Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A small, thin, crisp cake, biscuit, or candy.
  • noun Ecclesiastical A small thin disk of unleavened bread used in the Eucharist.
  • noun Pharmacology A flat, tablet of rice paper or dried flour paste encasing a powdered drug.
  • noun A small disk of adhesive material used as a seal for papers.
  • noun Electronics A small, thin circular slice of a semiconducting material, such as pure silicon, on which an integrated circuit can be formed.
  • transitive verb To seal or fasten together with a disk of adhesive material.
  • transitive verb Pharmacology To prepare in the form of wafers.
  • transitive verb Electronics To divide into wafers.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun In photography, chemicals employed in developing, compressed into a flat cake to be dissolved in water for use.
  • To attach by means of a wafer or wafers.
  • To seal or close by means of a wafer.
  • noun A thin cake or leaf of paste, generally disk-shaped.
  • noun A small and delicate cake or biscuit, usually sweetened, variously flavored, and sometimes rolled up.
  • noun A thin circular disk of unleavened bread used in the celebration of the eucharist in the Roman Catholic Church and in many Anglican churches. The wafer derives its form from the fact that the bread of the Jews was ordinarily in this shape; and both the ancient pictured representations and the references in the early patristic literature confirm the opinion that this was the form in use in the church from the apostolic days. Wafers are usually stamped with the form of a cross, crucifix, or Agnus Dei, with the initials I. H. S., or sometimes with a monogram representing the name of Christ. See altar-bread, and oblate, n., 2.
  • noun A thin disk of dried paste, used for sealing letters, fastening documents together, and similar purposes, usually made of flour mixed with water, gum, and some nonpoisonous coloring matter. Fancy transparent wafers are made of gelatin and isinglass in a variety of forms.
  • noun In artillery, a kind of primer. See primer.
  • noun In medicine, a thin circular sheet of dry paste used to facilitate the swallowing of powders. The sheet is moistened, and folded over the powder placed in its center. Sometimes wafers have the form of two watchglass-shaped disks of pasty material, which are made to adhere by moistening their edges, the powder being placed in the hollow between the two.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To seal or close with a wafer.
  • noun (Cookery) A thin cake made of flour and other ingredients.
  • noun (Eccl.) A thin cake or piece of bread (commonly unleavened, circular, and stamped with a crucifix or with the sacred monogram) used in the Eucharist, as in the Roman Catholic Church.
  • noun An adhesive disk of dried paste, made of flour, gelatin, isinglass, or the like, and coloring matter, -- used in sealing letters and other documents.
  • noun Any thin but rigid plate of solid material, esp. of discoidal shape; -- a term used commonly to refer to the thin slices of silicon used as starting material for the manufacture of integrated circuits.
  • noun a sweet, thin cake.
  • noun (Cookery) a pincher-shaped contrivance, having flat plates, or blades, between which wafers are baked.
  • noun a woman who sold wafer cakes; also, one employed in amorous intrigues.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A light, thin, flat biscuit.
  • noun religion A thin disk of consecrated unleavened bread used in communion.
  • noun A soft disk originally made of flour, and later of gelatin or a similar substance, used to seal letters, attach papers etc.
  • noun electronics A thin disk of silicon or other semiconductor on which an electronic circuit is produced.
  • verb transitive To seal or close with a wafer.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a small adhesive disk of paste; used to seal letters
  • noun thin disk of unleavened bread used in a religious service (especially in the celebration of the Eucharist)
  • noun a small thin crisp cake or cookie

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English wafre, from Anglo-Norman, variant of Old North French waufre, of Germanic origin; see webh- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Anglo-Norman wafre, waufre ( = Old French gaufre), from Middle Low German wāfel. Compare waffle.

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Examples

  • The term wafer refers to the general shape of the tumblers.

    Secrets Of Lock Picking Hampton, Steven 1987

  • Can you see the thin wafer cookie and the yummy Nutella in the middle?

    Ferrero Rocher Mini Cupcakes 2009

  • Can you see the thin wafer cookie and the yummy Nutella in the middle?

    Archive 2009-01-01 2009

  • He walked over and picked up the thin wafer of plastic and brushed bits of dried glue and plastic scraps from it.

    A Happy Day in the Microchip Future « Official Harry Harrison News Blog 2007

  • However, this advantage is not enough to offset the pressure on wafer prices, which forced it to amend one of its long-term wafer supply agreements.

    unknown title 2011

  • REC receives NOK 370 million for terminating long term wafer sales contract Sandvika, November 3, 2011: Reference is made to the third quarter report, where REC is expecting to recognize income from termination of long term wafer contracts in the fourth quarter 2011.

    Reuters: Press Release 2011

  • REC said it expected income of some 400 million crowns in the fourth quarter related to the termination of other long-term wafer sales contracts.

    Reuters: Press Release 2011

  • SunPower reports fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday. is getting a 3% boost after announcing a 4,400 MW long-term wafer supply agreement with GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Limited.

    unknown title 2011

  • In the mean time, whenever you want to send a note that shall not be opened by the bearer, put your trust neither in wafer nor wax, but twist it as I twist mine.

    Belinda 1801

  • Signed 14 long-term wafer supply agreements during the year, achieving a sales backlog of over 14 GW through 2018.

    Latest News from SYS-CON ITALIA 2009

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