chill

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: B1 — Intermediate

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun coldness due to a cold environment
  2. noun an almost pleasurable sensation of fright
  3. noun a sensation of cold that often marks the start of an infection and the development of a fever

Etymology

From Middle English chele, chile, from Old English ċiele, ċele (“cold; coldness”), from Proto-West Germanic *kali, from Proto-Germanic *kaliz, from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“to be cold”). Closely related with Dutch kil. Also akin to cool, cold, gel, and congeal, which see.

In classic literature

Synonyms

iciness, gelidity

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