*wax*

n. (Zool.) a species of chatterer (Bombycilla cedrorum, formerly Ampelis cedrorum) widely distributed over temperate North America, so named from its frequenting cedar trees; -- called also cedar bird, cherry bird, Canada robin, and American waxwing. It is a brownish bird about 7 inches long, between the size of a robin and a sparrow, has a crest on the head, a black face mask, and a yellow-tipped tail. The name comes from the black color of the tips of the wings, like that of a black sealing wax. They sometimes are seen in flocks. [ 1913 Webster + WordNet 1.5 ]

{ or } n. (Eng. Law) Formerly a chancery officer who fitted wax for sealing writs and other documents. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Anat.) See Cerumen. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To wax or grow too rapidly or too much. [ Obs. ] R. of Gloucester. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Anat.) Same as Paxwax. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ For faxvax, fr. AS. feax hair (akin to OHG. fahs) + weaxan to grow. See Wax to grow, and cf. Faxed, Pectinate. ] (Anat.) The strong ligament of the back of the neck in quadrupeds. It connects the back of the skull with dorsal spines of the cervical vertebræ, and helps to support the head. Called also paxywaxy and packwax. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Anat.) See Paxwax. [ 1913 Webster ]

A compound of the resinous materials, pigments, etc., used as a material for seals, as for letters, documents, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Bot.) (a) An umbelliferous plant (Bupleurum rotundifolium) with perfoliate leaves. (b) Thoroughwort. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ AS. weax; akin to OFries. wax, D. was, G. wachs, OHG. wahs, Icel. & Sw. vax, Dan. vox, Lith. vaszkas, Russ. vosk'. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Beeswax consists essentially of cerotic acid (constituting the more soluble part) and of myricyl palmitate (constituting the less soluble part). [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Hence, any substance resembling beeswax in consistency or appearance. Specifically: -- [ 1913 Webster ]

(a) (Physiol.) Cerumen, or earwax. See Cerumen. [ 1913 Webster ]

(b) A waxlike composition used for uniting surfaces, for excluding air, and for other purposes; as, sealing wax, grafting wax, etching wax, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

(c) A waxlike composition used by shoemakers for rubbing their thread. [ 1913 Webster ]

(d) (Zool.) A substance similar to beeswax, secreted by several species of scale insects, as the Chinese wax. See Wax insect, below. [ 1913 Webster ]

(e) (Bot.) A waxlike product secreted by certain plants. See Vegetable wax, under Vegetable. [ 1913 Webster ]

(f) (Min.) A substance, somewhat resembling wax, found in connection with certain deposits of rock salt and coal; -- called also mineral wax, and ozocerite. [ 1913 Webster ]

(g) Thick sirup made by boiling down the sap of the sugar maple, and then cooling. [ Local U. S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

(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. [ PJC ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. Waxed p. p. Waxed, and Obs. or Poetic Waxen p. pr. & vb. n. Waxing. ] [ AS. weaxan; akin to OFries. waxa, D. wassen, OS. & OHG. wahsan, G. wachsen, Icel. vaxa, Sw. växa, Dan. voxe, Goth. wahsjan, Gr. &unr_; to increase, Skr. waksh, uksh, to grow. √135. Cf. Waist. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. To increase in size; to grow bigger; to become larger or fuller; -- opposed to wane. [ 1913 Webster ]

The waxing and the waning of the moon. Hakewill. [ 1913 Webster ]

Truth's treasures . . . never shall wax ne wane. P. Plowman. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. [ 1913 Webster ]

Your clothes are not waxen old upon you. Deut. xxix. 5. [ 1913 Webster ]

Where young Adonis oft reposes,
Waxing well of his deep wound. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. Dunglison. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Waxed p. pr. & vb. n. Waxing. ] To smear or rub with wax; to treat with wax; as, to wax a thread or a table. [ 1913 Webster ]

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. Brockett. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Bot.) The wax-covered fruit of the wax myrtle, or bayberry. See Bayberry, and Candleberry tree. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) Any one of numerous species of finchlike birds belonging to Estrelda and allied genera, native of Asia, Africa, and Australia. The bill is large, conical, and usually red in color, resembling sealing wax. Several of the species are often kept as cage birds. [ 1913 Webster ]

(Zool.) The waxwing. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Made of wax. “The female bee, that . . . builds her waxen cells.” Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Covered with wax; waxed; as, a waxen tablet. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Resembling wax; waxy; hence, soft; yielding. [ 1913 Webster ]

Men have marble, women waxen, minds. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Waxen chatterer (Zool.), the Bohemian chatterer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Quality or state of being waxy. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Zool.) Any one of several species of small birds of the genus Ampelis, in which some of the secondary quills are usually tipped with small horny ornaments resembling red sealing wax. The Bohemian waxwing (see under Bohemian) and the cedar bird are examples. Called also waxbird. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. Work made of wax; especially, a figure or figures formed or partly of wax, in imitation of real beings. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Bot.) An American climbing shrub (Celastrus scandens). It bears a profusion of yellow berrylike pods, which open in the autumn, and display the scarlet coverings of the seeds. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who works in wax; one who makes waxwork. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A bee that makes or produces wax. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. pl. An exhibition of wax figures, or the place of exhibition; as, Madame Toussaud's Waxworks. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. Resembling wax in appearance or consistency; viscid; adhesive; soft; hence, yielding; pliable; impressible. “Waxy to persuasion.” Bp. Hall. [ 1913 Webster ]

Waxy degeneration (Med.), amyloid degeneration. See under Amyloid. --
Waxy kidney,
Waxy liver, etc. (Med.), a kidney or liver affected by waxy degeneration. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. Wood-wax. ] (Bot.) A leguminous plant (Genista tinctoria) of Europe and Russian Asia, and adventitious in America; -- called also greenwood, greenweed, dyer's greenweed, and whin, wood-wash, wood-wax, and wood-waxen. [ 1913 Webster ]