waft

Definitions


[wɑːft], (Verb)

Definitions:
- (with reference to a scent, sound, etc.) pass or cause to pass gently through the air
(e.g: the smell of stale fat wafted out from the cafe)


Phrases:

Origin:
early 16th century (in the sense ‘escort a ship’): back-formation from obsolete wafter (used only by opponents of the practice) ‘armed convoy vessel’, from Low German, Dutch wachter, from wachten ‘to guard’. A sense ‘convey by water’ gave rise to the current use of the verb


[wɑːft], (Noun)

Definitions:
- a gentle movement of air

- a knotted ensign, garment, etc. displayed by a ship as a signal


Phrases:

Origin:
early 16th century (in the sense ‘escort a ship’): back-formation from obsolete wafter (used only by opponents of the practice) ‘armed convoy vessel’, from Low German, Dutch wachter, from wachten ‘to guard’. A sense ‘convey by water’ gave rise to the current use of the verb




definition by Oxford Dictionaries