glacier

[ gley-sher ]

noun

1. an extended mass of ice formed from snow falling and accumulating over the years and moving very slowly, either descending from high mountains, as in valley glaciers, or moving outward from centers of accumulation, as in continental glaciers.

glacier

/ ˈɡlæsɪə; ˈɡleɪs- /

noun

1. a slowly moving mass of ice originating from an accumulation of snow. It can either spread out from a central mass ( continental glacier ) or descend from a high valley ( alpine glacier )

glacier

/ glā′shər /

1. A large mass of ice moving very slowly through a valley or spreading outward from a center. Glaciers form over many years from packed snow in areas where snow accumulates faster than it melts. A glacier is always moving, but when its forward edge melts faster than the ice behind it advances, the glacier as a whole shrinks backward.

glacier

1. A large mass of ice formed over many years that does not melt during the summer. Glaciers move slowly over an area of land such as a mountain valley.

Notes

A significant percentage of the water of the Earth is locked up in glaciers.

Glaciers exist in high mountains throughout the temperate zones and cover most of Antarctica . Glaciers recede during warm periods and can expand during cold periods, creating ice ages .

Other Words From

• glaciered adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of glacier¹

1735–45; < dialectal French, derivative of Old French glace ice < Late Latin glacia (for Latin glaciēs )

Word History and Origins

Origin of glacier¹

C18: from French (Savoy dialect), from Old French glace ice, from Late Latin glacia, from Latin glaciēs ice

Example Sentences

The snowfall pattern is changing and then the melting of the glacier is changing.

From BBC

High greenhouse gas emissions from human activity cause global temperatures to rise, melting ice sheets and glaciers, which in turn increases the volume of water in the ocean — encroaching on shorelines around the world.

From Los Angeles Times

Its latest State of the Climate report also finds that our oceans are heating up rapidly and glacier melt is accelerating.

From BBC

“Iceland is essentially one of the best places in the world to study this … because we have both volcanism and glaciers,” volcanologist Michelle Parks of the Icelandic Meteorological Office told Reuters.

From Salon

"The sixth schedule gives locals not just a right but a responsibility to conserve their climate, forests, rivers and glaciers," he told reporters.

From BBC

Related Words

• ice floe
• iceberg