sodden

The word 'sodden' originates from the past participle of the now-obsolete Middle English verb 'sodden', meaning "to boil". This verb descended from Old English sēoþan, which is related to the modern verb 'seethe'. The semantic journey is one of metaphorical extension: from the literal state of something being boiled and thus saturated with hot liquid, the meaning broadened to describe anything thoroughly soaked or waterlogged. Over time, it further evolved to describe a person's dull or heavy demeanor, as if their senses were metaphorically waterlogged or saturated. This progression from a physical process (boiling) to a physical state (soaked) and finally to a figurative mental state demonstrates a classic path of semantic change.

The word is a simplex form derived from a past participle of an obsolete verb. Its core is the Old English root sēoþan ("to boil, seethe").