glacier

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glacier^¹

/ˈɡlæs.jə/ UK
/ˈɡleɪs.jə/ UK
/ˈɡleɪ.ʃɚ/ US
/ˈɡleɪ.ʃɚ/ Canada
/ˈɡleɪs.jɚ/ Canada

Sounds like glassier (without the trap–bath split)

Where it comes from

Borrowed from French glacier, from Franco-Provençal gllaciér, from Vulgar Latin *glaciārium, a derivative of Latin glaciēs (“ice”), of uncertain origin. First attested in English in 1744 per the OED.

noun glaciers

A large body of ice which flows under its own mass, usually downhill. They warned that the effects of glacier melting on water resources are becoming “increasingly serious” for China.
An area of a mountain where snow is present year-round. You can ski down the glacier in both the winter and the summer.
figuratively Something that moves very slowly The queue in the pharmacy was a glacier.

Glacier^²

proper noun

A locality in the Rocky Mountains, British Columbia, Canada.
A census-designated place in Whatcom County, Washington, United States.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: glaciation, glacial, avalanche, snow, ice, river, icy, meltdown, parkway, icefield, ice mass, ice stream, ice tongue, ice sheet, icecap, firn

Translations

Every language

noun a large body of ice which flows under its own mass, usually downhill

Español	glaciar, helero
한국어	빙하 bingha
日本語	氷河 hyōga
中文	冰川 bīngchuān, 冰河 bīnghé
हिन्दी	हिमानी himānī, हिमनदी himandī
Kiswahili	barafuto
Português	glaciar, geleira
Français	glacier
Deutsch	Gletscher, Ferner, Kees
Italiano	ghiacciaio
Ελληνικά	παγετώνας pagetónas
Română	ghețar
Русский	ледни́к ledník, гле́тчер glétčer
Tiếng Việt	sông băng
العربية	مَثْلَجَة maṯlaja, مَجْلَدَة majlada
עברית	קַרְחוֹן karkhón

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MLA

"glacier." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/glacier. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

glacier. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/glacier

Chicago

"glacier." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/glacier.

BibTeX

@misc{glacier_2026,
  title = {glacier},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/glacier},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}