Ices

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈaɪsɪz/

Definitions

1. A frozen form of water that is solid and typically used in beverages or for cooling purposes
2. A layer of frozen precipitation that can coat surfaces and create slippery conditions
3. To put a glossy coating on a cake or pastry, often made from sugar and water or cream

Etymology: "Ices" is simply the plural of "ice," so the interesting history belongs to the root word. Old English had "īs," which meant frozen water, and the word has close relatives across the Germanic languages: Dutch "ijs," German "Eis," Swedish "is," and Icelandic "ís" all mean the same thing. The Frisian forms are particularly close to the English one, pointing to a shared ancestor spoken by the early Germanic peoples. English had a rival for the word in the Middle Ages. The French "glace" arrived and was used for ice for a time, and English speakers borrowed it as "glace," but the native word won out and survived as the everyday term. The plural "ices" is the form used when speaking of separate pieces or kinds of frozen water, or of the frozen treats that were later named after the same substance.

Synonyms: frozen desserts, sorbets, gelatos, icings, frostings