Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Waving |
WavingAdjective1. Streaming or flapping or spreading wide as if in a current of air; "ran quickly, her flaring coat behind her"; "a fluttering scarf"; "flying banners"; "flags waving in the breeze". Noun1. The act of signaling by a movement of the hand. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "waving" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1321. (references) |
Synonyms: WavingSynonyms: aflare (adj), flaring (adj), fluttering (adj), flying (adj), wafture (n), wave (n). (additional references) |
Crosswords: Waving |
| English words defined with "waving": aflare ♦ bifilar, brandish ♦ Damask steel ♦ flaccid, flailing, flaring, flourish, fluttering, flying, flying colors ♦ lax, limp ♦ Ounding ♦ slack, Stars and Stripes ♦ thrashing ♦ Unde ♦ Wave offering, waver, wigwag. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "waving": Asmodeus ♦ CONDUCTOR, PASSENGER CAR, CONDUCTOR, ROAD FREIGHT ♦ dispensary attendant ♦ FLOOR ATTENDANT ♦ INAUSPICIOUSLY ♦ Lilinau ♦ SUPPLY CLERK ♦ Vivien. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "waving": Ounding. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | Not exactly, he might have been waving. (Mr. Deeds; writing credit: Clarence Budington Kell; Robert Riskin) Shouting Yeah, waving the f cking gun around (The Big Lebowski; writing credit: Ethan Coen; Joel Coen) What? You think you're some kind of Jedi, waving your hand around like that (Episode I: The Phantom Menace; writing credit: George Lucas.) A wallaby in a boat waving a fish That's odd - yet strangely appetizing (Rocko's Modern Life; writing credit: Geoff Atkinson) When you're hanging on by your fingernails, you can't go waving your arms around (The Abyss; writing credit: James Cameron) | |
Lyrics | Red and black antennae waving (Ants Marching; performing artist: Dave Matthews Band) Oh and I can see Daniel waving goodbye (Daniel; performing artist: Elton John) Waving to the girls (Pink Cadillac; performing artist: Natalie Cole) | |
Movie/TV Titles | Not Drowning Waving (1994) Waving (1987) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Music |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | A bull sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus) doesn't agree that Coast Surveyors should land on his rock. Waving flare in vain attempting to frighten him off Crew off of Coast and Geodetic Survey Ship PIONEER. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection. |  | Florence Martus, Savannah's Waving Girl This statue commemorates a lady who brightened the lives of thousands of sailors Florence waved goodbye to hundreds of ships leaving the port of Savannah. Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection. |
 | Family and friends waving good-bye's as the PATHFINDER heads north. Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth. |  | Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. Eel grass meadows waving with the currents. Credit: National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERR). |
 | [Little girl waving "Good bye"]. Credit: National Library of Medicine. |  | In San Francisco Bay, California, Spring 1946, upon her return to the United States from the Western Pacific. Note crewmen forward, waving at the photographer, and long "homeward bound" pennant trailing from her mast. Credit: NAVY. |
 | See our torn flag still waving. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Old sailor, possibly Noah, waving to two people from crow's nest, and letter N. Credit: Library of Congress. |
 | Father Time waving farewell to cowed woman. Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Indians representing various newspapers waving weapons of "abuse" and "misrepresentation" around tied up veteran with "soldier hating wigwam" in background. Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
 |  |
| "Waving glory" by Jim Robinson Commentary: "American flag from below against a clear sky. ** if you download, please leave a comment, I would love to know what I'm doing right or wrong. I'm new at this photog thing." | "Swedish flag" by Thomas Johansson Commentary: "The wind is blowing, and the flag is waving." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. | |
| Title | Author | Quote |
