French word

glacier

Pronunciation

IPA/glasje/

Meaning

  • masculine nounglacier

Example

Nous avons visité un glacier dans les Alpes.

We visited a glacier in the Alps.

Illustration for glacier (glacier)

More examples

Le recul des glaciers réduit les ressources en eau pour les villages.

The retreat of glaciers reduces water resources for villages.

Core concept

A thick, moving body of ice built from snow over many years.

Common phrases

  • le recul des glaciers

    glacier retreat

  • les glaciers alpins

    Alpine glaciers

Similar words

neige: Snow that has fallen from the sky and accumulated on the ground.
glace: Water that has frozen into a solid form.
iceberg: A large mass of ice floating in the sea.

Definition in French

Grande masse de glace formée par l'accumulation et la transformation de la neige, capable d'un écoulement très lent sur le sol.

Word origin

The noun glacier developed in French from glace, ultimately from Latin glacies, with the French suffix -ier.

Usage tips

  • In everyday French, le glacier can also mean the ice-cream seller or shop, especially in aller chez le glacier.

Other meanings

  • ice cream shopnoun
  • ice cream makernoun

Related words

  • glaciaireglacialadjective

Word lists with this word