What does waked mean?
Waked is the regular past tense and past participle of wake, meaning that someone or something has been awakened or roused from sleep. It can describe a literal return to consciousness, as in “She waked at dawn,” and a figurative stirring of attention, emotion, or activity, as in “the noise waked the whole house.” The form has a slightly literary or traditional tone, especially when contrasted with the more common irregular past participle woken, though it remains standard English in both British and American usage. In older writing, waked can also appear as an adjective meaning awake or awakened, but that use is now archaic. Because wake has both an intransitive and a transitive pattern, waked may mean either that a person stopped sleeping or that something caused the person to stop sleeping. The word belongs to the Germanic family of wake and related forms in languages including German, Dutch, and Old Norse.
Awakened or roused from sleep; figuratively, stirred into awareness, emotion, or activity.
"A shout from the garden waked the sleeping child."
It is the regular past tense and past participle of wake and can sound somewhat literary in extended narration.
Archaically, awake or awakened.
"By morning, the waked child was alert and watching the doorway."
This adjectival use is archaic and rarely encountered in modern English.
One pair, two forms: wake regularizes to waked, but its past participle can be woken.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does waked come from?
The verb descends from Old English wacan, meaning 'to become awake' or 'wake up,' which was inherited from Proto-Germanic *wakōną. Its relatives include German wachen, Dutch waken, and Old Norse vaka, all expressing the idea of being awake or remaining awake. The regular English past form waked developed from this Old English verb.
Related word forms
How waked is actually used
Waked is standard but can sound traditional or literary, particularly when contrasted with woke up. Its adjectival use is archaic and uncommon in modern English.
Easily confused with waked
Waked is the regular past tense and past participle of wake, whereas woken is the irregular past participle and is especially common in British English.