cold

Reading level: medium

Estimated CEFR level: A2 — Elementary

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a mild viral infection involving the nose and respiratory passages (but not the lungs)
  2. noun the absence of heat
  3. noun the sensation produced by low temperatures

Etymology

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, a participle form of *kalaną (“to be cold”), from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“cold”). Cognates Cognate with Scots cald, cauld (“cold”), Saterland Frisian koold (“cold”), West Frisian kâld (“cold”), Dutch koud (“cold”), Low German kold, koolt, koold (“cold”), German kalt (“cold”), Danish kold (“cold”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk kald (“cold”), Swedish kall (“cold”).

In classic literature

Synonyms

common cold

A single word — an entire dictionary opens.

Type a word, a sentence, a book title, or a link to an English article. WordNet and the Classics answer.

Try

A library of classics · a vault of words · instant etymology & meaning

Continue reading