English
wax
Wax comes from Middle English wax, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *wahsą.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wahsąreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*wahsreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150weax
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500wax
- Englishearliest quotation 1918same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wahsąreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*wahsreconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150weax
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500wax
- Englishearliest quotation 1918same form
Earliest quotation: 1918, William Babington Maxwell, Indianapolis: “He looked round the poor room, at the distempered…”
Linked words
through Middle English wax
Another origin of wax
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500waxen
- Englishtodaywax
Another origin of wax
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂weks-‘to grow, increase’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*wahsijaną‘to grow’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*wahsan‘to grow’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150weaxan‘to wax, grow, be fruitful, increase, become powerful, flourish’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500waxen‘to grow up’
- Englishtodaywax
It is in its turn cognate with augeo.
Today it means
noun Any oily, water-resistant, solid or semisolid substance; normally long-chain hydrocarbons, alcohols or esters.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *wahsą / wax