waver
See also: Waver
English
editEtymology
editFrom Middle English waveren, from Old Norse vafra (“to flicker”), akin to Old English wǣfre (“restless, wavering”). Related to wave.
Pronunciation
edit- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈweɪ.və(ɹ)/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈweɪ.vɚ/
- Rhymes: -eɪvə(ɹ)
- Homophone: waiver
Verb
editwaver (third-person singular simple present wavers, present participle wavering, simple past and past participle wavered)
- (intransitive) To sway back and forth; to totter or reel.
- Flowers wavered in the breeze.
- 1523–1525, Jean Froissart, John Bourchier, 2nd Baron Berners (translator), Froissart's Chronicles
- With banners and pennons wavering with the wind.
- 1819 December 20 (indicated as 1820), Walter Scott, Ivanhoe; a Romance. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], →OCLC:
- Thou wouldst waver on one of these trees as a terror to all evil speakers against dignities.
- (intransitive) To flicker, glimmer, quiver, as a weak light.
- (intransitive) To fluctuate or vary, as commodity prices or a poorly sustained musical pitch.
- (intransitive) To shake or tremble, as the hands or voice.
- His voice wavered when the reporter brought up the controversial topic.
- (intransitive) To falter; become unsteady; begin to fail or give way.
- 1903, Bill Arp, From the Uncivil War to Date:
- ...and that when a man was in the wrong his courage wavered, and his nerves became unsteady, and so he couldn't fight to advantage and was easily overcome.
- 2014 March 9, Jacob Steinberg, “Wigan shock Manchester City in FA Cup again to reach semi-finals”, in The Guardian:
- Although they believe they can overhaul their 2-0 deficit, they cannot afford to be as lethargic as this at Camp Nou, and the time is surely approaching when Manuel Pellegrini's faith in Martín Demichelis wavers.
- (intransitive) To be indecisive between choices; to feel or show doubt or indecision; to vacillate.
- Despite all the terrible things that happened to her, she never wavered from her beliefs.
- 2012, BioWare, Mass Effect 3: From Ashes (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, PC, scene: Earth (Priority: Earth):
- Javik: Do not waver. Victory is never won without difficult choices.
Shepard: I'll do whatever it takes. I didn't come this far to back down.
Derived terms
editRelated terms
editTranslations
editto sway back and forth
|
to flicker, glimmer, quiver
|
to fluctuate or vary
to shake or tremble
to falter; become unsteady; begin to fail or give way
to be indecisive between choices; to feel or show doubt or indecision; to vacillate
|
Noun
editwaver (plural wavers)
- An act of wavering, vacillating, etc.
- Someone who waves, enjoys waving, etc.
- I felt encouraged by all the enthusiastic wavers in the crowd.
- The Fourth of July brings out all the flag wavers.
- Johnny is such a little waver; everyone who passes by receives his preferred greeting.
- Someone who specializes in waving (hair treatment).
- A tool that accomplishes hair waving.
- (UK, dialect, dated) A sapling left standing in a fallen wood.
- 1813, John Farey, General View of the Agriculture and Minerals of Derbyshire:
- 50 to 80 Wavers or Saplings, on each acre
Translations
editact of wavering, vacillating
someone who waves
|
someone who specializes in waving
|
See also
editReferences
edit- “waver”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
- “waver”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old Norse
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/eɪvə(ɹ)
- Rhymes:English/eɪvə(ɹ)/2 syllables
- English terms with homophones
- English lemmas
- English verbs
- English intransitive verbs
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- British English
- English dialectal terms
- English dated terms