thaw

See also: Thaw

English

Alternative forms

• thow

Etymology

From Middle English thowen, thawen, from Old English þāwian (“to thaw”), from Proto-Germanic *þawōną, *þawjaną (“to thaw, melt”), from Proto-Indo-European *teh₂- (“to melt”). Cognate with Scots thow (“to thaw”), West Frisian teie (“to thaw, melt”), Dutch dooien (“to thaw”), German tauen (“to thaw”), Swedish töa (“to thaw”), Icelandic þeyja (“to thaw”), Latin tābēs (“melting, wasting away”), Ancient Greek τήκω (tḗkō), Polish tajać (“to thaw”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /θɔː/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• 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.

Translations

to melt, dissolve, or become fluid

• Arabic: ذَابَ‎ (ḏāba)
• Belarusian: растава́ць impf (rastavácʹ), раста́яць pf (rastájacʹ)
• Catalan: descongelar (ca)
• Chinese:

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

• Czech: tát (cs)
• Dutch: dooien (nl)
• Esperanto: fandiĝi, likviĝi
• Finnish: sulaa (fi)
• French: dégeler (fr)
• German: tauen (de), schmelzen (de)
• Greek: λιώνω (el) (lióno)
• Hungarian: olvad (hu)
• Interlingue: degelar
• 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
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Norman: dêgeler
• Norwegian: 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
• Westrobothnian: drämn, tii

to cause frozen things to melt, soften, or dissolve

• Arabic: أَذَابَ‎ (ʾaḏāba)
• Aromanian: dizgljets
• Czech: rozpustit
• Dutch: ontdooien (nl)
• Finnish: sulattaa (fi)
• German: auftauen (de)
• Greek: αποψύχω (el) (apopsýcho), ξεπαγώνω (el) (xepagóno)
• Hungarian: felolvaszt (hu), kiolvaszt (hu)
• Italian: fondere (it), scongelare (it)

• Japanese: 溶かす (とかす, tokasu)
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Polish: rozmrażać impf, rozmrozić 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)
• Westrobothnian: teen, drämn

Noun

thaw (plural thaws)

1. The melting of ice, snow, or other congealed matter; the resolution of ice, or the like, into the state of a fluid; liquefaction by heat of anything congealed by frost
2. a warmth of weather sufficient to melt that which is frozen

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Dryden to this entry?)

Translations

the melting of ice, snow or other congealed matter

• Chinese:

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

• Czech: tání (cs) n
• Dutch: dooi (nl) m
• Finnish: sulaminen (fi)
• French: dégel (fr)
• German: Schmelze (de) f
• Greek: ξεπάγωμα n (xepágoma), απόψυξη (el) f (apópsyxi)
• Hungarian: olvadás (hu)
• Interlingue: degel

• Italian: disgelo (it)
• Japanese: 雪解け (ゆきどけ, yukidoke), 霜解け (しもどけ, shimodoke), 解氷 (かいひょう, kaihyō)
• 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)
• Swedish: tö (sv), töväder (sv)

a warmth of weather

• Czech: obleva f
• Dutch: dooi (nl) m
• Finnish: suojasää (fi), suojailma
• French: dégel (fr)
• German: Tauwetter (de) n

• Icelandic: hláka (is) f, þíða f, bloti m
• Italian: disgelo (it)
• Lithuanian: atodrėkis
• Russian: о́ттепель (ru) f (óttepelʹ)
• Swedish: tö (sv), töväder (sv)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. 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

See also

• unthaw, dethaw
• snowmelt

Anagrams

• HAWT, hawt, wath, what

---

Welsh

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /θau̯/

Verb

thaw

1. Aspirate mutation of taw.