glace (French)
Where does "glace" come from?
Tracing back to the Latin word 'glacies' for ice, 'glace' evolved through Vulgar Latin and Old French while maintaining its original meaning. During the Old French period, it expanded to include 'glass' and 'mirror,' likely influenced by the Frankish word for glass. Today, the word's journey has resulted in a versatile French term used for everything from frozen water and ice cream to reflective surfaces.
Full etymology tree
- glace (French), 'ice'
- inherited glace (Middle French)
- inherited glace (Old French), 'ice'
- orthographic borrowing *glas (Frankish)
- inherited *glacia (Latin), 'alternative form of glaciēs (“ice”) (attested from the 4th c. CE)'
- derived glacies (Latin), 'ice'
- suffix *-jēs (Proto-Italic)
- inherited *-yḗh₂s (Proto-Indo-European)
- derived *gel- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to be cold, to freeze'
- suffix *-jēs (Proto-Italic)
- derived glacies (Latin), 'ice'
- inherited glace (Old French), 'ice'
- inherited glace (Middle French)
Ancestors
- glace (Old French)
- glacies (Latin)
Descendants and derived words
- armoire à glace (French)
- bain de glace (French)
- briser la glace (French)
- cap glacé (French)
- crème à glace (French)
- cuillère à glace (French)
- disque de glace (French)
- escalade de glace (French)
- escalade sur glace (French)
- glace carbonique (French)
- glacer (French)
- glace sèche (French)
Updated May 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris