Bathe Meaning
/beɪð/Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo clean oneself by immersion in water or using water; to take a bath, have a bath.
verbTo immerse oneself, or part of the body, in water for pleasure or refreshment; to swim.
Sentence Examples
Beth told Chris to bathe or she will not agree to date him.
It is dangerous to bathe in this river.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The mother helps her toddler ____ in the small plastic tub.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The small children love to ____ in the cool river during the summer time.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English bathen, from Old English baþian (“to bathe, wash”), from Proto-West Germanic *baþōn, from Proto-Germanic *baþōną (“to bathe”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₁- (“to warm”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian boadje (“to bathe”), Dutch baden (“to bathe”), German Low German baden (“to bathe”), German baden (“to bathe”), Danish bade (“to bathe”), Swedish bada (“to bathe”), Icelandic baða (“to bathe”). More at bath. Compare also bask.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"We do not bathe to make ourselves clean, but to keep clean, and for the sake of its health-giving and invigorating effects. Once a week a warm bath, at about 100°, may be used, with plenty of soap, in order to thoroughly cleanse the pores of the skin."
— 1876, Eliza Bisbee Duffey, Our Behaviour: A Manual of Etiquette and Dress of the Best American Society, Philadelphia:
"A Greek historian Phylarchus describes a white root indigenous to India that caused eunuchism when a person bathed in water in which the root was steeped."
— 1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 123:
"All subtle thought, all curious fears,
Borne down by gladness so complete,
She bows, she bathes the Saviour’s feet
With costly spikenard and with tears."
— 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XXXII”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 51:
"At this sound, which she had not heard for twelve years, little Elizabeth felt her heart so affected that she could contain herself no longer, but throwing her arms about John's neck, she bathed his cheeks with her tears."
— 1828, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology, volume I, London: William Harrison Ainsworth, page 303:
"Vorpal, eupeptically bubbling greetings, bathed a sausage in a swimming plate of sauce."
— 1956, Anthony Burgess, Time for a Tiger (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 22:
Explore More A2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The mother helps her toddler ____ in the small plastic tub.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The small children love to ____ in the cool river during the summer time.