swelter
[swel-ter]
- to suffer from oppressive heat.
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- to oppress with heat.
- Archaic. to exude, as venom.
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- a sweltering condition.
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Origin of swelter
1375–1425; late Middle English swelt(e)ren (v.), equivalent to swelt(en) to be overcome with heat (Old English sweltan to die; cognate with Old Norse svelta, Gothic swiltan) + -eren -er6
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for swelter
Contemporary Examples
There no longer is anywhere to hide from the swelter and welter of the American id.
Historical Examples
The beat of the sun from above and the swelter of dust from below were overpowering.
The Great Boer WarArthur Conan Doyle
The city, hot as an oven, seemed to swelter in the stifling night.
The Works of Guy de Maupassant, Vol. 6Guy de Maupassant
"But in hot weather like this it must make you swelter," continued Elmer.
Endurance TestAlan Douglas
How far away now seems the welter and swelter of the city, the hectic sophistication of the streets.
Ballads of a BohemianRobert W. Service
The poor children have to swelter in knitted socks, knitted hoods, and knitted sweaters, just because they come from America.
The Spell of the Hawaiian Islands and the PhilippinesIsabel Anderson
swelter
- (intr) to suffer under oppressive heat, esp to sweat and feel faint
- (tr) archaic to exude (venom)
- (tr) rare to cause to suffer under oppressive heat
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- a sweltering condition (esp in the phrase in a swelter)
- oppressive humid heat
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Word Origin
C15 swelten, from Old English sweltan to die; related to Old Norse svelta to starve, Old High German swelzan to burn with passion; see sultry
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for swelter
v.
c.1400, frequentative of swelten "be faint (especially with heat)," late 14c., from Old English sweltan "to die," from Proto-Germanic *swel- (cf. Old Saxon sweltan "to die," Old Norse svelta "to put to death, starve," Gothic sviltan "to die"), originally "to burn slowly," hence "to be overcome with heat or fever;" also the source of Old English swelan "to burn," from PIE root *swel- (2) "to shine, beam" (see Selene). For specialization of words meaning "to die," cf. starve. Related: Sweltered; sweltering.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper