1. A clear, colorless, odorless, and tasteless liquid, H₂O, essential for most plant and animal life and the most widely used of all solvents. Freezing point 0°C (32°F); boiling point 100°C (212°F); specific gravity (4°C) 1.0000; weight per gallon (15°C) 8.338 pounds (3.782 kilograms).
2. 1. Any of various forms of water: waste water.
   2. Naturally occurring mineral water, as at a spa. Often used in the plural.
3. 1. A body of water such as a sea, lake, river, or stream.
   2. waters A particular stretch of sea or ocean, especially that of a state or country: escorted out of British waters.
4. 1. A supply of water: had to turn off the water while repairing the broken drain.
   2. A water supply system.
5. 1. Any of the fluids normally secreted from the body, such as urine, perspiration, tears, or saliva.
   2. A fluid present in a body part in abnormal quantities as a result of injury or disease: water on the knee.
   3. The fluid surrounding a fetus in the uterus; amniotic fluid.
6. An aqueous solution of a substance, especially a gas: ammonia water.
7. A wavy finish or sheen, as of a fabric or metal.
8. 1. The valuation of the assets of a business firm beyond their real value.
   2. Stock issued in excess of paid-in capital.
9. 1. The transparency and luster of a gem.
   2. A level of excellence.

1. To pour or sprinkle water on; make wet: watered the garden.
2. 1. To give drinking water to.
   2. To lead (an animal) to drinking water.
3. To dilute or weaken by adding water: a bar serving whiskey that had been watered.
4. To give a sheen to the surface of (silk, linen, or metal).
5. To increase (the number of shares of stock) without increasing the value of the assets represented.
6. To irrigate (land).

1. To produce or discharge fluid, as from the eyes.
2. To salivate in anticipation of food: The wonderful aroma from the kitchen makes my mouth water.
3. To take on a supply of water, as a ship.
4. To drink water, as an animal.

water down

1. To reduce the strength or effectiveness of: "It seemed clear by late autumn that the ban would be significantly watered down or removed altogether before the trade bill became law" (George R. Packard).

above water

1. Out of difficulty or trouble.

1. A past occurrence, especially something unfortunate, that cannot be undone or rectified: All that is now just water under the bridge.

[Middle English, from Old English wæter.]

WORD HISTORY   Water is wet, even etymologically. The Indo-European root of water is *wed-, "wet." This root could appear in several guises-with the vowel e, as here, or as *wod-, or with no vowel between the w and d, yielding *ud-. All three forms of the root appear in English either in native or in borrowed words. From a form with a long e, *wēd-, which by Grimm's Law became *wēt- in Germanic, we have Old English wǣt, "wet," which became modern English wet. The form *wod-, in a suffixed form *wod-ōr, became *watar in Germanic and eventually water in modern English. From the form *ud- the Greeks got their word for water, hud-ōr, the source of our prefix hydro- and related words like hydrant. The suffixes *-rā and *-ros added to the form *ud- yielded the Greek word hudrā, "water snake" (borrowed into English as hydra), and the Germanic word *otraz, the source of our word otter, the water animal.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.