"the melting of ice or snow," also "spell of weather causing this," c. 1400, from thaw (v.). Figurative sense is from 1590s; specifically "relaxation of political harshness or hostility" from 1950, an image from the "Cold War."
thaw (v.)
Old English þawian (transitive), from Proto-Germanic *thawon- (cognates: Old Norse þeyja, Middle Low German doien, Dutch dooien, Old High German douwen, German tauen "to thaw"), from PIE root *ta- "to melt, dissolve" (cognates: Sanskrit toyam "water," Ossetic thayun "to thaw," Welsh tawadd "molten," Doric Greek takein "to melt, waste, be consumed," Old Irish tam "pestilence," Latin tabes "a melting, wasting away, putrefaction," Old Church Slavonic tajati "to melt"). Intransitive sense from early 14c. Related: Thawed; thawing.
实用例句
1. At least this second meeting had helped to thaw the atmosphere.
这第二次会议至少起到了缓和气氛的作用。
来自柯林斯例句
2. I remember to thaw out the chicken before I leave home.
我记着出门前把鸡肉化开。
来自柯林斯例句
3. It took up to Christmas for political relations to thaw.
直到圣诞节政治关系才有所改善。
来自柯林斯例句
4. Thaw it out completely before reheating in a saucepan.
先把它完全化开，然后再放在平底锅里重新加热。
来自柯林斯例句
5. We slogged through the mud of an early spring thaw.
