All 3 Uses of
wither
in
A Midsummer Night's Dream
- But earthlier happy is the rose distill'd
Than that which, withering on the virgin thorn,
Grows, lives, and dies, in single blessedness.Scene 1.1 *withering = shriveling (wrinkling, contracting, and drying out from age)
- she lingers my desires, Like to a step-dame or a dowager, Long withering out a young man's revenue.†
Scene 1.1
- I jest to Oberon, and make him smile, When I a fat and bean-fed horse beguile, Neighing in likeness of a filly foal; And sometime lurk I in a gossip's bowl, In very likeness of a roasted crab; And, when she drinks, against her lips I bob, And on her withered dewlap pour the ale.†
Scene 2.1
Definitions:
-
(1)
(wither as in: wither on the vine) to shrivel (wrinkle and contract -- usually from lack of water)
-
(2)
(wither as in: her confidence withered) to become weaker--sometimes to get smaller and disappear
-
(3)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) Much less commonly, Withers can be a last name.