▪ I. waken, v.
(ˈweɪk(ə)n)
Pa. tense and pple. wakened. Forms: 1 wæcnan, wæcnian, 3 waken-en, -in, Orm. waccn-enn, 3–4, 6 Sc. wakne, 3–5 wakin, wakken, wacken, 4 wakan, wakkin, Sc. vakyn, 4–5 wakyn, -on, wackyn, -on, Sc. valkyn, 4–6 Sc. walkyn, 5 waykyn, wokyn (?), 5–6 Sc. walkin, 6 Sc. walkne, valkin, 6–7 Sc. walken, waikin, 8–9 Sc. wauken, dial. wacken, wakken, 3– waken.
[OE. wæcnan (also -wæcnian, ? once wacnian) = ON. vakna (Norw., Sw. vakna, Da. vaagne), Goth. ga-waknan (found only in pr. pple.), f. root *wak- (see wake v.) + -n- suffix of inchoative verbs of state.
The suffix in Teut. verbs of this class was originally confined to the present stem; cf. Goth. fra{iacu}hnan, frah, frēhum, also keinan, pa. pple. kijans. The original conjugation in OE. may have been wæcnan, wóc, wócon, *wacen, but the conjugation of wæcnan as a regular weak verb goes back to the earliest known period of the language; in ON. vakna is weak, the strong pa. tense being wanting.]
I. Intransitive senses.
1. To cease to sleep; to become awake. Const. † of (obs.), from, out of (sleep, etc.), to (a state of things, etc.). Also with up. Cf. wake v. 7.
| c 1300 Havelok 2164 So þat he bigan to wakne, And wit hem ful sore to blakne. 1375 Barbour Bruce vii. 210 He valknyt, and rais all desaly. c 1400 Melayne 133 When Charls wakenede of his dreme. c 1420 Wyntoun Cron. iv. 1167 Þan þe Romanys suddandly wayknyt qwhar þai slepande lay. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xxvii. 103 Quhairthrow I walknit of my trance. 1581 Rich Farew. (Shaks. Soc.) 166 He bidde her goe againe, and shake her till she did waken. 1616 S. S. Honest Lawyer iv. G 3, Whilst thou wakendst with the chimes, Because thou wentst to bed betimes. 1618 Fletcher Mad Lover v. iv, Looke with the eyes of heaven that nightlie waken, To view the wonders of my glorious Maker. 1760 Impostors Detected iv. vi. II. 211 At that very instant Don Vulpez wakened from his trance. 1787 Burns ‘Again rejoicing Nature’ vi, When the lark, 'tween light and dark, Blythe waukens by the daisy's side. 1815 Scott Antiq. xxi, An he sleeps in this damp hole, he'll maybe wauken nae mair. 1856 C. M. Yonge Daisy Chain ii. x, Etheldred's dream was over. She had wakened to the inside of a Great Western carriage. a 1874 R. Buchanan Dead Mother 5, I waken'd up in the dead of night. |
b. transf. and fig., of inanimate things, etc. † Of a condition, state of things: To come into existence, become manifest or active, be stirred up or aroused; also with up. Of wind: To begin to blow or rage. Cf. wake v. 7 c, e.
