frog

Pronunciation

• IPA: /fɹɒɡ/ (UK)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English frogge, inherited from Old English frogga,^[2][3][4] a diminutive related to frosc, forsc and frox (“frog”),^[2][3][5] from Proto-Germanic *fruskaz,^[3][5] cognate with Old Norse froskr, Middle Dutch vorsc and German Frosch.^[2][3] It is probably literally a hopper, if it is from Proto-Indo-European *prew- (“to hop”).^[2] Watkins calls the Old English -gga an obscure expressive suffix,^[2] like that of docga, dog.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The tailless leaping amphibian: about 1000, in Ælfric's Glossary, in Barnhart and the OED.^[3][6] Middle English forms include frogge (probably before 1200) and frog (1463).^[3]

Semantic evolution

In the Middle Ages frog was a general term of abuse for a man or woman, from about 1330,^[6][7] and in the 17th century it was applied to the Dutch and the French, the latter partly from alliteration and their reputation for eating frogs' legs.^[7][8] As a name for a Frenchman it is from 1778.^[6] A horny pad in the sole of a horse's hoof has been called a frog since 1610, probably a transferred use of the animal name.^[6][5] A frog in the throat, hoarseness, is from the mid-19th century in Word Origins and 1909 in the OED.^[7][6]

Timeline

• c. 1000 – frogga.^[3][6]
• c. 1330 – a term of abuse.^[6]
• 1610 – the frog of a horse's hoof.^[6]
• 1719 – frog, a fastening.^[3]
• 1778 – a Frenchman (derogatory).^[6]
• 1909 – frog in the throat.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A tailless amphibian with smooth moist skin, webbed feet and long hind legs for leaping.
2. A wedge-shaped horny pad in the sole of a horse's hoof.
3. An ornamental fastening on a coat, a looped braid and button; or a loop on a belt holding a sword or bayonet.
4. (offensive slang) A French person.

Word family

• froglike
• froggy
• bullfrog
• frogman
• frogmarch
• frog's-bit
• frogstool

Related words

• frosh
• toad
• tadpole

Usage notes

The fastening, first a belt loop for carrying a weapon (1719, in Defoe's Robinson Crusoe), then an ornamental fastening for a coat (1746), is of uncertain origin, perhaps from Portuguese froco, from Latin floccus (“tuft of wool”).^[3][2] The Latin word for the animal, rāna, imitates croaking.^[2]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c d Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b c Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press