withersake

English

Alternative forms
  • wythersake

Etymology

From Middle English withersake, from Old English wiþersaca (“adversary, enemy; betrayer; apostate”), from Proto-West Germanic *wiþrasakō, equivalent to wither- (“against”) +‎ sake. Cognate with Middle High German widersache, Modern German Widersacher (“adversary, opponent, antagonist, foe”).

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈwɪðə(ɹ)ˌseɪk/

Noun

withersake (plural withersakes)

  1. (archaic) An apostate or perfidious renegade.
    • 1822, Lee Gibbons [pseudonym of William Bennett], Malpas; Or Le Poursuivant D'Amour. A Romance, Etc‎:
      "Go to with thy trade," replied Father Adrian, "I know thee not but for a lying withersake; a base pilfering waster and drawlatch; a cutting ribald moss trooper, and doer of ran and rapine; a common lecher and brawler; […]

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