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

• 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.
   • 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", in Fables, Ancient and Modern:

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

Translations

to melt, dissolve, or become fluid

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

  Mandarin: 解凍／解冻 (zh) (jiědòng), 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:
• Italian: fondersi (it), scongelarsi (it)
• Japanese: 溶ける (ja) (とける, tokeru)
• Korean: 녹다 (ko) (nokda)
• Latgalian: izalaist
• Latvian: izkust
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• 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: ,

to cause frozen things to melt, soften, or dissolve

• Arabic: أَذَابَ (ʔaḏāba)
• 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)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• 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: ,

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

• Aromanian: jigãrditsã
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 解凍／解冻 (zh) (jiědòng), 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:
• Italian: disgelo (it)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• 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), deshielo (es) m, descongelación (es) f, derretimiento (es) m
• 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
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• 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. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} dooi (nl)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} fusione (it) f, ^{(please verify)} scongelamento m

See also

• unthaw, dethaw
• snowmelt

Anagrams

• HAWT, hawt, wath, what

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Welsh

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /θau̯/

Verb

thaw

1. Aspirate mutation of taw.