frig | Search Online Etymology Dictionary

14 entries found.

"to move about restlessly," mid-15c., perhaps a variant of frisk (q.v.). As a euphemism for "to fuck" it dates from 1550s (frigging); from 1670s as "to masturbate." Related: Frigged; frigging.

frigging (adj.)

by 1936 as an expletive, from present participle of frig. Perhaps felt as euphemistic.

frigid (adj.)

1620s, "intensely cold," from Latin frigidus "cold, chill, cool," figuratively "indifferent," also "flat, dull, trivial," from stem of frigere "be cold;" related to noun frigus "cold, coldness, frost," from Proto-Italic *srigos-, from PIE root *srig- "cold" (source also of Greek rhigos "cold, frost"). The meaning "wanting in sexual heat" is attested from 1650s, originally of males. Related: Frigidly; frigidness.

stage-fright (n.)

1826, from stage (n.) + fright (n.).

frigidity (n.)

early 15c., frigidite, "coldness," from Old French frigidité (15c.), from Late Latin frigiditatem (nominative frigiditas) "the cold," from Latin frigidus "cold" (see frigid). In reference to sexual impotence, 1580s, originally of men; by 1903 of women.

fright (v.)

"to frighten," Middle English, from Old English fyrhtan "to terrify, fill with fear," from the source of fright (n.). Old English also had forhtian "be afraid, become full of fear, tremble," but the primary sense of the verb in Middle English was "to make afraid."

Frigg

in Germanic religion, queen of heaven and goddess of married love, wife of Odin; the name is in Old English, but only in compounds such as Frigedæg "Friday," Frigeæfen (what we would call "Thursday evening"). The modern English word is from Old Norse Frigg, a noun use of the feminine of an adjective meaning "beloved, loving," also "wife," from Proto-Germanic *frijjo "beloved, wife," from PIE *priy-a- "beloved," from PIE root *pri- "to love."

fright (n.)

Middle English freiht, fright, from Old English (Northumbrian) fryhto, metathesis of Old English fyrhtu "fear, dread, trembling, horrible sight," from Proto-Germanic *furkhtaz "afraid" (source also of Old Saxon forhta, Old Frisian fruchte, Old High German forhta, German Furcht, Gothic faurhtei "fear"). Not etymologically related to the word fear, which superseded it 13c. as the principal word except in cases of sudden terror. For spelling evolution, see fight (v.).

frighten (v.)

"strike with fear, terrify," 1660s, from fright (n.) + -en (1). Related: Frightened; frightening. The earlier verb was simply fright (v.).

frigorific (adj.)

"causing cold," 1660s, from French frigorifique, from Late Latin frigorificus "cooling," from frigor-, stem of Latin frigus "cold, cool, coolness" (see frigid) + -ficus "making, doing," from combining form of facere "to make, do" (from PIE root *dhe- "to set, put").

Trending words