Meaning

noun a colloid in a more solid form than a sol

noun a thin translucent membrane used over stage lights for color effects

verb become a gel

originCoined 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,…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0