thaw
thaw (tha) , intransitive verb
[Anglo-Saxon þāwian, þāwan; akin to Dutch dovijen, German tauen, thauen (compare also verdauen to digest, Old High German douwen, firdouwen), Icelandic þeyja, Swedish toa, Danish toe, and perhaps to Greek th`kein to melt. r56.]
1.
To melt, dissolve, or become fluid; to soften; -- said of that which is frozen; as, the ice thaws.
2.
To become so warm as to melt ice and snow; -- said in reference to the weather, and used impersonally.
thaw , transitive verb
To cause (frozen things, as earth, snow, ice) to melt, soften, or dissolve.
thaw , noun
The melting of ice, snow, or other congealed matter; the resolution of ice, or the like, into the state of a fluid; liquefaction by heat of anything congealed by frost; also, a warmth of weather sufficient to melt that which is congealed. — Dryden