bath

¹

[bath, bahth]

noun

plural

baths 

1. a washing or immersion of something, especially the body, in water, steam, etc., as for cleansing or medical treatment.

   I take a bath every day. Give the dog a bath.

2. a quantity of water or other liquid used for this purpose.

   running a bath.

3. a container for water or other cleansing liquid, as a bathtub.

4. a room equipped for bathing; bathroom.

   The house has two baths.

5. a building containing rooms or apartments with equipment for bathing; bathhouse.

6. Often baths one of the elaborate bathing establishments of the ancients.

   the baths of Caracalla.

7. Usually baths a town or resort visited for medical treatment by bathing or the like; spa.

8. a preparation, as an acid solution, in which something is immersed.

9. the container for such a preparation.

10. a device for controlling the temperature of something by the use of a surrounding medium, as sand, water, oil, etc.

11. Metallurgy.

    1. the depressed hearth of a steelmaking furnace.

    2. the molten metal being made into steel in a steelmaking furnace.

12. the state of being covered by a liquid, as perspiration.

    in a bath of sweat.

verb (used with or without object)

Chiefly British.

bathed, bathing 

1. to wash or soak in a bath.

bath

²

[bath]

noun

1. a Hebrew unit of liquid measure, equal to a quantity varying between 10 and 11 U.S. gallons (38 and 42 liters).

Bath

³

[bath, bahth]

noun

1. a city in Avon, in SW England: mineral springs.

2. a seaport in SW Maine.

bath

¹

/ bɑːθ /

noun

1. a large container, esp one made of enamelled iron or plastic, used for washing or medically treating the body

2. the act or an instance of washing in such a container

3. the amount of liquid contained in a bath

4. to turn on the taps to fill a bath with water for bathing oneself

5. (usually plural) a place that provides baths or a swimming pool for public use

6. 1. a vessel in which something is immersed to maintain it at a constant temperature, to process it photographically, electrolytically, etc, or to lubricate it

   2. the liquid used in such a vessel

verb

1. to wash in a bath

Ba'th

²

/ bɑːθ /

noun

1. an Arab Socialist party, esp in Iraq and Syria, founded by Michel Aflaq in 1941. It attempts to combine Marxism with pan-Islamic nationalism

Bath

³

/ bɑːθ /

noun

1. Latin name: Aquae Sulis. a city in SW England, in Bath and North East Somerset unitary authority, Somerset, on the River Avon: famous for its hot springs; a fashionable spa in the 18th century; Roman remains, notably the baths; university (1966). Pop: 90 144 (2001)

bath

⁴

/ bæθ /

noun

1. an ancient Hebrew unit of liquid measure equal to about 8.3 Imperial gallons or 10 US gallons

Other Word Forms

• Ba′thism noun
• Ba′thi adjective
• Ba′thist noun
• bathless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of bath¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English noun bath, beth, beath, Old English bæth; cognate with Old Frisian beth, Old Saxon, Old Norse bath, German Bad; from Germanic bátha-n “what is warmed,” from a root meaning “to warm”

Origin of bath²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English bath(us), batus, from Latin batus, from Greek bátos, from Hebrew bath

Word History and Origins

Origin of bath¹

Old English bæth ; compare Old High German bad , Old Norse bath ; related to Swedish basa to clean with warm water, Old High German bāen to warm

Origin of bath²

C20: from Arabic: resurgence

Origin of bath³

Hebrew

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. take a bath, to suffer a large financial loss.

   Many investors are taking a bath on their bond investments.

see take a bath; throw out the baby with the bath water.

Related Words

• bathroom 
• lavatory 
• restroom 
• sauna 
• shower 
• toilet