Withe, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Withed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Withing.] To
bind or fasten with withes.
You shall see him withed, and haltered, and staked, and baited to
death.
Bp. Hall.
With"er (?), 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.]
1. To fade; to lose freshness; to become sapless; to become sapless; to
dry or shrivel up.
Shall he hot pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof,
that it wither?
Ezek. xvii. 9.
2. To lose or want animal moisture; to waste; to pin&?; away, as animal
bodies.
This is man, old, wrinkled, faded, withered.
Shak.
There was a man which had his hand withered.
Matt. xii. 10.
Now warm in love, now with'ring in the grave.
Dryden.
3. To lose vigor or power; to languish; to pass away. "Names that must
not wither." Byron.
States thrive or wither as moons wax and wane.
Cowper.
With"er, v. t. 1. To cause to fade, and become dry.
The sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the
grass, and the flower thereof falleth.
James i. 11.
2. To cause to shrink, wrinkle, or decay, for want of animal moisture.
"Age can not wither her." Shak.
Shot forth pernicious fire Among the accursed, that withered all their
strength.
Milton.
3. To cause to languish, perish, or pass away; to blight; as, a
reputation withered by calumny.
The passions and the cares that wither life.
Bryant.
With"er*band` (?), n. [Withers + band.] (Far.) A piece of iron in a
saddle near a horse's withers, to strengthen the bow.
With"ered (?), a. Faded; dried up; shriveled; wilted; wasted; wasted
away. — With"ered*ness, n. Bp. Hall.
With"er*ing (?), a. Tending to wither; causing to shrink or fade. —
With"er*ing*ly, adv.
With"er*ite (?), 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.
With"er*ling (?), n. [Wither + - ling.] A withered person; one who is
decrepit. [Obs.] Chapman.
With"er*nam (?), n. [AS. wiðernm; wiðer against + nm 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.
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Withe"-rod` (?), n. (Bot.) A North American shrub (Viburnum nudum)
whose tough osierlike shoots are sometimes used for binding sheaves.
With"ers (?), 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.
Let the galled jade wince; our withers are unwrung.
Shak.
With"er-wrung` (?), a. Injured or hurt in the withers, as a horse.
With*hold" (?), v. t. [imp. Withheld (?); p. p. Withheld, Obs. or
Archaic Withholden (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Withholding.] [With again,
against, back + hold.]