glacial

From French glacial, from Latin glaciālis, from glaciēs (“ice”). The sense "slow" refers to the speed of actual glaciers, typically around 1 meter per day.[1]

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈɡleɪ.sɪəl/, /ˈɡleɪ.ʃ(ɪ)əl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪʃəl

glacial (comparative more glacial, superlative most glacial)

1. Of, or relating to glaciers.

   We examined the glacial deposits.

   Wang Shijin is a glacier expert and director of the Yulong Snow Mountain Glacial and Environmental Observation Research Station.

2. (figuratively) Very slow.
   • 1917, Everybody's Magazine - Volume 37, Issue 2, Ridgeway Company, page 56:

     He could remember a day that he had spent the whole of (he couldn't have been more than ten) running one of the great, creaking freight elevators at a glacial speed, answering the calls of the bell—one ring, five rings, three rings—with an almost unbearable sense of responsiblity.

   • 1953, United States. Congress. House. Committee on Armed Services, Defense Department Authorization and Oversight, U.S. Government Printing Office, page 1251:

     I understand that you commented that the Japanese are moving at glacial speed. This is not the only area where they are moving at glacial speed. They are moving at glacial speed in terms of trade barriers, and it is one thing that the American people recognize.

   • 1999, Michael Goodchild, Max J. Egenhofer, Robin Fegeas, Cliff Kottman, Interoperating Geographic Information Systems, Springer Science & Business Media, →ISBN, page 133:

     Paradoxically, then, the electronic speed offered by computer-based decision-making is often overwhelmed by the glacial speed of data reformatting and checking.

   • 2010, "Under the volcano", The Economist, 16 Oct 2010:

     Progress on judicial reform has been glacial, meeting enormous resistance.

   • 2014, John P. Kotter, Accelerate: Building Strategic Agility for a Faster-Moving World, Harvard Business Review Press, →ISBN, page 96:

     Lower-level people added front-line information that ordinarily wouldn't have made it up the hierarchy to the executive committee (or would have made it at glacial speed).

   • 2014, Stuart E. Eizenstat, The Future of the Jews: How Global Forces are Impacting the Jewish People, Israel, and Its Relationship with the United States, Rowman & Littlefield, →ISBN, page 105:

     The Gulf States and Saudi Arabia are modernizing but at a glacial speed in a world moving at digital speed.

3. Cold and icy.

   After the rain and frost, the pavements were glacial.

4. Having the appearance of ice.

   On cold days, glacial acetic acid will freeze in the bottle.

5. (figuratively) Cool and unfriendly.

   He gave me a glacial stare.

glacial (plural glacials)

1. A glacial period (colloquially known as an ice age).

   Synonym: ice age

   Coordinate term: interglacial

• glacial acetic acid
• glacial acid
• glacial buzz saw
• glacial drift
• glacial erratic
• glacial flour
• glacial humour
• glacial lake outburst flood
• glacially
• glacial milk
• glacial polish
• glacial till
• glacial trough

• gallica

• (Balearic, Central) IPA^(key): /ɡlə.siˈal/
• (Valencian) IPA^(key): /ɡla.siˈal/

glacial (masculine and feminine plural glacials)

1. glacial

Learned borrowing from Latin glaciālis. Morphologically, from glace +‎ -ial.

• IPA^(key): /ɡla.sjal/
• Homophones: glaciale, glaciales

glacial (feminine glaciale, masculine plural glaciaux, feminine plural glaciales)

1. freezing, ice-cold, very cold
2. (figuratively) icy, very cold

• glaçant
• glaciaire

• “glacial”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

glacial m or f (plural glaciais)

1. frozen, at the temperature of ice

   Synonym: xeado

2. glacial, pertaining to glaciers
3. (figuratively) frigid, chilly, not cordial

   Synonym: xélido

• glaciación

From Latin glaciālis, from glaciēs (“ice”).

glacial m

1. (Jersey) icy

glacial m or f (plural glaciais)

1. glacial (cold and icy)

   Synonym: gélido

2. glacial (relating to glaciers)
3. (relational) ice age
4. (figurative) glacial; cold (emotionally distant)

   Synonyms: frio, gélido

From French glacial, from Latin glacialis.

glacial m or n (feminine singular glacială, masculine plural glaciali, feminine and neuter plural glaciale)

1. glacial

• IPA^(key): (Spain) /ɡlaˈθjal/ [ɡlaˈθjal]
• IPA^(key): (Latin America) /ɡlaˈsjal/ [ɡlaˈsjal]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: gla‧cial

glacial (plural glaciales)

1. glacial
2. (figuratively) frigid, chilly, not cordial

• “glacial”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014