"F" Word Origins

freshly

Origin

From fresh plus the adverb-forming suffix -ly.

freshman

Origin

A compound of fresh and man, originally referring to a newcomer.

freshwater

Origin

A compound of fresh (meaning "not salty") and water.

Fresno

Spanish

From Spanish "fresno," meaning "ash tree."

fret

Old English

From Old English fretan, "to eat away" or "consume" — the sense of "worry" grew from the idea of something gnawing at you.

fretful

Origin

From fret + -ful.

fretsaw

Origin

From fret + saw.

fretwork

Origin

From fret (verb) + -work.

Freudian

Origin

Formed from the name Freud plus the adjective suffix -ian, referring to Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud.

friar

Latin

From Old French frere, "brother," ultimately from Latin frater.

friary

Origin

From friar (“brother in a religious order”) + -y (nominal suffix), from Latin frater (“brother”), from Latin. Piecewise doublet of fratery.

fribble

Origin

Perhaps related to frivol.

fricative

Origin

From New Latin fricatīvus, from Latin fricāre (“to rub”).

friction

Latin

From Latin frictio, "a rubbing," from fricare, "to rub."

frictionlessly

Origin

From frictionless + -ly.

Frida

Germanic

From Germanic "fridu," meaning "peace."

Friday

Old English

From Old English frigedæg, "day of Frigg," the Germanic goddess associated with love, linked to the Roman goddess Venus.

fridge

Origin

A shortened form of "refrigerator," possibly influenced by the Frigidaire brand name.

Frieda

Germanic

From Germanic "fridu," meaning "peace."

Friedman

German

From German "Fried" (peace) and "Mann" (man).

Friedrich

Germanic

From Germanic "fridu" (peace) and "rihhi" (ruler).

friend

Old English

From Old English freond, literally "loving one," related to an ancient root meaning "to love" — the same root behind "Friday."

friendhood

Origin

From friend + -hood.

friendless

Origin

From friend plus the suffix -less, meaning "without."

friendliness

Origin

From friendly plus the noun-forming suffix -ness.

friendly

Old English

From Old English freondlic, formed from friend plus the adjective suffix -ly.

friendship

Old English

From Old English freondscipe, formed from friend plus the suffix -ship.

Fries

Origin

The town was named after a prominent cotton-mill owner, Francis Henry Fries. The surname is converged from both Friesland and French friche (“fallow land”), found in Swiss French.

frig

Middle English

From Middle English friggen (“to quiver”), perhaps from Old English *frygian (“to rub, caress”), related to Old English frēogan, frīgan (“to love, release, embrace, caress”), frīge (pl., “love”). Compare also Faroese fríggj (“erotocism, sex, flirtation”), Old English ġefrīgian (“to embrace”). More at free. Alternative etymology derives frig (Early Modern English frigge), from Middle English frikien (“to keep (the arms and hands) in constant motion”), from Old English frician (“to dance”).

frigate

French

From French frégate, itself from Italian fregata, of uncertain further origin.

Frigg

Old Norse

From Old Norse Frigg, from Proto-Germanic *Frijjō. Cognate with the native Old English Frīġ. Doublet of Priya.

frigga

Origin

From Frigg + -a, with suffix added to make the name more obviously feminine in English.

fright

Old English

From Old English fyrhto, "fear, dread, trembling," related to a Proto-Germanic root for fear.

frighten

Origin

From the older English word "fright" (fear) plus the verb-forming ending "-en", the same pattern seen in "sadden" or "harden".

frightening

Origin

Formed from "frighten" plus "-ing", turning the verb into a descriptive word.

frightensome

Origin

From frighten + -some.

frightful

Origin

Built from "fright" plus "-ful" ("full of"), so literally "full of fright" — though today it more often just means "very bad".

frigid

Latin

From Latin frigidus ("cold"), related to frigus ("cold, coldness") — the same root that gives us "refrigerator".

frigidity

Origin

From Middle English frigiditee, frigidite, a borrowing from Middle French frigidité, itself a borrowing from Latin frīgiditātem, accusative of Latin frīgiditās.

frigorific

Origin

From Latin frīgorificus, from frigus (“cold”) + facere (“to make”): compare French frigorifique.

frill

Origin

Of uncertain origin.

frine

Origin

Of North Germanic origin, akin to Swedish dialectal fryna (“to wrinkle up one's nose, make a wry face”), Norwegian frøyna (“to wrinkle up one's nose, make a wry face”). Perhaps related to frown.

fringe

Latin

From Old French frenge, ultimately from Latin fimbriae ("threads, fringe"); related to the biological term "fimbria".

fringie

Origin

From fringe + -ie.

frippery

Origin

From French friperie, from Old French fripier (“to rub up and down, to wear into rags”). Compare fripper.

Frisbee

Origin · 1959

Trademarked in 1959 by Wham-O, the name traces back to the Frisbie Pie Company of Bridgeport, Connecticut — college students in the area threw the empty pie tins for fun long before the plastic toy existed.

Frisco

Origin

A clipped, informal shortening of "San Francisco."

frisk

Origin

From an older word meaning "lively, brisk", related to "fresh".