water - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

A glass of water (etymology 1 sense 1)

A water molecule

Other accents and pronunciations

The development of the /ɔː/ vowel is irregular and has not been conclusively explained (compare the irregular broadening of a in father).

Proto-Indo-European *wed-

Proto-Indo-European *wódr̥

Proto-West Germanic *watar

Middle English water

English water

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”).

Cognates

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water (countable and uncountable, plural waters)

  1. (uncountable) An inorganic compound (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.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:water
    Hyponyms: ice, steam, water vapor / water vapour; light water, semi-heavy water, heavy water, super-heavy water
    Meronyms: hydrogen, oxygen
    By the action of electricity, the water was resolved into its two parts, oxygen and hydrogen.
    • 1805 December, Julius Griffiths, “A Journey across the Desert”, in The Monthly Mirror, page 362:
      It is wholly out of the power of language to convey any idea of the blissful enjoyment of obtaining water, after an almost total want of it, during eight and forty hours, in the scorching regions of an Arabian desert, in the month of July.
    • 2013 September-October, Katie L. Burke, “In the News”, in American Scientist‎[1], archived from the original on 3 September 2013:
      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.
      Hypernyms: liquid, fluid
      Hyponyms: drinkwater, freshwater, meltwater, mineral water; hard water, soft water
      Coordinate terms: ice, steam, water vapor / water vapour
      May I have a glass of water?
      Your plants need more water.
      • 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[2], volume 407, number 8835, archived from the original on 10 March 2023, 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.
    Hypernym: element
    Coordinate terms: earth, air ~ wind, fire; wood, metal; void ~ ether
    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.
    • 2007 February 6, Danny Hakim, quoting Kathleen B. Hogan, “Two Misdemeanor Charges in Lake George Capsizing”, in The New York Times‎[3], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 26 November 2022:
      "If you foresee the event and you go forward, then you are criminally negligent," she said, adding, "This was a boat that navigated on the waters of Lake George since 1979. In terms of criminal negligence, there clearly wasn't the foreseeability that there may be in civil negligence."
    • 2019, VOA Learning English (public domain)
      The president expressed hope that creating rain over waters between the countries would help reduce pollution.
      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.
      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.
    • 1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume I, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 183:
      When the man rode off with the silver jug from the beautiful maiden, who presented it to him, an old crone set off in pursuit of him with such velocity, that she would surely have caught him, but that providentially he came to a running water.
    • 1842, Alfred Tennyson, “Morte d’Arthur”, in Poems. […], volume II, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 4:
      On one side lay the Ocean, and on one
      Lay a great water, and the moon was full.
    • 1865, William Allingham, editor, The Ballad Book: a selection of the choicest British ballads, William and May Margaret, or the Water of Clyde:
      But ere he came to Clyde's water, fu' loud the wind did blaw.
  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; hot springs.
    3. (pharmacy) A solution in water of a gaseous or readily volatile substance.
      ammonia water
    4. A fluid in the body.
      1. Urine. [from 15th c.]
        Synonyms: body fluid, bodily fluid, biofluid
        Synonyms: see Thesaurus:urine
        * 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.
      2. 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)
      3. (colloquial, medicine) A fluid that causes swelling.
        He suffers from water on the knee.
  6. (business, often attributive) The water supply, as a service or utility.
    Coordinate terms: electricity, internet, phone, power, sewer
    The city threatened to cut off our water after we went only a month without paying our bill.
    Did you leave the water running again?
  7. (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.
    • 2026 March 15, “Taiwan reports large-scale Chinese military aircraft presence near island”, in Politico‎[4], sourced from Associated Press, archived from the original on 15 March 2026:
      Taiwan didn’t report any Chinese military planes that went beyond the median line and entered the zone for a week from Feb. 27 to March 5. After two were detected on March 6, the next four days had none. Such flights resumed in small numbers between Wednesday and Friday.
      The drop coincided with the annual meeting of China’s legislature. While such flights have fallen in the past during major events and public holidays, this year’s fall was more prominent than in the past.
      Analysts said the meeting could not be the sole reason behind the recent drop. Another potential factor could be a desire to calm the waters with Washington weeks before a visit by U.S. President Donald Trump. The White House has said that Trump would travel to China from March 31 to April 2, though Beijing has not officially confirmed that.
  8. (colloquial, figuratively) A person's intuition.
    Synonym: bones
    I know he'll succeed. I feel it in my waters.
  9. (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 34,000,000to34,000,000 to 34,000,000to24,000,000 by squeezing out the water.
  10. (colloquial, figuratively) Something which dilutes, or has the effect of watering down.
    Thanks for the great video. No water, 100% substance!
  11. A particular quality or appearance suggestive of water:
  12. The limpidity and lustre of a precious stone, especially a diamond.
    a diamond of the first water is perfectly pure and transparent
    • 1928, Virginia Woolf, Orlando: A Biography, London: The Hogarth Press, →OCLC; republished as Orlando: A Biography (eBook no. 0200331h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, July 2015:
      And when she raised it to see what caused this agitation, she saw nothing—nothing but the vast solitary emerald which Queen Elizabeth had given her. And was that not enough? she asked. It was of the finest water.
  13. A wavy, lustrous pattern or decoration such as is imparted to linen, silk, metals, etc.

