Emily Dickinson Lexicon

WEAR, v.i.¹

1. To be wasted; to be diminished by attrition, by use, or by time. Thou wilt surely wear away. Exod. xviii.
2. To be tediously spent. Thus wore out night. – Milton.
3. To be consumed by slow degrees. It is better to wear out, than to rust out. To wear off, to pass away by degrees. The follies of youth wear off with age.