wan

views updated May 21 2018

wan / wän/ • adj. (of a person's complexion or appearance) pale and giving the impression of illness or exhaustion: she was looking wan and bleary-eyed. ∎ (of light) pale; weak: the wan dawn light. ∎ (of a smile) weak; strained. ∎ poetic/lit. (of the sea) without luster; dark and gloomy.DERIVATIVES: wan·ly adv.wan·ness n.

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

WAN

views updated May 14 2018

WAN / wan/ • abbr. ∎ Comput. wide area network.

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

WAN

views updated May 29 2018

WAN Acronym for wide area network.

A Dictionary of Computing JOHN DAINTITH

wan

views updated May 17 2018

wan †dusky, dark; livid, leaden-hued OE.; pallid, unusually pale XIII. OE. wan(n), of unkn. orig.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD

WAN

views updated May 18 2018

WAN (wæn) Computing wide-area network

The Oxford Dictionary of Abbreviations FRAN ALEXANDER , PETER BLAIR , JOHN DAINTITH , ALICE GRANDISON , VALERIE ILLINGWORTH , ELIZABETH MARTIN , ANNE STIBBS , JUDY PEARSALL , and SARA TULLOCH