[wave] vb waved ; wav.ing [ME, fr. OE wafian to wave with the hands; akin to waefan to clothe and perh. to OE wefan to weave] vi (bef. 12c) 1: to motion with the hands or with something held in them in signal or salute
2: to float, play, or shake in an air current: move loosely to and fro: flutter 3 of water: to move in waves: heave
4: to become moved or brandished to and fro
5: to move before the wind with a wavelike motion "field of waving grain"
6: to follow a curving line or take a wavy form: undulate ~ vt 1: to swing (something) back and forth or up and down
2: to impart a curving or undulating shape to "waved her hair" 3 a: to motion to (someone) to go in an indicated direction or to stop: flag, signal "checked his name and waved him on" "waved down a passing car" b: to gesture with (the hand or an object) in greeting or farewell or in homage c: to dismiss or put out of mind: disregard--usu. used with aside or off d: to convey by waving "waved farewell"
4: brandish, flourish "waved a pistol menacingly" syn see swing
[2]wave n (1526) 1 a: a moving ridge or swell on the surface of a liquid (as of the sea) b: open water
2. a: a shape or outline having successive curves b: a waviness of the hair c: an undulating line or streak or a pattern formed by such lines
3: something that swells and dies away: as a: a surge of sensation or emotion "a ~ of anger swept over her" b: a movement sweeping large numbers in a common direction "~s of protest" c: a peak or climax of activity "a ~ of buying"
4: a sweep of hand or arm or of some object held in the hand used as a signal or greeting
5: a rolling or undulatory movement or one of a series of such movements passing along a surface or through the air
6: a movement like that of an ocean wave: as a: a surging movement of a group "a big new ~ of women politicians" b: one of a succession of influxes of people migrating into a region c (1): a moving group of animals of one kind (2): a sudden rapid increase in a population d: a line of attacking or advancing troops or airplanes e: a display of people in a large crowd (as at a sports event) successively rising, lifting their arms overhead, and quickly sitting so as to form a swell moving through the crowd
7. a: a disturbance or variation that transfers energy progressively from point to point in a medium and that may take the form of an elastic deformation or of a variation of pressure, electric or magnetic intensity, electric potential, or temperature b: one complete cycle of such a disturbance 8: a marked change in temperature: a period of hot or cold weather 9: an undulating or jagged line constituting a graphic representation of an action -- wave.less adj -- wave.less.ly adv -- wave.like adj Wave n [Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service] (1942): a woman serving in the navy