wakenEnglishOxford New American Dictionarywaken /ˈwākən, ˈweɪkən / ▸ verb literary term for wake1 (SENSE 1 OF THE verb): [no object] she knew he would waken in an hour or so [with object] she wakened the child and dressed her figurative they combined to waken a forgotten and futile hope. – ORIGIN Old English wæcnan ‘be aroused’, of Germanic origin; related to wake1.