wither
/ˈwɪðɚ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.02 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
singular of withers (“part of the back of a four-legged animal that is between the shoulder blades”)
verb
To go against, resist; oppose.
Example Sentences
- "The flowers began to wither in the hot sun without enough water."
- "She watched as the old tree slowly withered with time."
- "Without care, the crops will wither and fail to grow."
- "There was a man which had his hand withered."
- "This is man, old, wrinkled, faded, withered."
- "now warm in love, now with'ring in the grave"
Etymology
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, wittern (“to be ruined by weather; to erode”), Swedish vittra (“wither”). More at weather.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: widren, wederen, wederian, wither, wiþer, *wiþr
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈwɪðɚ/
- British English: /ˈwɪðə/
Usage
Inflected Forms
withers (present, singular)
withering (participle, present)
withered (participle, past)
withered (past)
withers (plural)
more wither (comparative)
most wither (superlative)