ˈwax-ˌmaker
1. A maker of wax or of wax candles. ? Obs.
| 14.. Nom. in Wr.-Wülcker 688/22 Hic cerarius,..whax⁓maker. 1483 Cath. Angl. 411/2 A Wax maker, cerarius. 1515 Guild Bk. St. Mary, Boston (MS.) fol. 15 In stipendio Willielmi Pynnell Waxmaker. 1543 Star Chamber Cases (Selden Soc.) II. 271 Maister Anthony Payne wex-maker. |
2. A worker-bee that makes wax.
Translating Huber's term (abeille) cirière.
| 1815 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. xv. (1818) I. 493 When wax is not wanted in the hive, the wax-makers disgorge their honey into the cells. 1816 Ibid. xix. II. 128 There are two sorts of workers, the wax-makers and nurses. 1835 Partington's Brit. Cycl. Nat. Hist. I. 354/1. |
So ˈwax-ˌmaking vbl. n. and ppl. a.
| 1543 Star Chamber Cases (Selden Soc.) II. 271 Costes and Paymentes of the wex makynges. 1815 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. xv. (1818) I. 492 The stomach..in the wax-making bees is much larger than in the nurse-bees. |