Antarctic Dictionary

glacier

Thesaurus

glacier noun

[From the French glacier, used in English from 1744 on (NOED). Though the word is not exclusively Antarctic, glaciers are of greater significance in the antarctic regions than anywhere else in the world.]

A vast body of ice moving under gravity towards the sea or (once in the sea) spreading out in it. The largest glaciers in the world, the Lambert and Beardmore, are in Antarctica.

29 Jan 1833 (Tierra del Fuego) Darwin, Charles (1901) Journal of researches into the natural history and geology of the countries visited during the voyage round the world of H.M.S. 'Beagle' under command of Captain Fitz Roy, R.N., 2nd edn John Murray, London: 225.

In many parts, magnificent glaciers extend from the mountain side to the water's edge. It is scarcely possible to imagine anything more beautiful than the beryl-like blue of these glaciers, and especially as contrasted with the dead white of the upper expanse of snow...

19931993 Antarctic Journal of the United States XXVIII(5): 255.

Glacier ice is formed by compression of snow and, therefore, contains numerous bubbles that scatter light of all visible wavelengths. As the bubble content increases, the fraction of light reflected increases, and the perceived color changes from blue to white...

The Antarctic Dictionary, Hince, 2000; 146