gel
[jel]
- Physical Chemistry. a semirigid colloidal dispersion of a solid with a liquid or gas, as jelly, glue, etc.
- Theater. gelatin(def 5).
- Biochemistry. a semirigid polymer, as agarose, starch, cellulose acetate, or polyacrylamide, cast into slabs or cylinders for the electrophoretic separation of proteins and nucleic acids.
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- to form or become a gel.
- jell(def 2).
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Origin of gel
First recorded in 1895–1900; shortening of gelatin
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for gel
Contemporary Examples
My stranger-friend left the room to let the gel mask sit on my face for a bit.
Wilkinson says the gel combats the “I had a run-in with a can of paint” defense.
But waiting for a draft-Clark movement to gel turned out to be problematic.
The first step is to gel your hair and hit the gym to work on your fitness.
Historical Examples
But show me the daughter that could do better for herself than my gel's father has done for her.
The Woman Thou Gavest MeHall Caine
A puff of wind and a slant of rain, as I've been saying to my gel here.
The Woman Thou Gavest MeHall Caine
Do you think I'm not doing my best for you, gel—my very best?
The Woman Thou Gavest MeHall Caine
You shall read it aloud to me, my gel—or, better still, I'll read it to you.
Sue, A Little HeroineL. T. Meade
I'm soory fur the gel, but ef she had the locket, of course she tuk the locket.
Sue, A Little HeroineL. T. Meade
gel
- a semirigid jelly-like colloid in which a liquid is dispersed in a solidnondrip paint is a gel
- See hair gel
- theatre informal See gelatine (def. 4)
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- to become or cause to become a gel
- a variant spelling of jell
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Word Origin
C19: by shortening from gelatine
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for gel
n.
1899, as a chemical term, short for gelatin and perhaps influenced by jell. The invention of this word is credited to Scottish chemist Thomas Graham (1805-1869). Hair-styling sense is from 1958. The verb meaning "to become a gel" is attested by 1902; figurative sense is from 1958. Related: Gelled; gelling.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
gel
(jĕl)- A colloid in which the disperse phase combines with the dispersion medium to produce a semisolid material.
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- To become a gel.
- To convert a sol into a gel.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.