verwesen

German

Etymology

From Middle High German verwësen, Old High German *firwësan (“to come to nothing, pass away, destroy”). Cognate with Old Norse visenn (“faded, decayed”), Old English weornian (“to destroy”), Gothic 𐍆𐍂𐌰𐍅𐌹𐍃𐌰𐌽 (frawisan, “to consume, waste, squander”). Compare Latin virus, Ancient Greek ἰός (iós), Sanskrit विष (viṣa, “poison”).

Pronunciation

• Audio:

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Verb

1. to decay
2. to decompose
3. (archaic) to administer, to conduct, to govern, to manage. Refer to the prefix ver- (english for-) + wesen (archaic for to be ), meaning to manage things existing in a kingdom.

Further reading

• “verwesen” in Duden online