wltber 
erally: as, to wither a person by a look or 
glance; reputations withered by scandal. 
The treacherous air 
Of absence withers what was once so fair. 
Wordmcorth, Sonnets, iii. 25. 
He withert marrow and mind. Tennyton, Ancient Sage. 
n. iiitrayis. 1. To lose the sap or juice; dry 
and shrivel up ; lose freshness and bloom ; fade. 
Shall he not pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the 
fruit thereof, that it mther' it shall wither in all the 
leaves of her spring. Ezek. xvii. 9. 
Leaves have their time to fall. 
And flowers to wither at the north wind's breath. 
Mrs. Hemans, The Hour of Death. 
2. To become dry and wrinkled, as from the 
loss or lack of animal moisture ; lose pristine 
freshness, bloom, softness, smoothness, vigor, 
or the like, as from age or disease ; decay. 
A fair face will wither. Shuk., Hen. V., v. 2. 170. 
There, left a subject to the wind and rain, 
And scorch'd by suns, it withers on the plain. 
Pope, Iliad, iT. 669. 
3. To decay generally; decline; languish; pass 
away. 
When few dayes faren were, the fre kyng Teutra 
Wex weilce of his wound, & mdrit to dethe. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), 1. B301. 
And now I wax old, 
Seke, sory, and cold, 
As muk apon mold 
I widder away. 
Towneley JUysteries, p. 21. 
That which is of God we defend ; . . . that which is 
otherwise, let it wither even in the root from whence it 
hath sprung. Hooker, Eccles. Polity, ii. 1. 
The individual withers, and the world is more and more. 
Tennyson, Locksley Hall. 
wither-. See wither^, adv. 
wither-band (wiTH'fer-band), n. A piece of 
iron fixed under a saddle nearly over the with- 
ers of the horse, to strengthen the bow. 
witheredi (wiTH'erd), jj. a. Shriveled; faded, 
withered^ (wiTH'erd), a. [< withers + -ed^.] 
Ha%'ing withers (of this or that specified kind). 
Some with their Manes Frizzled up, to make 'em appear 
high Wither'd, that they look'd as Fierce as one of Hun- 
gess's Wild Boars. 
Quoted in Aehlon's Social Life in Keign of Queen Anne, 
[II. 165. 
'WitheredneBS (wiTH'6rd-nes), n. A withered 
state or condition. [Rare.] 
Do ye complain of the dead witheredness of good affec- 
tions? Bp. Uali, Contemplations, v. 11. 
Water them as soon as set, till they have recovered their 
witheredness. Mortimer, Husbandry. 
■withering (wiTH'er-ing),7>. a. Blasting; blight- 
ing; scorching: aa, a, withering glance; a, wither- 
ing wind. 
How many a spirit bom to bless 
Has sunk beneath that withering name ! 
Moore, Lalla Kookh, The i'ire-Worshippers. 
The attacking column was under a withering flre. 
The Century, XXXVI. 250. 
Withering cancer, scirrhous cancer in which there is a 
tendency to shrinkage and atrophy. 
withering-floor (wiTH'er-ing-flor), n. The dry- 
ing-floor of a malt-house: according to the 
established arrangement, the second floor. 
All such [imperfect] grains are apt to hecome very dam- 
aging upon the witttering Jloor. Ure, Dict^, III. 187. 
witheringly (wiTH'er-ing-li), adv. In a manner 
tending to wither or cause to shrink. 
But we must wander witheringly. 
In other lands to die. 
Byron, Hebrew Melodies, The Wild Gazelle. 
■witherite (wiTH'er-it), n. [Named by Werner 
after W. Withering, an English medical practi- 
tioner and scientist (1741-99), who, in 1784, 
published an analysis and description of a spe- 
cimen of this mineral obtained from a lead-mine 
at Alston Moor in Cumberland, England.] Na- 
tive barium carbonate. It occurs crystallized, also 
columnar or granular massive, and has a white, gray, or 
yellow color. Also called barolite. 
witherlinglf (wilH'er-ling), n. [< ME. wither- 
ling; < tcither'^ + -?i»gi.l An opponent, enemy, 
or adversary. 
Grete wel the gode 
Quen Godild my moder. 
And sey that hethene king, 
Ihii cristes uitherling, 
that ichc lef and dere 
On londe am riued here. King Horn, 1. 156. 
witherling^t (wiTH'er-ling), n. [< wither^ + 
-ling'^.'] One who or that which is withered or 
decrepit. 
All these braunches of heretikes fallen from the church, 
the vine of Christes misticall body, seme tliei neuer so 
freshe tfe grene, bee yet in dede but ufUherlinges. 
