bathe

Etymology

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.

verb

1. (intransitive) To clean oneself by immersion in water or using water; to take a bath, have a bath.
2. (intransitive) To immerse oneself, or part of the body, in water for pleasure or refreshment; to swim.
3. (transitive) To clean a person by immersion in water or using water; to give someone a bath.
   We bathe our baby before going to bed; other parents do it in the morning if they have time.
4. (transitive) To apply water or other liquid to; to suffuse or cover with liquid.
   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
   She bathed her eyes with liquid to remove the stinging chemical.
   The nurse bathed his wound with a sponge.
   The incoming tides bathed the coral reef.
5. (figurative, transitive and intransitive) To cover or surround.
   The room was bathed in moonlight.
   A dense fog bathed the city streets.
   Although the encounter was bathed in sunshine, the match failed to reach boiling point but that will be of little concern to Gerard Houllier's team, who took a huge step forward before they face crucial matches against their relegation rivals. April 10, 2011, Alistair Magowan, “Aston Villa 1 - 0 Newcastle”, in BBC Sport
6. (intransitive) To sunbathe.
   The women bathed in the sun.

noun

1. (Britain, colloquial) The act of swimming or bathing, especially in the sea, a lake, or a river; a swimming bath.
   I'm going to have a midnight bathe tonight.
   I do not feel disposed to ask any questions, but devote myself entirely to the Governoress, who takes me over to the bathing-house in her boat. I have had my bathe, and am strolling along the sands, waiting for the Countess. 1885, Mrs. Forrester, “Retribution”, in Although He Was a Lord and Other Tales (Collection of British Authors, Tauchnitz Edition; volume 2327), Leipzig: [Christian] Bernhard Tauchnitz, page 140