geyser
UK /ˈɡiː.zə/ · US /ˈɡaɪ.zɚ/ noun, verb
Forms geysers geysering geysered
- noun (planetology, geology, volcanology) A boiling natural spring which throws forth jets of water, mud, etc., at frequent intervals, driven upwards by the expansive power of steam.
- noun (by extension) A momentary vertical jet or fountain of fluid driven upwards by a violent force.
- noun (UK, archaic) An instantaneous, and often dangerous, hot water heater.
- noun (South Africa, South Asia) A domestic water boiler.
- verb (ambitransitive) To (cause to) rush or burst upward like water from a geyser.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Icelandic Geysir (“Gusher”), the Icelandic name of a particular hot spring in Iceland (see Wikipedia), from the verb geysa (“to gush”), from Old Norse geysa (“to gush”), which is mentioned in English as early as the 1760s in The Annual Register, as “Geyser, a wonderful spring in the valley of Haukadal”. Doublet of gusher
Webster’s 1913
- noun A boiling spring which throws forth at frequent intervals jets of water, mud, etc., driven up by the expansive power of steam.
Etymology [Icel. geysir, fr. geysa to rush furiously, fr. gj to gush. Cf. Gush.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “geyser”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details