▪ I. weary, a.
(ˈwɪərɪ)
Forms: 1 wœ́riᵹ, (uoeriᵹ), wériᵹ; 2–4 weri, (3 wæri), 3–6 werie, -y, (4 wiry, 5 wyry), 4, 6 Sc. very, (5 were, werre), 5–6 werye, 6 weery, wiery, 6–9 Sc. wearie, 6– weary.
[OE. wériᵹ, corresponding to OS. (sîð-) wôrig weary (with a journey), OHG. wuarag drunk:—W.Ger. *wōriᵹo-, -aᵹo-. The root *wōr- seems to be identical with that in OE. wórian to wander, go astray, and in ON. órar fits of madness, œ́r-r mad, insane; the primary sense was perhaps ‘bewildered’, ‘stupefied’.]
I. 1. a. Having the feeling of loss of strength, languor, and need for rest, produced by continued exertion (physical or mental), endurance of severe pain, or wakefulness; tired, fatigued. Now with stronger sense: Intensely tired, worn out with fatigue.
The strong emotional emphasis which the word has acquired in modern times tends to exclude it from colloquial use and from unimpassioned prose.
| c 825 Vesp. Psalter, Hymn xii, Mentes fessas, mod woeriᵹu. a 900 Elene 357 (Gr.) Þa wereᵹan neat, þe man..drifeð & þirsceð. c 900 Bæda's Hist. iii. ix. (1890) 180 Þa heo þa on þære stowe ᵹeseted wæs, ða wæs heo weriᵹ. c 940 Brunanburh in O.E. Chron. an. 937 Þær læᵹ secg mæniᵹ, garum aᵹeted,..ofer scild scoten,..weriᵹ, wiᵹes sæd. a 1200 Moral Ode 240 (Lamb. MS.) Ho [sc. souls in hell] walkeð weri up and dun, se water deð mid winde. c 1290 Katerine 24 in S.E. Leg. 92 Of sonne and Mone and steorrene also, fram þe este to þe weste Þat trauaillieth and neuere werie ne beoth. c 1290 Beket 1158 ibid. 139 Swiþe weri was þe holi man, onneþe he bar up is fet. c 1350 Will. Palerne 2518 Meliors was so wery þat sche ne walk miȝt. 1375 Barbour Bruce xii. 143 His men als that wer very Hynt of thair basnetis. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xvi. 75 He was so wery þat he myȝt na ferther. 1557 N. T. (Genev.) Matt. xi. 28 Come vnto me all ye that are wearie and laden. 1567 J. Maplet Gr. Forest 68 b, The fift or odde Crane..flieth all alone before, till he be wearie so doing. 1684 J. S. Profit & Pleasure united 159 To know when the Stag is weary, is easily done by his Slavering, froathing at the Mouth, [etc.]. 1837 W. Irving Capt. Bonneville xliv. III. 188 After an absence of twenty days, they returned weary and discouraged. 1856 Mrs. Browning Aur. Leigh i. 465 Producing what? A pair of slippers, sir, To put on when you're weary. 1865 Swinburne Chastelard i. ii. 30, I am tired too soon; I could have danced down hours Two years gone hence and felt no wearier. |
| absol. 1382 Wyclif Job iii. 17 There resteden the wery in strengthe [1611 There the wearie be at rest]. 1382 ― Isa. xl. 29 The Lord..ȝyueth to the weri vertue. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 627 The Duke of Yorke sent euer fresh men, to succor the werie, and put new men in places of the hurt persons. 1760–72 H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1809) II. 160 Death may bring rest to the weary and overladen. 1804 Campbell Soldier's Dream 4 Thousands had sunk on the ground overpowered, The weary to sleep, and the wounded to die. 1848 Dickens Dombey lviii, The eternal book for all the weary and the heavy-laden. 1887 I. R. Lady's Ranche Life Montana 105 In a few minutes we were sleeping the sleep of the weary. |
b. said of the body, its limbs or organs.
| c 1205 Lay. 16592 To lechinien þa wunden of leofenen his cnihten & baðien on burȝe heore wærie ban. 1573 Gascoigne Posies, Hearbes Wks. 1907 I. 354 If thou sitte at ease to rest thy wearie bones. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. ii. 29 There they alight, in hope..to..rest their weary limbs a tide. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 264 Late at Night, with weary Pinions come The lab'ring Youth, and heavy laden home. 1792 Rogers Pleas. Mem. i. 73 (1810) 12 How oft..We..Welcom'd the wild-bee home on weary wing. 1841 Longfellow Excelsior v, ‘O stay,’ the maiden said, ‘and rest Thy weary head upon this breast!’ |
c. with the source of weariness indicated. Const. with, formerly also † of (now only in sense 2), † for, or † genitive.
| Beowulf 579 Siþes weriᵹ. a 1000 Riddles liv [lv]. 10 Weriᵹ þæs weorces. c 1205 Lay. 18406 Heo beoð swiðe werie iboren heore wepnen. c 1220 Bestiary 635 Ðanne he is of walke weri. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. Prol. 7, I was weori of wandringe [B. wery forwandred]. ? a 1366 Chaucer Rom. Rose 440 Ne certis she was fatt no thing But semed wery for fasting. 1382 Wyclif John iv. 6 Jhesu maad wery, or feynt, of the iurney, sat thus on the welle. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) x. 40 When he was wery of bering of þe crosse. 1489 Caxton Faytes of A. ii. xxxvii. 157 They fonde the watchemen sore wery of longe watche. 1584 D. Powel Lloyd's Cambria 93 Both armies being werie with fighting. 1596 Spenser F.Q. vi. vii. 19 Weary of trauell in his former fight, He there in shade himselfe had laid to rest. 1610 Shakes. Temp. iv. 134 You Sun-burn'd Sicklemen of August weary. 1617 Moryson Itin. i. 179 My horse weary of this long journey without so much as a daies rest, beganne to faint. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 581 Weary with his Toyl, and scorch'd with Heat. 1805 Scott Last Minstr. i. ii, The stag-hounds, weary with the chase, Lay stretch'd upon the rushy floor. |
d. Of pace, tread, voice, etc.: Showing signs of fatigue.
| a 1000 Cynewulf's Christ 993 Beornas gretað..werᵹum stefnum. 1638 Quarles Hierogl. i. 8 When at length His weary steps have reach'd the top. 1697 Dryden æneis xi. 803 His Foes in sight, he mends his weary pace. 1784 Burns Man was made 6, I spy'd a man, whose aged step Seem'd weary, worn with care. 1820 Shelley Sensit. Pl. iii. 9 The weary sound and the heavy breath, And the silent motions of passing death. 1821 ― Epipsych. 155 The beaten road Which those poor slaves with weary footsteps tread. 1840 Dickens Old C. Shop xv, Accordingly, towards this spot, they directed their weary steps. |
† e. quasi-n. in for weary: see for- prefix 10.
| c 1350, c 1400 [see for- prefix 10]. c 1400 Laud Troy Bk. 5574 Then were the Troyens wel weri, Thei myght not for weri hem steri. c 1420 Avow. Arth. xvii, For werre slidus he on slepe, No lengur myȝte he wake. 14.. Sir Beues (O.) 2449 What for wery and what for faynt, Syr Beuys was nerehande attaynt. a 1450 Mirk's Festial 180 But on þe morow, what for wach, what for wery, he fylle on slepe. c 1460 Towneley Myst. xxx. 226 Vnethes may I wag, man, for wery in youre stabill Whils I set my stag, man. |
f. Weary Willie: see Tired Tim s.v. tired ppl. a.1 1 c.
