stutz thought, would bring fineness to a point in a man like Ivor Marlay, […]. 1922, Michael Arlen, “Ep./1/1”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days:
And then the whole quire hold their hips and laugh,
And waxen in their mirth and neeze and swear
A merrier hour was never wasted there. c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “A Midsommer Nights Dreame”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:
Holonym: wax and wane
(copulative, intransitive, literary) To increasingly assume the specified characteristic.
As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich. 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Jeremiah 5:27:
The stars grew pale and paler still till at last they vanished; the golden moon waxed wan, and her mountain ridges stood out against her sickly face. 1885, H. Rider Haggard, chapter 5, in King Solomon's Mines:
to wax wode
to wax poetic
You behold, Sir, how he waxeth Wroth at your Abode here. 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume 2, London: Millar, →OCLC, page 289:
Ah, ſirrah, by my ſay, it waxes late:
I’ll to my reſt. c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene v]:
He waxes desperate with imagination. c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii], page 257:
In the night, or the gloomy chambers of the day, fears and misgivings wax strong, but out in the sunlight there is, for a time, cessation even of the terror of death. 1900, Theodore Dreiser, Sister Carrie:
to wax eloquent
(intransitive, of the moon) To appear larger each night as a progression from a new moon to a full moon.
(intransitive, of the tide) To move from low tide to high tide.
wax poetic (terms derived from wax (verb) ("grow or become")) · unwax (terms derived from wax (verb) ("grow or become")) · outwax (terms derived from wax (verb) ("grow or become")) · wax in age (terms derived from wax (verb) ("grow or become")) · thorough-wax (terms derived from wax (verb) ("grow or become")) · overwax (terms derived from wax (verb) ("grow or become")) · thorow-wax (terms derived from wax (verb) ("grow or become")) · waxing moon (terms derived from wax (verb) ("grow or become")) · over-wax (terms derived from wax (verb) ("grow or become")) · wax forth (terms derived from wax (verb) ("grow or become")) · wax wode (terms derived from wax (verb) ("grow or become")) · wax to man's estate (terms derived from wax (verb) ("grow or become")) · wax lyrical (terms derived from wax (verb) ("grow or become")) · thoroughwax (terms derived from wax (verb) ("grow or become")) · through-waxen (terms derived from wax (verb) ("grow or become")) · wax in eld (terms derived from wax (verb) ("grow or become")) · wax and wane (terms derived from wax (verb) ("grow or become"))
Relateds
forwax (terms related to wax (verb) ("grow, become")) · wood-wax (terms related to wax (verb) ("grow, become")) · woadwaxen (terms related to wax (verb) ("grow, become")) · paxwax (terms related to wax (verb) ("grow, become")) · wood-waxen (terms related to wax (verb) ("grow, become")) · paxwaxy (terms related to wax (verb) ("grow, become")) · woodwax (terms related to wax (verb) ("grow, become")) · packwax (terms related to wax (verb) ("grow, become")) · woodwaxen (terms related to wax (verb) ("grow, become")) · woad-waxen (terms related to wax (verb) ("grow, become")) · forthwax (terms related to wax (verb) ("grow, become")) · taxwax (terms related to wax (verb) ("grow, become"))
Uncertain; probably from phrases like to wax angry, wax wode, and similar (see Etymology 2, above).
Meanings
(colloquial, dated) An outburst of anger, a loss of temper, a fit of rage.
‘That's him to a T,’ she would murmur; or, ‘Just wait till he reads this’; or, ‘Ah, won't that put him in a wax!’ 1970, John Glassco, Memoirs of Montparnasse, New York, published 2007, page 161:
Father Arnall’s face looked very black but he was not in a wax: he was laughing. 1916, James Joyce, chapter I, in A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, New York, N.Y.: B[enjamin] W. Huebsch, →OCLC: