seethe

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C1 — Advanced

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. verb be noisy with activity
  2. verb be in an agitated emotional state
  3. verb foam as if boiling

Etymology

The verb is derived from Middle English sethen, seeth (“to boil, seethe; to cook; etc.”) [and other forms], from Old English sēoþan (“to boil, seethe; to cook; etc.”), from Proto-West Germanic *seuþan, from Proto-Germanic *seuþaną (“to boil, seethe”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂sewt-, *h₂sew-, *h₂sut- (“to move about, roil, seethe”). The noun is derived from the verb. Cognates * Albanian zjej (“to boil, seethe”) * Danish syde (“to seethe, boil”) * Dutch zieden (“to boil, seethe”) * German sieden (“to boil, seethe”) * Gothic 𐍃𐌰𐌿𐌸𐍃 (sauþs, “burnt offering, sacrifice”) * Icelandic sjóða (“to boil, seethe”) * Low German seden (“to seethe”) * Norwegian Bokmål syde (“to boil, seethe”) * Norwegian Nynorsk sjoda, syda (“to boil, seethe”) * Scots seth, seith (“to seethe”) * Swedish sjuda (“to boil, seethe”) * West Frisian siede (“to boil”)

In classic literature

Synonyms

hum, buzz

A single word — an entire dictionary opens.

Type a word, a sentence, a book title, or a link to an English article. WordNet and the Classics answer.

Try

A library of classics · a vault of words · instant etymology & meaning

Continue reading