| 1896 Illustr. Chips 16 May 1/3 Lazy Larry: ‘Watcher doin', Willie?’ Weary Willie: ‘Oh, jest wipin out a little debt I owe.’ 1901 Munsey's Mag. Sept. 884/2 Dan had not been gone a day when the first Weary Willy appeared and demanded pie, with a horrid leer. 1906 E. Dyson Fact'ry 'Ands vii. 76 ‘Garn,’ he said, ‘no airs. Yer Weary Willie's brother Sam, halias Ther Frequent Sleeper, [etc.].’ 1909 Punch 20 Jan. 46 (caption to picture of two tramps) Weary Willie: I'd sooner walk up 'ill than I would down, any day—it do throw yer into yer boots so. 1927, etc. [see tired ppl. a.1 1 c]. 1929 Amer. Speech IV. 345 Weary Willie, a tramp who usually hikes it and is too tired to work. 1972 [see tired ppl. a.1 1 c]. |
2. a. Discontented at the continuance or continued recurrence of something, and desiring its cessation; having one's patience, tolerance, zeal, or energy exhausted; ‘sick and tired’ of something. Also with in, and to with inf.
| c 1205 Lay. 1328 Ne bið na man weri heora songes to heræn. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xv. 181 Whan he is wery of þat werke þanne wil he some tyme Labory in a lauendrye. c 1386 Chaucer Pars. T. 1042 It [sc. the Paternoster] is schort..for a man schulde be þe lasse wery to say it. c 1400 Rom. Rose 6298, I wol no more of this thing seyn, If I may passen me herby; I mighte maken you wery. 1470–85 Malory Arthur xvi. i. 664, I am nyghe wery of this quest. 1526 Tindale 2 Thess. iii. 13 Brethren be not weary in well doynge. [So all later versions exc. Rheims.] 1534 ― Gal. vi. 9 Let vs not be wery of well doynge [1611 in well doing]. 1535 Coverdale Ps. vi. 6, I am weery of gronynge. 1551 Robinson More's Utopia ii. vi. (1895) 212 In the exercyse and studdye of the mynde they be neuer werye. c 1590 Fair Em iv. i. 28, I am growen werie of his companie. 1605 Shakes. Lear i. iv. 218 He that keepes not crust, nor crum, Weary of all, shall want some. 1647 Clarendon Hist. Reb. iv. §42 By this time the King was as weary of Scotland as he had been impatient to go thither. 1670 Dryden 1st. Pt. Conq. Granada i. i, 'Tis just some joyes on weary Kings should waite. 1711 in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. i. 143 He cannot be ignorant how weary we are of the war. 1726 Swift Gulliver i. i, The last of these voyages not proving very fortunate, I grew weary of the sea. 1790 Burns The Taylor fell 13 There's somebody weary wi' lying her lane. 1817 Shelley Rev. Islam Ded. 33 For I grow weary to behold The selfish and the strong still tyrannize Without reproach or check. 1855 Tennyson Maud i. xxii. 4 She is weary of dance and play. 1864 ― Islet 29 His compass is but of a single note, That it makes one weary to hear. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) V. 122 Plato is never weary of speaking of the honour of the soul. |
b. Tired of, anxious to be rid of (a person). rare.
| ? c 1472 Stonor Papers (Camden) I. 123 Me thynk þay sshuld nat be so wery of yow, þat dyd so gret labour & diligence to have yow. 1602 W. S. Thomas Ld. Cromwell iv. ii. 6 All parts abroade where euer I haue beene Growes wearie of me, and denies me succour. a 1653 R. Brome City Wit iv. i, I will suddenly take occasion to break with the Foole Wolsie; of whom I am heartily weary. 1859 Tennyson Vivien 687, I am weary of her. |
3. Depressed and dispirited through trouble, anxiety, disappointment, etc.; sick at heart.
| c 888 ælfred Boeth. xxii. §1 Eala Wisdom, þu ðe eart sio hehste frofer ealra weriᵹra moda. c 1000 Wanderer 15 Ne mæᵹ weriᵹ mod wyrde wiðstondan. c 1205 Lay. 28081 Þa wes ich al wet & weri of sorȝen and seoc. a 1300 Cursor M. 15875 Mate and weri war þai þan. 1535 Coverdale 2 Esdr. xii. 5 Yet am I weery in my minde. 1538 Starkey England ii. i. 150 Many febul and wery soulys, wych haue byn oppressyd wyth wordly vanyte. 1605 Shakes. Macb. iii. i. 112, 1 Murth. So wearie with Disasters, tugg'd with Fortune. 17.. Slighted Nansy in Ramsay Tea-t. Misc. (1733) I. 23 Far ben the house I rin; And a weary wight am I. 1792 Burns Banks of Doon (later version) 4 How can ye chant, ye little birds, And I sae weary fu' o' care! 1892 L. Johnson in 1st Bk. Rhymers' Club 6 Our wearier spirit faints, Vexed in the world's employ. |
