wafter

W4A1F4T1E1R1
/ˈwɒftə(ɹ)/

noun

Armed convoy or escort ship

OriginMiddle English waughter ← Middle Low German wachter →
Scrabble 12
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Meanings

wafter1

nounwafter (plural wafters)

plural wafters

  1. obsoleteArmed convoy or escort ship
  2. obsoleteAn agent of the Crown with responsibility for protecting specific maritime activities, such as shipping or fishing.

wafter2

nounwafter (plural wafters)

plural wafters

  1. One who, or that which, wafts.

    Thou wafter of the soul to bliss or bane.

    1616–1619 (first performance), John Fletcher, “The Mad Lover”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1647, →OCLC, Act IV, scene i
  2. fishingA semi-bouyant hookbait designed to waft just above the lakebed.

Origin

wafter · noun

  1. Middle Low Germanwachter“a guard”
  2. Middle Englishwaughter
  3. Englishwafter

Alteration of Middle English waughter, from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German wachter (“a guard”), from wachten (“to guard”).

More words from Middle English, Middle Low German

Full word history & related roots →

wafter · noun

From waft + -er.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

wafter. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wafter

MLA

“wafter.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wafter. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “wafter,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wafter.

Source: wafter on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.