seethe

[seeth] /sið/
verb (used without object), seethed or (Obsolete) sod; seethed or (Obsolete) sodden or sod; seething.
1.
to surge or foam as if boiling.
2.
to be in a state of agitation or excitement.
3.
Archaic. to boil.
verb (used with object), seethed or (Obsolete) sod; seethed or (Obsolete) sodden or sod; seething.
4.
to soak or steep.
5.
to cook by boiling or simmering; boil.
noun
6.
the act of seething.
7.
the state of being agitated or excited.
Origin
before 900; Middle English; Old English sēothan; cognate with German sieden, Swedish sjuda
Related forms
seethingly, adverb
unseethed, adjective
unseething, adjective
Synonyms
2. See boil1 .
Examples from the web for seethe
  • The town seems a hollow shell of its former self, and it leaders seethe with resentment.
  • He governs an impoverished country, where social problems still seethe.
  • Undercurrents of emotion and suggestions of narrative or incident often seethe restlessly below the surface.
  • All three plays seethe with a threatening undercurrent of anger.
  • Those with fewer options put on a good face and seethe.
  • Joseph has long been the apple of his father's eye, making his brothers seethe with jealousy for years.
  • Workers still seethe at the sacrifices they feel they make on behalf of integration.
  • They're constructed with minimalist mechanisms and edged with noise that makes them seethe and shimmer.
  • And those who stay will seethe with frustration over the parties and politicians they identify as the main obstacles to change.
  • They seethe with vast amounts of energy, which can be released explosively under some conditions.
British Dictionary definitions for seethe

seethe

/siːð/
verb
1.
(intransitive) to boil or to foam as if boiling
2.
(intransitive) to be in a state of extreme agitation, esp through anger
3.
(transitive) to soak in liquid
4.
(transitive) (archaic) to cook or extract the essence of (a food) by boiling
noun
5.
the act or state of seething
Word Origin
Old English sēothan; related to Old Norse sjōtha, Old High German siodan to seethe
Word Origin and History for seethe
v.

Old English seoþan "to boil," also figuratively, "be troubled in mind, brood" (class II strong verb; past tense seaþ, past participle soden), from Proto-Germanic *seuthan (cf. Old Norse sjoða, Old Frisian siatha, Dutch zieden, Old High German siodan, German sieden "to seethe"), from PIE root *seut- "to seethe, boil."

Driven out of its literal meaning by boil (v.); it survives largely in metaphoric extensions. Figurative use, of persons or populations, "to be in a state of inward agitation" is recorded from 1580s (implied in seething). It had wider figurative uses in Old English, e.g. "to try by fire, to afflict with cares." Now conjugated as a weak verb, and past participle sodden (q.v.) is no longer felt as connected.

seethe in the Bible

to boil (Ex. 16:23).