glacial

[gley-shuh l] /ˈgleɪ ʃəl/
adjective
1.
of or pertaining to glaciers or ice sheets.
2.
resulting from or associated with the action of ice or glaciers:
glacial terrain.
3.
characterized by the presence of ice in extensive masses or glaciers.
4.
bitterly cold; icy:
a glacial winter wind.
5.
happening or moving extremely slowly:
The work proceeded at a glacial pace.
6.
icily unsympathetic or immovable:
a glacial stare; glacial indifference.
7.
Chemistry. of, pertaining to, or tending to develop into icelike crystals:
glacial phosphoric acid.
Origin
1650-60; < Latin glaciālis icy, equivalent to glaci(ēs) ice + -ālis -al1
Related forms
glacially, adverb
nonglacial, adjective
nonglacially, adverb
unglacial, adjective
unglacially, adverb
Synonyms
4. chill, freezing, frigid, wintry. 6. forbidding, unfriendly, hostile.
Examples from the web for glacial
  • The temperature of the world fluctuated widely, and there were long periods of glacial cold.
  • Now my heart seems to be racing in my head, but my blood is glacial, cold and slow.
  • Then he had entered gaily the door of the glacial epoch, and had surveyed a universe of unities and uniformities.
  • Even with that, his solitude was glacial, and reacted on his character.
  • University administration and bureaucracy moves about the speed of glacial creep.
  • In addition, operational changes to ensure effectiveness and efficiency occur at glacial speed.
  • glacial lakes and spring waters throughout make for interesting water sports opportunities.
  • Although the nerves can regenerate, they do it at the glacial pace of about one millimeter a day.
  • Perhaps the strategy is to provide enough long-term life-support to allow such tiny, always reversible, glacial steps to proceed.
  • The glacial pace of improvement in battery technology really can't be overemphasized.
British Dictionary definitions for glacial

glacial

/ˈɡleɪsɪəl; -ʃəl/
adjective
1.
characterized by the presence of masses of ice
2.
relating to, caused by, or deposited by a glacier
3.
extremely cold; icy
4.
cold or hostile in manner: a glacial look
5.
(of a chemical compound) of or tending to form crystals that resemble ice: glacial acetic acid
6.
very slow in progress: a glacial pace
Derived Forms
glacially, adverb
Word Origin and History for glacial
adj.

1650s, "cold, icy," from French glacial, from Latin glacialis "icy, frozen, full of ice," from glacies "ice," probably from PIE root *gel- "cold" (cf. Latin gelu "frost;" see cold (adj.)). Geological sense apparently coined in 1846 by British naturalist Edward Forbes (1815-1854). Related: Glacially.

glacial in Science
glacial
  (glā'shəl)   

  1. Relating to or derived from a glacier.

  2. Characterized or dominated by the existence of glaciers, as the Pleistocene Epoch.