Shrivel
/ˈʃrɪv.əl/noun
To dry up and become wrinkled or shrunken.
Did you know?Shrivel is a later English formation related to dialectal words meaning “to contract or shrivel up,” but unlike words such as nightmare or disaster, its power is in the image itself: language preserving the visible act of drying, wrinkling, and shrinking.
Etymological Timeline
Old English / Early Middle English
English
shrivelen
“to wrinkle, contract, or become shriveled”
Middle English
English
shrivelen / shrivelen
“to dry up, contract, or draw together”
Early Modern English
English
shrivel
“to wither, wrinkle, or shrink from heat, dryness, or age”
Modern English
English
shrivel
“to dry up and become wrinkled or shrunken”