noun
- Also called ice floe. a sheet of floating ice, chiefly on the surface of the sea, smaller than an ice field.
- a detached floating portion of such a sheet.
noun
- See ice floe
1817, first used by Arctic explorers, probably from Norwegian flo “layer, slab,” from Old Norse flo, related to first element in flagstone (q.v.). Earlier explorers used flake.
- A mass or sheet of floating ice.