Withe

n. [ OE. withe. &unr_;&unr_;&unr_;&unr_;. See Withy, n. ] [ Written also with. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. A flexible, slender twig or branch used as a band; a willow or osier twig; a withy. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A band consisting of a twig twisted. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Naut.) An iron attachment on one end of a mast or boom, with a ring, through which another mast or boom is rigged out and secured; a wythe. R. H. Dana, Jr. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Arch.) A partition between flues in a chimney. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Withered p. pr. & vb. n. Withering. ] [ OE. wideren; probably the same word as wederen to weather (see Weather, v. & n.); or cf. G. verwittern to decay, to be weather-beaten, Lith. vysti to wither. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. To fade; to lose freshness; to become sapless; to become sapless; to dry or shrivel up. [ 1913 Webster ]

Shall he hot pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof, that it wither? Ezek. xvii. 9. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To lose or want animal moisture; to waste; to pin&unr_; away, as animal bodies. [ 1913 Webster ]

This is man, old, wrinkled, faded, withered. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

There was a man which had his hand withered. Matt. xii. 10. [ 1913 Webster ]

Now warm in love, now with'ring in the grave. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To lose vigor or power; to languish; to pass away. “Names that must not wither.” Byron. [ 1913 Webster ]

States thrive or wither as moons wax and wane. Cowper. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. 1. To cause to fade, and become dry. [ 1913 Webster ]

The sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth. James i. 11. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To cause to shrink, wrinkle, or decay, for want of animal moisture. “Age can not wither her.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Shot forth pernicious fire
Among the accursed, that withered all their strength. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To cause to languish, perish, or pass away; to blight; as, a reputation withered by calumny. [ 1913 Webster ]

The passions and the cares that wither life. Bryant. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Withers + band. ] (Far.) A piece of iron in a saddle near a horse's withers, to strengthen the bow. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Faded; dried up; shriveled; wilted; wasted; wasted away. -- With"ered*ness, n. Bp. Hall. [1913 Webster]

a. Tending to wither; causing to shrink or fade. -- With"er*ing*ly, adv. [1913 Webster]

n. [ So called after Dr. W. Withering. ] (Min.) Barium carbonate occurring in white or gray six-sided twin crystals, and also in columnar or granular masses. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Wither + -ling. ] A withered person; one who is decrepit. [ Obs. ] Chapman. [ 1913 Webster ]