# seethe

> English word · Verb · IPA /siːð/ · frequency rank #77,187

## Definitions
1. Of a liquid or other substance, or a container holding it: to be boiled (vigorously); to become boiling hot.
2. Of a liquid, vapor, etc., or a container holding it: to foam or froth in an agitated manner, as if boiling.
3. Of a person: to be in an agitated or angry mental state, often in a way that is not obvious to others.
4. Of a place: to be filled with many people or things moving about actively; to buzz with activity; also, of people or things: to move about actively in a crowd or group.
5. Of a place: to have inhabitants in an angry or disaffected mood; to be in a state of unrest.
6. To overboil (something) so that it loses its flavour or texture; hence (figurative), to cause (the body, the mind, the spirit, etc.) to become dull through too much alcoholic drink or heat.
7. To soak (something) in a liquid; to drench, to steep.
8. To boil (something); especially, to cook (food) by boiling or stewing; also, to keep (something) boiling.
9. Of the stomach: to digest (food).

## Etymology
The verb is derived from Middle English sethen, seeth (“to boil, seethe; to cook; etc.”) [and other forms], from Old English sēoþan (“to boil, seethe; to cook; etc.”), from Proto-West Germanic *seuþan, from Proto-Germanic *seuþaną (“to boil, seethe”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂sewt-, *h₂sew-, *h₂sut- (“to move about, roil, seethe”).
The noun is derived from the verb.
Cognates
* Albanian zjej (“to boil, seethe”)
* Danish syde (“to seethe, boil”)
* Dutch zieden (“to boil, seethe”)
* German sieden (“to boil, seethe”)
* Gothic 𐍃𐌰𐌿𐌸𐍃 (sauþs, “burnt offering, sacrifice”)
* Icelandic sjóða (“to boil, seethe”)
* Low German seden (“to seethe”)
* Norwegian Bokmål syde (“to boil, seethe”)
* Norwegian Nynorsk sjoda, syda (“to boil, seethe”)
* Scots seth, seith (“to seethe”)
* Swedish sjuda (“to boil, seethe”)
* West Frisian siede (“to boil”)

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/seethe