wax

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
wax1

▶noun

• 1 beeswax.

  ■ a white translucent material obtained by bleaching and purifying beeswax, used to make candles and polishes.

  ■ any similar viscous substance, especially a lipid or hydrocarbon.

• 2 informal used in reference to gramophone records.

▶verb

• 1 polish or treat with wax.

  ■ remove hair from (a part of the body) by applying wax and then peeling it off with the hairs.

• 2 informal make a recording of.

– derivatives
waxer noun,
waxing noun.

– origin OE wæx, weax, of Gmc origin.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
wax2

▶verb

• 1 (of the moon) have a progressively larger part of its visible surface illuminated, so that it appears to increase in size.

• 2 literary become larger or stronger.

• 3 speak or write in the specified manner: they waxed lyrical about the old days.

– origin OE weaxan, of Gmc origin.

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
wax3

▶noun Brit. informal, dated a fit of anger.

– origin C19: origin uncertain; perh. from phrs such as wax angry.