dew

See also: DEW and dew-

English

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /djuː/, /djuʊ̯/
IPA^(key): /d͡ʒuː/, /d͡ʒuʊ̯/ (among those with yod-coalescence in stressed syllables)
(especially US) IPA^(key): /du/ (among those with yod-dropping)
Audio (US) (file)
Audio (UK) (file)

Dew on a spider web

Homophones: do, doo (with yod-dropping), Jew (with yod-coalescence), due

Etymology 1

From Middle English dew, from Old English dēaw (“dew”), from Proto-Germanic *dawwaz, *dawwą (“dew, moisture”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂- (“smoke, haze”). Cognate with German Tau, Dutch dauw and Afrikaans dou. Doublet of dag.

Noun

dew (countable and uncountable, plural dews)

(uncountable) Any moisture from the atmosphere condensed by cool bodies upon their surfaces.
(uncountable) Moisture in the air that settles on plants, etc in the morning or evening, resulting in drops.
Synonym: (obsolete) rore
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Judges 6:36–40:
  And Gideon said vnto God, If thou wilt saue Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said,
  Beholde, I will put a fleece of wooll in the floore: and if the deaw be on the fleece onely, and it bee drie vpon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt saue Israel by my hande, as thou hast said.
  And it was so: for he rose vp early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the deaw out of the fleece, a bowle full of water.
  And Gideon said vnto God, Let not thine anger be hote against me, and I will speake but this once: Let mee prooue, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece. Let it now be drie onely vpon the fleece, and vpon all the ground let there be deaw.
  And God did so that night: for it was drie vpon the fleece onely, and there was deaw on all the ground.
- 2013, Warren Ellis; Nick Cave (lyrics), “We No Who U R”, in Push the Sky Away, performed by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds:
  Tree don't care what the little bird sings / We go down with the dew in the morning light / The tree don't know what the little bird brings / We go down with the dew in the morning
(countable, but see usage notes) An instance of such moisture settling on plants, etc.
There was a heavy dew this morning.
- 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), OCLC 630079698, page 72:
  On their entrance, Aylmer was greeted by a new surprise—his daughter Lucy, whom he very naturally supposed was quietly in her bed, lay on the window-seat, the casement open, and herself asleep; but the traces of tears were upon her cheek, and her long fair hair loose, and yet saturated with the dews of the night.
(figurative) Anything that falls lightly and in a refreshing manner.
- c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act IV, scene i]:
  the golden dew of sleep
(figurative) An emblem of morning, or fresh vigour.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Psalms 110:3:
  Thy people ſhalbe willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holineſſe from the wombe of the morning: thou haſt the dew of thy youth.
- 1858 October 16, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, “The Courtship of Miles Standish”, in The Courtship of Miles Standish, and Other Poems, Boston, Mass.: Ticknor and Fields, OCLC 51433663:
  the dew of his youth

Usage notes

Although the countable sense is still used, the plural form is now archaic or poetic only.

Derived terms

dew computing
dewdrop
dew-eyed
dew-fall
dew point
dew water
honeydew
mountain dew

