whiten
See also: Whiten
English
Etymology
From Middle English whitenen, whitnen, from Old Norse hvítna (“to whiten”), from Proto-Germanic *hwītnōną (“to whiten, become white”), from Proto-Indo-European *kwind-, *kwint- (“bright”), equivalent to white + -en. Cognate with Icelandic hvítna (“to whiten”), Swedish vitna, hvitna (“to whiten”), Danish hvidne (“to whiten”). Compare Old English hwītian (“to whiten, become white, be white, make white”).
Pronunciation
Verb
whiten (third-person singular simple present whitens, present participle whitening, simple past and past participle whitened)
- (ergative) (To cause) to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch.
- Age had whitened his hair.
- The trees in spring whiten with blossoms.
Derived terms
Translations
to make white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
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to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old Norse
- English terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms suffixed with -en (inchoative)
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/aɪtən
- English lemmas
- English verbs
- English ergative verbs