different between soothe vs smother
soothe
English
Etymology
From Middle English sothen (“to verify, prove the validity of”), from Old English s?þian (“to verify, prove, confirm, bear witness to”), from Proto-Germanic *sanþ?n? (“to prove, certify, acknowledge, testify”), from Proto-Indo-European *h?es- (“to be”). Cognate with Danish sande (“to verify”), Swedish sanna (“to verify”), Icelandic sanna (“to verify”), Gothic ???????????????????????? (suþjan), ???????????????????????? (suþj?n, “to soothe”). See also: sooth.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /su?ð/
- Rhymes: -u?ð
Verb
soothe (third-person singular simple present soothes, present participle soothing, simple past and past participle soothed)
- (transitive) To restore to ease, comfort, or tranquility; relieve; calm; quiet; refresh.
- 2013, Daniel Taylor, Andros Townsend calms England's nerves in taming of Montenegro (in The Guardian, 11 October 2013)[1]
- Yet Wayne Rooney scored at a good time, three minutes after the restart, to soothe any gathering nerves and the night can ultimately be chalked off as one of the finest occasions of Hodgson's 17 months in the job.
- 2013, Daniel Taylor, Andros Townsend calms England's nerves in taming of Montenegro (in The Guardian, 11 October 2013)[1]
- (transitive) To allay; assuage; mitigate; soften.
- (transitive, rare) To smooth over; render less obnoxious.
- (transitive) To calm or placate someone or some situation.
- (transitive) To ease or relieve pain or suffering.
- 1976, The Wurzels, I Am A Cider Drinker
- I am a cider drinker,
- I drinks it all of the day,
- I am a cider drinker,
- it soothes all me troubles away,
- 1976, The Wurzels, I Am A Cider Drinker
- (intransitive) To temporise by assent, concession, flattery, or cajolery.
- (intransitive) To bring comfort or relief.
- (transitive) To keep in good humour; wheedle; cajole; flatter.
- (transitive, obsolete) To prove true; verify; confirm as true.
- (transitive, obsolete) To confirm the statements of; maintain the truthfulness of (a person); bear out.
- (transitive, obsolete) To assent to; yield to; humour by agreement or concession.
Synonyms
- (humour by agreement or concession): comply, give way; See also Thesaurus:accede
Derived terms
- soothing, soothsayer
Translations
soothe From the web:
- what soothes a sore throat
- what soothes an upset stomach
- what soothes sunburn
- what soothes razor burn
- what soothes heartburn
- what soothes acid reflux
- what soothes mosquito bites
- what soothes a cough
smother
English
Alternative forms
- smoother (obsolete)
Pronunciation
- (General American) IPA(key): /?sm?ð?/
- Rhymes: -?ð?(r)
Etymology 1
From Middle English smothren, smortheren, alteration (due to smother, smorther (“a suffocating vapour, dense smoke”, noun)) of Middle English smoren (“to smother”), from Old English smorian (“to smother, suffocate, choke”), from Proto-Germanic *smur?n? (“to suffocate, strangle”). Cognate with Middle Low German smoren, smurten (“to choke, suffocate”), West Flemish smoren (“to smoke, reek”), Dutch smoren (“to suffocate, smother", also "to stew, simmer”), German schmoren (“to stew, simmer, braise”).
Verb
smother (third-person singular simple present smothers, present participle smothering, simple past and past participle smothered)
- (transitive) To suffocate; stifle; obstruct, more or less completely, the respiration of something or someone.
- (transitive) To extinguish or deaden, as fire, by covering, overlaying, or otherwise excluding the air.
- (transitive) To reduce to a low degree of vigor or activity; suppress or do away with; extinguish
- Synonyms: stifle, cover up, conceal, hide
- (transitive) In cookery: to cook in a close dish.
- (transitive) To daub or smear.
- (intransitive) To be suffocated.
- (intransitive) To breathe with great difficulty by reason of smoke, dust, close covering or wrapping, or the like.
- (intransitive, of a fire) to burn very slowly for want of air; smolder.
- (intransitive, figuratively) to perish, grow feeble, or decline, by suppression or concealment; be stifled; be suppressed or concealed.
- (soccer) To get in the way of a kick of the ball.
- (Australian rules football) To get in the way of a kick of the ball, preventing it going very far. When a player is kicking the ball, an opponent who is close enough will reach out with his hands and arms to get over the top of it, so the ball hits his hands after leaving the kicker's boot, dribbling away.
Related terms
- smotheration
- smotheriness
- smothery
Translations
Etymology 2
From Middle English smother, smorther (“a suffocating vapour, dense smoke”), from Old English smorþor (“smoke”, literally “that which suffocates”), from smorian (“to suffocate, choke”) + -þor (instrumental suffix).
Noun
smother (plural smothers)
- That which smothers or appears to smother, particularly
- Smoldering; slow combustion.
- Cookware used in such cooking. (Can we add an example for this sense?)
- (dated) The state of being stifled; suppression.
- 1625, Francis Bacon, Of Suspicion
- not to keep their suspicions in smother
- 1625, Francis Bacon, Of Suspicion
- (dated) Stifling smoke; thick dust.
- 1868, Judy (volumes 3-4, page 20)
- Then we passed the Grand Opéra, at which our fine taste revolted; the Rue de la Paix, all in a smother with the dust caused by its improvement, at which our eyes naturally distilled water; […]
- 1868, Judy (volumes 3-4, page 20)
- (Australian rules football) The act of smothering a kick (see verb section).
References
- smother in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
Anagrams
- moth-ers, mothers, thermos
smother From the web:
- what smothered means
- what smothers lice
- what smothers a fire
- what smothers bed bugs
- what smothers ticks
- what smothers fleas
- what smothers chiggers
- what smothers a grease fire
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