| Beowulf 85 Ne wæs hit lenge þa ᵹen þæt se ecghete..æfter wælniðe wæcnan scolde. c 1200 Ormin 12223 All þe flæshess fule lusst Waccneþþ þurrh gluterrnesse. a 1225 St. Marher. 11 Þu art walle of waisdom, ant euch wunne wakeneð ant waxeð of þe. a 1327 Pol. Songs (Camden) 152 Ther wakeneth in the world wondred ant wee. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. C. 132 Þay [sc. winds] wakened wel þe wroþeloker, for wroþely he cleped. a 1352 Minot Poems vi. 10 When all yowre wele es went Ȝowre wo wakkins ful wide. c 1400 Destr. Troy 2046 Now wackons vp werre as ye shall note after. c 1425 Seven Sag. (P.) 1803 Than bygan to wakken wo. 1597 Beard Theatre God's Judgem. (1612) 245 And so though vengeance slept a while, yet at length it wakened. 1634 Brereton Trav. (Chetham Soc.) 4 It was then a great calm, about an hour, and afterwards the wind wakened. 1839 T. T. Stoddart Songs & P. 21 O waken, winds, waken! 1852 Thackeray Esmond iii. vii, We forget nothing. The memory sleeps, but wakens again. 1898 A. Austin Lamia's Winter Quarters p. viii, When..the fig-tree cressets have flamed to green, And windflower wakened, and tulip blown. |
c. Of a person: To become lively, animated, or stirring; usually with up. Also, to become ‘alive’ to (a situation, etc.). Cf. wake v. 7 c.
| 1825 Jamieson, Wauken,..2. To become animated..; as, ‘He wauken't on his sermon’. 1891 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Sydney-side Sax. xii, The rider going pretty patient like myself, but beginning to waken up. 1899 Westm. Gaz. 27 Dec. 2/1 Mr. Collins is wakening to the necessity of a more refined type of Christmas entertainment. |
† 2. To remain awake, refrain from sleeping, keep watch or vigil; to remain alive. Obs. rare.
| 1682 Bunyan Holy War (1905) 430 And dost thou know why I..do still suffer Diabolonians to dwell in thy walls, O Mansoul? it is to keep thee wakening, to try thy love, to make thee watchful. |
II. Transitive senses.
3. To rouse (a person or animal) from sleep or unconsciousness. Also with up. Const. † of (obs.), from, out of (sleep). Cf. wake v. 8.
| c 1200 Ormin 5843, 5845 & o þe þridde daȝȝ itt [the lion's whelp] iss Waccnedd off slæp & reȝȝsedd, Þurrh þatt te faderr gaþ þærto & stireþþ itt & waccneþþ. a 1300 Cursor M. 14201 Þat i til him weind it es time For to wacken him of his suime. 1375 Barbour Bruce vi. 104 Than his twa men in hy send he To warne & walkyn his menȝe. c 1400 Destr. Troy 681 [She] Waknet vp a wydow, þat hir with dwellit. c 1510 Douglas K. Hart i. 381 The Quene is walknit with ane felloun fray. 1601 Weever Mirr. Mart. B iij b, At length, well wakened from that pleasing slumber. 1611 Bible Zech. iv. 1 As a man that is wakened out of his sleepe. 1673 Vinegar & Mustard (1873) 23 The paltry cur wakened me last Sunday of a good nap. 1818 Scott Hrt. Midl. xxix, May ye a' sleep till the hangman wauken ye. 1853 Mrs. Gaskell Ruth xxii, Her dream..was one of undefined terror.. so great that it wakened her up. 1872 Tennyson Gareth & Lynette 1034 O Sun, that wakenest all to bliss or pain. |
b. fig.
| c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 167 Lord, where slepis þis gode lawe, and when schal hit be wakened? 1594 Shakes. Rich. III, iii. vii. 124 Your sleepie thoughts, Which here we waken to our Countries good. 1639 Mayne City Match i. v, Fresh as Pygmalions Mistresse newly wakened Out of her Alabaster. 1820 Shelley Ode West Wind 29 Thou who didst waken from his summer dreams The blue Mediterranean. 1842 Dickens Amer. Notes xi, A loud high-pressure blast; enough, one would think, to waken up the host of Indians who lie buried in a great mound yonder. |
4. To rouse to activity, alertness, or liveliness; to stir up, excite. Const. to, † into; to (do something). Also with up. Cf. wake v. 9.
