English
wane
Wane comes from Old English wana ‘defect, shortage’, from Proto-Germanic *wanô ‘deficiency’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁weh₂- ‘to leave, abandon’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁weh₂-‘to leave, abandon’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wanô‘deficiency’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*wanōreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150wana‘defect, shortage’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500wane
- Englishearliest quotation 1845same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁weh₂-‘to leave, abandon’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wanô‘deficiency’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*wanōreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150wana‘defect, shortage’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500wane
- Englishearliest quotation 1845same form
Earliest quotation: 1845, Benjamin Disraeli, Sybil: “The situation of the Venetian party in the wane…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁weh₂- ‘to leave, abandon’
various, variety, vast, waste, vacation, vary, variable, void, vain, evacuate, vacant, vanity, vacate, vanish, vacuous, waning, varicella, evanescent, 26 more
through Proto-Germanic *wanô ‘deficiency’
Another origin of wane
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁weh₂-‘to leave, abandon, give out’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wanaz‘lacking’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanic, derivedc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wanōną‘to become less’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*wanōn‘to become less’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150wanian‘to shrink or lessen’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500wanen‘to moan, to wail, to complain’
- Englishtodaywane
Another origin of wane
- Scotsc. 1450–presentwean‘child’
- Englishtodaywane
Today it means
noun A gradual diminution in power, value, intensity etc.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₁weh₂- / wane