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icy

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

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See also: Icy

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From ice +‎ -y; cf. Old English īsiġ.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈaɪsi/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • Rhymes: -aɪsi

Adjective

icy (comparative icier, superlative iciest)

  1. Pertaining to, resembling, or abounding in ice; cold; frosty.
    Synonyms: glacial, glacious, wintrified
    • 1944 November and December, A Former Pupil, “Some Memories of Crewe Works—II”, in Railway Magazine, page 342:
      To go through this experience in bitter winter weather and stumble along the line in the pitch darkness at 6 o'clock in the morning, into an icy-cold foundry, as was the writer's experience, was not too good.
  2. Covered with ice, wholly or partially.
    Synonyms: frostbound, frosted, icebound, ice-covered, iced-over, rimed
    Antonym: ice-free
    • c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act I, scene ii:
      With milke-white Hartes vpon an Iuorie ſled,
      Thou ſhalt be drawen amidſt the froſen Pooles,
      And ſcale the yſie mountaines lofty tops:
      Which with thy beautie will be soone reſolu’d.
    • 2022 March 25, Rachel Ramirez and Hafsa Khalil, “Antarctic ice shelf nearly the size of Los Angeles collapsed as temperatures soared to 40 above normal”, in CNN‎:
      Antarctica is the coldest, iciest place on Earth, which makes the recent warming event particularly worrying for many scientists.
    • 2024 January 21, Elizabeth Wolfe, Robert Shackelford and Mary Gilbert, “Icy conditions make for hazardous travel across central US, but warmer air is on the horizon”, in CNN‎:
      Morning commuters in parts of Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas discovered slick sidewalks and icy roadways Monday.
  3. Characterized by coldness of manner; frigid; cold.
    Synonyms: harsh, uncaring; see also Thesaurus:stern
    • 2006, Noire [pseudonym], Thug-A-Licious: An Urban Erotic Tale, New York, N.Y.: One World, Ballantine Books, →ISBN, page 206:
      I wasn't all the way icy. It wasn't like I could just give a girl a baby and forget about them.
    • 2009, Sharon Kendrick, The Desert Princes Bundle: The Sheikh's English Bride:
      Gone was the gleam of desire, and the teasingly provocative remarks, and Alexa realised the truth in the saying that indifference was death. His demeanour was haughty and icy towards her.
    • 2020 April 22, Kate Bennett and Christopher Hickey, “How a canceled state dinner highlights a fading White House tradition”, in CNN‎:
      Costello said the official visits were opportunities to pull Western allies closer, or to try to thaw icier relationships.
  4. (US, slang) To be wearing an excessive amount of jewelry, especially of the high-quality and expensive kind.
    Synonym: bejeweled
    • 2003, “Patiently Waiting”, in Curtis Jackson, Marshall Mathers, Luis Resto, Mike Elizondo (lyrics), Get Rich or Die Tryin', performed by 50 Cent:
      Your bitch's a regular bitch, you're calling her wifey, I fucked her, I feed her fast food, you're keeping her icy.

Derived terms

Translations

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Middle French

Adverb

icy

  1. here

Descendants

  • French: ici

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