permafrost

Etymology

It is formed from English perma- + frost,^[2] that is, from a shortening of permanent and frost.^{[3][4][5][6][7][8]} The word was coined in 1943 by the Russian-born American geologist Siemon W. Muller.^[3][9] It has been suggested that it imitates a Russian phrase meaning "perpetual frozenness", but the OED notes that Muller's 1943 text explicitly prefers a compound of existing English elements to a phrase such as "permanently frozen ground".^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Ground or subsoil that stays below freezing point all year round, as in Arctic regions: 1943, in Muller's Permafrost.^[2][3][9]

Semantic evolution

The thing was known before the word: according to the OED, it was first observed in Russia in the 17th century, and in the 19th century the scholar K. M. von Baer proposed that English should call it ground ice; an English text of 1838 already speaks of "the ground ice or frozen soil".^[2] Muller's compound replaced such descriptions and has kept its single technical sense.^[2][8]

Timeline

• 1838 – ground ice used in English for permanently frozen soil.^[2]
• 1943 – permafrost, permanently frozen ground.^[2][3][9][8]

Meanings

Noun

1. A layer of soil, subsoil or rock that stays permanently frozen, found below the surface in arctic and subarctic regions: Thawing permafrost has damaged roads across the region.^[8][5][2]

Related words

• permanent
• frost
• pergelisol

Usage notes

A technical synonym is pergelisol.^[8][10]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
5. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
6. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
9. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House