tauen

From late Middle High German touwen (“to thaw, dew”), a merger of two verbs:

• touwen (“to dew”), from Old High German touwōn, from Proto-West Germanic *dauwēn, from Proto-Germanic *dawwāną.
• douwen (“to thaw”), from Old High German douwen, from Proto-West Germanic *þauwjan, from Proto-Germanic *þawjaną.

The merger started in Central German dialects, many of which had d- in both verbs. The original form of verb 2 survives in verdauen (“to digest”).

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

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• Hyphenation: tau‧en

tauen (weak, third-person singular 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.

• Tauen, Tauung
• tauend, getaut
• abtauen
• antauen
• auftauen

• Tau
• Tauwetter

• “tauen” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “tauen” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.
• “tauen” in Duden online
• “tauen” in OpenThesaurus.de