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gelata

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Etymology and origin of the Latin word gelata

Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
Reichenau Glossary
Ultimate origin
Latin gelō
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Latin gelū
Italian gelo
Romanian ger
Spanish hielo
Latin gelō
French geler
Italian gelare
Spanish helar
Latin gelāta
From the same root
Latin gelidus ← gelū
Romanian gerar ← ger
Old French gelee ← gelō
Italian gelata ← gelare
Italian gelato ← gelare

Forms

gelāta f (genitive gelātae); first declension[1]

Etymology

It is formed from Latin gelō (“to freeze”) + -āta.[1][2]

Wiktionary lists Italian gelata, Old French gelee, Spanish helada, Portuguese geada, Catalan gelada and Occitan gelada among its descendants.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is recorded in the Reichenau Glossary, meaning frost.[1]

Semantic evolution

Wiktionary treats it as an Early Medieval Latin word for frost.[1] Köbler glosses it as something frozen and connects it with German Gelee, which came by way of French.[2]

Meanings

Noun

  1. (Medieval Latin) frost.[1]
  2. Something frozen.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
Cite this entry

“Gelata.” Etymologically, 13 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/la/gelata. Accessed 14 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·