waxed
Meaning
treated or coated with wax to make something shiny, waterproof, or preserved.
increased in size, intensity, or strength (archaic or literary).
applied wax to something.
Structure
Usage
the waxed floor was dangerously slippery.
the moon waxed to its full brilliance over the course of two weeks.
he carefully waxed his surfboard before heading into the water.
Etymology
the modern english word 'waxed' is built upon the old english noun weax, which referred to the substance produced by bees. this germanic root is ancient, with cognates across indo-european languages, often relating to growth or increase, which also gave rise to the verb 'to wax' meaning to grow. the addition of the '-ed' suffix, a common germanic grammatical marker, creates the past tense or participial adjective form. thus, 'waxed' logically carries the dual heritage of its base: describing either the physical application of the substance or, in its archaic sense, the completion of a process of growth.
Analysis
wax (from old english weax, of germanic origin; a pliable substance). ed (from old english -od/-ad, a suffix forming the past tense and past participle of weak verbs).