(a) To depart from a place, move away, leave; refl. take oneself away, go away; absent oneself; ben withdrawen, be departed; also, be out of the way [quot. a1325]; (b) freq. refl. to retreat from a battlefield, confrontation, dangerous situation, etc.; withdraw, retire; also in fig. context; also, desert, abandon the field; ben withdrawen; (c) in misc. phrases, usu. refl.: ~ aside, to draw aside, withdraw; ~ from, withdraw from (sb., someone’s company), avoid; ~ in-to the sete of thought, fig. withdraw oneself into (one’s) thought; ~ oute of sighte, withdraw from (someone’s) sight; also, flee out of (someone’s) sight [quot. a1420]; (d) refl. to leave the service or retinue of someone; (e) to withdraw (sb., one’s forces, etc.) from battle; don to ben withdrawen, maken to ~, cause (one’s forces or supporters) to retreat, call off (sb.), cause to withdraw; (f) ~ presence, to withdraw (one’s presence), go away, depart.

(a) To go; go forth (into darkness); also, refl. betake oneself, go; also, of blood: go (to one’s heart); ppl. withdrauinge, leaning (to a side), inclining; (b) to move (sth.);—also without obj.; cause (blood) to move (to a part of the body).

(a) Of water, the sea, the raging of waves, etc.: to recede, subside, ebb;—also refl; of a bodily humor: refl. subside;—used in fig. context; ~ in twinne, of the Red Sea: draw back on two sides, part its waters in two; ben withdrawen, have receded; of a flow of blood: be subsided; (b) to cause (water, a flood) to recede; also fig.; also, cause (the Red Sea) to recede or part its waters; (c) of natural phenomena: to recede, subside, slacken; disappear;—also refl.; of fire, usu. refl.: leap away; also, die down [last quot.]; of day, refl.: pass (into night); of an epidemic: wane; ben withdrawen; (d) of a feeling, condition, sin, etc.: to abate, wane; leave, depart; of strength: ?leave (sb.), desert [quot. c1330]; ben withdrawen, abate; also, of someone’s wits: be lost, be gone.

(a) Freq. refl. To refrain, desist, stop; cease from a practice, refrain from doing something, refrain from sin; restrain oneself, exercise restraint; (b) with prep. phrases, freq. refl.: ~ from (of), to refrain from (food, drink, an action, thoughts, folly, etc.); draw back from (virtue); resign from (an office); ~ from the bukking, of deer: leave the rutting state; ~ from the silver, of a king, refl.: refrain from taking (his subjects’) money; ~ of childinge, hold back from giving birth, hold off the delivery of (one’s) child; (c) ben som-what withdrawen from, to discontinue somewhat (a behavior); ease off somewhat from (weeping); (d) refl. to recant a vow or an oath.

(a) To restrain (sb., one’s own or someone else’s evil inclinations, actions, etc.), repress (one’s emotions, the stirring of emotion, etc.); hush (one’s voice), curb; curtail (the observance of a religious rule, the buying of sth.); contain (civil disorder), bring under control; also, with that clause: restrain (sb. from doing sth.) [quot. a1450]; of a medicinal substance: suppress (vomiting); (b) ~ from, to restrain (sb., one’s subjects) from (wrongful behavior or deeds); restrain (sb., one’s mind, someone else’s heart) from (vanity, lust, etc.), detach; ~ honde(s from, restrain (one’s) hand from (remuneration, reward); keep (one’s) hands off (another’s possessions); (c) ~ dint (stroke), to hold off (one’s blow or stroke), restrain oneself from striking (a blow); ~ honde, stay (someone else’s) hand, i.e., restrain (sb.) from striking; also, withhold (one’s) hand in battle, refrain from fighting; restrain (one’s) hand at table, exercise restraint in eating; also, abandon a course of action; abandon a purpose (to do sth.) [quot. a1420]; of God: cease to inflict punishment; (d) to refuse, demur; also, eschew (sth.) [quot. c1390]; with inf.: refuse (to do sth.), eschew;—also refl.; ?also, delay (to do sth.), put off (doing sth.) [quot. a1475].

