English Explanatory Dictionary

iceberg

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. The seaward end of a glacier.
  2. A huge mass of ocean-floating ice which has broken off a glacier or ice shelf
  3. An aloof person.
  4. An impending disastrous event whose adverse effects are only beginning to show.
  5. A topic that is more convoluted and fractal than it may seem.
  6. A list, infographic, or other enumeration of such a topic and its subcomponents, often ordered into groups sorted by obscurity and bizarreness.

Pronunciation

/ˈaɪsbɜːɡ/ /ˈaɪsbɝɡ/ En-au-iceberg.ogg

Word forms

iceberg icebergs

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁eyH- Proto-Indo-European *h₁eyH-so-der. Proto-Germanic *īsą Proto-West Germanic *īs Old English īs Middle English is English ice ▲ Dutch ijsbergpcalq. English iceberg Partial calque of Dutch ijsberg (compound of ijs (“ice”) + berg (“mountain”)), from Middle Dutch ijsberch. First used to describe a glacier as seen at a distance from a ship then used as a term to describe the floating chunks of ice broken off from such glaciers. Cognate to German Eisberg, Danish isbjerg, Norwegian isberg and Swedish isberg. Figurative senses in reference to the fact that only one-tenth of an iceberg is usually visible above water.

Synonyms

rabbit hole

Related words

berg fatberg ice ice floe freeboard growler melt pond

Derived words

bergy bit blue iceberg earthberg iceberg basement iceberg chart iceberg droppings iceberger iceberg green iceberg lettuce iceberglike iceberg theory iceberg video icebergy oilberg tip of the iceberg
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