Waft (pronounced wahft)
(1) To
carry lightly and smoothly through the air or over water.
(2) To
send or convey lightly, as if in flight.
(3) To
signal to, summon, or direct by waving (obsolete).
(4) A
sound, odor etc, faintly perceived.
(5) A
light current or gust of air; a brief, gentle breeze.
(6) In historic admiralty use, a signal flag hoisted or furled to signify various messages depending
on where it was flown (archaic).
(7) In historic admiralty use, as "wafter", an armed convoy or escort ship (obsolete), the use later extended to an agent of the Crown with responsibility for protecting specific maritime activities, such as shipping or fishing (obsolete).
(8) In nautical use, a flag used to indicate wind direction (a la the windsocks used at aerodromes) or, with a knot tied in the centre, as a signal (a waif or wheft).
(9) To
convey by ship (obsolete).
1535-1545: From the Middle English waften, of uncertain origin. It may have been from the unattested Old English wafettan, from wafian (to wave) or a modified from of the Middle Dutch wachten (to guard, provide for). Related forms include the German wabern (to waft), the Faroese veiftra (to wave) and the Icelandic váfa (to fluctuate, waver, doubt). In the obsolete sense of "conveying by ship", the word was a back formation from the late Middle English waughter (armed escort vessel) from the Dutch and Low German wachter (guard; a watchman or convoy vessel) which in some historic documents is confused with waff. The familiar modern meaning “gently to pass through air or space, to float" was in use by the early eighteenth century and etymologists conclude it was in some way connected with the northern dialect word waff (cause to move to and fro) which dates from the 1510s. The phrase “waft off” is a polite form of “fuck off” and is expressed non-orally by “a wafting motion with the hands indicating the subject should proceed in the opposite direction”. Waft & wafting are nouns & verbs, waftage, wafture & wafter are nouns, wafted is a verb and wafty is an adjective; the noun plural is wafts.
How to Waft
Waft, in the practical laboratory work of chemistry and other sciences, is a term used in safety manuals when describing the recommended way to sniff stuff. Successfully to waft, one uses an open hand with the palm facing the body, moving the hand in a gentle circular motion over or about the substance or gas of interest so as to lift vapours towards the nose. This permits a lower concentration to be inhaled, especially important with anything dangerous like ammonia, hydrochloric acid et al.
Right & wrong: A student in the chemistry lab wafting correctly (left) and George W Bush (b 1946; US President 2001-2009) inhaling incorrectly (right). Answering the now ritualized question of whether he'd ever smoked weed, Mr Bush admitted inhaling.
Waftability
It
was in 2009 Tom Purves (b 1949; CEO of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars 2008-2010) announced
the neologism “waftability” was “the essence of the
brand”, the new coining he
defined as meaning “calm perfect motion and accelerating quickly without fuss”. Back then (and it seems now distant history)
the CEO was describing the relationship between the appearance of a Rolls-Royce
as a static object as something which embodied that definition, revealing the
internal name for the “gentle, upswept line
of the sill” on the new Ghost model
was a “waftline” (actually borrowed from the fashion business), the idea being it created “a powerful, poised
stance and makes the car appear to be moving when stationary.”
That was when Rolls-Royce was still in the business of making large-displacement petrol engines sound and behave as if they were electric motors but by 2023 they were ready to announce their first pure electric car, the Spectre. It had taken a while but the connection with things electric actually predated even the formation of the company in 1904. Sir Henry Royce (1863–1933) was an engineer was an engineer who designed dynamos, electric crane motors and patented the bayonet-style light bulb fitting while Charles Rolls (1877–1910) drove an electric car as early as 1900 and declared it the almost ideal form of propulsion, observing “The electric car is perfectly noiseless and clean. There is no smell or vibration, and they should become very useful when fixed charging stations can be arranged. But for now, I do not anticipate that they will be very serviceable – at least for many years to come.” So it proved. By 2023 however, the technology was ready and so (more debatably) was the infrastructure and there is nothing better at waftability than something large, luxurious and electric, Rolls-Royce saying in 20230 they will manufacture and sell their last car running on fossil fuel.
The electric Rolls-Royce Spectre. Instead of the internal combustion V8 & V12 engines which faithfully have served the line sine 1959, the Spectre is powered by two electric motors producing a combined net 577 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque. There was a time when Rolls-Royce would never have painted their cars purple but the catchment of those with the resources to buy or lease (rent) such things has expanded to include many whose tastes come from different traditions. It's not the difference between good and poor taste; it's just there are different sophistications.
