from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Languish \Lan"guish\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Languished}; p. pr. &
vb. n. {Languishing}.] [OE. languishen, languissen, F.
languir, L. languere; cf. Gr. ? to slacken, ? slack, Icel.
lakra to lag behind; prob. akin to E. lag, lax, and perh. to
E. slack. See {-ish}.]
1. To become languid or weak; to lose strength or animation;
to be or become dull, feeble or spiritless; to pine away;
to linger in a weak or deteriorating condition; to wither
or fade.
[1913 Webster]
We . . . do languish of such diseases. --2 Esdras
viii. 31.
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Cease, fond nature, cease thy strife,
And let me languish into life. --Pope.
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For the fields of Heshbon languish. --Is. xvi. 8.
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2. To assume an expression of weariness or tender grief,
appealing for sympathy. --Tennyson.
3. To be neglected and unattended to; as, the proposal
languished on the director's desk for months.
[PJC]
Syn: To pine; wither; fade; droop; faint.
[1913 Webster]