wax

(wăks)
n.

1. 1. Any of various natural, oily or greasy heat-sensitive substances, consisting of hydrocarbons or esters of fatty acids that are insoluble in water but soluble in nonpolar organic solvents.
   2. Beeswax.
   3. Cerumen.
2. 1. A solid plastic or pliable liquid substance, such as ozocerite or paraffin, originating from petroleum and found in rock layers and used in paper coating, as insulation, in crayons, and often in medicinal preparations.
   2. A preparation containing wax used for polishing floors and other surfaces.
3. A resinous mixture used by shoemakers to rub on thread.
4. A phonograph record.
5. Something suggestive of wax in being impressionable or readily molded.

adj.
Made of wax: a wax candle.

tr.v., waxed, wax·ing, wax·es.

1. To coat, treat, or polish with wax.
2. Informal. To make a phonograph record of.

idiom:

on wax

1. In the medium of phonograph recordings.

[Middle English, from Old English weax.]

wax² (wăks)
intr.v., waxed, wax·ing, wax·es.

1. To increase gradually in size, number, strength, or intensity.
2. To show a progressively larger illuminated area, as the moon does in passing from new to full.
3. To grow or become as specified: "could afford ... to wax sentimental over their heritage" (John Simon).

[Middle English waxen, from Old English weaxan.]

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Any of various solid or semisolid substances. There are two main types. Mineral waxes are mixtures of hydrocarbons with high molecular weights. Paraffin wax, obtained from petroleum, is an example. Waxes secreted by plants or animals are mainly esters of fatty acids and usually have a protective function.

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For more information on wax, visit Britannica.com.

Esters of fatty acids with long-chain monohydric alcohols (fats are esters of fatty acids with glycerol), e.g. beeswax, an ester of palmitic acid with myricyl alcohol; spermaceti, palmitic acid with cetyl alcohol. Animal waxes are often esters of the steroid alcohol cholesterol.

verb

1. To make or become greater or larger: aggrandize, amplify, augment, boost, build, build up, burgeon, enlarge, escalate, expand, extend, grow, increase, magnify, mount, multiply, proliferate, rise, run up, snowball, soar, swell, upsurge. Informal beef up. See increase/decrease.
2. To come to be: become, come, get, grow, turn (out). See change/persist.

Idioms beginning with wax:
wax and wane

In addition to the idiom beginning with wax, also see whole ball of wax.

v

Definition: become large, fuller
Antonyms: shrink

A thermoplastic solid material obtained from vegetable, mineral, and animal matter; soluble in organic solvents; used in paste or liquid form as a protective coating or polish on wood and metal surfaces and as an additive in paints.

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IN BRIEF: Any of various substances of either mineral or plant or animal origin that can be used to make candles or to coat something to make it water-repellent.

Politeness is to human nature what warmth is to wax. — Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860).

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1. wax
   noun, dated
   
   A fit of anger. (1854 —) .
   B. Duffy Giggling and swallowing his hiccups, acting the part of Caliban, that professional guest and sporadic author Lytton Strachey called back, Oh, O. Don't be in a wax now (1987). Hence waxy, adjective Brit Angry, quick-tempered. (1853 —) .
   
   [Origin uncertain; perh. from phr. to wax wroth, angry, etc., to become angry.]
2. wax
   verb trans., orig military
   
   1: To beat, thrash; to defeat thoroughly. (1884 —) .
   
   2: To kill, murder. (1968 —) .
   L. Block A whole family gets waxed because somebody burned somebody else in a coke deal (1982).
   
   [Origin unknown.]
3. wax
   noun
   
   1: A gramophone record; on wax, on a gramophone record. (1932 —) .
   W. C. Handy Recording companies...made them available on wax (1941). verb trans.
   
   2: To record for the gramophone. (1935 —) .
   Daily Times (Lagos): Another new LP Record waxed by the Celestial Church of Christ Choir (1976).
   
