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Wax   /wæks/   Listen
noun
Wax  n.  
1.
A fatty, solid substance, produced by bees, and employed by them in the construction of their comb; usually called beeswax. It is first excreted, from a row of pouches along their sides, in the form of scales, which, being masticated and mixed with saliva, become whitened and tenacious. Its natural color is pale or dull yellow. Note: Beeswax consists essentially of cerotic acid (constituting the more soluble part) and of myricyl palmitate (constituting the less soluble part).
2.
Hence, any substance resembling beeswax in consistency or appearance. Specifically:
(a)
(Physiol.) Cerumen, or earwax. See Cerumen.
(b)
A waxlike composition used for uniting surfaces, for excluding air, and for other purposes; as, sealing wax, grafting wax, etching wax, etc.
(c)
A waxlike composition used by shoemakers for rubbing their thread.
(d)
(Zool.) A substance similar to beeswax, secreted by several species of scale insects, as the Chinese wax. See Wax insect, below.
(e)
(Bot.) A waxlike product secreted by certain plants. See Vegetable wax, under Vegetable.
(f)
(Min.) A substance, somewhat resembling wax, found in connection with certain deposits of rock salt and coal; called also mineral wax, and ozocerite.
(g)
Thick sirup made by boiling down the sap of the sugar maple, and then cooling. (Local U. S.)
(h)
Any of numerous substances or mixtures composed predominantly of the longer-chain saturated hydrocarbons such as the paraffins, which are solid at room teperature, or their alcohol, carboxylic acid, or ester derivatives.
Japanese wax, a waxlike substance made in Japan from the berries of certain species of Rhus, esp. Rhus succedanea.
Mineral wax. (Min.) See Wax, 2 (f), above.
Wax cloth. See Waxed cloth, under Waxed.
Wax end. See Waxed end, under Waxed.
Wax flower, a flower made of, or resembling, wax.
Wax insect (Zool.), any one of several species of scale insects belonging to the family Coccidae, which secrete from their bodies a waxlike substance, especially the Chinese wax insect (Coccus Sinensis) from which a large amount of the commercial Chinese wax is obtained. Called also pela.
Wax light, a candle or taper of wax.
Wax moth (Zool.), a pyralid moth (Galleria cereana) whose larvae feed upon honeycomb, and construct silken galleries among the fragments. The moth has dusky gray wings streaked with brown near the outer edge. The larva is yellowish white with brownish dots. Called also bee moth.
Wax myrtle. (Bot.) See Bayberry.
Wax painting, a kind of painting practiced by the ancients, under the name of encaustic. The pigments were ground with wax, and diluted. After being applied, the wax was melted with hot irons and the color thus fixed.
Wax palm. (Bot.)
(a)
A species of palm (Ceroxylon Andicola) native of the Andes, the stem of which is covered with a secretion, consisting of two thirds resin and one third wax, which, when melted with a third of fat, makes excellent candles.
(b)
A Brazilian tree (Copernicia cerifera) the young leaves of which are covered with a useful waxy secretion.
Wax paper, paper prepared with a coating of white wax and other ingredients.
Wax plant (Bot.), a name given to several plants, as:
(a)
The Indian pipe (see under Indian).
(b)
The Hoya carnosa, a climbing plant with polished, fleshy leaves.
(c)
Certain species of Begonia with similar foliage.
Wax tree (Bot.)
(a)
A tree or shrub (Ligustrum lucidum) of China, on which certain insects make a thick deposit of a substance resembling white wax.
(b)
A kind of sumac (Rhus succedanea) of Japan, the berries of which yield a sort of wax.
(c)
A rubiaceous tree (Elaeagia utilis) of New Grenada, called by the inhabitants "arbol del cera."
Wax yellow, a dull yellow, resembling the natural color of beeswax.


verb
Wax  v. t.  (past & past part. waxed; pres. part. waxing)  To smear or rub with wax; to treat with wax; as, to wax a thread or a table.
Waxed cloth, cloth covered with a coating of wax, used as a cover, of tables and for other purposes; called also wax cloth.
Waxed end, a thread pointed with a bristle and covered with shoemaker's wax, used in sewing leather, as for boots, shoes, and the like; called also wax end.


Wax  v. i.  (past waxed; past part. waxed, obs. or poetic waxen; pres. part. waxing)  
1.
To increase in size; to grow bigger; to become larger or fuller; opposed to wane. "The waxing and the waning of the moon." "Truth's treasures... never shall wax ne wane."
2.
To pass from one state to another; to become; to grow; as, to wax strong; to wax warmer or colder; to wax feeble; to wax old; to wax worse and worse. "Your clothes are not waxen old upon you." "Where young Adonis oft reposes, Waxing well of his deep wound."
Waxing kernels (Med.), small tumors formed by the enlargement of the lymphatic glands, especially in the groins of children; popularly so called, because supposed to be caused by growth of the body.





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Wax" Quotes from Famous Books



... a concrete oil, the peculiar product of the bee, part of the constituents of which may probably be derived from flowers, but so prepared by the organs of the bee, and so mixed with its own substance, as to be decidedly an animal product. Bees' wax is naturally of a yellow colour, but it is bleached by long exposure to the atmosphere, or may be instantaneously whitened by the oxy-muriatic acid. The combustion of wax is far more perfect than that of tallow, and consequently produces a greater ...
— Conversations on Chemistry, V. 1-2 • Jane Marcet
... of them, with glass doors, had an ancient escritoire underneath, which was open, and evidently left empty for his use. A fire was burning cheerfully in an old high grate; but its light, though assisted by that of two wax candles on the table, failed to show the outlines of the room, it was so large and dark. The ceiling was rather low in proportion, and a huge beam crossed it. At one end, an open door revealed a room beyond, likewise lighted with fire and candles. Entering, he found this to be an equally old-fashioned ...
— David Elginbrod • George MacDonald
... underneath large letters. It was appalling! The third sentence of the headlines contained my sister's name. There must be some mistake. Wasn't such news as this borne by a lawyer with proper ceremony and form, or at least delivered by mail, inside an envelope sealed with red wax? Ruth had known nothing of this three days ago when I called to see her. It could not be true. All the way into Boston on the electric car, I felt self-conscious and ill-at-ease. I was afraid some one I knew would meet me, and refer to the newspaper ...
— The Fifth Wheel - A Novel • Olive Higgins Prouty
... seeing a boiled lobster. Millingen cites the case of a man who fell into convulsions whenever he saw a spider. A waxen one was made, which equally terrified him. When he recovered, his error was pointed out to him, and the wax figure was placed in his hand without causing dread, and henceforth the living insect no longer disturbed him. Amatus Lusitanus relates the case of a monk who fainted when he beheld a rose, and never ...
— Anomalies and Curiosities of Medicine • George M. Gould
... you are dancing and singing and flirting yourselves merrily into your grave. She would like to put in a plea before the eloquence of which Cicero and Demosthenes, Beecher and Sumner, should pale like wax-lights before the sun, for the new fashion said to be obtaining in New York, that the soiree shall give place to the matinee, at which the guests shall assemble at four o'clock in the afternoon, and are expected to go home at seven or eight. That would be not only ...
— Men, Women, and Ghosts • Elizabeth Stuart Phelps


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