English Explanatory Dictionary

glacial

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Of, or relating to glaciers.
  2. Very slow.
  3. Cold and icy.
  4. Having the appearance of ice.
  5. Cool and unfriendly.
noun
  1. A glacial period (colloquially known as an ice age).
name
  1. Of the Pleistocene period dominated by the presence of glaciers.

Pronunciation

/ˈɡleɪ.sɪəl/ /ˈɡleɪ.ʃ(ɪ)əl/ en-us-glacial.ogg

Word forms

glacial more glacial most glacial glacials

Etymology

Borrowed 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.

Synonyms

ice age

Derived words

deglacial equiglacial fluvioglacial glacial acetic acid glacial acid glacial buzz saw glacial drift glacial erratic glacial flour glacial humour glacialism glacialist glaciality glacialize glacial lake glacial lake outburst flood glacially glacial maximum glacial milk glacial period glacial polish glacial till glacial trough intraglacial mediglacial neoglacial nonglacial paraglacial pleniglacial polyglacial superglacial
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