Added 4 October 2026
cold
/kəʊld/ adjective
In Latin: algidus, frīgidus Wiktionary
adjective Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about cold at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
noun
-
A condition of low temperature.
Come in, out of the cold.
-
A harsh place; a place of abandonment.
The former politician was left out in the cold after his friends deserted him.
-
A common, usually harmless, usually viral illness, usually with congestion of the nasal passages and sometimes fever.
I caught a miserable cold and had to stay home for a week
adverb
-
At a low temperature.
The steel was processed cold.
-
Without preparation.
The speaker went in cold and floundered for a topic.
- In a cold, frank, or realistically honest manner.
Origin
Inherited from Middle English cold, from Anglian Old English 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 (“cold”), a participle form of *kalaną (“to be cold, to freeze”), from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“to be cold, to freeze”).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)