Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Waft
Waft
,Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Wafted
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Wafting
.] [Prob. originally imp. & p. p. of
wave
, v. t. See Wave
to waver.] 1.
To give notice to by waving something; to wave the hand to; to beckon.
[Obs.]
But soft: who
wafts
us yonder? Shakespeare
2.
To cause to move or go in a wavy manner, or by the impulse of waves, as of water or air; to bear along on a buoyant medium;
as, a balloon was
. wafted
over the channelA gentle
wafting
to immortal life. Milton.
Speed the soft intercourse from soul to soul,
And
And
waft
a sigh from Indus to the pole. Pope.
3.
To cause to float; to keep from sinking; to buoy.
[Obs.]
Sir T. Browne.
☞ This verb is regular; but waft was formerly som[GREEK]times used, as by Shakespeare, instead of wafted.
Waft
,Verb.
I.
To be moved, or to pass, on a buoyant medium; to float.
And now the shouts
waft
near the citadel. Dryden.
Waft
,Noun.
1.
A wave or current of wind.
“Everywaft of the air.” Longfellow.
In this dire season, oft the whirlwind’s wing
Sweeps up the burden of whole wintry plains
In one wide
Sweeps up the burden of whole wintry plains
In one wide
waft
. Thomson.
2.
A signal made by waving something, as a flag, in the air.
3.
An unpleasant flavor.
[Obs.]
4.
(Naut.)
A knot, or stop, in the middle of a flag.
[Written also
wheft
.] ☞ A flag with a waft in it, when hoisted at the staff, or half way to the gaff, means, a man overboard; at the peak, a desire to communicate; at the masthead, “Recall boats.”
Webster 1828 Edition
Waft
WAFT
, v.t.1.
To bear through a fluid or bouyant medium; to convey through water or air; as, a balloon was wafted over the channel.Speed the soft intercourse from soul to soul, and waft a sigh from Indus to the pole.
2.
To convey; as ships.3.
To bouy; to cause to float; to keep from sinking.4.
To beckon; to give notice by something in motion. [Not in use.][This verb is regular. But waft was formerly used by some writers for wafted.]
WAFT
,Verb.
I.
And now the shouts waft near the citadel.
WAFT
,Noun.
Definition 2024
waft
waft
English
Autumn leaves wafting in the breeze
Verb
waft (third-person singular simple present wafts, present participle wafting, simple past and past participle wafted)
- (ergative) To (cause to) float easily or gently through the air.
- A breeze came in through the open window and wafted her sensuous perfume into my eager nostrils.
- 1914, Hesiod; Hugh G. Evelyn-White, transl., “To Aphrodite”, in The Homeric Hymns and Homerica (Loeb Classical Library; 57), Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann Ltd., OCLC 728546559:
- 1922, James Joyce, chapter 13, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, OCLC 2812845:
- Through the open window of the church the fragrant incense was wafted and with it the fragrant names of her who was conceived without stain of original sin […]
- 2016 March 27, Daniel Taylor, “Eric Dier seals England’s stunning comeback against Germany”, in The Guardian, London:
- Dele Alli, playing with a peacock-like spread of feathers, wafted one chance over an exposed net for a miss that was completely out of place with the rest of his display.
- (intransitive) To be moved, or to pass, on a buoyant medium; to float.
- 1675, John Dryden, Aureng-zebe, London: [s.n.], OCLC 497010563, Act III, scene i; republished as “Aureng-Zebe, a Tragedy”, in Walter Scott, editor, The Works of John Dryden, now First Collected in Eighteen Volumes. Illustrated with Notes, Historical, Critical, and Explanatory, and a Life of the Author, by Walter Scott, Esq., volume V, London: Printed for William Miller, Albemarle Street, by James Ballantyne and Co. Edinburgh, 1808, OCLC 317070632, page 226:
- Unhappy Aureng-Zebe is in disgrace; / And your Morat, proclaimed the successor, / Is called, to awe the city with his power. / Those trumpets his triumphant entry tell, / And now the shouts waft near the citadel.
- 1675, John Dryden, Aureng-zebe, London: [s.n.], OCLC 497010563, Act III, scene i; republished as “Aureng-Zebe, a Tragedy”, in Walter Scott, editor, The Works of John Dryden, now First Collected in Eighteen Volumes. Illustrated with Notes, Historical, Critical, and Explanatory, and a Life of the Author, by Walter Scott, Esq., volume V, London: Printed for William Miller, Albemarle Street, by James Ballantyne and Co. Edinburgh, 1808, OCLC 317070632, page 226:
- To give notice to by waving something; to wave the hand to; to beckon.
- c. 1594, William Shakespeare, “The Comedie of Errors”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies, London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, Act II, scene iv, page 89:
- […] but ſoft: who wafts vs yonder.
-
Translations
to float easily and gently on the air
to be moved on a buoyant medium
to give notice to by waving something
Noun
waft (plural wafts)
- A light breeze.
- Something (such as an odor or scent like a perfume) that is carried through the air.
- 1908, Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows, London: Methuen, ISBN 978-0-416-16980-5:
- Meanwhile, the wafts from his old home pleaded, whispered, conjured, and finally claimed him imperiously.
- 2010 September, “The SLM Calendar”, in St. Louis Magazine, volume 16, number 9, St. Louis, Mo.: Hartmann Pub. Co., ISSN 1090-5723, page 170:
- Patrol Magazine says of this Oxford, Miss., band: "Guitars are responsible for every noise in Colour Revolt's mix—not a single note of piano, waft of synthesizer, or evidence of electronic tampering are to be found. […]"
-
- (nautical) A flag used to indicate wind direction or, with a knot tied in the center, as a signal; a waif, a wheft.