gel English · revision 16181

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=clipping|attested=1899}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /d͡ʒɛl/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is a shortening of ''[[gelatin]]'',^(AHD 2024)^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002) perhaps influenced by the earlier ''[[jell]]'' (1870), from ''[[jelly]]''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) Etymonline credits the word to the Scottish chemist [[m|en|Thomas Graham]].^(Etymonline) The verb is from the noun,^(Barnhart 1988) but the OED's revised entry (2026) also includes in the verb the senses of the older ''jell'', to set like jelly, shortened from ''jelly''.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A semi-solid [[colloid|alt=colloidal]] system in chemistry: 1899.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(HTOED)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The verb, of a colloid, to become a gel, is dated 1902 in Etymonline, 1908 in the OED and 1917 in Barnhart and Merriam-Webster.^(Etymonline)^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) The figurative senses, to take definite shape and to work well together, belong to ''jell'' (from 1905 and 1920),^(OED 2026) and are now often spelled ''gel'';^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024) Etymonline dates the figurative ''gel'' to 1958.^(Etymonline) Hair gel, a jelly for styling the hair, is from 1958,^(Etymonline)^(HTOED) and the verb, to apply it, from 1979.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1846 – ''jell'', to set like jelly.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1899 – ''gel'', the chemical noun.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1905 – ''jell'', to take definite form.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1908 – to become a gel.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1958 – hair gel.^(Etymonline)^(HTOED)

+ * 1979 – to style hair with gel.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[jelly|alt=jellylike]] substance formed when a [[colloid|alt=colloidal]] solution sets.^(AHD 2024)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A jellylike preparation for styling the hair.^(SOED 2002)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To become a gel; to [[set]].^(AHD 2024)^(Collins 2023)

+ # To take definite shape, or to work well together; to [[jell]].^(AHD 2024)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[gelable]]

+ * [[aerogel]]

+ * [[hydrogel]]

+ * [[nongelling]]

+ * [[gel electrophoresis]]

+ * [[silica gel]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[gelatin]]

+ * [[jelly]]

+ * [[jell]]

+ * [[congeal]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ A different ''gel'' (pronounced with a hard ''g''), recorded from 1857, represents an upper-class or regional English pronunciation of ''[[girl]]''.^(OED 2026)^(HTOED)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}