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geyser

 - 3 dictionary results

gey⋅ser

[gahy-zer, -ser for 1, 3; gee-zer for 2]
–noun
1. a hot spring that intermittently sends up fountainlike jets of water and steam into the air.
2. British Informal. a hot-water heater, as for a bath.
–verb (used without object)
3. to spew forth as or like a geyser: the kettle geysering all over the stove.

Origin:
1755–65; < Icel Geysir name of a hot spring in Iceland, lit., gusher, deriv. of geysa to gush


gey⋅ser⋅al, gey⋅ser⋅ic, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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gey·ser   (gī'zər)   
n.  
  1. A natural hot spring that intermittently ejects a column of water and steam into the air.

  2. (gē'zər) Chiefly British A gas-operated hot-water heater.


[After Icelandic Geysir, name of a hot spring of southwest Iceland, from geysa, to gush, from Old Norse; see gheu- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

geyser 
1780, from Icelandic Geysir, name of a hot spring in the valley of Haukadal, from O.N. geysa "to gush," from P.Gmc. *gausjan, from PIE *gheus-, from root *gheu- "to pour."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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