glacial
See also: Glacial
English
Etymology
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
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈɡleɪ.sɪəl/, /ˈɡleɪ.ʃ(ɪ)əl/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -eɪʃəl
Adjective
glacial (comparative more glacial, superlative most glacial)
- 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.
- (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.
- 2010, "Under the volcano", The Economist, 16 Oct 2010:
- 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.
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- Cold and icy.
- After the rain and frost, the pavements were glacial.
- Having the appearance of ice.
- On cold days, glacial acetic acid will freeze in the bottle.
- (figuratively) Cool and unfriendly.
- He gave me a glacial stare.
Hyponyms
- englacial
- interglacial
- monoglacial
- periglacial
- postglacial
- preglacial
- proglacial
- subglacial
- supraglacial
Translations
relating to glaciers
|
cold and icy
|
Noun
glacial (plural glacials)
- A glacial period (colloquially known as an ice age).
- Synonym: ice age
- Coordinate term: interglacial
Derived terms
- glacial acetic acid
- glacial acid
- glacial buzz saw
- glacial drift
- glacial erratic
- glacial flour
- glacial humour
- glacial lake outburst flood
- glacially
- glacial milk
- glacial polish
- glacial till
- glacial trough
Translations
glacial period
|
References
- 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
- gallica
Catalan
Pronunciation
- (Balearic, Central) IPA(key): /ɡlə.siˈal/
- (Valencian) IPA(key): /ɡla.siˈal/
Adjective
glacial (masculine and feminine plural glacials)
- glacial
French
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin glaciālis. Morphologically, from glace + -ial.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ɡla.sjal/
- Homophones: glaciale, glaciales
Adjective
glacial (feminine glaciale, masculine plural glaciaux, feminine plural glaciales)
- freezing, ice-cold, very cold
- (figuratively) icy, very cold
Related terms
- glaçant
- glaciaire
Further reading
- “glacial”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Galician
Adjective
glacial m or f (plural glaciais)
- frozen, at the temperature of ice
- Synonym: xeado
- glacial, pertaining to glaciers
- (figuratively) frigid, chilly, not cordial
- Synonym: xélido
Related terms
- glaciación
Norman
Etymology
From Latin glaciālis, from glaciēs (“ice”).
Adjective
glacial m
- (Jersey) icy
Portuguese
Adjective
glacial m or f (plural glaciais)
- glacial (cold and icy)
- Synonym: gélido
- glacial (relating to glaciers)
- (relational) ice age
- (figurative) glacial; cold (emotionally distant)
- Synonyms: frio, gélido
Romanian
Etymology
From French glacial, from Latin glacialis.
Adjective
glacial m or n (feminine singular glacială, masculine plural glaciali, feminine and neuter plural glaciale)
- glacial
Declension
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 | |||
Spanish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): (Spain) /ɡlaˈθjal/ [ɡlaˈθjal]
- IPA(key): (Latin America) /ɡlaˈsjal/ [ɡlaˈsjal]
- Rhymes: -al
- Syllabification: gla‧cial
Adjective
glacial (plural glaciales)
- glacial
- (figuratively) frigid, chilly, not cordial
Related terms
- glaciación
- glacialmente
Further reading
- “glacial”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014