▪ I. † worn, v. Obs. rare.
[? repr. OE. weornian to wither, fade.]
intr. To waste away.
| 1538 Starkey England 76 And so hyt fallyth into manyfest dekey, and by lytyl and lytyl wornyth away. |
▪ II. worn, ppl. a.
(wɔːn, wɔən)
Forms: see wear v.1; also 7 wooren.
[pa. pple. of wear v.1]
1. a. Impaired by wear or use, or by exposure; showing the results of use or attrition.
| 1508 Fisher 7 Penit. Ps. cii. Wks. (1876) 196 Heuen & erth shall perysshe..theyr condycyons shall in maner be olde & worne. 1563 in Inuentaires de la Royne Descosse (Bannatyne Club) 57 Mair ane vther coitt of blew veluot weill auld and worne. 1573 Baret Alv. s.v., Old worne houses and rotten, exesæ ædes. 1575 A. Fleming Virg. Bucol. vi. 17 The waightye pott of Bacchus with worne eares [attrita ansa]. 1576 Turberv. Venerie xxii. 64 Whether it be a worne footing or a sharpe cuttying foote. 1817 Keats Spec. Induction 15 From the worn top of some old battlement. 1840 Dickens Old C. Shop iii, His dress consisted of..a worn dark suit. 1847 A. Gatty Bell Pref., The worn pen of an habitual sermon writer. 1897 Westm. Gaz. 31 Mar. 8/1 By the new arrangement, bankers in the country are deprived of all excuse for not sending in their worn coins. 1913 E. Wharton Cust. Country ii. xv. 203 The curtains of worn damask. |
b. fig. Of words or ideas: Hackneyed by use or repetition; trite.
| 1569 Roest tr. J. van der Noot's Theat. Worldlings 37 Hys woren Romyshe trashe patched and newly redressed. 1642 R. Carpenter Experience iii. v. 47 According to the worne axiome of Divinity, Grace perfecteth nature. 1853 Landor Imag. Conv., L. Philippe & Guizot Wks. 1876 VI. 565 There you will see the most honourable men at the helm of government, who never thought their worn words worth keeping any more than their worn cloaths. |
2. a. Of persons: Wasted, enfeebled, or exhausted by toil, exposure, age, anxiety, or ill-health; showing signs of such enfeeblement. (Cf. care-worn.) Also of animals. Also Comb., as worn-looking adj.
| 1508 [see 1]. 1573 Baret Alv. s.v., An old worne souldiour. 1579 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 64 Finding him so worne and wasted with continual mourning. 1581 A. Hall Iliad ix. 164 Though..The hie and mightie gods should say they would againe renew To youth my worne corpse. 1587 Fleming Contn. Holinshed III. 1368/1 To doctor Sanders a naturall borne subiect, but an vnnaturall worne priest. 1690 Pepys Mem. Navy (1906) 85 A worn unassisted Secretary. 1697 Dryden æneis xi. 400 So worn, so wretched, so despis'd a Crew. 1814 Wordsw. Excurs. vii. 906 To conceal Tender emotions spreading from the heart To his worn cheek. 1842 Dickens Amer. Notes viii, The President..looked somewhat worn and anxious, and well he might. 1853 ― Bleak Ho. xxiv, I..was shocked to see the worn look of his handsome young face. 1870 Huxley Lay Serm. iii. 48 The serene resting-place for worn human nature—the world of art. a 1891 T. B. Aldrich Lander (Cent.) Lead the worn war-horse by the pluméd bier. 1918 Mrs. Belloc Lowndes Out of War? 48 Stern worn⁓looking man. 1978 D. Murphy Place Apart vi. 120 They seem so watchful and worn-looking. |
b. Of land: Spent, exhausted, no longer fertile.
| 1681 R. Knox Hist. Ceylon 20 Which Inclosures they will keep up for several years, until the Ground becomes so worn, that the Flowers will thrive there no longer. 1860 Worcester cites Gray. |
† 3. Of time, a period: Past, spent. Obs.
| 1611 Shakes. Wint. T. v. i. 142 Infirmitie (Which waits vpon worne times). |
4. With adv. (See also worn-out.) a. worn-down: in senses 1, 2 above.
| 1814 Sporting Mag. XLIV. 147 The poor worn-down sort [of horses] are the most common victims of this barbarity. 1833 C. Lyell Princ. Geol. III. 265 A worn-down crater. 1845 Darwin Voy. Nat. xix. (1873) 440 The worn-down sandstone. 1849–52 Todd's Cycl. Anat. IV. 876/2 The old worn-down tooth is shed. |
b. worn-in, ingrained by attrition or exposure to weather. (Cf. inworn.)
| 1883 Gd. Words Aug. 543/2 Weather-stain and worn-in dirt. |
† c. worn-up (wear v.1 10 b) = worn-out 2.
| 1812 Sporting Mag. XXXIX. 209 A purchaser of worn-up horses. |
Hence ˈwornness, worn condition.
| 1873 Mrs. Whitney Other Girls vi. 72 The first poetry, the first fresh touches [of her new life]..were passed into established use, and dulled into wornness and commonness. |