Dwin"dle, v. t. 1.
To make less; to bring low.
Our drooping days are dwindled down to
naught.
Thomson.
2. To break; to disperse. [R.]
Clarendon.
Dwin"dle, n. The process of
dwindling; dwindlement; decline; degeneracy. [R.]
Johnson.
Dwin"dle (?), v. i. [imp. & p.
p. Dwindled (?); p. pr. & vb. n.
Dwindling (?).] [From OE. dwinen to languish, waste
away, AS. dwīnan; akin to LG. dwinen, D.
dwijnen to vanish, Icel. dvīna to cease, dwindle,
Sw. tvina; of uncertain origin. The suffix -le,
preceded by d excrescent after n, is added to the root
with a diminutive force.] To diminish; to become less; to
shrink; to waste or consume away; to become degenerate; to fall
away.
Weary sennights nine times nine
Shall he dwindle, peak and pine.
Shak.
Religious societies, though begun with excellent
intentions,
are said to have dwindled into factious clubs.
Swift.