Word of the Day: DWINDLE

To decline or diminish

dwindle (verb) - to gradually shrink or diminish in size, amount, or strength; to ebb or waste away [dwin-dl]

• dwindling means gradually becoming smaller and smaller

BREAKDOWN: Shakespeare can be thanked for a great many things, not the least of which is the introduction of the word dwindle to the English language. Dwindle is derived from the verb dwine, confined mainly to Scots and related dialects, meaning to waste away. Both can be traced to the Middle English dwinen and ultimately to the root DIE- meaning to cease to live.

“Like musicians, like mathematicians, like elite athletes, scientists peak early and dwindle fast. It isn’t creativity that fades, but stamina: science is an endurance sport.” —Siddhartha Mukherjee

[Our Wednesday Wildcards are fascinating and important words that are not necessarily derived from classical roots.]