geyser

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a spring that discharges hot water and steam
  2. verb to overflow like a geyser

Etymology

From the name of a particular Icelandic geyser which is mentioned as early as the 1760s in The Annual Register, as “Geyser, a wonderful spring in the valley of Haukadal”. From Geysir (“Gusher”), the Icelandic name of the hot spring in Iceland (see Wikipedia), from the verb geysa (“to gush”), from Old Norse geysa (“to gush”). Doublet of gusher.

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