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 3610 Þerfore wackon þi wille into wight dedis. c 1400 Rule St. Benet (Prose) xxii. 20 Man sal wakin þaim faire til godis seruise. 1456 Sir G. Haye Law Arms (S.T.S.) 166 The men that I led with me to wakyn ȝow to do me resoun. 1549 Compl. Scot. xi. 92 God almychty valknit vitht his grace the hartis of ȝour predecessours. 1577 St. Augustine's Man. Pref., That when we bee shrunke away, we may bee wakened to run backe agayne to our true God. 1604 Jas. I Counterbl. To Rdr. (Arb.) 97 It is the Kings part..to waken them vp againe, to be more diligent in their Offices. 1759 Johnson Idler No. 43 ¶3 It was therefore necessary that this universal reluctance should be counter⁓acted, and the drowsiness of hesitation wakened into resolve. 1851 G. Brimley Ess., Wordsw. (1858) 110 Where the vanity of social distinction..wakens the harp of the poet. 1877 R. H. Hutton Ess. (ed. 2) I. Pref. 6 It has been the one purpose of all..divine revelation..to waken us up out of this perpetually recurring tendency to fall back into ourselves. |
5. To summon into existence, raise, stir up (war, woe, wind, etc.); to kindle (fire, flame); to arouse, excite (an activity, emotion); to evoke (music, sound). Also with up. Cf. wake v. 10.
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 8558 Now hauy take oure moste fo, Þat haþ vs wakned many wo! 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 323 For I schal waken vp a water to wasch alle þe worlde. c 1400 Destr. Troy 2274 Yff we wackon vp werre with weghes so fele. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. II. 460 Scho feired that he..suld in Scotland agane be the raiser of a newe bleise, and wakne vp a new flame. a 1616 Beaum. & Fl. Little Fr. Lawyer v. ii. 16 Speake to that Lion Lord, waken his anger. 1667 Milton P.L. iii. 369 They introduce Thir sacred Song, and waken raptures high. 1786 Burns Holy Fair xix, It kindles Wit, it waukens Lear. 1838 Dickens O. Twist li, What a crowd of emotions were wakened up in his breast. 1863 Geo. Eliot Romola I. Proem 16 The sunlight and shadows bring their old beauty and waken the old heart-strains at morning, noon, and even-tide. |
6. Scots Law. To revive (a process) which, after calling a summons, has been allowed to ‘sleep’ for a year and a day.
| 1560 Maitl. Club Misc. III. 234 The cause..suscitate and newlie walkynnet. 1569 Reg. Privy Council Scot. I. 680 The mater being walkynnit of new, and all the partiis comperand personalie. 1609 Skene Reg. Maj., Quoniam Attach. c. 55 And then the principall pley (betwix the persewer and the defender) sall be walkned. 1711 J. Spottiswoode Forms of Process (1718) 20 In case Protestation has not been sought within Year and Day,..no Protestation can be granted, till the Advocation; which on that Account, is said to be sleeping, be wakened. 1790 Collect. Styles III. 195. 1838 W. Bell Dict. Law Scot. s.v. Wakening. |
7. To watch, watch over, keep an eye upon. Sc.
| 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. III. 12 This ilk Angus in Quhiterne than tuke girth, Quhair he wes walknit all tyme round about, That be no way that tyme he mycht wyn out. 1865 Tester Poems 156 (E.D.D.) On summer nichts, wauken the claes Wi' maidens fair. |
Hence ˈwakened, ˈwakening ppl. adjs.
| c 1600 Shakes. Sonn. cxvii. 12 But shoote not at me in your wakened hate. 1635 D. Dickson Hebr. xii. 24. 304 The wakened Conscience, lying in..feare of the offended Iudge. 1670 Milton Hist. Eng. ii. 95 He therefore with a wak'n'd spirit, to the extent of his Fortune dilating his mind. 1813 Scott Rokeby ii. i, And the rich dale, that eastward lay, Waited the wakening touch of day. 1817 Moore Lalla Rookh, Veiled Proph. i. 166 Ere Peace can visit them, or Truth let in Her wakening day-light on a world of sin! 1892 Meredith Poems, Ode Comic Spirit 71 Thou, soul of wakened heads, art armed to warn. |
▪ II. waken
obs. form of weaken.