Descendants

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

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

A sprinkler watering (etymology 2 sense 1) a garden

  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.
    • 1667, John Milton, “Book IX”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
      tears watering the ground
  3. (transitive) To provide (animals) with water for drinking.
    I need to water the cattle.
    • 2008, Oisin Curran, Mopus, page 34:
      While they watered and washed their horses, I talked with a red-capped man, some kind of chief.
  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.
    Synonym: see Thesaurus:urinate
    Nature called, so I stepped into the woods and watered a tree.
  6. (transitive) To dilute.
    Synonym: water down
    Antonym: refine
    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 or similar liquid.
    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

to pour water into the soil surrounding (plants)

to provide (animals) with water

colloquial: to urinate

to fill with or secrete water

Proto-Indo-European *wed-

Proto-Indo-European *wódr̥

Proto-West Germanic *watar

Middle Dutch wāter

Dutch water

Afrikaans water

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.

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

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

  1. to urinate
  2. to secrete liquid

Proto-Indo-European *wed-

Proto-Indo-European *wódr̥

Proto-West Germanic *watar

Middle Dutch wāter

Dutch water

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

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)

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

water

  1. inflection of wateren:
    1. first-person singular present indicative
    2. (in case of inversion) second-person singular present indicative
    3. imperative

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

water m (plural waters)

  1. toilet, bathroom

Derived from English water.

water

  1. (uncountable) water (an inorganic compound (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)
    • 2000, “Matthew 8”, in Joseph Grimes, transl., Da Jesus Book: Hawaii Pidgin New Testament‎[5], Wycliffe Bible Translators, →ISBN, page 110:
      He tell um, “Go.” So dey wen let go da guys, an go take ova da pigs. An you know wat? All da pigs wen run down one steep hill an fall ova da cliff inside da lake, an drown inside da water.
      And he said unto them, Go. And they came out, and went into the swine: and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep into the sea, and perished in the waters.

Pseudo-anglicism, a clipping of English water closet.

water m (invariable)

  1. toilet bowl

  2. (colloquial) water closet, toilet

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

Proto-Indo-European *wed-

Proto-Indo-European *wódr̥

Proto-West Germanic *watar

Middle Dutch wāter

Limburgish water

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

water n

  1. water
  2. body of water

water

  1. (Drents, Twents) alternative letter-case form of Water (“water”)

Proto-Indo-European *wed-

Proto-Indo-European *wódr̥

Proto-West Germanic *watar

Middle Dutch water

From Old Dutch watar.

wāter n

  1. water

Strong neuter noun

| | singular | plural | | | ----------- | ------ | ------------- | | nominative | wāter | wāter, wātere | | accusative | wāter | wāter, wātere | | genitive | wāters | wātere | | dative | wātere | wāteren |

Proto-Indo-European *wed-

Proto-Indo-European *wódr̥

Proto-West Germanic *watar

Middle English water

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

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

From Old Saxon watar.

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 of water

| | singular | plural | | | ------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------- | | nominative | wāter | wāter | | accusative | wāter | wāter | | dative | wāteres | wātere | | genitive | wātere | wāteren |

Middle Low German nouns often switch to other declension classes, and new declension patterns are created throughout the period. As such, this table need not necessarily portray the only existing pattern but might merely be an exemplary of an original or common form.

Shortened form of English water closet.

water m

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

Unadapted borrowing from English water, shortening of water closet.

water m (plural waters)

  1. alternative spelling of wáter

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.