Chillier

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. A condition where the temperature is lower than usual creates an uncomfortable sensation of coolness in the surrounding environment
2. Having a lower temperature than another thing, causing a feeling of increased coldness
3. Describing something as being colder in degree compared to something else

Etymology: "Chillier" is the comparative of "chilly," so it is the form used to say something is colder than something else. The base word "chilly" is "chill" with the suffix "-y," which turns a noun into an adjective meaning having a certain quality, here the quality of chill. The root "chill" is the older and more basic word, and "chilly" is built on it in the same way that "cloudy" is built on "cloud" or "bloody" on "blood." The "chill" in question is linked to a cluster of Germanic cognates. The adjective "chilly" has close relatives in Swedish "kylig" and Norwegian "kjølig," both meaning cool or chilly, which points to a shared Germanic ancestry for the idea of cold air biting at the skin. Those cognates show that the sense of coolness is old and widespread among the northern European languages, even though English built its own version of the word from the noun.

Synonyms: colder, fresher, cooler, brisker, nippier

Antonyms: warmer, hotter, milder, sunnier, tropical