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Today it means

iceberg

a large floating mass of ice broken off from a glacier or ice sheet

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Where does the word "iceberg" come from? It comes from Dutch ijsberg, and was adopted directly into English (1770s).

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Where does the word "iceberg" come from? It comes from Dutch ijsberg, and was adopted directly into English (1770s).

Iceberg’s story begins in Dutch: ijsberg meant “ice mountain.” Literally ice mountain, from ijs (ice) and berg (mountain). It reached English by 1770s as iceberg. Settled as the English word for a large floating mass of ice. Today, iceberg means a large floating mass of ice broken off from a glacier or ice sheet.

  1. Stage 1 · Dutch · 1700s ijsberg "ice mountain", literally ice mountain, from ijs (ice) and berg (mountain).
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1770s iceberg "a large floating mass of ice", settled as the English word for a large floating mass of ice.

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