"wax and wane" meaning in English

{
  "etymology_text": "Referring to the phases of the Moon (about 14th century). (Compare wax with the German cognate wachsen (“grow”).) By folk etymology, this verb phrase has occasionally been mistakenly presumed to be a reference to candles, under the notion that waxing of a wick (applying wax) produces a candle that, once lit, immediately begins to wane away until complete darkness.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "waxes and wanes",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "waxing and waning",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "waxed and waned",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "waxed and waned",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "wax<> and wane<>"
      },
      "expansion": "wax and wane (third-person singular simple present waxes and wanes, present participle waxing and waning, simple past and past participle waxed and waned)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "49 51",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English coordinated pairs",
          "parents": [
            "Coordinated pairs",
            "Terms by etymology"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "66 34",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "75 25",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "82 18",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To progress cyclically through various phases, such as growth and senescence."
      ],
      "id": "en-wax_and_wane-en-verb-l8jHSajc",
      "links": [
        [
          "growth",
          "growth#English"
        ],
        [
          "senescence",
          "senescence#English"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "49 51",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English coordinated pairs",
          "parents": [
            "Coordinated pairs",
            "Terms by etymology"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "36 64",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English links with manual fragments",
          "parents": [
            "Links with manual fragments",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "The manifestation of such philosophy seemed to wax and wane, being the most common one time, but virtually without followers at another, apparently disappearing.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To alternate; to increase and diminish in turn."
      ],
      "id": "en-wax_and_wane-en-verb-Kxmh~UeW",
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "_dis1": "25 75",
          "english": "especially when used figuratively",
          "tags": [
            "verb"
          ],
          "word": "ebb and flow"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "wax and wane"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English alliterative phrases",
    "English coordinated pairs",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English links with manual fragments",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English verbs",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries"
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Referring to the phases of the Moon (about 14th century). (Compare wax with the German cognate wachsen (“grow”).) By folk etymology, this verb phrase has occasionally been mistakenly presumed to be a reference to candles, under the notion that waxing of a wick (applying wax) produces a candle that, once lit, immediately begins to wane away until complete darkness.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "waxes and wanes",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "waxing and waning",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "waxed and waned",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "waxed and waned",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "wax<> and wane<>"
      },
      "expansion": "wax and wane (third-person singular simple present waxes and wanes, present participle waxing and waning, simple past and past participle waxed and waned)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "glosses": [
        "To progress cyclically through various phases, such as growth and senescence."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "growth",
          "growth#English"
        ],
        [
          "senescence",
          "senescence#English"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "English terms with usage examples"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "The manifestation of such philosophy seemed to wax and wane, being the most common one time, but virtually without followers at another, apparently disappearing.",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To alternate; to increase and diminish in turn."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "english": "especially when used figuratively",
      "tags": [
        "verb"
      ],
      "word": "ebb and flow"
    }
  ],
  "word": "wax and wane"
}