gel
Meaning
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- A semi-solid to almost solid colloid of a solid and a liquid, such as jelly, cheese or opal.
- Any gel intended for a particular cosmetic use, such as for styling the hair.
- A film of flexible transparent plastic (such as acetate, celluloid, or cellophane) suitable for making superimpositions or diapositives (image to overlay on other images, especially for overhead projectors); a digital virtual equivalent of this.
Synonyms
Frequency
Pronounced as (IPA)
/d͡ʒɛl/
Etymology
Coined by Thomas Graham in the mid 19th century as a clipping of gelatin, from French gélatine, from Italian gelatina, diminutive form of gelata (“iced”), from Latin gelata, past participle of gelo (“to freeze”), from gelu (“frost”), from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“cold”). For the meaning development compare with Russian сту́день (stúdenʹ, “aspic, jelly, gel”) related to студёный (studjónyj, “cold”).
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Notes