Sir T. More, Works, p. 186. 
withernam (wiwn'fer-nara), n. [< ME. "wither- 
nam, < AS. icithsmdni (= G. wiedemahme), re- 
6954 
taking, reception, < wither, again, -I- 'nam, a 
taking, seizure: see wither'^ and nam^, name^.2 
In law : (a) An unlawful distress, or forbidden 
taking, as of a thing distrained, out of the coun- 
ty, so that the sheriff cannot upon the replevin 
make deliverance thereof to the party dis- 
trained. (6) The reprisal of other cattle or 
goods, in lieu of those unjustly taken, eloigned, 
or otherwise withholden. The cattle or goods 
thus taken are said to be taken in withernam. 
[Now obsolete.] 
withe-rod (with'rod), «. A North American 
shrub, Viburnum cassinoides, a species formerly 
included in V. nudum. 
withers (wiTn'ferz), n. pi. [Also witters; lit. the 
parts that are 'against,' the resisting part; < 
wither^, adv. Cf . Or. wider-rist, a horse's withers, 
< wider, against, + rist, wrist, instep, also ele- 
vated part, withers.] 1. The highest part of 
the back of a horse, between the shoulder- 
blades and behind the root of the neck, where 
the mane ceases to grow: as, a horse 15 hands 
high at the withers. The name is extended to the 
same part of some other animals : as, an antelope with high 
withers; the sacred ox, with a hump on the withers. See 
cut under horse. 
Let the galled jade wince ; our withers are unwrung. 
Shak., Hamlet, iii. 2. 253. 
Contrive that the saddle may pinch the beast in his 
withert. Swift, Advice to Servants (Groom). 
2. The barbs or flukes of a harpoon; the 
witters : so called by British whalemen. 
withershins (wiTH'6r-shinz), adv. [Also wid- 
dershins, widdersinnis, widishins, widdersins, 
wodershins, etc. ; according to a common view, 
lit. 'against the sun,' < wither^, against, con- 
trary to, -I- -shins, -sins, etc., a form of sun, 
with adverbial gen. -s. More prob. withershins 
is a corruption of *witherlins, *tvitherling, < 
wither^ + -ling^.'] In the opposite direction; 
hence, in the wrong way. [Scotch.] 
Go round it three times widershins, and every time say, 
"Open, door !" Child Rowland (Child's Ballads, I. 248). 
And my love and his bonnie ship 
Turn'd widdershins about, 
rv Lowlands of Holland (Child's Ballads, II. 216). 
'Wither-'Wrung (wiTH'er-rung), a. [< with- 
er(s) -I- wrung.'] Injured in the withers, as a 
horse. 
The hurt expressed by witherwmng sometimes is caused 
by the bite of a horse, or by a saddle being unfit. 
Farrier's IHct. {Johnson.) 
with-got (wiTH-go'), V. t. [< with- + go.] To 
forgo ; give up. 
Esau, . . . who . . . did withgo his birthright. 
Barrow, Sermons, III. xv. 
■withhaultt (wiTH-half). A spurious preterit 
of withhold. Spenser, F. Q., II. xi. 9. 
■vnthhold (wiTH-hold'), v. t. ; pret. and pp. with- 
held, ppr. withholding. [< ME. withholden, with- 
halde, keep back, hold back; < with-, against, + 
holdi^,v. Ct. withdraw.] I. trans. 1. To hold 
back; keep from action ; restrain; check. 
Enforcest thow the to aresten or withholden the swyft- 
nesse and the sweygh of hir turnynge wheel? 
Chaueer, Boethius, ii. prose 2. 
You all did love him once, not without cause ; 
What cause withholds you then to mourn for him ? 
Shai., J. C, iiL 2. 108. 
Life, anguish, death, immortal love. 
Ceasing not, mingled, unrepress'd. 
Apart from place, vrithhdding time. 
Tennyson, Arabian Nights. 
2. To keep back; refrain from doing, giving, 
permitting, etc.: as, to withhold payment; to 
withhold assent to something. 
Withhold revenge, dear God ! 'tis not my fault. 
Shak., 3 Hen. VI., ii. 2. 7. 
Was it ever denied that the favours of the Crown were 
constantly bestowed and withheld purely on account of 
. . . religious opinions? Macaulay, Sir J. Mackintosh. 
3t. To keep; retain; hold; detain. 
It [the Lord's Prayer] is short, for it sholde be kond the 
more lightly, and for to withholden it the more esily in 
herte. Chaucer, Parson's Tale. 
We haue herde sey that ye with-holde alle the sow- 
dioures that to yow will come. Merlin (E. E. T. S.), ii. 203. 
4t. To keep ; maintain. 
He . . . ran to London unto seynt Ponies, 
To seken him a chaunterie for soules. 
Or with a bretherhed to been withholde. 
Chaticer, Gen. Pi-ol. to C. T., 1. 511. 
5t. To engage ; retain. 
To us surgiens aperteneth that we do to every wight 
the best that we kan whereas we been tvithholde. 
Chaucer, Tale of Melibeus. 
II. intrans. To refrain ; stay back ; hold one's 
self in check. 
within 
They withhdd and did no more hurte, & ye people came 
trembling, & brought them the best provissions they had. 
