See also: wáter, wàter, and Water

English edit

 
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A water molecule.

Pronunciation edit

Etymology 1 edit

From Middle English water, from Old English wæter (water), from Proto-West Germanic *watar, from Proto-Germanic *watōr (water), from Proto-Indo-European *wódr̥ (water).

Noun edit

 
water (1,2)

water (countable and uncountable, plural waters)

  1. (uncountable) A substance (of molecular formula H2O) found at room temperature and pressure as a clear liquid; it is present naturally as rain, and found in rivers, lakes and seas; its solid form is ice and its gaseous form is steam.
    By the action of electricity, the water was resolved into its two parts, oxygen and hydrogen.
    • 2013 September-October, Katie L. Burke, “In the News”, in American Scientist:
      Oxygen levels on Earth skyrocketed 2.4 billion years ago, when cyanobacteria evolved photosynthesis: the ability to convert water and carbon dioxide into carbohydrates and waste oxygen using solar energy.
    1. (uncountable, in particular) The liquid form of this substance: liquid H2O.
      May I have a glass of water?
      Your plants need more water.
      • 1835, Sir John Ross, Sir James Clark Ross, Narrative of a Second Voyage in Search of a North-west Passage …, Volume 1, pages 284–5:
        Towards the following morning, the thermometer fell to 5°; and at daylight, there was not an atom of water to be seen in any direction.
      • 2002, Arthur T. Hubbard, Encyclopedia of Surface and Colloid Science, →ISBN, page 4895:
        A water drop placed on the surface of ice can either spread or form a lens depending on the properties of the three phases involved in wetting, i.e., on the properties of the ice, water, and gas phases.
      • 2013 May 11, “The climate of Tibet: Pole-land”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8835, page 80:
        Of all the transitions brought about on the Earth’s surface by temperature change, the melting of ice into water is the starkest. It is binary. And for the land beneath, the air above and the life around, it changes everything.
      • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:water.
    2. (countable) A serving of liquid water.
      • 2006, Lori Foster, Erin McCarthy, Amy Garvey, Bad Boys of Summer, →ISBN, page 91:
        Joe bustled back and offered her a glass of wine but she shook her head. “Just a water, please.”
  2. (alchemy, philosophy) The aforementioned liquid, considered one of the Classical elements or basic elements of alchemy.
    And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
    He showed me the river of living water, sparkling like crystal, flowing from the throne of God.
  3. (uncountable or in the plural) Water in a body; an area of open water.
    • c. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Loues Labour’s Lost”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies [] (First Folio), London: [] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i], page 138, column 2:
      Roſa. O vain peticioner, beg a greater matter,
      Thou now requeſts but Mooneſhine in the water.
    • 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter I, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y., London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
      'Twas early June, the new grass was flourishing everywheres, the posies in the yard—peonies and such—in full bloom, the sun was shining, and the water of the bay was blue, with light green streaks where the shoal showed.
    • 2019, VOA Learning English (public domain)
      The president expressed hope that creating rain over waters between the countries would help reduce pollution.
      (file)
    The boat was found within the territorial waters.
    These seals are a common sight in the coastal waters of Chile.
  4. (poetic, archaic or dialectal) A body of water, almost always a river, sometimes a lake or reservoir, especially in the names given to such bodies.
  5. A combination of water and other substance(s).
    1. (sometimes countable) Mineral water.
      Perrier is the most popular water in this restaurant.
    2. (countable, often in the plural) Spa water.
      Many people visit Bath to take the waters.
    3. (pharmacy) A solution in water of a gaseous or readily volatile substance.
      ammonia water
    4. Urine. [from 15th c.]
      • 1999, George R.R. Martin, A Clash of Kings, Bantam, published 2011, page 458:
        Ser Dunaver's squire Jodge could not hold his water when he slept.
    5. Amniotic fluid or the amniotic sac containing it. (Used only in the plural in the UK but often also in the singular in North America.)
      Synonym: bag of waters
      Before the child is born, the pregnant woman’s water breaks. (North America)
      Before your child is born, your water(s) will break. (North America)
      Before the child is born, the pregnant woman’s waters break. (UK)
    6. (colloquial, medicine) Fluids in the body, especially when causing swelling.
      He suffers from water on the knee.
  6. (figuratively, in the plural or in the singular) A state of affairs; conditions; usually with an adjective indicating an adverse condition.
    The rough waters of change will bring about the calm after the storm.
  7. (colloquial, figuratively) A person's intuition.
    Synonym: bones
    I know he'll succeed. I feel it in my waters.
  8. (uncountable, dated, finance) Excess valuation of securities.
    • 1902 August 2, “Too Much Water to Suit Cummins”, in The Atlanta Constitution:
      Iowa Governor Will Fight Rock Island Reorganization. He Says That Under the New Plan Too Much Water Is Put Into the Stock—Believes Plan Is Out of Harmony with Iowa Laws.
    • 1920 April 11, “Says Stock 'Water' Didn't Affect Fare”, in New York Times:
      the outstanding stock and bond obligations of the company were reduced from $34,000,000 to $24,000,000 by squeezing out the water.
  9. The limpidity and lustre of a precious stone, especially a diamond.
    a diamond of the first water is perfectly pure and transparent
  10. A wavy, lustrous pattern or decoration such as is imparted to linen, silk, metals, etc.
Alternative forms edit
Synonyms edit
Antonyms edit
Hypernyms edit
Hyponyms edit
Meronyms edit
Derived terms edit
Descendants edit
Translations edit

