frosty

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English frosti, also forsti,^[2] inherited from Old English forstig (“frosty”), also fyrstig,^[3][4][5] formed from the Germanic bases of frost and the suffix -y.^[5][3] The OED takes it as cognate with, or formed in the same way as, Middle Dutch vorstich (modern Dutch vorstig), Middle Low German vrostich and Old High German frostag (modern German frostig).^[5][3] The Middle English Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, the Shorter Oxford and Dictionary.com treat the Middle English adjective as formed anew from frost and -y, and compare the Old English word.^[2][6][7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of the weather or a season, marked by frost; freezing cold: the OED's first example is from the Old English life of St Mary of Egypt,^[5] where the saint speaks of the great frosty cold of winter.^[4] Merriam-Webster dates it to before the 12th century.^[6] The Middle English record starts with Trevisa's translation of Higden, before 1387, in frosty time.^[2]

Semantic evolution

From the weather the word passed to parts of the body that feel the cold (Hoccleve, about 1425) and to things covered with frost (Lydgate, before 1450).^[5] Chaucer used it eight times, of the cold frosty season of December among others.^[9][2] Also in the 15th century it was used of white or grey hair, and so of old age (from 1592).^[5][2] The figurative sense, cold and chilling, is recorded from 1532, and of a person or manner, cold and unfriendly, from 1548;^[5] Etymonline dates figurative use to the late 14th century.^[3] Johnson (1755) gave the senses "excessively cold", "chill in affection" and "hoary, grey-haired".^[10] In the 20th century, chiefly in North America and Australia, it was used of a chilled drink (1922),^[5] and slang has a frosty, a cold glass or can of beer, from the 1950s.^[11] A short-lived verb frosty, to cover with frost, is recorded in 1596.^[5]

Timeline

• Old English – forstig, of weather or a season, freezing cold.^[5][4]
• before 1387 – frosty time, in Trevisa.^[2]
• c. 1425 – of a part of the body, feeling the cold.^[5]
• before 1450 – covered with frost; of hair, white or grey.^[5]
• 1532 – chilling, numbing, in a figurative sense.^[5]
• 1548 – of a person or manner, cold, lacking warmth of feeling.^[5]
• 1592 – of old age.^[5]
• 1698 – in entomology and botany, having a whitish glistening look.^[5]
• 1922 – of a drink, chilled.^[5]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Marked by frost, or cold enough to produce it: It was a clear and frosty morning.^[12][6]
2. Covered with frost, or looking as if it were.^[12][6]
3. Cold and unfriendly in manner; without warmth or enthusiasm: Her proposal got a frosty welcome from the committee.^[12][6][5]
4. Of hair, white or grey like frost; hoary.^[12][6][5]
5. Of a drink, chilled (chiefly North American and Australian).^[5]

Word family

• frostily
• frostiness
• frostless
• unfrosty

Related words

• frost
• freeze
• frozen

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
3. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
9. ^ Benson, Larry D., Glossarial Concordance to Middle English (Chaucer, Gower), Johns Hopkins University, github.com/jhu-digital-manuscripts/gcme
10. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1755), A Dictionary of the English Language, London; 4th ed. 1773; Johnson's Dictionary Online, ed. Beth Rapp Young et al.
11. ^ Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
12. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins