wake1
- to become roused from sleep; awake; awaken; waken (often followed by up).
- to become roused from a tranquil or inactive state; awaken; waken: to wake from one's daydreams.
- to become cognizant or aware of something; awaken; waken: to wake to the true situation.
- to be or continue to be awake: Whether I wake or sleep, I think of you.
- to remain awake for some purpose, duty, etc.: I will wake until you return.
- to hold a wake over a corpse.
- to keep watch or vigil.
- to rouse from sleep; awake; awaken; waken (often followed by up): Don't wake me for breakfast. Wake me up at six o'clock.
- to rouse from lethargy, apathy, ignorance, etc. (often followed by up): The tragedy woke us up to the need for safety precautions.
- to hold a wake for or over (a dead person).
- to keep watch or vigil over.
- a watching, or a watch kept, especially for some solemn or ceremonial purpose.
- a watch or vigil by the body of a dead person before burial, sometimes accompanied by feasting or merrymaking.
- a local annual festival in England, formerly held in honor of the patron saint or on the anniversary of the dedication of a church but now usually having little or no religious significance.
- the state of being awake: between sleep and wake.
Origin of wake1
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comAntonyms
wake2
- the track of waves left by a ship or other object moving through the water: The wake of the boat glowed in the darkness.
- the path or course of anything that has passed or preceded: The tornado left ruin in its wake.
- in the wake of,
- as a result of: An investigation followed in the wake of the scandal.
- succeeding; following: in the wake of the pioneers.
Origin of wake2
Examples from the Web for wake
Contemporary Examples
That is why The Daily Beast stands with Charlie Hebdo and published their controversial covers in the wake of the attack.
In the wake of this turmoil, the New York Post reported that the police had stopped policing.
The newly free country struggled to maintain order in the wake of independence, but it was woefully unprepared.
In the wake of the verdicts in Ferguson and New York City, many of us are still sore with emotion.
In the wake of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, things will not be the same.
Historical Examples
They laid Paralus upon a couch, with the belief that he slept to wake no more.
PhilotheaLydia Maria Child
The soul cannot move, wake, or open the eyes, without perceiving God.
The Conquest of FearBasil King
But now some dim perception of this truth began to wake in her.
Weighed and WantingGeorge MacDonald
So keen the blade, so soft the touch, the sleeper did not wake!
But was it possible he should ever wake to see how ugly his conduct had been?
Weighed and WantingGeorge MacDonald
wake1
- (often foll by up) to rouse or become roused from sleep
- (often foll by up) to rouse or become roused from inactivity
- (intr; often foll by to or up to) to become conscious or awareat last he woke to the situation
- (intr) to be or remain awake
- (tr) to arouse (feelings etc)
- dialect to hold a wake over (a corpse)
- archaic, or dialect to keep watch over
- wake up and smell the coffee informal to face up to reality, especially in an unpleasant situation
- a watch or vigil held over the body of a dead person during the night before burial
- (in Ireland) festivities held after a funeral
- the patronal or dedication festival of English parish churches
- a solemn or ceremonial vigil
- (usually plural) an annual holiday in any of various towns in northern England, when the local factory or factories close, usually for a week or two weeks
- rare the state of being awake
Word Origin
usage
wake2
- the waves or track left by a vessel or other object moving through water
- the track or path left by anything that has passedwrecked houses in the wake of the hurricane
Word Origin
Word Origin and History for wake
v.
"to become awake," Old English wacan "to become awake," also from wacian "to be or remain awake," both from Proto-Germanic *waken (cf. Old Saxon wakon, Old Norse vaka, Danish vaage, Old Frisian waka, Dutch waken, Old High German wahhen, German wachen "to be awake," Gothic wakan "to watch"), from PIE root *weg- "to be strong, be lively" (cf. Sanskrit vajah "force, swiftness, race, prize," vajayati "drives on;" Latin vegere, vigere "to be live, be active, quicken," vigil "awake, wakeful," vigor "liveliness, activity"). Causative sense "to rouse from sleep" is attested from c.1300. Related: Waked; waking. Phrase wake-up call is attested from 1976, originally a call one received from the hotel desk in the morning.
n.1
"track left by a moving ship," 1540s, perhaps from Middle Low German or Middle Dutch wake "hole in the ice," from Old Norse vok, vaka "hole in the ice," from Proto-Germanic *wakwo. The sense perhaps evolved via "track made by a vessel through ice." Perhaps the English word is directly from Scandinavian. Figurative phrase in the wake of "following close behind" is recorded from 1806.
n.2
"state of wakefulness," Old English -wacu (as in nihtwacu "night watch"), related to watch; and partly from Old Norse vaka "vigil, eve before a feast," related to vaka "be awake" (cf. Old High German wahta "watch, vigil," Middle Dutch wachten "to watch, guard;" see wake (v.)). Meaning "a sitting up at night with a corpse" is attested from early 15c. (the verb in this sense is recorded from mid-13c.). The custom largely survived as an Irish activity. Wakeman (c.1200), which survives as a surname, was Middle English for "watchman."
wake
A funeral celebration, common in Ireland, at which the participants stay awake all night keeping watch over the body of the dead person before burial. A wake traditionally involves a good deal of feasting and drinking.
Idioms and Phrases with wake
wake
In addition to the idioms beginning with wake
, also see
- in the wake of
- to wake the dead
.