simmer

English

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈsɪmɚ/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈsɪmə/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪmə(ɹ)

Etymology 1

From alteration of dialectal simper, from Middle English simperen (“to simmer”), of possibly imitative origin. First attested in the intransitive sense. The noun is from the verb. First attested in the late 15^th century.

Alternative forms

• simber (obsolete)

Verb

simmer (third-person singular simple present simmers, present participle simmering, simple past and past participle simmered)

1. (intransitive) To cook or undergo heating slowly at or below the boiling point.

   The soup simmered on the stove.

   • 1945 January and February, “Notes and News: American Locomotives in France”, in Railway Magazine, page 46:

     The locomotive was the now inevitable American 2-8-0, No. 2623. There she stood, effectively blocking the level crossing, simmering gently, massively inert. It was almost dark, and one's final sight was of her high, firelit cab, the enginemen nonchalantly leaning out, waiting for the right-away, while impatient road convoys piled up on both sides of the crossing.

   • 2004, Susan Westmoreland, The Good Housekeeping Cookbook, Hearst Books, →ISBN, page 89:

     That way, the heat can circulate under the meat and prevent it from simmering in its juices.

2. (transitive) To cause to cook or to cause to undergo heating slowly at or below the boiling point.

   Synonym: coddle

   Coordinate terms: bake, sauté

   Simmer the soup for five minutes, then serve.

   • 1981, Phyllis Hobson, Easy Game Cookery, Storey Publishing, →ISBN, page 2:

     There are other easy ways you can bake and simmer and sauté wild game without qualifying as a gourmet cook.

3. (intransitive, figurative) To be on the point of breaking out into anger; to be agitated.
   • 2006, Earl Ganz, The Taos Truth Game, UNM Press, →ISBN:

     Maybe that really did happen, and Robin's anger at his wife had simmered for this long?

4. (intransitive, figurative) To remain angry with someone or something past the point of exhaustion; to resign oneself to holding a grudge, especially after some failed attempts to resolve a situation.

   I tried to get through to him; all that's left for me to do is simmer.

5. (intransitive, figurative) To develop gradually, of an idea or plan.

   Synonyms: gestate, ferment

   • 2003, Mark H. Walker, Games That Sell!, Wordware Publishing, Inc., →ISBN, page 162:

     The idea for The Sims was one that had been simmering in Wright's mind for quite some time, and was initially conceived as an architecture simulation.

Derived terms

• asimmer
• simmer down

Translations

Noun

simmer

2. The state or process of simmering.

   The kettle was kept on the simmer.

Translations

Etymology 2

From sim (“simulation”, noun) +‎ -er.

Noun

simmer (plural simmers)

1. (informal, video games) Someone who plays a sim (a simulation game), particularly The Sims.

   (The addition of quotations indicative of this usage is being sought:)

Anagrams

• merism, mimers

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈzɪmɐ/

• Audio

  (file)

Verb

simmer

1. (colloquial, regional) Contraction of sind wir.

   Wann simmer denn da? ― When are we gonna be there?

Usage notes

This contraction is common throughout central Germany, southern Germany, and Austria. It is only occasionally heard in northern Germany.

See also

• hammer

Scots

Alternative forms

• simer, somer, sumer

Etymology

From Middle English sumer, from Old English sumor, from Proto-West Germanic *sumar, from Proto-Germanic *sumaraz.

Noun

simmer (plural simmers)

1. summer

West Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian sumur, sumer, from Proto-West Germanic *sumar.

Noun

simmer c (plural simmers, diminutive simmerke)

1. summer

Derived terms

• simmerkrite
• simmermoanne

See also

Further reading

• “simmer”, in Wurdboek fan de Fryske taal (in Dutch), 2011