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bathe

(bāth)

v. bathed, bath·ing, bathes

v.intr.

1. To take a bath.

2. To go into the water for swimming or other recreation.

3. To become immersed in or as if in liquid.

4. To sunbathe.

v.tr.

1. To immerse in liquid; wet.

2. To wash in a liquid.

3. To apply a liquid to for healing or soothing purposes: bathed the wound with iodine.

4. To seem to wash or pour over; suffuse: a room that was bathed in sunlight.

[Middle English bathen, from Old English bathian.]

bather n.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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