glaciern.
/ˈɡlasɪə/, /ˈɡleɪsɪə/, /ˈɡleɪʃ(ɪ)ə/, U.S. /ˈɡleɪʃər/ A large accumulation or river of ice in a high mountain valley, formed by the gradual descent and consolidation of the snow that falls on the higher ground. The resulting mass is often many miles in length, and continues to move slowly downward until it reaches a point where the temperature is high enough to melt the ice as fast as it descends.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > ice > body of ice > glacier > [noun]
glacier1744
gletscher1762
glacery1782
mer de glace1818
1744 (title) An account of the glacieres or ice alps in Savoy, in two letters.
1774 T. Pennant Tour Scotl. 1772 327 With snowy glacieres lodged in the deep shaded apertures.
1775 C. Davy & F. Davy tr. M.-T. Bourrit Relation of Journey to Glaciers Savoy 88 The Glaciers..are beds of ice, more or less thick, which are lodged upon declivities between the mountains.
1789 H. L. Piozzi Observ. Journey France II. 229 We have the pleasure of seeing Switzerland, without..climbing its glacieres.
1817 Ld. Byron Manfred i. i. 68 The Glacier's cold and restless mass Moves onward day by day.
1823 W. Scoresby Jrnl. Voy. Northern Whale-fishery 229 There are two glaciers, or land icebergs.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps ii. 422 Glaciers are derived from mountain snow, which has been consolidated to ice by pressure.
1883 ‘Ouida’ Wanda I. 30 The ice bastions of a thousand glaciers glow in the sunrise.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
glacier-drift n.
ΚΠ
1876 L. J. R. Agassiz Geol. Sketches 2nd Ser. 89 Upon these surfaces..rests the drift, having everywhere the characteristic composition of glacier-drift.
glacier-flea n.
ΚΠ
1884 Macmillan in Sunday Mag. Aug. 526/1 Under the stones..may be found lively colonies of the small black glacier flea.
glacier-foot n.
ΚΠ
1856 E. K. Kane Arctic Explor. II. xxi. 208 The stream..tunnels its way out near the glacier-foot.
glacier-ice n.
ΚΠ
1882 A. Geikie Text-bk. Geol. ii. ii. §6. 110 When the granular névé slowly slides down into the valleys, it acquires a more compact crystalline structure and becomes glacier-ice.
glacier-lake n.
ΚΠ
1876 L. J. R. Agassiz Geol. Sketches 2nd Ser. 31 The ‘parallel roads’ of Glen Roy mark the ancient levels of the glacier-lakes in that glen.
glacier-mass n.
ΚΠ
1874 J. Geikie Great Ice Age 524 The lower strata of the glacier-mass would sweep south-west by south.
glacier moraine n.
ΚΠ
1853 J. F. W. Herschel Pop. Lect. Sci. (1873) vi. §34. 250 A glacier moraine might be redistributed by tidal action over the floor of the Ocean.
glacier-motion n.
ΚΠ
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps ii. ix. 270 The fact of glacier-motion has been known for an indefinite time to the inhabitants of the mountains.
glacier-phenomenon n.
ΚΠ
1863 A. C. Ramsay Physical Geol. & Geogr. Great Brit. 73 I will describe to you..various other glacier-phenomena affecting the scenery of the Alps.
glacier-pool n.
ΚΠ
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps ii. xxiv. 357 Figures..formed in the ice on the surface of glacier-pools.
glacier-river n.
ΚΠ
1914 D. H. Lawrence Prussian Officer & Other Stories 16 The whity-green glacier-river twisted through its pale shoals.
1936 Discovery May 139/2 Another excellent river..[for fishing] is the glacier river Blandá.
glacier-sea n.
ΚΠ
a1835 F. D. Hemans tr. J. L. Tieck Alp-horn Song in Wks. (1839) III. 109 The sparkling blue of the glacier-sea.
glacier-slope n.
ΚΠ
1856 E. K. Kane Arctic Explor. I. xxv. 332 Some of its glacier-slopes were margined with verdure.
glacier-track n.
ΚΠ
1876 L. J. R. Agassiz Geol. Sketches 2nd Ser. 66 This western track of the glacier is crossed transversely..by two other glacier-tracks.
glacier-valley n.
ΚΠ
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps ii. viii. 264 A succession of old lateral moraines, such as many glacier-valleys exhibit.
glacier-water n.
ΚΠ
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. xii. 86 Beer, cold as the glacier water.
C2. Instrumental.
glacier-choked adj.
ΚΠ
1897 Pembrokeshire Antiq. 25 Those days of ice-capped hills, glacier-choked valleys, mammoths and cave men.
glacier-clad adj.
ΚΠ
1889 G. F. Wright Ice Age N. Amer. 76 The vast glacier-clad interior of the country.
glacier-ploughed adj.
ΚΠ
1888 Cent. Mag. 36 791/1 New England. Its stony hills and rocky coast, its glacier-plowed and niggardly soil.
glacier-worn adj.
