Wiktionary

glacial

See also: Glacial

English

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Etymology

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From French glacial, from Latin glaciālis, from glaciēs (“ice”). The sense "slow" refers to the speed of actual glaciers, typically around 1 meter per day.[1]

Pronunciation

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  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈɡleɪ.sɪəl/, /ˈɡleɪ.ʃ(ɪ)əl/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -eɪʃəl

Adjective

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glacial (comparative more glacial, superlative most glacial)

  1. Of, or relating to glaciers.
    We examined the glacial deposits.
    Wang Shijin is a glacier expert and director of the Yulong Snow Mountain Glacial and Environmental Observation Research Station.
  2. (figuratively) Very slow.
    • 1917, Everybody's Magazine - Volume 37, Issue 2, Ridgeway Company, page 56:
      He could remember a day that he had spent the whole of (he couldn't have been more than ten) running one of the great, creaking freight elevators at a glacial speed, answering the calls of the bell—one ring, five rings, three rings—with an almost unbearable sense of responsiblity.
    • 1953, United States. Congress. House. Committee on Armed Services, Defense Department Authorization and Oversight, U.S. Government Printing Office, page 1251:
      I understand that you commented that the Japanese are moving at glacial speed. This is not the only area where they are moving at glacial speed. They are moving at glacial speed in terms of trade barriers, and it is one thing that the American people recognize.
    • 1999, Michael Goodchild, Max J. Egenhofer, Robin Fegeas, Cliff Kottman, Interoperating Geographic Information Systems, Springer Science & Business Media, →ISBN, page 133:
      Paradoxically, then, the electronic speed offered by computer-based decision-making is often overwhelmed by the glacial speed of data reformatting and checking.
    • 16 October 2010, “Under the volcano”, in The Economist:
      Progress on judicial reform has been glacial, meeting enormous resistance.
    • 2014, John P. Kotter, Accelerate: Building Strategic Agility for a Faster-Moving World, Harvard Business Review Press, →ISBN, page 96:
      Lower-level people added front-line information that ordinarily wouldn't have made it up the hierarchy to the executive committee (or would have made it at glacial speed).
    • 2014, Stuart E. Eizenstat, The Future of the Jews: How Global Forces are Impacting the Jewish People, Israel, and Its Relationship with the United States, Rowman & Littlefield, →ISBN, page 105:
      The Gulf States and Saudi Arabia are modernizing but at a glacial speed in a world moving at digital speed.
  3. Cold and icy.
    After the rain and frost, the pavements were glacial.
  4. Having the appearance of ice.
    On cold days, glacial acetic acid will freeze in the bottle.
  5. (figuratively) Cool and unfriendly.
    He gave me a glacial stare.

Hyponyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Noun

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glacial (plural glacials)

  1. A glacial period (colloquially known as an ice age).
    Synonym: ice age
    Coordinate term: interglacial

Translations

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References

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  1. ^ Amy Sterling Casil (2009) The Creation of Canyons, The Rosen Publishing Group, →ISBN, page 8: “Glaciers are masses of highly compressed snow and ice that also flow downward in response to gravity, but much more slowly. This is the origin of the phrase “glacial speed.” If something is described as happening at glacial speed, that means it is occurring at a very slow pace.”

Anagrams

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Catalan

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Pronunciation

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Adjective

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glacial m or f (masculine and feminine plural glacials)

  1. glacial

Further reading

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Danish

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Adjective

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glacial

  1. glacial

Inflection

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Inflection of glacial
Positive Comparative Superlative
Indefinte common singular glacial — —2
Indefinite neuter singular glacialt — —2
Plural glaciale — —2
Definite attributive1 glaciale — —
1) When an adjective is applied predicatively to something definite, the corresponding "indefinite" form is used.
2) The "indefinite" superlatives may not be used attributively.

References

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French

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Etymology

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Learned borrowing from Latin glaciālis. Morphologically, from glace +‎ -ial.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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glacial (feminine glaciale, masculine plural glaciaux, feminine plural glaciales)

  1. freezing, ice-cold, very cold
  2. (figuratively) icy, very cold
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Further reading

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Galician

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): (standard) /ɡlaˈθjal/ [ɡlaˈθjɑɫ]
  • IPA(key): (gheada) /ħlaˈθjal/ [ħlaˈθjɑɫ]
  • IPA(key): (gheada and seseo) /ħlaˈsjal/ [ħlaˈsjɑɫ]

  • Rhymes: -al
  • Hyphenation: gla‧cial

Adjective

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glacial m or f (plural glaciais)

  1. frozen, at the temperature of ice
    Synonym: xeado
  2. glacial, pertaining to glaciers
  3. (figuratively) frigid, chilly, not cordial
    Synonym: xélido
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Further reading

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Norman

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Etymology

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From Latin glaciālis, from glaciēs (“ice”).

Adjective

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glacial m

  1. (Jersey) icy

Occitan

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Etymology

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(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

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  This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!

Adjective

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glacial m (feminine singular glaciala, masculine plural glacials, feminine plural glacialas)

  1. glacial

Further reading

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Portuguese

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Pronunciation

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  • (Brazil) IPA(key): /ɡla.siˈaw/ [ɡla.sɪˈaʊ̯], (faster pronunciation) /ɡlaˈsjaw/ [ɡlaˈsjaʊ̯]
 

  • Hyphenation: gla‧ci‧al

Adjective

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glacial m or f (plural glaciais)

  1. glacial (cold and icy)
    Synonym: gélido
  2. glacial (relating to glaciers)
  3. (relational) ice age
  4. (figurative) glacial; cold (emotionally distant)
    Synonyms: frio, gélido

Further reading

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  • “glacial” in Dicionário Aberto based on Novo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo, 1913

Romanian

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Etymology

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Borrowed from French glacial, from Latin glacialis.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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glacial m or n (feminine singular glacială, masculine plural glaciali, feminine and neuter plural glaciale)

  1. glacial

Declension

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Declension of glacial
singular plural
masculine neuter feminine masculine neuter feminine
nominative/
accusative 		indefinite glacial glacială glaciali glaciale
definite glacialul glaciala glacialii glacialele
genitive/
dative 		indefinite glacial glaciale glaciali glaciale
definite glacialului glacialei glacialilor glacialelor

Further reading

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Spanish

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): (Spain) /ɡlaˈθjal/ [ɡlaˈθjal]
  • IPA(key): (Latin America, Philippines) /ɡlaˈsjal/ [ɡlaˈsjal]
  • Rhymes: -al
  • Syllabification: gla‧cial

Adjective

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glacial m or f (masculine and feminine plural glaciales)

  1. glacial
  2. (figuratively) frigid, chilly, not cordial

Derived terms

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Further reading

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