Through the Looking-Glass | Carroll, Lewis | So the boat was left to drift down the stream as it would, till it glided gently in among the waving rushes |
Grapes of Wrath | Steinbeck, John | The dust road stretched out ahead of them, waving up and down |
Walden | Thoreau, Henry David | I would advise you to set in the spade down yonder among the groundnuts, where you see the johnswort waving. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Human Rights | Bosnia and Herzegovina | In the spring, an enraged Serb facing eviction entered the office of the head of the housing department in Bosanski Samac, waving a Kalashnikov assault rifle. (references) |
Zimbabwe | In 2000 at a soccer match in Harare, 12 persons were trampled to death after police fired tear gas into stands where opposition supporters were waving MDC banners and chanting antigovernment slogans. (references) | |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | INAUSPICIOUSLY, adv. In an unpromising manner, the auspices being unfavorable. Among the Romans it was customary before undertaking any important action or enterprise to obtain from the augurs, or state prophets, some hint of its probable outcome; and one of their favorite and most trustworthy modes of divination consisted in observing the flight of birds -- the omens thence derived being called auspices. Newspaper reporters and certain miscreant lexicographers have decided that the word -- always in the plural -- shall mean "patronage" or "management"; as, "The festivities were under the auspices of the Ancient and Honorable Order of Body-Snatchers"; or, "The hilarities were auspicated by the Knights of Hunger." A Roman slave appeared one day Before the Augur. "Tell me, pray, If --" here the Augur, smiling, made A checking gesture and displayed His open palm, which plainly itched, For visibly its surface twitched. A denarius (the Latin nickel) Successfully allayed the tickle, And then the slave proceeded: "Please Inform me whether Fate decrees Success or failure in what I To-night (if it be dark) shall try. Its nature? Never mind -- I think 'Tis writ on this" -- and with a wink Which darkened half the earth, he drew Another denarius to view, Its shining face attentive scanned, Then slipped it into the good man's hand, Who with great gravity said: "Wait While I retire to question Fate." That holy person then withdrew His scared clay and, passing through The temple's rearward gate, cried "Shoo!" Waving his robe of office. Straight Each sacred peacock and its mate (Maintained for Juno's favor) fled With clamor from the trees o'erhead, Where they were perching for the night. The temple's roof received their flight, For thither they would always go, When danger threatened them below. Back to the slave the Augur went: "My son, forecasting the event By flight of birds, I must confess The auspices deny success." That slave retired, a sadder man, Abandoning his secret plan -- Which was (as well the craft seer Had from the first divined) to clear The wall and fraudulently seize On Juno's poultry in the trees. G.J. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Waving" is generally used as a lexical verb (-ing form) -- approximately 95.38% of the time. "Waving" is used about 800 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Lexical Verb (-ing form) | 95.38% | 763 | 9,001 |
| Adjective (general or positive) | 2.5% | 20 | 78,262 |
| Noun (singular) | 1.75% | 14 | 93,893 |
| Noun (proper) | 0.37% | 3 | 202,518 |
| Total | 100.00% | 800 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "waving": flag waving ♦ waving current ♦ waving iron. Additional references. | |
| Hypenated Usage | |
Ending with "waving": arm-waving. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "waving"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | valëzim (rippling, swaying, undulation). (various references) | |
Arabic | تمويج (corrugation, crimp, frizzing, rippling). (various references) | |
Chinese | 舞动 (Waved, wave-off). (various references) | |
Finnish | vilkutus (blinking, wave, winking), käherrys (curling-irons, wave). (various references) | |
German | zuwinkend (waving to), wellend (corrugating, undulating). (various references) | |
Greek | κυματοειδέσ ρεύμα (waving current). (various references) | |
