Iceberg

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɜː(r)É¡
• RP IPA: /ˈaɪsbɜːɡ/
• US IPA: /ˈaɪsbɝɡ/

Origin

From Dutch ijsberg, compound of ijs “ice” + berg “mountain”. First used to describe a glacier as seen at a distance from a ship then used as a term to describe the floating chunks of ice broken off from such glaciers. Compare German Eisberg, Danish isbjerg, Norwegian/Swedish isberg, Welsh eisberg.

Full definition of iceberg

Noun

1. A huge mass of ocean-floating ice which has broken off a glacier or ice shelfThe Titanic hit an iceberg and sank.
2. (US, slang) An aloof person.
3. (figuratively, after an adjective) An impending disastrous event whose adverse effects are only beginning to show, in reference to one-tenth of the volume of an iceberg being visible above water.
• 2013, The Economist, ''How Barack Obama can get at least some of his credibility back:He has little to lose: at present he will go down in history, alongside George W. Bush, as a skipper who ignored the looming fiscal iceberg.

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