geyser means A boiling natural spring which throws forth jets of water, mud, etc., at frequent intervals, driven upwards by the expansive power of steam.
geyser is pronounced /ˈɡiː.zə/.
Why “geyser” is a great word
A hot spring that intermittently ejects a column of water and steam into the air. From Icelandic Geysir ("Gusher"), the proper name of a specific hot spring in Haukadal, Iceland, from the verb geysa ("to gush"), from Old Norse geysa ("to gush"); first attested in English in the 1760s. Unlike a "hot spring," which merely pools or flows with heated water, or a "fountain," which offers a predictable and artful display, a geyser is a captive tempest, a pressure valve for the earth's inner fire. It is the subterranean kettle building to a violent boil, the sudden, roaring exhalation of scalding mist against a cold sky, and the subsequent, sighing stillness before the chamber fills once more—a hydraulic clock measuring the planet's deep, geothermal breath.
Etymology
From 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 as early as the 1760s in The Annual Register, as “Geyser, a wonderful spring in the valley of Haukadal”. Doublet of gusher
noun
- A boiling natural spring which throws forth jets of water, mud, etc., at frequent intervals, driven upwards by the expansive power of steam.
- A momentary vertical jet or fountain of fluid driven upwards by a violent force.“Sporting a few war wounds from Japanese destroyer gunfire, The Sullivans had already launched one spread of torpedoes at the Japanese destroyers that were now littering the ocean floor, or, occasionally, making their own retreat, but she still had one left, so a five-torpedo spread was duly sent at near-point-blank range into the listing and burning remains of Yamato, and, shortly thereafter, four”
- An instantaneous, and often dangerous, hot water heater.“Where a Geyser or hot-water heater is used it is a good and wise precaution to see that the bath-room, &c., when it is used is well ventilated.”
- A domestic water boiler.
verb
- To (cause to) rush or burst upward like water from a geyser.“Four jets of water geysered upward from the sea. Short and wide. He noted it. Ranging salvo. His division was discovered.”
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