iceberg en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
- /ˈaɪsbɜːɡ/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˈaɪsbɝɡ/ (General-American)
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₁eyH- Proto-Indo-European *h₁eyH-so-der. Proto-Germanic *īsą Proto-West Germanic *īs Old English īs Middle English is English ice ▲ Dutch ijsbergpcalq. English iceberg Partial calque of Dutch ijsberg (compound of ijs (“ice”) + berg (“mountain”)), from Middle Dutch ijsberch. 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. Cognate to German Eisberg, Danish isbjerg, Norwegian isberg and Swedish isberg. Figurative senses in reference to the fact that only one-tenth of an iceberg is usually visible above water.
Meanings
- (obsolete) The seaward end of a glacier.
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A huge mass of ocean-floating ice which has broken off a glacier or ice shelf
And although the iceberg appears to be maintaining its structure for now, in recent decades large icebergs that have taken this route “soon break up, disperse and melt,” said Meijers.
2025 March 4, Jack Guy, “World’s biggest iceberg runs aground off South Georgia”, in CNN, archived from the original on 06 Apr 2025:Clissold the excellent cook, who should have gone with the motor party, tumbled off a small iceberg and concussed himself while posing or 'ponting' as it had come to be known- Griffith Taylor, with his usual wit, had defined 'to pont' as 'to spend a deuce of a time posing in an uncomfortable position'.
1997, Preston, Diana, Preston, Diana A first rate tragedy Constable, London: 160:The passengers still on board were keen to watch as Tessa's crew scrambled for their positions, and she heard jokes about icebergs and devil's triangles, and anxious childish queries answered by soothing adult tones.
2000, Michelle Jerott, A Great Catch, Avon Books, →ISBN:The Titanic hit an iceberg and sank.
- (US, slang) An aloof person.
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(after an adjective, figuratively) An impending disastrous event whose adverse effects are only beginning to show.
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.
2013 November 23, “How Barack Obama can get at least some of his credibility back”, in The Economist, archived from the original on 10 Jan 2025:
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(Internet, figuratively, slang) A topic that is more convoluted and fractal than it may seem.
There's a massive iceberg of increasingly crazy fanfics out there based around those two characters.
Do some digging into that politician's past life and associates, and you'll see that the iceberg runs deep.
Near-synonym: rabbit hole
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(Internet, broadly, figuratively, slang) A topic that is more convoluted and fractal than it may seem. ▸ A list, infographic, or other enumeration of such a topic and its subcomponents, often ordered into groups sorted by obscurity and bizarreness.
Check out the gaming iceberg on this post! There's some really freaky titles there that I've never heard of.
Today we're gonna talk about the Star Wars iceberg.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| icebergs | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
earthberg · iceberg green · iceberg chart · iceberg droppings · iceberg theory · iceberg video · iceberglike · oilberg · icebergy · iceberger · iceberg lettuce · iceberg basement · bergy bit · blue iceberg · tip of the iceberg
Descendants
buzdağı · aysberq · iceberg · aysberg · iceberg · rhewfryn · mynydd iâ · iceberg · eisbyrg · icebergue · aicebergue
Relateds
freeboard · melt pond · berg · growler · ice floe · ice · fatberg
Synonyms
Translations (128)
it ghiaccione (huge mass of floating ice) · ar كُتْلَة جَلِيدِيَّة (huge mass of floating ice) · ca iceberg (huge mass of floating ice) · eo glacimonto (huge mass of floating ice) · ug مۇز تاغ (huge mass of floating ice) · is borgarísjaki (huge mass of floating ice) · ko 빙산 (huge mass of floating ice) · bg а́йсберг (huge mass of floating ice) · it montagna di ghiaccio (huge mass of floating ice) · my ရေခဲတောင် (huge mass of floating ice) · vi băng sơn (huge mass of floating ice) · kk мұзтау (huge mass of floating ice) · sh sȃnta (huge mass of floating ice) · tg кӯҳи ях (huge mass of floating ice) · ro aisberg (huge mass of floating ice) · sh са̑нта (huge mass of floating ice) · eu iceberg (huge mass of floating ice) · cmn 冰山 (huge mass of floating ice) · es témpano (huge mass of floating ice) · nl ijsberg (huge mass of floating