What does wex mean?
Wex is an uncommon English word with two quite different lives. As a noun, its chief modern use is Scottish: a wex is a sudden fit of anger or rage, especially the kind of flare of temper that arrives quickly and then passes. In older English, wex also meant wax, the pliable material used for candles, seals, and similar objects; that sense is now archaic. As a verb, wex is likewise archaic and means to grow, increase, or wax, as in a controversy that begins to wax. The distinction between the surviving Scottish sense and the obsolete senses explains why wex is encountered chiefly in dialect literature, quotations from older texts, and dictionaries. It is a useful reminder that vocabulary can narrow over time: a word once associated with a familiar substance has become notable instead for naming a brief burst of anger.
Chiefly Scottish, a sudden fit of anger or rage; archaically, the substance wax.
"The argument ended as quickly as his wex had arisen."
The anger sense is predominantly Scottish. The older material sense is obsolete in standard modern English.
Archaic, to grow, increase, or become greater.
"The quarrel began to wex as each side raised new objections."
This form survives mainly in older and literary texts and is normally intransitive in its older usage.
The standard plural is wexes, although the singular is much more common.
"The witness spoke of the separate wexes that had overtaken him."
Wex once meant wax; its main surviving use is far less placid—a sudden Scottish flare of anger.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of wex
Wex is an old English form related to wax, with both continuing Proto-Germanic *waksą, the ancestral word for the substance wax. Cognates include Dutch was, German Wachs, and Swedish vax. The material and growth senses are now archaic in English, while the noun's sense for a sudden fit of anger remains chiefly Scottish.
Related word forms
How wex is actually used
The anger sense is chiefly Scottish and often appears in dialect or literary writing. The material and growth senses are archaic, surviving mainly in older texts.
Easily confused with wex
Wax is the standard modern noun for the pliable substance, whereas wex is an archaic term for that substance and a chiefly Scottish term for a sudden fit of anger.