Etymology 2 edit

From Middle English wateren, from Old English wæterian, from Proto-Germanic *watrōną, *watrijaną, from Proto-Germanic *watōr (water), from Proto-Indo-European *wódr̥ (water).

Verb edit

water (third-person singular simple present waters, present participle watering, simple past and past participle watered)

 
to water (1)
  1. (transitive) To pour water into the soil surrounding (plants).
    • 1900, L. Frank Baum, chapter 24, in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz:
      Aunt Em had just come out of the house to water the cabbages when she looked up and saw Dorothy running toward her.
  2. (transitive) To wet or supply with water; to moisten; to overflow with water; to irrigate.
  3. (transitive) To provide (animals) with water for drinking.
    I need to water the cattle.
  4. (intransitive) To get or take in water.
    The ship put into port to water.
    • 1944 January and February, W. McGowan Gradon, “Forres as a Railway Centre”, in Railway Magazine, page 23:
      After working the 1.30 p.m. through train from Forres to Aberdeen as far as Elgin, she returns tender first with a local passenger train and is then coaled and watered at Forres shed, and eventually works back to Perth on the 10.20 p.m. through freight.
  5. (transitive, colloquial) To urinate onto.
    Nature called, so I stepped into the woods and watered a tree.
  6. (transitive) To dilute.
    Can you water the whisky, please?
  7. (transitive, dated, finance) To overvalue (securities), especially through deceptive accounting.
    • 1930 April 10, “Calls Rail Holding Companies Threat”, in The Sun:
      such agencies would make it possible for the railroads to water stock and evade the law subjecting security issues to public regulation
  8. (intransitive) To fill with or secrete water.
    Chopping onions makes my eyes water.
    The smell of fried onions makes my mouth water.
  9. (transitive) To wet and calender, as cloth, so as to impart to it a lustrous appearance in wavy lines; to diversify with wavelike lines.
    to water silk
Synonyms edit
Antonyms edit
Derived terms edit
Terms derived from the verb water
Translations edit
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Further reading edit

Anagrams edit

Afrikaans edit

 
Afrikaans Wikipedia has an article on:
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Etymology edit

From Dutch water, from Middle Dutch wāter, from Old Dutch watar, from Proto-West Germanic *watar, from Proto-Germanic *watōr, from Proto-Indo-European *wódr̥.

