wafer

 
Pronunciation: /ˈweɪfə/

noun

  • 1a thin, light, crisp biscuit, especially one of a kind eaten with ice cream.
  • 2a thin piece of something: wafers of smoked salmon
  • a thin disc of unleavened bread used in the Eucharist.
  • Electronics a very thin slice of a semiconductor crystal used as the substrate for solid-state circuitry.
  • (also wafer seal) a disc of red paper stuck on a legal document as a seal.
  • historical a small disc of dried paste used for fastening letters or holding papers together.

verb

[with object] archaic
  • fasten or seal (a letter or document) with a wafer.

Derivatives

wafery

adjective

Origin:

late Middle English: from an Anglo-Norman French variant of Old French gaufre (see goffer), from Middle Low German wāfel 'waffle'; compare with waffle2