1: (verb) to suffer, sweat, or be faint from heat
2: (noun) a state of oppressive heat
Coming off the heels of what was supposed to be the hottest day of Oregon’s summer yesterday, I couldn’t think of a better word than swelter to initiate this new blog. In particular, I like the noun form, which sees use much less frequently than its verb twin. But just imagine the possibilities of the noun swelter in your daily conversation!
You’ll often hear the verb form this way:
“It’s sweltering outside! I guess this is where all that global warming stuff comes from, huh?”
But how much better is it to see the noun form, like this:
The summer swelter was oppressive to Blaire, who wanted nothing more than to step outside without drowning in his own sweat.
Or, even better, like this:
The swelter of his gaze could have melted ice–or, in any case, made it dribble a little. I wanted nothing more than to talk to him, and I would have–had I not been wearing nothing but a clown wig and bikini.
And where did this wonderful word come from? It’s been in the English language since the 1400s, and comes from Old English sweltan, to die; that, in turn, came from the Proto-Germanic swel, to burn slowly.
Well that’s graphic.
So please, no more “This heat is killing me!” Who needs it, when you can say, essentially, “This heat is burning me slowly to death!” In other words–“This heat is sweltering!
Word-of-the-Day Toilet Paper 