wanse

English

Alternative forms

• wanze

Etymology

From Middle English wansen (“to decrease, diminish”), from Old English wansian (“to diminish”), from Proto-Germanic *wansōną, *wanisōną (“to lessen”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁weh₂- (“empty”). Cognate with Old Norse vansa (“to do too little”), Old Norse vansi (“lack, want”). More at wane.

Verb

wanse (third-person singular simple present wanses, present participle wansing, simple past and past participle wansed)

1. (intransitive, UK dialectal, Scotland) To wane; waste, waste away; pine; wither.

Anagrams

• sewan, wanes, weans