wane
pronunciation
How to pronounce wane in British English:
UK [weɪn]
How to pronounce wane in American English:
US [weɪn]
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- Noun:
- a gradual decline (in size or strength or power or number)
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- Verb:
- grow smaller
- become smaller
- decrease in phase
Word Origin
- wane
- wane: [OE] Wane and Norwegian vana ‘spoil, waste’ are the only survivors of a family of Germanic verbs that goes back to a prehistoric *wanōjan. This was derived from the base *wan- ‘lacking’, which also produced English want. The related but now defunct English adjective wane ‘lacking’ is represented in the first syllable of wanton.=> want, wanton
- wane (v.)
- Old English wanian "make or become smaller gradually, diminish, decline, fade," from Proto-Germanic *wanen (cognates: Old Saxon wanon, Old Norse vana, Old Frisian wania, Middle Dutch waenen, Old High German wanon "to wane, to grow less"), from *wano- "lacking," from PIE *we-no-, from root *eue- "to leave, abandon, give out" (see vain). Related: Waned; waning; wanes.
Example
- 1. But the company questioned whether piracy was on the wane .
- 2. The truth is that pandemics are on the wane .
- 3. The star power of british celebrities appears to be on the wane .
- 4. History supports that idea : western aid tends to wane two to three years after any recession .
- 5. Demand will also wane from asia and eastern europe , which have been germany 's fastest-growing markets .