Icicle

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈʌɪsəkəl/

Definitions

1. A thin, elongated piece of ice that develops when dripping water freezes as it descends from a surface during cold weather conditions
2. A tapering formation of ice that occurs when liquid water droplets freeze upon contact with a cooler surface, usually seen in winter
3. A slender, pointed mass of ice that forms when water drips and freezes on a surface during low temperatures

Etymology: Icicle looks like it was built with the Latin suffix found in words like "particle" or "article", but that is an accident of spelling. The word's core is simply "ice," joined to an old Germanic element, "-ickle," which appears in words like "tickle" and has to do with a small or pointed thing. The Old English form was "īsġicel," and the English spelling later drifted toward "-icle" because so many nouns ending that way came from Latin. The expected spelling would have been "-ickle," so the familiar shape is a case of a native word being reshaped to look Latinate. The same compound turns up across the Germanic languages, which points to a very old shared formation. Saterland Frisian has "Iesjuukel," German Low German has "Iesjökel," and Norwegian has "isjukel," all meaning icicle, and the Danish dialect form "jisegel" shows the same pattern. Each one is essentially "ice" plus a diminutive-style ending, so English is keeping an old Germanic picture of ice hanging in thin, pointed spikes.

Synonyms: frost, ice