ice) · ga cnoc oighir (huge mass of floating ice) · izh jäämäki (huge mass of floating ice) · mn мөсөн уул (huge mass of floating ice) · ja 氷山 (huge mass of floating ice) · ky айсберг (huge mass of floating ice) · uk а́йсберг (huge mass of floating ice) · gd eigh-bheinn (huge mass of floating ice) · ur آئس برگ (huge mass of floating ice) · pt icebergue (huge mass of floating ice) · is ísjaki (huge mass of floating ice) · pdt Iessboach (huge mass of floating ice) · fy iisberch (huge mass of floating ice) · mr हिमनग (huge mass of floating ice) · it iceberg (huge mass of floating ice) · hu jéghegy (huge mass of floating ice) · pt iceberg (huge mass of floating ice) · sq ajsberg (huge mass of floating ice) · ar جَبَل جَلِيد (huge mass of floating ice) · lt ledkalnis (huge mass of floating ice) · nan-hbl 冰山 (huge mass of floating ice) · ka აისბერგი (huge mass of floating ice) · tr buz dağı (huge mass of floating ice) · lv leduskalns (huge mass of floating ice) · iu ᐱᖃᓗᔭᖅ (huge mass of floating ice) · ast iceber (huge mass of floating ice) · id gunung es (huge mass of floating ice) · mk санта мраз (huge mass of floating ice) · be а́йсберг (huge mass of floating ice) · es témpano de hielo (huge mass of floating ice) · fi jäävuori (huge mass of floating ice) · tr aysberg (huge mass of floating ice) · lo ພູເຂົານ້ຳກ້ອນ (huge mass of floating ice) · hy այսբերգ (huge mass of floating ice) · io glaciomonto (huge mass of floating ice) · it monte di ghiaccio (huge mass of floating ice) · bn হিমশৈল (huge mass of floating ice) · sh са̑нта леда (huge mass of floating ice) · cy eisberg (huge mass of floating ice) · yue 冰山 (huge mass of floating ice) · sk kryha (huge mass of floating ice) · nn isfjell (huge mass of floating ice) · ia iceberg (huge mass of floating ice) · ar جَبَل جَلِيدِيّ (huge mass of floating ice) · bo ཁྱགས་རི (huge mass of floating ice) · wuu 冰山 (huge mass of floating ice) · sh sȃnta leda (huge mass of floating ice) · hi हिमखंड (huge mass of floating ice) · he קַרְחוֹן יַמִּי (huge mass of floating ice) · km ផ្ទាំងទឹកកក (huge mass of floating ice) · udm йӧгурезь (huge mass of floating ice) · af ysberg (huge mass of floating ice) · tg айсберг (huge mass of floating ice) · tk aýsberg (huge mass of floating ice) · ms aisberg (huge mass of floating ice) · gv beinn rioee (huge mass of floating ice) · da isbjerg (huge mass of floating ice) · th ภูเขาน้ำแข็ง (huge mass of floating ice) · fa آیسبرگ (huge mass of floating ice) · pl góra lodowa (huge mass of floating ice) · mt ajsberg (huge mass of floating ice) · es iceberg (huge mass of floating ice) · pt montanha de gelo (huge mass of floating ice) · nb isberg (huge mass of floating ice) · it isbergo (huge mass of floating ice) · vi núi băng trôi (huge mass of floating ice) · it mongelato (huge mass of floating ice) · kw menydh rew (huge mass of floating ice) · ru а́йсберг (huge mass of floating ice) · myv эйпандо (huge mass of floating ice) · kl iluliaq (huge mass of floating ice) · crh buzdağ (huge mass of floating ice) · cy rhewfryn (huge mass of floating ice) · ky музтоо (huge mass of floating ice) · nrf montangne dé gliaiche (huge mass of floating ice) · kk нөң (huge mass of floating ice) · vo gladabel (huge mass of floating ice) · se jiekŋavárri (huge mass of floating ice) · yi אײַזבאַרג (huge mass of floating ice) · az buzdağı (huge mass of floating ice) · mr हिमशैल (huge mass of floating ice) · fo ísfjall (huge mass of floating ice) · mn ᠮᠥᠰᠦᠨ ᠠᠭᠤᠯᠠ (huge mass of floating ice) · fa یخکوه (huge mass of floating ice) · lv aisbergs (huge mass of floating ice) · de Eisberg (huge mass of floating ice) · lb Äisbierg (huge mass of floating ice) · mi toka haupapa (huge mass of floating ice) · sv isberg (huge mass of floating ice) · alt айсберг (huge mass of floating ice) · cy mynydd iâ (huge mass of floating ice) · la mons glacialis (huge mass of floating ice) · et jäämägi (huge mass of floating ice) · cs kra (huge mass of floating ice) · uz muztogʻ (huge mass of floating ice) · hi हिमशैल (huge mass of floating ice) · gl iceberg (huge mass of floating ice) · sk ľadovec (huge mass of floating ice) · sl ledena gora (huge mass of floating ice) · es banquisa (huge mass of floating ice) · uz aysberg (huge mass of floating ice) · eu izozmendi (huge mass of floating ice) · az aysberq (huge mass of floating ice) · mk санта (huge mass of floating ice) · nb isfjell (huge mass of floating ice) · be лёдаго́р (huge mass of floating ice) · fr iceberg (huge mass of floating ice) · el παγόβουνο (huge mass of floating ice) · fr montagne de glace (huge mass of floating ice)