▪ I. waft, n.1
(wɑːft, -æ-)
Also β. (senses 1, 5–6), 6–7, 9 Sc., dial. and Naut. weft, (7 wefte, waift), 9 wheft, whift.
[Probably two or more formations: in part certainly a noun of action f. waft v.1 and v.2; but sense 1 is recorded more than a century earlier than any sense of the verb that could give rise to it; and the β forms of the n., which do not occur in the verb, seem to indicate a different origin. Cf. waff n., weff; also Sw. vifta, Da. vifte, fan, Sw. vifta, Da. vifte to fan, Norw. veift puff of wind.]
1. a. A taste or flavour, esp. an ill taste, a ‘twang’. Now dial. Cf. weff.
| α 1608 Middleton Mad World iv. iii. F 4 b, A strumpets loue will haue a waft i' th end, and distast the vessell: I can hardly beare this. 1866 J. E. Brogden Provinc. Lincolnsh., Waft, a disagreeable flavour. |
| β 1542 Boorde Dyetary x. (1870) 256 Ale..muste not be ropy nor smoky, nor it must haue no weft nor tayle. 1854 A. E. Baker Northampt. Gloss., Weft, a musty taste, generally applied to beer or wine that tastes of the cask. ‘The beer has a weft of the barrel.’ |
| fig. 1627 S. Ward Serm. & Treat., Coal from Altar 17 Spices and wefts of these evils may be found in the sincerest Christians. |
b. A scent or odour passing through the air or carried on the breeze.
= waff n. 2 b,
weff.
| α 1611 Cotgr., Odeur, an odor, sent, smell, waft. Puant,..that hath an ill waft, or smell. 1675 Evelyn Terra (1776) 70 Aloes and other Sedums..send forth their aromatic Wafts at considerable distance. a 1693 Urquhart's Rabelais iii. xxxii. 273 It is not a sensitive discerning or perception in it of the difference of Wafts and Smells. 1886 Cheshire Gloss. s.v., Sitch a waft o' stinkin fish. 1889 A. E. Barr Feet of Clay ii. 37 The salt savour..was crossed by a waft of hayfields. |
| β 1626 Bacon Sylva §833 The Strongest Sort of Smells are best in a weft, a farre off. 1640 Shirley Arcadia iii. ii. E 3 b, If this be gold 'tis liquid and yet too thicke to be potable as they say, it has a kinde of weft me thinks if I have not lost a sence upon the sudden, I smell. |
2. A current or rush of air, a breath of wind; a blast; the ‘wind’ of a projectile.
| 1643 Mrs. Thornton Autobiog. (Surtees) 33 A cannon bullett flew soe nigh the place where I stood that..the wafte tooke my breath from me for that present. 1649 G. Daniel Trinarch., Hen. IV, cccv, Chaine-Bulletts of his will Run through all Streets, and in the Waft, they kill. 1650 D. Hotham tr. C. Hotham's Introd. Teut. Philos. To Author A 3 b, Me thought the reading of him was like the standing..by a Canon shot off, the waft of them lickt up all my brains. 1863 W. Thornbury True as Steel II. 66 A waft of air scattered them [the ashes] apart for ever. 1867 J. Ingelow Gladys 603 The air was full of voices, and the scent Of mountain blossom loaded all its wafts. 1884 Sladen Poetry of Exiles 55 Reading sweet verse or inhaling a waft of the harbour breeze. |
b. fig.| 1607 T. Walkington Opt. Glass 166 Riot's a barke in th' mindes vnconstant maine, Tost too and fro with wafts of appetite. 1658 G. Fox Jrnl. (1852) I. 345, I saw and felt a waft of death go forth against him. 1822 Galt Sir A. Wylie II. xxxvi. 321 If I get a favourable waft o' your good will, I can bide a wee for an answer. 1873 Gosse On Viol & Flute 59 Out of grieving at a present blight, Come sweeter wafts of garnered memory. 1880 Shorthouse John Inglesant xxxvi, A waft of peace and calm, like a breeze from paradise, fell upon Malvolti's heart. |
c. A sound carried by the breeze. Also (
nonce-use), a transitory gleam (of light).
| 1697 Vanbrugh æsop v. 67 D'ye hear, Trumpets? When the Bride appears, Salute her with a Melancholy Waft. 'Twill suit her humour. 1845 Bailey Festus 214 Sudden and soft, too, like a waft of light, The beautiful immortals come to me. a 1894 Stevenson Heathercat iii. Lay Morals, etc. (1911) 319 The voice of the preacher came to him in wafts, at the wind's will, as by the opening and shutting of a door. |
d. A puff (of smoke or vapour).
| 1896 J. Barlow Mrs. Martin's Comp. 8 'Twas just the one way wid her as wid the waft of smoke there up in her ould chimney that went fluttherin' out on the width of the air, and sorra another breath anywheres nigh it. 1897 Blackmore Dariel xii, Clusters of stars..and loose wafts of vapour ever ready to flout them. |
3. An act of wafting or carrying off as the wind does.
| 1727–46 Thomson Winter 271 Oft the whirlwind's wing Sweeps up the burden of whole wintry plains In one wide waft. |
4. An act of transporting or carrying over water; a passage across the sea. ?
Obs.| 1654 Gayton Pleas. Notes iii. vi. 106 They came to a Bury, which was at that time overflown with water, there Jany and Jocky stood gaping..untill a Traveller passing that way, profer'd the courtesie of a waft successively to them both. 1657 Davenant 1st Day's Entertainm. Rutland Ho. 72 [He] with his long pole gives us a tedious waft, as if he were all the while poching for Eels. 1786 Burns Twa Dogs 156 Or may be in a frolic daft, To Hague or Calais takes a waft. |
5. An act of waving (the wings or something held in the hand); a waving movement.
| α 1652 S. Patrick Funeral Serm. J. Smith in Smith's Sel. Disc. (1660) 495 He was all in a desire, as if the Angels that fetcht his Father, had lent him a waft of their wings, whereby he strove to fly with him to Heaven. 1865 Tennyson Captain 72 And the lonely seabird crosses With one waft of the wing. |
| β 1709 J. Johnson Clergym. Vade M. ii. 103 The orarium was a sort of scarf... The use the Deacon had for it..was to give notice to the people and clerks what they were to do or say, by the several wefts or motions that he made with it. |
6. Naut. A flag (or some substitute) hoisted as a signal; the act of displaying such a signal. (See
quot. 1867.)
Cf. waff n. 1 b.
| α 1644 H. Manwayring Sea-Mans Dict. s.v., Also wafts are used for signes to have the boate come a-boord (which is Coate, Gowne or the like, hung-up in the shrowdes) also it is a common signe of some extremetie, when a ship doth hang a waft upon the maine-stay, either that it hath sprung a-leake, or is in some distresse. 1719 De Foe Crusoe ii. (Globe) 328 We immediately spread our Antient to let them know we saw them, and hung a Waft out as a Signal for them to come on board. 1744 J. Philips Jrnl. Exped. Anson 125 This Day the Gloucester made us a Signal by a waft of her Ensign. 1769 Falconer Dict. Marine (1780), Waft, a signal displayed from the stern of a ship..by hoisting the ensign, furled up together into a long roll, to the head of it's staff. 1854 G. B. Richardson Univ. Code v. (ed. 12) 6394 Hoist a waft. |
| β 1613 J. Saris Voy. Japan (Hakl. Soc.) 49 We had sight of a wefte ashoare. 1697 Admiralty Exam. (MS.) Bundle 81 fol. 171 A weft hung out for her company to come on board. 1798 Coleridge Anc. Mariner ii. i, The Sun came up upon the right..; And broad as a weft, upon the left, Went down into the Sea. 1836 Marryat Midsh. Easy xxiii, I have been looking for an English ensign to hoist over the French, but cannot find one; so I will hoist a wheft over it,—that will do. 1840 F. D. Bennett Whaling Voy. I. 266 The wrecked boat..with two whifts flying as a signal of distress. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Waft, more correctly written wheft. It is a flag or ensign, stopped together at the head and middle portions, slightly rolled up lengthwise, and hoisted at different positions at the after⁓part of a ship. 1894 C. N. Robinson Brit. Fleet 96 A signal of distress..is accentuated by making it into a ‘weft,’ which is done by knotting it in the middle. |
b. to make a waft; to hang out a flag (or substitute) as a signal.
| α 1673 Lond. Gaz. No. 819/4 Being driven near the Shore, they made a waft, and thereupon a Fisherboat went off. 1712 E. Cooke Voy. S. Sea 3 He is to make a Waft with his Jack or Ensign. Ibid. 455 We made a Waift. 1719 De Foe Crusoe i. (Globe) 264 We..saw her make a Waft with her Antient, as a Signal for the Boat to come on Board. |
| β 1653 in J. S. Corbett Fighting Instr. (1905) 99 Upon the discovery of a fleet, receiving a sign from the general, which is to be..making a weft, two frigates..are to make sail. 1820 Scott Abbot xxix, There have already been made two wefts from the warder's turret, to intimate that those in the castle are impatient for your return. |
7. An apparition, wraith.
Cf. waff n. 5.
| 1897 Longm. Mag. July 252 I'm bound to die afore t' year is out... I seed my own waft (wraith) go into the kirk last St. Mark's Eve, and it never cam' out no more. |
▪ II. † waft, n.2 Obs. [? var. weft n.] (See
quot.)
| 1688 Holme Armoury iii. 99/1 Waft, or Finger Bread [= braid], are kind of Purse strings woven on the Fingers either round or broad. |
▪ III. waft, v.1 (
wɑːft,
wæft,
wɒft)
Pa. tense and
pple. wafted. Also 6 ?
waffet,
wafftt, 6–7
wafte (7
pa. pple. waft).
[Back-formation from wafter.] † 1. trans. To convoy (a ship or fleet of ships, persons sailing).
Obs.| 1513 W. Gonson in Lett. & Papers War France (1897) 130 A letter..in the wyche he comaundyth me thatt..I shall conducte and wafftt hys vytellars to hys grett army in the water of Brest. I..made hys Grace answer..I wolld go my sellfe in the smallist of the 3 Spanyards sentt fforthe wit me..and leffe John Ysame and Rychiard Barkeley in the other 2 Spanyiarde shyps to waftt over the Zeland fleett. 1513 Echyngham Ibid. 150 Sir Weston Brown..hath yeven me and Harper in commaundment for to go to Hampton for to wafte the vytlers unto theym. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. IV, 26 Because certain pyrates..were lurkyng at the Temmes mouthe..Thomas Lord Camois with certaine shippes of warre was appointed to wafte over the kyng. 1580 R. Hitchcock Politique Platt c iiij, That two of her graces Shippes of warre, suche as yeerely be appointed to wafte the Marchants maie contineue vpon her Maiesties Seas..for two yeares: for the defence of these fishing Shippes. 1622 in Buccleuch MSS. (Hist. MSS. Comm.) I. 210 Don Faderique de Toledo, who is gone to waft the West India fleet homeward. 1644 H. Manwayring Sea-Mans Dict. s.v., To waft, is to guard any ship, or fleete at sea. 1670 J. Smith Eng. Improv. Reviv'd 270 The Fishermen agreed amongst themselves to pay a Dollar upon every last of Herrings, towards the maintenance of certain Ships of Warr, to Waft and secure them in their Fishing. |
† b. transf. To guide or direct the course of (a vessel, a swimmer, a floating object, etc.).
Obs.| 1591 Sylvester Du Bartas i. v. 360 A little Fish, that swimming still before, Directs him [the Whale]..: Much like a Childe that loving leads about His aged Father when his eyes be out: Still wafting him through every way so right. |
2. To convey safely by water; to carry
over or
across a river, sea, etc.
Obs. exc. poet.| 1593 Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, iv. i. 114, I go of Message from the Queene to France: I charge thee waft me safely crosse the Channell. 1593 ― 3 Hen. VI, iii. iii. 253. Ibid. v. vii. 41 Away with her, and waft her hence to France. 1618 J. Taylor (Water P.) Penniless Pilgr. E 2, And as by water I was wafted in, I thought that I in Charons Boate had bin. 1628 Boyle in Lismore Papers (1886) II. 262 We all landed safely..and the next morning I dischardged Capn Jones..who I hired to wafte me over. 1639 Act in Arch. Maryland (1883) I. 78 No person..other then the owner of the said ferry boat..shall waft or passe any person over the said River. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 731 Nor wou'd th' Infernal Ferry-Man once more Be brib'd, to waft him to the farther shore. 1768 Ann. Reg., Hist. Eur. 32 Great bodies of the Asiatic troops were continually wafted over to the European side of the Hellespont. 1789 Massachusetts Spy 9 Apr. 3/2 An elegant barge is building to waft the great Washington across the Hudson. 1817 Moore Lalla Rookh, Fire-worshippers i. 450 Again she sees his pinnace fly, Wafting him fleetly to his home. 1850 Tennyson In Mem. ix. 4 Fair ship,..Spread thy full wings, and waft him o'er. |
| fig. 1616 B. Jonson Ev. Man in Hum. Prol., Plays..Where neither Chorus wafts you ore the seas; Nor creaking throne comes downe, the boyes to please. 1670 Milton Hist. Eng. i. 5 That fond invention that wafted hither the fifty daughters of a strange Dioclesian King of Syria. |
| refl. 1653 Holcroft Procopius Pref. A 2 b, He could gain no footing in Italy, but in all that time was forced to waft himself by stealth from one Port-town to another. 1677 W. Hubbard Narrative 27 They, taking the advantage of a low tide, either waded over..or else wafted themselves over upon small Rafts of timber. |
b. Of the sea or waves: To carry, transport.
Obs. exc. poet.| 1613 Day Festivals v. (1615) 129 Now the Red-Sea of Baptisme..hath conveyed us, and waft us over. 1671 Milton P.R. i. 104 A calmer voyage now Will waft me. 1742 Pope Dunc. iv. 310 Where, eas'd of Fleets, the Adriatic main Wafts the smooth Eunuch and enamour'd swain. 1742 Young Nt. Th. i. 153 A soul immortal..Thrown into tumult..At aught this scene can threaten..Resembles ocean into tempest wrought, To waft a feather, or to drown a fly. 1878 B. Taylor Deukalion ii. iii. 69 The waves of earth are wafting to and fro The ashes of great lives. |
† c. intr. To sail
about,
off,
to and fro,
up and down; to cross
over by water.
Obs.| a 1562 G. Cavendish Wolsey (Kelmscott Press) 150 Ther was no lesse than a thousand botts..waffetyng uppe and down in Temmes, expectyng my lord's departyng. 1577–87 Holinshed Chron. III. 1187/1 Maister William Winter..made Saile towards Scotland, and wafting along the coast in Januarie came into the Forth. 1579 Gosson Sch. Abuse Ep. Ded., He had not played long in the Sea, wafting too and fro, at his pleasure, but he returned agayne, stroke sayle, [etc.]. 1618 Bolton Florus iv. viii. (1636) 305 And now his Navie wafted up and down in the middle of the Sea. 1631 J. Anchoran Comenius' Gate Tongues 92 Where there is no foord or shallow place they passe, or waft ouer with a wherrie or ferrie boat. 1632 J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 89 When all these of the Fleete were returned..fifteene of them wafted off towards Porto di Torre. 1648 Gage West Ind. xxi. 190 We as prisoners were wafting up and down the sea with them. Ibid. 200 We that day wafted about for a good wind. 1667 Milton P.L. ii. 1042 Satan..Wafts on the calmer wave by dubious light And like a weather-beaten Vessel holds Gladly the Port. 1700 Dryden Ovid's Met. i. 432 High on the summit of this dubious Cliff, Deucalion wafting, moor'd his little Skiff. 1774 Beattie Minstrel ii. xlix, He braves The surge and tempest,..And to a happier land wafts merrily away! 1814 Capt. Scobell Jrnl. of the ‘Thais’ in Tuckey's Narr. Exped. R. Zaire (1818) Introd. p. xiii, I met several floating islands..which..wafting to the motion of the sea, rushed far into the ocean. |
† 3. trans. To buoy
up.
Obs. rare.
| 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. iv. vii. 196 Some alledge that spirits are light substances, and naturally ascending do elevate and waft the body upward. 1650 Ibid. iv. vi. (1658) 247 Whether Cripples and mutilated persons..who have lost the greatest part of their thighs, will not sink but float, their lungs being abler to waft up their bodies. |
4. Of the wind: To propel (a vessel) or convey (a navigator or passenger) safely.
Originally a mere contextual use of sense 2. The frequency of examples in which the verb denotes the action of the wind gave rise in the 18th c. to the notion that the essential meaning of the verb had reference to this agency, and to the identification of the word with the etymologically distinct
waft v.
