Iceberg

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈaɪsbɜːɡ/

Definitions

1. A significant formation of freshwater ice that drifts in the ocean is primarily characterized by its submerged mass
2. This enormous ice structure floating in maritime environments is mostly concealed underwater while its tip remains visible
3. A large mass of freshwater ice that floats in ocean waters is notable for its extensive underwater portion compared to the visible part above the surface

Etymology: The most striking thing about "iceberg" is that English borrowed it from Dutch only in the 1770s, and it replaced an older native phrase. Before it appeared, English speakers called these floating masses "island of ice" or "sea-hill." The Dutch "ijsberg" was the model, and English took it as a partial calque: the parts were translated from Dutch, but the arrangement was not copied exactly. A full copy would have produced something like "icebarrow." The word first described a glacier seen from a ship at a distance, a huge mass rising from the water. Only afterward did it come to name the floating chunks broken off such glaciers. The figurative sense, as in "the tip of the iceberg," draws on the same image: most of the mass sits hidden below the surface.

Synonyms: glacier, floater