wand

[wond]

noun

1. a slender stick or rod, especially one used by a magician, conjurer, or diviner.

2. a rod or staff carried as an emblem of one's office or authority.

3. a slender shoot, stem, or branch of a shrub or tree.

4. a small applicator for cosmetics, usually having a brush at the tip.

   She applied the mascara with a wand.

5. U.S. Archery.,  a slat 6 feet (183 centimeters) by 2 inches (5 centimeters) placed at a distance of 100 yards (91 meters) for men and 60 yards (55 meters) for women, and used as a target.

6. Also called wand reader. an electronic device, in the form of a handheld rod, that can optically read coded data, as on a merchandise label or tag or the page of a book.

wand

/ wɒnd /

noun

1. a slender supple stick or twig

2. a thin rod carried as a symbol of authority

3. a rod used by a magician, water diviner, etc

4. informal,  a conductor's baton

5. archery a marker used to show the distance at which the archer stands from the target

6. a hand-held electronic device, such as a light pen or bar-code reader, which is pointed at or passed over an item to read the data stored there

Other Word Forms

• wandlike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of wand¹

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English, from Old Norse vǫndr; cognate with Gothic wandus

Word History and Origins

Origin of wand¹

C12: from Old Norse vōndr; related to Gothic wandus and English _wend

Example Sentences

Add in a bubble-covered crown and earrings, plus a shiny prop wand?

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No one in the administration can wave a wand and make them happen.

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She gifted him a replica of her character’s training wand before closing out the song.

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No magic wand or special potion is needed -- only light.

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Summer dormancy has turned the tall stalks of wand buckwheat brown and bare, except for tiny balls of pink flowers, but the plants should leaf out again in the spring.

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Related Words

• baton