From PIE *wokso-, originally beeswax — cognates across all IE languages testify to ancient beekeeping.
A sticky yellowish mouldable substance secreted by honeybees to construct honeycombs; any similar substance used for polishing or coating.
From Old English 'weax' (beeswax — specifically the substance bees produce for building honeycomb), from Proto-Germanic *wahsą (wax), from Proto-Indo-European *wokso- or *h₂wokso- (wax). The PIE etymology is uncertain but two main hypotheses exist: the root may connect to *weg- (to weave) — beeswax being the material bees 'weave' into the hexagonal cells of the comb — or to a root meaning 'to move busily,' reflecting the observed industry of bees. The word is attested across the Germanic languages with remarkable consistency and stability: Old High German
English has two completely unrelated verbs spelled 'wax.' The noun 'wax' (beeswax) comes from PIE *wokso-. The verb 'to wax' (to grow, to increase, as in 'waxing moon' or 'to wax poetic') comes from PIE *h₂weg- (to increase). Their identical modern spelling is pure coincidence — they are false