WAX, noun [G., Latin ]

1. A thick, viscid, tenacious substance, collected by bees, or excreted from their bodies, and employed in the construction of their cells; usually called bees wax Its native color is yellow, but it is bleached for candles, etc.

2. A thick tenacious substance excreted in the ear.

3. A substance secreted by certain plants, forming a silvery powder on the leaves and fruit, as in the wax-palm and wax-myrtle.

4. A substance found on the hinder legs of bees, which is supposed to be their food.

5. A substance used in sealing letters; called sealing-wax, or Spanish wax This is a composition of gum-lacca and resin, colored with some pigment.

6. A thick substance used by shoemakers for rubbing their thread.

WAX, verb transitive To smear or rub with wax; as, to wax a thread or a table.

WAX, verb intransitive preterit tense waxed.; participle passive waxed or waxen. [G., Latin , Gr.]

1. To increase in size; to grow; to become larger; as the waxing and the waning moon.

2. To pass from one state to another; to become; as, to wax strong; to wax warm or cold; to wax feeble; to wax hot; to wax old; to wax worse and worse.