LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
adjectivefirst/second-declension adjective

gelidus

gelidus (feminine gelida, neuter gelidum, comparative gelidior, superlative gelidissimus, adverb gelidē)
Classical[ˈɡɛ.lɪ.dʊs]Ecclesiastical[ˈd͡ʒɛː.li.dus]

Meaning

  1. adjectiveice-cold, icy, frosty
    Non tamen Egeriae luctus aliena levare damna valent; montisque iacens radicibus imis liquitur in lacrimas, donec pietate dolentis mota soror Phoebi gelidum de corpore fontemBut the woes of others did not have the strength to lift Egeria's griefs; and lying at the lowest roots of a mountain she melted into tears, until, moved by the faithfulness of her suffering, the sister of Phoebus made from her body a cool spring, and weakened her limbs into eternal streams.8 CE, Ovidius, Metamorphoses 15.547–551
  2. adjectivechilling

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Frigere · Algere · Algidus · Alsus · Gelidus · Frigus · Gelu · Glacies

Frigere (φρίξαι) means to be cold, in opp. to calere, Cic. Fam. viii. 8. Auct. Her. iv. 15. Sen. Ir. ii. 18; whereas algere (ἀλγεῖν) means to feel cold, in opp. to æstuare. Cic. Tusc. ii. 14, 34. Sen. Ir. iii. 12. Plin. H. N. xvii. 26. 2. Algidus denotes cold, as an unpleasant chill; alsus, as a refreshing coolness. 3. Frigidus denotes a moderate degree of coldness, in opp. to calidus; whereas gelidus means on the point of freezing, in opp. to fervidus. 4. Frigus denotes, objectively, cold in itself, which attacks a man, and leaves him; whereas frigedo denotes cold, subjectively, as the state of a man attacked by cold, which begins and ends; it is an antiquated word which has become obsolete by the general use of frigus. 5. Gelu, gelus, gelum, (γλοία) denote, like κρύος, cold that produces ice; gelicidium, like κρυμός, a single attack of frost, a frosty night; and glacies, like κρύσταλλος, its effect, ice. (iii. 89.)

Declension

singular
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativegelidusgelidagelidum
genitivegelidīgelidaegelidī
dativegelidōgelidaegelidō
accusativegelidumgelidamgelidum
ablativegelidōgelidāgelidō
vocativegelidegelidagelidum
plural
formmasculinefeminineneuter
nominativegelidīgelidaegelida
genitivegelidōrumgelidārumgelidōrum
dativegelidīsgelidīsgelidīs
accusativegelidōsgelidāsgelida
ablativegelidīsgelidīsgelidīs
vocativegelidīgelidaegelida

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

sitim haustu gelidae aquae sedare
to slake one's thirst by a draught of cold water.

gĕlĭdus, a, um (archaic
I. gen. fem. sing. gelidaï aquaï, Lucr. 3, 693), adj. gelu, icy cold, very cold, icy, frosty (a higher degree than frigidus; cf. also: algidus, rigidus, glacialis).
I. Lit.: (Fibrenus) statim praecipitat in Lirem ... eumque multo gelidiorem facit, Cic. Leg. 2, 3, 6: caelum est hieme frigidum et gelidum, cold and frosty, Plin. Ep. 5, 6, 4: aqua, Lucr. 3, 693: aquam gelidam bibere, Cic. Cat. 1, 13, 31; cf.: gelidissimae aquae, Plin. 31, 2, 6, § 10: fontium gelidae perennitates, Cic. N. D. 2, 39, 98: fluvii, Lucr. 6, 1172: nives, id. 6, 107: pruina, id. 2, 431; 515; Verg. G. 2, 263: loca gelida propinquitate Tauri montis, Liv. 38, 27, 9: nemus, Hor. C. 1, 1, 30: valles, Verg. G. 2, 488: rupes, id. A. 8, 343: Haemus, Hor. C. 1, 12, 6: Algidus, id. ib. 1, 21, 6: Scythes, id. ib. 4, 5, 25: saxum, Lucr. 3, 892: umbrae frigoris, id. 5, 641: nox, Verg. G. 1, 287; Hor. Ep. 2, 2, 169: aether, Verg. A. 8, 28: December, Ov. Tr. 1, 11, 3: foci, i. e. never kindled, id. F. 3, 28: tyrannus (i. e. Boreas), id. M. 6, 711.—
B. Subst.: gĕlĭda, ae, f. (sc. aqua), water cold as ice (like frigida; cf. calida or calda, warm water): foribusque repulsum Perfundit gelida, Hor. S. 2, 7, 91: calidae gelidaeque minister; Juv. 5, 63.—
II. In partic., icy cold, cold, stiff with death, old age, or fright (poet., like frigidus): (Niobe) corporibus gelidis incumbit, Ov. M. 6, 277: artus, id. ib. 4, 247; 6, 249: vultus, id. ib. 4, 141: gelidus tardante senecta Sanguis hebet, Verg. A. 5, 395: et gelidum subito frigore pectus erat, Ov. F. 1, 98; so, pavidus gelidusque, id. M. 3, 688; cf. id. ib. 10, 423.—Hence also transf., of death, fright, etc.: gelidi vestigia leti, Lucr. 3, 530: mors, Hor. C. 2, 8, 11; Ov. M. 15, 153: metus, id. H. 11, 82; cf. formido, id. M. 2, 200: horror, id. H. 16, 67: terror, id. M. 3, 100: tremor, Verg. A. 2, 120: pallor, Ov. Tr. 1, 4, 11.—Adv.: gĕlĭde (like frigide, I.), coldly, faintly, indolently, ψυχρῶς: quod res omnes timide gelideque ministrat, Hor. A. P. 171.

Origins

By surface analysis, gelū (“frost”, “chill”) + -idus (“tending to”, adjectival derivational suffix).

Descendants
  • Catalangeliu
  • Catalangèlid
  • Englishgelid
  • Italiangelido
  • Portuguesegélido
  • Spanishgélido
  • Galicianxélido

In English words that came into English from gelidus

  • gelidgelidus

Quick answers

What does gelidus mean in Latin?
gelidus, a adjective, means “ice-cold, icy, frosty; chilling”.
How do you pronounce gelidus?
In classical Latin, [ˈɡɛ.lɪ.dʊs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈd͡ʒɛː.li.dus].