soothe

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To make someone feel calmer and less worried or upset.

   She sang softly to soothe the crying baby.

2. 2
   verb

   To make a pain or unpleasant feeling less strong.

   The medicine soothes the pain of the inflammation.

Common collocations

• soothe one's throat Verb + noun

From Middle English sothen (“to verify, prove the validity of”), from Old English sōþian (“to verify, prove, confirm, bear witness to”), from Proto-West Germanic *sanþōn, from Proto-Germanic *sanþōną (“to prove, certify, acknowledge, testify”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁es- (“to be”). Cognate with Danish sande (“to verify”), Swedish sanna (“to verify”), Icelandic sanna (“to verify”). See also sooth. Displaced native Old English frēfran, ġefrēfran (“to comfort, console, soothe”), and partially displaced native Old English stillan, ġestillan (“to calm, become calm, pacify, quieten”) (whence mo…

Topics