2 The older sense 2, so far as it survives, is coloured by association with this sense.
| a 1707 Prior Song, ‘In vain you tell’ 2 In vain you tell your parting Lover You wish fair Winds may waft Him over. 1713 Derham Phys.-Theol. 18 The Sea, and the Land-Breezes; the one serving to carry the Mariner in long Voyages from East to West; the other serving to waft him to particular Places. 1773 J. Hawkesworth Cook's 1st Voy. iii. iii. III. 555 The gale that afterwards wafted us to the shore, would then certainly have beaten us to pieces. 1816 J. Wilson City of Plague i. ii. 70 While favouring breezes waft his blessed ship Far from the Plague. 1819 Heber Hymn, ‘From Greenland's Icy Mountains’ iv, Waft, waft, ye winds, His story. 1842 Tennyson ‘You ask me, why’ 25 Yet waft me from the harbour-mouth, Wild wind! |
| fig. 1653 Jer. Taylor Serm. I. viii. 98 The sighs of their feares, and the wind of their prayers waft them safely to their port. 1884 Daily News 26 May 5/1 The Conservatism of the present is waiting for a wind?.. Will it waft and bear to enterprise and rough seas and daring adventure? 1885 R. Buchanan Annan Water iii, What wind of utter despair had wafted her to that place of all places. |
5. To carry (something) through the air or through space.
a. with sound, scent, infection, etc. as object: said of the wind. Also with
away,
by,
round.
| 1704 Pope Pastorals, Summer 80 Your praise the birds shall chant in ev'ry grove, And winds shall waft it to the pow'rs above. 1781 Cowper Heroism 35 The self-same gale that wafts the fragrance round Brings to the distant ear a sullen sound. 1803 Med. Jrnl. X. 136 Assuredly, then, this affection [influenza] has been rather wafted on us, than communicated to us in the way of personal intercourse. 1811 Shelley St. Irvyne i. ii. 4 And low, chilling murmurs, the blast wafted by. 1855 Tennyson Maud i. xxii. 1 And the woodbine spices are wafted abroad. 1887 Bowen æneid i. 417 Where sweet scents are wafted from garlands ever in bloom. |
b. with material object.
| 1726 G. Shelvocke Voy. round World 425 Nitrous and sulphureous particles..are wafted in the air by diverse winds. 1784 Cowper Task iii. 540 And ev'n the breathing air Wafts the rich prize [pollen] to its appointed use. 1817 J. Evans Excurs. Windsor 457 Our Table Cloth..was in the act of being wafted overboard. 1836 Dickens Sk. Boz, Vauxhall-Gardens, The balloons were wafted gently away. 1878 Huxley Physiogr. 192 Dense showers of such dust have been wafted by winds for even hundreds of miles. |
c. To send (a sound, fragrance, etc.) through the air; to ‘blow’ (a kiss).
| 1728 Pope Dunc. ii. 265 Thames wafts it [the sound] thence to Rufus' roaring hall And Hungerford re-echoes bawl for bawl. 1815 Byron Hebrew Mel., ‘The harp the monarch’ 12 It [the harp] told the triumphs of our King, It wafted glory to our God. 1837 Dickens Pickw. xi, And many a kiss did Mr. Snodgrass waft in the air, in acknowledgment of something very like a lady's handkerchief. 1855 Baroness Bunsen in Hare Life (1879) II. iv. 181 At the year's beginning and end, one is peculiarly moved to..waft wishes and kind thoughts to many a far-removed locality. 1871 J. R. Macduff Mem. Patmos v. 62 This Tree with its perennial fruits, wafting immortal fragrance and distilling immortal balm. |
d. To carry in flight: said chiefly of angels.
| a 1718 Prior Danistonus' Ad Amicos Imit. 12 Glad I release it from it's Partner's Cares; And bid good Angels waft it to the Stars. 1791 Cowper Iliad v. 925 Swift as her pinions waft the dove away. 1816 J. Wilson City of Plague iii. ii, O Heaven protect my faithful Isabel, And waft her safe, as on an angel's wing, To that sweet lake. 1817 Moore Lalla Rookh, Fire-worshippers i. 261 Oft..I've wish'd that little isle had wings, And we, within its fairy bow'rs, Were wafted off to seas unknown. 1845 E. Fitzball Maritana ii. Aria, Oh! that angels now might waft him To the mansions of the blest! |
e. fig. To transport instantaneously, as by magic or in imagination.
