esmorecer

Etymology

13th century. Unknown. From esmorir (“to faint”) +‎ -ecer, probably from Latin morior (“to die”), whence Galician morrer (“to die”); but note also Old English smorian (“to choke, suffocate”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /esmoɾeˈθeɾ/, (western) /esmoɾeˈseɾ/

Verb

esmorecer (first-person singular present esmorezo, first-person singular preterite esmorecín, past participle esmorecido)

1. (intransitive) to falter, wilt
2. (intransitive) to decay, wither
3. (intransitive) to faint
   • c1350, Kelvin M. Parker (ed.), Historia Troyana. Santiago: Instituto "Padre Sarmiento", page 288:

     Et esmoresçeu en tal maneyra que pouco nẽ moyto nõ suspiraua nẽ saya d'ela folgo.

     And she fainted in such a way that, neither much nor little, she didn't sigh or breathe

References

• “esmorecer” in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval, SLI - ILGA 2006-2012.
• “esmor” in Xavier Varela Barreiro & Xavier Gómez Guinovart: Corpus Xelmírez - Corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval. SLI / Grupo TALG / ILG, 2006-2016.
• “esmorecer” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006-2013.
• “esmorecer” in Santamarina, Antón (coord.): Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega. Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega.
• “esmorecer” in Álvarez, Rosario (coord.): Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués, Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega.

Etymology

From Latin emorior (“to die (out)”).

Verb

esmorecer (first-person singular present indicative esmoreço, past participle esmorecido)

1. (transitive) to dishearten; discourage
2. (intransitive) to falter; wilt