Thaw vs. Unthaw
Question: It's time to take the turkey out of the freezer and prepare it for the holiday meal. Will you 'thaw' or 'unthaw' the bird?
First of all, let it be said that I've always thought the correct term is 'thaw'.. and that 'unthaw' is totally incorrect. After hearing the word 'unthaw' used over and over again, I decided to start polling people at home and at work. I happily discovered most people agreed 'thaw' is the correct word, even if they were guilty of using 'unthaw' themselves. There were a few, however, that argued 'unthaw' meant the same thing as 'thaw'. This debate took me to Google.
Here is what the online Oxford dictionary has to say:
Definition of unthaw:verb I also use RhymeZone, an online tool, for looking up the meanings of words, synonyms, etc.
This is what RhymeZone has to say:
Definitions of unthaw:
verb: become or cause to become soft or liquid
As you can imagine, I only became more frustrated after finding these two examples to be contradicting to my understanding of the word.... so I pulled out the old hardcover dictionary. In my old dictionary, the word 'unthaw' did not exist. Furthermore, after checking packages in my freezer, I was only able to find the word 'thaw', not 'unthaw' on the package directions. This makes me think that the word 'unthaw' is one of those words that has been socially accepted into our lazy language.
This is what Miriam Websters online version (because I'm lazy and it's easier to copy/paste rather than type it all out) has to say about the prefix un:
Definition of UN-1: not : in-, non- —in adjectives formed from adjectives <unambitious> <unskilled> or participles <undressed>, in nouns formed from nouns <unavailability>, and rarely in verbs formed from verbs <unbe> —sometimes in words that have a meaning that merely negates that of the base word and are thereby distinguished from words that prefix in- or a variant of it (as im-) to the same base word and have a meaning positively opposite to that of the base word <unartistic> <unmoral> 2: opposite of : contrary to —in adjectives formed from adjectives <unconstitutional> <ungraceful> <unmannered> or participles <unbelieving> and in nouns formed from nouns <unrest> Still confused? Try putting the prefix UN in front of any word and use it in a sentence and decide which works best... Examples: #1. (fold) If you 'fold' the laundry-and 'unfold' the laundry... is it the same thing?#2. (tie) If you 'tie' your shoes-and 'untie' your shoes... is it the same?#3. (cooked) If your meal is 'cooked'... is it the same as 'uncooked'?and my favorite...#4. (faithful) If you promise to be 'faithful' to your spouse, will they understand if you tell them you've been 'unfaithful'? My conclusion: If you take a turkey from the freezer, you are 'thawing' it. What are your thoughts?
First of all, let it be said that I've always thought the correct term is 'thaw'.. and that 'unthaw' is totally incorrect. After hearing the word 'unthaw' used over and over again, I decided to start polling people at home and at work. I happily discovered most people agreed 'thaw' is the correct word, even if they were guilty of using 'unthaw' themselves. There were a few, however, that argued 'unthaw' meant the same thing as 'thaw'. This debate took me to Google.
Here is what the online Oxford dictionary has to say:
Definition of unthaw:verb I also use RhymeZone, an online tool, for looking up the meanings of words, synonyms, etc.
This is what RhymeZone has to say:
Definitions of unthaw:
verb: become or cause to become soft or liquid
As you can imagine, I only became more frustrated after finding these two examples to be contradicting to my understanding of the word.... so I pulled out the old hardcover dictionary. In my old dictionary, the word 'unthaw' did not exist. Furthermore, after checking packages in my freezer, I was only able to find the word 'thaw', not 'unthaw' on the package directions. This makes me think that the word 'unthaw' is one of those words that has been socially accepted into our lazy language.
This is what Miriam Websters online version (because I'm lazy and it's easier to copy/paste rather than type it all out) has to say about the prefix un:
Definition of UN-1: not : in-, non- —in adjectives formed from adjectives <unambitious> <unskilled> or participles <undressed>, in nouns formed from nouns <unavailability>, and rarely in verbs formed from verbs <unbe> —sometimes in words that have a meaning that merely negates that of the base word and are thereby distinguished from words that prefix in- or a variant of it (as im-) to the same base word and have a meaning positively opposite to that of the base word <unartistic> <unmoral> 2: opposite of : contrary to —in adjectives formed from adjectives <unconstitutional> <ungraceful> <unmannered> or participles <unbelieving> and in nouns formed from nouns <unrest> Still confused? Try putting the prefix UN in front of any word and use it in a sentence and decide which works best... Examples: #1. (fold) If you 'fold' the laundry-and 'unfold' the laundry... is it the same thing?#2. (tie) If you 'tie' your shoes-and 'untie' your shoes... is it the same?#3. (cooked) If your meal is 'cooked'... is it the same as 'uncooked'?and my favorite...#4. (faithful) If you promise to be 'faithful' to your spouse, will they understand if you tell them you've been 'unfaithful'? My conclusion: If you take a turkey from the freezer, you are 'thawing' it. What are your thoughts?
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