thaw

See also: Thaw

English

Alternative forms

• thow

Etymology

From Middle English thowen, thawen, from Old English þāwian, from Proto-West Germanic *þauwjan, from Proto-Germanic *þawjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *teh₂- (“to melt”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /θɔː/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /θɔ/
• (cot–caught merger) IPA^(key): /θɑ/

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /θoː/
• Rhymes: -ɔː

Verb

thaw (third-person singular simple present thaws, present participle thawing, simple past and past participle thawed)

1. (intransitive) To gradually melt, dissolve, or become fluid; to soften from frozen

   the ice thaws

2. (intransitive) To become so warm as to melt ice and snow — said in reference to the weather, and used impersonally.

   It's beginning to thaw.

3. (intransitive, figuratively) To grow gentle or genial.

   Her anger has thawed.

4. (transitive) To gradually cause frozen things (such as earth, snow, ice) to melt, soften, or dissolve.
   • c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i], page 167:

     Mor. Miſlike me not for my complexion, / The ſhadowed liuerie of the burniſht ſunne, / To whom I am a neighbour,and neere bred. / Bring me the faireſt creature North-ward borne, / Where Phœbus fire ſcarce thawes the yſicles, / And let vs make inciſion for your loue, / To proue whoſe blood is reddeſt,his or mine.

   • 1700, [John] Dryden, “Palamon and Arcite: Or, The Knight’s Tale. In Three Books.”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:

     The frame of burnish'd steel, that cast a glare / From far, and seemed to thaw the freezing air.

Derived terms

• freeze-thaw
• thaw out

 

Translations

to melt, dissolve, or become fluid

• Arabic: ذَابَ (ḏāba)
• Belarusian: растава́ць impf (rastavácʹ), раста́яць pf (rastájacʹ)
• Bulgarian: топя се (topja se), разтопявам се (raztopjavam se)
• Catalan: descongelar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 解凍／解冻 (zh) (jiědòng), 渐融 (jiànróng), 融化 (zh) (rónghuà)

• Czech: tát (cs)
• Danish: tø (da)
• Dutch: dooien (nl)
• Esperanto: fandiĝi, likviĝi
• Finnish: sulaa (fi)
• French: dégeler (fr)
• Galician: derreter
• German: tauen (de), schmelzen (de)
• Greek: λιώνω (el) (lióno)
• Hebrew: הפשיר (hifshír)
• Hungarian: olvad (hu)
• Italian: fondersi (it), scongelarsi (it)
• Japanese: 溶ける (ja) (とける, tokeru)
• Korean: 녹다 (ko) (nokda)
• Latgalian: izalaist
• Latvian: izkust
• Lithuanian: ištirpti
• Maori: koero
• Marathi: विरघळणे (virghaḷṇe)
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Norman: dêgeler
• Norwegian: tine (no)

  Bokmål: tø (no), tine (no)

• Occitan: desgelar, destorrar, desglaçar, descongelar
• Polish: roztapiać się impf, roztopić się (pl) pf, topnieć (pl) impf, stopnieć pf, tajać (pl) impf, odtajać pf
• Portuguese: descongelar (pt), derreter (pt)
• Romanian: decongela (ro), a se dezgheța (ro)
• Russian: та́ять (ru) impf (tájatʹ), раста́ять (ru) pf (rastájatʹ), отта́ивать (ru) impf (ottáivatʹ), отта́ять (ru) pf (ottájatʹ), раста́ивать (ru) impf (rastáivatʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: leagh
• Serbo-Croatian: топити impf
• Slovene: stopiti se
• Spanish: descongelar (es), derretir (es)
• Swedish: töa (sv), smälta (sv)
• Thai: ละลาย (th) (lá-laai)
• Ukrainian: та́нути impf (tánuty), розтава́ти impf (roztaváty), розта́нути pf (roztánuty)
• Venetian: desleguarse (vec), desfantarse