4. Of persons: Having little strength, feeble, sickly. Sc. and dial.
| c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xviii. (Egipciane) 240 Þocht he auld & very vas. 1533 Bellenden Livy iii. iii. (S.T.S.) I. 250 Than was Ebucius, ane of þe consullis, dede in þe ciete, and his colleig seruilius sa wery þat he mycht skarsly draw his aynd. 1808 Jamieson s.v., A weary bairn, a child that is declining, S. a 1825 Forby Voc. E. Anglia s.v., It is a poor weary child. 1879 Good Words 405/1 The minister had christened Nicky Macdonald's bairn in the house, since it was far too weary a thing to be brought to the kirk. |
| fig. 1533 Bellenden Livy iii. vii. (S.T.S.) I. 273 Þe ciete was nocht sa wery [L. aegram] þat It mycht be dantit with sic remedis as It was wont to be. |
II. Causing weariness.
5. Fatiguing, toilsome, exhausting. (Sometimes blending indistinguishably with sense 6.)
| c 1315 Shoreham ii. 84 To bere hyt [sc. the cross] to caluary, I-wys, hyt was wel wery. c 1386 Chaucer Miller's T. 457 The dede slepe for wery bisynesse ffil on this Carpenter. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 219 b, They wente a werye and a paynefull Jorney [L. difficili et molesto itinere]. 1560 Bible (Geneva) Isa. xxxii. 2 As the shadowe of a great rocke in a wearie land. [Literal from the Heb.] 1575 Fleming Virg. Bucol. ix. 29 Let's synging passe our weary waye, lesse trouble wyll be oures. 1719 De Foe Crusoe i. (Globe) 129 Many a weary Stroke it [sc. the boat] had cost, you may be sure; and there remained nothing but to get it into the Water. 1764 Goldsm. Trav. 423 Vain, very vain, my weary search to find That bliss which only centres in the mind. 1783 Burns Despondency 5 O Life! Thou art a galling load, Along a rough, a weary road, To wretches such as I. 1832 H. Martineau Life in Wilds vi. 76 It was weary work with any tool but the hatchet. 1833 Tennyson Lotos-Eaters 41 Evermore Most weary seem'd the sea, weary the oar. 1849 Aytoun Lays Scott. Cavaliers (ed. 2) 72 And aye we sail'd, and aye we sail'd Across the weary sea. 1894 J. A. Steuart In Day of Battle iv, India..is far away. Many a weary mile lies between us and it. |
6. a. Irksome, wearisome, tedious; in graver sense, burdensome to the spirit.
| 1465 Paston Lett. II. 188 Thys ys to wyry a lyffe to a byde for you and all youre. 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. iii. i. 129 The weariest, and most loathed worldly life That Age, Ache, periury, and imprisonment Can lay on nature. 1798 Wordsw. Lines Tintern Abbey 39 In which the heavy and the weary weight Of all this unintelligible world, Is lightened. 1813 Scott Rokeby v. iii, In the rude guard-room, where of yore Their weary hours the warders wore. 1850 Kingsley Alton Locke xli, Like the clear sunshine after weary rain. 1884 Tennyson Cup i. ii. 26, I have had a weary day in watching you. Yours must have been a wearier. |
† b. Of discourse, a speaker or writer: Tedious, wearisome. Obs.
| 1549 Coverdale etc. Erasm. Par. 1 Tim. i. 1–7 Wherto should a man labour for saluacion by meanes of so many wiery obseruacions [per tot molestas obseruatiunculas ad salutem contendere]. 1571 T. Fortescue Mexia's Foreste vii. 15 b, Sundry are the considerations, of whiche Lactantius Firmianus..as also somme others, haue written, large, & wery volumes. 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. i. iv. 25 Your Brother kindly greets you: Not to be weary with you; he's in prison. |
7. Sc. and north. dial. a. Sad, sorrowful, hard to endure.
| a 1785 W. Forbes Dominie in R. Forbes Poems Buchan Dial. ii. 35 With blubber'd cheeks and watry nose, Her weary story she did close. 1813 Scott Rokeby iii. xxviii. Song, A weary lot is thine, fair maid. a 1893 in R. Ford Harp Perths. 24 This weary, waefu' tale o' mine. |
b. As an expression of irritation: Tiresome, vexatious, ‘wretched’, ‘confounded’.
| a 1785 W. Forbes Dominie in R. Forbes Poems Buchan Dial. ii. 27 Wae worth that weary sup of drink He lik'd so well! 1802 Sibbald Chron. Sc. Poetry IV. Gloss., Weary, wretched, cursed; as the weary or weariful fox. 1845 A. M. Hall Whiteboy x. 85, I went hunting everywhere for the weary cat and her kittens. 1864 W. D. Latto Tam. Bodkin xiv. 131 Ye weary, weirdless, ne'er-do-weel vagabond. 1893 ‘L. Keith’ 'Lisbeth ii, 'Lisbeth, mind these weary steps. Your aunt's very infirm in the feet. |
c. quasi-adv. as an intensive: Grievously, ‘sadly’.
| 1790 Shirrefs Poems Sc. Dial. 262 Poor Scota now is daz'd and auld, Her childrens blood rins weary cauld, To see her Palace like a fauld For haddin' sheep! 1860 Sir J. P. Kay-Shuttleworth Scarsdale II. 155 Hoo'll be weary pottert (disturbed) wi' a letter fro' onybody bur mysel'. |
8. Sc. in certain phrases, perh. influenced by wary v., to curse: weary fa' (weary fall), weary on, weary set (a person or thing), a curse on (him, etc.).
| 1788 Burns Duncan Gray 1 Weary fa' you, Duncan Gray. 1816 Scott Old Mort. xxxix, O, weary on the wars! mony's the comely face they destroy. 1816 ― Bl. Dwarf iii, O weary fa' thae evil days! 1828 W. M{supc}Dowall Poems 21 There's Brawnie, weary on her, Hear how she roars an' rowts. 1875 W. Alexander Sk. Life Ain Folk 149 Weary set that chiel',..he has seerly nae taste ava. 1893 Stevenson Catriona ii, The French recruiting, weary fall it! 1896 A. Lilburn Borderer xxix. 221 Eh, weary on us! There seems no end to our misfortunes. |
III. 9. Comb., as weary-brained, weary-eyed, weary-laden, weary-looking, weary-winged, weary-worn adjs.; † weary-foot a., having weary feet, tired with walking.
| 1898 G. B. Shaw Let. 1 May (1972) II. 38, I finish the book at a sitting, as I don't want to be *weary-brained when Charlotte comes. |
| 1930 J. Masefield Wanderer of Liverpool 24 *Weary-eyed men came on deck. |
| 1798 O'Keeffe Wild Oats ii. i, The hungry and *weary-foot traveller. |
| 1784 Burns Man was made to mourn end, A blest relief to those That *weary-laden mourn! |
| 1885 Ld. R. Gower Old Diaries (1902) 21 A worn *weary-looking man of middle age. |
| 1833 W. P. Scargill Puritan's Grave (1846) 63 The occasional cawing of the *weary-winged rooks. |
| 1795–6 Wordsw. Borderers i. 420 If you knew..how sleep will master The *weary-worn. 1819 Keats Otho ii. ii. 117 For I am sick and faint with many wrongs, Tir'd out and weary-worn with contumelies. |
Hence † ˈwerihede [-head], weariness.
| 1340 Ayenb. 33 Efterward comþ werihede þet makeþ þane man weri and worsi uram daye to daye. |
▪ II. weary, v.
(ˈwɪərɪ)
Pa. tense and pple. wearied (ˈwɪərɪd). Forms: 1 (ᵹe)wériᵹian, (ᵹe)wérᵹian, wérian, 3 werȝe, 4–6 wery(e, werie, 6 weerie, 6–7 wearie, 6– weary.
[OE. wér(i)ᵹian, -ᵹean intr., and ᵹewérᵹian trans., f. wériᵹ weary a.]
I. intr. To grow weary.
1. To become tired; to suffer fatigue. Now rare.
| c 890 Wærferth Gregory's Dial. 204 Þæt ilce mod æᵹþer ᵹe mid healicum mæᵹnum weaxeð & stranᵹað & eac of his aᵹenre untrymnysse werᵹað & teorað. c 900 Bæda's Hist. i. xxvii. (1890) 78 Forðon hyngran, þyrstan, hatian, calan, wæriᵹian, al þæt is of untrymnesse þæs ᵹecyndes. Ibid. iii. ix. 178 Þa ongon his hors semninga werᵹian & ᵹestondan. a 1225 Ancr. R. 252, & ȝif þet heo werȝeð, euerichon wreoðeð him bi oðer. 1577 Grange Golden Aphrod. etc. R j b, My hande with long holdyng werieth. 1686 P. Gordon Diary (Spalding Club 1859) 126, I had not ridden four miles when one of the horses wearyed. a 1776 Lizae Baillie xi. in Child Ballads IV. 269 She was nae ten miles frae the town When she began to weary. 1850 Tennyson In Mem. xxv. 9 Nor could I weary, heart or limb, When [etc.]. |
b. Of the heart, mind, patience, etc.: To become tired or exhausted. Also of a person, to grow dispirited or sick at heart.
| 1434 Misyn Mending of Life xi. 124 Stedfastly he bidys in body & werus not in hart. 1600 in Harington Nugæ Antiq. (1779) II. 257 Thus I will lay down my quill, which seldom wearys in a friendly tale. 1650 J. Carstaires Lett. (1846) 74, I hope he [God] keeps you from wearieing in reference to the delay of our libertie. 1769 E. Carter Lett. (1809) III. xlvii. 379 The spirit wearies with perpetual dissipation. 1829 Herschel Ess. (1857) 514 That diligence which never wearies,..goes on adding grain by grain to the mass of results. 1891 E. Peacock N. Brendon II. 76 His poetic mind never wearied. |
c. To become affected with tedium or ennui.
| 1798 Monthly Mag. Dec. 436 [‘Improper expressions used in Edinburgh’] I weary when I am alone; I become weary. 1853 G. J. Cayley Las Alforjas II. 288 There is one kind and sympathising spirit which does not weary over my dilated gossip. |
2. With various constructions. a. To grow tired of (something, doing something); to do (= of doing) or to be (= of being) (arch. or poet.); also with pres. pple.
| a 1225 Juliana 22 For ne werȝeð he neauer to wurchen ow al þat wandreðe world a buten ende. c 1400 Destr. Troy 12997 Thai werit of þere werke þe wallis to kepe. c 1475 Wisdom 847 in Macro Plays 63 Þat of hys lyff he xall wery, & qwak for very fere. c 1480 Henryson Swallow & other Birds 1891 Quhilk day and nicht weryis not for to ga Sawand poysoun..In mannis Saull. 1627 Bp. P. Forbes Eubulus 15 Whence anie, who in singlenesse seeketh Resolution will not wearie to search it. 1782 F. Burney Cecilia ii. iv, She now wearied of passing all her time by herself, and sighed for the comfort of society. 1829 Carlyle in Foreign Rev. IV. 120 Into the ocean of air he gazed incessantly; and never wearied contemplating its clearness. a 1834 Coleridge Lit. Rem. II. 376 How the mind wearies of, and shrinks from, the more than painful interest, the µισητόν, of utter depravity. 1846 G. Warburton Hochelaga I. 217 The eye does not weary to see, but the hand aches, in even writing the one word—beauty. 1859 Tennyson Elaine 628 He..had ridd'n a random round To seek him, and had wearied of the search. Ibid. 894 As a little helpless innocent bird..Will sing the simple passage o'er and o'er.., till the ear Wearies to hear it. 1876 L. Stephen Eng. Th. 18th C. I. 356 It is not wonderful that a man pursuing so vast a plan..should have wearied of his task before it was completed. |
b. To suffer weariness from long waiting or deferred hope; to wait wearily for or to do (something), or through (a period of time); to long or languish for something. Chiefly Sc.
