Thow

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. Becoming soft or liquid again after having been frozen, as ice or snow does when warmed
2. Losing its frozen state and turning back to water when the temperature rises above freezing
3. Melting from a solid frozen condition into a softened or liquid state under warmth

Etymology: In Scots, "thow" is a spelling of the everyday word "thaw", meaning to melt, especially of ice or snow, and it is also used as a noun for a spell of thawing weather. Its roots run back to Old English "þawian", which had the same sense, and the Germanic family includes Dutch "dooien" and German "tauen". Scots spelling, which often rendered the Old English vowel with "ow", produced the form seen here. Old English also gave the word a related sense of digesting or dissolving, which is why thaw and melting share a root.