waver
Part of speech: verb
noun
Morphological type: simple
Etymology: The verb is derived from Middle English waveren (“to move back and forth, swing; to move unsteadily, totter; to shake, tremble; to wander; (figurative) to be changeable or unstable; to deviate”), and then possibly:
* from Old English (compare Old English wǣfre (“flickering, quivering, wavering; active, nimble (?)”)), related to Old English wafian (“to wave”) from Proto-West Germanic *wabbjan (“to cause to weave; to entangle; to wrap”), from Proto-Germanic *wabjaną (“to cause to weave; to entangle; to wrap”); and/or
* from Old Norse vafra (“to move unsteadily, flicker”), probably related to vefa (“to weave”);
both from Proto-Germanic *webaną (“to weave”), from Proto-Indo-European *webʰ- (“to braid, weave”). Doublet of wave.
The noun is derived from the verb.
Inflected forms:
form: wavers
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: wavering
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: wavered
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: wavered
pos: verb
tags: past
form: no-table-tags
pos: verb
tags: table-tags
form: glossary
pos: verb
tags: inflection-template
form: waver
pos: verb
tags: infinitive
form: waver
pos: verb
tags: first-person
present
singular
form: wavered
pos: verb
tags: first-person
past
singular
form: waver
pos: verb
tags: present
second-person
singular
form: waverest
pos: verb
tags: archaic
present
second-person
singular
form: wavered
pos: verb
tags: past
second-person
singular
form: waveredst
pos: verb
tags: archaic
past
second-person
singular
form: wavers
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: wavereth
pos: verb
tags: archaic
present
singular
third-person
form: wavered
pos: verb
tags: past
singular
third-person
form: waver
pos: verb
tags: plural
present
form: wavered
pos: verb
tags: past
plural
form: waver
pos: verb
tags: present
subjunctive
form: wavered
pos: verb
tags: past
subjunctive
form: waver
pos: verb
tags: imperative
present
form: -
pos: verb
tags: imperative
past
form: wavering
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: wavered
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: wavers
pos: noun
tags: plural
Senses:
gloss: To swing or wave, especially in the air, wind, etc.; to flutter.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: Flowers wavered in the breeze.
There was neuer ſuche aſſemble made in Bretayne before⸝ for if the frenchmen were puyſſãt [puissant]⸝ in lyke wiſe ſo were the engliſſhmen⸝ and eche parte thought to fyght⸝ for euery day they ſhewed them ſelfe in the felde⸝ with baners and penons waueryng with the wynde⸝ it was great pleaſure to behold thẽ [them].
Lord (ſayth he) Put them as a wheele and a ſtoble before the face of the wynde. For as the ſtoble, whyle the wynde bloweth wauereth and flyethe aboue in the ayre, nowe hygh nowe lowe, but anone as the wynde paſſeth it falleth adowne to the erthe and lyeth there ſtylle.
Thus many thinges commyng together, partly by chaunce ⁊ partly by purpoſe, cauſed at length, not common people onely, whiche wauer with the wynde, but wyſe men alſo ⁊ ſome lordes, to marke the matter and muſe thee vpon: […]
The byrdes fliyng and wauoring in the ayer, in the ſtede of houſes haue neſtes to reſt them in. But the ſonne of man ſo is deſtitute of all ſuccours of this worlde, that he hath no place to laye his head in.
Theſe Penoncels are made of certain ſmal peeces of Taffeta or Sarcinet, cut after the forme of a Pennon, vvherevvith Martiall men doe oftentimes adorne their Speares and Launces, vvhich albeit of themſelues they be things of no moment, yet doe they very often (like as alſo Banners doe) aſtoniſh the Enemie through their continuall motion, foraſmuch as they are euermore vvafting and vvauering in the vvinde, vvhereby they doe ſo occupy the enemies eie as that it breedeth a terrour in the minde of their foes, […]
Mean vvhile, the Leaves, / That, late, the Foreſt clad vvith lively Green, / Nipt by the drizzly Night, and Sallovv-hu'd, / Fall, vvavering, thro' the Air; or ſhovver amain, / Urg'd by the Breeze, that ſobs amid the Boughs.
