■ adjective
1》 of or at a low or relatively low temperature.
2》 lacking affection or warmth of feeling; unemotional.
↘not affected by emotion; objective.
3》 (of a colour) containing pale blue or grey and giving no impression of warmth.
4》 (of a scent or trail) no longer fresh and easy to follow: the trail went ~.
↘(in children's games) far from finding or guessing what is sought.
5》 without preparation or rehearsal.
6》 informal unconscious: she was out ~.
■ noun
1》 a low temperature; ~ weather; a ~ environment.
2》 a common infection in which the mucous membrane of the nose and throat becomes inflamed, causing running at the nose and sneezing.
Phrases
catch a ~ informal encounter difficulties.
~ comfort poor consolation.
~ feet loss of nerve or confidence.
the ~ shoulder a show of intentional unfriendliness; rejection.
in ~ blood without feeling or mercy.
in the ~ light of day when one has had time to consider a situation objectively.
leave someone ~ fail to interest or excite someone.
out in the ~ ignored; neglected.
Derivatives
~ish adjective
~ly adverb
~ness noun
Origin
OE cald , of Gmc origin; related to L. gelu 'frost'.