waver

verb

1. (intransitive)To swing or wave, especially in the air, wind, etc.; to flutter.

   “Flowers wavered in the breeze.”

   “There was neuer ſuche aſſemble made in Bretayne before⸝ for if the frenchmen were puyſſãt [puissant]⸝ in lyke wiſe ſo were the engliſſhmen⸝ and eche parte thought to fyght⸝ for euery day they ſhewed them ſelfe in the felde⸝ with baners and penons waueryng with the wynde⸝ it was great pleaſure to behold thẽ [them].”

   “Lord (ſayth he) Put them as a wheele and a ſtoble before the face of the wynde. For as the ſtoble, whyle the wynde bloweth wauereth and flyethe aboue in the ayre, nowe hygh nowe lowe, but anone as the wynde paſſeth it falleth adowne to the erthe and lyeth there ſtylle.”

   “Thus many thinges commyng together, partly by chaunce ⁊ partly by purpoſe, cauſed at length, not common people onely, whiche wauer with the wynde, but wyſe men alſo ⁊ ſome lordes, to marke the matter and muſe thee vpon: […]”

   “The byrdes fliyng and wauoring in the ayer, in the ſtede of houſes haue neſtes to reſt them in. But the ſonne of man ſo is deſtitute of all ſuccours of this worlde, that he hath no place to laye his head in.”

2. (dated, intransitive)To move without purpose or a specified destination; to roam, to wander.

   “[T]here vvere tvvo Channels, one on the North, another on the South, vvhere through the fiſher-men did vvander and vvauer vp to Norvvitch, and diuers parts of Suffolke and Norfolke, […]”

   “Michael watched him down the corridor, saw him waver into the dusky street.”

3. (archaic, intransitive)To sway back and forth, as if about to fall; to reel, to stagger, to totter.

   “[…] Oza for puttyng his hande to the holy ſhryne⸝ that vvas called Archa federis [the Ark of the Covenant]⸝ whan it was broughte by kyng Dauid frõ [from] the citie of Baba [i.e., Ba'alah or Kiriath-Jearim]⸝ though it were wauerynge and in daunger to fall⸝ yet was he ſtryken of god⸝ and fell deed [dead] immediately.”

   “The Fins [of a fish] made of griſtly Spokes or Rays connected by Membranes, ſo that they may be contracted or extended like VVomens Fans, and furniſhed vvith Muſcles for motion, ſerve partly for progreſſion, but chiefly to hold the Body upright; vvhich appears in that vvhen they are cut off, it vvavers to and fro, and ſo ſoon as the Fiſh dies, the Belly turns upvvard.”

   “Tom often heard her praying, as she wavered and trembled, and seemed about to fall down.”

4. (figuratively, intransitive)To begin to weaken or show signs of weakening in resolve; to falter, to flinch, to give way.

   “Despite all the terrible things that happened to her, she never wavered from her beliefs.”

   “The capitayn […], to thentent to ſhewe hymſelfe valiante and not willyng to breake hys othe, neither to wauer frõ [from] hys allegeance, boſted that he would rather dye in the defence then frely yeld the caſtle.”

   “[H]eerein thou vvauereſt and doubteſt.”

   “If, in dishonour of my great design, / Mine and thy fame thou damn'st at this great hour / With any boyish weakness—if thou waverest— / By all the Gods!”

   “The rebels opened the action with a round from their cannon which struck down the royal standard; but never for a moment had they a chance of victory; the sustained fire of the Lanzknechts threw their dense and unorganized masses into rapid confusion. As they wavered, Warwick's horse were in the midst of them, and the fields were covered instantly with a scattered and flying crowd.”

5. (figuratively, intransitive)To feel or show doubt or indecision; to be indecisive between choices; to vacillate.

   “[…] I ſhall not much vvaver to affirm that thoſe vvords vvhich are made to intimate, as if they forbad all divorce but for adultery […] thoſe vvords tak'n circumſcriptly, […] are as much againſt plain equity, and the mercy of religion, […]”

   “Let not that man think that he shall obtain anything from the Lord. What man? Why, he that doubteth or wavereth in his mind, about the truth of the mercy of God in Christ; […]”

6. (figuratively, intransitive)Of a body part such as an eye or hand, or the voice: to become unsteady; to shake, to tremble.

   “His voice wavered when the reporter brought up the controversial topic.”

   “"No," replied the old man, wavering in his voice, no less than in his manner. "No. Let us go on. I am ready. I am quite ready, Nell."”

   “The clear voice faltered—the lithe form stooped— / The white hands wavered—the bright head drooped— / The trumpets quavered, the lights burned blue, / And the Goddess died—as Goddesses do.”

7. (figuratively, intransitive)Of light, shadow, or a partly obscured thing: to flicker, to glimmer, to quiver.

   “[U]nder the Roman empire, men's notions of mechanical relations became faint, wavered, and disappeared, […]”

   “[T]he shadow of the flowers / Stole all the golden gloss, and, wavering / Lovingly lower, trembled on her waist— / Ah, happy shade—and still went wavering down, […]”

8. (figuratively, intransitive)Chiefly of a quality or thing: to change, to fluctuate, to vary.

   “[T]he Englyſhe affaires (as you haue heard) within yͤ realme began to wauer, and waxe variable, whyche cauſed the Engliſhe capitaines, to be of diuerſe opinions.”

   “[D]uring the whole space of time just mentioned, Mr. Benjamin Allen had been wavering between intoxication partial and intoxication complete.”

   “He had a waistcoat—worn winter and summer—a waistcoat that wavered in hue between a sunny buff and a stony drab, which look so ineffably respectable that I am certain if it had been presented at the pay-counter of any bank in Lombard-street the clerks would have cashed it at once for any amount of notes or gold demanded.”

9. (intransitive, obsolete)Followed by from: to deviate from a course; to stray, to wander.

   “And gif it be ane beaſt, ane buke being placed betvvix the hornes of the beaſt, or vpon his forehead, and he and his vvitnes, at the leaſt tvva, ſall ſvveare that, that beaſt did vvaver avvay from him, as he affirmed in his clame; and that he vvas not given, nor ſauld be him to any man, in any maner of vvay.”

10. (figuratively, intransitive, obsolete)Of the wits: to become confused or unsteady; to reel.

    “I am hungry, and I am vveary, and I cannot find him. / Keep my wits heaven, I feele 'em wavering, / O God my head.”

11. (obsolete, transitive)To cause (someone or something) to move back and forth.

    “[I]f the Admirall ſhall happen to hull in the night: then to make a wauering light ouer his other light, wauering the light vpon a pole.”

    “A third wauered and wagled his head, like a proud horſe playing with his bridle, or as I haue ſeene ſome fantaſticall ſwimmer, at euerie ſtroke train his chin ſide-long ouer his left ſhoulder.”

12. (obsolete, transitive)To cause (someone) to begin to or show signs of weakening in resolve; also (rare), to weaken in resolve due to (something).

    “Th'vnconſtant Barrons, vvauering euery houre, / The fierce encounter of this raging tyde, / No ſtrategem yet ſtrongly policied; […]”

noun

1. An act of moving back and forth, swinging, or waving; a flutter, a tremble.

   “No a bit butterflee on its silent waver, meeting the murmur of the straightforward bee.”

   “By turns she sat watching the waver of the candles in the draught, and walked to and fro between the bed and the washhand-stand to keep herself warm.”

2. (figuratively)A state of beginning to weaken or showing signs of weakening in resolve; a falter.

   “I hear the soldiers talk as I ride by, "There goes the old man. All's right." Not a waver, doubt, or hesitation when I order, and men march to certain death without a murmur if I call on them, because they know I value their lives as much as my own.”

3. (figuratively)A state of feeling or showing doubt or indecision; a vacillation.

   “"Does she mean to accept him?" asked Travice. "Well, she's on the waver. She does not dislike him, and she does not particularly like him. He's too old for her; he's twenty years older than Liz; but it's her first offer, and young women are apt to think when they get that, they had better accept it, lest they may never get another."”

4. One who waves their arms, or causes something to swing or wave.

   “I felt encouraged by all the enthusiastic wavers in the crowd.”

   “The Fourth of July brings out all the flag wavers.”

   “Johnny is such a little waver; everyone who passes by receives his preferred greeting.”

   “The vast concourse of people swung their hats and shouted—the windows and house-tops in the wide vicinity burst into a snow-storm of waving handkerchiefs, and the wavers of the same mingled their cheers with those of the masses below. It was a stirring spectacle.”

5. A person who specializes in treating hair to make it wavy.
6. A tool used to make hair wavy.
7. (historical)In full waver roller: a roller which places ink on the inking table of a printing press with a back and forth, waving motion.
8. (obsolete)Synonym of waverer (“one who feels or shows doubt or indecision; a vacillator”).

   “[N]o waver in Judgment, have I, though Gods mercy, ever been; but a conſtant aſſertor of, and ſufferer for my ſatisfiedneſs in, and adheſion to, the piety and probity of my breeding and belief, vvhich vvas ever, yet is, and I hope, through Gods grace, to death ſhall be, in point of Religion according to the Doctrine and Diſcipline of the Church of England.”

9. (dated, dialectal)A sapling or other young tree left standing when other trees around it have been felled.

   “It is a very ordinary Copſe vvhich vvill not afford three or four Firſts, that is, Beſts; fourteen Seconds; tvvelve Thirds; eight VVavers, &c. according to vvhich proportions the ſizes of young Trees in Copſing are to ſucceed one another.”

name

1. A river in northern Cumbria, England, which flows into the Solway Firth.