ΚΠ
1876 L. J. R. Agassiz Geol. Sketches 2nd Ser. 41 The inequalities of the glacier-worn surfaces.
C3. Special combinations.
glacier breeze n. (see quot.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > wind > [noun] > cold or cool wind
barber1830
sniveller1834
glacier breeze1930
1930 Meteorol. Gloss. (Meteorol. Office) (ed. 2) 86 Glacier breeze, a cold breeze, blowing down the course of a glacier, which owes its origin to the cooling of the air in contact with the ice.
glacier burst n. the sudden release of water impounded by a glacier.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > sudden rush of water > [noun] > impounded by glacier
glacier burst1904
1904 Nature 29 Sept. 541/1 The importance of glacier-bursts in shaping the topography of glaciated areas.
1950 T. Longstaff This my Voy. ix. 178 We saw a ‘glacier-burst’ from a small hanging glacier..a crashing roar of falling stones followed by a great rush of black, muddy water down the hillside.
glacier-mill n. = moulin n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > ice > body of ice > glacier > [noun] > circular well or shaft
moulin1843
giant's kettle1882
glacier-mill1894
1894 J. Geikie Great Ice Age (ed. 3) xxix. 435 Glacier-mills that gave rise to ‘giants' kettles’.
glacier-mud n. (see quot.).
ΚΠ
1865 Q. Jrnl. Geol. Soc. 21 166 The Boulder-earth or Glacier-mud. Resting on the surface of the ice-worn rocks we find a widespread accumulation of boulder-earth, an unstratified mass of coarse gritty mud, in which are imbedded pebbles, boulders, and stony particles.
glacier-rope n. a rope used in traversing glaciers, to attach the members of a party together, as a precaution against accidents.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > mountaineering or climbing > [noun] > artificial aid > types of
runner1688
runner ring1791
ice axec1800
alpenstock1829
rope1838
climbing-iron1857
piolet1868
snap-link1875
prickera1890
middleman('s) knot (also loop, noose, etc.)1892
chock1894
glacier-rope1897
piton1898
run-out1901
belaying-pin1903
snap-ring1903
ironmongery1904
line1907
Tricouni1914
ice claw1920
peg1920
sling1920
ice piton1926
ice hammer1932
karabiner1932
rock piton1934
thread belay1935
mugger1941
running belay1941
piton hammer1943
sky-hook1951
etrier1955
pied d'éléphant1956
rope sling1957
piton runner1959
bong1960
krab1963
rurp1963
ice screw1965
nut1965
traverse line1965
jumar1966
knife-blade1968
tie-off1968
rock peg1971
whammer1971
Whillans whammer1971
Whillans harness1974
1897 Westm. Gaz. 16 Aug. 4/2 He was tied to a rope and lowered. Three glacier-rope lengths were necessary before he reached Sachs.
glacier-silt n. = glacier-mud n.
ΚΠ
1893 I. K. Funk et al. Standard Dict. Eng. Lang. I Glacier-silt.
glacier-slow adj. slow as (the movement of) a glacier.
ΚΠ
1861 J. R. Lowell Lett. (1894) I. 318 So I submitted, took to pentameters, and only hope the thoughts are good enough to be preserved in the ice of the colder and almost glacier-slow measure.
glacier snout n. = snout n.1 4c.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > ice > body of ice > glacier > [noun] > front part
ice blink1792
snout1841
glacier snout1933
1933 Discovery Jan. 28/1 Nor is the correlation of glacier-snout movement with Brückner cycles by any means a fact.
glacier-snow n. the snow at the upper end of a glacier, not yet hardened into ice by pressure.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > ice > body of ice > glacier > [noun] > snow not yet packed into ice
névé1842
firn1853
glacier-snow1883
1883 Ogilvie's Imperial Dict. Suppl. Glacier-snow, same as Névé.
glacier-table n. (see quot.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > ice > body of ice > glacier > [noun] > flat mass of rock on surface ice
glacier-table1860
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. vi. 44 Glacier tables; flat masses of rock, raised high upon columns of ice.
glacier tongue n. (see quot. 1956).
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > ice > body of ice > glacier > [noun] > extension projecting seaward
glacier tongue1930
1930 Discovery Mar. 91/2 Glacier-tongues provided the starting point.
1956 T. Armstrong & B. Roberts Illustr. Ice Gloss. 6 Glacier tongue, an extension of a glacier, projecting seaward, and usually afloat.
Derivatives
ˈglaciered adj. covered with glaciers; also (of water) proceeding from a glacier.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > ice > body of ice > glacier > [adjective] > having or covered with
glaciered1824
glaciated1861
1824 New Monthly Mag. 10 16 Those sublime and glacier'd peaks.
1834 T. Medwin Angler in Wales I. 234 The glaciered water is too cold for them [fish].
1847 B. Disraeli Tancred II. iii. iv. 35 What need of..mountains of glaciered crest.
1853 E. K. Kane U.S. Grinnell Exped. (1856) xvii. 130 A barrier apparently as permanent as the glaciered hills with which it is united.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1899; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
<
n.1744