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Added 9 October 2026

wane

/weɪn/ noun

In Latin: decresco Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about wane at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A gradual decline (in size or strength or power or number).

verb

Grow smaller.
Interest in the project waned
Become smaller.
Interest in his novels waned
Decrease in phase.
the moon is waning

Origin

From Middle English wane, from Old English wana (“defect, shortage”), from Proto-West Germanic *wanō, from Proto-Germanic *wanô, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁weh₂- (“to leave, abandon; empty, deserted”). Cognates See also wan-, want, and waste.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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