wake2

[weyk] /weɪk/
noun
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.
Idioms
3.
in the wake of,
  1. as a result of:
    An investigation followed in the wake of the scandal.
  2. succeeding; following:
    in the wake of the pioneers.
Origin
1540-50; < Middle Low German, Dutch wake, or Old Norse vǫk hole in the ice
British Dictionary definitions for in the wake of

wake1

/weɪk/
verb wakes, waking, woke, woken
1.
(often foll by up) to rouse or become roused from sleep
2.
(often foll by up) to rouse or become roused from inactivity
3.
(intransitive; often foll by to or up to) to become conscious or aware: at last he woke to the situation
4.
(intransitive) to be or remain awake
5.
(transitive) to arouse (feelings etc)
6.
(dialect) to hold a wake over (a corpse)
7.
(archaic or dialect) to keep watch over
8.
(informal) wake up and smell the coffee, to face up to reality, especially in an unpleasant situation
noun
9.
a watch or vigil held over the body of a dead person during the night before burial
10.
(in Ireland) festivities held after a funeral
11.
the patronal or dedication festival of English parish churches
12.
a solemn or ceremonial vigil
13.
(usually pl) an annual holiday in any of various towns in northern England, when the local factory or factories close, usually for a week or two weeks
14.
(rare) the state of being awake
Derived Forms
waker, noun
Usage note
Where there is an object and the sense is the literal one wake (up) and waken are the commonest forms: I wakened him; I woke him (up). Both verbs are also commonly used without an object: I woke up. Awake and awaken are preferred to other forms of wake where the sense is a figurative one: he awoke to the danger
Word Origin
Old English wacian; related to Old Frisian wakia, Old High German wahtēn

wake2

/weɪk/
noun
1.
the waves or track left by a vessel or other object moving through water
2.
the track or path left by anything that has passed: wrecked houses in the wake of the hurricane
Word Origin
C16: of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse vaka, vök hole cut in ice, Swedish vak, Danish vaage; perhaps related to Old Norse vökr, Middle Dutch wak wet
Word Origin and History for in the wake of

wake

v.

"to become awake," Old English wacan "to become awake," also from wacian "to be or remain awake," both from Proto-Germanic *waken (cf. Old Saxon wakon, Old Norse vaka, Danish vaage, Old Frisian waka, Dutch waken, Old High German wahhen, German wachen "to be awake," Gothic wakan "to watch"), from PIE root *weg- "to be strong, be lively" (cf. Sanskrit vajah "force, swiftness, race, prize," vajayati "drives on;" Latin vegere, vigere "to be live, be active, quicken," vigil "awake, wakeful," vigor "liveliness, activity"). Causative sense "to rouse from sleep" is attested from c.1300. Related: Waked; waking. Phrase wake-up call is attested from 1976, originally a call one received from the hotel desk in the morning.

n.

"track left by a moving ship," 1540s, perhaps from Middle Low German or Middle Dutch wake "hole in the ice," from Old Norse vok, vaka "hole in the ice," from Proto-Germanic *wakwo. The sense perhaps evolved via "track made by a vessel through ice." Perhaps the English word is directly from Scandinavian. Figurative phrase in the wake of "following close behind" is recorded from 1806.

"state of wakefulness," Old English -wacu (as in nihtwacu "night watch"), related to watch; and partly from Old Norse vaka "vigil, eve before a feast," related to vaka "be awake" (cf. Old High German wahta "watch, vigil," Middle Dutch wachten "to watch, guard;" see wake (v.)). Meaning "a sitting up at night with a corpse" is attested from early 15c. (the verb in this sense is recorded from mid-13c.). The custom largely survived as an Irish activity. Wakeman (c.1200), which survives as a surname, was Middle English for "watchman."

in the wake of in Culture

wake definition


A funeral celebration, common in Ireland, at which the participants stay awake all night keeping watch over the body of the dead person before burial. A wake traditionally involves a good deal of feasting and drinking.

Idioms and Phrases with in the wake of

in the wake of

.
Following directly on, as in In the wake of the procession, a number of small children came skipping down the aisle. This usage alludes to the waves made behind a passing vessel. [ c. 1800 ]
.
In the aftermath of, as a consequence of, as in Famine often comes in the wake of war. [ Mid-1800s ]

wake

In addition to the idioms beginning with wake
,
also see: