Both Uses of
wither
in
Moby Dick
- Within are shabby shelves, ranged round with old decanters, bottles, flasks; and in those jaws of swift destruction, like another cursed Jonah (by which name indeed they called him), bustles a little withered old man, who, for their money, dearly sells the sailors deliriums and death.†
Chpt 1-3 *
- Faintly smacking his withered lips over it for a moment, the old negro muttered, "Best cooked 'teak I eber taste; joosy, berry joosy."†
Chpt 64-66
Definitions:
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(1)
(wither as in: wither on the vine) to shrivel (wrinkle and contract -- usually from lack of water)
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(2)
(wither as in: her confidence withered) to become weaker--sometimes to get smaller and disappear
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(3)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) Much less commonly, Withers can be a last name.