Soothe, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Soothed; p. pr. & vb. n. Soothing.]
Etymology: [Originally, to assent to as true; OE. so to verify, AS. ges to prove the truth of, to bear witness. See Sooth, a.]
1. To assent to as true. [Obs.] Testament of Love.
2. To assent to; to comply with; to gratify; to humor by compliance; to please with blandishments or soft words; to flatter. Good, my lord, soothe him, let him take the fellow. Shak. I've tried the force of every reason on him, Soothed and caressed, been angry, soothed again. Addison.
3. To assuage; to mollify; to calm; to comfort; as, to soothe a crying child; to soothe one's sorrows. Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast, To soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak. Congreve. Though the sound of Fame May for a moment soothe, it can not slake The fever of vain longing. Byron.
Syn. -- To soften; assuage; allay; compose; mollify; tranquilize; pacify; mitigate.
Shades of meaning
Fernald has no entry of its own for soothe; he lists it under allay.
Where he writes about it:
But, in strictness, to allay is to lay to rest, quiet or soothe that which is excited; to alleviate, on the other hand, is to lighten a burden. — from allay
We allay suffering by using means to soothe and tranquilize the sufferer; we alleviate suffering by doing something toward removal of the cause, so that there is less to suffer; where the trouble is wholly or chiefly in the excitement, to allay the excitement is virtually to remove the trouble; as, to allay rage or panic; we alleviate poverty, but do not allay it. — from allay
Pacify, directly from the Latin, and appease, from the Latin through the French, signify to bring to peace; to mollify is to soften; to calm, quiet, or tranquilize is to make still; compose, to place together, unite, adjust to a calm and settled condition; to soothe (originally to assent to, humor) is to bring to pleased quietude. — from allay
We allay excitement, appease a tumult, calm agitation, compose our feelings or countenance, pacify the quarrelsome, quiet the boisterous or clamorous, soothe grief or distress. — from allay