thaw

See also: Thaw

English

Alternative forms

• thow (dialectal, Scotland)

Etymology

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

Cognate with Saterland Frisian daie, dauje (“to thaw”), West Frisian teie (“to thaw”), Dutch dooien (“to thaw”), German Low German deien (“to thaw”), German tauen (“to thaw”), Swedish töa (“to thaw”), Icelandic þeyja (“to thaw”).

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. (impersonal, intransitive) To become sufficiently warm to melt ice and snow, said in reference to the weather.

   It's beginning to thaw.

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

   Her anger has thawed.

   The atmosphere at the meeting never really 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.

   • 1958 April, M. D. Greville, “Norway's Most Northerly Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 240:

     A further complication is that, in the winter, the ore arrives frozen stiff in the wagons and special arrangements have to be made for thawing it before it can be unloaded.

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, degeli (eo)
• Finnish: sulaa (fi)
• French: dégeler (fr), fondre (fr)
• Galician: derreter, delazar
• Georgian: დნება (dneba), ლღვება (lɣveba)
• German: tauen (de), schmelzen (de)
• Greek: λιώνω (el) (lióno)
• Hebrew: הפשיר (hifshír)
• Hindi: पिघलना (hi) (pighalnā)
• 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 (pl) 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)
• Turkish: erimek (tr)
• Ukrainian: та́нути impf (tánuty), розтава́ти impf (roztaváty), розта́нути pf (roztánuty)
• Venetan: 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)
• Esperanto: fandi (eo)
• Finnish: sulattaa (fi)
• French: fondre (fr)
• Galician: derreter, delazar
• 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 (pl) 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

• French: fondre (fr)
• 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)
• Catalan: desgel m, desglaç m
• Chinese:

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

• Czech: tání (cs) n
• Dutch: dooi (nl) m
• Esperanto: fando sg
• Finnish: sulaminen (fi)
• French: dégel (fr), fusion (fr)
• Galician: dexelo m, delazo m
• Georgian: დადნობა (dadnoba), გადნობა (gadnoba), გალღობა (galɣoba)
• 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 (mr) (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
• Serbo-Croatian: odmrzavanje n
• 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

• Catalan: desgel m
• Czech: obleva (cs) f
• Dutch: dooi (nl) m
• Esperanto: degelo
• Finnish: suoja (fi), suojasää (fi), suojailma
• French: dégel (fr)
• Galician: delazo m, dexelo m
• Georgian: დათბობა (datboba)
• 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, réchauffement de l'atmosphère m
• Georgian: დათბობა (datboba)
• 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

Mizo

Verb

thaw (stem II thâwt)

1. (of wind) to blow

Further reading

• Lorrain, J. Herbert (1940), “thaw”, in Dictionary of the Lushai language, Calcutta: Asiatic Society

Welsh

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /θau̯/

Verb

thaw

1. aspirate mutation of taw

Mutation

Mutated forms of taw

radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
taw	daw	nhaw	thaw

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.