wither

See also: wither- and wiþer-

English

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈwɪðɚ/; enPR: wĭthʹər
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈwɪðə/
• Rhymes: -ɪðə(ɹ)
• Homophone: whither (wine–whine merger)

• Audio (UK):

  (file)

Etymology 1

From Middle English widren, wydderen (“to dry up, shrivel”), related to or perhaps an alteration of 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.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 12:10:

     There was a man which had his hand withered.

   • c. 1590–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Taming of the Shrew”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene v]:

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

   • 1700, [John] Dryden, “Palamon and Arcite: Or, The Knight’s Tale. In Three Books.”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:

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

3. (intransitive, figurative) To lose vigour or power; to languish; to pass away.
   • 1812–1818, Lord Byron, “(please specify |canto=I to IV)”, in Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. , London: John Murray,, (please specify the stanza number):

     names that must not wither

   • 1782, William Cowper, Expostulation:

     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
• wither on the vine

Translations

(intransitive) shrivel, droop, dry up

• Abkhaz: please add this translation if you can
• Adyghe: please add this translation if you can
• Afrikaans: please add this translation if you can
• Albanian: please add this translation if you can
• Arabic: صَعَقَ (ṣaʕaqa)
• Armenian: թառամել (hy) (tʻaṙamel)
• Aromanian: vishtidzãscu
• Belarusian: вя́нуць impf (vjánucʹ)
• Bikol Central: luyos (bcl)
• Bulgarian: изсъхвам (bg) (izsǎhvam), увяхвам (bg) (uvjahvam)
• Catalan: pansir-se (ca), marcir-se (ca), musteir-se (ca), mustiar-se (ca)
• Chechen: маргӏалдола (marğaldola)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 枯萎 (zh) (kūwěi)

• Czech: vadnout (cs), uvadat impf, usychat impf
• Danish: visne
• Dutch: verschrompelen (nl)
• Esperanto: velki
• Estonian: please add this translation if you can
• Faroese: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: lakastua (fi), kuihtua (fi)
• French: flétrir (fr), se faner (fr), se dessécher (fr)
• Galician: mirrar (gl), murchar, rechumirse, alfar, esmirrar (gl)
• German: vertrocknen (de), welken (de), verwelken (de), verdorren (de)
• Gothic: 𐌲𐌰𐌸𐌰𐌿𐍂𐍃𐌽𐌰𐌽 (gaþaursnan)
• Greek: μαραίνομαι (el) (maraínomai)

  Ancient: μαραίνομαι (maraínomai)

• Hungarian: elszárad (hu), elhervad (hu), elfonnyad (hu), lekonyul (hu), összezsugorodik (hu)
• Ingrian: räytyä
• Italian: appassire (it), essiccare (it), inaridire (it), raggrinzire (it), avvizzire (it)
• Japanese: 枯れる (ja) (かれる, kareru)
• Korean: 시들다 (ko) (sideulda)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: çilmisîn (ku)

• Latin: marceō, ārefaciō
• Macedonian: венеам (veneam)
• Malayalam: വാടുക (ml) (vāṭuka)
• Maori: kautaka
• Middle English: welken
• Mongolian: хатах (mn) (xatax)
• Ngazidja Comorian: unyaya
• Occitan: se passir, se marcir, se tressecar
• Old English: sēarian, clingan
• 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)
• Sanskrit: शुष्यति (sa) (śuṣyati)
• 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
• Swedish: torka ut (sv), förtorka, vissna (sv)
• Tamil: வாடு (ta) (vāṭu)
• Tocharian B: klaiks-
• Ugaritic: 𐎃𐎗𐎁 (ḫrb)
• Ukrainian: в'я́нути (uk) impf (vʺjánuty), зав'я́нути impf (zavʺjánuty)
• Vietnamese: héo (vi), úa (vi)
• Volapük: please add this translation if you can
• Welsh: gwywo, crino, crebachu, ffiwgro
• West Coast Bajau: please add this translation if you can
• Wolof: please add this translation if you can
• Yiddish: please add this translation if you can
• Yucatec Maya: please add this translation if you can
• Yup'ik: please add this translation if you can
• Yámana: please add this translation if you can
• Zazaki: please add this translation if you can
• Zhuang: please add this translation if you can
• Zulu: please add this translation if you can

(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)
• Persian: افسرده شدن (afsorde šodan)
• Romanian: veșteji (ro), ofili (ro)
• Spanish: decaer (es)
• Welsh: crebachu, nychu, dihoeni, gwaelu

(transitive) to cause to shrivel or dry up

• Bulgarian: изсушавам (bg) (izsušavam)
• 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)

• Hungarian: elszárít (hu), kiszárít (hu), elhervaszt (hu)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: çilmisandin (ku)

• Malayalam: വാട്ടുക (ml) (vāṭṭuka)
• Maori: whakamaroke, whakamatiti
• Persian: پژمرده کردن (pažmorde kardan)
• Romanian: veșteji (ro), ofili (ro)
• Spanish: marchitar (es)
• Swedish: torka ut (sv)

to lose vigor or power

• Bulgarian: лине́я (bg) impf (linéja), отслабвам (bg) (otslabvam)
• Finnish: kuihtua (fi)
• German: schwächer werden, verkümmern (de), schwinden (de)
• Hungarian: elgyengül (hu)
• Maori: kuruki, taero
• Swedish: tyna (sv), tvina (sv), vissna (sv)

(transitive) to make helpless due to emotion

• Czech: ochromit (cs) pf
• Finnish: jäykistää
• Persian: افسرده کردن (afsorde kardan)
• Portuguese: decair (pt)
• Romanian: veșteji (ro), ofili (ro)
• Spanish: decaer (es)

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

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.

Derived terms

• wither-wrung

 

Etymology 3

From Middle English wither, from Old English wiþer (“again, against”, adverb in compounds), from Proto-West Germanic *wiþr (“against, toward”).

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”).

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. To go against, resist; oppose.

Anagrams

• whiter, writhe