Cools

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /kuːlz/

Definitions

1. To reduce in temperature or cause something to lose heat ; to become less excited, intense, or angry or to cause such a change
2. The process of lowering warmth or chilling something down ; the act of calming down or reducing emotional or physical intensity
3. When heat decreases or when heat is drawn from an object ; when agitation, excitement, or force diminishes and settles

Etymology: The verb "cools" is simply the third-person singular present of "cool," so its history is that of the verb itself. The adjective "cool" came first, from Old English "cōl," meaning cool, cold, tranquil or calm, and it traces back through Proto-Germanic "kōluz" to a root meaning "to be cold, to freeze," which also gave Latin "gelū," meaning frost. The verb took longer to arrive: it descends from Old English "cōlian," meaning to cool, grow cold or be cold, and it reached Middle English as "colen." The verb had a second route into English. Middle English "kelen" came from Old English "cēlan," and this older form was altered to look like the adjective "cool," which is why the two now seem so closely tied. The surprising result is that the everyday sense of making something less warm and the figurative sense of calming a person down both grow out of a word that once described plain physical cold.

Synonyms: chills, calms, refreshes, lowers, relaxes

Antonyms: heats, warms, agitates, excites, energizes