Bradford, Plymouth Plantation, p. 104. 
He was fled, and so they missed of him ; but understood 
that Squauto was alive ; so they withheld, and did no hurt. 
N. Morton, New England's Memorial, p. 71. 
withholder (wiTH-hol'dfer), n. [< withhold + 
-«l.] One who withholds. 
The words are spoken against them that invade tithes 
and church rights ; and that which is there threatened 
happened to this withholder. 
Stephens, Addition to Spelman on Sacrilege, p. 138. 
withholdment (wiTH-hold'ment), n. [< with- 
hold + -ment.] The act of withholding. Imp. 
Diet. 
within (wi-THin'), adv. and prep. [< ME. within., 
withinne, withynne, withinnen, < AS. withinnan, 
on the inside, < with, against, with, -I- innan, 
adv., in: see in^.] I. adv. 1. In or into the 
interior ; inside ; as regards the Inside ; on the 
inside; internally. 
Thai thurle a nutte, and stufle it so withinne 
With brymatoon, chaf, and cedria, thees three. 
PaUadius, Husbondrie (E. E. T. S.X p. 34. 
Damascus does not answer leithin to its outward appear- 
ance. Poeocke, Description of the East, IL i. 118. 
It is designed, within and without, of two stories. 
E. A. Freeman, Venice, p. 50. 
2. In the mind, heart, or soul ; inwardly. 
You frame my thongbts, and fashion me wUhin. 
Spenser, Sonnets, viiL 
I am, within, thy love ; without, thy master. 
T. TomJcis (?), Albumazar, iv. 11. 
Think not the worse, my friends, I shed not tears ; 
Great griefs lament within. 
Fletcher, Valentlnian, iv. 4. 
3. In the house or dwelling ; indoors ; at home : 
as, the master is within. 
But at this hour the house doth keep itself ; 
There 'a none within. Shak. , As you Like it, iv. 3. 83. 
Serv. Your brother, sir, is spealdng to a gentleman in 
the street, and says he knows you are within. 
Joseph S. 'Sdeatti, blockhead, I'm not within— I'm out 
for the day. Sheridan, School for Scandal, iv. 3. 
From witllln, from the inalde ; from the inner place or 
point of view. 
We look from within, and see nothing but the mould 
formed by the elements in which we are incased ; other 
observers look from without, and see us as living statues. 
0. W. Holmes, Professor, vilL 
II. prep. 1. In or into the inner or interior 
part or parts of ; inside of ; in the space inclosed 
or bounded by : as, within the city : opposed to 
without. 
Mount Syon ia with inne the Cytee. 
MandeniUe, Tntvelg, p. 92. 
Come not within these doors ; within this roof 
The enemy of all your graces lives. 
Shak., As you Like it, ii. 8. 17. 
Accominticus and Passataquack are two connenient 
Harbours for small Barkes : and a good Country wWiin 
their craggy clifts. Capt. John Smith, Works, IL 193. 
And now the Kingdom is come to Unity urithin it sell, 
one King and one People. Baker, Chronicles, p. 78. 
Without and eke within 
The Walls of London there is Sin. 
HowM, Letters, L vL 51. 
The perilous situation of the Christian cavaliers pent up 
and beleaguered icithin the walls of Alhama spread terror 
among their friends, Irving, Granada, p. 47. 
2. Included or comprehended in. 
Extension apprehended is said to be within conscious- 
ness. VeUeh, Introd. to Descartes's Method, p. Ixx. 
3. Among. 
To save our selves therefore, and resist the common 
enemy, it concerns us mainly to agree within ourselves. 
Milton, True Beligion. 
When we were come within the sandy hills, we were 
surprised at the sight of a magnificent tent, where a hand^ 
some collation was prepared. 
Poeocke, Description of the East, L IS. 
4. In the course, range, reach, compass, or lim- 
its of ; not beyond or more than : of distance, 
time, length, quantity, (o) Of distance: At or to a 
point distant less than ; nearer than : as, within a mile of 
Edinburgh. 
As sone as Ermones the kyng 
Sawe that he was withynne his wepons length. 
Anon he smote Att hym with all his strength. 
Oenerydes(E. K T. S.), L 3044. 
The place shewn us for this City consisted of only a few 
Houses, on the tops of the Mountains, within about half 
a Mile of the Sea. Maundrell, Aleppo to Jerusalem, p. 48. 
Not the sage Alquife, the magician in Don Belianis of 
Greece, nor the no less famous Urganda the sorceress, his 
wife, . . , could pretend to come trithin a league of the 
truth. Sterne, Tristram Shandy, ii. 19. 
(i) Of time : In the limits or course of ; before the expin- 
tion of ; in : as, he will be here trithin two hours. 
Thow getis tydandis I trowe, within tene dayes. 
That some trofere es tydde sene thow fro home tumede. 
Morte Arthure (E. E. T. S.X 1. S452. 
