Wane

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /weɪn/

Definitions

1. To gradually decrease in strength, intensity, or importance over time
2. To diminish gradually in power, influence, or overall significance as time progresses
3. To undergo a steady decline in size, extent, or prominence, particularly as it relates to phases or levels

Etymology: Wane has two quite separate histories that happen to share a spelling. The sense of gradual decrease descends from Old English "wana," meaning a defect or shortage, which is also the source of the word "want." Its ultimate roots reach back to a prehistoric notion of leaving or being empty, and English also borrowed the same root's Latin relatives, giving us "vain," "vacuum," and "vacant" as distant cousins. The verb form arrived in Middle English as "wanen" and "wanien," drawn from Old English "wanian," so the idea of something running short and diminishing has been part of the word from the start. The other wane, meaning the phase of the moon when it appears to shrink, comes from a different source. Middle English "wōne" or "wāne" meant "dwelling" or "custom," and its origins are unclear. Scholars have tied it to the word "wont," which also meant habit or custom, and the lunar sense seems to have grown from this older and quite unrelated word.

Synonyms: diminish, decrease, decline, fade, lessen

Antonyms: wax, increase, grow, expand, rise