icicle

English

Icicles descending from a tree branch

Etymology

From Middle English isykle, isikel, from Old English *īsġicel, from Proto-West Germanic *īsajikil, *īsajekul, equivalent to ice +‎ ickle. It was assimilated to nouns in -icle, from Latin -iculus—the expected spelling would have -ickle. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Iesjuukel (“icicle”), German Low German Iesjökel, dialectal Danish jisegel (“icicle”), Norwegian isjukel (“icicle”) and Elfdalian aisikkel.

Pronunciation

• (Canada) IPA^(key): /ˈʌɪsəkəl/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈaɪs.ɪkl̩/, /ˈaɪ.sɪ.kl̩/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

icicle (plural icicles)

1. A drooping, tapering shape of ice.
   • c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i], page 167:

     Mor. Miſlike me not for my complexion, / The ſhadowed liuerie of the burniſht ſunne, / To whom I am a neighbour,and neere bred. / Bring me the faireſt creature North-ward borne, / Where Phœbus fire ſcarce thawes the yſicles, / And let vs make inciſion for your loue, / To proue whoſe blood is reddeſt,his or mine.

   • 2021 February 24, “Network News: NR takes pride in track teams as effects of Storm Darcy repelled...”, in RAIL, number 925, page 13:

     Several days of sub-zero temperatures caused icicles up to 1.5 metres long to form in tunnels across Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Cumbria.

Derived terms

• icicle plant
• icicle radish
• popsicle
• rusticle

Translations

a spear-shape of ice

• Albanian: ehull (sq) m, hell (sq) m
• Arabic: دَلَاة جَلِيدِيَّة f (dalā(t) jalīdiyya)
• Armenian: սառցալուլա (hy) (saṙcʻalula), սառցալեզվակ (hy) (saṙcʻalezvak)
• Azerbaijani: buz lüləsi, lülə
• Bashkir: боҙбармаҡ (boźbarmaq)
• Basque: izotz-burruntzi, izotz-kandela
• Belarusian: лядзя́ш m (ljadzjáš), лядзя́к m (ljadzják), сусо́лка f (susólka), сапе́ль m (sapjélʹ)
• Breton: dant-Genver (br) m
• Bulgarian: вису́лка (bg) f (visúlka)
• Buryat: дуһаа (duhaa), мүльһэн дуһаа (mülʹhen duhaa), һоёо мүльһэн (hojoo mülʹhen)
• Catalan: caramell (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 冰柱 (zh) (bīngzhù), 冰錐／冰锥 (zh) (bīngzhuī), 冰錐子／冰锥子 (zh) (bīngzhuīzi), 冰凌 (zh) (bīnglíng), 冰溜 (zh) (bīngliù)

• Czech: rampouch (cs) m, střechýl (cs) m
• Danish: istap (da) c
• Dutch: pegel (nl) m, ijspegel (nl) m, ijskegel (nl) m
• Erzya: эйзюро (ejźuro)
• Esperanto: pendglacio (eo)
• Estonian: jääpurikas
• Faroese: glerpípa f
• Finnish: jääpuikko (fi)
• French: stalactite (fr) m
• Galician: carambo (gl) m, carambelo (gl) m, candea (gl) f
• Georgian: ლოლუა (lolua)
• German: Eiszapfen (de) m
• Greek: παγοκρύσταλλος (el) m (pagokrýstallos)
• Hungarian: jégcsap (hu)
• Icelandic: grýlukerti (is) n
• Ido: please add this translation if you can
• Irish: briogadán m, birín seaca m, reodóg f, bior seaca m, bior siocáin m
• Italian: ghiacciolo (it) m
• Japanese: 氷柱 (ja) (つらら, tsurara)
• Jeju: 동곳 (donggot)
• Kannada: ಹಿಮದ ಬಿಳಲು (kn) (himada biḷalu), ಹಿಮಸರಳು (kn) (himasaraḷu)
• Kazakh: сүмелек (sümelek), сүңгі (süñgı)
• Korean: 고드름 (ko) (godeureum)
• Latin: stīria f
• Latvian: lāsteka f
• Lithuanian: varveklis m
• Low German:

  German Low German: Jökel m, Iesjökel m

• Macedonian: мра́зулец m (mrázulec), мра́нѕул m (mrándzul)
• Manx: bwoid rioee m
• Mongolian: соёо мөс (sojoo mös)
• Navajo: tin nááʼáhígíí
• Nepali: please add this translation if you can
• Norn: jokel m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: istapp m

  Nynorsk: istapp m

• Occitan: estalactita (oc) m
• Odia: please add this translation if you can
• Old English: ġiċel m
• Persian: دنگاله (fa) (dangâle)
• Polish: sopel (pl) m
• Portuguese: sincelo (pt) m
• Romanian: țurțur (ro) m
• Russian: сосу́лька (ru) f (sosúlʹka)
• Scottish Gaelic: caisean-reòta m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: леденица f, поледица f

  Roman: ledenica (sh) f, poledica (sh) f

• Slovak: cencúľ (sk) m
• Slovene: ledena sveča (sl) f
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: špingel m

• Spanish: carámbano (es) m, chuzo (es) m, pinganello m, candelizo m, pinganillo m, candela (es) f (Spain)
• Swedish: istapp (sv) c
• Tagalog: kalamoko
• Tibetan: ཁྱགས་དཔྱངས (khyags dpyangs)
• Turkish: buz saçağı
• Ukrainian: буру́лька (uk) f (burúlʹka)
• Vietnamese: cột băng, trụ băng
• Volapük: gladül
• Walloon: tchandele (wa) f
• Welsh: pibonwyen (cy) f, pib iâ f (dialectal)

Anagrams

• cilice