   [From the 'wax' discs in which the recording stylus cuts its groove.]

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Source: Honeycomb of the honeybee (Apis spp.).

Common/vernacular names: Beeswax, bleached beeswax, white beeswax, white wax, yellow beeswax, and yellow wax.

Beeswax is the wax obtained from the honeycomb of the honeybee, Apis mellifera L., as well as other Apis species, including A. cerana Fabricius (Family Apidae).

After the honey is removed from the honeycombs, the combs are washed rapidly and thoroughly with water. They are then melted with hot water or steam, strained, and run into molds to cool and harden.

There are three major beeswax products: yellow beeswax, white beeswax (bleached beeswax), and beeswax absolute (absolute cire d'abeille). Yellow beeswax is the crude beeswax first obtained from the honeycombs. White beeswax and beeswax absolute are derived from yellow beeswax, the former from bleaching with the combined action of air, sunlight, and moisture (or with peroxides) and the latter by extraction with alcohol. Beeswax is produced worldwide.

Yellow beeswax is a yellow to brownish yellow or grayish brown solid with an agreeable honey-like odor and faint but characteristic taste; it melts between 62 and 65°C.

White beeswax is a yellowish-white solid with a faint, characteristic odor, less pronounced than yellow beeswax; it is almost tasteless and translucent in thin layers; melts between 62 and 65°C.

Both yellow wax and white wax are insoluble in water, slightly soluble in cold alcohol, partly soluble in cold benzene, and completely soluble in chloroform, ether, and fixed and volatile oils.

Beeswax absolute is a pale yellow solid with a mild, sweet, and oily odor reminiscent of good linseed oil with a trace of honey notes, depending on sources.

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1. any lipid fraction from living organisms or from crude petroleum that is a plastic substance, hard when cold, easily moulded when warm, and insoluble in water.
2. any fatty-acid ester of a long-chain monohydroxy alcohol.

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Covering with wax.

• poultry w. — a technique for removing final hairs and feathers from incompletely plucked birds. They are dipped in hot wax which is removed when it is set.
• teat w. — a phenomenon in mares which indicates that foaling is imminent. The teats which are already distended suddenly exude a soft waxy covering, probably derived from the thick first colostrum, from the teat orifice. Not a completely reliable guide to an imminent foaling.

n

One of several esters of fatty acids with higher alcohols, usually monohydric alcohols. Dental waxes are combinations of various types of waxes compounded to provide the desired physical properties.

For a list of words related to waxing, see:

• Grooming Aids and Processes - waxing: stripping away of body hair with hot wax
• Maximizers and Superlatives

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See words rhyming with "waxing."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Wax.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Dansk (Danish)
1.
n. - voks, bivoks, lak, beg
v. tr. - vokse, vokse ind, smøre med voks, bestryge, bone
adj. - voks-

idioms:

• wax in someone's hands    som voks i en persons hænder
• wax paper    vokspapir

2.
v. intr. - i tiltagende (om månen), stige, vokse

idioms:

• wax and wane    i tiltagende og i aftagende

3.
n. - raseri, anfald

Nederlands (Dutch)
in de was zetten, wassen, toenemen, was, boenwas

Français (French)
1.
n. - (gén) cire, (Chim, Tech) paraffine, cérumen
v. tr. - cirer, épiler, faire un enregistrement de
adj. - en cire

idioms:

• wax in someone's hands    (être) une vraie pâte molle entre les mains de qn
• wax paper    papier paraffiné

2.
v. intr. - croître (la lune)

idioms:

• wax and wane    (avoir) des hauts et des bas

3.
n. - coup de colère

Deutsch (German)
1.
n. - Wachs, Ohrenschmalz
v. - wachsen, bohnern
adj. - Wachs-, wächsern

idioms:

• wax in someone's hands    weich wie Wachs sein
• wax paper    Wachspapier

2.
v. - zunehmen, werden

idioms:

