Dictionary entry

Fade (2)

Webster's Dictionary 1913

Fade (?), v. i. [imp. & p. p.Faded; p. pr. & vb. n.Fading.] [OE. faden, vaden, prob. fr. fade, a.; cf. Prov. D. vadden to fade, wither, vaddigh languid, torpid. Cf. Fade, a., Vade.] 1. To become fade; to grow weak; to lose strength; to decay; to perish gradually; to wither, as a plant.

The earth mourneth and fadeth away. Is. xxiv. 4.

2. To lose freshness, color, or brightness; to become faint in hue or tint; hence, to be wanting in color. “Flowers that never fade.” Milton.

3. To sink away; to disappear gradually; to grow dim; to vanish.

The stars shall fade away. Addison

He makes a swanlike end,

Fading in music. Shak.