frow

Etymology

This word goes back to Middle Dutch vrouwe (“lady”), which developed from Old Dutch *frōwa, itself from Proto-West Germanic *frauwjā, from Proto-Germanic *frawjǭ (“lady, mistress”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *prōw- (“right; judge, master”). It is cognate with Dutch vrouw (“woman, wife, lady, mistress”), Low German frouw, frauw (“woman, wife, lady”), German Frau (“woman, wife, lady”), Swedish fru, Icelandic freyja (“lady, mistress”, in compounds), and Old English frōwe (“woman”) and frēa (“lord, master, husband”). It is a doublet of frau, vrou and vrouw.