tauen

Meaning

1. (impersonal,sometimes,weak) to thaw; to melt
2. (impersonal,usually,weak) to dew; there to appear (dew)

Concepts

thaw

melt

dew

dissolve

smelt

Hyphenated as

tau‧en

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈtaʊ̯ən/

Etymology

From late Middle High German touwen (“to thaw, dew”), a merger of two verbs:
* touwen (“to dew”), from Old High German touwōn, from Proto-West Germanic *dauwēn, from Proto-Germanic *dawwāną.
* douwen (“to thaw”), from Old High German douwen, from Proto-West Germanic *þauwjan, from Proto-Germanic *þawjaną.
The merger started in Central German dialects, many of which had d- in both verbs. The original form of verb 2 survives in verdauen (“to digest”).