| 1781 Cowper Conversat. 592 Hopes of heav'n, bright prospects of an hour, That come to waft us out of sorrow's pow'r. 1820 W. Irving Sketch Bk. I. 4 With what longing eyes would I gaze after their lessening sails, and waft myself in imagination to the ends of the earth. |
6. intr. To pass through the air or through space; to float upon, come or go with the wind or breeze.
| 1664 Power Exp. Philos. i. 3 Small hairs..which (by blowing upon) you might see waft to and fro. 1676 Dryden Aurengz. iii. i, Those Trumpets his triumphant Entry tell. And now the Shouts waft near the Cittadel. 1690 ― Amphitryon ii. i, There is an ill savour that offends my Nostrils; and it wafteth this way. 1717 Pope Eloisa to Abel. 214 Tears that delight, and sighs that waft to heav'n. 1802 M. Moore Lascelles II. 9, I recognized his charming voice in the delightful strains which wafted on my ear. 1890 Daily News 7 July 6/2 Great green boxes [of roses] were being opened with very perceptible whiffs of perfume wafting from them. |
† b. Of a bird, winged insect: To pass by flying.
Obs.| 1682 N. O. Boileau's Lutrin iii. 24 Then wafting at one Reach, they proudly Pearch On highest Pinnacle of the fatal Church! 1712–14 Pope Rape of Lock ii. 60 Some to the sun their insect-wings unfold, Waft on the breeze, or sink in clouds of gold. |
c. Of the breeze: To blow softly.
| 1804 Something Odd II. 26 In vain..did the soft breezes of an approaching summer waft around him. 1849 Cupples Green Hand xvii. (1856) 176 There wasn't a breath of air yet, either, save what seemed now and then to waft out of the thick woods. |
7. trans. To move, drive, or carry
away (something) by producing a current of air.
| 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 636 A sort of winnowing machine, which wafts away the finer and lighter parts. 1844 Kinglake Eothen xviii, It seems to you that it is not the donkey, but the donkey-boy who wafts you along with his shouts. |
▪ IV. † waft, v.2 Obs. [App. an alteration of waff v.1, perh. due to the pa. tense or pple. waft.] 1. trans. To wave (the hand or something held in the hand),
esp. as a signal.
| 1604 E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Ind. vii. xvi. 540 They were accustomed in their elections to make great feasts and dances, where they wafted many lightes. 1636 Heywood Loves Mistr. i. i, Shee now hath climb'd the Rock, And wafts her hand. |
| absol. a 1648 Ess. Death in Bacon's Remaines 10 These wait upon the shore of death, and waft unto him to draw neer. |
b. To signal to (a person, etc.) by waving the hand or something held in the hand. Also, of a flag.
| 1578 G. Best in Hakluyt's Voy. (1600) III. 63 We espied certaine of the countrey people..with a flag wafting vs backe againe. 1590 Shakes. Com. Err. ii. ii. 111 But soft, who wafts vs yonder. 1592 Kyd Sol. & Pers. i. iii. 116 Hee that will try me, let him waft me with his arme. 1606 Chapman Gentl. Usher i. ii. 177 Till you can directly boord him, Waft him aloofe with hats and other favours. 1607 Shakes. Timon i. i. 70 One do I personate of Lord Timons frame, Whom Fortune with her Iuory hand wafts to her. 1608 Middleton Mad World iii. iii. F 1, The hayre about the hat is as good as a flag vppo' th pole at a common Playhouse to waft company. 1645 Stapylton tr. Musæus A 4 b, The Tow'r where Sestian Hero lay, And held the Torch, wafting Leander o're. 1670 Narborough Jrnl. in Acc. Sev. Late Voy. i. (1694) 49 They saw seven people..making a noise and wafting them to the ship. a 1719 Garth Ovid's Met. xiv. Wks. (1790) 134 At length a sail I wafted, and aboard My fortune found an hospitable lord. |
c. To move (something)
aside with a wave of the hand.
| 1781 Cowper Hope 570 Now, truth, perform thine office; waft aside The curtain drawn by prejudice and pride. |
2. To turn (the eyes) aside with a disdainful movement.
nonce-use.
| 1611 Shakes. Wint. T. i. ii. 372 When hee Wafting his eyes to th' contrary, and falling A Lippe of much contempt, speedes from me. |
3. intr. To move to and fro, to wave.
Obs.| 1650 Jer. Taylor Funeral Serm. C'tess Carbery 4 The face of the waters wafting in a storm, so wrinkles it self, that it makes upon its forehead furrows. |