Glaciers
/ˈɡleɪ.si.ərz/noun
Large, slow-moving masses of compacted ice formed from accumulated snow.
Did you know?The English word glacier entered the language through French glacier, ultimately tracing back to Latin glacies, meaning “ice”; the same ancient root also produced words connected with freezing and gelling.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*gel-
“To freeze or be cold; a reconstructed root associated with ice and freezing.”
Classical Latin
Latin
glaciēs
“Ice; a frozen mass or sheet.”
Medieval Latin
Latin
glaciārius
“Of or relating to ice; an ice-maker or ice-seller.”
12th–13th Century
Old French
glace
“Ice; frozen water.”
18th Century
French
glacier
“A glacier; literally, an ice-related formation or object.”
18th Century–Modern English
English
glacier / glaciers
“A large, slowly moving body of ice formed from accumulated snow; plural glaciers.”