gel

See also: gél, gêl, gęl, Gel, and GEL

English

Etymology 1

Coined by Thomas Graham in the mid 19th century as a clipping of gelatin, from French gélatine, from Italian gelatina, diminutive form of gelata (“iced”), from Latin gelata, past participle of gelo (“to freeze”), from gelu (“frost”), from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“cold”)

Pronunciation

• enPR: jĕl, IPA^(key): /d͡ʒɛl/, [d͡ʒɛɫ]
• Rhymes: -ɛl
• Homophones: jel, jell

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

gel (countable and uncountable, plural gels)

1. A semi-solid to almost solid colloid of a solid and a liquid, such as jelly, cheese or opal.
   • 2013 May-June, Charles T. Ambrose, “Alzheimer’s Disease”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3, page 200:

     Similar studies of rats have employed four different intracranial resorbable, slow sustained release systems—surgical foam, a thermal gel depot, a microcapsule or biodegradable polymer beads.

2. Any gel intended for a particular cosmetic use, such as for styling the hair.
3. A film of flexible transparent plastic (such as acetate, celluloid, or cellophane) suitable for making superimpositions or diapositives (image to overlay on other images, especially for overhead projectors); a digital virtual equivalent of this.

Derived terms

• aerogel
• energy gel
• gel bracelet
• gel electrophoresis
• gel pen
• hair gel
• hand gel
• hydrogel
• light gel
• pepper gel
• piping gel
• shaving gel
• shower gel
• silica gel
• sol-gel
• thermal gel
• tightening gel
• xerogel

 

Translations

suspension of solid in liquid

• Albanian: xhel m
• Arabic: هُلَام m (hulām)
• Armenian: գել (hy) (gel)
• Azerbaijani: qel
• Belarusian: гель m (hjelʹ)
• Bulgarian: гел m (gel)
• Catalan: gel (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 凝膠／凝胶 (zh) (níngjiāo), 凍膠／冻胶 (zh) (dòngjiāo), 啫哩 (zh) (zhělī)

• Czech: gel (cs) m
• Danish: gel
• Dutch: gel (nl) m or n, gelei (nl) f
• Esperanto: ĝelo
• Estonian: geel (et)
• Finnish: geeli (fi), hyty, hyytelö (fi)
• French: gel (fr) m
• Galician: xel m
• Georgian: გელი (geli)
• German: Gel (de) n
• Greek: γέλη f (géli), πήκτωμα (el) n (píktoma)
• Hebrew: גֶ׳ל m (djel)
• Hindi: जेल (hi) m (jel)
• Hungarian: gél (hu)
• Icelandic: hlaup (is) n
• Ido: jelo (io)
• Indonesian: gel (id)
• Irish: glóthach m
• Italian: gel (it)
• Japanese: ゲル (ja) (geru), ジェル (jeru)
• Kazakh: гель (gel)
• Khmer: ជែល (cɛɛl)
• Korean: 겔 (ko) (gel), 젤 (jel)
• Kyrgyz: гель (ky) (gel)
• Lao: please add this translation if you can
• Latvian: želeja f
• Lithuanian: gelis m
• Macedonian: гел m (gel)
• Maori: hāpia
• Mongolian: гель (gelʹ)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: gel

• Persian: ژل (fa) (žel)
• Polish: żel (pl) m
• Portuguese: gel (pt) m
• Russian: гель (ru) m (gelʹ)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ге̏л m

  Roman: gȅl (sh) m

• Slovak: gél m
• Slovene: gel m
• Spanish: gel (es)
• Swedish: gel (sv) c or n
• Tajik: гел (gel)
• Thai: เจล (th) (jeen)
• Turkish: jel (tr)
• Ukrainian: гель (uk) m (helʹ)
• Urdu: جیل m (jel)
• Uzbek: gel (uz)
• Vietnamese: gien (vi), keo (vi)
• Zazaki: jel

any gel for a particular cosmetic use

• Arabic: مُثَبِّتُ الشَّعْر m (muṯabbitu š-šaʕr)
• Catalan: gel (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 凝膠／凝胶 (zh) (níngjiāo)

• Czech: gel (cs) m
• Dutch: gel (nl) m or n
• Finnish: geeli (fi)
• French: gel (fr) m
• Galician: xel m
• German: Gel (de) n
• Greek: ζελέ (el) n (zelé), τζελ (el) n (tzel)
• Hebrew: ג'ל (he) m (djel), תקריש (he) m (takrísh)
• Hungarian: gél (hu), zselé (hu)
• Icelandic: gel (is) n
• Japanese: ジェル (jeru), ジェル (jeru)
• Maori: pia
• Persian: ژل (fa) (žel)
• Polish: żel (pl) m
• Portuguese: gel (pt) m
• Russian: гель (ru) m (gelʹ)
• Tagalog: pamada
• Thai: เจล (th) (jeel)
• Turkish: jel (tr), jöle (tr)

See also

For more information on classification of colloids, see Wikipedia article on colloids

Verb

gel (third-person singular simple present gels, present participle gelling, simple past and past participle gelled)

1. (transitive) To apply (cosmetic) gel to (the hair, etc).
   • 2017 June 3, Daniel Taylor, “Real Madrid win Champions League as Cristiano Ronaldo double defeats Juv”, in The Guardian (London)‎^[1]:

     It ended, as it so often does, with that familiar smile. Cristiano Ronaldo – gelled hair, dazzling teeth, magic in his boots – will never forget the night he scored the 600th goal of an almost implausible career.

2. (intransitive) To become a gel.
3. (intransitive) To develop a rapport.

   He was a nice guy, and I got on OK with his friends, but the two of us never really gelled.

4. (intransitive, figurative) To come together to form something; to cohere.

   We put our ideas together and they eventually gelled into a saleable product.

Translations

apply cosmetic gel

• Dutch: gellen
• Finnish: levittää geeliä

become gel

• Bulgarian: желирам (želiram)
• Catalan: gelificar (ca)
• Dutch: indikken (nl), geleren (nl)
• Finnish: geeliytyä, hyytelöityä
• Irish: glóthaigh
• Spanish: gelificarse

develop a rapport

• Catalan: relacionar-se (ca)
• Spanish: relacionarse (es)

See also

• aerosol
• colloid
• emulsion
• foam
• sol

Etymology 2

Imitative of upper-class British pronunciation of girl.

Pronunciation

• enPR: gĕl, IPA^(key): /ɡɛl/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

Noun

gel (plural gels)

1. (British, slang) A girl.
   • 1955, C[live] S[taples] Lewis, The Magician’s Nephew, London: The Bodley Head, →OCLC:

     "Now pray don't be troublesome, my dear gel," said Uncle Andrew.

Anagrams

• ELG, ElG, leg, leg.

Catalan

Etymology

Inherited from Old Catalan gel, from Latin gelū, from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“cold”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic) [ˈʒɛl]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [ˈd͡ʒɛl]

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

gel m (plural gels)

1. ice

   Synonym: glaç

2. gel

Related terms

• gelar

Further reading

• “gel” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “gel”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “gel” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “gel” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Chinese

Etymology

From English gel.

Pronunciation

• Cantonese (Jyutping): zeu¹

---

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: zeu¹
    • Cantonese Pinyin: dzeu¹
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sɛːu̯⁵⁵/

Verb

gel

1. (Cantonese) to gel
2. (Hong Kong Cantonese, Internet slang, neologism) to predict with confidence

Derived terms

• gel甲
• gel頭／gel头

 

See also

• 嘴gel gel

 

Cimbrian

Alternative forms

• ghéel (Sette Comuni)

Etymology

From Middle High German gël, from Old High German gelo, from Proto-West Germanic *gelu, from Proto-Germanic *gelwaz (“yellow”). Cognate with German gelb, English yellow.

Adjective

gel

1. (Luserna) yellow

References

• Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013) Luserna / Lusérn: Le nostre parole / Ünsarne börtar / Unsere Wörter [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle isole linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien

Dutch

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʒɛl/, /dʒɛl/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

gel m or n (plural gels)

1. gel (suspension of solid in liquid)
2. gel (cosmetic preparation)

Anagrams

• leg

Dutch Low Saxon

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡeːl/

Adjective

gel

1. yellow

French

Etymology

Inherited from Latin gelū, from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“cold”). For the sense of "gel", compare English gel; compare gélatine.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʒɛl/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

gel m (plural gels)

1. frost

   Synonym: givre

2. gel (suspension of solid in liquid)
3. gel (cosmetic preparation)
4. (colloquialism, Canada) fall freeze
   1. (seasons, time) freeze-up, one of the 6 seasons of high latitudes; the freeze.

Antonyms

seasons

• dégel

 

Derived terms

• gel hydroalcoolique
• gélifier
• gelivure

 

Related terms

• dégel
• gélatine
• gelée
• geler

 

See also

• glace

Further reading

• “gel”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

German

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

gel (strong nominative masculine singular geler, comparative geler, superlative am gelsten)

1. (obsolete) Alternative spelling of gehl, alternative form of gelb (“yellow”)

Declension

Positive forms of gel

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter
predicative		er ist gel	sie ist gel	es ist gel	sie sind gel
strong declension (without article)	nominative	geler	gele	geles	gele
	genitive	gelen	geler	gelen	geler
	dative	gelem	geler	gelem	gelen
	accusative	gelen	gele	geles	gele
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der gele	die gele	das gele	die gelen
	genitive	des gelen	der gelen	des gelen	der gelen
	dative	dem gelen	der gelen	dem gelen	den gelen
	accusative	den gelen	die gele	das gele	die gelen
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein geler	eine gele	ein geles	(keine) gelen
	genitive	eines gelen	einer gelen	eines gelen	(keiner) gelen
	dative	einem gelen	einer gelen	einem gelen	(keinen) gelen
	accusative	einen gelen	eine gele	ein geles	(keine) gelen

Comparative forms of gel

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter
predicative		er ist geler	sie ist geler	es ist geler	sie sind geler
strong declension (without article)	nominative	gelerer	gelere	geleres	gelere
	genitive	geleren	gelerer	geleren	gelerer
	dative	gelerem	gelerer	gelerem	geleren
	accusative	geleren	gelere	geleres	gelere
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der gelere	die gelere	das gelere	die geleren
	genitive	des geleren	der geleren	des geleren	der geleren
	dative	dem geleren	der geleren	dem geleren	den geleren
	accusative	den geleren	die gelere	das gelere	die geleren
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein gelerer	eine gelere	ein geleres	(keine) geleren
	genitive	eines geleren	einer geleren	eines geleren	(keiner) geleren
	dative	einem geleren	einer geleren	einem geleren	(keinen) geleren
	accusative	einen geleren	eine gelere	ein geleres	(keine) geleren

Superlative forms of gel

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter
predicative		er ist am gelsten	sie ist am gelsten	es ist am gelsten	sie sind am gelsten
strong declension (without article)	nominative	gelster	gelste	gelstes	gelste
	genitive	gelsten	gelster	gelsten	gelster
	dative	gelstem	gelster	gelstem	gelsten
	accusative	gelsten	gelste	gelstes	gelste
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der gelste	die gelste	das gelste	die gelsten
	genitive	des gelsten	der gelsten	des gelsten	der gelsten
	dative	dem gelsten	der gelsten	dem gelsten	den gelsten
	accusative	den gelsten	die gelste	das gelste	die gelsten
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein gelster	eine gelste	ein gelstes	(keine) gelsten
	genitive	eines gelsten	einer gelsten	eines gelsten	(keiner) gelsten
	dative	einem gelsten	einer gelsten	einem gelsten	(keinen) gelsten
	accusative	einen gelsten	eine gelste	ein gelstes	(keine) gelsten

German Low German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡeːl/

Adjective

gel

1. Alternative spelling of geel

Icelandic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /cɛːl/
• Rhymes: -ɛːl

Noun

gel n (genitive singular gels, no plural)

1. gel

Declension

declension of gel

n-s	singular
	indefinite	definite
nominative	gel	gelið
accusative	gel	gelið
dative	geli	gelinu
genitive	gels	gelsins

Nalca

Noun

gel

1. woman
2. wife

Old French

Alternative forms

• jel

Contraction

gel

1. Contraction of ge + le (I […] it)

Old Irish

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *gelos, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰelh₂- (“to shine”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡʲel/

Adjective

gel

1. bright
2. clear
3. white

Declension

o/ā-stem
Singular	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	gel	gel	gel
Vocative	gil* gel**
Accusative	gel	gil
Genitive	gil	gile	gil
Dative	giul	gil	giul
Plural	Masculine	Feminine/neuter
Nominative	gil	gela
Vocative	gilu gela†
Accusative	gilu gela†
Genitive	gel
Dative	gelaib
Notes	*modifying a noun whose vocative is different from its nominative **modifying a noun whose vocative is identical to its nominative † not when substantivized

Derived terms

• aingel

Descendants

• Irish: geal
• Manx: gial
• Scottish Gaelic: geal

Mutation

Old Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Nasalization
gel	gel pronounced with /ɣ(ʲ)-/	ngel
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “1 gel”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

Old Norse

Verb

gel

1. first-person singular present active indicative of gala

Old Saxon

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *gailaz, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰoylos (“frothing, tempestuous, wanton”). Cognate with Old English gāl, Dutch geil (“salacious, lustful”), Old High German geil (German geil (“lustful”)), Old Norse geiligr (“beautiful”).

Adjective

gēl (comparative gēloro, superlative gēlost)

1. wanton, lustful; wicked

Declension

Positive forms of gēl

Strong declension
gender	masculine		feminine		neuter
case	singular	plural	singular	plural	singular	plural
nominative	gēl	gēle, gēla	gēl	gēla	gēl	gēl, gēla
accusative	gēlan, gēlen	gēla, gēle	gēla	gēla	gēl	gēl, gēla
genitive	gēles, gēlas	gēlaro, gēloro, gēlero	gēlara, gēlaro	gēlaro, gēloro, gēlero	gēles, gēlas	gēlaro, gēloro, gēlero
dative	gēlumu, gēlum, gēlun, gēlun, gēlon, gēlen, gēlan	gēlun, gēlon, gēlum	gēlaro, gēlaru, gēlara	gēlun, gēlon	gēlumu, gēlum, gēlun, gēlun, gēlon, gēlen, gēlan	gēlun, gēlon, gēlum
Weak declension
gender	masculine		feminine		neuter
case	singular	plural	singular	plural	singular	plural
nominative	gēlo, gēla	gēlon, gēlun	gēla, gēle	gēlon, gēlun, gēlan	gēla, gēle	gēlon, gēlun
accusative	gēlon, gēlan	gēlon, gēlun	gēlun, gēlon, gēlan	gēlon, gēlun, gēlan	gēla, gēle	gēlon, gēlun
genitive	gēlen, gēlan	gēlono, gēleno	gēlun, gēlan, gēlen	gēlono	gēlen, gēlan	gēlono, gēleno
dative	gēlon, gēlen, gēlan	gēlon, gēlun	gēlun, gēlan	gēlon, gēlun	gēlon, gēlen, gēlan	gēlon, gēlun

Comparative forms of gēl (weak only)

Weak declension
gender	masculine		feminine		neuter
case	singular	plural	singular	plural	singular	plural
nominative	gēloro, gēlora	gēloron, gēlorun	gēlora, gēlore	gēloron, gēlorun, gēloran	gēlora, gēlore	gēloron, gēlorun
accusative	gēloron, gēloran	gēloron, gēlorun	gēlorun, gēloron, gēloran	gēloron, gēlorun, gēloran	gēlora, gēlore	gēloron, gēlorun
genitive	gēloren, gēloran	gēlorono, gēloreno	gēlorun, gēloran, gēloren	gēlorono	gēloren, gēloran	gēlorono, gēloreno
dative	gēloron, gēloren, gēloran	gēloron, gēlorun	gēlorun, gēloran	gēloron, gēlorun	gēloron, gēloren, gēloran	gēloron, gēlorun

Superlative forms of gēl

Strong declension
gender	masculine		feminine		neuter
case	singular	plural	singular	plural	singular	plural
nominative	gēlost	gēloste, gēlosta	gēlost	gēlosta	gēlost	gēlost, gēlosta
accusative	gēlostan, gēlosten	gēlosta, gēloste	gēlosta	gēlosta	gēlost	gēlost, gēlosta
genitive	gēlostes, gēlostas	gēlostaro, gēlostoro, gēlostero	gēlostara, gēlostaro	gēlostaro, gēlostoro, gēlostero	gēlostes, gēlostas	gēlostaro, gēlostoro, gēlostero
dative	gēlostumu, gēlostum, gēlostun, gēlostun, gēloston, gēlosten, gēlostan	gēlostun, gēloston, gēlostum	gēlostaro, gēlostaru, gēlostara	gēlostun, gēloston	gēlostumu, gēlostum, gēlostun, gēlostun, gēloston, gēlosten, gēlostan	gēlostun, gēloston, gēlostum
Weak declension
gender	masculine		feminine		neuter
case	singular	plural	singular	plural	singular	plural
nominative	gēlosto, gēlosta	gēloston, gēlostun	gēlosta, gēloste	gēloston, gēlostun, gēlostan	gēlosta, gēloste	gēloston, gēlostun
accusative	gēloston, gēlostan	gēloston, gēlostun	gēlostun, gēloston, gēlostan	gēloston, gēlostun, gēlostan	gēlosta, gēloste	gēloston, gēlostun
genitive	gēlosten, gēlostan	gēlostono, gēlosteno	gēlostun, gēlostan, gēlosten	gēlostono	gēlosten, gēlostan	gēlostono, gēlosteno
dative	gēloston, gēlosten, gēlostan	gēloston, gēlostun	gēlostun, gēlostan	gēloston, gēlostun	gēloston, gēlosten, gēlostan	gēloston, gēlostun

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from English gel.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈʒɛw/ [ˈʒɛʊ̯]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈʒɛl/ [ˈʒɛɫ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈʒɛl/ [ˈʒɛɫ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈʒɛ.li/

• Rhymes: (Portugal) -ɛl, (Brazil) -ɛw
• Hyphenation: gel

Noun

gel m (plural géis or geles)

1. gel (suspension of solid in liquid)

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French gel.

Noun

gel n (plural geluri)

1. gel

Declension

Declension of gel

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(un) gel	gelul	(niște) geluri	gelurile
genitive/dative	(unui) gel	gelului	(unor) geluri	gelurilor
vocative	gelule		gelurilor

Spanish

Etymology

From gelatina or borrowed from French gel. Compare English gel, gelatine.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈxel/ [ˈxel]
• Rhymes: -el
• Syllabification: gel

Noun

gel m (plural geles)

1. gel (semi-solid colloid of a solid and a liquid)
2. gel (cosmetic gel, especially body wash)

Derived terms

• aerogel
• bolígrafo de gel
• pluma de gel

 

Further reading

• “gel”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014

Tok Pisin

Etymology

From English girl.

Noun

gel

1. girl

Turkish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɟɛl/, [ɟæl]

• Audio:

  (file)

Verb

gel

1. second-person singular imperative of gelmek