November 30, 2011
congeal (verb)
\kun-JEEL\ Hear it!
What does it mean?
1 : to change from a fluid to a solid state by or as if by cold2 : to make or become stiff, thick, or lumpy : clot
How do you use it?
Before Jayden was admitted to the hospital for surgery, he underwent tests to make sure that his blood was able to congeal properly.
Are you a word wiz?

Which of these words do you think shares a root with "congeal"?

"Congeal" can be traced back to the Latin verb "congelare," whose base word, "gelare," meant "to freeze." "Gelare" also gave us the name of the food product made by boiling sugar and the juice of fruit that we know as "jelly," as well as that of the gummy or sticky protein called "gelatin" which is often an ingredient of jelly. Although the adjective "cold" doesn't look or sound anything like "gelare," language experts believe that there is a link between those two words as well.
Archive RSS Feed