[B]y the red and dusky light of the torches, he could discern a figure wavering and struggling as it hung suspended above the heads of the multitude.
[T]hou would'st waver on one of these trees as a terror to all evil speakers against dignities.
From the high tree the blossom wavering fell, / And over them the tremulous isles of light / Slided, they moving under shade: […]
gloss: To move without purpose or a specified destination; to roam, to wander.
pos: verb
tags: dated
intransitive
examples: [T]here vvere tvvo Channels, one on the North, another on the South, vvhere through the fiſher-men did vvander and vvauer vp to Norvvitch, and diuers parts of Suffolke and Norfolke, […]
Michael watched him down the corridor, saw him waver into the dusky street.
gloss: To sway back and forth, as if about to fall; to reel, to stagger, to totter.
pos: verb
tags: archaic
intransitive
examples: […] Oza for puttyng his hande to the holy ſhryne⸝ that vvas called Archa federis [the Ark of the Covenant]⸝ whan it was broughte by kyng Dauid frõ [from] the citie of Baba [i.e., Ba'alah or Kiriath-Jearim]⸝ though it were wauerynge and in daunger to fall⸝ yet was he ſtryken of god⸝ and fell deed [dead] immediately.
The Fins [of a fish] made of griſtly Spokes or Rays connected by Membranes, ſo that they may be contracted or extended like VVomens Fans, and furniſhed vvith Muſcles for motion, ſerve partly for progreſſion, but chiefly to hold the Body upright; vvhich appears in that vvhen they are cut off, it vvavers to and fro, and ſo ſoon as the Fiſh dies, the Belly turns upvvard.
Tom often heard her praying, as she wavered and trembled, and seemed about to fall down.
gloss: To begin to weaken or show signs of weakening in resolve; to falter, to flinch, to give way.
pos: verb
tags: figuratively
intransitive
examples: Despite all the terrible things that happened to her, she never wavered from her beliefs.
The capitayn […], to thentent to ſhewe hymſelfe valiante and not willyng to breake hys othe, neither to wauer frõ [from] hys allegeance, boſted that he would rather dye in the defence then frely yeld the caſtle.
[H]eerein thou vvauereſt and doubteſt.
If, in dishonour of my great design, / Mine and thy fame thou damn'st at this great hour / With any boyish weakness—if thou waverest— / By all the Gods!
The rebels opened the action with a round from their cannon which struck down the royal standard; but never for a moment had they a chance of victory; the sustained fire of the Lanzknechts threw their dense and unorganized masses into rapid confusion. As they wavered, Warwick's horse were in the midst of them, and the fields were covered instantly with a scattered and flying crowd.
The philosophers declared that there was a mysterious connection between honor and courage and between courage and the nervous system, and that when a man was in the wrong his courage wavered, and his nerves became unsteady, and so he couldn't fight to advantage and was easily overcome by his adversary.
Javik: Do not waver. Victory is never won without difficult choices. / Shepard: I'll do whatever it takes. I didn't come this far to back down.
Although they believe they can overhaul their 2–0 deficit, they cannot afford to be as lethargic as this at Camp Nou, and the time is surely approaching when Manuel Pellegrini's faith in Martín Demichelis wavers.
gloss: To feel or show doubt or indecision; to be indecisive between choices; to vacillate.
pos: verb
tags: figuratively
intransitive
examples: […] I ſhall not much vvaver to affirm that thoſe vvords vvhich are made to intimate, as if they forbad all divorce but for adultery […] thoſe vvords tak'n circumſcriptly, […] are as much againſt plain equity, and the mercy of religion, […]
Let not that man think that he shall obtain anything from the Lord. What man? Why, he that doubteth or wavereth in his mind, about the truth of the mercy of God in Christ; […]
gloss: Of a body part such as an eye or hand, or the voice: to become unsteady; to shake, to tremble.
pos: verb
tags: figuratively
intransitive
examples: His voice wavered when the reporter brought up the controversial topic.
"No," replied the old man, wavering in his voice, no less than in his manner. "No. Let us go on. I am ready. I am quite ready, Nell."
