乾ひ固かたまる

ひ

か

た

ま

る

Meanings

1

godan verb (-ru)

dry and harden; become dry and hard

Describes something losing moisture and becoming hard, such as clay, paint, or food left out.

乾かわく
乾く simply means 'to dry', without the hardening aspect. 乾固まる emphasizes both drying and becoming hard.
固かたまる
固まる means 'to harden' or 'to solidify', but does not necessarily imply drying. 乾固まる specifically involves moisture loss.

Compound of 乾 (hi, 'dry') and 固まる (katamaru, 'harden'). The reading ひ is a less common kun'yomi for 乾, seen in a few compounds.