Emily Dickinson Lexicon

WILT, v.i. [G. and D. welken, to fade; that is, to shrink or withdraw.]

To begin to wither; to lose freshness and become flaccid, as a plant when exposed to great heat in a dry day, or when first separated from its root. This is a legitimate word, for which there is no substitute in the language. It is not synonymous with wither, as it expresses only the beginning of withering. A wilted plant often revives and becomes fresh; not so a withered plant.