Hebrew | תנופה (amplitude, drive, energy, impetus, leverage, lifting up, momentum, sweep, swing), קרזול (curling), התנופפות (fluttering, flying), הנפה (heave, leverage, lifting, snatch), סלסול (curl, curling, trill, twirl), נפנוף (wave). (various references) | |
Hungarian | hullámzás (chop, fluctuation, sea, undulation, wash). (various references) | |
Indonesian | penggapaian (waving of hand). (various references) | |
Italian | oscillazione (fluctuation, oscillation, rocking, swinging, vibration). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 穂波 (waving heads). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | ほなみ (rows of grain thrusting upright, waving heads). (various references) | |
Korean | 물결침. (various references) | |
Pig Latin | avingway.(various references) | |
Russian | махать (brandish, swing, wag, wave, waved). (various references) | |
Turkish | sallama (agitation, flourish, jog, rocking, shake, shaking, swing, swinging, wag, wagging). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | coruscus. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Language | Date | Source | Numbers Chapter 24, Verse 10 |
| Greek (transliterated) | 250 BC | Septuagint | Kai equmwqh balak epi balaam kai sunekrothsen taiV cersin autou kai eipen balak proV balaam katarasqai ton ecqron mou keklhka se kai idou eulogwn euloghsaV triton touto |
| Latin | 405 | Vulgate | Iratusque Balac contra Balaam conplosis manibus ait ad maledicendum inimicis meis vocavi te quibus e contrario tertio benedixisti |
| Middle English | 1395 | Wyclif | And Balac wrooth ayen Balaam, with wrongun hoondis seith, To curse to my enemyes I haue clepid thee, to whom ayenward the thridde tyme thow hast blissid. |
| Renaissance English | 1526 | Tyndale | And Balac was wroth with balam and smote his handes together and sayed vnto him: I sent for the to curse myne enemyes: and beholde thou hast blessed them this thre tymes |
| Jacobean English | 1611 | King James | And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together: and Balak said unto Balaam, I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times. |
| Victorian English | 1833 | Webster | And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together: and Balak said to Balaam, I called thee to curse my enemies, and behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times. |
| Basic English | 1964 | Ogden | Then Balak was full of wrath against Balaam, and angrily waving his hands he said to Balaam, I sent for you so that those who are against me might be cursed, but now, see, three times you have given them a blessing. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Numbers Chapter 24, Verse 10 |
| Cebuano | ¶ Ug ang kaligutgut ni Balac misilaub batok kang Balaam, ug mipakpak siya sa iyang mga kamot; ug si Balac miingon kang Balaam: Mitawag ako kanimo aron sa pagtunglo sa akong mga kaaway, ug, ania karon, ikaw nagpanalangin kanila niining totolo ka higayon. |
| Chinese | 巴 勒 向 巴 蘭 生 氣 、 就 拍 起 手 來 、 對 巴 蘭 說 、 我 召 你 來 為 我 咒 詛 仇 敵 、 不 料 、 你 這 三 次 竟 為 他 們 祝 福 。 |
| Croatian | I usplamtje srdžbom Balak na Bileama i udari rukom o ruku. "Pozvao sam te da prokuneš moje neprijatelje", reèe Balak Bileamu, "a kad tamo, ti ih blagoslovi evo triput! |
| Danish | Da blussede Balaks Vrede op mod Bileam, og han slog Hænderne sammen; og Balak sagde til Bileam: "For at forbande mine Fjender bad jeg dig komme, og se, nu har du velsignet dem tre Gange! |
| Dutch | Toen ontstak de toorn van Balak tegen Bileam, en hij sloeg zijn handen samen; en Balak zeide tot Bileam: Ik heb u geroepen, om mijn vijanden te vloeken; maar zie, gij hebt hen nu driemaal gedurig gezegend! |
| Finnish | Silloin Baalak vihastui Bileamiin ja löi kätensä yhteen. Ja Baalak sanoi Bileamille: "Minä kutsuin sinut vihollisiani kiroamaan, ja nyt sinä olet siunannut heidät jo kolme kertaa. |
| French | La colère de Balak s`enflamma contre Balaam; il frappa des mains, et dit à Balaam: C`est pour maudire mes ennemis que je t`ai appelé, et voici, tu les as bénis déjà trois fois. |
| German | Da ergrimmte Balak im Zorn wider Bileam und schlug die Hände zusammen und sprach zu ihm: Ich habe dich gefordert, daß du meinen Feinden fluchen solltest; und siehe, du hast sie nun dreimal gesegnet. |
| Haitian Creole | ¶ Lè sa a, Balak fè yon sèl move sou Balaram, li frape pye l' atè, li di konsa: -Mwen te rele ou isit la pou bay lènmi m' yo madichon pou mwen. Men, gade sa ou fè. Se beni ou beni yo pito. Sa fè twa fwa ou fè sa. |
