Waned

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Became gradually smaller or less intense over time
2. Underwent a reduction in strength, quantity, or importance
3. Showed a decline in extent, degree, or power

Etymology: "Waned" is the past tense of "wane," and the verb has a surprising sibling in "vain" and "vacant." Its ancestor, Old English "wana," meant "defect" or "shortage," so the original idea was of something lacking or running short rather than of a thing dwindling over time. That sense of emptiness traces back to a very old root meaning "to leave" or "to be empty," which also gave rise to Latin words such as "vanus" and "vacuus." English received the Latin-derived forms through a separate, later route, so "wane" and "vain" are doublets: two words from one ancestor that arrived by different paths. The verb itself came into Middle English as "wanen" and "wanien," from Old English "wanian," meaning to become less or to decrease. This shift from a noun for a lack to a verb for a lessening is what gives the word its current sense. Once the meaning of decline settled in, the word was most often applied to the moon, which wanes after it is full, and this astronomical use remains its most familiar setting.

Synonyms: diminished, decreased, faded, lessened, abated

Antonyms: waxed, increased, expanded, grew, intensified