Algid

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈæl.d͡ʒɪd/

Definitions

1. Displaying a lack of warmth or emotion, appearing cold and detached
2. Characterized by a chillingly indifferent or unemotional demeanor
3. Conveying a sense of coldness or aloofness, showing little emotional warmth

Etymology: Latin "algidus" meant simply "cold," and it came from "algere," "to be cold," which is the source of the English word "algid." The Latin verb itself is a sound-shifted relative of ideas about frost and chill. English borrowed the adjective directly from Latin, so its path into the language was a straight scholarly loan rather than a folk-speech development. What makes the word unusual is how far its sense has travelled from physical chill. In medicine it still names a state of collapse with a cold skin and low body temperature, a sense that carried into English usage before the figurative one took hold. The figurative sense, appearing cold and detached in manner or emotion, grew from that same image of a body without warmth, so a person described as algid seems to be lacking the heat of feeling rather than merely unfriendly.

Synonyms: cold, chilly, icy

Antonyms: warm, hot, heated