thaw
pronunciation
How to pronounce thaw in British English:
UK [θɔː]
How to pronounce thaw in American English:
US [θɔː]
-
- Noun:
- the process whereby heat changes something from a solid to a liquid
- warm weather following a freeze; snow and ice melt
- a relaxation or slackening of tensions or reserve; becoming less hostile
-
- Verb:
- become or cause to become soft or liquid
Word Origin
- thaw (n.)
- "the melting of ice or snow," also "spell of weather causing this," c. 1400, from thaw (v.). Figurative sense is from 1590s; specifically "relaxation of political harshness or hostility" from 1950, an image from the "Cold War."
- thaw (v.)
- Old English þawian (transitive), from Proto-Germanic *thawon- (cognates: Old Norse þeyja, Middle Low German doien, Dutch dooien, Old High German douwen, German tauen "to thaw"), from PIE root *ta- "to melt, dissolve" (cognates: Sanskrit toyam "water," Ossetic thayun "to thaw," Welsh tawadd "molten," Doric Greek takein "to melt, waste, be consumed," Old Irish tam "pestilence," Latin tabes "a melting, wasting away, putrefaction," Old Church Slavonic tajati "to melt"). Intransitive sense from early 14c. Related: Thawed; thawing.
Example
- 1. But u.s. officials say they have seen few signs of a thaw .
- 2. Still , this thaw raises the question : could it ever happen in north korea ?
- 3. Interbank lending , corporate issuance and credit spreads were showing some signs of a thaw in credit , he added .
- 4. If the fish is frozen , thaw it on a plate in the refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours , never at room temperature .
- 5. Righteous anger will not thaw credit markets .