Gulfing

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To submerge or engulf something completely in a body of water or liquid; to consume or overwhelm something in a way that it appears to vanish; to envelop or surround entirely as a large expanse does to a smaller entity
2. To immerse an object in water, causing complete coverage; to take in an item so thoroughly that it is no longer visible; to envelop something in a manner similar to how a large area incorporates a smaller part within it
3. To cover or saturate completely with liquid, often drowning something in the process; to absorb or overpower something to the point of its disappearance; to surround fully, resembling the way wide spaces contain smaller things

Etymology: "Gulfing" is simply the -ing form of the verb "gulf," so its real story is the story of "gulf" itself. That noun came into Middle English from Old French "golf," which took it from Italian "golfo." Behind that lies Late Latin "colfos," borrowed from the Ancient Greek "kolpos," a word meaning "bosom" or "fold" and only later a bay of the sea. The Greek sense of a curved or hollowed space is the thread that connects a body's embrace to a stretch of water folding into the land. The verb grew from the noun, so to gulf something is to swallow it up as a gulf would, sweeping it under. The Greek root may be linked to an Indo-European idea of curving or arching, though its precise origin is uncertain.

Synonyms: engulfing, swallowing

Antonyms: expelling, rejecting