friendly wave
1
1.0
- noun
:
saludo amistoso
- She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek, and without another word, took her bag from his hand and walked toward the plane with a last friendly wave in his direction.
- give a friendly wave
- friendly waves and smiles
Examples
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As I prepare to descend, the three young women are already safely down; each gives me a friendly wave before leaving me to my own resources.
Academic text (2007) -
As if on cue, a patrol car passes, the officer giving us a friendly wave.
Fiction book (1991) -
Suddenly the boy stopped, turned, and delivered a friendly wave.
Fiction book (1996) -
They saw Summer moving through the trees nearby and gave a friendly wave.
Fiction book (1995) -
The boy in the navy trunks gave Fred and the others who had gathered around a friendly wave that sent them about their business.
Fiction book (1990) -
The turf layer rumbled up beside her, and the driver gave her a friendly wave.
Fiction book (2000) -
Maranzano and Joe Profaci give a friendly wave as they approach down a walkway, to all appearances a pair of harmless retirees at their leisure.
Fiction book (1991) -
Every time I have experienced power outages from ice storms, hurricanes, and tornadoes, when I see the convoy of utility vehicles, especially from out of state, I roll down my window and give them the thumbs up and a friendly wave.
Blog text (11) -
When he spotted her driver, Jake, he waved a friendly wave, and when Jake, who had been chatting with an airport security guard, saw Hal walking toward the car, he hurried to relieve him of his luggage.
Fiction book (1991) -
The officer standing on the corner greeted us with a friendly wave.
Synonyms
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1.0
A friendly word or action you use when you meet someone
127
1.0
A hand movement to greet or attract attention
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1.0
A warm greeting that makes someone feel welcome
A small greeting or goodbye made by moving the fingers
Antonyms
How Warm
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and transparently derived from 'friendly' (showing warmth or kindness) combined with 'wave' (a hand movement used to greet); it simply denotes a welcoming or warm hand gesture. This adjective + noun composition is a basic, cross-linguistically common pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Friendly wave comes from the simple picture of someone moving their hand as a wave while smiling to show they are being friendly. So a friendly wave now means 'a greeting' or 'a sign of goodwill'.