LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · neuterfourth declension

gelū̆

gelū̆ n sg (genitive gelūs or gelū)
Classical[ˈɡɛ.ɫuː]Ecclesiastical[ˈd͡ʒɛː.lu]

Meaning

  1. frost
    At mihi nec grando, duris invisa colonis,43 BCE – c. 17 CE, Ovidius, Nux 106 (Traditionally attributed to Ovid, but authorship debated)
    15th century, A nominale [with a mentioning]. In: Anglo-Saxon and old English vocabularies by Thomas Wright. Second edition. Edited and collated by Richard Paul Wülcker. Volume I: Vocabularies, London, 1884, column 736
  2. cold, chill
    Near-synonym: frīgus

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

declension
formsingularplural
nominativegelū̆—
genitivegelūs
gelū
—
dativegelū
geluī
—
accusativegelū̆—
ablativegelū—
vocativegelū̆—

Phrases from Meissner's Latin Phrase-Book

frigore (gelu) rigere, torpere
to be numb with cold.

Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.

(gelū)
abl. gelū, frost, cold, ice: membra torrida gelu, L.: gelu Flumina constiterint, H.: Rura gelu tum claudit hiemps, V.: tarda gelu senectus, V.

Origins

From Proto-Indo-European *gel-u-, Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“cold”). Related to English cold.

Gallo-Romance
  • Catalangel
  • Frenchgel
  • Occitangèl
  • Occitangèu
  • Auvergnatgialfrom Occitan gèl
  • Auvergnatgiaufrom Occitan gèl
  • Limousingiaufrom Occitan gèl
Insular Romance
  • Sardinianghelu
  • Sardiniangelu
  • Sardinianbelu
Balkano-Romance
  • Romanianger
  • Aromaniandzer
Italo-Dalmatian
  • Italiangelo
  • Neapolitangelofrom Italian gelo
  • Neapolitanjélo
  • Sicilianjelu
  • Venetangeło
  • Venetanxeło
Ibero-Romance
  • Spanishhielofrom Old Spanish yelo
  • Aragonesechelo
  • Aragonesechel
  • Asturianxelu
  • Asturianxilu
  • Leonesexelu
  • Leonesexielu
  • Galicianxeofrom Old Galician-Portuguese geo
Borrowings
  • Portuguesegelofrom Old Galician-Portuguese gelo
Gallo-Italic
  • Emilianzel
  • Emilianzèil
  • Emilianziel
  • Emilianzrù
  • Lombardzel
  • Lombardgel
  • Lombardzeld
  • Lombardgeld
  • Lombardgild
  • Ligurianzêofrom Old Ligurian zer

Quick answers

What does gelū̆ mean in Latin?
gelū̆, a noun, means “frost; cold, chill”.
What is the genitive of gelū̆?
The genitive singular is gelūs. gelū̆ is neuter, fourth declension.
How do you pronounce gelū̆?
In classical Latin, [ˈɡɛ.ɫuː]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈd͡ʒɛː.lu].