languish (u as w)

i. & t. [Fr. langui -, stem of langui ant, pr. par. of languir to languish, to pine, from Lat. langueo to be weak. From the same root as Eng. lax (q. v.).] A. Intransitive : 1. To become weak, feeble, or sluggish; to lose strength, energy, or animation; to pine; to become languid. "It is an overture of health acceptable to sick and lan guishing persons."- Barrow : Sermons, vol. iii., ser. 43. 2. To droop under heat, absence of moisture, .; to wither, to fade; as, Flowers languish for want of water. 3. To move slowly or sluggishly. "The movers of a languishing death." Shakesp.: Cymbeline, i. vi. 4. To become dull; to be neglected; not to be carried on with energy or spirit; as, A war lan guishes for want of money. 5. To become feeble or indistinct. "Till high upon his misty side Languish'd' the mournful notes, and died." Scott : Lord of the Isles, iv. 6. 6. To lose strength or power; to become neg lected. IMG:content-0354.png:[blocks in formation] *B. Trans.: To cause to pine away or droop. lăn-guish (uasw), s. [LANGUISH, v.] 1. The act or state of languishing or drooping. 2. A soft, tender look or appearance. "Cymothoe and Cymodocé were nigh, And the blue languish of soft Alia's eye." Pope : Homer's Iliad , xviii. 50. lăn-guisher (u as w), s. [Eng. languish; -er.] One who languishes, droops, or pines. "Just at the instant this poor languisher Heaves his last sigh." Mason : Caractacus . IMG:content-0355.png:[blocks in formation] IMG:content-0356.png:[blocks in formation]