What does wax ecstatic mean?

I don’t know the etiology of the phrase but it means to effusively praise, to speak about enthusiastically.

I love the word “etiology,” but (cough) it means the science or causes of diseases. Etymology is the branch of linguistcs that deal w. the origins and development of words or groups of words. Then there’s that other word – the study of bugs – that I can’t remember.* The verb “to wax” means to increase in strengh, intensity, or volume, such as the waxing moon. I wax ecstatic when I get to nitpick our language.

*Oh, yeah, entomology.

Or one of my favorites: eschatology – the study of the end of the world.

Was it TS Eliot, or a poseur, who said about eschatology, and I paraphrase, “With a bang..”?

Ah, poseur, another great word, frequently misspelled “Poser.” Unfortunately, as another great person said, it’s probably more likely to end with a whimper. We’re not likely to have enough forewarning for a bang.

And for an example of “wax ecstatic,” see the thread today on Nigella Lawson. Excuse me while I return to dunk my brain in ice water.

Re: Nigella Lawson? Excuse me while I “arise and go now and go to” Google. And speaking of eschatology, ”...ice is also great and would suffice.” You did say “forewarning” and not “forewarming”? I need new glasses.

I think “wax _____” is the idiom, with “wax nostalgic” and “wax ecstatic” coming to mind as just two examples of the construction. You can say “waxing _____” and it’s a little more obvious that you’re using wax as a verb.

Bob; my dictionary says that “wax’ as a verb had been around for a long time. OE—-> ME; IE—-> German. I found that “wax” as a noun can also be a Brit. colloqualism meaning ” a fit of anger or temper, a rage.” Isn’t the language fascinating? Why am I sitting here looking up Middle English when I have miles to go and promises to keep?

@gailcalled: I meant the thread on fluther re Nigella Lawson.

gallcalled—also, in Modern American, “to wax someone” is to defeat the person (team, whatever) thoroughly.

The German cognate “wachsen” is still in everyday use, meaning “to grow”.

Go, philology! All hail etymology!

Nearly eight years ago, this question was posted. And on Yahoo Answers, nearly ten years ago. I feel old, remembering this song. The reason the asker might’ve been asking was because of the common theme of the song “Wax Ecstatic” by the band Sponge. To “wax” means to increase, as in “wax poetic” means to be increasingly (verbally) romantic. This stems from “the moon is waxing”, or rising as opposed to “the moon is waning”. To be ecstatic is to have a feeling of overwhelming happiness or enjoyment. To wax ecstatic means to be increasingly happy and overjoyed.