wither

See also: wither- and wiþer-

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈwɪðɚ/; enPR: wĭthʹər
• IPA^(key): /ˈwɪðə/
• Rhymes: -ɪðə(ɹ)
• Homophone: whither (some accents)

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

Etymology 1

From Middle English widren, wydderen (“to dry up, shrivel”), related to or perhaps an alteration of (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle English wederen (“to expose to weather”), from Old English wederian (“to expose to weather, exhibit a change of weather”).

Cognates

From Proto-Germanic: Dutch verwederen, Dutch verweren (“to erode by weather”), German verwittern (“to be ruined by weather; to erode”)

More at weather.

Verb

wither (third-person singular simple present withers, present participle withering, simple past and past participle withered)

1. (intransitive) To shrivel, droop or dry up, especially from lack of water.
2. (transitive) To cause to shrivel or dry up.
   • Bible, Matthew xii. 10

     There was a man which had his hand withered.

   • (Can we date this quote by Shakespeare and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     This is man, old, wrinkled, faded, withered.

   • (Can we date this quote by Dryden and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     now warm in love, now with'ring in the grave

3. (intransitive, figurative) To lose vigour or power; to languish; to pass away.
   • (Can we date this quote by Byron and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     names that must not wither

   • (Can we date this quote by Cowper and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     States thrive or wither as moons wax and wane.

4. (intransitive) To become helpless due to emotion.
5. (transitive) To make helpless due to emotion.

   (Can we add an example for this sense?)

Usage notes

• Not to be confused with whither.

Derived terms

• wither away

Translations

(intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up

• Arabic: صَعَقَ (ṣaʕaqa)
• Armenian: թառամել (hy) (tʻaṙamel)
• Aromanian: vishtidzãscu
• Catalan: pansir-se (ca), marcir-se (ca), musteir-se (ca), mustiar-se (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 枯萎 (zh) (kūwěi)

• Czech: vadnout (cs), uvadat impf, usychat impf
• Danish: visne
• Dutch: verschrompelen (nl)
• Esperanto: velki
• Finnish: lakastua (fi), kuihtua (fi)
• French: flétrir (fr), se faner (fr), se dessécher (fr)
• Galician: mirrar (gl), murchar, muchar, rechumirse, alfar
• German: vertrocknen (de), welken (de), verwelken (de), verdorren (de)
• Greek: μαραίνομαι (el) (maraínomai)

  Ancient: μαραίνομαι (maraínomai)

• Hungarian: elszárad (hu), elhervad (hu), elfonnyad (hu)
• Italian: appassire (it), essiccare, inaridire (it), raggrinzire (it), avvizzire (it)
• Japanese: 枯れる (ja) (かれる, kareru)
• Korean: 시들다 (ko) (sideurda)
• Kurdish:
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Latin: marceō, ārefaciō
• Macedonian: венеам (veneam)
• Maori: kautaka
• Middle English: welken
• Mongolian: хатах (mn) (xatax)
• Ngazidja Comorian: unyaya
• Occitan: se passir, se marcir, se tressecar
• Persian: پژمردن (fa) (pažmordan)
• Polish: więdnąć (pl)
• Portuguese: murchar (pt) murchar-se (pt), mirrar (pt), mirrar-se (pt)
• Romanian: veșteji (ro), ofili (ro)
• Russian: вя́нуть (ru) impf (vjánutʹ), завя́нуть (ru) pf (zavjánutʹ), увя́нуть (ru) pf (uvjánutʹ), увяда́ть (ru) impf (uvjadátʹ), со́хнуть (ru) impf (sóxnutʹ), засо́хнуть (ru) pf (zasóxnutʹ)
• Sardinian:

  Campidanese: allaccanai, accalamai, calamai, carigai

  Logudorese: alleventare, allizare, carigare, allaccanàre

• Sassarese: appassì, allaccanà
• Serbo-Croatian: venuti (sh), sahnuti (sh)
• Slovene: veneti impf, uveneti pf
• Spanish: marchitarse (es)
• Swahili: kukauka
• Vietnamese: héo (vi), úa (vi)

(intransitive) to become helpless due to emotion

• Czech: zhroutit se, sesypat se
• Finnish: jäykistyä (fi), jähmettyä (fi)
• Greek: παθαίνω μαρασμό (pathaíno marasmó)
• Italian: inaridire (it), avvizzire (it), inaridirsi (it)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Persian: افسرده شدن (afsorde šodan)
• Romanian: veșteji (ro), ofili (ro)
• Spanish: decaer (es)

(transitive) to cause to shrivel or dry up

• Catalan: pansir (ca), marcir (ca), musteir (ca)
• Czech: vyschnout pf, scvrknout se pf
• Finnish: kuihduttaa, lakastuttaa (fi)
• Galician: mirrar (gl), murchar, muchar, rechumir
• Greek: μαραίνω (el) (maraíno)

  Ancient: μαραίνω (maraínō), ἰσχναίνω (iskhnaínō)

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: elszárít (hu), kiszárít (hu), elhervaszt (hu)
• Kurdish:
• Maori: whakamaroke, whakamatiti
• Persian: پژمرده کردن (pažmorde kardan)
• Romanian: veșteji (ro), ofili (ro)
• Spanish: marchitar (es)

to lose vigor or power

• Finnish: kuihtua (fi)
• German: schwächer werden, verkümmern (de), schwinden (de)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Maori: kuruki

(transitive) to make helpless due to emotion

• Czech: ochromit pf
• Finnish: jäykistää
• Persian: افسرده کردن (afsorde kardan)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Portuguese: decair (pt)
• Romanian: veșteji (ro), ofili (ro)
• Spanish: decaer (es)

Etymology 2

Noun

wither (plural withers)

1. singular of withers (“part of the back of a four-legged animal that is between the shoulder blades”)
   • 2007, Sara Douglass, Enchanter, Macmillan (→ISBN):

     Timozel had slid his feet quickly from the stirrups and swung his leg over the horse's wither as it slumped to the ground, standing himself in one graceful movement.

   • 2008, Kate Luxmoore, Introduction to Equestrian Sports (→ISBN), page 140:

     If a saddle tips too far forward it may rest on the horse's wither and cause pain. There should always be a gap of roughly 5 cm between the horse's wither and the pommel when you are sitting on the saddle.

Etymology 3

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle English, from Old English wiþer (“again, against”, adverb in compounds), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Germanic *wiþrą (“against, toward”), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Indo-European *wī-tero- (“further apart”), *wī- (“separate, alone”).

Cognates

From Proto-Germanic: Low German wedder (“against”), Dutch weer (“again, back”), German wider (“against, contrary to”), German wieder (“again”), Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐌸𐍂𐌰 (wiþra), Old Norse viðr.

More at with.

Adverb

wither (comparative more wither, superlative most wither)

1. (obsolete or chiefly in compounds) Against, in opposition to.

Etymology 4

From Middle English witheren, from Old English wiþerian (“to resist, oppose, struggle against”), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Germanic *wiþrōną (“to go against, resist”).

Cognates

From Proto-Germanic: Middle Dutch wideren, Old High German widarōn.

Verb

wither (third-person singular simple present withers, present participle withering, simple past and past participle withered)

1. (obsolete) To go against, resist; oppose.

Anagrams

• whiter, writhe