Wax

Webster's Dictionary of the English Language

·noun Cerumen, or earwax.

II. Wax ·noun A waxlike composition used by shoemakers for rubbing their thread.

III. Wax ·noun Hence, any substance resembling beeswax in consistency or appearance.

IV. Wax ·vt To smear or rub with wax; to treat with wax; as, to wax a thread or a table.

V. Wax ·noun Thick sirup made by boiling down the sap of the sugar maple, and then cooling.

VI. Wax ·vi To increase in size; to grow bigger; to become larger or fuller;

— opposed to wane.

VII. Wax ·noun A waxlike product secreted by certain plants. ·see Vegetable wax, under Vegetable.

VIII. Wax ·noun A substance similar to beeswax, secreted by several species of scale insects, as the Chinese wax. ·see Wax insect, below.

IX. Wax ·noun A waxlike composition used for uniting surfaces, for excluding air, and for other purposes; as, sealing wax, grafting wax, etching wax, ·etc.

X. Wax ·noun A substance, somewhat resembling wax, found in connection with certain deposits of rock salt and coal;

— called also mineral wax, and ozocerite.

XI. Wax ·vi 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.

XII. Wax ·noun 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.

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