| 1809 Syd. Smith Serm. II. 131 Why may it not..induce him to carry on the load of life who pants, and wearies for the grave. 1818 Hogg Brownie of Bodsbeck II. iii. 42, I hae wearied to see them. a 1830 H. Cockburn Memor. (1856) 155 The Lord Advocate..generally leaves his representatives..to endure the summing up, and to weary for the verdict. 1830 Galt Lawrie T. iii. vi, [They were] watching the corpse and wearying for my return. 1856 Whewell in Life (1881) 480, I was beginning to weary for a letter from you. 1866 ‘Annie Thomas’ Played Out I. ix. 153 A congregation of women assembled immediately after a dinner, wearying through the hour before the men rejoin them. 1876 Whitby Gloss. s.v., They keep me wearying for dinner. 1885 ‘Mrs. Alexander’ At Bay viii, I have just been wearying to see you. 1888 R. Buchanan Heir of Linne iii, I was wearying to speak with you. 1894 G. Moore Esther Waters 39 She wearied for a companion. |
3. quasi-trans. with out: To go wearily through to the end of.
| 1594–5 Merchant's Daughter of Bristow i. vi. in Roxb. Ball. (1872) II. i. 87 There will I waste and wearie out my dayes in woe. 1648 Gage West Ind. xvii. 114 After I had here wearied out the wearinesse, which I brought in my bones from the Cuchumatlanes. 1889 Boy's Own Paper 17 Aug. 730/2, I soon forgot to be sorry for Sister Mary, left to weary out the holidays in vacant loneliness. |
II. trans. To make weary.
4. To exhaust the strength or endurance of (a person, his limbs, etc.); to fatigue or tire with toil, sickness, watching, sustained mental effort, etc.
| Beowulf 2852 He ᵹewerᵹad sæt. c 897 ælfred Gregory's Past. C. xxxv. 239 He..ᵹewerᵹað ðonne his heortan suiðe hearde mid ðy ᵹesuince. c 1000 ælfric Saints' Lives (1900) I. 192 Þurh godes fore-stihtunge ne hors ne he sylf ᵹewerᵹod wæs. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 796 He hade weryede the worme [sc. dragon] by wyghtnesse of strenghte, Ne ware it fore the wylde fyre that he hyme wyth defendez. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 522/2 Weryyn, or make wery,..fatigo, lasso. 1530 Palsgr. 779/1, I werye by over moche labour or travayle, je lasse... This horse trotteth so harde that he hath weryed me more than I was a gret whyle. 1563 Golding Cæsar i. (1565) 18 b, Many hauing a long time wearied their armes, chose rather to cast their targets out of their hands. 1597 Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. lxxxi. §10 They in the practise of their religion wearied chiefly their knees and hands, we especially our eares & tongues. 1610 Shakes. Temp. iii. i. 19 Pray set it downe, and rest you: when this [log] burnes 'Twill weepe for hauing wearied you. 1657 Earl of Monmouth tr. Paruta's Pol. Disc. 186 By drawing out the War in length, they might think to weary and disorder the Enemy. 1675 J. Owen Indwelling Sin ix. (1732) 107 They brought their Offerings or Sacrifices on their Shoulders, which they pretended wearyed them, and they panted and blowed as Men ready to faint under them. 1759 Johnson Rasselas iv, Resolving to weary by perseverance, him whom he could not surpass in speed. 1825 Scott Talism. vi, A mighty curtal axe, which would have wearied the arm of any other than Cœur de Lion. 1825 ― Betrothed xi, She wearied her memory with vain efforts to recollect..his features. 1859 Tennyson Elaine 827 ‘Alas,’ he said, ‘your ride hath wearied you.’ |
b. transf. and fig.