Translations

moisture in the air that settles on plants, etc

Ahom: 𑜃𑜩 (nay), 𑜃𑜩𑜐𑜫 (nayñ)
Amis: 'o'ol
Andi: щиб (ššib)
Arabic: نَدَى‎ (ar) m (nadā), طَلّ‎ m (ṭall), سَقِيط‎ m (saqīṭ)
Moroccan Arabic: ندى‎ m (nda)
Armenian: ցող (hy) (cʿoł), շաղ (hy) (šał)
Aromanian: aroauã
Assamese: নিয়ৰ (nir)
Asturian: rosada f, orbayu (ast) m, rociu m
Avar: щуб (ššub)
Azerbaijani: şeh (az), şəbnəm, jalə, nəmçik (dialectal)
Bashkir: ысыҡ (ısıq)
Basque: ihintz, garo
Bau Bidayuh: jumieh, jumieh
Belarusian: раса́ f (rasá)
Bengali: শিশির (bn) (śiśir), শবনম (bn) (śôbônômô)
Bikol Central: tunog
Brunei Bisaya: ambun
Budukh: шегь (šeh)
Bulgarian: роса́ (bg) f (rosá)
Burmese: ဆီးနှင်း (my) (hci:hnang:)
Cappadocian Greek: σ̌άγι (šági)
Catalan: rosada (ca) f, rou (ca) m
Cebuano: yamog
Central Melanau: mun
Chechen: тхир (txir)
Chepang: सीत्‌ (sit)
Chinese:
Dungan: лўфи (lwfi), луфи (lufi)
Mandarin: 露水 (zh) (lùshuǐ), 露 (zh) (lù)
Czech: rosa (cs) f
Dalmatian: ruzuda f
Danish: dug (da) c
Daur: suidur
Dongxiang: xiaojierun
Drung: nvmnor
Dutch: dauw (nl) m
Eastern Cham: ꨀꨳꨩ ꨆꨆꨶꨮꩉ (ia kakwơr), ꨆꨆꨶꨮꩉ (kakwơr)
Esperanto: roso
Estonian: kaste (et)
Even: хилэс (hiləs)
Faroese: døgg f
Finnish: kaste (fi)
French: rosée (fr) f
Friulian: rosade f
Galician: resío (gl) m, rosada (gl) f, relento m (moisture in the air), orballo (gl) m
Georgian: ნამი (nami)
German: Tau (de) m
Godoberi: щиби
Gorontalo: wonu (gor)
Greek: πάχνη (el) f (páchni), δροσιά (el) f (drosiá), δρόσος (el) f (drósos)
Ancient: δρόσος f (drósos), δροσία f (drosía), ἕρση f (hérsē) (Epic)
Gujarati: ઝાકળ (gu) f (jhākaḷ)
Hebrew: טל‎ (he) m (t'al)
Hindi: ओस (hi) f (os), शबनम (hi) f (śabnam), नम (hi) f (nam)
Hungarian: harmat (hu)
Hunsrik: Daa m
Iban: embun
Icelandic: dögg (is) f
Indonesian: embun (id)
Ingush: тхир (txir)
Interlingua: rore
Iranun: damug, ambun
Irish: drúcht (ga) m
Istriot: ruzàda f
Italian: rugiada (it)
Japanese: 露 (ja) (つゆ, tsuyu)
Kazakh: шық (şyq)
Khmer: សន្សើម (km) (sɑnsaəm)
Kimaragang: bolobou
Korean: 이슬 (ko) (iseul)
Kurdish:
Central Kurdish: خوناو‎ (ku) (xunaw), ئاوِنگ‎ (awing), شەونِم‎ (ku) (şewnim)
Laki: ئاڤێ‎ (ku) (avê)
Northern Kurdish: xunav (ku) f, avî (ku) f, şevnem (ku) f
Southern Kurdish: ئاوِنگ‎ (awing), ئانگوو‎ (angû), شەونِم‎‎‎ (şewnim‎‎)
Kyrgyz: шүүдүрүм (ky) (şüüdürüm)
Lao: ນ້ຳຄ້າງ (nam khāng), ເໝືອຍ (mư̄a nya), ເໝີຍ (mœ̄i)
Latgalian: rosa
Latin: rōs (la) m
Latvian: rasa (lv) f
Lezgi: чиг (čig)
Lithuanian: rasa f
Lotud: bolobou
Louisiana Creole French: larozé, séren
Luxembourgish: Da m
Macedonian: роса f (rosa)
Malagasy: ando (mg)
Malay: embun (ms), nyamur
Maltese: nida f
Manchu: ᠰᡳᠯᡝᠩᡤᡳ (silenggi)
Maori: haukōpata, haukū, kōpata, haurahi, haurutu, hautaorua, hautōrua, taituri, haunui, taituri
Marathi: दव n (dav)
Mazanderani: شی‎ (šey)
Middle English: dew
Mongolian: шүүдэр (mn) (šüüder)
Nanai: силэмсэ
Navajo: dahtooʼ
Norwegian:
Bokmål: dogg m or f, dugg (no) m
Nynorsk: dogg f
Occitan: rosada (oc) f
Old Church Slavonic: роса f (rosa)
Old English: dēaw f
Old Norse: dǫgg f
Oriya: କାକର (or) (kakôrô)
Oromo: fixeensa
Pacoh: lataq tulúc
Pashto: شبنم‎ (ps) m (šabnám)
Persian: شبنم‎ (fa) (šabnam), ژاله‎ (fa) (žâle), نم‎ (fa) (nam), افشک‎ (fa) (afšak)
Punjabi: ਤ੍ਰੇਲ f (trel), ਤਰੇਲ (pa) f (tarel)
Plautdietsch: Deiw m
Polish: rosa (pl) f
Portuguese: orvalho (pt) m, sereno (pt) m, riço (pt) m
Romanian: rouă (ro) f
Romansch: rugada f
Rungus: bbollobbou
Russian: роса́ (ru) f (rosá), роси́нка (ru) f (rosínka) (a single drop of dew)
Saanich: so,sX̱
Sanskrit: अवश्या (sa) n (avaśyā), दानु (sa) n (dānu)
Sardinian: lentore, saghina, sanenu
Scots: dyow
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: ро̀са f
Roman: ròsa (sh) f
Shan: ၼၢႆး (shn) (náai)
Shor: арчы (arçı)
Sichuan Yi: ꍑꒉ (zhet yy)
Slovak: rosa f
Slovene: rosa (sl) f
Sorbian:
Lower Sorbian: rosa f
Upper Sorbian: rosa f
Southern Altai: чык (čïk)
Spanish: rocío (es) m, sereno (es) m, relente
Swahili: umande
Swedish: dagg (sv) c
Tabasaran: чиг (čig)
Tagal Murut: bolobou
Tagalog: hamog
Tajik: жола (tg) (žola)
Tatar: чык (tt) (çıq)
Thai: น้ำค้าง (th) (nam khaang)
Timugon Murut: bolobou
Turkish: şebnem (tr), çiy (tr), çiğ (tr), kırağı (tr), jale (tr)
Turkmen: çyg
Ugaritic: 𐎉𐎍 (ṭl)
Ukrainian: роса́ f (rosá)
Urdu: اوس‎ f (os), شبنم‎ (ur) f (šabnam), نم‎ f (nam), ژالہ‎ (ur) m (žāla)
Uyghur: شەبنەم‎ (ug) (shebnem)
Uzbek: shabnam (uz)
Vietnamese: sương (vi)
Volapük: gödaluim (vo)
Welsh: gwlith (cy)
West Coast Bajau: ambun
White Hmong: lwg
Yakkha: छेक
Yiddish: טוי‎ (toy)

