Dictionary
Thesaurus
Encyclopedia
Translator
Web

soothing

 - 5 dictionary results

sooth⋅ing

[soo-thing]
–adjective
1. that soothes: a soothing voice.
2. tending to assuage pain: a soothing cough syrup.

Origin:
1590–1600; soothe + -ing 2


sooth⋅ing⋅ly, adverb
sooth⋅ing⋅ness, noun

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.
Cite This Source Link To soothing
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.
sooth·ing   (sōō'thĭng)   
adj.  Tending to soothe.
sooth'ing·ly adv., sooth'ing·ness 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.
Cite This Source
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
Cite This Source
Search another word or see soothing on Thesaurus | Reference
FacebookTwitterFollow us: