Icicle
noun ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 A drooping, tapering shape of ice.
"Mor. Miſlike me not for my complexion, / The ſhadowed liuerie of the burniſht ſunne, / To whom I am a neighbour,and neere bred. / Bring me the faireſt creature North-ward borne, / Where Phœbus fire ſcarce thawes the yſicles, / And let vs make inciſion for your loue, / To proue whoſe blood is reddeſt,his or mine."
- 2 ice resembling a pendent spear, formed by the freezing of dripping water wordnet
Example
More examples"An icicle broke off and fell on her, stabbing her in the chest."
Etymology
From Middle English isykle, isikel, from Old English *īsġicel, from Proto-West Germanic *īsajikil, *īsajekul, equivalent to ice + ickle. It was assimilated to nouns in -icle, from Latin -iculus—the expected spelling would have -ickle. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Iesjuukel (“icicle”), German Low German Iesjökel, dialectal Danish jisegel (“icicle”), Norwegian isjukel (“icicle”) and Elfdalian aisikkel.
Related phrases
More for "icicle"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.