Proto-Indo-European root meaning "cold; to freeze."
It forms all or part of: chill; cold; congeal; cool; gel; gelatine; gelatinous; gelato; gelid; glace; glacial; glaciate; glaciation; glacier; glaciology; glacis; jell; jelly.
It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Latin gelare "to freeze," gelu "frost," glacies "ice;" Old English cald "cold, cool," German kalt.
"very cold," c. 1600, from Latin gelidus "icy, cold, frosty," from gelum "frost, ice, intense cold" (from PIE root *gel- "cold; to freeze"). Related: Gelidity.
by 1970, from Italian gelato, literally "frozen," past participle of gelare "to freeze, congeal," from Latin gelare "to freeze, congeal" (from PIE root *gel- "cold; to freeze")
1620s, "to freeze;" 1861 in reference to glaciers, from Latin glaciatus, past participle of glaciare "to turn to ice," from glacies "ice" (probably from a suffixed form of PIE root *gel- "cold; to freeze"). Related: Glaciated; glaciating.
1640s, "act of freezing," noun of action from past participle stem of Latin glaciare "to freeze," from glacies "ice" (probably from a suffixed form of PIE root *gel- "cold; to freeze"). Geological sense of "presence of a mass of ice covering a region" is from 1863.
"having a smooth, polished surface," as ice does, 1847, from French glacé "iced, glazed," past participle of glacer "to ice, give a gloss to," from glace "ice," from Latin glacies "ice" (probably from a suffixed form of PIE root *gel- "cold; to freeze").
"sloping bank" (especially leading up to a fortification), 1670s, from French glacir "to freeze, make slippery," from Old French glacier "to slip, glide," from Vulgar Latin *glaciare "to make or turn into ice," from Latin glacies "ice" (probably from a suffixed form of PIE root *gel- "cold; to freeze").
