What does "frazil" mean?

A collection of stray ice crystals that form in fast-moving water.

What is a synonym for "frazil"?

Common synonyms include: berg, calf, floe, glacier, glaze, ice.

//ˈfɹæ.zəl// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Noun

1
A collection of stray ice crystals that form in fast-moving water. Canada, US, countable, uncountable
"It has been suggested that it may be due to the accumulation of frazil or anchor-ice."
2
Alternative form of farasola. alt-of, alternative

"It has been suggested that it may be due to the accumulation of frazil or anchor-ice."

Etymology 1

From Canadian French frasil, frazil, fraisil, from French fraisil (“coal cinders”), from Old French faisil.

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.