Etymology From Middle English chele, chile, from Old English ċiele, ċele (“cold; coldness”), from Proto-West Germanic *kali, from Proto-Germanic *kaliz, from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“to be cold”). Closely related with Dutch kil. Also akin to cool, cold, gel, and congeal, which see.
A moderate, but uncomfortable and penetrating coldness.
There was a chill in the air.
Energy has seldom been found where we need it when we want it. Ancient nomads, wishing to ward off the evening chill and enjoy a meal around a campfire, had to collect wood and then spend time and effort coaxing the heat of friction out from between sticks to kindle a flame. With more settled people, animals were harnessed to capstans or caged in treadmills to turn grist into meal.2013 July-August, Henry Petroski, “Geothermal Energy”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 4:
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A breezy winter chill is likely for MLK Weekend across the Southeast. […] A steady northwest breeze will keep wind chills in the teens and single digits for the remainder of your weekend.2021 January 16, Derek Van Dam, “Northeast will be wet and chilly while Southern California should sizzle during holiday weekend”, in CNN:
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A sudden penetrating sense of cold, especially one that causes a brief trembling nerve response through the body; the trembling response itself; often associated with illness: fevers and chills, or susceptibility to illness.
Close the window or you'll catch a chill.
I felt a chill when the wind picked up.
3
An uncomfortable and numbing sense of fear, dread, anxiety, or alarm, often one that is sudden and usually accompanied by a trembling nerve response resembling the body's response to biting cold.
Despite the heat, he felt a chill as he entered the crime scene.
The actor's eerie portrayal sent chills through the audience.
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His menacing presence cast a chill over everyone.
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An iron mould or portion of a mould, serving to cool rapidly, and so to harden, the surface of molten iron brought in contact with it.
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The hardened part of a casting, such as the tread of a carriage wheel.
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A lack of warmth and cordiality; unfriendliness.
However, the chill between the two giants did not last long; every constituency except the Westernizers found virtue in warming up to China.1998, Ilya Prizel, National Identity and Foreign Policy, →ISBN:
His eyes are cold, and the chill between us twists in the pit of my stomach.2014, Tammara Webber, Between the Lines, →ISBN:
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Calmness; equanimity.
For those of us who relate to that furious paddling in some form (whether we choose to conceal it below the surface or not), we are probably also aware of what, besides the water, we are really clashing against: a culture of chill.2017 October 12, Rebecca Okin, “Okin ’19: Chill culture isn’t cool”, in The Brown Daily Herald:
A heated, in-door pool flanked by sumptuous daybeds where dark-slated walls, fiber-optic mood lighting, underwater sound system, and soothing waterfall deliver serious chill.2017 October 19, Stephanie Orma, “Why This Chic Milan Hotel Is the Ultimate Design Lover's Escape”, in Forbes:
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From the very start of the interview, Lawrence's manic energy proved that she had absolutely no chill.2017 November 3, Libby Hill, “Jennifer Lawrence gets weird in delightful interview with Kim Kardahian West”, in Los Angeles Times:
Granted, Tyrese put himself out there by even posting the video, knowing the internet has no chill.2017 November 5, Tanay Hudson, “Tyrese’s Meltdown Is Not A Laughing Matter”, in Madame Noire:
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A sense of style; trendiness; savoir faire.
Will and Grace still have no chill; having a pillow fight in the Oval Office proves that.2017 November 1, Araceli Aviles, “Will & Grace Series (Re)Premiere Review: Same Characters, Different World”, in TV Overmind:
Angelina left Brad, which upsets me because I'm human," said Corden, adding that Netflix had chill, but the FBI had "zero chill."2016 December 16, “James Corden Recaps 2016 With Comedy, Then Makes Somber Plea for Aleppo's Children”, in Hollywood Reporter:
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“Las Vegas has glitz, but Palm Springs has chill,” Stone said.2017 October 26, Brian Blueskye, “The Palm Springs City Council Candidate Interview: Robert Julian Stone”, in Coachella Valley Independent:
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A chilling effect; an atmosphere of this.
It was a courageous move by these activists, still living in the chill of the Cold War, to face red-baiting for holding protests that turned Washington's charges against the Cuban Revolution back on the U.S. government.2006 April 1, Leslie Feinberg, “Mid-1960s gay activists tarrget U.S. gov't”, in Workers World:
Etymology From Middle English chele, chile, from Old English ċiele, ċele (“cold; coldness”), from Proto-West Germanic *kali, from Proto-Germanic *kaliz, from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“to be cold”). Closely related with Dutch kil. Also akin to cool, cold, gel, and congeal, which see.
1
Moderately cold or chilly.
A chill wind was blowing down the street.
Noisome winds, and blasting vapours chill.1634, John Milton, “Arcades”, in Poems of Mr. John Milton, […], London: […] Ruth Raworth for Humphrey Mosely, […], published 1646, →OCLC:
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Unwelcoming; not cordial.
Arriving late at the wedding, we were met with a chill reception.
The teacher is really chill and doesn't care if you use your phone during class.
Paint-your-own ceramics studios are a chill way to express yourself while learning more about your date's right brain.
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“I might put it on if someone’s asking me a question I don’t want to answer. It’s like playing the character of an obnoxious, but chill, girl.”2023 May 15, Alaina Demopoulos, “Why are so many young Americans adopting fake British accents?”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
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Slang "Cool"; meeting a certain hip standard or garnering the approval of a certain peer group.
Etymology From Middle English chillen, from Old English ċilian (“to be cold”), from Proto-West Germanic *kilēn (“to be cold”). Cognate with Middle Dutch killen (“to be cold”), Dutch killen (“to be cold, shiver”).
Chill, man, we've got a whole week to do it; no sense in getting worked up.
The new gym teacher really has to chill or he's gonna blow a gasket.
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A time to live and a time to die / A time to break and a time to chill / To act civilized or act real ill1979, “Rapper's Delight”, performed by Sugarhill Gang:
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Slang To "hang", hang out; to spend time with another person or group.
Chill not let go, zir, without vurther 'casionc. 1603–1606, William Shakespeare, King Lear, act 4, scene 6, line 226; republished as The Tragedy of King Lear, Cambridge University Press, 2005, →ISBN, page 232:
Yet since their eyes make hart so sore, hey ho, chill love no more.1588, anon. or William Byrd, Though Amaryllis Daunce in Greene:
There is a last antiquity, and perhaps not least interesting, in "the Chill" or fish oil lamp, peculiar to Cornwall and a remote age, which now I lay before you. These lamps are rarely, very rarely seen, never in use, and passing from the memories of all but the very aged.1877, The Journal of the British Archaeological Association, page 193: