withdraw

withdraw · verb¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*dʰregʰ-“to drag, pull; to run”
2. Middle English · inherited fromwithdrawen
3. English todaywithdraw

PIE word *wí From Middle English withdrawen, withdrauen (“to depart, leave, move away; (reflexive) to go away; (reflexive) to leave someone’s service; (often reflexive) to draw back or retreat (from a battlefield or dangerous place), withdraw; to abandon, desert; to go, go forth; to move; of the sea, water, etc.: to (cause to) ebb, recede, subside; to disappear; to slacken, wane; (often reflexive) to cease, stop; to desist, refrain; (reflexive) to go back on, recant; to avoid, eschew; to bring under control, contain, suppress; to curb, curtail; to delay, put off; to demur, refuse; to carry or take away, deprive of, remove; to contract, draw away or in, retract; to deny, refuse; to revoke; to withhold; to divert; to separate; to adopt, borrow, imitate”) [and other forms], from with- (prefix meaning ‘away; back’) + drawen, drauen (“to drag, pull, tow, tug, draw [and other senses]”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰregʰ- (“to drag, pull; to run”)); see further at with- and draw. The English word is analysable as with- + draw.

withdraw · noun²

1. Middle English · inherited fromwithdrawe“act of stopping a judicial proceeding”
2. English todaywithdraw

From Middle English withdrawe (“act of stopping a judicial proceeding”), from withdrawen, withdrauen (verb): see etymology 1.

Words from the same roots

First known use, by meaning

• from 20th c. To cause or help (someone) to stop taking an addictive drug or substance; to dry out.
• from 20th c. To stop taking an addictive drug or substance; to undergo withdrawal.