iceman en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
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 Proto-Indo-European *mon- Proto-Germanic *mann- Proto-West Germanic *mann Old English mann Middle English man Middle English -man English -man English iceman From ice + -man.
Meanings
- (historical) A person who trades in ice; a person employed to deliver block ice to those lacking electric refrigeration.
-
A man who is skilled in travelling upon ice, as among glaciers.
We were accompanied by our two guides, Jean Baptiste Croz and Michel Croz, of Chamounix, two capital icemen, and worthy fellows.
1862, Edward Shirley Kennedy, Peaks, passes, and glaciers, volume 1, page 241:
- A human figure carved out of ice.
- An ancient human male mummified in ice.
- (slang) An assassin.
-
(slang) One who is cool under pressure.
Baltiel had always been the iceman, harsh and distant and lacking in sentiment.
2019, Adrian Tchaikovsky, Children of Ruin, Macmillan, pages 267–268:
- (dated) A man in attendance at a frozen pond where skating etc. is going on.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| icemen | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Translations (5)
tr buzcu (a person who trades in ice) · hu jeges (a person who trades in ice) · da ismand (a person who trades in ice) · el παγοπώλης (a person who trades in ice) · fr assassin (assassin)