Definition of wane

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< wandflower

Wang Jingwei >

wane    (wn) KEY  

intr.v.
waned , wan·ing , wanes

1. To decrease gradually in size, amount, intensity, or degree; decline.
2. To exhibit a decreasing illuminated area from full moon to new moon.
3. To approach an end.

NOUN:

1. The act or process of gradually declining or diminishing.
2. 1. A time or phase of gradual decrease.
   2. The period of the decrease of the moon's illuminated visible surface.
3. A defective edge of a board caused by remaining bark or a beveled end.

IDIOM:
on the wane

In a period of decline or decrease: "The tide was near the turn and already the day was on the wane" (James Joyce).

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ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English wanen, from Old English wanian; see eu- in Indo-European roots

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