Link Centre Dictionary

thaw

UK/θɔː/ US/θoː/ uncommon archaic rare
verb (1) noun (3)

verb

1.

become or cause to become soft or liquid

  • “The sun melted the ice”
  • “the ice thawed”
  • “the ice cream melted”
  • “The heat melted the wax”
  • “The giant iceberg dissolved over the years during the global warming phase”
  • “dethaw the meat”
Synonyms

noun

1.

the process whereby heat changes something from a solid to a liquid

  • “the power failure caused a refrigerator melt that was a disaster”
  • “the thawing of a frozen turkey takes several hours”
Synonyms
2.

warm weather following a freeze; snow and ice melt

  • “they welcomed the spring thaw”
Synonyms
3.

a relaxation or slackening of tensions or reserve; becoming less hostile

  • “the thaw between the United States and Russia has led to increased cooperation in world affairs”

Origin

The verb is derived from Middle English thawen, thowen (“to melt (ice, snow, etc.), thaw”), from Old English þāwian, *þāwan (“to thaw”), from Proto-West Germanic *þauwjan (“to melt, thaw; to digest; to dissolve”), from Proto-Germanic *þawjaną (“to thaw”), from Proto-Indo-European *teh₂- (“to melt; to flow, stream”). The noun is derived from Late Middle English thawe, thowe (“melting of ice, snow, etc., thawing”), from thawen, thowen (verb) (see above). cognates * Dutch dooien (“to thaw”) * German tauen (“to thaw”) * German Low German deien (“to thaw”) * Icelandic þeyja (“to thaw”) * Saterland Frisian daie, dauje (“to thaw”) * Swedish töa (“to thaw”) * West Frisian teie (“to thaw”)

Phrases

  • silver thaw
  • thaw out
  • thaw wind

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.