"F" Word Origins

Francisca

Latin

From Portuguese and Spanish Francisca, from Latin Francisca. Doublet of Frances.

Franciscan

Late Latin · 1181

From Late Latin Franciscānus, from Franciscus (Saint Francis of Assisi, born around 1181).

Francisco

Latin

From Latin Franciscus. Doublet of Francis. * (given name): From Romance Francisco (Portuguese Francisco, Spanish Francisco) * (moon of Uranus): From the naming pattern established for moons of Uranus, being references to the works of William Shakespeare. From being a character in the play The Tempest

franciscus

Origin

Borrowed from Latin Franciscus.

franco

French

From Italian franco ("French, free"), related to "franc" and "frank."

frangible

Origin

From Late Middle English frangible, frangibil, from Middle French frangible, or from Medieval Latin frangibilis, from Latin frangere (from frangō (“to break, shatter”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreg- (“to break”)) + -ibilis (suffix forming adjectives indicating a capacity or worth of being acted upon).

frangibleness

Origin

From frangible + -ness.

frank

Old French

From Old French franc, "free," originally referring to the Franks, the Germanic people who once ruled much of France — someone "frank" was literally as free and unrestrained as a Frankish nobleman.

Frankenstein

Origin · 1818

From Victor Frankenstein, the scientist in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel who builds a living being out of corpse parts. People commonly (if technically incorrectly) use "Frankenstein" for the monster itself rather than its creator.

Frankfurt

German

From German Frankfurt, literally the "ford (river crossing) of the Franks."

frankfurter

Origin

From German Frankfurter, the demonym of Frankfurt. Specifically, a reference to Frankfurt-am-Main.

Frankie

Origin

From Frank + -ie.

frankincense

Old French

From Old French franc encens, literally "high-quality incense" — "franc" here meaning noble or pure rather than free.

Franklin

Middle English

From Middle English frankelein, "freeholder," ultimately related to "frank" (free) — a franklin was a free man who owned land but wasn't nobility.

frankly

Origin

From frank + -ly.

Franklyn

Middle English

From Middle English Frankeleyn, Frankelein, from Middle English frankeleyn, frankelein, frankelyng (“a landowner, freeman, gentleman”), from Anglo-Norman fraunclein, of obscure formation; probably from Medieval Latin francus (“free”) + Old French -lenc (“-ling”). By surface analysis, frank + -ling.

frankness

Origin

From frank + -ness.

Frannie

Origin

From Fran + -ie. The town was named after Frannie Morris, daughter of the town's first postmaster.

Franny

Origin

Diminutives with -y.

Frans

Dutch

Borrowed from Dutch Frans.

Franta

Origin

Borrowed from Czech Franta.

frantic

Old French

From Old French frenetique, ultimately from Greek phrenitis, "inflammation of the brain" — the word originally described actual madness before softening to mean panicked or rushed.

frantically

Origin

From frantic + -ally.

Franz

German

From German Franz. Doublet of Francis.

frappe

Origin

Borrowed from French frappé.

Fraser

Norman

Scottish surname thought to be from Norman, but not corresponding to any obvious places in France; perhaps a corrupted transcription of a Middle Irish name. More at Fraser.

frat

Origin

A clipped, informal form of "fraternity."

fraterculine

Origin

From Fratercula + -ine.

fraternal

Latin

From Latin fraternus, "of a brother," from frater, "brother."

fraternity

Latin

From Latin fraternitas, from frater, "brother."

Frau

German

Borrowed directly from German Frau, "woman, wife."

fraud

Latin

From Old French fraude, from Latin fraus, "deceit, injury."

fraudulence

Origin

From Old French fraudulence, from Latin fraudulentia (“deceitfulness, disposition to defraud; fraudulence”), from fraudulentus (“deceitful, fraudulent”) + -ia (suffix forming abstract nouns). Fraudulentus is derived from fraus (“deceit, fraud”) (from Proto-Indo-European *dʰrew- (“to mislead”)) + -ulentus (“abounding in, full of”).

fraudulent

Latin

From Latin fraudulentus, from fraus, "fraud."

fraught

Middle English

From Middle English fraught, originally meaning a ship's cargo (related to "freight") — the sense shifted from a ship being "loaded" with goods to a situation being "loaded" with tension.

fraulein

German

Borrowed from German Fräulein, a diminutive of Frau, "woman."

fray

Latin

The verb comes from Old French fraier, "to rub," from Latin fricare, "to rub." The noun sense (a fight) developed from the same root via the idea of clashing or rubbing against each other.

frayed

Latin

Past participle of fray, from Old French froiier, "to rub against," ultimately from Latin fricare, "to rub."

frazzled

Origin

Related to fray, in the sense of being worn thin and frayed at the edges, extended to describe someone worn out emotionally.

freak

Old English · 1560

Origin uncertain, first appearing in English in the 1560s meaning a sudden whim; likely linked to Old English frec, "bold, eager," which drifted toward meaning something wildly out of the ordinary.

freakazoid

Origin

A playful blend of "freak" with the mock-scientific-sounding suffix "-oid."

freaking

Origin

A softened, minced form of a much stronger intensifier, built on "freak" as a euphemistic substitute.

freakish

Origin

From freak + -ish.

freakishly

Origin

From freakish + -ly.

freaky

Origin

Formed from freak plus the adjective-forming suffix -y.

freckle

Old English

From Middle English freken/frekel, ultimately from an Old Norse word for a small spot, related to Old English words meaning "to sprinkle."

Freda

Origin

A feminine counterpart to Frederick and Fred, also used as a short form of Winifred.

Freddie

Origin

From Fred plus the diminutive suffix -ie.