I. ˈwāfə(r) noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English wafre, wafer, from Old North French waufre, of Germanic origin; akin to Middle Dutch wafel, wafer waffle — more at waffle
1.
a. : a thin crisp cake or cracker
b. : a thin cake or piece of bread usually unleavened, circular, and stamped with a cross or sacred monogram that is used in a religious service especially in the celebration of the Eucharist in high liturgical churches — compare altar bread
2. : an adhesive disk of dried paste made of flour mixed with gum or of gelatin, isinglass, or similar material with added coloring matter and used as a seal (as for letters or the attaching of papers)
3. or wafer capsule : cachet 3
4. : a thin disk or ring resembling a wafer and variously used (as for a valve, diaphragm, or tumbler in a lock)
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
: to seal, close, or fasten with a wafer
III. noun
: a thin slice of semiconductor (as silicon) used as a base for an electronic component or circuit
IV. transitive verb
1. : to prepare (as hay or alfalfa) in the form of small compressed cakes suggestive of crackers
2. : to divide (as a silicon rod) into wafers