| 1573–80 Baret Alv. P 496 If the vine be wearied with plentifull bearing. 1593 Shakes. Lucr. 1363 So woe hath wearied woe, mone tired mone. Ibid. 1570 Thus ebs and flowes the currant of her sorrow, And time doth wearie time with her complayning. 1604 Jas. I Counterbl. to Tobacco (Arb.) 108 So being euer and continually vsed, it [medicine] doth but weaken, wearie and weare nature. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 638 Then roaring Beasts, and running Streams he tryes, And wearies all his Miracles of Lies. |
c. With adv. or advb. phr.; esp. to weary out, to fatigue completely, so as to render incapable of further exertion.
| 1647 Cowley Mistress, Thraldom v, Like an Egyptian Tyrant, some Thou weariest out, in building but a Tomb. 1670 Dryden 1st Pt. Conq. Granada iv. (1672) 35 In walls we meanly must our hopes inclose, To wait our friends, and weary out our foes. 1829 Landor Imag. Conv. Greeks & Rom. (1853) 352 Whose movements would have irritated, distracted, and wearied down the elephants. 1848 Dickens Dombey lv, He was stupefied, and he was wearied to death. 1859 Tennyson Vivien 586 Then he found a door..; And wearied out made for the couch and slept. |
5. To tire the patience of; to affect with tedium or ennui; to satiate (with). Also with out.
| 1340 Ayenb. 99 He wolde þet hit were ssort uor þet non ne ssolde him werye hit uor to lyerny. c 1386 Chaucer Can. Yeom. Prol. & T. 751 It weerieth me to telle of his falsnesse. c 1460 Sir R. Ros La Belle Dame 62 It werieth me this mater for to trete. c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon x. 271 How am I shamed for four glotons! certes this weryes me sore! 1553 T. Wilson Rhet. 115 b, But nowe because I haue halfe weried the reader with a tedious matter, I will harten him agayne wyth a merye tale. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. v. ii. 56, I will wearie you then no longer with idle talking. 1667 Milton P.L. xii. 107 Till God at last Wearied with their iniquities, withdraw His presence from among them. 1675 E. Wilson Spadacr. Dunelm. Pref., And now, good Reader, I have even wearied thee out. 1797 Mrs. Radcliffe Italian xvi, Our patience is wearied already. 1798 S. Lee Canterb. T., Young Lady's T. II. 384 Wearied out at last by the tender importunity..she reluctantly took solemn charge of the child. 1830 Tennyson Lilian iii, Gaiety without eclipse Wearieth me. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xvi. III. 649 He was..doing his best to weary out his benefactor's patience and good breeding. 1877 Mrs. Oliphant Makers Flor. v. 138 Oddly enough, however, this excessive applause wearied the simple-minded artist. 1883 ‘Ouida’ Wanda I. 206 He had a sensitive fear of wearying with his presence ladies to whom he owed so much. |
b. To trouble by importunity (heaven, the gods, etc.).
| 1633 Ford 'Tis Pity i. iii, I have even wearied heaven with pray'rs. a 1718 Prior Henry & Emma 411 Watchful I'll guard Thee, and with Midnight Pray'r Weary the Gods to keep Thee in their Care. 1831 Scott Quentin D. Introd., He..wearied Heaven and every saint with prayers..for the prolongation of his life. 1846 H. G. Robinson Odes of Hor. ii. xviii, I weary not The Gods to mend my present lot. 1879 Froude Cæsar xv. 227 There, for sixteen months, to weary Heaven and his friends with his lamentations. |
c. absol. To cause weariness or ennui.
| 1815 Sir R. Peel in Croker Papers (1884) I. iii. 76 Which would have been ludicrous enough for half an hour, but, like other good things, wearied by constant repetition. 1849 Lever Con Cregan xx, There was so much novelty to me in all around, that the monotonous character of the scene never wearied. |
Hence ˈwearying vbl. n.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 252 Vondunge is sliddrunge: & þuruh werȝunge beoð bitocned þeo unðeauwes under slouhðe þet beoð inemned þer uppe. 1621 Bp. Hall Heaven upon Earth §4 Hence are those vaine wearyings of places and companies together with our selues. |
▪ III. weary
obs. form of worry v.