Where does “glacier” come from?
glacier (Old French) comes from Frankish glīdan, from Proto-Germanic glīdaną, from Proto-Indo-European ǵʰleydʰ- — to glide.
glacier (Old French): to slip, make slippery; to slip, slide
Definitions
- to slip, make slippery; to slip, slide
Ancestry of “glacier”, step by step
glacier traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via Frankish glīdan
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Frankish | glīdan | to slide, glide; to glide, to slide |
| 2 | Proto-Germanic | glīdaną | to glide; slide |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | ǵʰleydʰ- | to glide |
via Old French glace
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Old French | glace | ice |
| 2 | Vulgar Latin | glacia | second-person singular present active imperative... |
| 3 | Latin | glaciēs | ice |
via Latin glaciāre
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | glaciāre | — |