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gel

noun

  1. solid jelly-like material that can have properties ranging from soft and weak to hard and tough. Gels are defined as a substantially dilute cross-linked system, which exhibits no flow when in the steady-state
L14874 on Wikidata ↗

verb

  1. to come together, become coherent, or agree well
  2. to set or solidify, combine into a solid whole; to become a gel
L14875 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ɡɛl/ / /d͡ʒɛl/ / [d͡ʒɛɫ]

noun

Etymology: Imitative of upper-class British pronunciation of girl.

  1. A girl.

    "Now pray don't be troublesome, my dear gel," said Uncle Andrew.

verb

Etymology: Coined by Thomas Graham in the mid 19th century as a clipping of gelatin, from French gélatine, from Italian gelatina, diminutive form of gelata (“iced”), from Latin gelata, past participle of gelo (“to freeze”), from gelu (“frost”), from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“cold”). For the meaning development compare with Russian сту́день (stúdenʹ, “aspic, jelly, gel”) related to студёный (studjónyj, “cold”).

  1. To apply (cosmetic) gel to (the hair, etc).

    It ended, as it so often does, with that familiar smile. Cristiano Ronaldo – gelled hair, dazzling teeth, magic in his boots – will never forget the night he scored the 600th goal of an almost implausible career.

  2. To become a gel: to set up.
  3. To develop a rapport.

    He was a nice guy, and I got on OK with his friends, but the two of us never really gelled.

  4. To come together to form something; to cohere.

    We put our ideas together and they eventually gelled into a saleable product.