iceberg
English

Iceberg diagram

An iceberg
Etymology
Borrowed 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.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈaɪsbɜːɡ/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈaɪsbɝɡ/
- Hyphenation: ice‧berg
Noun
iceberg (plural icebergs)
- A huge mass of ocean-floating ice which has broken off a glacier or ice shelf
- The Titanic hit an iceberg and sank.
- (US, slang) An aloof person.
- (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.
Derived terms
- bergy bit
- iceberg droppings
- iceberger
- iceberg green
- iceberg lettuce (Lactuca sativa var. capitata)
- iceberglike
- icebergy
- tip of the iceberg
Translations
huge mass of floating ice
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References
iceberg on Wikipedia.Wikipedia Icebergs on Wikimedia Commons.Wikimedia Commons- “iceberg” in Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary, 2001–2019.
French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ajs.bɛʁɡ/, /is.bɛʁɡ/
- Rhymes: -ɛʁɡ
- Homophone: icebergs
Further reading
- “iceberg” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
Galician
Italian
Derived terms
- punta dell'iceberg (“tip of the iceberg”)
Spanish
Pronunciation
- (Castilian) IPA(key): /ˈiθebeɾ/, [ˈiθeβeɾ]
- (Latin America) IPA(key): /ˈisebeɾ/, [ˈiseβeɾ]
- (Latin America, also) IPA(key): /ˈaisberɡ/, [ˈai̯zβerɣ]
Derived terms
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