swelter
[ swel-ter ]
/ ˈswɛl tər /
verb (used without object)
to suffer from oppressive heat.
verb (used with object)
to oppress with heat.
Archaic. to exude, as venom.
noun
a sweltering condition.
RELATED WORDS
Nearby words
- swelled head, have a,
- swelled-headed,
- swellfish,
- swellhead,
- swelling,
- sweltering,
- swelteringly,
- sweltry,
- swenson,
- swept
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. 2019
Examples from the Web for swelter
swelter
/ (ˈswɛltə) /
verb
(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
noun
a sweltering condition (esp in the phrase in a swelter)
oppressive humid heat
Word Origin for swelter
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
swelter
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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper