seethe
- to surge or foam as if boiling.
- to be in a state of agitation or excitement.
- Archaic. to boil.
- to soak or steep.
- to cook by boiling or simmering; boil.
- the act of seething.
- the state of being agitated or excited.
Origin of seethe
Synonym study
Examples from the Web for seethe
Historical Examples
The great Leviathan that maketh the seas to seethe like boiling pan.
Moby Dick; or The WhaleHerman Melville
I tried to control myself, but the seethe of rage almost choked me.
Frenzied FinanceThomas W. Lawson
It was "Thou shalt not seethe the kid in its mother's milk."
And similarly, Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mothers milk.
Faces in the FireFrank W. Boreham
And the crowd, bereft of baccy, soon will almost cease to "seethe."
seethe
- (intr) to boil or to foam as if boiling
- (intr) to be in a state of extreme agitation, esp through anger
- (tr) to soak in liquid
- (tr) archaic to cook or extract the essence of (a food) by boiling
- the act or state of seething
Word Origin
Word Origin and History for seethe
v.
Old English seoþan "to boil," also figuratively, "be troubled in mind, brood" (class II strong verb; past tense seaþ, past participle soden), from Proto-Germanic *seuthan (cf. Old Norse sjoða, Old Frisian siatha, Dutch zieden, Old High German siodan, German sieden "to seethe"), from PIE root *seut- "to seethe, boil."
Driven out of its literal meaning by boil (v.); it survives largely in metaphoric extensions. Figurative use, of persons or populations, "to be in a state of inward agitation" is recorded from 1580s (implied in seething). It had wider figurative uses in Old English, e.g. "to try by fire, to afflict with cares." Now conjugated as a weak verb, and past participle sodden (q.v.) is no longer felt as connected.