"cold as ice, extremely cold," Old English isceald; see ice (n.) + cold (adj.).

"ice cut in small blocks for cooling drinks, etc.," 1902, from ice (n.) + cube (n.).

One of the newest plans for the economical use of artificial ice has recently been patented by Van der Weyde, of Holland. The invention is based on the fact that two smooth surfaces of freshly cut ice when brought into contact at a temperature below thirty-two degrees will unite firmly. At a higher temperature the junction yields to a blow, and the ice breaks into the original parts. Van der Weyde casts blocks of ice into small cubes, which are stamped with a trade mark. These cubes are joined into a larger cube of any desired weight and sent out for use. The mark is a guarantee that the ice is pure, and the small cubes, weighing an ounce each, are easily separated into a shape convenient for use. ["Artificial Ice in Cubes," Lawrence Chieftain (Mount Vernon, Missouri), June 21, 1894]

1744, earlier iced cream (1680s), "a confection made by congealing variously flavored cream or custard in a vessel surrounded with a freezing-mixture," from ice (n.) + cream (n.). For ice-cream cone (1909), see cone.

"to glide across a frozen surface on ice-skates," 1690s, from ice (n.) + skate (n.2). The verb usually was skate until the advent of roller-skating mid-18c. made distinction necessary. A run of severe winters that froze over the Thames in the late 17c. made ice-skating popular in England. Related: Ice-skates (1862).

"sugared water, flavored and frozen," 1818, from water (n.1) + ice (n.).

"a general or continuous permanent covering of a certain area of land, whether large or small, with snow or ice, especially in the arctic regions," 1859 in geology, from ice (n.) + an extended sense of cap (n.).

1855, from ice (n.) + age (n.). Perhaps translating German Eiszeit (1837). An earlier term in the same sense was glacial epoch (1841). Local scientific men had noticed from the late 18c. evidence that the Alpine glaciers once had been much larger; in the 1830s stray boulders, moraines, and polished bedrock in northern Europe (formerly interpreted as relics of catastrophic floods) began to be understood as revealing the former presence of a large ice cap there. When Agassiz, a convert to the theory, came to America in 1846 he found similar evidence in New England. The glacial theory and the notion that there had been several worldwide ice ages seems to have been generally accepted by the 1870s.

"remove the ice from," 1935, from de- + ice. Related: De-iced; de-icing. Agent noun de-icer is from 1932, originally of airplanes.

1690s, "to ice-skate, glide over the ice on skates," from skate (n.2). U.S. slang sense of "to get away with something" is attested from 1945. Related: Skated; skating.

proprietary name of a machine used to resurface ice skating rinks, 1957, trademark of Frank J. Zamboni & Co., Paramount, Calif.