Wither-

Alternative forms

• weather-, wother-, widder- Scotland

Origin

From Middle English, from Old English wiþer ("again, against", adverb in compounds.), from Proto-Germanic *wiþra ("against, toward"), from Proto-Indo-European *wī-tero- ("further apart"), *wī- ("separate, alone"). Cognate with Low German wedder ("against"), Dutch weer ("again, back"), German wider ("against, contrary to"), wieder ("again"). More at with.

Full definition of wither-

Prefix

1. (now chiefly UK dialectal, Scotland) Prefix meaning: "against", "in opposition to"; "in return"; "counter-"; "contrary (to)"; "in the opposite direction (of or to)"; "backwards".

Derived terms

• witherband
• witherblench
• withercraft
• witherlaw
• witherling
• withernam
• withersake
• withershins
• witherward
• witherweight
• witherwin
• witherwrung