Word definition: cold

Etimology


From Middle English cold, from Old English, specifically Anglian cald. The West Saxon form, ċeald (“cold”), survived as early Middle English cheald, cheld, or chald. Both descended from Proto-West Germanic *kald, from Proto-Germanic *kaldaz, a participle form of *kalaną (“to be cold”), from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“cold”).

adjective


cold (comparative colder, superlative coldest)

(of a thing) Having a low temperature.

(of the weather) Causing the air to be cold.

(of a person or animal) Feeling the sensation of coldness, especially to the point of discomfort.

Unfriendly; emotionally distant or unfeeling.

Chilled, filled with an uncomfortable sense of fear, dread, or alarm.

Dispassionate; not prejudiced or partisan; impartial.

Completely unprepared; without introduction.

Unconscious or deeply asleep; deprived of the metaphorical heat associated with life or consciousness.

(usually with "have" or "know" transitively) Perfectly, exactly, completely; by heart; down pat.

(usually with "have" transitively) Cornered; done for.

(slang) Cool, impressive.

(obsolete) Not pungent or acrid.

(obsolete) Unexciting; dull; uninteresting.

Affecting the sense of smell (as of hunting dogs) only feebly; having lost its odour.

(obsolete) Not sensitive; not acute.

Distant; said, in the game of hunting for some object, of a seeker remote from the thing concealed. Compare warm and hot.

(painting) Having a bluish effect; not warm in colour.

(databases) Rarely used or accessed, and thus able to be relegated to slower storage.

(informal) Without compassion; heartless; ruthless.

(informal) Not radioactive. [from the 20thc.]

(firearms) Not loaded with a round of live ammunition.

Without electrical power being supplied.

Examples


A cold wind whistled through the trees.

As cold waters to a thirstie soule: so is good newes from a farre countrey.

Oh cold, cold, rigid, dreadful Death, set up thine altar here, and dress it with such terrors as thou hast at thy command: for this is thy dominion!

I had always supposed that playboys didn't give a hoot for anything except blondes and cold bottles.

The forecast is that it will be very cold today.

She was so cold she was shivering.

She shot me a cold glance before turning her back.

At the end of a week, she could bear the suspense no longer, and so went humbly to her old home and sought forgiveness. She was not repulsed, but her reception was cold; and this hurt her almost as badly.

"Suppose someone pops in?" "Don't be silly. Mrs Cream is working on her book. Phyllis is in her room, typing Upjohn's speech. Wilbert's gone for a walk. Upjohn isn't here. The only character who could pop in would be the Brinkley Court ghost. If it does, give it a cold look and walk through it. That'll teach it not to come butting in where it isn't wanted, ha ha."

River Song: This is cold. Even by your standards, this is cold.

"At the risk of sounding cold though, I'm glad he's gone. His abandonment left me in Aunt Fara's custody, and that's honestly the best thing he's ever done for me."

Yet oft when sundown skirts the moor⁠An inner trouble I behold,⁠A spectral doubt which makes me cold,That I shall be thy mate no more, […]

Let's look at this tomorrow with a cold head.

He's a nice guy, but the cold facts say we should fire him.

The cold truth is that states rarely undertake military action unless their national interests are at stake.

He was assigned cold calls for the first three months.

The one thing considered the brass ring in selling insurance was making a sale on a cold canvass. Cold canvassing was the most dreaded exercise for most insurance salesmen.

I knocked him out cold.

After one more beer he passed out cold.

Practice your music scales until you know them cold.

Try both these maneuvers until you have them cold and can do them in the dark without thinking.

Rehearse your lines until you have them down cold.

Keep that list in front of you, or memorize it cold.

With that receipt, we have them cold for fraud.

Criminal interrogation. Initially they will dream up explanations faster than you could ever do so, but when they become fatigued, often they will acknowledge that you have them cold.

"Either Upjohn agrees to drop that libel suit or he doesn't get these notes, as he calls them, and without them he won't be able to utter a word. He'll have to come across with the price of the papers. Won't he, Jeeves?""He would appear to have no alternative, miss.""Unless he wants to get up on that platform and stand there opening and shutting his mouth like a goldfish. We've got him cold."

There were more than a few unforgettable moments from Sunday's Game 7 showdown between the Golden State Warriors and the Sacramento Kings. Steph Curry came up with an epic performance on a record-setting evening, and he also produced one of the coldest photos of the NBA Playoffs thus far.

Lowkey she so cold for that

Indians see this fit and think it's the coldest thing ever

cold plants

What a deal of cold business doth a man misspend the better part of life in!

The jest grows cold […] when it comes on in a second scene.

a cold scent

Smell this business with a sense as cold / As is a dead man's nose.

You're cold … getting warmer … hot! You've found it!

I can't believe she said that...that was cold!

"That's right," Jackson said. "The Old Man will be pleased to welcome you." There was eagerness in his reedy voice. "What do you say? We'll take care of you. Feed you, bring you cold plants and animals. For a week maybe?"

Synonym: dead

Therefore, to avoid unnecessary delay in the trouble-shooting procedure, it is good practice to make a resistance check on a "cold" circuit , to determine whether resistance values are normal.

Related words


synonyms

(of a thing, having a low temperature): chilled, chilly, freezing, frigid, glacial, icy, cool

(of the weather): (UK, slang) brass monkeys, nippy, parky, taters

(of a person or animal):

(unfriendly): aloof, distant, hostile, standoffish, unfriendly, unwelcoming

(unprepared): unprepared, unready

See also Thesaurus:cold

antonyms

(having a low temperature): baking, boiling, heated, hot, scorching, searing, torrid, warm

(of the weather): hot (See the corresponding synonyms of hot.)

(of a person or animal): hot (See the corresponding synonyms of hot.)

(unfriendly): amiable, friendly, welcoming

(unprepared): prepared, primed, ready

(not radioactive): hot, radioactive

Etimology


From Middle English cold, colde, from Old English cald, ċeald (“cold, coldness”), from Proto-West Germanic *kald, from Proto-Germanic *kaldą (“coldness”), from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“cold”).

noun


cold (plural colds)

(uncountable) A condition of low temperature.

(with 'the', figurative) A harsh place; a place of abandonment.

(countable, pathology) A common, usually harmless, viral illness, usually with congestion of the nasal passages and sometimes fever.

(uncountable, slang) Rheum; sleepy dust.

Examples


Come in, out of the cold.

The former politician was left out in the cold after his friends deserted him.

I caught a miserable cold and had to stay home for a week

Who the fuck is this, pagin' me at 5:46 in the morning? / crack of dawn and now I'm yawnin' / wipe the cold out my eye, see who's this pagin' me and why

But I remember this, moms would lick her finger tips / to wipe the cold out my eye before school with her spit

Related words


synonyms

(low temperature): coldness

(illness): common cold, coryza, head cold, pose

coordinate terms

freeze, frost

Etimology


From Middle English colde, from Old English calde, ċealde (“coldly”), from the adjective (see above).

adverb


cold (comparative more cold, superlative most cold)

At a low temperature.

Without preparation.

(slang, informal, dated) In a cold, frank, or realistically honest manner.

Examples


The steel was processed cold.

The speaker went in cold and floundered for a topic.

Two weeks after it closed, he started rehearsals for Cheer Up, a new play by Mary Roberts Rinehart booked into the Harris Theatre. It was to open cold without any out-of-town tryout under the direction of a young Cecil B. DeMille […]

Now Little Bo Peep cold lost her sheep / And Rip van Winkle fell the hell asleep

Data provided by Wiktionary