sweltering
[swel-ter-ing]
- suffering oppressive heat.
- characterized by oppressive heat; sultry.
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Origin of sweltering
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
Related Words
humidburningoppressivescorchingstuffysizzlingairlesstorridstiflingbakingsultryperspiringbroilingclosestewingfierystickysweatysweltryExamples from the Web for sweltering
Contemporary Examples
Basosila Botala is wearing a blue rain jacket despite the sweltering heat.
With sweltering hot temperatures, constant sweat was normal.
The urban population abandons the sweltering cities and heads to the beach for the month.
I've never seen a white body left in the street for four hours in the sweltering heat.
After a sweltering day of Republican head-scratching, the Iowa GOP chose its least popular candidate as a Congressional nominee.
Historical Examples
The place was silent with the peaceful calm of a sweltering August day.
The Hound From The NorthRidgwell Cullum
Hard on the heels of a sweltering autumn the winter came down.
Bob, Son of BattleAlfred Ollivant
The crisis came on Sunday the 28th of June, a day of sweltering heat.
Washington and his Comrades in ArmsGeorge Wrong
The happy, sweltering audience did not seem to see her in the first act.
Sister CarrieTheodore Dreiser
The sweltering heat caused a gradual discarding of garments.
The Belovd VagabondWilliam J. Locke
sweltering
- oppressively hot and humida sweltering day
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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
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Word Origin and History for sweltering
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