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glacial - 5 dictionary results

gla⋅cial

  [gley-shuhl]
Use glacial in a Sentence
–adjective
1. of or pertaining to glaciers or ice sheets.
2. resulting from or associated with the action of ice or glaciers: glacial terrain.
3. characterized by the presence of ice in extensive masses or glaciers.
4. bitterly cold; icy: a glacial winter wind.
5. happening or moving extremely slowly: The work proceeded at a glacial pace.
6. icily unsympathetic or immovable: a glacial stare; glacial indifference.
7. Chemistry. of, pertaining to, or tending to develop into icelike crystals: glacial phosphoric acid.
Origin:
1650–60; < L glaciālis icy, equiv. to glaci(ēs) ice + -ālis -al 1

Related forms:
gla⋅cial⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
4. chill, freezing, frigid, wintry. 6. forbidding, unfriendly, hostile.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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gla·cial   (glā'shəl)   
adj.  
    1. Of, relating to, or derived from a glacier.
    2. Suggesting the extreme slowness of a glacier: Work proceeded at a glacial pace.
    3. often Glacial Characterized or dominated by the existence of glaciers. Used of a geologic epoch.
    4. Pleistocene. See Table at geologic time.
    5. Lacking warmth and friendliness: a glacial stare.
    6. Coldly detached: a glacial composure.
    1. often Glacial Characterized or dominated by the existence of glaciers. Used of a geologic epoch.
    2. Pleistocene. See Table at geologic time.
    3. Lacking warmth and friendliness: a glacial stare.
    4. Coldly detached: a glacial composure.
  3. Extremely cold; icy: glacial waters. See Synonyms at cold.
  4. Having the appearance of ice.
    1. Lacking warmth and friendliness: a glacial stare.
    2. Coldly detached: a glacial composure.

[French from Old French, icy, from Latin glaciālis, from glaciēs, ice; see gel- in Indo-European roots.]
gla'cial·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Glacial

Gla"cial\, a. [L. glacialis, from glacies ice: cf. F. glacial.]

1. Pertaining to ice or to its action; consisting of ice; frozen; icy; esp., pertaining to glaciers; as, glacial phenomena. --Lyell.

2. (Chem.) Resembling ice; having the appearance and consistency of ice; -- said of certain solid compounds; as, glacial phosphoric or acetic acids.

Glacial acid (Chem.), an acid of such strength or purity as to crystallize at an ordinary temperature, in an icelike form; as acetic or carbolic acid.

Glacial drift (Geol.), earth and rocks which have been transported by moving ice, land ice, or icebergs; bowlder drift.

Glacial epoch or period (Geol.), a period during which the climate of the modern temperate regions was polar, and ice covered large portions of the northern hemisphere to the mountain tops.

Glacial theory or hypothesis. (Geol.) See Glacier theory, under Glacier.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : glacial
Spanish: glacial,
German: glasierte,
Japanese: 氷河の
More Translations »

glacial 
1656, from Fr. glacial, from L. glacialis "icy, frozen, full of ice," from glacies "ice," from PIE base *gel- "cold" (cf. L. gelu "frost"). Geological sense apparently coined by Professor E. Forbes, 1846.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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glacial   (glā'shəl)  Pronunciation Key 
  1. Relating to or derived from a glacier.
  2. Characterized or dominated by the existence of glaciers, as the Pleistocene Epoch.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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