His eyen steep, and rolling in his head.
Chaucer.
Steep, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Steeped (stpt); p. pr. & vb. n. Steeping.]
[OE. stepen, probably fr. Icel. steypa to cause to stoop, cast down,
pour out, to cast metals, causative of stpa to stoop; cf. Sw. stöpa to
cast, to steep, Dan. stöbe, D. & G. stippen to steep, to dip. Cf.
Stoop, v. t.] To soak in a liquid; to macerate; to extract the essence
of by soaking; as, to soften seed by steeping it in water. Often used
figuratively.
Let fancy still my sense in Lethe steep.
Shak.
In refreshing dew to steep The little, trembling flowers.
Wordsworth.
The learned of the nation were steeped in Latin.
Earle.
Steep, v. i. To undergo the process of soaking in a liquid; as, the tea
is steeping. [Colloq.]
Steep, n. 1. Something steeped, or used in steeping; a fertilizing
liquid to hasten the germination of seeds.