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Webster 1913 Edition

Whiten

Whit′en

,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Whitened
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Whitening
.]
[OE.
whitenen
; cf. Icel.
hvītna
.]
To grow white; to turn or become white or whiter;
as, the hair
whitens
with age; the sea
whitens
with foam; the trees in spring
whiten
with blossoms.

Whit′en

,
Verb.
T.
To make white; to bleach; to blanch; to whitewash;
as, to
whiten
a wall; to
whiten
cloth
.
The broad stream of the Foyle then
whitened
by vast flocks of wild swans.
Macaulay.
Syn. – See
Blanch
.

Webster 1828 Edition

Whiten

WHITEN

,
Verb.
T.
hwitn. To make white; to bleach; to blanch; as, to whiten cloth.

WHITEN

,
Verb.
I.
To grow white; to turn or become white. The hair whitens with age; the sea whitens with foam; the trees in spring whiten with blossoms.

Definition 2024

whiten

whiten

English

Verb

whiten ‎(third-person singular simple present whitens, present participle whitening, simple past and past participle whitened)

  1. (ergative) (To cause) to become white or whiter; to bleach or blanch.
    Age had whitened his hair.
    The trees in spring whiten with blossoms.

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology

From Middle English whitenen, whitnen, from Old Norse hvítna ‎(“to whiten”), from Proto-Germanic *hwītnōną ‎(“to whiten, become white”), from Proto-Indo-European *kwind-, *kwint- ‎(“bright”), equivalent to white +‎ -en. Cognate with Icelandic hvítna ‎(“to whiten”), Swedish vitna, hvitna ‎(“to whiten”), Danish hvidne ‎(“to whiten”). Compare Old English hwītian ‎(“to whiten, become white, be white, make white”).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈ(h)waɪtn̩/
  • Rhymes: -aɪtən

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