WAX

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English weax; akin to Old High German wahs ~, Lithuanian vaškas Date: before 12th century a substance that is secreted by bees and is used by them for constructioncting the honeycomb, that is a dull yellow solid plastic when warm, and that is composed of a mixture of esters, cerotic acid, and hydrocarbons, any of various substances resembling the ~ of bees: as, 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 (as fatty acids, alcohols, and saturated hydrocarbons), a solid substance (as ozokerite or paraffin ~) of mineral origin consisting usually of hydrocarbons of high molecular weight, a pliable or liquid composition used especially in uniting surfaces, excluding air, making patterns or impressions, or producing a polished surface, something likened to ~ as soft, impressionable, or readily molded, a ~y secretion, a phonograph recording, ~like adjective II. transitive verb Date: 14th century 1. to treat or rub with ~ usually for polishing, stiffening, or reducing friction, to apply ~ to (as legs) as a depilatory, to record on phonograph records, to defeat decisively (as in an athletic contest), III. intransitive verb see: eke Date: before 12th century 1. to increase in size, numbers, strength, prosperity, or intensity, to grow in volume or duration, to grow toward full development, to increase in phase or intensity, to assume a (specified) characteristic, quality, or state ; become , IV. noun Date: 14th century increase , growth , V. noun Etymology: perhaps from 3~ Date: 1854 a fit of temper ; rage