gel (n.)

"semi-solid substance," 1899, as a chemical term, short for gelatin and perhaps influenced by jell. The invention of this word is credited to Scottish chemist Thomas Graham. Hair-styling sense is from 1958.

also from 1899

gel (v.)

1902, "to become a gel," from gel (n.). Figurative sense "come together and agree well" is from 1958. Related: Gelled; gelling.

also from 1902

Entries linking to gel

gelatin (n.)

see gelatine.

jell (v.)

"assume the consistence of jelly," 1869, American English, probably a back-formation of jelly (n.). Related: Jelled; jelling. Figurative sense is first attested 1908. Middle English had gelen "congeal," but it disappeared after 15c.

*gel-

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.

Trends of gel

adapted from books.google.com/ngrams/. Ngrams are probably unreliable.

More to Explore

mousse

1892, in cookery sense in reference to a frothy dish stiffened with egg whites, etc., from French mousse, from Old French mousse "froth, scum," from Late Latin mulsa "mead," from Latin mulsum "honey wine, mead," from neuter of mulsus "mixed with honey," related to mel "honey" (fr

clean

kleini "delicate, fine, small," German klein "small;" English preserves the original Germanic sense), perhaps from PIE root *gel...- "bright, gleaming" (source also of Greek glene "eyeball," Old Irish gel "bright")....

yell

Mercian) "to yell, sound, shout," class III strong verb (past tense geal, past participle gollen), from Proto-Germanic *gel...

film

Sense of "a thin coat of something" is 1570s, extended by 1845 to the coating of chemical gel on photographic plates....

yellow

Proto-Germanic *gelwaz (source also of Old Saxon, Old High German gelo, Middle Dutch ghele, Dutch geel, Middle High German gel...

calf

(source also of Middle Dutch calf, Old Norse kalfr, German Kalb, Gothic kalbo), perhaps from PIE *gelb(h)-, from root *gel...

yellow

Proto-Germanic *gelwaz (source also of Old Saxon, Old High German gelo, Middle Dutch ghele, Dutch geel, Middle High German gel...

change

c. 1200, "to alter, make different, change" (transitive); early 13c. as "to substitute one for another;" mid-13c. as "to make (something) other than what it was, cause to turn or pass from one state to another;" from late 13c. as "to become different, be altered" (intransitive),

groom

c. 1200 (late 12c. in surnames), grome "male child, boy;" c. 1300, "a youth, young man," also "male servant, attendant, minor officer in a royal or noble household ranking higher than a page; a knight's squire." A word of unknown origin with no certain cognates in other Germanic

hair

Old English hær "hair, a hair," from Proto-Germanic *hēran (source also of Old Saxon, Old Norse, Old High German har, Old Frisian her, Dutch and German haar "hair"), perhaps from PIE *ghers- "to stand out, to bristle, rise to a point" (source also of Lithuanian šerys "bristle;" s

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updated on November 30, 2017

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Dictionary entries near gel

gefilte fish

gehenna

Geiger counter

geisha

geist

gel

*gel-

gelatin

gelatine

gelatinous

gelato