Emily Dickinson Lexicon

CON-GEAL', v.t. [L. congelo; con and gelo, to freeze; Fr. congeler; It. congelare; Sp. congelar; Arm. caledi. This may be connected with the W. ceulaw, to curdle or coagulate, from caul, a calf's maw; also, rennet, curd and chyle. The L. gelo has the elements of cool, but it may be a different word.]

1. To change from a fluid to a solid state, as by cold, or a loss of heat, as water in freezing, liquid metal or wax in cooling, blood in stagnating or cooling, &c.; to harden into ice, or into a substance of less solidity. Cold congeals water into ice, or vapor into hoar frost or snow, and blood into a less solid mass, or clot.
2. To bind or fix with cold. Applied to the circulating blood, it does not signify absolutely to harden, but to cause a sensation of cold, a shivering, or a receding of the blood from the extremities; as, the frightful scene congealed his blood.