Anyone who enjoys taking a polar plunge knows how “gelid” the waters of a place like the one in the above photo can be.
gelid — an adjective meaning “icy” or extremely cold
gélido — the Spanish cognate of the same meaning
This winter has been especially “gelid” in my opinion, but I’m not fond of cold weather at all, so I may be exaggerating a bit (but only a bit). “Gelid” and its Spanish counterpart are not commonly used words, but knowing them will help you learn and remember a couple other useful Spanish words.
Those are “congelar” and “congelador,” which mean “to freeze” and a “freezer.” These words come up in Spanish curriculum in sections dealing with household items. Students easily recognize and remember “refrigerador” for “refrigerator” — there is another common word for that appliance that isn’t a cognate, so “refrigerador” is more commonly taught to English-speaking students — but they have a hard time learning and remembering “congelador” for a “freezer” because those two words look nothing alike.
However, if you look inside the word “congelador,” you’ll see that the middle of it looks a lot like the English word of “gelid,” and if you know “gelid” then it’s a lot easier to remember “congelador.” Things inside a “congelador” will become quite “gelid.”
“Gelid” can also be used to describe an “icy” person, as in that person’s personality. In Spanish, you’d need to be sure to change “gélido” to “gélida” when describing a female or something feminine, and you’d have to add an -s to the ending of those words for plural things. For example: “una persona gélida” — “a gelid person.” (The word “persona” is always feminine in Spanish, no matter who it is referring to.)
If you do something in an “icy” or cold manner, you do it “gelidly.” In Spanish, to make an adverb from an adjective, you take the feminine form of that adjective and then add -mente; thus, “gelidly” in Spanish is “gélidamente.” If something has the quality of being icy or gelid, it has “gelidness.” That is “gelidez” in Spanish.
“Congelar” means “to freeze.” That, as well as “gelid” and these other words, comes down from Latin’s gelare which also means “to freeze.” From “congelar,” you can create the adjective for “frozen,” which is “congelado” for masculine things and “congelada” for feminine things.
I’m hoping that we soon leave behind the “gelid” part of the year. I’m ready for warm weather, but I know a few “gelid” people whose hearts aren’t warmed by even the hottest of days.
Until next time. Last week I shared a number of body parts that are cognates, so if you aren’t yet a paying subscriber and would like to be able to read that post, please consider upgrading to “paid” now. Thanks.
Tammy Marshall
Gelid