icicle English · revision 882

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈaɪ.sɪ.kl̩/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|isikel]], a compound of ''is'' “ice” and ''ikel'' “icicle”,^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) the latter [[inh|ang|ġicel|t=icicle, ice]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from [[gem-pro|*jekilaz]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline) related to [[goh|ihilla|t=icicle]] and [[non|jǫkull|t=icicle; glacier]],^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) from the Proto-Indo-European root ''*yeg-'' “ice”.^(AHD)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A hanging spike of ice formed by dripping water (c. 1000).^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The second element ''ikel'' lost its independent meaning,^(Etymonline) though dialect ''ickle'' “icicle” survived into the 20th century.^(Etymonline)^(RHWU) Popular etymology took it for a diminutive ending like that of ''article'' and produced forms such as ''ice-sickle'' and ''ice-shackle''.^(Etymonline) The word was applied to stalactites (1644) and needle-shaped crystals (1704),^(OED 1989) and figuratively to a cold, unemotional person.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) It also names the thin strips of foil hung on Christmas trees.^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 1000 – Old English ''īsgicel''.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * before 1325 – Middle English ''hyysykil''.^(Barnhart 1995)

+ * 1644 – a stalactite.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1704 – a needle-shaped crystal.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A hanging, tapering spike of ice formed by the freezing of dripping water.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A cold, aloof or unemotional person.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+ # A thin strip of shiny foil or plastic used to decorate a [[Christmas tree]].^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[icicled]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[ice]]

+ * [[glacier]]

+ * [[stalactite]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}