Etymology 2

From Middle English dewe, dewyn, from Old English *dēawian, from Proto-West Germanic *dauwēn, from Proto-Germanic *dawwāną. Cognates include Saterland Frisian daue, German tauen and Dutch dauwen.

Verb

dew (third-person singular simple present dews, present participle dewing, simple past and past participle dewed)

To wet with, or as if with, dew; to moisten.
- 1887, Andrew B. Saxton, "Sunken Graves", in The Century
  The grasses grew / A little ranker since they dewed them so.

Related terms

bedew

Translations

moisten

Bulgarian: оросявам (bg) (orosjavam)
Catalan: enrosar (ca)
Dutch: bedauwen (nl)
Finnish: kostuttaa (fi), kastaa (fi)
Georgian: ნამავს (namavs)
Macedonian: наросува (narosuva), заросува (zarosuva)
Russian: оросить (ru) (orositʹ)

Anagrams

Wed, Wed., we'd, wed

Catalan

Etymology

From adéu.

Interjection

dew

(Internet slang) bye

Cornish

**Cornish cardinal numbers**
< 1	2	3 >
Cardinal : dew Ordinal : nessa Feminine : diw

Etymology

From Proto-Brythonic *dọw, from Proto-Celtic *duwo, from Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁.

Numeral

dew m (feminine form diw)

two

Mutation

Mutation of dew

Cornish consonant mutation
unmutated	soft	aspirate	hard	mixed	mixed after 'th
dew	dhew	unchanged	tew	tew	tew

Middle English

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old English dēaw, from Proto-West Germanic *dauw, from Proto-Germanic *dawwaz, *dawwą.

Alternative forms

deau, deaw, deew, deu, dewe, dewȝ, dieuȝ
dæw (Ormulum)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /dɛu̯/
Rhymes: -ɛu̯

Noun

dew (plural dewes)

Dew; moisture present on plants.
(figurative) A rejuvenating substance.
(rare) Sodden or water-soaked terrain.

Derived terms

dewy
dewyn
dewynge

Descendants

English: dew
Scots: dew, deow, dyow
Yola: dhew

References

“deu, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2018-07-12.

Adjective

dew

Alternative form of dewe (“due”)

Noun

dew

Alternative form of dewe (“due”)

Welsh

Pronunciation

(North Wales) IPA^(key): /deːu̯/
(South Wales) IPA^(key): /dɛu̯/

Adjective

dew

Soft mutation of tew.

Mutation

Welsh mutation
radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
tew	dew	nhew	thew
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Zazaki

Etymology

Compare Persian ‎ (deh).

Noun

dew f

village

Declension

declension of dew

	singular (tekın)	plural (zafın)
nominative (halo sade)	dew	dewi
definite accusative (moreyen)	dewa	dewan
dative (heteyen)	dewe	dewer
locative (vinayen)	dewi(y)de	dewande
ablative (abıryayen)	dewra	dewanra
genitive (tamleme)	dew(i)	dew(y)an