wither [LME] Wither and weather [OE] seem to be the same word, the different forms coming to be used for different senses. Weather itself is from a Germanic root linked to *wind. The phrase wither away [LME] developed a special sense in early 20th century tracts about Marxist philosophy describing the decline of the state after a dictatorship of the proletariat has effected changes in society such that the state’s domination is no longer necessary.