Boiling

Part of speech: adjective, verb

Pronunciation: /ˈbɔɪlɪŋ/

Definitions

1. A state achieved when a liquid is heated sufficiently to produce bubbles and transition into gas, commonly applied in cooking scenarios
2. The process of heating a liquid until it transforms into gas by forming bubbles, frequently used in culinary practices for cooking food in hot liquids
3. The condition of a liquid when it reaches the temperature where it starts turning into steam with bubbling

Etymology: Boil comes from Latin "bullire," meaning to bubble up, and that word grew from "bulla," a bubble or blister. The bubble is the core image: a boiling liquid is one where bubbles keep rising to the surface. The verb passed into Old French as "boillir" and reached English as "boillen" in the Middle Ages, when the sense of rising bubbles was still the plain, physical meaning. The "-ing" ending is simply a suffix added to the verb. Because it can mark both a verb's ongoing action and a word that functions as an adjective, "boiling" serves in phrases like "boiling water" and "boiling with rage." The figurative use, describing a person or crowd as seething with emotion, grows directly from the same picture of agitated bubbling.

Synonyms: scalding, simmering, seething, heating, blistering

Antonyms: freezing, cooling, chilling, solidifying, calming