to cause frozen things to melt, soften, or dissolve

• Arabic: أَذَابَ (ʔaḏāba)
• Aromanian: dizgljets
• Bulgarian: топя (bg) (topja), разтопявам (bg) (raztopjavam)
• Czech: rozpustit (cs)
• Dutch: ontdooien (nl)
• Finnish: sulattaa (fi)
• Galician: derreter
• German: auftauen (de)
• Greek: αποψύχω (el) (apopsýcho), ξεπαγώνω (el) (xepagóno)
• Hebrew: הפשיר (hifshír)
• Hungarian: felolvaszt (hu), kiolvaszt (hu)
• Italian: fondere (it), scongelare (it)
• Japanese: 溶かす (ja) (とかす, tokasu)
• Marathi: विरघळणे (virghaḷṇe)
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Polish: rozmrażać (pl) impf, rozmrozić (pl) pf, topić (pl) impf, roztapiać impf, roztopić (pl) pf,
• Romanian: dezgheța (ro)
• Russian: раста́пливать (ru) impf (rastáplivatʹ), растопи́ть (ru) pf (rastopítʹ)
• Spanish: descongelar (es), derretir (es)
• Swedish: smälta (sv), tina (sv)
• Thai: ละลาย (th) (lá-laai)

to grow gentle

• German: entspannen (de)

Noun

thaw (plural thaws)

1. The melting of ice, snow, or other frozen or congealed matter; the transformation of ice or the like into the state of a fluid; liquefaction by heat of anything congealed by frost
2. a period of weather warm enough to melt that which is frozen
   • 1660, [John] Dryden, Astraea Redux:

     raging floods pursue their hasty thaw; / Our thaw was mild , the cold not chased away

3. (figuratively) A period of relaxation, of reduced reserve, tension, or hostility or of increased friendliness or understanding.

Derived terms

• silver thaw
• thaw-drop
• thaw wind

 

Translations

the melting of ice, snow or other congealed matter

• Albanian: please add this translation if you can
• Arabic: please add this translation if you can
• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Aromanian: jigãrditsã
• Bulgarian: топене (bg) n (topene), разтопяване n (raztopjavane)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 解凍／解冻 (zh) (jiědòng), 融化 (zh) (rónghuà)

• Czech: tání (cs) n
• Dutch: dooi (nl) m
• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: sulaminen (fi)
• French: dégel (fr)
• Galician: desxeo m
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: Schmelze (de) f
• Greek: ξεπάγωμα (el) n (xepágoma), απόψυξη (el) f (apópsyxi)
• Hebrew: הפשרה f (hafshará)
• Hindi: हिमद्रवण (himadravaṇ), हिमक्षरण (himakṣaraṇ), गलन (hi) (galan), पिघलाव (pighlāv), द्रवण (hi) (dravaṇ)
• Hungarian: olvadás (hu)
• Italian: disgelo (it)
• Japanese: 雪解け (ja) (ゆきどけ, yukidoke), 霜解け (しもどけ, shimodoke), 解氷 (ja) (かいひょう, kaihyō)
• Korean: please add this translation if you can
• Marathi: हिमद्रवण (himadravaṇ), हिमक्षरण (himakṣaraṇ), वितळणे (vitaḷṇe), वितळण (vitḷaṇ)
• Occitan: destorrada f, desgèl m
• Polish: odwilż (pl) f, tajanie n, roztop m
• Portuguese: degelo (pt) m
• Russian: та́яние (ru) n (tájanije)
• Scottish Gaelic: aiteamh m
• Spanish: deshelar (es), deshielo (es) m, descongelación (es) f, derretimiento (es) m
• Swedish: tö (sv), töväder (sv)
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: please add this translation if you can
• Yiddish: אַדליגע f (adlige)

warmer weather that melts ice and snow

• Czech: obleva f
• Dutch: dooi (nl) m
• Finnish: suoja (fi), suojasää (fi), suojailma
• French: dégel (fr)
• Galician: desxeo m
• German: Tauwetter (de) n
• Icelandic: hláka (is) f, þíða f, bloti m
• Italian: disgelo (it)
• Lithuanian: atodrėkis
• Polish: ocieplenie (pl) n, odwilż (pl) f
• Russian: о́ттепель (ru) f (óttepelʹ)
• Swedish: tö (sv), töväder (sv)
• Ukrainian: відли́га f (vidlýha)

reduced tension or increased friendliness

• Finnish: suojasää (fi)
• French: dégel (fr) m
• German: Tauwetter (de) n

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} dooi (nl)
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} fusione (it) f, ^{(please verify)} scongelamento m

Derived terms

• dethaw
• unthaw

See also

• snowmelt

Anagrams

• HAWT, Wath, hawt, wath, what

Welsh

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /θau̯/

Verb

thaw

1. Aspirate mutation of taw.

Mutation

Welsh mutation
radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
taw	daw	nhaw	thaw
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.