• wax and wane    zu- und abnehmen

3.
n. - (ugs.) Wutanfall

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - κερώνω, γυαλίζω το παρκέ, παρκετάρω, μεγαλώνω, αυξάνομαι, γεμίζω
n. - κηρός, κερί
adj. - κέρινος

idioms:

• wax and wane    αυξομειώνομαι
• wax in someone's hands    που συμμορφώνεται ή πείθεται με ιδιαίτερη ευκολία από κάποιον
• wax paper    λαδόχαρτο, κερόχαρτο

Italiano (Italian)
incerare, cera, lucido, di cera

idioms:

• wax and wane    con alti e bassi
• wax in his/her hands    facilmente influenzabile
• wax paper    carta oleata

Português (Portuguese)
v. - encerar
n. - cera (f)
adj. - de cera

idioms:

• wax and wane    crescer e decrescer
• wax in his/her hands    pessoa maleável
• wax paper    papel encerado (m)

Русский (Russian)
воск, парафин, ушная сера, мазь, восковая фигура, восковая свеча, сургуч, граммофонная пластинка, садовый вар, восковой, вощеный, вощить, производить звукозапись, прибывать (о луне), увеличиваться, развиваться, идти (о времени)

idioms:

• wax and wane    то увеличиваться, то уменьшаться, то хуже, то лучше
• wax in his/her hands    всецело подчиненный его/ее воле
• wax paper    вощеная бумага

Español (Spanish)
1.
n. - cera (de abejas), matriz de cera (para fabricación de discos), cerilla (del oído)
v. tr. - encerar, untar con cera, depilar con cera, grabar en un disco
adj. - de cera

idioms:

• wax in someone's hands    untarle las manos a alguien
• wax paper    papel encerado

2.
v. intr. - crecer (la luna), aumentar de tamaño o intensidad

idioms:

• wax and wane    tener altibajos, ir y venir

3.
n. - rabieta, rabia, enfado

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - vaxa, bona, tillta, bli
n. - vax, lack, raseri
adj. - vax-

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
给...上蜡, 把...灌制唱片, 用热蜡除去...的毛, 变大, 月亮渐满, 增大, 上蜡于, 蜡, 增加, 蜡状物, 蜡状的

idioms:

• wax and wane    月亮的盈亏圆缺, 交替增加和减少
• wax in someone's hands    完全屈服于某人, 完全受某人的摆布
• wax paper    蜡纸

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
1.
v. intr. - 變大, 月亮漸滿, 增大

idioms:

• wax and wane    月亮的盈虧圓缺, 交替增加和減少

2.
n. - 蜂蠟
adj. - 蠟狀的
v. tr. - 上蠟於...

idioms:

• wax in someone's hands    完全屈服於某人, 完全受某人的擺佈
• wax paper    蠟紙

한국어 (Korean)
1.
n. - 초, 왁스, 귀지 (earwax)
v. tr. - ~에 왁스를 바르다, 왁스로 털을 제거하다, (레코드에) 취입하다
adj. - 왁스로 만든, 왁스로 된

2.
v. intr. - 달이 점점 커지다, ~ 상태로 되다

3.
n. - 불끈함

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - ろう, みつろう, ワックス, 耳あか, 立腹
v. - ワックスで磨く, 満ちる, 増す, 増大する

idioms:

• sealing wax    封ろう
• wax and wane    月の満ち欠け
• wax in his/her hands    人の思い通りになる
• wax paper    ろう紙

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يشمع, يصبح, يصير, يكبر, ينمي (الاسم) شمع, شمع خام, غضب (صفه) شمعي‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮דונג, שעווה, תקליט‬
v. tr. - ‮דינג, מרח שעווה, הסיר שערות בשעווה, הקליט‬
adj. - ‮עשוי דונג, של דונג‬
v. intr. - ‮גדל בהדרגה (חלקו הנראה לעין של הירח החדש), התחזק‬
n. - ‮התקף זעם‬

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