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icicle

 - 3 dictionary results

i⋅ci⋅cle

[ahy-si-kuhl]
–noun
1. a pendent, tapering mass of ice formed by the freezing of dripping water.
2. a thin strip of paper, plastic, or foil, usually silvery, for hanging on a Christmas tree as decoration.
3. a cold, unemotional person.

Origin:
bef. 1000; ME isikel, OE īsgicel, equiv. to īs ice + gicel icicle; akin to ON jǫkul mass of ice, glacier


i⋅ci⋅cled, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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i·ci·cle   (ī'sĭ-kəl)   
n.  
  1. A tapering spike of ice formed by the freezing of dripping or falling water.

  2. Informal An aloof or emotionally unresponsive person.


[Middle English isikel : is, ice; see ice + ikel, icicle (from Old English gicel; see yeg- in Indo-European roots).]
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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Word Origin & History

icicle 
M.E. isykle, from is "ice" + ikel "icicle," from O.E. gicel (rel. to cylegicel "cold ice"), from P.Gmc. *jekilaz (cf. O.N. jaki "piece of ice," dim. jökull "icicle, ice, glacier"). Dialectical ickle "icicle" survived into 20c.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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