glace French · revision 17070

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 1160, Eneas|origins=la glacies}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɡlas/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Forms==

+ '''glace''' ''f'' (plural glaces)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|fro|glace]], [[inh|la-lat|glacia]], a late form of classical [[la|glaciēs|t=ice; hardness, rigidity]].^(TLFi)^(Grand Robert 2005)^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(FEW|4, 139a) Rey calls the formation of the Latin word unclear; some connect it with an Indo-European root “*gel-” “cold”, as in [[geler]].^(DHLF 1992) Wiktionary suggests that the senses “glass, mirror” may owe something to [[frk|*glas|t=glass]].^(Wiktionary)

+

+ The word is used in all the Gallo-Romance dialects except in the Centre and the West, which have “glas”, masculine or feminine; that form was used in French from the 14th to the 16th century and seems to be a remaking of “glace”.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989) Cognate with [[it|ghiaccia]] (older Italian) and [[pro|glassa]]; the languages of the Iberian Peninsula use descendants of [[la|gelū]] instead.^(Bloch & Wartburg 1989)^(REW 1935)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ In the ''Roman d'Eneas'' (about 1160) it is frozen water.^(TLFi)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The figurative sense of coldness, as in Latin, appears in Benoît de Sainte-Maure's ''Roman de Troie'' (about 1165), and ice became a symbol of insensibility in phrases such as ''être de glace'' (early 17th century) and ''rompre la glace'', first “to make the first move in an undertaking” (16th century), then “to dispel awkwardness” (1678); Quebec French says ''casser la glace''.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ From the polish and transparency of ice, the word named a sheet of glass in the 12th century and a mirror in Chrétien de Troyes's ''Cligès'' (1176); later it was a carriage window (1680) and a window pane (1802).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992) In cooking it meant a sorbet in 1669, then the ice cream, which Canadian French calls ''crème glacée'', and a sugar icing on cakes (1680; recorded in 1660 by Rey).^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)^(BHVF) In 1835 it was also the freezing point.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1160 – Frozen water, ''Roman d'Eneas''.^(TLFi)

+ * c. 1165 – Figurative coldness, Benoît de Sainte-Maure.^(TLFi)

+ * 1176 – A mirror, Chrétien de Troyes's ''Cligès''.^(TLFi)

+ * 16th century – ''Rompre la glace''.^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1669 – A sorbet, Widerhold's dictionary.^(TLFi)^(BHVF)

+ * 1680 – Sugar icing; a carriage window, Richelet.^(TLFi)^(DHLF 1992)

+ * 1835 – The freezing point.^(DHLF 1992)

+

+ ==Meanings==

+ ===Noun===

+ # [[m|en|ice]]: frozen water: ''patins à glace'', ''froid comme la glace''; in the plural, ice floes: ''navire pris dans les glaces''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(figurative)'' Coldness, reserve: ''être de glace'', ''rompre la glace''.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # An [[m|en|ice cream]] or sorbet.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # Plate glass; a window of a car or train.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(DHLF 1992)

+ # A [[m|en|mirror]], looking glass.^(Petit Robert 2007)^(Wiktionary)

+ # ''(cooking)'' Icing or glaze on a cake; a reduced meat juice.^(DHLF 1992)^(BHVF)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[glacer]]

+ * [[glaçon]]

+ * [[glacière]]

+ * [[glaciaire]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[glacial]]

+ * [[glacier]]

+ * [[verglas]]

+ * [[la|glacies]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}