Dictionary

swelter en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈswɛl.tə/ (UK)
• (Australia) audio
• (US) audio
• /ˈswɛl.tɚ/ (US)

Etymology

From Middle English swelteren, frequentative form of Middle English swelten (“to die; faint”), from Old English sweltan (“to die”), from Proto-West Germanic *sweltan, from Proto-Germanic *sweltaną (“to die”), from Proto-Indo-European *swel- (“to smolder; burn”), equivalent to swelt + -er (frequentative suffix).

Meanings

1. Intense heat.
   • The summer swelter did not relent until late in September, most years.

Forms

Deriveds

sweltry · sweltery · sultry

Translations (18)

pl skwar (intense heat) · cs parno (intense heat) · de Hitzewelle (intense heat) · es (Extremadura) flama (intense heat) · bg жега (intense heat) · ru жара́ (intense heat) · ru зной (intense heat) · cs vedro (intense heat) · bg зной (intense heat) · az bürkü (intense heat) · pl upał (intense heat) · lv svelme (intense heat) · cs horko (intense heat) · ca xafogor (intense heat) · cs pařák (intense heat) · fi helle (intense heat) · es bochorno (intense heat) · fr canicule (intense heat)

swelter en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /ˈswɛl.tə/ (UK)
• (Australia) audio
• (US) audio
• /ˈswɛl.tɚ/ (US)

Etymology

From Middle English swelteren, frequentative form of Middle English swelten (“to die; faint”), from Old English sweltan (“to die”), from Proto-West Germanic *sweltan, from Proto-Germanic *sweltaną (“to die”), from Proto-Indo-European *swel- (“to smolder; burn”), equivalent to swelt + -er (frequentative suffix).

Meanings

1. (intransitive) To suffer terribly from intense heat.
2. (intransitive) To perspire greatly from heat.
3. (transitive) To cause to faint, to overpower, as with heat.
   • It was so rare a piece of fun To see the swelter'd cattle run 1796, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Fire, Famine, and Slaughter:

Forms

Deriveds

sweltersome · unsweltered

Synonyms

sweb · sweat like a pig · burn up · steam · stew · sweat buckets · swelt

Translations (12)

de stark schwitzen (To perspire greatly from heat) · eo sufoki (To suffer terribly from intense heat) · fi läkähtyä (To suffer terribly from intense heat) · fr étouffer (To suffer terribly from intense heat) · ja 茹だる (To suffer terribly from intense heat) · cs pařit se (To suffer terribly from intense heat) · cs péci se (To suffer terribly from intense heat) · enm swelten (To suffer terribly from intense heat) · ru изнемогать от зноя (To suffer terribly from intense heat) · ru жариться (To suffer terribly from intense heat) · pt suar em bicas (To perspire greatly from heat) · cs potit se (To perspire greatly from heat)