noun
spring thaw of the ground
Archaic noun referring to the thawing of frozen ground in spring. Not used in modern everyday speech; encountered mainly in classical or poetic contexts.
古い和歌には、凍て解けの頃の情景が詠まれている。
In old waka poems, scenes from the time of the spring thaw are composed.
雪解け is the common modern word for 'thaw' or 'snowmelt', while 凍て解け is an archaic term specifically for the ground thawing.
Compound of 凍て (ite, 'freezing') + 解け (doke, 'thawing'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the word follows a straightforward native Japanese compounding pattern.