Translation
to wilt, to wither
Word origin
One of Zamenhof's Germanic borrowings, from German welken, 'to wither', which is related to welk, 'limp, faded'. The same Germanic root lies behind Dutch verwelken. Most of Esperanto's roots are Romance, so the Germanic ones stand out once you start noticing them.
- Origin
- German
- Root
- welken
Examples
.
The flowers wilted because of the strong sun.
.
Without water the plant will quickly wither.
.
The leaves withered and fell to the ground.
is intransitive, which is the fact to take away. The flower wilts; nothing wilts it. If you want to say that the sun did the wilting, you need the causative: is , with --. Getting that round the wrong way is the same trap as sekigi and , and the two verbs make a neat pair to learn together - the difference being that is already intransitive in its bare form, so it needs no -- at all.
The participles do useful work here. is withered, having wilted: are the ones already gone over. is in the process of it. And the figurative use is available exactly as in English - beauty, hope and reputations all in Esperanto poetry, which is where you will most often meet the word.
Where this fits
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velki: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Esperanto word "velki" (to wilt, to wither): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
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Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 38.