Standard Lemma guide

wither-

prefix · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

prefix

Meaning 1

Against, in opposition to; in return; counter-; contrary (to); in the opposite direction (of or to); backwards.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Scotland, UK, dialectal, morpheme

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Middle English wither-, from Old English wiþer- (“again, against”), from Proto-West Germanic *wiþra-, from Proto-Germanic *wiþrą (“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.