Dwynen

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To gradually waste away, grow weaker, or slowly decline in strength, size, or spirit over time
2. Archaic term meaning to pine away or steadily shrink until little or nothing of the original remains
3. To fade or diminish bit by bit, losing vigour, substance, or health as the days pass

Etymology: This is a Middle English form of the verb "dwine," meaning to waste away, pine, or gradually fade. The "-en" ending is the regular infinitive ending of Middle English verbs, and the form survives in texts from the period. It descends from the Old English "dwīnan," which carried the same sense of wasting or fading, and it has relatives in other Germanic languages. The English word "dwindle" is closely related. It appears to be a later formation built on "dwine," adding a frequentative suffix that suggests repeated or gradual action, so that "dwindle" means to shrink little by little. "Dwine" itself faded from ordinary speech and now survives mainly in literary and dialect use.