The clear voice faltered—the lithe form stooped— / The white hands wavered—the bright head drooped— / The trumpets quavered, the lights burned blue, / And the Goddess died—as Goddesses do.
gloss: Of light, shadow, or a partly obscured thing: to flicker, to glimmer, to quiver.
pos: verb
tags: figuratively
intransitive
examples: For I took at once tvvo Triangular Glaſſes, and one of them being kept fixt in the ſame Poſture, that the Iris it projected on the Floor might not VVaver, I caſt on the ſame Floor another Iris vvith the other Priſm, and Moving it too and fro to bring vvhat part of the ſecond Iris I pleas'd, to fall upon vvhat part of the firſt I thought fit, vve did ſometimes (for a ſmall Errour ſuffices to hinder the Succeſs) obtain by this means a Green Colour in that part of the more Stable Iris, […]
[U]nder the Roman empire, men's notions of mechanical relations became faint, wavered, and disappeared, […]
[T]he shadow of the flowers / Stole all the golden gloss, and, wavering / Lovingly lower, trembled on her waist— / Ah, happy shade—and still went wavering down, […]
gloss: Chiefly of a quality or thing: to change, to fluctuate, to vary.
pos: verb
tags: figuratively
intransitive
examples: [T]he Englyſhe affaires (as you haue heard) within yͤ realme began to wauer, and waxe variable, whyche cauſed the Engliſhe capitaines, to be of diuerſe opinions.
[D]uring the whole space of time just mentioned, Mr. Benjamin Allen had been wavering between intoxication partial and intoxication complete.
He had a waistcoat—worn winter and summer—a waistcoat that wavered in hue between a sunny buff and a stony drab, which look so ineffably respectable that I am certain if it had been presented at the pay-counter of any bank in Lombard-street the clerks would have cashed it at once for any amount of notes or gold demanded.
gloss: Followed by from: to deviate from a course; to stray, to wander.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
obsolete
examples: And gif it be ane beaſt, ane buke being placed betvvix the hornes of the beaſt, or vpon his forehead, and he and his vvitnes, at the leaſt tvva, ſall ſvveare that, that beaſt did vvaver avvay from him, as he affirmed in his clame; and that he vvas not given, nor ſauld be him to any man, in any maner of vvay.
gloss: Of the wits: to become confused or unsteady; to reel.
pos: verb
tags: figuratively
intransitive
obsolete
examples: I am hungry, and I am vveary, and I cannot find him. / Keep my wits heaven, I feele 'em wavering, / O God my head.
gloss: To cause (someone or something) to move back and forth.
pos: verb
tags: obsolete
transitive
examples: [I]f the Admirall ſhall happen to hull in the night: then to make a wauering light ouer his other light, wauering the light vpon a pole.
A third wauered and wagled his head, like a proud horſe playing with his bridle, or as I haue ſeene ſome fantaſticall ſwimmer, at euerie ſtroke train his chin ſide-long ouer his left ſhoulder.
gloss: To cause (someone) to begin to or show signs of weakening in resolve; also (rare), to weaken in resolve due to (something).
pos: verb
tags: obsolete
transitive
examples: Th'vnconſtant Barrons, vvauering euery houre, / The fierce encounter of this raging tyde, / No ſtrategem yet ſtrongly policied; […]
gloss: An act of moving back and forth, swinging, or waving; a flutter, a tremble.
pos: noun
examples: No a bit butterflee on its silent waver, meeting the murmur of the straightforward bee.
By turns she sat watching the waver of the candles in the draught, and walked to and fro between the bed and the washhand-stand to keep herself warm.
gloss: A state of beginning to weaken or showing signs of weakening in resolve; a falter.
pos: noun
tags: figuratively
examples: I hear the soldiers talk as I ride by, "There goes the old man. All's right." Not a waver, doubt, or hesitation when I order, and men march to certain death without a murmur if I call on them, because they know I value their lives as much as my own.
gloss: A state of feeling or showing doubt or indecision; a vacillation.
pos: noun
tags: figuratively
examples: "Does she mean to accept him?" asked Travice. "Well, she's on the waver. She does not dislike him, and she does not particularly like him. He's too old for her; he's twenty years older than Liz; but it's her first offer, and young women are apt to think when they get that, they had better accept it, lest they may never get another."
Related words: wave
Derived words: haver
waverer
wavering
wavery
Translations: