different between icy vs nipping

English

Alternative forms

• icey (rare)
• ycie (obsolete)

Etymology

ice +? -y; cf. Old English ?si?.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?a?si/

Adjective

icy (comparative icier, superlative iciest)

1. Pertaining to, resembling, or abounding in ice; cold; frosty.
2. Covered with ice, wholly or partially.
3. Characterized by coldness of manner; frigid; cold.
   • 2009, Sharon Kendrick, The Desert Princes Bundle: The Sheikh's English Bride

     Gone was the gleam of desire, and the teasingly provocative remarks, and Alexa realised the truth in the saying that indifference was death. His demeanour was haughty and icy towards her.

4. (US, slang) To be wearing an excessive amount of jewelry, especially of the high-quality and expensive kind.

Related terms

• icily
• iciness

Translations

References

• icy in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• icy in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

Anagrams

• CyI

Middle French

Adverb

icy

1. here

Descendants

• French: ici

English

Verb

nipping

1. present participle of nip

Noun

nipping (plural nippings)

1. The act or sensation of giving a nip.
   • 1789, Memoirs of the Medical Society of London

     Being, however, satisfied as to the position, I withdrew my hand, the pains still growing less frequent and weaker, but she lamented greatly the nippings and pinchings in her belly, which rather increased as the true labour pains decreased.

   • 1999, Guy Murchie, The Seven Mysteries of Life

     Elephants may seem clumsy, but they not only are highly sophisticated in courtship, with large repertoires of provocative gestures, proddings, nippings and subtle erotic teasings with the trunk, but sometimes they complete actual copulation within 18 seconds.