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

water (plural waters)

  1. water
  2. any artificial fluid similar to water
  3. (colloquial) urine
  4. any body of water, such as a river or a lake
  5. a disease where water is accumulated; hydrops
  6. (in the plural) a large quantity of water; inundation

Verb edit

water (present water, present participle waterende, past participle gewater)

  1. to urinate
  2. to secrete liquid

Derived terms edit

References edit

  • Jan Kromhout, Afrikaans-English, English-Afrikaans Dictionary (2001)

Dutch edit

 
Dutch Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nl

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /ˈʋaːtər/, (Belgium) [β̞aːtər], (Netherlands) [ʋaːtər]
  • (file)
  • Rhymes: -aːtər
  • Hyphenation: wa‧ter

Etymology 1 edit

From Middle Dutch wāter, from Old Dutch watar, from Proto-West Germanic *watar, from Proto-Germanic *watōr, from Proto-Indo-European *wódr̥.

Noun edit

water n (plural waters or wateren, diminutive watertje n)

  1. water (H2O)
    Het water kookte.
    The water boiled.
  2. body of water (such as a lake, ditch or stream)
  3. bodily fluid (especially amniotic fluid)
Derived terms edit
Descendants edit

Etymology 2 edit

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb edit

water

  1. inflection of wateren:
    1. first-person singular present indicative
    2. imperative

Further reading edit

  • water” in Van Dale Onlinewoordenboek, Van Dale Lexicografie, 2007.

Anagrams edit

Dutch Low Saxon edit

Alternative forms edit

Etymology edit

From Old Saxon watar.

Noun edit

water

  1. (Drents, Twents) water

See also edit

French edit

Etymology edit

Ellipsis of water-closet, borrowed from English water closet.

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

water m (plural waters)

  1. toilet, bathroom
  2. Ellipsis of water-closet.

Synonyms edit

Derived terms edit

Further reading edit

Italian edit

Etymology edit

Pseudo-anglicism, a clipping of English water closet.

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

water m (invariable)

  1. toilet bowl
  2. (colloquial) water closet, toilet

References edit

  1. ^ water in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)

Limburgish edit

 
Limburgish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia li

Alternative forms edit

Etymology edit

From Middle Dutch wāter, from Old Dutch watar, from Proto-West Germanic *watar, from Proto-Germanic *watōr, from Proto-Indo-European *wódr̥.

Noun edit

water n

  1. water
  2. body of water

Conjugation edit

Inflection
Root singular Root plural Diminutive singular Diminutive plural
Nominative water watere waeterke waeterkes
Genitive waters watere waeterkes waeterkes
Locative wateves watevese waeterke waeterkes
Dative¹ watevem ? ? ?
Accusative¹ water watere ? ?
  • Dative and accusative are nowadays obsolete, use nominative instead.
  • Plural and diminutive only used for the meaning body of water.

Derived terms edit

References edit

  • Stefaan Top, Limburgs sagenboek (2004), page 45

Middle Dutch edit

Etymology edit

From Old Dutch watar.

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

wāter n

  1. water

Inflection edit

Descendants edit

Further reading edit

Middle English edit

Alternative forms edit

Etymology edit

From Old English wæter, from Proto-West Germanic *watar, from Proto-Germanic *watōr.

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /ˈwatər/, /ˈwaːtər/

Noun edit

water (plural wateres)

  1. water (liquid H2O)
    • c. 1190, Layamon, Brut, MS. Cotton Caligula A ix edition:
      al ſwa great ſwa a beam:
      þe he leide in ane walle ſtream.
      Þe ilke makeð þat water hot:
      & þan folc halwende.
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)
  2. water vapour, condensation
  3. lake, pond, ocean, canal, body of water
  4. water source, spring, well, fount
  5. solution, liquid mixture

Quotations edit

Derived terms edit

Descendants edit

References edit

Middle Low German edit

Etymology edit

From Old Saxon watar.

Pronunciation edit

  • (originally) IPA(key): /ˈwaːtər/

Noun edit

wāter n

  1. water
    • 1537, Jürgen Richolff the Younger, Datt högeste unde öldeste water recht, section XXVIII:
      Eyn schip effte twe effte meer liggen in einer hauen dar kleyn water is
      vnde plecht dröge tho synde
      also dat dat eyne schip hart by dem andern tho liggende kumpt []
      A ship or two or more lie in a port with little water, which tends to be dry, so that one the ship comes to lie close by the other []

Declension edit

Descendants edit

Occitan edit

Etymology edit

Shortened form of English water closet.

Noun edit

water m

  1. (colloquial) water closet, toilet, rest room