wast

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See also: waṣt and was't

English

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Etymology 1

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From Late Middle English wast; equivalent to was +‎ -est.

Pronunciation

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(stressed)

(unstressed)

Verb

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wast

  1. (archaic) second-person singular simple past indicative of be; wert.
    I remember the day when thou wast born.

See also

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References

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Etymology 2

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Noun

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wast (plural wasts)

  1. Obsolete form of waist.

Anagrams

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Dutch

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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wast

  1. inflection of wassen:
    1. second/third-person singular present indicative
    2. (archaic) plural imperative

Gothic

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Romanization

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wast

  1. Romanization of 𐍅𐌰𐍃𐍄

Maltese

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Root
w-s-t
4 terms

Pronunciation

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Preposition

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wast

  1. (obsolete) Alternative form of fost

Middle English

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Etymology 1

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Borrowed from Old Northern French wast (adjective), from Frankish *wōstī, from Proto-Germanic *wōstuz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁weh₂- (to desert). Doublet of weste (deserted).

Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Adjective

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wast (plural and weak singular waste)

  1. uncultivated, deserted, desolate
  2. extravagant, wasteful, excessive
  3. useless, empty, meaningless
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Descendants
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  • English: waste
  • Scots: waste
References
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Etymology 2

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Borrowed from Old Northern French wast (noun), from the adjective. Doublet of weste (wilderness).

Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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wast (plural wastes)

  1. Uncultivated or deserted land; wilderness.
  2. Devastation, ruination; making waste.
  3. (property law) Damage to property or that which causes it.
  4. The utilisation or expenditure of resources:
    1. Extravagant or wasteful consumption.
    2. Useless or ineffectual behaviour; futility.
  5. (rare) Waste, rubbish; useless things.
Descendants
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References
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Etymology 3

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Apparently inherited from Old English *wæst, *wæxt, *weahst, from Proto-West Germanic *wahstu, from Proto-Germanic *wahstuz; compare waxen (to grow).

Forms with /aː/ may be due to the analogy of the variation between /aː/ and /a/ in Etymologies 1 and 2.

Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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wast (plural wastes)

  1. (uncommon) waist (bottom of the chest).
  2. (rare) waist (middle portion of a ship's hull)
Descendants
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References
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Etymology 4

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From was +‎ -est; partially replacing earlier were.

Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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wast

  1. (Late Middle English) second-person singular past indicative of been
Descendants
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Etymology 5

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Verb

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wast

  1. Alternative form of wasten

Old English

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Pronunciation

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Verb

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wāst

  1. second-person singular present of witan

Old French

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Noun

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wast oblique singularm (oblique plural waz or watz, nominative singular waz or watz, nominative plural wast)

  1. Alternative form of gast

Old Gutnish

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Etymology

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From Proto-Germanic *wast, second-person singular indicative past of *wesaną.

Verb

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wast

  1. second-person singular indicative past of wara

Scots

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Etymology

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Inherited from Middle English west, from Old English west, from Proto-West Germanic *westr, from Proto-Germanic *westraz, from Proto-Indo-European *wek(ʷ)speros. Cognate to English west.

Adverb

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wast (comparative mair wast, superlative maist wast)

  1. west
  2. back, sideways; upstream

Preposition

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wast

  1. west
  2. over, across
    She wis walkin wast the road. - She was walking across the road.

Adjective

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wast (comparative mair wast, superlative maist wast)

  1. west

See also

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  • (compass points)
north
wast east
sooth