Wan definition
A wan complexion.
An example of wan is a person with a cold who looks tired and sick.
An example of wan is the light from the sun at the end of the day just before sunset.
A wan smile.
A wan light.
A wan expression.
Other Word Forms
Noun
Adjective
Origin of wan
- Middle English pale, gloomy from Old English wann gloomy, dark
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- w(ide) a(rea) n(etwork)
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- From Middle English wan-, from Old English wan- (prefix expressing privation or negation), from Proto-Germanic *wanaz (“lacking, missing, deficient”), from Proto-Indo-European *(e)wAn-, *wān- (“empty”). Cognate with Dutch wan-, German Wahn-, Danish, Swedish and Icelandic van-, Gothic (wans, “lacking, deficient”). More at want.
From Wiktionary
- From Middle English, from Old English Æ¿ann (“dark, dusky"), from Proto-Germanic *wannaz (“dark, swart"), of uncertain origin. Cognate with Old Frisian wann, wonn (“dark").
From Wiktionary
- Inflected forms.
From Wiktionary