WAFT

pennant, pennon, streamer, waft

(noun) a long flag; often tapering

waft

(verb) be driven or carried along, as by the air; “Sounds wafted into the room”

waft

(verb) blow gently; “A breeze wafted through the door”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Verb

waft (third-person singular simple present wafts, present participle wafting, simple past and past participle wafted)

(ergative) To (cause to) float easily or gently through the air.

(intransitive) To be moved, or to pass, on a buoyant medium; to float.

To give notice to by waving something; to wave the hand to; to beckon.

Noun

waft (plural wafts)

A light breeze.

Something (such as an odor or scent like a perfume) that is carried through the air.

(nautical) A flag used to indicate wind direction or, with a knot tied in the center, as a signal; a waif, a wheft.

Source: Wiktionary


Waft, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Wafted; p. pr. & vb. n. Wafting.] Etym: [Prob. originally imp. & p. p. of wave, v. t. See Wave to waver.]

1. To give notice to by waving something; to wave the hand to; to beckon. [Obs.] But soft: who wafts us yonder Shak.

2. To cause to move or go in a wavy manner, or by the impulse of waves, as of water or air; to bear along on a buoyant medium; as, a balloon was wafted over the channel. A gentle wafting to immortal life. Milton. Speed the soft intercourse from soul to soul, And waft a sigh from Indus to the pole. Pope.

3. To cause to float; to keep from sinking; to buoy. [Obs.] Sir T. Browne.

Note: This verb is regular; but waft was formerly somwafted.

Waft, v. i.

Definition: To be moved, or to pass, on a buoyant medium; to float. And now the shouts waft near the citadel. Dryden.

Waft, n.

1. A wave or current of wind. "Everywaft of the air." Longfellow. In this dire season, oft the whirlwind's wing Sweeps up the burden of whole wintry plains In one wide waft. Thomson.

2. A signal made by waving something, as a flag, in the air.

3. An unpleasant flavor. [Obs.]

4. (Naut.)

Definition: A knot, or stop, in the middle of a flag. [Written also wheft.]

Note: A flag with a waft in it, when hoisted at the staff, or half way to the gaff, means, a man overboard; at the peak, a desire to communicate; at the masthead, "Recall boats."

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



RESET




Word of the Day

22 February 2025

ANALYSIS

(noun) the use of closed-class words instead of inflections: e.g., ‘the father of the bride’ instead of ‘the bride’s father’


coffee icon

Coffee Trivia

Coffee is a brewed drink prepared from roasted coffee beans, the seeds of berries from certain Coffea species. When coffee berries turn from green to bright red – indicating ripeness – they are picked, processed, and dried. Dried coffee seeds are roasted to varying degrees, depending on the desired flavor.

coffee icon