wand
See also: Wand
English edit
Etymology edit
From Middle English wand, wond, from Old Norse vǫndr (“switch, twig”),[1] from Proto-Germanic *wanduz (“rod”), from Proto-Indo-European *wendʰ- (“to turn, twist, wind, braid”). Cognate with Icelandic vendi (“wand”), Danish vånd (“wand, switch”), German Wand (“wall, septum”), Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌿𐍃 (wandus, “rod”).
Pronunciation edit
- (Received Pronunciation) enPR: wŏnd, IPA(key): /wɒnd/
- (General American) IPA(key): /wɑnd/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɒnd
Noun edit
wand (plural wands)
- A hand-held narrow rod, usually used for pointing or instructing, or as a traditional emblem of authority.
- 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:
- Then all of a sudden a number of armed men arranged in companies, and marshalled by officers who held ivory wands in their hands, came running swiftly towards us, having, so far as I could make out, emerged from the face of the precipice like ants from their burrows.
- (by extension) An instrument shaped like a wand, such as a curling wand.
- A stick or rod used by a magician (a magic wand), conjurer or diviner (divining rod).
- 1859, George Meredith, chapter 13, in The Ordeal of Richard Feverel. A History of Father and Son. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Chapman and Hall, →OCLC:
- Love is that blessed wand which wins the waters from the hardness of the heart.
- A stick, branch, or stalk, especially of willow.
- c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]:
- The skillful shepherd peeled me certain wands.
- 1891, Thomas Hardy, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, volume 1, London: James R. Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., page 17:
- In addition to the distinction of a white frock, every woman and girl carried in her right hand a peeled willow-wand, and in her left a bunch of white flowers.
- A card of a particular suit of the minor arcana in tarot, the wands.
Synonyms edit
- staff; rod
- See also Thesaurus:stick
Derived terms edit
Translations edit
hand-held narrow rod
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Verb edit
wand (third-person singular simple present wands, present participle wanding, simple past and past participle wanded)
- (transitive) To scan (e.g. a passenger at an airport) with a handheld metal detector.
- (transitive) To use a handheld vibrator (the sex toy) on (a person or body part).
Derived terms edit
References edit
- ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “wand”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
Anagrams edit
Dutch edit
Etymology edit
From Middle Dutch want, from Proto-Germanic *wanduz (“wickerwork; barrier, fence”). Cognate with German Wand.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
wand m (plural wanden, diminutive wandje n)
- wall
- De wand van het gebouw is bedekt met graffiti.
- The wall of the building is covered with graffiti.
- Er zijn schilderijen op elke wand van de galerij.
- There are paintings on every wall of the gallery.
- Het wandje in de tuin is versierd met klimplanten.
- The small wall in the garden is decorated with climbing plants.
- face (as in mountain face)
- De wand van de berg is erg steil.
- The face of the mountain is very steep.
- Hij is van plan de noordelijke wand van de Eiger te beklimmen.
- He plans to climb the north face of the Eiger.
Derived terms edit
Descendants edit
German edit
Pronunciation edit
Verb edit
wand
Old English edit
Pronunciation edit
Etymology 1 edit
From Proto-Germanic *wanduz (“mole”), from Proto-Indo-European *wendʰ- (“to turn, twist, wind, braid”).
Noun edit
wand f
- mole (animal)
Declension edit
Declension of wand (strong ō-stem)
Derived terms edit
Etymology 2 edit
From windan.
Verb edit
wand