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wake1
—waker, n.v.i.1. to become roused from sleep; awake; awaken; waken (often fol. by up).2. to become roused from a tranquil or inactive state; awaken; waken: to wake from one's daydreams.3. to become cognizant or aware of something; awaken; waken: to wake to the true situation.4. to be or continue to be awake: Whether I wake or sleep, I think of you.5. to remain awake for some purpose, duty, etc.: I will wake until you return.6. to hold a wake over a corpse.7. to keep watch or vigil.v.t.8. to rouse from sleep; awake; awaken; waken (often fol. by up): Don't wake me for breakfast. Wake me up at six o'clock.9. to rouse from lethargy, apathy, ignorance, etc. (often fol. by up): The tragedy woke us up to the need for safety precautions.10. to hold a wake for or over (a dead person).11. to keep watch or vigil over.n.12. a watching, or a watch kept, esp. for some solemn or ceremonial purpose.13. a watch or vigil by the body of a dead person before burial, sometimes accompanied by feasting or merrymaking.14. a local annual festival in England, formerly held in honor of the patron saint or on the anniversary of the dedication of a church but now usually having little or no religious significance.15. the state of being awake: between sleep and wake.[bef. 900; (v.) in sense "to become awake" continuing ME waken, OE *wacan (found only in past tense woc and the compounds onwacan, awacan to become awake; see AWAKE (v.)); in sense "to be awake" continuing ME waken, OE wacian (c. OFris wakia, OS wakon, ON vaka, Goth wakan); in sense "to rouse from sleep" continuing ME waken, r. ME wecchen, OE weccan, prob. altered by assoc. with the other senses and with the k of ON vaka; (n.) ME: state of wakefulness, vigil (late ME: vigil over a dead body), prob. continuing OE *wacu (found only in nihtwacu night-watch); all ult. < Gmc *wak- be lively; akin to WATCH, VEGETABLE, VIGIL]Syn. 8. arouse. 9. stimulate, activate, animate, kindle, provoke.Ant. 1. sleep.wake2/wayk/, n.1. the track of waves left by a ship or other object moving through the water: The wake of the boat glowed in the darkness.2. the path or course of anything that has passed or preceded: The tornado left ruin in its wake.3. in the wake of,a. as a result of: An investigation followed in the wake of the scandal.b. succeeding; following: in the wake of the pioneers.[1540-50; < MLG, D wake, or ON vok hole in the ice]
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▪ religious ritewatch or vigil held over the body of a dead person before burial and sometimes accompanied by festivity; also, in England, a vigil kept in commemoration of the dedication of the parish church. The latter type of wake consisted of an all-night service of prayer and meditation in the church. These services, officially termed Vigiliae by the church, appear to have existed from the earliest days of Anglo-Saxon Christianity. Each parish kept the morrow of its vigil as a holiday. Wakes soon degenerated into fairs; (fair) people from neighbouring parishes journeyed over to join in the merrymaking, and the revelry and drunkenness became a scandal. The days usually chosen for church dedications being Sundays and saints' days, the abuse seemed all the more scandalous. In 1445 Henry VI attempted to suppress markets and fairs on Sundays and holy days.Side by side with these church wakes there existed the custom of “holding a wake over” a corpse. The custom, as far as England was concerned, seems to have been older than Christianity and to have been at first essentially Celtic. Doubtless it had a superstitious origin, the fear of evil spirits hurting or even removing the body. The Anglo-Saxons called the custom lich-wake, or like-wake (from Anglo-Saxon lic, a corpse). With the introduction of Christianity, the offering of prayer was added to the vigil. As a rule, the corpse, with a plate of salt on its breast, was placed under the table, on which was liquor for the watchers. These private wakes soon tended to become drinking orgies. With the Reformation and the consequent disuse of prayers for the dead, the custom of waking became obsolete in England but survived in Ireland. Many countries and peoples have a custom equivalent to waking, which, however, is distinct from funeral feasts.* * *
Universalium. 2010.
