Meanings
present singular third person withsakes · participle present withsaking · past withsook · participle past withsaken
- obsoletetransitiveTo forsake; abandon; renounce; deny; refuse.
[...] as Christ did not withsake, a love not proceeding from God and referring all to him, which the Apostle here forbids.
1852, August Neander, The First epistle of John: practically explained2 more examples
Well! the king then openly declared to the priest and to them all, that he would firmly "withsake" and renounce idolatry, and receive the faith of Christ.
1852, Alfred (King of England), The whole works of King Alfred the Great[...] there appears a reference to the body "withsaking" the devil (G47), a clear indication that there was a time in the life of the body when it was not so thorough a sinner.
1987, Douglas Moffat, The Soul's address to the body: the Worcester fragments
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Old Englishwiþsacan“to forsake, abandon, renounce, refuse, deny, oppose, drive against”
- Middle Englishwithsaken
- Englishwithsake
From Middle English withsaken, from Old English wiþsacan (“to forsake, abandon, renounce, refuse, deny, oppose, drive against”); equivalent to with- + sake. Compare Middle High German widersachen.
More words from Middle English, Old English
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
withsake. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/withsake
“withsake.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/withsake. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “withsake,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/withsake.
Source: withsake on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.