glacial
nounEtymology Borrowed from French glacial, from Latin glaciālis, from glaciēs (“ice”). The sense "slow" refers to the speed of actual glaciers, typically around 1 meter per day.
1
A glacial period (colloquially known as an ice age).
glacial
adjUK /ˈɡleɪ.sɪəl/
Etymology Borrowed from French glacial, from Latin glaciālis, from glaciēs (“ice”). The sense "slow" refers to the speed of actual glaciers, typically around 1 meter per day.
1
Of, or relating to glaciers.
- We examined the glacial deposits.
- Wang Shijin is a glacier expert and director of the Yulong Snow Mountain Glacial and Environmental Observation Research Station.
1 more example
- Users can see how a glacier at the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania retreated between December 1986 and 2020, as well as glacial melt in Sermersooq, Greenland, between December 2000 and 2020.2022 April 22, Toyin Owoseje, “Google marks Earth Day with doodle showing stark impacts of the climate crisis”, in CNN, archived from the original on 17 May 2022:
2
Figuratively Very slow.
- He could remember a day that he had spent the whole of (he couldn't have been more than ten) running one of the great, creaking freight elevators at a glacial speed, answering the calls of the bell—one ring, five rings, three rings—with an almost unbearable sense of responsibility.1917, Everybody's Magazine - Volume 37, Issue 2, Ridgeway Company, page 56:
- I understand that you commented that the Japanese are moving at glacial speed. This is not the only area where they are moving at glacial speed. They are moving at glacial speed in terms of trade barriers, and it is one thing that the American people recognize.1953, United States. Congress. House. Committee on Armed Services, Defense Department Authorization and Oversight, U.S. Government Printing Office, page 1251:
4 more examples
- Paradoxically, then, the electronic speed offered by computer-based decision-making is often overwhelmed by the glacial speed of data reformatting and checking.1999, Michael Goodchild, Max J. Egenhofer, Robin Fegeas, Cliff Kottman, Interoperating Geographic Information Systems, Springer Science & Business Media, →ISBN, page 133:
- By all means move at a glacial pace. You know how that thrills me.2006, Aline Brosh McKenna, Lauren Weisberger, The Devil Wears Prada, spoken by Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep):
- Progress on judicial reform has been glacial, meeting enormous resistance.2010 October 16, “Under the volcano”, in The Economist:
- Lower-level people added front-line information that ordinarily wouldn't have made it up the hierarchy to the executive committee (or would have made it at glacial speed).2014, John P. Kotter, Accelerate: Building Strategic Agility for a Faster-Moving World, Harvard Business Review Press, →ISBN, page 96:
3
Cold and icy.
- After the rain and frost, the pavements were glacial.
4
Having the appearance of ice.
- On cold days, glacial acetic acid will freeze in the bottle.
5
Figuratively Cool and unfriendly.
- He gave me a glacial stare.
- Derived terms
31 terms
deglacial, equiglacial, fluvioglacial, glacial acetic acid, glacial acid, glacial buzz saw, glacial drift, glacial erratic, glacial flour, glacial humour, glacialism, glacialist, glaciality, glacialize, glacial lake, glacial lake outburst flood, glacially, glacial maximum, glacial milk, glacial period, glacial polish, glacial till, glacial trough, intraglacial, mediglacial, neoglacial, nonglacial, paraglacial, pleniglacial, polyglacial, superglacial- Hyponyms
- englacial, interglacial, monoglacial, periglacial, postglacial, preglacial, proglacial, subglacial, supraglacial