| 释义 |
▪ I. withering, vbl. n.|ˈwɪðərɪŋ|
[f. wither v.2 + -ing1.]
1. The action of wither v.2, q.v.
1523Fitzherb. Husb. §23 The yonger and the grener that the grasse is, the softer and the sweter it wyll be whan it is hey, but it wyll haue the more wyddrynge. a1614Donne βιαθανατος (1644) 131 These enormous witherings of our bodies are allowable. 1658A. Fox Würtz' Surg. iii. xxiii. 289 A Withering, is a Symptom which is incident to joints wounded. 1796in J. Robertson Agric. Perth (1799) 517 What fell off from the whins, broom, firs, &c. in the course of their withering. 1848S. Ball Tea viii. 157 The peculiar red appearance of this tea is produced..by tossing the leaves on trays..to promote the withering. 1853Maurice Proph. & Kings vii. 115 The withering of a hand which was cured again. 1862Helps Organization in Daily Life 5 The waste of time, and the withering-up of enjoyment. 1866G. Stephens Runic Mon. I. 25 The remaining withering-away of the N in Scandinavia is in the infinitive. 1899Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 845 Spontaneous withering or retrogression of certain of the tumours. 1903C. Bald Indian Tea xv. (1917) 218 Withering in the sun is fatal to fine quality.
b. attrib.
1707Mortimer Husb. 267 After the Malt has lain on the withering Floors about twelve or fourteen days. 1853Dickens Bleak Ho. xix, The learned gentleman who does the withering business, and who blights all opponents with his gloomy sarcasm. 1897D. Crole Tea vii. 114 A withering⁓house 100 yards long..will..accommodate about 140 maunds of leaf.
2. concr. Withered branches or brushwood, used in making fences, etc.
1852C. W. Hoskyns Talpa 46 A man-made barrier of stakes and ‘witherings’. 1854R. S. Surtees Handley Cr. xiv. (1901) I. 104 The rotten stakes and witherings of a low ill-made-up gap.
▪ II. ˈwithering, ppl. a.
[f. wither v.2 + -ing2.]
That withers, in various senses.
1. Fading, decaying. lit. and fig.
1599A. Hume Hymns vii. 226 Widdring weids. 1621T. Williamson tr. Goulart's Wise Vieillard 2 This withering and transitory life. 1668J. Owen Indwelling-Sin xiv. 235 There may be a withering member in the body. 1680Otway Orphan iv. viii, Desire shall languish like a withering flower. 1783Crabbe Village i. 185 The bare arms broken from the withering tree. 1784Cowper Task vi. 938 There he fights, And there obtains fresh triumphs o'er himself, And never with'ring wreaths. 1821Shelley Adonais xxxii, On the withering flower The killing sun smiles brightly.
2. Causing to fade or decay (lit. and fig.); esp. causing decay of vigour or paralysis of effort; blasting, blighting; often applied to the ‘paralysing’ effect of scornful looks, criticism, and the like, and to destructive gun-fire.
1579E. K. in Spenser's Sheph. Cal. Feb. Arg., A dry and withering cold. 1599Daniel Musophilus 167 Whereas he came planted in the Spring,..We, set in th' Autumne, in the withering And sullen season of a cold defect, Must [etc.]. 16..? Breton C'tess Penbrook's Pass. xlviii. (Grosart) 6/1 Wethering Winter gives her chillinge cheare. 1747Collins Ode Passions 42 With a with'ring Look. 1792S. Rogers Pleas. Mem. ii. 110 A withering scowl she wore. 1810Southey Kehama xi. iv, Oh! hide him from that Witch's withering sight! 1813Byron Corsair ii. x, The withering sense of evil unreveal'd. 1849Aytoun Lays Scott. Cav. 114 Vainly sped the withering volley 'Mongst the foremost of our band. 1857Kingsley Two Y. Ago xv, Elsley..cast on him a look which he intended to have been withering. a1859Macaulay Hist. Eng. xxiv. V. 135 A blighting and withering dominion. 1884J. Colborne With Hicks Pasha in Soudan 174 Our withering fire knocked the poor fellows over and over.
Hence ˈwitheringly adv. (lit. and fig.).
1815Byron Hebrew Mel., Wild Gazelle iv, We must wander witheringly, In other lands to die. 1819J. H. Wiffen Aonian Hours (1820) 64 The gathered flower droops witheringly away. 1835M. Scott in Blackw. Mag. XXXVII. 452 My uncle..looked so witheringly at him. 1905R. Bagot Passport xiii. 116 ‘Then, may I ask, what is the use of sending me on a fool's errand?’ the professor retorted, witheringly. |