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 ]

n. [ AS. wiðernām; wiðer against + nām a seizure, fr. niman to take. ] (Law) A second or reciprocal distress of other goods in lieu of goods which were taken by a first distress and have been eloigned; a taking by way of reprisal; -- chiefly used in the expression capias in withernam, which is the name of a writ used in connection with the action of replevin (sometimes called a writ of reprisal), which issues to a defendant in replevin when he has obtained judgment for a return of the chattels replevied, and fails to obtain them on the writ of return. Blackstone. [ 1913 Webster ]

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n. pl. [ Properly, the parts which resist the pull or strain in drawing a load; fr. OE. wither resistance, AS. wiðre, fr. wiðer against; akin to G. widerrist withers. See With, prep. ] The ridge between the shoulder bones of a horse, at the base of the neck. See Illust. of Horse. [ 1913 Webster ]

Let the galled jade wince; our withers are unwrung. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Injured or hurt in the withers, as a horse. [ 1913 Webster ]