Diminish

Diminish - (Webster's 1828 Dictionary)

DIMINISH, v.t. [L., to lessen; less.]

1. To lessen; to make less or smaller, by any means; opposed to increase and augment; as, to diminish the size of a thing by contraction, or by cutting off a part; to diminish a number by subtraction; to diminish the revenue by limiting commerce, or reducing the customs; to diminish strength or safety; to diminish the heat of a room. It is particularly applied to bulk and quantity, as shorten is to length.

2. To lessen; to impair; to degrade.

I will diminish them, that they shall no more rule over the nations. Ezek 29.

3. In music, to take from a note by a sharp, flat or natural.

To diminish from, to take away something.

Neither shall you diminish aught from it Deu 4.

DIMINISH, v.i. To lessen; to become or appear less or smaller. The size of an object diminishes, as we recede from it.

di-min'-ish: the Revised Version (British and American) has retained nearly all passages of the King James Version where "to diminish" is used. Some of these uses have become obsolete: De 4:2, "neither shall ye diminish from it." "Diminish" generally means "to reduce," "to lessen." In this sense it is employed in Eze 5:11 from the Hebrew gara`, literally, "to shear." The picture of shearing the beard, expressing degradation and loss of manhood, may underlie this passage.