icicle
noun
ici·cle
ˈī-ˌsi-kəl 
1
: a pendent mass of ice formed by the freezing of dripping water
2
: an emotionally cold person
3
: a long narrow strip (as of foil) used to decorate a Christmas tree
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Old English gicel, meaning icicle, became Middle English ikyl or ikel and later modern English ickle, which survives as a dialect word in Yorkshire, England. The word for ice in Old English is is, and in a manuscript of about the year 1000 we find Latin stiria, “icicle,” glossed, somewhat redundantly, as ises gicel, that is, “an icicle of ice.” Some 300 years later, in Middle English, this became the compound known today as icicle, which means precisely what it did 1000 years ago.
Examples of icicle in a Sentence
his wife is such an icicle you're lucky to get so much as a greeting from her
Recent Examples on the Web
The castles, which were hand-built from thousands of icicles to create slides, thrones and tunnels for visitors to walk through, had been a winter event in Lake Geneva since 2019 (their first Wisconsin appearance was in the Dells in 2018).
—
Amy Schwabe, Journal Sentinel, 17 Oct. 2024
Main-level highlights include a soaring great room showcased by a striking floating staircase that’s topped by a custom icicle chandelier and flanked by a living moss wall that descends to a succulent garden on the lower level.
—Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 25 Sep. 2024
The conditions on some patrols were so extreme that eyelashes turned to icicles and neck buffs froze solid.
—Ben Taub, The New Yorker, 9 Sep. 2024
True to its name, the Temperature area featured a mountain of pillows and throws on an oversized bed, as well as comforters that were hung to look like icebergs and a lighting fixture made of blue cone-like forms that resembled icicles.
—Rosemary Feitelberg, WWD, 8 Aug. 2024
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Amy Schwabe, Journal Sentinel, 17 Oct. 2024
Main-level highlights include a soaring great room showcased by a striking floating staircase that’s topped by a custom icicle chandelier and flanked by a living moss wall that descends to a succulent garden on the lower level.
—Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 25 Sep. 2024
The conditions on some patrols were so extreme that eyelashes turned to icicles and neck buffs froze solid.
—Ben Taub, The New Yorker, 9 Sep. 2024
True to its name, the Temperature area featured a mountain of pillows and throws on an oversized bed, as well as comforters that were hung to look like icebergs and a lighting fixture made of blue cone-like forms that resembled icicles.
—Rosemary Feitelberg, WWD, 8 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for icicle
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Cite this Entry
“Icicle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/icicle. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
icicle
noun
ici·cle
ˈī-ˌsik-əl
: a hanging mass of ice formed by the freezing of dripping water
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