tauen

From late Middle High German touwen (“to thaw; to dew”), a merger of (1.) earlier touwen (“to dew”), from Old High German touwōn, derived from tou (whence modern Tau), from Proto-Germanic *dawwą; and (2.) Middle High German douwen (“to thaw”), from Old High German thouwen, from Proto-Germanic *þawjaną. The merger started in Central German dialects, many of which had d- in both verbs. Verb 1 is cognate with English dew, verb 2 with thaw; see these for more.

• IPA^(key): /ˈtaʊ̯ən/, [ˈtäʊ̯ən], [ˈtäʊ̯n̩]

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• Hyphenation: tau‧en

tauen (third-person singular simple present taut, past tense taute, past participle getaut, auxiliary haben)

1. (sometimes impersonal) to thaw; to melt

   Im Frühsommer taut es in den Bergen.

   In early summer, it thaws in the mountains.

   Das Eis taut in der Sonne.

   The ice is thawing in the sun.

2. (usually impersonal) to dew; there to appear (dew)

   Morgens taut es auf der Wiese.

   In the morning, there appears dew on the grass.

• auftauen
• Tauwetter

• Tau