Waxes

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To undergo a gradual increase in size or intensity, especially related to the moon's cycle
2. Grows or expands progressively over time ; to create or coat with wax substance
3. Becomes larger or stronger step by step ; to cover or treat an object using wax

Etymology: Most people know "wax" as the stuff candles are made of, so it may seem odd that the verb meaning "grows larger gradually" shares that word. Here the two senses are one word: the verb "to wax" comes from the same Old English root as the noun "wax," and it originally described the waxing of the moon, long before anyone used it for growing things. "Waxes" is simply the third-person singular form of that verb, so it is the form that means "grows larger" (or "becomes stronger") as applied to a single subject. The noun is Germanic in origin and is closely matched across the family. Cognates appear in Dutch "was," German "Wachs," Swedish "vax," and Icelandic, and the same root turns up in Lithuanian "vaškas" and Proto-Slavic "voskъ." That shared ancestry shows the noun has been a northern European word for a very long time, and beeswax, the sense it was first used for, is the one most closely tied to the root.

Synonyms: grows, increases, expands, augments, amplifies

Antonyms: wanes, decreases, diminishes, reduces, shrinks