Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun
- George,1588–1667, English poet and pamphleteer.
verb
- (intr) (esp of a plant) to droop, wilt, or shrivel up
- (intr often foll by away) to fade or wasteall hope withered away
- (intr) to decay, decline, or disintegrate
- (tr) to cause to wilt, fade, or lose vitality
- (tr) to abash, esp with a scornful look
- (tr) to harm or damage
1530s, alteration of Middle English wydderen “dry up, shrivel” (c.1300), apparently a differentiated and special use of wederen “to expose to weather” (see weather). Cf. German verwittern “to become weather-beaten,” from Witter “weather.”