" wax "

[Noun]  | "wax" | \ ˈwaks \

1: a substance that is secreted by bees and is used by them for constructing the honeycomb, that is a dull yellow solid plastic when warm, and that is composed primarily of a mixture of esters, hydrocarbons, and fatty acids : beeswax

2: any of various substances resembling the wax of bees: such as

3: any of numerous substances of plant or animal origin that differ from fats in being less greasy, harder, and more brittle and in containing principally compounds of high molecular weight (such as fatty acids, alcohols, and saturated hydrocarbons)

Origin: before 12th century ;

 Middle English, from Old English weax; akin to Old High German wahs wax, Lithuanian vaškas;

[Noun]  | "wax" 

1: increase, growth —usually used in the phrase on the wax

Origin: 14th century ;

 Middle English, noun derivative of waxen "to grow, {see: |wax:3|wax:3}";

[Noun]  | "wax" 

1: a fit of temper : rage

Origin: 1854 ;

 Perhaps from {see: |wax:3|wax:3};

[Noun]  | "wax bean" 

1: a kidney bean with pods that turn creamy yellow to bright yellow when mature enough for use as snap beans

Origin: 1897 ;

[Noun]  | "wax light" 

1: a wax candle : taper

Origin: 1599 ;

[Noun]  | "wax moth" 

1: a dull brownish or ashen pyralid moth (Galleria mellonella) with a larva that feeds on the honeycomb wax of bees

Origin: 1766 ;

[Noun]  | "wax museum" 

1: a place where wax effigies (as of famous historical persons) are exhibited

Origin: 1933 ;

[Noun]  | "wax myrtle" 

1: any of a genus (Myrica of the family Myricaceae, the wax-myrtle family) of trees or shrubs with aromatic foliage; especially : a shrub or small tree (M. cerifera) of the eastern U.S. having small hard berries with a thick coating of bluish-white wax used for candles

Origin: 1806 ;

[Verb]  | "wax" 

1: to treat or rub with wax usually for polishing, stiffening, or reducing friction

2: to apply wax to as a depilatory

3: to record on phonograph records

Origin: 14th century ;

[Verb]  | "wax" 

1: to increase in size, numbers, strength, prosperity, or intensity

2: to grow in volume or duration

3: to grow toward full development

Origin: before 12th century ;

 Middle English waxen "to grow, increase in size or quantity," going back to Old English weaxan (Class VII strong verb, probably originally Class VI), going back to Germanic *wahsan- (whence also Old Frisian waxa, wexa "to grow, increase," Old Saxon wahsan "to grow, prosper," Middle Dutch wassen "to grow," Old High German wahsan, Old Icelandic vaxa, Gothic wahsjan), going back to an o-grade derivative of the Indo-European verbal base *h2u̯eks- "grow, increase," whence with e-grade Greek aéxein "to cause to grow, strengthen," aéxesthai "to increase, grow"; with zero grade *h2uks- Greek aúxein, auxánein "to raise, cultivate, grow," aúxesthai "grow, become larger," Tocharian B auks- "sprout, grow up," Sanskrit úkṣant- "growing," Avestan uxšiieitī "(it) grows";

  * Note : Germanic *wahsan- was a Class VI strong verb, though the weak infinitive wahsjan in Gothic is evidence of an original causative formation *h2u̯oks-éi̯e-. In Old English the verb has shifted to Class VII, excepting the Northumbrian past tense forms awōx, wōxon. In later Middle English waxen became a weak verb, though the strong participle waxen persisted into early Modern English, being the more common form (as against waxed) in the Authorized Version of the Bible (1611). — As has long been noted, Indo-European *h2u̯eks- appears to be a suffixed form of the root *h2eu̯g- "increase," with the vowel in a different position—so-called "floating ablaut" (German Schwebeablaut) (see: {eke:2|eke:2}).;

[Verb]  | "wax" 

[Verb]  | "wax" 

[Phrase]  | "ball of wax" 

[Phrase]  | "balls of wax"