| Hungarian | És felgerjede Báláknak haragja Bálám ellen, és egybeüté kezeit, és monda Bálák Bálámnak: Azért hívtalak téged, hogy átkozd meg ellenségeimet; és ímé igen megáldottad immár három ízben. |
| Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hari | Dengan marah Balak mengepalkan tinjunya dan berkata kepada Bileam, "Engkau kupanggil untuk mengutuk musuh-musuhku, tetapi mereka malah kauberkati sampai tiga kali. |
| Indonesian-Terjemahan Lama | Hata, maka murka Balak mulai bernyala-nyala akan Bileam, lalu titah Balak kepada Bileam sambil dilipatkannya tangannya: Adapun aku memanggil engkau kemari ini, yaitu supaya engkau mengutuki musuhku, heran, maka sekarang sudah tiga kali engkau memberkati mereka itu berturut-turut! |
| Italian | Allora l'ira di Balak si accese contro Balaam; Balak battè le mani e disse a Balaam: «Ti ho chiamato per maledire i miei nemici e tu invece per tre volte li hai benedetti! |
| Maori | ¶ Na ka mura te riri o Paraka ki a Paraama, ka papaki ona ringa: na ka mea a paraka ki a Paraama, He kanga i oku hoariri i karanga ai ahau i a koe, na, ka toru nei au manaakitanga i a ratou. |
| Norwegian | Da optendtes Balaks vrede mot Bileam, og han slo sine hender sammen. Og Balak sa til Bileam: Jeg kalte dig hit for å forbanne mine fiender, og nu har du velsignet tre ganger. |
| Portuguese | Pelo que a ira de Balaque se acendeu contra Balaão, e batendo ele as palmas, disse a Balaão: Para amaldiçoares os meus inimigos é que te chamei; e eis que já três vezes os abençoaste. |
| Rumanian | Balac s`a aprins de mknie kmpotriva lui Balaam; a bqtut din mkni, wi a zis lui Balaam: ,,Eu te-am chemat sq-mi blestemi vrqjmawii, wi iatq cq de trei ori tu i-ai binecuvkntat! |
| Swedish | Då upptändes Balaks vrede mot Bileam, och han slog ihop händerna. Och Balak sade till Bileam: "Till att förbanna mina fiender kallade jag dig hit, och se, du har i stället nu tre gånger välsignat dem. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Derivations | |
Words ending with "waving": microwaving. (additional references) | |
| |
"Waving" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: lwaving, Qazvin, swiving, wasing, waveing, waveings, wavings, wazing. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "waving" (pronounced wā"ving) |
| 5 | w ā" v i ng | waiving. |
| 4 | -ā" v i ng | behaving, braving, caving, craving, engraving, misbehaving, paving, raving, saving, shaving, staving. |
| 3 | -v i ng | approving, absolving, achieving, arriving, believing, calving, caregiving, carving, conceiving, conniving, conserving, curving, deceiving, delving, depriving, deriving, deserving, disapproving, disbelieving, dissolving, diving, driving, earthmoving, evolving, forgiving, giving, grieving, halving, having, heaving, improving, interleaving, interweaving, involving, jiving, leaving, lifesaving, living, loving, misgiving, moving, observing, perceiving, preserving, proving, receiving, relieving, reliving, removing, reserving, resolving, retrieving, reviving, revolving, revving, serving, shelving, shoving, sieving, skydiving, solving, starving, striving, surviving, thanksgiving, thieving, thriving, unbelieving, undeserving, unforgiving, unnerving, unswerving, weaving. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-g-i-n-v-w" | |
-1 letter: awing, wigan. | |
-2 letters: agin, gain, gnaw, vagi, vain, vang, viga, vina, wain, wing. | |
-3 letters: ain, ani, awn, gan, gin, nag, naw, van, vaw, via, vig, wag, wan, wig, win. | |
-4 letters: ag, ai, an, aw, in, na. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-g-i-n-v-w" | |
+1 letter: avowing, waiving, weaving. | |
+2 letters: wavering. | |
+3 letters: inweaving, overawing, reavowing, reweaving, unweaving. | |
+4 letters: disavowing, unwavering, waveringly. | |
+5 letters: microwaving, overdrawing, overwarming, overwearing, woodcarving. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Slideshow 7. Images: Photo Album 8. Images: Digital Art | 9. Quotations: Fiction 10. Quotations: Non-fiction 11. Usage Frequency 12. Expressions | 13. Expressions: Internet 14. Translations: Modern 15. Translations: Ancient 16. Bible Trace | 17. Derivations 18. Rhymes 19. Anagrams 20. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
