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glacière

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Etymology and origin of the French word glacière

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
c. 1640 Oudin, Recherches italiennes et françoises More words from the 17th century
Ultimate origin
Latin glaciēs
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French glace
French glacière

Pronunciation

  • /ɡla.sjɛʁ/[1]

Forms

glacière f (plural glacières)[1]

Etymology

It is formed from French glace + -ière.[2][3][1] The noun glace “ice” continues Vulgar Latin *glacia, for classical glaciēs (“ice”).[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Oudin records it about 1640 for an underground vault in which ice was kept.[2][5]

Semantic evolution

The first glacières were underground cavities, often vaulted and walled, where the ice gathered in winter was stored for the summer.[5][2] From 1718 the word was also used figuratively of an extremely cold place.[2][5] In the 18th century it was also said of a mass of permanent ice, a sense since taken by glacier.[4][6][7]

From 1850 it named a cabinet or box holding artificial ice to keep food cool, a very common sense until refrigerators came in.[5][2] The 20th century added a natural cave holding ice and a plant where ice is made.[7]

Timeline

  • c. 1640 – Oudin records it for an ice-house.[2][4]
  • 1718 – The Académie records its figurative use for a very cold room.[2]
  • 1850 – Dorvault writes of the glacière des familles, a domestic ice box.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (historical) An icehouse, an underground masonry cavity in which ice from the winter was kept.[8][2]
  2. An insulated cabinet or box kept cold by ice, an icebox;[8][2][1] glacière de camping: a cool box.[8][2][1]
  3. (loosely) A refrigerator.[8]
  4. (familiar) A very cold place.[8][6][2]
  5. A natural cave containing ice.[7][1]
  6. (obsolete) A mass of ice, a glacier.[8][6]

Usage notes

Glacière is pronounced the same as glaciaire “glacial, of glaciers”.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b c Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ a b c d Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b c Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  7. ^ a b c Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
Cite this entry

“Glacière.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/glaci%C3%A8re. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

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