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soothe

 - 3 dictionary results

soothe

[sooth] verb, soothed, sooth⋅ing.
–verb (used with object)
1. to tranquilize or calm, as a person or the feelings; relieve, comfort, or refresh: soothing someone's anger; to soothe someone with a hot drink.
2. to mitigate, assuage, or allay, as pain, sorrow, or doubt: to soothe sunburned skin.
–verb (used without object)
3. to exert a soothing influence; bring tranquillity, calm, ease, or comfort.

Origin:
bef. 950; ME sothen to verify, OE sōthian, equiv. to sōth sooth + -ian inf. suffix; mod. E sense shift “to verify” > “to support (a person's statement)” > “to encourage” > “to calm”


soother, noun


1. See comfort, allay. 2. alleviate, appease, mollify.


1. upset, roil.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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soothe   (sōōth)   
v.   soothed, sooth·ing, soothes

v.   tr.
  1. To calm or placate.

  2. To ease or relieve (pain, for example).

v.   intr.
To bring comfort, composure, or relief.

[Middle English sothen, to verify, from Old English sōthian, from sōth, true; see es- in Indo-European roots.]
sooth'er n.
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

soothe 
O.E. soðian "show to be true," from soð "true" (see sooth). Sense of "quiet, comfort, mollify" is first recorded 1697, on notion of "to assuage one by asserting that what he says is true" (i.e. to be a yes-man), a sense attested from 1568.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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