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Webster 1913 Edition

Iceberg

Ice′bergˊ

,
Noun.
[Prob. of Scand. origin; cf. Dan.
iisbierg
, Sw.
isberg
, properly, a mountain of ice. See
Ice
, and
Berg
.]
A large mass of ice, generally floating in the ocean.
☞ Icebergs are large detached portions of glaciers, which in cold regions often project into the sea.

Webster 1828 Edition

Iceberg

ICEBERG

,
Noun.
[ice and a hill.] A hill or mountain of ice, or a vast body of ice accumulated in valleys in high northern latitudes.
This term is applied to such elevated masses as exist in the valleys of the frigid zones; to those which are found on the surface of fixed ice; and to ice of great thickness and highth in a floating state. These lofty floating masses are sometimes detached from the icebergs on shore, and sometimes formed at a distance from any land. They are found in both the frigid zones, and are sometimes carried towards the equator as low as 40 degrees.

Definition 2025

iceberg

iceberg

English

An iceberg

Noun

iceberg ‎(plural icebergs)

  1. A huge mass of ocean-floating ice which has broken off a glacier or ice shelf
    The Titanic hit an iceberg and sank.‎
  2. (US, slang) An aloof person.
  3. (figuratively, after an adjective) An impending disastrous event whose adverse effects are only beginning to show, in reference to one-tenth of the volume of an iceberg being visible above water.
    • 2013, “How Barack Obama can get at least some of his credibility back”, in The Economist:
      He has little to lose: at present he will go down in history, alongside George W. Bush, as a skipper who ignored the looming fiscal iceberg.

Related terms

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Translations

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French

Etymology

From English iceberg, from Dutch ijsberg.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /aj.sbɛʁɡ/, /is.bɛʁɡ/
  • Rhymes: -ɛʁɡ
  • Homophone: icebergs

Noun

iceberg m ‎(plural icebergs)

  1. iceberg

Galician

Noun

iceberg m ‎(plural [please provide])

  1. iceberg

Italian

Noun

iceberg m ‎(invariable)

  1. iceberg

Derived terms

See also

Portuguese

Alternative forms

Noun

iceberg m (plural icebergs)

  1. iceberg

Spanish

Etymology

From English iceberg.

Pronunciation

  • (Castilian) IPA(key): /ˈiθe̞βe̞ɾ(x)/, /iθe̞ˈβe̞ɾ(x)/
  • (Latin America) IPA(key): /ˈajsβe̞ɾɡ/

Noun

iceberg m ‎(plural icebergs)

  1. iceberg

Synonyms

Derived terms

Etymology

Borrowing from Dutch ijsberg, compound of ijs ‎(“ice”) + berg ‎(“mountain”). First used to describe a glacier as seen at a distance from a ship then used as a term to describe the floating chunks of ice broken off from such glaciers. Compare German Eisberg, Danish isbjerg, Norwegian/Swedish isberg, Welsh eisberg.

Pronunciation

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