the thaw
verb (used without object)
1.
to pass or change from a frozen to a liquid or semiliquid state; melt.
2.
to be freed from the physical effect of frost or extreme cold (sometimes followed by out ): Sit by the fire and thaw out.
3.
(of the weather) to become warm enough to melt ice and snow: It will probably thaw today.
4.
to become less formal, reserved, or aloof: He thawed at their kindness.
5.
to become less hostile or tense: International relations thawed.
verb (used with object)
6.
to cause to change from a frozen to a liquid or semiliquid state; melt.
7.
to free from the physical effect of frost or extreme cold; bring to a more normal temperature, especially to room temperature: I took the steaks out of the freezer and thawed them.
8.
to make less cold, formal, or reserved.
9.
to make less tense or hostile.
00:10
The thaw
is always a great word to know.
So is interrobang. Does it mean:
| a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal. |
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
noun
10.
the act or process of thawing.
11.
the act or fact of becoming less formal, reserved, or aloof.
12.
a reduction or easing in tension or hostility.
13.
(in winter or in areas where freezing weather is the norm) weather warm enough to melt ice and snow.
14.
a period of such weather: We had a two-week thaw in January.
Origin:
before 1000; (v.) Middle English thawen, Old English thawian; cognate with Dutch dooien, Old Norse theyja; (noun) late Middle English, derivative of the v.
before 1000; (v.) Middle English thawen, Old English thawian; cognate with Dutch dooien, Old Norse theyja; (noun) late Middle English, derivative of the v.
Related forms
thaw·less, adjective
re·thaw, verb
un·der·thaw, verb
un·thawed, adjective
un·thaw·ing, adjective
Can be confused: 1. evanesce, evaporate, liquefy, melt, thaw, transpire, vaporize ; 2. evanescence, evaporation, liquefaction, melting, thawing, transpiration, vaporization.
Antonyms
1. freeze.
1. freeze.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To the thaw
Collins
World English Dictionary
thaw (θɔː) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb | |
| 1. | to melt or cause to melt from a solid frozen state: the snow thawed |
| 2. | to become or cause to become unfrozen; defrost |
| 3. | (intr) to be the case that the ice or snow is melting: it's thawing fast |
| 4. | (intr) to become more sociable, relaxed, or friendly |
| —n | |
| 5. | the act or process of thawing |
| 6. | a spell of relatively warm weather, causing snow or ice to melt |
| 7. | an increase in relaxation or friendliness |
| [Old English thawian; related to Old High German douwen to thaw, Old Norse theyja to thaw, Latin tabēre to waste away] | |
| 'thawer | |
| —n | |
| 'thawless | |
| —adj | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
thaw
O.E. þawian, from P.Gmc. *thawojanan (cf. O.N. þeyja, M.L.G. doien, Du. dooien, O.H.G. douwen, Ger. tauen "to thaw"), from PIE base *ta- "to melt, dissolve" (cf. Skt. toyam "water," Ossetic thayun "to thaw," Welsh tawadd "molten," Doric Gk. takein "to melt, waste, be consumed," O.Ir. tam
"pestilence," L. tabes "a melting, wasting away, putrefaction," O.C.S. tajati "to melt"). The noun is c.1400, from the verb. Fig. sense of "relaxation of political harshness or hostility" is recorded from 1950, an image from the Cold War.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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