Source etymology 1
Original entry ↗An act of moving back and forth, swinging, or waving; a flutter, a tremble. · A state of beginning to weaken or showing signs of weakening in resolve; a falter. · A state of feeling or showing doubt or indecision; a vacillation.
To swing or wave, especially in the air, wind, etc.; to flutter. · To move without purpose or a specified destination; to roam, to wander. · To sway back and forth, as if about to fall; to reel, to stagger, to totter. · To begin to weaken or show signs of weakening in resolve; to falter, to flinch, to give way.
The verb is derived from Middle English waveren (“to move back and forth, swing; to move unsteadily, totter; to shake, tremble; to wander; (figurative) to be changeable or unstable; to deviate”), and then possibly: * from Old English (compare Old English wǣfre (“flickering, quivering, wavering; active, nimble (?)”)), related to Old English wafian (“to wave”) from Proto-West Germanic *wabbjan (“to cause to weave; to entangle; to wrap”), from Proto-Germanic *wabjaną (“to cause to weave; to entangle; to wrap”); and/or * from Old Norse vafra (“to move unsteadily, flicker”), probably related to vefa (“to weave”); both from Proto-Germanic *webaną (“to weave”), from Proto-Indo-European *webʰ- (“to braid, weave”). Doublet of wave. The noun is derived from the verb.
Relationships mentioned by the source
These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.
- Root classification mention*webʰ-ine-pro
- Inherited-form mentionwaverenenm · to move back and forth, swing; to move unsteadily, totter; to shake, tremble; to wander; (figurative) to be changeable or unstable; to deviate
- Cognate mentionwǣfreang · flickering, quivering, wavering; active, nimble (?)
- Derivation mentionwafianang · to wave
- Derivation mention*wabbjangmw-pro · to cause to weave; to entangle; to wrap
- Derivation mention*wabjanągem-pro · to cause to weave; to entangle; to wrap
- Derivation mentionvafranon · to move unsteadily, flicker
- Derivation mention*webanągem-pro · to weave
- Derivation mention*webʰ-ine-pro · to braid, weave
- Doublet mentionwaveen
This page abbreviates 8 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.
Inspect preserved source fields
Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.
{
"templates": [
{
"name": "root",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ine-pro",
"3": "*webʰ-"
},
"expansion": ""
},
{
"name": "glossary",
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},
"expansion": "verb"
},
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "enm",
"3": "waveren",
"t": "to move back and forth, swing; to move unsteadily, totter; to shake, tremble; to wander; (figurative) to be changeable or unstable; to deviate"
},
"expansion": "Middle English waveren (“to move back and forth, swing; to move unsteadily, totter; to shake, tremble; to wander; (figurative) to be changeable or unstable; to deviate”)"
},
{
"name": "inh",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ang",
"3": "-"
},
"expansion": "Old English"
},
{
"name": "cog",
"args": {
"1": "ang",
"2": "wǣfre",
"t": "flickering, quivering, wavering; active, nimble (?)"
},
"expansion": "Old English wǣfre (“flickering, quivering, wavering; active, nimble (?)”)"
},
{
"name": "der",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ang",
"3": "wafian",
"t": "to wave"
},
"expansion": "Old English wafian (“to wave”)"
},
{
"name": "der",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "gmw-pro",
"3": "*wabbjan",
"t": "to cause to weave; to entangle; to wrap"
},
"expansion": "Proto-West Germanic *wabbjan (“to cause to weave; to entangle; to wrap”)"
},
{
"name": "der",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "gem-pro",
"3": "*wabjaną",
"t": "to cause to weave; to entangle; to wrap"
},
"expansion": "Proto-Germanic *wabjaną (“to cause to weave; to entangle; to wrap”)"
},
{
"name": "der",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "non",
"3": "vafra",
"t": "to move unsteadily, flicker"
},
"expansion": "Old Norse vafra (“to move unsteadily, flicker”)"
},
{
"name": "der",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "gem-pro",
"3": "*webaną",
"t": "to weave"
},
"expansion": "Proto-Germanic *webaną (“to weave”)"
},
{
"name": "der",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "ine-pro",
"3": "*webʰ-",
"t": "to braid, weave"
},
"expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *webʰ- (“to braid, weave”)"
},
{
"name": "doublet",
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "wave"
},
"expansion": "Doublet of wave"
},
{
"name": "glossary",
"args": {
"1": "noun"
},
"expansion": "noun"
},
{
"name": "sup",
"args": {
"1": "3"
},
"expansion": "³"
}
],
"links": [
[
"waveren",
"waveren#Middle_English"
],
[
"wǣfre",
"wæfre#Old_English"
],
[
"wafian",
"wafian#Old_English"
],
[
"*wabbjan",
"Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/wabbjan"
],
[
"*wabjaną",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/wabjaną"
],
[
"vafra",
"vafra#Old_Norse"
],
[
"vefa",
"vefa#Old_Norse"
],
[
"*webaną",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/webaną"
],
[
"*webʰ-",
"Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/webʰ-"
],
[
"wave",
"wave#English"
]
],
"references": [],
"descendants": [],
"lexical": [
{
"pos": "noun",
"glosses": [
"An act of moving back and forth, swinging, or waving; a flutter, a tremble.",
"A state of beginning to weaken or showing signs of weakening in resolve; a falter.",
"A state of feeling or showing doubt or indecision; a vacillation."
],
"tags": [
"figuratively"
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"sourceRecordOrdinal": 180264
},
{
"pos": "verb",
"glosses": [
"To swing or wave, especially in the air, wind, etc.; to flutter.",
"To move without purpose or a specified destination; to roam, to wander.",
"To sway back and forth, as if about to fall; to reel, to stagger, to totter.",
"To begin to weaken or show signs of weakening in resolve; to falter, to flinch, to give way."
],
"tags": [
"intransitive",
"dated",
"archaic",
"figuratively"
],
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"lexicalSenses": 8,
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}