Icicle

Icicle

:"Icicle (yacht) is also the name of the largest Ice yacht"An icicle is a spike of ice formed when water dripping or falling from an object freezes. Typically, icicles will form when ice or snow is melted by either sunlight or some other heat source (such as heat leaking from the interior of a heated building), and the resulting melted water runs off into an area where the ambient temperature is below the freezing point of water (0°C/32°F), causing the water to refreeze. Over time continued water runoff will cause the icicle to grow. If an icicle grows long enough to touch the ground (or its corresponding ice spike growing up from the ground) then it is called an ice column.

Icicles can pose both safety and structural dangers. Icicles that hang from an object may fall and cause damage to whatever is below them. In addition, ice deposits can be heavy. If enough icicles forms on a object, the weight of the ice can severely damage the structural integrity of the object and may cause the object to break.

See also

* Ice
* Ice dam
* Ice spike
* Rusticle
* Stalactite


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • icicle — (n.) early 14c., isykle, from is ice + ikel icicle, from O.E. gicel icicle, ice (rel. to cylegicel cold ice ), from P.Gmc. *jekilaz (Cf. O.N. jaki piece of ice, dim. jökull icicle, ice, glacier; O.H.G. ihilla …   Etymology dictionary

  • icicle — [ī′sik΄əl, ī′sə kəl] n. [ME isikel < OE * īsgicel (akin to ON isjökull) < īs, ICE + gicel, piece of ice, icicle (Brit dial. ickle), akin to ON jökull, icicle, glacier, jaki, lump of ice < IE base * yeg , ice > MIr aig, Welsh iā, ice,… …   English World dictionary

  • Icicle — I ci*cle, n. [OE. isikel, AS. [=i]sgicel; [=i]s ice + gicel icicle; akin to Icel. j[ o]kull; cf. Gael. eigh ice, Ir. aigh.] A pendent, and usually conical, mass of ice, formed by freezing of dripping water; as, the icicles on the eaves of a house …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • icicle — ► NOUN ▪ a hanging, tapering piece of ice formed by the freezing of dripping water. ORIGIN from ICE(Cf. ↑iced) + dialect ickle «icicle», from Old English …   English terms dictionary

  • icicle — [14] Historically, icicle is a tautology, meaning literally ‘ice icicle’. It originated in Middle English as a compound of ice and ickel ‘icicle’. This word, which survived dialectally into the 20th century as ickle, goes back to Old English… …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

  • icicle — [14] Historically, icicle is a tautology, meaning literally ‘ice icicle’. It originated in Middle English as a compound of ice and ickel ‘icicle’. This word, which survived dialectally into the 20th century as ickle, goes back to Old English… …   Word origins

  • icicle — noun Etymology: Middle English isikel, from is ice + ikel icicle, from Old English gicel; akin to Old High German ihilla icicle, Middle Irish aig ice Date: 14th century 1. a pendent mass of ice formed by the freezing of dripping water 2. an… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • icicle — n. an icicle forms; hangs down * * * [ aɪsɪk(ə)l] hangs down an icicle forms …   Combinatory dictionary

  • icicle — UK [ˈaɪsɪk(ə)l] / US noun [countable] Word forms icicle : singular icicle plural icicles a long thin piece of ice that hangs down from somewhere …   English dictionary

  • icicle — icicled, adj. /uy si keuhl/, n. 1. a pendent, tapering mass of ice formed by the freezing of dripping water. 2. a thin strip of paper, plastic, or foil, usually silvery, for hanging on a Christmas tree as decoration. 3. a cold, unemotional person …   Universalium

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