For Rolls-Royce, the engineering and financial challenges aside, the obstacles are few because, unlike an operation like Ferrari which for decades has based part of its mystique on the noise its engines make at full-cry, it has always put a premium of silence and smoothness. Enzo Ferrari (1898-1988) said it was the howl of the V12 Packard engines (which he dubbed “the song of 12”) he heard on the race tracks which convinced him to make the V12 the signature configuration for the cars which would bear his name but for Charles Rolls the most influential sound was its absence. In 1904, he had the opportunity to ride in Columbia Electric car and, knowing what so many of his customers craved, was most impressed, noting: “They should become very useful when fixed charging stations can be arranged.” So, in 120-odd years not much has changed. Ferrari are doubtlessly hoping the hydrogen refueling infrastructure develops at a similarly helpful rate, the exhaust note from exploding hydrogen able to be as intoxicating as that of burning hydrocarbons.
The waftline in fashion
Helena Bonham Carter (b 1966) in a Dolce & Gabbana waftline polka dot dress, British Academy Television Awards, London, June 2021. Students of design should note the presence of "skirt-holding loops".
"Wafting" or "waftline" clothing (known also as "swishy skirts") are those voluminous creations made from lightweight, flowing fabrics which are cut to permit them gracefully to move, the material making a "swishing" sound (usually more imagined than real) when the wearer wafts by. Characterized by their fluidity and movement, on the right figure (a term which is "fat-shaming" no matter how it's spun) they impart a sense of elegance and femininity while still offering designers some potential for playfulness. Although the style can be applied to short skirts (although this does increase the danger of "wardrobe malfunctions), the classic waftlines tend to be at least knee or calf-length and because there's so much surface area, it's easier to use prints like big, dramatic florals and large-scale geometric shapes. The anthesis of the pencil skirt, the fabrics most suited to the waftline include taffeta, chiffon, silk and the lighter cottons but any synthetic which drapes well and "wafts around" can be used.
Lindsay Lohan, who likes to waft, in waftline dresses.
Wafting East of Suez
A classic wafting garment is the thawb most associated with Arab men of the Gulf region but also (with some variations) worn more widely. Known regionally as the kandurah, kandoora, gandurah or dishdashah, it’s a long-sleeved, ankle-length robe which is enveloping but loose. The word thawb is from the Arabic ثَوْب (literally “dress” (in the sense of “garment”)) although in the colonial era it was romanized as thobe, thob or thaub, TE Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia; 1888–1935), often photographed wearing one (he used thawb), sometimes also with a zebun atop, a type of ankle-length sleeved-cloak, cut like a western bathrobe and unlike a thawb, often in a dark fabric. Usually a thawb is bound loosely at the waist, using anything from a plain cord to a decorative belt depending on the taste and status of the wearer, functional attachments for carrying weapons (and in recent years cell phones) sometimes attached.
The wafting quality of a thawb makes it a functional garment to wear in a hot climate like that of the Arabian Peninsula and studies of its thermodynamic and related properties have been undertaken, the findings concluding there are a number of factors which contribute to its utility: (1) The material is usually a lightweight and breathable fabric such as linen or cotton which permits the circulation of air, facilitating the evaporation of sweat and consequent cooling of the body. (2) Thawbs are traditionally white or light-hued, colors which reflect sunlight, unlike darker shades which tend to absorb and retain heat. (3) By design, the robe is loose-fitting, encouraging ventilation and minimising direct contact between fabric & skin, reducing the thermodynamic effect known as “heat-soak”. (4) The thawb covers most of the body’s surface area (including the arms and legs), almost negating direct exposure to the sun, preventing sunburn and reducing the risk of heat-related illnesses. (5) The thawb is part of a system, the inner layer which provides insulation against searing daytime temperatures but deserts can be cold places too, thus the addition of layers such as the zebun which protects from the cold.
The
companion garment is the keffiyeh (or
kufiyyeh or cheffiyeh), from the Arabic: كُوفِيَّة
(kūfiyya (literally “coif”))
and again, because of tribal and linguistic diversity, it’s known also as the shemagh (شُمَاغ) (šumāḡ), ghutrah (غُترَة) or hattah (حَطَّة).
It is a headdress in the form of a square or rectangular scarf and except
for those worn for formal or ceremonial purposes, is almost always made from
cotton because these are the lightest and coolest to wear and the generous surface area allows it almost fully
to envelope the face, protecting the lips and nose from dust, sand and sunburn. To secure a keffiyeh in place (deserts can be windy too), it’s worn with an egel (عِقَال) (ʿiqāl) (or egal,
agal or aqal).
An Egel is a cord which can be
a simple, single strand in black or an elaborate and colourful multi-threaded
construction; made traditionally from goat hair, synthetic fibres are now often used. The keffiyeh
attracted wider attention in 2024 when it came to be used as a political
symbol, worn by demonstrators in Western cities protesting against Israel’s conduct
of military operations in the Gaza strip.
The use as a political symbol is not new, old Yasser Arafat (Abu Ammar,
1929–2004; chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) 1969-2004)
used to arrange with photographers who wanted a picture for them to use the angle
at which his keffiyeh would fall
across his right shoulder in the shape of a map of Palestine (with 1947 boundaries).
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