(a) To remove (sb., a corpse) from a place, carry off; also, remove (sb.) from office [2nd quot.]; take (a woman) away (from her husband); take (sb. out of a religious house); of God: take away (a king’s subjects); also, carry (sb.) off (from this world), cause to die; ben me withdrawen, of a child: be taken from me; (b) ~ from deth (morther), to keep (sb., one’s body) safe from death (being murdered); (c) to remove (sth.), take away; also fig. and in fig. context; take (sth. from sb.), steal; withdraw (sth. from sight), take (sth. out of sth. else); also, take down (a wall); take out (a door), remove; deduct (expenses); physiol. draw (a humor) away (from a part of the body); ~ fot from, depart from (a place); ~ god from god, take goodness from God, deprive God of what is good; ~ oute, extract (teeth, tusks); (d) in fig. phrases: ~ fir (fot), to draw back from a risky enterprise; (e) of the sun: to withdraw (its light, brightness, etc.); also fig.; of the hours of darkness: withdraw (shadows), dispell; (f) to pull (sb. or sth., a part of the body) back or away; pull back on (reins); also, rein in (a horse); draw in (one’s breath); of the frenum: retract (the tongue); of God: call back (sth. set in motion), retract; (g) to excise (a reading from a text), omit, delete; ppl. withdrauinge, making an omission in a written text, deleting something.

To deprive (sb. of sth.), strip (an officer or the populace of jurisdiction); deprive (one’s flesh of food); also, divest (oneself of one’s garments); ~ of.

(a) To take away (a granted right, an entitlement, etc.); withdraw (a right, status, etc. from sb. or the church), rescind; also, withdraw (due reverence from priests who sin); (b) of God: to take back (a spiritual gift), remove; of Christ: withdraw (the strength of his protection); of Fortune: withdraw (her favor); ~ honde, of God: withdraw protection; ben withdrawen, of God’s grace: be withdrawn; (c) to make (tempests) disappear; also, prevent (an event, outcome) from happening; (d) to subtract (a number, quantity, etc.).

(a) To revoke (a judgment, decree, an allegiance, etc.); retract (one’s words, a foolish word, etc.); also, ?refute (a teaching) [quot. a1400(a1325)]; ~ red (thought), change (one’s) mind; (b) law to stop (a legal action), withdraw (a suit), prevent (a plea from being heard); ~ court, withdraw a court action; (c) ~ lettres, ?to cross out (written letters), cancel [quot. belongs to (b) if lettres is understood in a legal sense].

(a) To withhold (payment, offerings, food, etc.); refuse to pay or provide (sth.); also, deny (sb. sth.), refuse (Christ his tithes, the church its due); ~ (large) honde, withhold (one’s) largesse; of Fortune: withhold (her) bounty or favor; (b) to withhold (a necessary or customary act or service, allegiance, etc.), deny; preclude (sth.), forestall; interfere with (the carrying out of a writ, performance of a ceremony, etc.); that nothing to me be withdrawen of unknowen places, that no knowledge of unknown places be denied me; (c) to withhold (light, moisture, the bounties of nature, etc.), decline or fail to provide; (d) to withhold (a word or message), fail to speak.

To diminish in strength or force [quots. 1st & c1475 *Mondeville]; reduce (the amount or strength of a medicine, income from customs and subsidies, the size or expenses of a household); also, decrease (a quality or condition, pain, etc.), cause to diminish.

(a) To divert (a river, the course of a river, a water supply, etc.); ~ awei-ward, surg. divert (flowing blood) away (from a part of the body); (b) to divert (someone’s love, a purpose); distract (the mind); also, divert (sb. or the mind from an activity or observance, someone’s will, etc. from its object); ~ sighte, avert (one’s) gaze; (c) to entice away (sb. from sb. else); with inf.: entice (sb. to do sth.).

To contract; retract; ~ with fet and hondes, contract with respect to the feet and hands, curl up the feet and hands; ben withdrawen, of sinews, veins, etc.: be in a state of contraction, be constricted; ppl. withdrawen, of the forehead: drawn up in a frown, contracted.

(a) To separate (lovers’ hearts), part; (b) to separate (sb. from sb. else or from the general populace); (c) ?to make an exception for (someone’s person); (d) ben withdrawen, of the edges of a wound: to be separated from one another, be drawn back or parted.

In misc. senses: (a) to adopt (sth.), borrow, imitate; (b) to abandon (an expedition).